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The Prime Minister : Lord Justice Lloyd's second term of appointment expires on 10 April. I am most grateful for his work in carrying out his duties as commissioner. I have decided to appoint Lord Justice Bingham as commissioner for a period of three years with effect from 11 April 1992.
ENVIRONMENT
Consultants
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those parts of his Department, including executive agencies, carrying out reviews over the last 12 months into the pay and grading of staff and the firm of consultants engaged, where appropriate.
Mr. Heseltine : The only part of my Department yet to conduct a detailed review of pay and grading structures is the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre. That study was assisted by MCP Management Consultants.
Community Charge
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received from local authority associations or others, concerning exempting from the community charge those currently qualified to pay 20 per cent. of the full payment.
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Mr. Key : Few local authorities have proposed exempting all people currently liable for 20 per cent. of the community charge. However, a number of authorities and others have supported bringing forward the principle of 100 per cent. council tax benefit to the last year of the comunity charge.
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has on the cost for the collection of community charge for those on the minimum 20 per cent. rate.
Mr. Key : No separate information is held on collection of the community charge from those making the minimum 20 per cent. contribution. However, the average cost of collecting the community charge from all charge payers is about £14 compared to an average 20 per cent. payment of £45.
Fire Safety
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what percentage figure of reliability for sprinkler systems he took into account when establishing the parameters for minimum periods of fire resistance in approved document B (fire safety) approved for the purposes of the Building Regulations 1991.
Mr. Yeo : Estimates of the reliability of sprinkler systems vary, and no one figure was used as the basis of the new guidance. However, the opinion of experts at the fire research station, and of the Fire Advisory Panel which the Department consulted while developing the guidance, was that a fire resistance reduction could be allowed over a wider range of cases than hitherto when a sprinkler system was installed.
Stop Notices
Mr. Michael Spicer : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Stockport (Mr. Favell) of 6 November 1991, Official Report, columns 160-61, when the appropriate ministerial order will be made to implement section 9 of the Planning and Compensation Act 1991 dealing with stop notices.
Sir George Young : My written answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Esher (Mr. Taylor), Official Report, 16 December 1991, columns 68-69, announced that the main enforcement provisions in part I of the Planning and Compensation Act 1991 (including section 9) would be brought into force on 2 January this year. The Planning and Compensation Act 1991 (Commencement No. 5 and Transitional Provisions) Order 1991 (SI 1991 No. 2905 (C90)) implemented those provisions accordingly.
Shopping Centres
Mr. Michael J. Martin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will establish a working group including English Heritage, the Civic Trust and the Royal Institute of Town Planning to establish ways in which town and city shopping centres may achieve security from crime combined with good visual and aesthetic quality.
Mr. Yeo : The type of security measures required to protect shops and the visual and aesthetic qualities which
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would be appropriate are best considered locally, informed by local circumstance and need. The Town and Country Planning (Development Plan) Regulations, which came into force on 10 February, require local planning authorities to have regard to crime prevention when preparing development plans. Furthermore, my Department's circulars 1/84--issued jointly with the Home Office--and 22/88 provide guidance on the role of planning crime prevention. Local planning authorities should use this advice to establish local policies which combine the encouragement of effective security and good design.Archive Services
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received about county archive services ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key : We have received a number of letters about local government restructuring and county archive services. The Local Government Commission to be established under the Local Government Act 1992 will review the structure of local government in the shire counties in England. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State intends to direct the commission to have regard to guidance which he will issue about the policy considerations which should underlie its reviews. This guidance will draw the commission's attention to the importance of satisfactory arrangements for existing archive services. Decisions about local government structure and arrangements for services will be for Parliament.
Liverpool (Ministerial Visit)
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the recent visit by the Minister for Local Government and Inner Cities to the Liverpool, Riverside constituency.
Mr. Portillo : I visited the Liverpool Riverside constituency on 6 January 1992. At the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Hall I announced urban programme support of £3 million towards the hall's refurbishment along with city grant support of £4.5 million towards an office development at Exchange buildings. Later I visited the garden festival site to see work in progress on leisure developments, particularly at the Festival hall. I then met representatives of the Eldonian Development Trust.
