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Right to Buy (Discounts)
Mr. William Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list for each year since 1980-81 the total value of discounts to public sector tenants in England exercising their right to buy. [13090]
Mr. Clappison: Figures for discounts given to council tenants exercising their right-to-buy were not collected by the Department before 1994, nor were such data collected in respect of new town tenants. However, information is available for the total value of discounts allowed from all sales of council dwellings for owner-occupation in England and this is shown in the table:
| England | 1980-81 to 1994-95 £ million |
|---|---|
| 1980-81 | 430.8 |
| 1981-82 | 926.4 |
| 1982-83 | 1,316.4 |
| 1983-84 | 960.2 |
| 1984-85 | 885.1 |
| 1985-86 | 914.8 |
| 1986-87 | 1,089.9 |
| 1987-88 | 1,557.0 |
| 1988-89 | 2,688.2 |
| 1989-90 | 2,865.2 |
| 1990-91 | 1,800.2 |
| 1991-92 | 1,167.9 |
| 1992-93 | 880.1 |
| 1993-94 | 1,011.6 |
| 1994-95 | 918.4 |
The number of public sector sales for owner-occupation during this period was about 1.450 million, and 85 per cent. of such sales resulted from tenants exercising their right-to-buy.
Whales
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many whales have become stranded and have died around the shore of the United Kingdom in each year since 1990; what research he has commissioned into the causes; and what advice he has issued to local authorities on the disposal of the carcases. [13143]
Mr. Clappison:
The numbers of whales, including dolphins and porpoises, recorded as stranded around the United Kingdom since 1990 are shown in the table.
5 Feb 1996 : Column: 38
| Year | Total strandings | Confirmed live when stranded | Live strandings which subsequently perished |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 147 | 8 | 8 |
| 1991 | 192 | 14 | 10 |
| 1992 | 423 | 15 | 5 |
| 1993 | 321 | 25 | 16 |
| 1994 | 368 | 55 | 31 |
| 1995(10) | 252 | 20 | 15 |
| 1996(10) | 36 | 0 | 0 |
(10) Provisional (some data still to be assimilated).
Departmental Property
Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 30 January, Official Report, columns 648-50, if he will provide a breakdown of the total costs of holding common user estate space vacant in 1995-96, to show how much of the cost is due to space vacated by each Government Department. [13742]
Sir Paul Beresford: Vacant space is managed by Property Holdings as an entity. Once space has been surrendered to Property Holdings in accordance with the established rules, the identity of the former occupant or occupants becomes unimportant. In consequence, financial information on vacant space costs does not identify the last occupant. This information is therefore not available.
Water Companies (Delayed Payments)
Mr. Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the cost to council tax payers of water companies' delaying payment for works undertaken on their behalf by local authorities. [13201]
Sir Paul Beresford: None. Any arrangements between local authorities and water companies are a matter for the individual parties concerned.
Planning (Warminster)
Mr. Faber:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list all those (a) organisations and (b) individuals who have made representations to his Department concerning planning application no. W95/0535 at Folly lane, Warminster.[12928]
5 Feb 1996 : Column: 39
Sir Paul Beresford:
The Secretary of State has received representations from
(a) MAFF, and
(b) WD Gregory (enclosing petition containing 365 signatures)
Mr. and Mrs. J. F. Burton
Mrs. R. D. Irwin
Mrs. P. M. Robertson
Mrs. L. P. Anderson
Councillor John Syme, Wiltshire CC
C. Bell
C. R. Bell
M. G. Bryant
A. M. Kinman
Garry Jones
Michael Hibbs
S. D. Pick
A. Pick
J. M. May
G. T. Sprangle
N. Hill
A. Burt
G. Hill
There have also been four representations received where an address was not given. They therefore cannot be acknowledged and consequently have not been taken into account.
A. M. Stewart
David Faber MP
Standard Spending Assessment (Buckinghamshire)
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the standard spending assessment in each year since 1990-91 for (i) Buckinghamshire county council, (ii) Aylesbury Vale district council, (iii) Chiltern district council and (iv) Wycombe district council. [13351]
Sir Paul Beresford: The information is given in the table.
| Total SSA local authority | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Buckinghamshire | Aylesbury Vale | Chiltern | Wycombe | |
| 1990-91 | 324.970 | 9.593 | 4.213 | 9.510 | |
| 1991-92 | 385.943 | 12.541 | 5.333 | 12.181 | |
| 1992-93 | 418.926 | 13.435 | 5.606 | 13.090 | |
| 1993-94 | 409.877 | 13.595 | 6.105 | 13.506 | |
| 1994-95 | 427.261 | 13.401 | 7.185 | 14.223 | |
| 1995-96 | 393.493 | 13.414 | 7.226 | 14.231 | |
| 1996-97 | 408.220 | 12.685 | 7.078 | 13.404 | |
Government Accommodation
Mr. Malcolm Bruce:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what percentage of Government accommodation in (a) the SW1 postal district of London and (b) the remainder of the United Kingdom is currently vacant. [13741]
5 Feb 1996 : Column: 40
Sir Paul Beresford:
Property Holdings is responsible for the whole of the Government common user (office) estate in which Government Departments and their agencies are housed. At 31 December 1995:
(a) The total area of the CUE offices in SW1 was 856,377 sq metres of which 66,271 sq metres was vacant. (7.7 per cent.)
(b) The total area of the CUE was 7,496,713 sq metres of which 1,017,304 sq metres was vacant (13.6 per cent.) When the SW1 area is excluded from the national figure, the CUE area of the remainder of the United Kingdom reduces to 6,613,336 sq metres of which 951,033 sq metres (14.4 per cent.) was vacant.
Furs
Mr. Tyler: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to implement European Union regulation 3254/91 requiring a ban on the import of furs from animals caught in leghold traps; and if he will make a statement. [13590]
Mr. Clappison: The UK wishes to see leghold traps phased out as quickly as possible, and has strongly supported the EU regulation introduced in 1991 for this purpose. We have expressed our disappointment with the Commission's proposal to postpone the ban on import of furs caught by leghold traps, and have urged it to bring forward stronger measures. However, the 1991 regulation requires the Commission to determine which countries have met the conditions to import furs into the Community. Since this has not been done, and the necessary implementing measures have not been adopted, there is some doubt as to whether member states would be acting lawfully if they attempted to implement a fur import ban on 1 January 1996. In view of this, and the absence of routine controls in intra-Community trade, the Government have reluctantly concluded that it would not be appropriate to implement the ban.
Rough Sleepers, London
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will estimate the number of deaths of rough sleepers during the very cold spell over Christmas and the new year; if he will estimate the number who died from causes directly attributed to the cold weather; and if he will make a statement. [9970]
Mr. Curry [holding answer 22 January 1996]: This information is not held centrally.
Council Houses
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many council houses in the United Kingdom are currently unfit for habitation. [10501]
Mr. Clappison
[holding answer 23 January 1996]: The 1991 English house condition survey found 307,000--7.7 per cent.--local authority dwellings in England to be unfit under section 604 of the Housing Act 1985, as amended by schedule 9 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. Scotland does not operate a comparable standard of fitness. The figures for Wales and Northern Ireland may be available from the respective Secretaries of State.
5 Feb 1996 : Column: 41
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