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Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 12 February 1992
ENVIRONMENT
Golf Courses
Mr. Mills : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will introduce regulations or issue advice to local councils, restricting the proliferation of golf courses on green belt in environmentally sensitive areas.
Mr. Yeo : Advice on golf courses is contained in planning policy guidance notes 17 and 7 published in September 1991 and January 1992 respectively. These supplement the longstanding advice on development in green belts in planning policy guidance note 2. Golf courses should be located and designed to ensure harmony with the surrounding countryside and to conserve the natural environment. Local planning authorities should take special care when considering applications in green belts.
Data Information Systems
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what data information systems his Department has (a) agreed and (b) been consulted about with a view to taking part in ; what are the criteria for inclusion in such systems ; whether they will be linked to (i) the police national computer and (ii) other computer systems ; what data protection provisions apply to them ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Heseltine : The information asked for is not readily available. However, my Department has a number of computer links with other organisations. None of these is with the police national computer ; nor are there any plans for such links. More than 100 systems hold personal information and are registered under the Data Protection Act.
Council Tax (Information)
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to ensure that council tax information, intended to be made public, cannot be combined with personalised information held in other publicly held information ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key : The only council tax information to be publicly available will be the valuation list. This will contain only property information, such as the address and valuation band. It will contain no personal information, and will not be available for sale.
Barkby Thorpe
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to receive the inspectors report into the Barkby Thorpe, Leicester inquiry.
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Mr. Yeo : The inspector is preparing his report and will submit it to the Secretary of State as soon as possible. I shall ensure that the hon. Member receives a copy of the Secretary of State's decision when it is available.
Poll Tax
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the cumulative poll tax charge for a person living in Nottinghamshire since its inception ; and what is his estimate of the approximate cost per head of its collection.
Mr. Key : The aggregate of the headline community charges for 1990- 91 and 1991-92 for Nottingham is £685. The cumulative cost per chargepayer charged to revenue account of preparation for and collection of the charge in 1989-90 to 1991-92 in Nottingham is estimated to be £28.20.
Housing Associations
Mr. Hague : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much has been spent by housing associations in Darlington since 1979 ; and how many units of housing this has provided.
Mr. Yeo : The distribution of resources to housing associations among local authority areas is a matter for the Housing Corporation. I have therefore asked the corporation to reply direct to my hon. Friend with the information he has requested. A copy of the reply will be placed in the Library of the House.
Ozone Layer
Sir Michael McNair-Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will seek a meeting of the Montreal protocol signatories to discuss the latest reports about the depletion of the ozone layer ; what consideration he has given to an earlier phasing out of chlorofluorocarbons because of their known effect on the layer ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Livsey : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what additional action he is taking to prevent further depletion of the ozone layer.
Mr. Trippier : I refer my hon. Friend and the hon. Member to the answer I gave yesterday, to my hon. Friend the Member for Bury, South (Mr. Sumberg) [ Official Report column 430 ].
Victoria and Albert Museum
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received from the trustees of the Victoria and Albert museum concerning the financing of the proposed Victoria and Albert of the North in Bradford ; what views have been expressed by the trustees over the availability of £8 million from the European regional development fund ; when he intends to take a final decision on the application for city grant for the project ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key : My Department has received representations on behalf of the Victoria and Albert museum about the possibility of a grant from the European regional development fund for the proposed Victoria and Albert of
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the North at Listers Mill. There are a number of major requirements which would need to be met before such a project could be regarded as viable and eligible for ERDF support. These include the means of funding the £13 million non-grant capital cost of the scheme and the projected annual revenue deficit, the practicality of undertaking the works within the Bradford ERDF programme time scale and resources, and meeting public expenditure requirements.A city grant application for redevelopment of another part of the Listers Mill complex has also been submitted and is under consideration. A conditional grant offer of £10 million was made last year to give the parties time to assemble a credible development package.
Housing (Bradford)
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will approve additional financial allocations to Bradford council to build homes for rent and to repair and improve council housing stock ; and if he will increase improvement grant to improve private property in the district.