I also visited the constituency on 6 March for a number of official engagements including the signing of Liverpool's city challenge implementation agreement, the launch of a civil service access training initiative for ethnic minorities in Liverpool, and a tour of the Duke street/Bold street areas with potential developers.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those local authorities awarded a higher standard spending assessment for 1992-93 per unit of population than the metropolitan borough of Rotherham together with their standard spending assessments per unit of population.
Mr. Key : The table shows 1992-93 standard spending assessments for those authorities with a higher amount per head of resident population than Rotherham.
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Local authorities with a higher standard spending
assessment per
head of resident population than the metropolitan
borough of
Rotherham for 1992-93
Local authority |1992-93 SSA
|(£/head)
-------------------------------------------------------
City of London |11,266
Tower Hamlets |1,445
Hackney |1,400
Lambeth |1,347
Isles of Scilly |1,321
Westminster |1,272
Newham |1,255
Islington |1,239
Haringey |1,154
Southwark |1,151
Hammersmith and Fulham |1,151
Brent |1,077
Camden |1,057
Kensington and Chelsea |1,043
Lewisham |1,035
Wandsworth |1,017
Waltham Forest |978
Manchester |963
Liverpool |937
Greenwich |937
Birmingham |910
Ealing |904
Knowsley |897
Hounslow |863
Bradford |850
Wolverhampton |849
Sandwell |806
Enfield |795
Oldham |793
Barking and Dagenham |789
Salford |779
Croydon |775
Coventry |775
South Tyneside |771
Newcastle upon Tyne |766
Cleveland |764
Harrow |761
Rochdale |757
Merton |750
Sunderland |743
Redbridge |739
Kirklees |735
Wirral |734
Bolton |734
North Tyneside |725
Walsall |724
Gateshead |723
St. Helens |717
Tameside |708
Hillingdon |705
Calderdale |699
Leeds |699
Barnet |696
Doncaster |694
Trafford |693
Sheffield |692
Bexley |689
Sutton |686
Kingston upon Thames |684
Rotherham |683
English Heritage
Mr. Brandon-Bravo : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress has been made to date, with regard to the relocation of English Heritage to Nottingham ; and what is the timetable for the various stages of the move, and the expected time and date for its completion.
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Mr. Yeo : English Heritage is to relocate its headquarters to Nottingham in 1994. Two city centre sites are being examined in detail before a choice of site is made and submitted to the Secretary of State for approval.East Thames Corridor
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to publish the report of his working party on the east Thames corridor.
Mr. Yeo : My right hon. Friend has appointed consultants, Llewelyn- Davies Planning, to consider the potential of the East Thames Corridor for development and environmental enhancement. It is anticipated that their study will be completed by June 1992. We expect that the report of the study will be published in due course.
Housing Stock, Rochester
Dame Peggy Fenner : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the final report of the district auditor investigating the sale of housing stock of Rochester-upon-Medway city council to the Medway Housing Society will be available ; and if he will indicate the reasons for the delay.
Sir George Young : The district auditor has been carrying out an investigation into the sale by Rochester upon Medway city council of its housing stock to Medway Housing Society in July 1990. The auditor is currently completing the consultation process in accordance with the statutory audit code of practice. He hope to issue his public interest report to the council shortly.
Derelict Land Grant
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the provisional allocations of the derelict land grant for 1992-93 in England and Wales in descending order according to the size of the grant, within the following categories (a) shire county councils, (b) metropolitan district councils, (c) other district councils, (d) planning boards and (e) others.
Mr. Yeo : The information requested for England is as shown in the table. Derelict land reclamation in Wales is the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Wales.
