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Earl Attlee asked Her Majesty's Government:
- At what point it will be possible for a goods vehicle operator electronically to notify his traffic area office of the addition of a hire vehicle to his fleet and for the hirer to be able to confirm that notification electronically before releasing the vehicle. [HL3260]
Lord Falconer of Thoroton: The facility for operators to notify vehicle changes on goods vehicle operator licences electronically will be piloted in the spring. Depending on the results of that pilot, the
service will be progressively rolled out to all licence holders during the summer. In order to guard against the risk of one of its vehicles being impounded a hire company need only satisfy itself that its customer has an operator's licence. I refer the noble Earl to my Answer given today to his other Question (HL3258).Vauxhall Cross
Lord Hayhoe asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What traffic objective will be met by the alteration and changes being undertaken at Vauxhall Cross in the London Borough of Lambeth. [HL3265]
Lord Falconer of Thoroton: This is a matter for the Mayor of London and Transport for London. Further information may be obtained from:
- Peter Brown
- Assistant Director of Street Management Services
- TfL Street Management
- Windsor House
- 42-50 Victoria Street
- London SW1H 0TL
London Congestion Charging: Adequate Public Transport
Baroness Hanham asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether, in the absence of any improvement to London Underground, the commitment made by the Mayor for London of additional buses will be considered in order to satisfy their assurance that congestion charging would not be introduced in London until there was sufficient transport to carry the additional passengers.[HL3271]
Lord Falconer of Thoroton: The congestion charging scheme is the responsibility of the Mayor of London and Transport for London. It is for them to satisfy themselves that adequate public transport will be available when the scheme is introduced.
Twinning Arrangements with Foreign Municipalities
Lord Hogg of Cumbernauld asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What advice they have given to local
authorities on twinning arrangements with foreign municipalities.[HL3308]
Lord Falconer of Thoroton: While we recognise the value of effective partnerships between strong and active local communities which can play a real part in increasing understanding between the peoples of Europe and the wider world, we have issued no guidance to local authorities on this. The Local
Government International Bureau, and in Scotland the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, facilitate links between UK local authorities and authorities worldwide.Local Authorities: Financial Reporting Standards
Lord Higgins asked Her Majesty's Government:
- To what extent they estimate the introduction of the Accounting Standards Board's Financial Reporting Standard 17 will have an effect on local authority pension funds; and[HL3328]
To what extent they estimate the introduction of Accounting Standard Board's Financial Reporting Standard 17 will increase council taxes.[HL3329]
Lord Falconer of Thoroton: Under revisions to the Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting which are being prepared by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) and discussed with the Accounting Standards Board (ASB), the introduction of Financial Reporting Standard 17 will have no effect on local authority budgets or their pension funds, which will continue to be governed in accordance with the existing regulatory framework.
English Partnerships Review
Lord Graham of Edmonton asked Her Majesty's Government:
- When they propose to announce the outcome of stage one of the review of English Partnerships.[HL3412]
Lord Falconer of Thoroton: Today we are announcing the outcome of the first stage of the current review of English Partnerships (EP), together with appointment of the new chair of the organisation.
The new chair of English Partnerships is to be Margaret Ford. She has extensive experience in economic development and of working with government organisations within the UK and internationally. She has particular experience of leading organisations though periods of considerable change. We are confident that Margaret Ford is the right person to lead EP into its new role.
EP will become the Secretary of State's expert adviser on brownfield regeneration, managing a national portfolio of strategic sites and managing demonstration projects. EP will work with national, regional and local partners, especially the RDAs, and the private sector to identify strategic brownfield land and prioritise and facilitate its development. There is a continuing remit for EP as a national public sector body and as a vital component of the Government's programme for achieving an urban renaissance.
To sharpen the organisation's focus on brownfield regeneration, we intend EP progressively to transfer its
non-strategic Commission for the New Towns (CNT) landholdings to other appropriate bodies, for example the local authority.In the spirit of the two Green Papers we published last year setting out fundamental changes to local government and the planning system, EP will relinquish the use of its planning powers in the former new town areas, bringing control over the development of these areas under the democratic control of their local councils. This will be a staged process.
As part of stage two of review, we want to resolve the problems that have arisen in the past from the dual statutory function of the former Urban Regeneration Agency and the Commission for the New Towns. This will give EP a common purpose and help it in taking forward its changed agenda.
I am today placing in the Library of the House the report on stage one of the review, including the KPMG consultation report and key areas to be addressed in stage two. There is still important work to be done and we will continue to listen to and work with the widest range of interested organisations.
Water Course Pollution Prosecutions
Lord Pilkington of Oxenford asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will provide a comparison of the annual number of water course pollution prosecutions carried out by the predecessor water authorities and those inaugurated by the Environment Agency.[HL3156]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Whitty): The Environment Agency has a robust enforcement and prosecution policy that results in a significant number of prosecutions being taken out each year.
Annual reports on water pollution incidents, including numbers of prosecutions taken, are published by the Environment Agency and previously by is predecessor, the National Rivers Authority. These reports are available in the Libraries of both Houses.
The following table summarises the information available in these reports for the years 1990 to 2000. For the years 1990 to 1999 the information recorded relates to pollution incidents that occurred in each year irrespective of the date of the court hearing. Following a change of reporting practice, information for the year 2000 relates to the cases brought to court in that year.
Information on prosecutions prior to 1989, when the National Rivers Authority took over from its predecessor water authorities, can only be made available at disproportionate cost.
| Year 1990–94 NRA 1995–2000 EA | Number of Incidents Prosecuted | Number of Convictions | Number of Cautions issued |
| 1990 | 592 | 553 | not available |
| 1991 | 488 | 470 | 55 |
| 1992 | 425 | 401 | 250 |
| 1993 | 364 | 338 | 206 |
| 1994 | 320 | 310 | 193 |
| 1995 | 280 | 275 | 149 |
| 1996 | 243 | 238 | 69 |
| 1997 | 254 | 236 | 49 |
| 1998 | 241 | 236 | 73 |
| 1999 | 230 | 227 | 113 |
| 2000 | 235 | 224 | 217 |
Packaging Waste: Recovery and Recycling
Lord Williams of Elvel asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What are the new recovery and recycling targets for packaging waste for 2002 that they have decided on.[HL3397]
Lord Whitty: New business recovery and recycling targets for packaging waste in 2002 under the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997 (as amended) have been agreed by the Government. Subject to the approval of Parliament, these are as follows: Recovery 59 per cent Material-specific recycling 19 per cent.
The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997 were made to enable the UK to meet its obligations under the EC Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste, in particular the recovery and recycling targets in article 6 of that directive. The first targets that we and other member states had to achieve in 2001 under the Packaging Waste Directive were that at least 50 per cent of packaging waste be recovered, at least 25 per cent recycled and 15 per cent of each packaging material recycled.
On the assumption that the UK met these targets last year (and final figures are not yet ready), the targets I am proposing today should allow almost 5 million tonnes of packaging waste to be recovered in 2002.
The department has, as was indicated in the recent consultation paper on targets for 2002, reviewed the figures that were used to develop the targets for 2002 in that paper and in light of the changes in the amount of packaging data reported by businesses obligated under the packaging regulations and the estimates for the tonnages expected to be obligated in 2002, the Government have decided on a recovery target of 59 per cent and a material-specific target of 19 per cent.
As in previous years, the national targets for next year need to be seen as leading on to higher targets and the ones proposed by the Government should allow the UK to plan a smooth upward curve towards higher recovery and recycling targets over the next few years.
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