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Building Research Establishment
27. Mrs. Wise: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the future of the Building Research Establishment. [7877]
Mr. Clappison: We have announced that we propose to privatise BRE by February 1997, and are on course to do so.
Car Parking
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to promote better management of car parking in town and city centres. [7864]
Mr. Robert B. Jones: I am keen to see better management of car parking in town centres. Our planning guidance on town centres emphasises the importance of a coherent town centre parking strategy in maintaining urban vitality. My Department also supports the Association for Town Centre Management in its role in encouraging good practice.
17 Dec 1996 : Column: 543
Green-field Sites
Mr. Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent representations he has received from house builders about the need to use green-field sites; and if he will make a statement. [7866]
Mr. Gummer: I have received one letter from the House Builders Federation. I also discussed this issue, among many others, at the federation's annual lunch last week.
"New Labour's Public Expenditure Plans"
Mr. Derek Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what costs quoted in the document, "New Labour's Public Expenditure Plans", were prepared in his Department; what detailed assumptions and interpretations were provided to officials in his Department to enable preparation of each cost; and what was the total cost to public funds of preparing each estimate. [6349]
Sir Paul Beresford: The Department of the Environment, in conjunction with the Treasury, prepared factual material relating to costings published in "New Labour's Public Expenditure Plans" numbered 18 to 24. The detailed assumptions and interpretations that were provided to departmental officials are set out in my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary's reply to the right hon. Gentleman today. It is not the normal working practice to keep a record of the time spent in providing factual information to Ministers and it is not therefore possible to offer a reliable estimate of the costs involved.
West Midlands Police
Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what was the non-council tax funding made available to the West Midlands police in 1996-97; what it will be in 1997-98; and what is the percentage difference between these two figures; [9016]
- (2) what was the spending cap for the West Midlands police authority in 1996-97; what it will be in 1997-98; and what is the percentage difference between these two figures. [9017]
Sir Paul Beresford: The information requested is as follows:
| 1996-97 £ million | Provisional 1997-98 £ million | Percentage increase | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-council tax funding of budget requirement(9) | 309.017 | 314.391 | 1.7 |
| Other grants(10)--Police specific grant, Additional Rule 2 | 0.991 | 2.965 | |
| Total non-council tax funding | 310.008 | 317.356 | 2.4 |
| Maximum budget requirement under proposed capping criteria | 343.218 | 354.201 | 3.2 |
(9) Comprises revenue support grant, redistributed non-domestic rates, and principal formula police specific grant, which together represent the amount of Exchequer funding in support of the authority's budget requirement.
2 Excluding certain capital financing grants, totalling £1.359 million in 1996-97; the figure for these grants in 1997-98 is not yet available.
17 Dec 1996 : Column: 544
Farmland Birds (Decline)
Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his letter to the hon. Member for Linlithgow of 27 November on the song thrush, if he will list the research projects into the causes and possible solutions to the decline in farmland birds to which he was referring. [8013]
Mr. Clappison: Research dealing with the possible relationship between farming practices over the last 20 years and population of farmland birds is listed in the table. All the research is funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
| Contractor | Project title |
|---|---|
| Institute of Terrestrial Ecology/ADAS | Field survey and experimentation; the effects of water regime on bird and invertebrate populations |
| Game Conservancy Trust | Arable reversions to permanent grassland; determining best management options to benefit declining bird populations |
| British Trust for Ornithology/Institute of Terrestrial Ecology/Central Science Laboratory | Effects of agricultural management on farmland birds |
| Oxford University/British Trust for Ornithology | The effects of agricultural change on bird populations |
| Central Science Laboratory | Assessment of the effects of seed treatments on birds feeding in orchards |
| Central Science Laboratory | Improving the assessment of pesticides risks to birds in orchards |
| Central Science Laboratory | Strategic monitoring and modelling of woodpigeon populations to predict damage and the implication of agricultural change |
| Ecoscope Applied Ecologists | Enhancement of farm woodlands for birds |
Permaculture
Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 6 November, Official Report, column 525, on a definition of permaculture, what non-statutory definitions of permaculture are employed by his Department in its dealings with other bodies. [9213]
Sir Paul Beresford: The new shorter Oxford English Dictionary defines "permaculture" as
"An agricultural ecosystem intended to be complete and self-sustaining".
Legislation
Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many items of legislation relating to his Department have been repealed since January 1994; how many statutory instruments were introduced during the same period; and how many of the latter were (a) deregulatory and (b) fee orders. [9360]
Sir Paul Beresford: I refer to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster earlier today.
17 Dec 1996 : Column: 545
Single Regeneration Budget
Mr. Michael Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to make announcements regarding the single regeneration budget bid from North Lincolnshire council. [9612]
Sir Paul Beresford: The announcement was made yesterday. The bid submitted by North Lincolnshire council on behalf of the Barton Upon Humber regeneration partnership has been awarded £1.6 million SRB challenge fund support. A copy of the announcement is in the House of Commons Library.
Technetium
Dr. John Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he is taking with respect to reports of increased levels of technetium (TC-99) in seafood collected along the Cumbrian coast; and if he will make a statement. [9656]
Mr. Clappison: All discharges from Sellafield to the Irish sea, including technetium-99, are regulated by means of authorisations granted by the Environment Agency.
British Nuclear Fuels has applied to the agency for a 25 per cent. reduction in the authorised discharge limits for technetium-99 from Sellafield, lowering it from 200 terabecquerels per year to 150 TBq per year. In addition, the company proposes to set as an internal working target an average discharge of 100 TBq per year.
The proposed reduction in the limit is contained in an application to the Environment Agency for a variation to the certificate of authorisation under the Radioactive Substances Act 1993 to dispose of liquid waste from premises on the Sellafield site. Proposals by the Environment Agency to vary the authorisation will be the subject of public consultation.
Mr. Meacher:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what regulations govern the collection and environmentally safe disposal of (a) nicad rechargeable batteries, (b) fluorescent light bulbs and strip lights and (c) oil-based surplus paints and white spirit from (i) households and (ii) industrial and commercial premises. [9575]
Mr. Clappison:
Waste from household, industrial and commercial premises must be managed and disposed of in accordance with sections 33 and 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Although it will depend on the product and the use to which it has been put, most surplus oil-based paints and white spirits from industrial and commercial premises will be subject to additional controls set out in the Special Waste Regulations 1996. Waste nickel cadmium--Ni-Cd--rechargeable batteries from industrial and commercial premises are also subject to these regulations, under which all movements of "special waste" are tracked by a system of consignment notes to ensure that they reach an appropriate waste management facility. Waste fluorescent tubes from industrial and commercial premises are not special waste, but their movements are subject to the requirements of the duty of care under section 34 of the 1990 Act. The waste management licensing system is also designed to ensure that the recovery or disposal of controlled
17 Dec 1996 : Column: 546
wastes--including fluorescent tubes--is carried out in a manner that does not harm human health or cause environmental damage. Under section 45 of the 1990 Act, responsibility for the collection of all these wastes from household premises lies with local authorities.
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