Provisional Allocations of Derelict Land Grant-1992-93
(a) Shire County Councils
Region and Council Amount
|£
----------------------------------------------------------------
EM |Nottinghamshire|2,631,000
EM |Derbyshire |2,597,000
NW |Cheshire |2,000,000
NR |Northumberland |1,700,000
NR |Durham |1,500,000
WM |Shropshire |1,257,000
EM |Leicestershire |873,000
WM |Staffordshire |601,000
SW |Cornwall |400,000
NW |Lancashire |300,000
NR |Cleveland |120,000
WM |Warwickshire |29,000
|-------
Total |14,008,000
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(b) Metropolitan District Councils
Region and council Amount
|(£)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
YH |Rotherham |5,149,396
WM |Walsall |3,838,000
WM |Dudley |2,780,000
NW |Salford |2,680,000
YH |Doncaster |2,150,783
YH |Calderdale |2,000,000
WM |Wolverhampton |1,981,000
NR |Gateshead |1,700,000
NR |Sunderland |1,700,000
YH |Barnsley |1,646,964
NW |Wigan |1,500,000
YH |Wakefield |1,498,000
MT |Liverpool |1,450,000
WM |Sandwell |1,426,000
NW |Oldham |1,250,000
WM |Birmingham |1,224,000
MT |Sefton |1,200,000
NW |Tameside |1,200,000
NW |Manchester |1,200,000
YH |Kirklees |980,000
MT |St. Helens |975,000
NR |North Tyneside |750,000
NW |Bolton |660,000
NW |Bury |660,000
MT |Knowsley |650,000
YH |Sheffield |559,929
NW |Stockport |500,000
NR |Newcastle upon Tyne |450,000
MT |Wirral |400,000
YH |Bradford |396,000
NW |Rochdale |310,000
YH |Leeds |250,000
NR |South Tyneside |200,000
NW |Trafford |150,000
LR |Tower Hamlets |110,000
LR |Barking and Dagenham|70,000
LR |Newham |55,838
LR |Lewisham |51,475
LR |Waltham Forest |47,157
LR |Greenwich |35,000
WM |Coventry |25,000
|-------
Total |45,858,542
(c) Other District Councils
Region and Council Amount
|(£)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
YH |Glandford |3,000,000
NW |Barrow-in-Furness |2,000,000
SW |Kerrier |2,000,000
EM |Corby |1,927,000
MT |Ellesmere Port and Neston|1,650,000
WM |Newcastle-under-Lyme |1,614,000
MT |Halton |1,275,000
EM |Mansfield |1,168,000
EM |Erewash |1,000,000
NW |Carlisle |900,000
NW |Copeland |900,000
WM |The Wrekin |773,000
NR |Darlington |700,000
WM |Stoke-on-Trent |695,000
NW |Bury |660,000
EM |Nottingham |600,000
NR |Middlesbrough |550,000
SW |Bath |530,000
WM |Cannock Chase |511,000
NR |Stockton-on-Tees |500,000
NR |Hartlepool |500,000
NW |Lancaster |500,000
NR |Wear Valley |350,000
EM |Lincoln |334,000
NR |Easington |325,000
NW |Preston |300,000
EM |Derbyshire Dales |260,000
NR |Langbaurgh |250,000
SW |Carrick |250,000
SW |Restormel |250,000
EM |Amber Valley |235,000
EM |North East Derbyshire |204,000
NW |Pendle |200,000
NW |Blackburn |200,000
NW |West Lancashire |200,000
NW |Hyndburn |200,000
NW |Burnley |200,000
NW |Ribble Valley |200,000
NW |Vale Royal |200,000
NW |Warrington |200,000
NW |Chorley |200,000
NR |Sedgefield |160,000
NW |Macclesfield |150,000
YH |Boothferry |140,000
NR |Derwentside |135,000
NW |Eden |130,000
EM |Chesterfield |122,000
YH |Great Grimsby |106,383
EM |Leicester |106,000
WM |Lichfield |103,000
NR |Blyth Valley |100,000
NW |Congleton |100,000
NW |South Lakeland |100,000
SW |Caradon |100,000
SW |Plymouth |100,000
EM |Bolsover |80,000
EM |Newark and Sherwood |77,000
YH |Kingston upon Hull |62,386
NW |Chester |60,000
SW |Penwith |60,000
WM |Staffordshire Moorlands |51,000
EM |Daventry |50,000
NW |Crewe and Nantwich |50,000
YH |Richmondshire |40,000
WM |Oswestry |33,000
EM |Gedling |27,000
EM |Derby |25,000
EM |Rushcliffe |25,000
EM |Ashfield |24,000
SW |North Cornwall |20,000
SW |Thamesdown |20,000
NW |Blackpool |18,000
NR |Durham |10,000
YH |York |10,000
SW |Torbay |8,000
EM |South Derbyshire |7,000
WM |Tamworth |6,000
EM |North West Leicestershire|5,000
SW |Woodspring |1,200
WM |South Staffordshire |1,000
SW |Teignbridge |400
|-------
Total |30,934,369
(d) Planning Boards
Region/Board
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EM
YH
Total
(e) Others
Provisional allocations are not made other than to local authorities
and planning boards.