Mr. Yeo : Local authorities' housing investment
programme--HIP--allocations for 1992-93 were announced on 16 December. Part of these resources, the housing annual capital guideline--is directed at meeting general needs in the authority, including the repair and improvement of its own stock. Our policy is well established that the building of new social housing is mainly the responsibility of housing associations, with local authorities assuming an enabling role.
Authorities' HIP allocations also contain a guideline figure for resources for private sector renewal. Authorities may claim in excess of this figure, and are entitled to receive appropriate Exchequer contributions on the full sum. In addition, £30 million has been held back for 1992-93 to assist the authorities experiencing heavy demand for expenditure on mandatory grants, and Bradford will have an opportunity to bid for these resources in due course.
Crawley Borough Council
Mr. Soames : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he has decided to take in relation to Crawley borough council under part I of the Local Government Act 1988.
Mr. Key : My right hon. Friend has given careful consideration to the responses that Crawley borough council has made to the notices under section 13 of the Local Government Act 1988 served on the authority on 29 July 1991 in relation to its failure to meet the specified financial objective in carrying out other catering work in 1989-90 ; on 9 October 1991 in relation to its failure to meet specified financial objective in carrying out vehicle maintenance work in 1990-91 ; and on 9 October 1991 in relation to its failure to meet the specified financial objective in carrying out refuse collection work 1990-91. He has decided to take no further action in relation to the authority's performance of other catering work. In relation to the its performance of the two other activities, he has today given the authority directions under section 14 of the 1988 Act, with the effect of requiring the authority to complete a retendering exercise for vehicle maintenance work by 1 October 1992, and to seek his
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consent by 1 July 1992 to any decision to reassign the work to the direct service organisation ; and of requiring the authority to complete a retendering exercise for refuse collection work by 1 February 1993,and to seek his consent by 1 November 1992 to any decision to reassign the work to the direct service organisation.Somerset Levels
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the agreement to safeguard the nature conservation interest of Glasson Moss, Wedholme Flow, Thorne and Hatfield Moors and Shapwick Heath and Westhay Moor in the Somerset levels by Fisons plc and English Nature.
Mr. Heseltine : Peat has been extracted from most of these sites under planning permissions given in the 1940s and 1950s, and could legitimately have continued well into the next century. The agreement provides for all of Fisons' freehold interests in these sites to be handed over at no cost to English Nature for management of the nature conservation interest. These include some of the most valuable peat sites in England.
Of the 8,000 acres involved, the 2,800 acres on which vegetation exists will be managed immediately by English Nature for nature conservation purposes and Fisons will assist them by blocking off drains and other measures to secure the hydrological integrity of the areas. Where lowland peatbog sites have already been affected by modern working, there is no conservation reason to prevent further extraction provided conditions for the eventual rehabilitation of the sites are met. It is for this reason that English Nature has agreed that peat extraction under licence from them may continue at most of the other sites--but on condition that this will only take place in ways that minimise the further effects on undisturbed peat and allow restoration when extraction ceases.
As peat extraction is completed, leaving behind an average depth of a half metre of peat to aid regeneration, these areas will gradually be transferred to English Nature management, and Fisons will assist with restoration for conservation after-use. In addition current research funded by Fisons into peatland regeneration will continue. This will complement research undertaken by my own Department into this subject.
This agreement is a considerable achievement. Taken together with the acquisition by the Nature Conservancy Council of the Fenns Whixall and Bettisfield Mosses, it demonstrates the positive steps being taken to conserve the major lowland peat bog sites in England.
Peat Extraction
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he was consulted over the arrangement to extract peat from Glassan Moss, Wedholme Flow, Thame and Hatfield Moors, and Somerset Levels by Fisons plc and English Nature ; and when he first knew of the arrangement.
