| Home Page |
Column 11
Written Answers to Questions
Monday 11 May 1992
ENVIRONMENT
Local Government Finance
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he has for the reform of the standard spending assessments in the light of the Audit Commission's report.
Mr. Squire : Standard spending assessments (SSAs) are based on extensive analysis, research and continuing discussions with local authority representatives. The Government are not proposing any major changes to SSAs although data from the 1991 census will be incorporated as soon as possible after they become available. The Audit Commission is in the early stages of a study of standard spending assessments, but has published no recent report on the subject. We shall, of course, consider any recommendations which the commission may eventually make.
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) why the capital financing standard spending assessment for Westminster for 1991-92 was set at a level higher than that required by the council ; what effect this had on the level of poll tax in Westminster ; and if he will give the comparable figures for Great Grimsby and Humberside ;
(2) what considerations of policy led to the decision not to use the October figures of each charging authority's debt repayments as included in their budgets in calculating their standard spending assessments ; and if he will give the basis of the assumptions which are used in fact.
Mr. Squire : The capital financial element of an authority's SSA is based on notional, rather than actual, outstanding debt. This is to ensure that all authorities are treated equally and that past and present policies with regard to financing capital expenditure do not affect SSAs. The use of actual debt would : penalise those authorities who have in the past chosen to use receipts to reduce debt ; divert grant towards expenditure on trading services (which are specifically excluded from SSAs as they are assumed to generate income) ; and provide grant for those debt charges which are already covered by specific grants.
The method of calculating the capital financing SSA element for all authorities is set out in the Revenue Support Grant Distribution Report (England). The underlying basis of the calculation is set out in annex VII of the SSA Handbook on Background and Underlying Methodology--copies of both documents are in the Library.
The following table sets out the information requested :
Column 12
|1991-92 |Equivalent |Effect on
|capital |net revenue |community
|financing |expenditure |charge if net
|SSA element |revenue
|expenditure
|were equal to
|SSA
|£ million |£ million |£ per head
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Great Grimsby |0.627 |1.650 |-16
Humberside |44.489 |36.293 |+13
Westminster |20.610 |7.252 |+85
Urban Regeneration Agency
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consultations he has had, and proposes to have, with local government and other interested bodies with regard to his proposals for establishing an urban regeneration agency ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood : The Department will consult on the proposals to establish an urban regeneration agency.
Waste Disposal Facilities
Mr. Mackinlay : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what criteria he adopts when determining planning applications referred to him, or for decision by him following an appeal, that relate to the tipping of household waste and other rubbish.
Mr. Baldry : Each called-in application and planning appeal is determined on its merits, having regard to the provisions of the approved development plan and any other material considerations.
Building Products
Mr. Leighton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the balance of trade in building products in each of the past 10 years.
Mr. Baldry : The information requested is as follows :
Year |Imports|Exports|Deficit ---------------------------------------- 1982 |1.85 |1.31 |0.54 1983 |2.28 |1.35 |0.93 1984 |2.63 |1.45 |1.18 1985 |2.71 |1.60 |1.11 1986 |3.03 |1.46 |1.57 1987 |3.56 |1.54 |2.02 1988 |4.17 |1.59 |2.58 1989 |4.70 |1.85 |2.85 1990 |4.65 |2.15 |2.50 1991 |4.00 |2.17 |1.83
All figures are in £ billion at current prices.
Rugby League Stadium, Dewsbury
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the result of his deliberations on the planning application to build a rugby league stadium in Dewsbury.
Sir George Young : My right hon. Friend has requested more information about alternative sites for the proposed stadium. He expects soon to receive and assess the further views of interested parties, before a final decision is made about the planning application.
Column 13
Barkby Thorpe, Leicester
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has now received the report of the inspector into the Barkby Thorpe, Leicester, methane site ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : The Secretary of State expects to receive the inspector's report shortly and will consider it carefully before reaching his decision. I shall ensure that the hon. Member receives a copy of the Secretary of State's decision when it is available.
Environment Week
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what contribution his Department is to make towards the environment week, 16 to 24 May, sponsored by the Civic Trust.
Mr. Maclean : I will launch the midlands region environment week at the Green Show in the national exhibition centre on May 14. Lord Strathclyde will be launching a leaflet explaining how the public can help to prevent summer-time smog. Officials are discussing other opportunities for participation with the Civic Trust.
Standard Spending Assessment, Great Grimsby
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment for what reasons his standard spending assessment estimate for capital financing for Great Grimsby in 1991-92 was lower than Grimsby's budget expenditure ; how much difference this made to the average poll tax in Grimsby ; and if he will make good the difference.
Mr. Squire : I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave earlier today.