Column 444
Defective Housing
Mr. Robert G. Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if the Government have completed their consultations on the proposed new expenditure limits for grant eligible reinstatement works under the housing defects legislation ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Yeo : I am most grateful to all those who have responded to our consultation proposals ; we have, as a result, been able to settle the final figures for each designated house type. Our suggestion that the limits should be revised within a structure of six main cost bands was widely welcomed, as indeed were most of the individual proposals. Some concern was expressed as to whether £32,000 would be sufficient for repairs to Airey and Schindler and Hawksley SGS houses, and we have therefore decided instead to place these types within the £36,000 cost band.
The new limits will therefore be as follows :
New limit house type |Present
|limit
|£
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
£20,000
Cornish unit (1 storey PRC) |17,000
Gregory |17,000
Unity and Butterley (1 storey PRC) |17,000
£24,000
Dorran (1 storey PRC) |17,000
Myton (1 storey PRC) |17,000
Newland (1 storey PRC) |17,000
Tarran (1 storey PRC) |17,000
Wessex (1 storey PRC) |17,000
£28,000
Cornish unit (2 storey PRC) |23,000
Stent |23,000
Unity and Butterley (2 storey PRC) |23,000
£32,000
Boswell |27,000
Dorran (2 storey PRC) |27,000
Dyke |27,000
Myton (2 storey PRC) |27,000
Newland (2 storey PRC) |27,000
Stonecrete |27,000
Tarran (2 storey PRC) |27,000
Underdown |27,000
Waller |27,000
Wates |27,000
Winget |27,000
£36,000
Airey |27,000
Schindler and Hawksley SGS |27,000
Smith |27,000
£40,000
Boot Pier and Panel |31,000
Orlit |31,000
Parkinson |31,000
Reema Hollow Panel |31,000
Wessex (2 storey PRC) |31,000
Woolaway |31,000
£14,000
All locally designated types |14,000
These new limits should enable local authorities themselves to decide the appropriate level of grant, in the majority of cases, without further reference to the Department.
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The parliamentary order implementing these new limits has now been made by my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for the Environment and for Wales and, provided that Parliament is content, will come into operation on Tuesday 31 March. My officials will be writing to local authorities, home owners groups, repairers and the professional bodies, to make sure that all those with an interest are fully aware of all the changes.Big Ben
Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what maintenance work is planned on Big Ben this year ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Yeo : The mechanism of the great clock is subject to regular expert inspections and routine maintenance. Included in this year's programme is the replacement of the chime main wheel. The work is expected to start in April and to last about eight weeks. During the period the quarter hour chimes will be silent. The clock itself and the hour strike will not be affected.
Milton Keynes
Mr. Benyon : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what use he intends to make of his sanction powers under part III of the Local Government Planning and Land Act 1980 in relation to Milton Keynes borough council.
Mr. Key : On 15 October 1991, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State served a notice under section 19A of the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980 on Milton Keynes borough council, setting out his view that in 1989-90 the authority has failed to achieve the required rate of return in carrying out the work described in section 10(2)(d) of the Act-- maintenance work, other than such works of maintenance in connection with highways or the maintenance of a sewer.
He has now considered the response which the authority has made to the section 19A notice, and which has acknowledged the failure to achieve the rate of return in 1989-90 and also for 1990-91. The authority has also indicated that performance in the current financial year may culminate in losses between £100,000 and £150,000.
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has concluded that the record of financial failure by the authority's direct service organisation is such as to justify further use of his sanction powers. He has therefore today made a direction under section 19B of the 1980 Act, prohibiting the authority from carrying out the work described in section 10(2)(d) of the Act after 1 October 1992, with the exception of emergency work.
London Borough of Haringey
Sir Hugh Rossi : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has yet considered the London borough of Haringey's response to the notice served on the authority on 12 November 1991 under section 13 of the Local Government Act 1988 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Portillo : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has given careful consideration to the response which the London borough of Haringey has made to the notice served on the authority on 12 November 1991, and has
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today given the authority a direction under section 14 of the 1988 Act. The effect of the direction is that after 1 January 1993 the authority will cease to have the power to carry out refuse collection work itself.Direct Labour Organisations
Sir Philip Goodhart : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he proposes to take against those local authorities whose direct labour organisations made significant financial losses in 1989 -90, and on which notices were served on 31 July and 28 October 1991.
