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Sewage Discharge Consents
Sir Keith Speed : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress has been made in upgrading sewage treatment works were in breach of their discharge consents at the time of privatisation of the water industry.
Mr. Atkins : The water industry's investment programme is making good progress. The latest figures available demonstrate a continuing improvement in the operational performance of sewage treatment works. In 1992 the proportion of works complying with their consent standards was more than 95 per cent. compared with 83 per cent. in 1988.
Miners' Welfare Schemes
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what support has been provided to local authorities where they have taken over miners' welfare schemes ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Baldry : No specific support has been provided to local authorities for this purpose. The support of miners' welfare schemes is a matter for British Coal and the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation.
Local Government Commission
Mr. Tipping : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to issue further guidelines to the Local Government Commission.
Mr. Baldry : We have no plans to issue further guidance to the Local Government Commission.
Councillors (Directorships)
Mr. David Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information his Department has about the number of authorities which appoint councillors as directors of companies who have contracted-out services for local authorities.
Mr. Baldry : The Department does not collate information on this subject.
Local Authority Reorganisation Costs
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what resources will be made available to authorities in Cleveland and the Isle of Wight for reorganisation costs incurred by them in 1994-95 ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Curry : We propose, on the basis, inter alia, of information provided by the authorities themselves, the Government's public expenditure plans and progress on implementing the review of local government, to issue to authorities in Cleveland and the Isle of Wight Supplementary Credit Approvals, subject to a maximum, to enable them to borrow to meet certain start-up costs which will be incurred in 1994-95 before they are reorganised. Once reorganised, the Government expects that, in general, early revenue savings and capital receipts from reorganisation will significantly reduce the need for further transitional assistance and will provide resources to repay borrowing undertaken in reliance on these SCAs. For 1994-95 the maximum amounts proposed for authorities in Cleveland and the Isle of Wight are as follows :
Authority |SCA maximum
|£K (rounded)
Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight County Council |1,370
Medina Borough Council |80
South Wight Borough Council |30
Cleveland
Cleveland Borough Council |1,060
Hartlepool Borough Council |1,680
Langbaurgh on Tees Borough Council |2,000
Middlesbrough Borough Council |1,040
Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council |1,740
|----
Total |9,000
Electrical Wiring
Mr. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many accidents in the home each year result from faulty electrical wiring ; and what steps the Health and Safety Executive is taking to ensure high standards of electrical installation.
Mr. Baldry [holding answer 15 February 1994] : Between 1988 and 1992 the average number of deaths in the home due to receiving an electrical shock were 28. Of these less than 3 per cent. resulted from faults in fixed electrical wiring.
As a result of representations from: the deregulation task forces, the Electrical Contractors Association and others, my Department, in conjunction with the Department of Trade and Industry and the Health and Safety Executive, is looking at the desirability and practicability of including electrical safety within the Building Regulations. My Department has also recently accepted an invitation to join other Government bodies on the board of the National Inspection Council for electrical Installation Contractors. Inspectors of the Health and Safety Executive and of local authorities enforce the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 which govern the safety of electrical installations in workplaces.
DEFENCE
Defence Weapons Establishment
Mr. O'Hara : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if live horses have been used in the tests carried out at the defence weapons establishment at Porton Down into the efficacy of whips on horses ;
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(2) which organisation has commissioned the defence weapons establishment at Porton Down to conduct tests on the efficacy of whips on horses ;(3) what is the purpose of testing of the efficacy of whips on horses at the defence weapons establishment at Porton Down ; (4) on what date tests commenced at the defence weapons establishment at Porton Down on the efficacy of whips on horses ; and on what date they finished or will finish.
Mr. Hanley : These are matters for the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment, Porton Down--CBDE. I have asked the Chief Executive of CBDE to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Mr. G. Pearson to Mr. Edward O'Hara, dated 16 February 1994 :
1. Your Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Defence asking about the testing of whips involving the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment at Porton Down have been passed to me to reply as Chief Executive of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment.
2. In June 1993 the Stewards of the Jockey Club established a Working Group to assess whether the current Rules of Racing were adequate to control whip abuse. The Terms of Reference of the Working Group are to promote and co- ordinate further research into the specifications and design of the whip together with methods of assessing possible injury. Because of CBDE's expertise in the development of protective equipment for Service personnel against impacts and explosive blast we were invited by the Animal Health Trust on behalf of the Jockey Club to advise the Whip Working Group on the probable biomechanical principles of impacts to skin by whips and to recommend a simple, objective and scientifically credible test method that can be used to rank whips submitted to the Jockey Club. The Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment is acting in a purely advisory role and will not be undertaking the tests on the whips submitted to the Jockey Club. Live horses are not used in any of this advisory work being carried out by the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment. The tests will be carried out by the Jockey Club or their agents.
Child Support Agency
Mr. Lidington : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the policy of the Royal Air Force towards officers and men who fall into debt as a result of increased maintenance payments set by the Child Support Agency.
Mr. Hanley : I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Cardiff, West (Mr. Morgan) on 2 February 1994 at columns 713-14.
Low Flying
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the total number of booked low flying hours in the United Kingdom low flying system in 1993.
Mr. Hanley : The total number of hours booked at low level in the United Kingdom low flying system in 1993 was 107,220. This figure does not include the hours booked in the recently created low flying area 10 as this information is not yet available.
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date the southerly directional flow control for low flying aircraft was introduced between Penrhyndeudraeth and Trawsfynydd.
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Mr. Hanley : The flow control was introduced on 10 August 1992.
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many low flying sorties were undertaken in the United Kingdom low flying system in the years 1989, 1990 and 1993, calculated on the pre-1985 basis of estimating sorties from numbers of movements.
Mr. Hanley : The information requested is as follows :