Mr. Heseltine [holding answer 6 February 1992] : I have been aware for some considerable time of the confidential negotiations between English Nature and Fisons plc. The final agreement, by which Glasson Moss, Wedholme Flow, Thorne and Hatfield Moors, and Shapwick Heath and Westhay Moor in the Somerset Levels would be handed over by Fisons at no cost to English Nature, was
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reached over the Christmas period. The chairman and chief executive of English Nature briefed the Minister for the Environment and Countryside on 7 January.TRANSPORT
Merchant Vessels
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will detail the procedure for Government procurement of civilian merchant vessels.
Mr. McLoughlin : Merchant shipping is normally procured for Government use by chartering on the commercial market through either the Government freight market representative on the Baltic Exchange, the Government freight agent, or other specialist ship brokers.
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will name the broker responsible for chartering merchant vessels for the Government.
Mr. McLoughlin : Merchant vessels are chartered through the Government freight market representative on the Baltic Exchange, presently Mr. Richard Bilton. The Ministry of Defence also charters vessels through the Government freight agent--Hogg Robinson (GFA) Ltd.--and through other specialist ship brokers.
Government Assistance for Training Scheme
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give details of the number of Merchant Navy officers who have upgraded their qualification under the Government assistance for training scheme for each of the years since it started.
Mr. McLoughlin : The number of Merchant Navy officers who have upgraded their qualification under the GAFT scheme within each financial year since it started are given in the table.
Financial |Merchant year |Navy Officers ------------------------------------------ 1988-89 |385 1989-90 |448 1990-91 |491 1991-92 |<1>500 <1> Estimated
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give details of the numbers of seafarers, recruited under the Government assistance for training scheme, trained on foreign flag vessels, including the flags of the Crown and dependent territories, specifying which flag, for each year since the scheme was started.
Mr. McLoughlin : The number of seafarers recruited under the GAFT scheme within each financial year since it started are given in the table.
Financial |Officer year |Cadets ------------------------------ 1988-89 |227 1989-90 |413 1990-91 |521 1991-92 |<1>500 <1> Estimated
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Funding is provided to individuals who are ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom and who are eligible on nationality grounds to serve as master or chief engineer on a United Kingdom ship. While the Department assesses each trainees record on approved courses no central register is maintained of the ships on which they are employed.Coastguard Service
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many reviews of the coastguard service have been undertaken in the last 20 years.
Mr. McLoughlin : Within the last 20 years there have been seven independent and three internal reviews of Her Majesty's coastguard covering all aspects of the organisation and including management, staffing-- requirements, pay and grading--and resources.
London Transport
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will indicate the salaries of (a) the chairman and (b) board members of London Transport for 1990-91 and 1991-92.
Mr. Freeman : The annual salaries of the chairman and board members of London Transport for 1990-91 and 1991-92 are as follows :
|1990-91|1991-92
|£ |£
-------------------------------------------------
Chairman
Mr. C. Wilfrid Newton |100,000|106,000
Full-time Members
Mr. John Telford Beasley |75,000 |79,875
Mr. Anthony Sheppeck |74,000 |76,150
Part-time Members
Sir Neil Shields |22,000 |28,000
Mr. Oscar Roith |11,000 |29,290
Dr. Stephen Glaister |8,250 |9,960
Mr. Roy Thomas |8,250 |8,790
Mrs. Helen Robinson |8,250 |8,790
Mr. Keith Brown |8,250 |8,790
Mr. David Thompson |6,725 |8,790
Sir Alan Bailey |6,725 |8,790
Mr. J. Keith Davies |6,725 |8,790
Increases in salaries for 1991-92 include provision for increased time commitment by a number of board members.
Roads, Leicester
Sir John Farr : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the tender secured by Travers Morgan to act as advisers on the proposed route of the Leicester eastern bypass was open to public competition.
Mr. Chope : Travers Morgan was appointed in the normal way, following a competition with other suitable consulting engineers drawn from the Department's approved list.
Sir John Farr : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to bring into use the already completed dual carriageway section of the eastern district distributor road north of Goodwood road in Leicester.