Nitrous Oxide Emissions
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give an estimate of the impact of the introduction of catalytic converters on United Kingdom emissions of nitrous oxide from road transport.
Mr. Maclean : Before the introduction of catalytic converters on cars, road transport made a small contribution to United Kingdom emissions of nitrous oxide. Measurements made on the exhaust emissions of cars fitted with catalytic converters show that emissions are a factor of 3-5 higher. Nevertheless, even when all the United Kingdom vehicle fleet is equipped with catalytic converters, road transport emissions will still be small compared with other sources, particularly soils and nylon manufacture.
Catalytic converters will in any case reduce emissions of other oxides of nitrogen by around 75 per cent.
Homelessness
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give the latest figures of households accepted as homeless by local authorities following mortgage repossessions for England and Wales.
Mr. Baldry : Local authorities report quarterly on the number of households accepted under the homelessness
Column 14
provisions of the Housing Act 1985, distinguishing where the main reason for loss of the last settled home is mortgage arrears, but they do not separately identify those which were subject to repossession.The latest estimate is 3,700 such households in England, in the quarter ending December 1991.
For information about Wales I would refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his latest estimate of the comparative public sector revenue costs of housing homeless families in (a) Greater London and (b) in English non- metropolitan areas by (i) providing them with newly built council dwellings, (ii) providing them with council dwellings, newly acquired from the private sector and improved for letting and (iii) providing them with bed-and-breakfast accommodation ; and if he will publish these figures on a comparable basis with those published in his replies to the hon. Member for Islington, South and Finsbury (Mr. Smith) on 16 January 1987, Official Report, columns 331-32 and on 4 March 1987, Official Report, column 637.
Mr. Baldry : I have looked carefully at the basis on which such an answer can be given and have concluded that the information is not available in a form which enables a valid comparison to be made.
Water Supplies (Pollution)
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what consultations his Department has undertaken with the relevant authorities to ensure that local authorities are given adequate guidance in responding to pollution incidents affecting water supplies ;
(2) what consultations his Department has undertaken to improve the emergency provisions guidance given to local authorities in responding to pollution incidents affecting water supply.
Mr. Maclean : Local authorities have special responsibility for private water supplies. DOE and Welsh Office consulted the local authority associations and other relevant bodies in preparing the joint circular on private water supplies issued in December 1991, in which paragraph 6.11 deals with the response to pollution. Water companies are responsible for the wholesomeness of public water supplies, but the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 1989, which were also the subject of consultation, require water companies to notify local and district health authorities of any event which, by reason of its effect on water supplies, is likely to give rise to a significant risk to the health of local people. The Departments have also published guidance on safeguarding the quality of public water supplies, which includes advice on emergency procedures ; water companies are advised to consult local and district health authorities with regard to the appropriate steps to be taken when incidents occur. As a result of the Water Act 1989, the National Rivers Authority became responsible for pollution incidents affecting controlled waters used for water supplies.
Column 15
Planning Regulations
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are his plans for new regulations governing development by local planning authorities or on their land.
Sir George Young : New regulations to replace the Town and Country Planning General Regulations 1976, together with associated secondary legislation and policy guidance, are currently being prepared. My right hon. Friend and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales intend that the new arrangements should be in force by the end of June. Their main features will be :
--local planning authorities will continue to be able to grant themselves planning permission for development carried out by them, such as schools or local authority housing, and will also be able to grant themselves permission for development undertaken jointly with another person, such as a joint venture with a housing association ; --for all other development proposals to be carried out on local authority-owned land by other parties, planning permission will have to be sought from the responsible development control authority. (Thus a county council which is, for example, seeking to dispose of land with planning permission will have to apply to a district council, unless the development is a "county matter" (minerals and waste in England ; minerals in Wales) ; and the district council would have to apply to the county council for development which is a "county matter") ;
--local planning authorities will now have to make a planning application to themselves or to another local planning authority and will be subject to broadly the same statutory procedures as other applicants ;
--applications must be publicised as prescribed by a development order in the same way as applications from the public ;
--to avoid a conflict of interest, applications may not be determined by a committee, sub-committee or officer responsible for the management of the land or buildings concerned ;
--planning permission granted to local planning authorities for development by them or jointly will not pass to subsequent owners of the land. For example, an authority will not be able to grant itself planning permission for council housing, then change its mind and sell the land with planning permission to a developer.