Mr. Key : My right hon. Friend has now considered carefully the responses of the 14 local authorities on whom notices were served under either section 19A of the Local Government Planning and Land Act 1980 or section 13 of the Local Government Act 1988 on 31 July and 28 October 1991. He has today given a direction under section 19B of the 1980 Act to the royal London borough of Kingston upon Thames which prevents it carrying out building maintenance work other than emergency work as from 31 October 1992. He is looking further at the responses of the London borough of Waltham Forest and Portsmouth city council (both building maintenance work).
He has decided to take no further action in respect of financial failure in 1989-90 against the London borough of Bromley (building maintenance), Worthing district council (building maintenance), Wychavon district council (building maintenance), Warrington borough council (building maintenance), Gosport borough council (other cleaning), Gloucester city council (refuse collection), Lewes district council (refuse collection), Shropshire county council (other catering), Surrey county council (other cleaning), and Waverley district council (refuse collection). He has already announced that no further action will be taken against Crawley district council (other catering).
My right hon. Friend has also decided to serve notices on the royal London borough of Kingston upon Thames in respect of financial failure in 1989-90 on highway maintenance work, and on the London borough of Bromley in respect of possible anti-competitive behaviour in awarding building maintenance work to its DLO where it was not the lowest tender.
He is also considering what further action to take in respect of financial failure in 1990-91 following the receipt of local authorities' annual reports for that year.
Acid Rain
Mr. Simon Coombs : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has yet received the final report by London Economics on the possible use of market mechanisms in the control of acid rain emissions.
Mr. Trippier : The report "The Potential Role of Market Mechanisms in the Control of Acid Rain" is being published today. I am placing copies of the report in the Library.
Chlorofluorocarbons
Mr. Simon Coombs : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what further measures he intends to take to encourage recycling of CFCs ; and if he will make a statement.
Column 447
Mr. Trippier : We are today issuing a consultation paper which contains proposals to ban the import and supply to the United Kingdom market of refrigerant in disposable containers. These containers impede recycling because they cannot be refilled with refrigerant. They are also particularly damaging to the ozone layer, because the heel of CFCs which remains is usually vented to the atmosphere before the container is disposed of. Copies of the consultation paper have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.We are also intending to issue a consumer leaflet towards the end of March. This will make consumers aware which products contain CFCs and how they can help to improve their environment by encouraging industry and local authorities to provide more recycling services.
Planning Policy
Mrs. Ann Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will revise planning policy guidance note No. 1 to withdraw the general presumption in favour of development as it relates to the preparation of development plans.
Sir George Young [pursuant to his answer, 4 February 1992, c. 134] : We have today published a revised planning policy guidance note 1"General Policy and Principles" (PPG1) which replaces the 1988 version and advice in earlier circulars. The new document sets out the broad principles within which development plans are to be prepared and the basis on which planning permissions should be given or refused.
PPG1 reiterates the Government's commitment to sustainable growth and to reconciling development with conservation of the environment. The aim is to secure economy, efficiency and amenity in the use of land. Among other matters highlighted in the guidance note we have drawn to the attention of local planning authorities :
the enhanced role of development plans in setting the framework for planning decisions ;
the need to eliminate unnecessary delay in determining planning applications ;
the particular categories of development proposals that require a full environmental assessment ;
the importance of design, crime prevention, noise considerations and access requirements, particularly for disabled people, in securing quality of environment.
Some of these matters will be the subject of more detailed guidance in forthcoming circulars. In the meantime, the new document replaces PPG1 of January 1988 and much of DOE circular 22/80. We are also publishing today a revised planning policy guidance note No. 3 "Housing" (PPG3) which replaces the 1988 version of the PPG and advice in various earlier circulars.
The PPG reiterates the message that the planning system must provide an adequate and continuous supply of land for housing, taking into account market demand and the Government's policies for encouraging home ownership and the provision of rented housing. But in doing so it must also maintain the Government's established policies for the protection of the countryside, the conservation of natural habitats and of the built heritage, and the protection of the best and most versatile agricultural land.