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Mr. Chope : The eastern district distributor road is a local road for which Leicestershire county council, as the highway authority, is responsible.Sir John Farr : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if, before proceeding with the scheme to provide a Leicester eastern bypass, the views of the county council were sought.
Mr. Chope : No. If a viable scheme is identified the county council, and others, will have the opportunity to comment on the proposals at public consultation stage, before any final decision is taken to proceed with the project.
Sir John Farr : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish details of the contract with Travers Morgan to act as advisers on the route of a Leicester eastern bypass.
Mr. Chope : Travers Morgan was commissioned under the Department's standard terms of engagement for highway consultancy commissions. As the contract document contains commercially sensitive information on fees and staff packages proposed by the firm and accepted by the Department, it is not the Department's policy to publish this information.
Sir John Farr : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) when he expects the eastern district distributor road with the link to Oadby on the A6 to be completed ;
(2) what is the daily traffic flow both ways on the eastern district distributor road in Leicester where it enters the borough at Oadby on the A6 ;
(3) if houses built by the city council on the Goodwood road part of the distributor road network in Leicester are to be demolished to enable dual carriageway construction to be completed ;
(4) what is the present traffic flow on the distributor road network in Leicester ; and by how much he estimates this will increase with the demolition of the houses in Goodwood road.
Mr. Chope : These are not matters for my Department. The eastern district distributor is a local road for which Leicestershire county council, as the highway authority, is responsible.
Sir John Farr : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will terminate the arrangement made by his Department to appoint Travers Morgan as consultants for a Leicester eastern bypass.
Sir John Farr : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what account was taken of the work Travers Morgan had already performed for the Co-operative Wholesale Society, Manchester, in planning a business park and industrial estate and road network at the adjacent Stretton Magna when the tender for the Leicester eastern bypass was secured by them.
Mr. Chope : None. A condition of Travers Morgan's appointment for the Leicester eastern bypass commission was that it relinquished any further involvement in the Stretton Magna project. This it has done.
Sir John Farr : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy not to proceed with
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any consideration of a Leicester eastern bypass until the eastern district distributor road network has been completed at Oadby and a traffic pattern has emerged.Mr. Chope : No. The two roads would serve different functions. The Leicester eastern bypass would cater for long-distance trunk road traffic and provide continuity of the trunk road network around the city of Leicester ; the county council's distributor road is to serve local traffic needs and improve the distribution of traffic within the city.
Sir John Farr : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment was made of the views of the Harborough district council before proceeding with a Leicester eastern bypass.
Mr. Chope : None. If our preliminary investigations identify a viable scheme, Harborough district council will have the opportunity to comment on the scheme at public consultation stage and before any final decision is taken to proceed with the project.
British Rail (Wheelchairs)
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he last approved new British Rail rolling stock that was inaccessible to wheelchair users.
Mr. Freeman : There is currently no statutory requirement for the Secretary of State to approve new British Rail rolling stock. Powers are being sought in the Transport and Works Bill currently before the House. Modern rolling stock approved by HM railway inspectorate under voluntary arrangements with British Rail, since 1989, is accessible to wheelchair users.
New Roads
Sir John Farr : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy not to enter into schemes to design and build new roads without prior consultation with the hon. Members and borough and district councils involved.
Mr. Chope : Hon. Members and borough and district councils will have the opportunity to comment on schemes after viable options have been identified, at public consultation stage.
Departmental Achievements (North Yorkshire)
Mr. Gregory : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the expenditure and achievements of his Department in north Yorkshire during 1991 ; and what was the comparable position between June 1979 and May 1980.
Mr. Chope [holding answer 11 February 1992] : The expenditure by my Department on road construction and maintenance in North Yorkshire for the financial year 1991-92 to date is £22 million.
Progress on the national road programme in North Yorkshire in 1991 has included the opening of the A1 Gatenby lane junction and the A65 Draughton bypass.
The transport supplementary grant allocated to North Yorkshire in 1991-92 was £6.1 million. The annual capital guideline for roads and parking was £6.6 million. Supplementary credit approvals of £2.7 million included provision for the urban traffic control system in York.