In addition,
--a new direction will be made requiring the Secretary of State to be notified of all local planning authority development proposals which do not accord with the provisions of the development plan, giving him the opportunity (if he so decides) to call them in for his own decision ;
--an order will be made to prevent the public from being excluded from committee meetings at which local authority development proposals are discussed ; and
--a circular will be published explaining the new arrangements. The Government believe that the new regulations will reconcilee appropriately local planning authorities' need to carry out their statutory functions with safeguards on accountability and publicity. I am making this announcement in advance of the new arrangements taking effect, to allow local authorities time to take account of the changes and to modify their procedures accordingly.
Column 16
TRANSPORT
Ethnic Minorities
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he has taken to recruit members of ethnic minorities in top grades of employment at his Department.
Mr. Norris : Recruitment for senior grades is undertaken by the Recruitment and Assessment Services Agency on behalf of the Civil Service Commissioners.
In order to aid the recruitment of members of ethnic minorities to senior grades the agency has formed links with universities, tertiary colleges and ethnic minority communities. Recruitment literature reflects a multi-racial work force ; and validating selection procedures are in place to ensure that selection is fair and non-discriminatory.
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many and what percentage of officers in grades 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, respectively, and overall in his Department are members of ethnic minorities.
Mr. Norris : The numbers and percentages of non-industrial ethnic minority staff identified in the Department and its agencies at 1 April 1991 are :
Grade |Total number |Number of |Percentage of
|of |ethnic |ethnic
|respondents |minority |minority
|respondents |respondents
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1 |1 |0 |0
2 |4 |0 |0
3 |18 |0 |0
4 |20 |0 |0
5 |88 |1 |1.1
6 |144 |4 |2.8
7 |660 |20 |3.0
|------- |------- |-------
Total |935 |25 |2.5
These figures are based on responses to a voluntary confidential survey of staff. Overall, 4.8 per cent. of all respondents to the Department's ethnic origin surveys are of ethnic minority origin.
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when his Department last conducted a survey of the ethnic origin of its employees ; when it next plans to do so ; and whether he will make a statement.
Mr. Norris : The Department completed a full survey of the ethnic origin of non-industrial staff in January 1991. A targeted re-survey took place in September 1991, and further targeted re-surveys will be conducted where necessary.
Ethnic origin information is sought from all new entrants. The Department's ethnic origin database currently records 86 per cent. of staff.
M1-M62 Link
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment has been made of the implications of surface temperature inversion for visibility on sections of the proposed yellow route for the M1-M62 motorway link on the Calder Valley.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : No such assessment has been made at this early stage.
Column 17
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list all the sites of recognised vertebrate/invertebrate and ecological interest which will be affected by (a) the proposed yellow route and (b) the proposed purple route of the M1- M62 motorway link.Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : I will write to the hon. Member with a list of these.
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his estimate of the relative proportion of green belt affected by (a) the proposed yellow route and (b) the proposed purple route for the M1-M62 motorway link.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : 80 per cent. of yellow route would be situated in green belt and 99 per cent. of the purple route. This is reflective of one of the design objectives, which is to minimise the effect on property.
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his latest estimate as to the number of public representations received (a) in favour and (b) against (i) the proposed yellow route and (ii) the proposed purple route for his suggested M1-M62 motorway link.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : More than 5,000 responses have so far been received, covering a wide range of issues. We have yet to analyse them.
The purpose of consulting the public and representative bodies at this early stage in the scheme development is to listen to and learn from those affected. The comments received often relate only to localised matters rather than agreeing or disagreeing with any particular overall route.
Fishing Boats (Registration)
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals he has to revise the Merchant Shipping Act 1989 to prevent foreign fishing boats registering as British.
Mr. Norris : An order amending the 1988 Act provisions dealing with entitlement to register a vessel as British, is being prepared. It will reflect a recent ruling of the European Court of Justice (commonly known as the FACTORTAME case) and will have the effect of permitting wider European ownership of British registered vessels.
Sheffield-Manchester Motorway Link
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his policy with regard to a Sheffield to Manchester motorway link.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : There are no proposals in the current roads programme to provide a new motorway link between Sheffield and Manchester. There are, however, a number of schemes in the programme which will improve journeys between the two cities. These include proposals for a new motorway link from the M1 to the M62 between Wakefield and Huddersfield ; widening of the M62 between junctions 18 and 24 ; and improvements to the A616/A628 corridor. I shall, of course, keep the long-term trunk road network under review.
M11 (Services)
Mr. Haselhurst : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects completion of the services area on the M11 motorway at Birchanger.
Column 18
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : The contract specifies completion of construction by August 1993.
Motorcycle Licences
Mr. Day : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of motorcycle licence holders were provisional licence holders in 1990 ; and what this proportion was for 1981 to 1985.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : Since the advent of driving licences that are valid until age 70 it has become difficult to produce exact figures on licence holders. However, information from the national travel survey 1988- 1990 indicates provisional motorcycle licence holders account for nearly 10 per cent. of motorcyclists. This is about the same as the 1985-86 survey although the number of motorcycle licence holders has decreased by about a third over this period.