The main changes to previous policy are :
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increased emphasis on re-using urban land, particularly derelict or under-used land, for housing as a means of relieving pressure on the countryside ;encouragement for housing development on sites with permission for other development, but where there is no realistic prospect of that other development taking place ;
greater emphasis on the importance of local choice, through the local and unitary development plan process, in deciding how to meet the needs for new housing development ;
encouragement of closer co-operation between local authorities' planning and housing functions ;
withdrawal, because it is not consistent with a plan-led system, of the special presumption in favour of releasing land for housing where there is less than a five year supply ;
clearer policy on the circumstances in which new settlements may be considered as an alternative to expanding existing towns and villages ; on this issue the essential message is the need to respect local choice.
The PPG also incorporates the Government's planning policies for the provision of affordable housing set out in circular 7/91, "Planning and Affordable Housing", which is now cancelled.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Meat Inspection
Mr. Gill : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has on the current charges levied in EC member states for meat inspection.
Mr. Maclean : I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food gave on 9 March 1992, Official Report, column 403.
The position regarding levels of meat inspection charges in other member states remains unclear. It appears that some have yet to introduce national legislation to bring them into line with the EC decision on harmonisation of charges. Certain others, such as Spain and Germany, have legislated at a regional, rather than a national, level. Detailed national information is currently only available with regard to France and Denmark. In France, the published charges in francs per kilogramme for 1991 were as follows :
|Slaughterhouses |Cutting premises
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Adult bovines |0.086 |0.011
Calves |0.101 |0.011
Horses |0.072 |0.011
Sheep and Goats |0.063 |0.011
Pigs |0.075 |0.011
Chickens |0.022 |0.0012
Turkeys |0.022 |0.007
Ducks |0.022 |0.0079
Guinea Fowl |0.022 |0.0004
In Denmark we believe that charges at exporting slaughterhouses are based on following :
For pigs--the actual cost of inspection.
For cattle--the "EC Standard" charge.
For poultry--approximately 250 per cent. of the "EC Standard" charge (two thirds of the actual cost).
Bananas
Dame Peggy Fenner : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what steps the Government are taking to ensure that bananas are removed from the GATT Uruguay round of negotiations ;
Column 449
(2) how commitments under the Lome convention towards African, Caribbean and Pacific banana suppliers would be honoured under a GATT agreement based on the Dunkel text of 20 December.Mr. Curry : The European Commission has made no proposals on bananas in the GATT Round context. It is continuing to study the question. Tariffication, if it simply followed the method set out in the Dunkel paper as we understand it, would not appear to provide sufficient protection for traditional ACP suppliers of the United Kingdom market. We remain committed to fulfilling our obligations under the Lome convention and to bringing the GATT round to an early and successful conclusion ; the Government have made representations to the Commission to urge it to ensure that our Lome commitments are not overlooked in the GATT negotiations.
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give the numbers of confirmed cases of BSE in each county in England in 1992, to the latest available date.
Mr. Gummer : For the reasons given in the answer to the hon. Member on 23 May 1991, Official Report, column 559, these figures are currently unavailable.
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information is available concerning the range of species of mammals to which bovine spongiform encephalopathy has not been transferred by experimental injection.
Mr. Maclean : In my answer to the hon. Member for Sherwood (Mr. Stewart) on 4 March I gave details of the species which had been experimentally infected with BSE. No other species has succumbed to experimental infection.
Central Science Laboratory
Sir Michael Shaw : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress has been made towards establishing the central science laboratory as an executive agency ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gummer : I am pleased to confirm that the central science laboratory will become an executive agency with effect from 1 April 1992.
Cost recovery will provide us with an important means of judging the efficiency of this agency. Additional performance measures relating to the objectives of the agency will also be used to measure operating efficiency and quality of service.
The financial and efficiency targets for the central science laboratory for 1992-93 will be :
100 per cent. recovery of full costs ;
an overall efficiency gain of 2 per cent. ;
a reduction of 1.5 per cent. in real terms of representative unit costs for services.
The targets for delivery of services by the central science laboratory will be :
at least 90 per cent. of work completed to time and within budget ;
at least 95 per cent. of contracts delivered to the customer's satisfaction.
The central science laboratory will implement during 1992-93 arrangements for the independent assessment of the quality of the scientific work and publications.
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The measures of performance for the agency are set out in the framework document, copies of which will be placed in the Library of the House by 1 April.
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