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Information on other transport expenditure and achievements, and comparable figures for the period between June 1979 and May 1980, are not available in the form requested.Exeter Bypass
Sir Robin Maxwell-Hyslop : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he now expects to receive the report from Acer Consultants on the proposal to bypass Exeter to the north and west.
Mr. Chope [holding answer 11 February 1992] : Later this month.
DEFENCE
Service Pensions
Mr. Viggers : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the amount of retired pay receivable by a lieutenant- colonel promoted from the ranks retiring respectively (a) before and (b) after 1 April 1988.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : For a late-entry lieutenant colonel with 34 years reckonable service the amounts of retired pay are as follows :
Date of retirement |Original award |Current retired pay
|£ per annum |£ per annum
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
31 March 1988 |11,105 |14,033
1 April 1988 |14,185 |17,925
Since 1 April 1988 late-entrant lieutenant-colonels have been paid on the officers main scale as opposed to the lower rates previously in issue. They also qualify for increased pension entitlements. There are no plans to change pension entitlements retrospectively.
Mr. Viggers : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will take steps to increase the retired pay of majors and
lieutenant-colonels promoted from the ranks who retired before 1 April 1988 so that they are more in line with the retired pay of those who retired after that date.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The retired pay of majors promoted through the ranks is calculated on the same basis irrespective of the date of retirement. There are no plans for retrospective changes to the pension entitlement of late-entry lieutenant-colonels.
Tugs
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 28 January, Official Report, column 526, to the hon. Member for Beverley (Mr. Cran) which tugs are to be replaced by the two new tugs ordered ; whether any further tugs will be required on the full entry into service of Vanguard class submarines ; what is their nominal bollard pull ; and if a decision has been made on their names.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : The names for the new tugs are Impetus and Impulse, and the nominal bollard pull is 36 tonnes. These tugs will not replace specific existing tugs. The size and composition of the marine services vessels changes with the overall size and deployment of the fleet and the need to replace older vessels as they come to the end of their economic lives.
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AOR1RFA Fort Victoria
Mr. Rogers : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the AOR1RFA Fort Victoria, being built at Harland and Wolff, to be delivered to the Royal Navy.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : On the basis of the shipbuilder's latest programme for completion, we expect to take delivery of the ship by the end of the year.
Defence Research Agency
Mr. Cartwright : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many quality assurance staff he expects to be relocated at Defence Research Agency sites at (a) Fort Halstead, (b) Chertsey, (c) Farnborough and (d) Pyestock ; and how many are likely to face redundancy.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : Many of the technical and scientific staff are expected to move with their tasks. Approximately 150 quality assurance technical posts are planned to be relocated at Fort Halstead and a further 200 technical posts in total to Farnborough, Pyestock and Chertsey. The distribution of posts between the latter sites is not yet finalised. In addition, a number of non-technical posts in support of quality assurance activities will be required at the above locations. We will do our best to minimise redundancies but, regrettably, it is not possible to guarantee that there will be none. The trade unions are being consulted in the normal way.
Purple Warrior Exercises
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the vessels, including details of country of registration, used in the Purple Warrior exercises.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The last tri-service exercise which required the charter of commercial shipping was Purple Warrior in November 1987. The ships that took part were as follows :
Name |Flag ------------------------------------------------ Dana Regina |Danish Tor Scandinavia |Danish Hamburg |Bahamas Norrona |Faroe Islands Viking Viscount |British Mercandian Atlantic |Danish St. Magnus |FRG Gabriela Wehr |FRG Mercandian Diplomat |Danish Condock 1 |FRG Condock 3 |FRG
Royal Fleet Auxiliary
Mr. Robert G. Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about the future command of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The command of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary is to be simplified. The commander in chief, fleet, will in future exercise full command of the RFA in peace as well as war, making him responsible for ensuring that the RFA maintains the high levels of operational performance required to operate effectively in the front line in close support of warships. He will be supported by a senior RFA officer and a staff of RFA and other civilian personnel.
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