Bus Deregulation
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when his Department received a copy of the recently published report, "Local Bus Deregulation and the Consumer".
Mr. Freeman : The report has not been submitted formally to my Department, but we are aware of its publication.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Mr. Anthony Benton
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will intervene in the case of Mr. Anthony Benton to refer the conviction to the Court of Appeal.
Mr. Jack : Representations from Mr. Benton which have been submitted on his behalf are being considered to decide whether there are any grounds to justify our intervention.
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the hon. Member for Walsall, North will receive a reply to his letter of 22 April concerning Mr. Anthony Benton.
Mr. Jack : My right hon. Friend hopes to reach a decision on the case shortly. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as a decision has been reached.
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when it is expected the Police Complaints Authority will decide on any disciplinary proceedings arising from the arrest and conviction of Mr. Anthony Benton.
Mr. Charles Wardle : This is a matter for the West Midlands police and the Police Complaints Authority.
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the contemporaneous notes taken after the arrest of Mr. Anthony Benton are included in the papers of the case submitted to the Police Complaints Authority ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Charles Wardle : These are not matters for my Department.
Column 19
Immigration Guidelines
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any plans to revise the guidelines for dealing with hon. Members' representations in immigration cases.
Mr. Charles Wardle : I have no immediate plans to do so, but the guidelines are kept under review.
Police Cells
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will announce a time-table for reducing the number of prisoners in police cells ; how many prisoners were so detained at the latest date for which figures are available ; and in which police authority areas ;
(2) when he expects Operation Container to be discontinued ; (3) what representations his Department has had about the future of Operation Container and the problems it has caused for the police service ;
(4) if he will be meeting representatives of the greater Manchester police authority to discuss Operation Container ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Operation Container was set up specifically to deal with the shortage of prison accommodation in the greater Manchester area caused by the destruction of Manchester prison in April 1990. Since then, the prison population has risen and there is now a general shortfall throughout England and Wales of prison accommodation available to house all those who have been committed to prison by the courts. Measures have been taken to make more effective use of prison accommodation, and new accommodation is being added to the estate.
Nevertheless, on 7 May there were still 1,638 prisoners in police cells for whom places could not be founed in prisons. They were held by the following police forces :
|Number
-----------------------------------
Avon and Somerset |43
Bedfordshire |21
Cambridgeshire |20
Cheshire |36
Cleveland |29
Cumbria |31
Derbyshire |15
Devon and Cornwall |22
Durham |34
Dyfed |24
Essex |13
Greater Manchester |233
Gwent |2
Hampshire |3
Hertfordshire |14
Humberside |30
Lancashire |114
Leicestershire |21
Lincolnshire |13
Merseyside |71
Metropolitan |203
Norfolk |11
North Wales |15
North Yorkshire |19
Northamptonshire |28
Northumbria |79
Nottinghamshire |34
South Wales |61
South Yorkshire |45
Staffordshire |11
Suffolk |19
Surrey |14
Sussex |2
Thames Valley |24
Warwickshire |11
West Mercia |6
West Midlands |40
West Yorkshire |130
Wiltshire |18
|-------
Total |1,638
My right hon. Friend the Member for Mole Valley (Mr.Baker) when Home Secretary met a delegation from the greater Manchester police authority on 9 March. My predecessor as prisons Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Mitcham and Morden (Mrs. Rumbold), also met a delegation and visited Manchester to see Operation Container at first hand. I have had no request for a further meeting. I know that it was made clear to the delegation that although changes in the prison population made it impossible to predict when the use of police cells would cease the problem was regarded as extremely serious and the task of bringing it to an end was a top priority for the prison service.
Neither I, nor my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary regard the detention of remand or sentenced prisoners in police cells as acceptable either for the prisoners or the police. I hope that the measures which we have taken and the availability of new prison places will soon have an impact on the numbers. I cannot give a precise timetable, because the rate of progress is of course vulnerable to changes in the numbers of prisoners committed to prison by the courts.
Overseas Voters
Mr. Frank Field : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of overseas voters in each parliamentary constituency.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The number of overseas voters included in the electoral register for each parliamentary constituency will be published by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys in the annual reference volume, Electoral Statistics 1992, series EL No. 19, in the summer. Details of the figures will be placed in the Library shortly. The number of overseas electors included in the draft electoral register for 1992-93 was given in answer to a question from the hon. Member for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley (Mr. Foulkes) on 3 March 1992 at column. 102.
| Next Section
| Home Page |