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British Transport Police
Dr. Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what plans he has to amend the jurisdiction of the British Transport Police in respect of matters outside their immediate operating areas; [38419]
- (2) what assessment he has made of the status of the British Transport Police following the privatisation of the railways; [38421]
(3) if he will review the powers of members of the British Transport Police when they are dealing with emergencies outside their immediate operating areas; [38420]
(4) what assessment he had made of proposals to establish a police authority for British Transport Police and for that authority to be the employer of British Transport Police officers and civilian support staff; [38422]
(5) what are the Government's plans for the future of the British Transport Police. [38424]
Ms Glenda Jackson: A working group including officials from my Department, the Home Office, the British Transport Police (BTP) and the British Railways Board has been looking into these issues. I expect the group to complete its work and make recommendations to ministers shortly. The Home Office are about to undertake a consultation process with police staff associations on a limited extension of the BTP's jurisdiction.
Dr. Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions for what reasons existing rail operators require a Police Service Agreement with British Transport Police in order to obtain a licence; and for what reasons no similar requirement is made of new operators. [38423]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
The Rail Regulator is not authorised to grant, without the approval of the Secretary of State, any licence (other than a network licence) which does not contain a condition requiring the licence holder to enter into an agreement approved by the Secretary of State with the British Transport Police for the provision to the licence holder of core police services.
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Mr. Nicholas Winterton:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the (a) effectiveness and (b) operational costs of the administration of the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997. [38543]
Angela Eagle:
The Environment Agency in England and Wales and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency in Scotland have a duty to monitor business compliance with the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997 ("the Regulations") and ensure that businesses have satisfactorily discharged their recovery and recycling obligations. The monitoring of the Regulations will be an ongoing process.
A Compliance Cost Assessment (CCA) on the effects of the Regulations on business was included in the Consultation paper on the draft Regulations which was issued by the former Department of the Environment, in July 1996. A review of the Regulations is now underway and is to be finalised around the end of May when the Advisory Committee on Packaging will submit their recommendation to my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment. A regulatory appraisal (formerly CCA) will accompany any proposals for amendment.
Mr. Hutton:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if the Government will review the legislation relating to the Environment Agency and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency as recommended by the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution. [38774]
Mr. Meacher:
I am today setting in hand a review, jointly with the Secretary of State for Scotland, the Secretary of State for Wales and the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. It will examine the legislation relating to the Environment Agency in England and Wales and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, with a view to identifying any barriers preventing the Agencies from taking an integrated approach to the environment. The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution recommended in its nineteenth report (Cm 3165) that such a review should be carried out within three years of the Agencies' taking up their functions, in April 1996.
The terms of reference of the review are:
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The review is not intended to consider the integration of the philosophical approaches underlying the different regulatory regimes, which are often bound up with European Union legislation. Nor is the review considering integration of the Agencies themselves.
The review will be carried out by the relevant Government Departments and the Agencies. Interested bodies will be invited to contribute their views at an early stage. We envisage that the review will take about a year to complete.
Any legislative changes in England and Wales arising out of the review would be considered by Parliament. Since the results of the review will be submitted around the time of the establishment of the Scottish Parliament, it would fall to Scottish Ministers to consider whether to put corresponding proposals to the Scottish Parliament.
Ms Perham:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement about London taxi fares and fees. [38778]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has made an Order increasing London taxi fares by 3.67 per cent. on average with effect from Saturday 25 April 1997. The new tariff will incorporate a minimum charge of £1.40 (including a hire charge of £1.00) for the first 462 metres (505.4 yards) or 102 seconds. The rate will then be 20p for every 231 metres (252.7 yards) or 51 seconds until the fare exceeds £9.40 and 20p for each 154 metres (168.5 yards) or 34 seconds thereafter.
The Secretary of State has also approved an increase in the London taxi driver licence fee for £87.00 to £103 (for a three year licence). There will be no increase this year in the fee for a London taxi vehicle licence which has stood at £78 since 1992.
Mr. Alan Johnson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he intends to issue a revised circular on planning and affordable housing; and if he will make a statement. [38755]
Mr. Caborn:
My Department has today issued Circular 6/98: Planning and Affordable Housing, which replaces Circular 13/96. The Circular is intended to provide a clearer framework for preparing plan policies on affordable housing. It should help local planning authorities adopt a more consistent, plan-based approach, which will facilitate speedier and more effective negotiations and decisions on planning applications involving affordable housing.
The Government wish to optimise the contribution that the planning system can make to the overall supply of affordable housing. However, they also want to ensure that affordable housing policies in development plans are consistent with Government guidance and that they are consistently applied.
The new Circular lowers and further revises the existing thresholds, confirms a preference for providing affordable housing as part of the proposed development, and clarifies further the use of financial contributions in
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lieu of on-site provision. It also clarifies that the policy in the Circular applies to all types of new housing proposals.
The Circular revises the existing threshold arrangements so that local planning authorities should only seek an element of affordable housing in:
In settlements in rural areas with a population of 3,000 or fewer, the local planning authority should adopt appropriate thresholds. The new arrangements also provide, in exceptional circumstances, for local planning authorities in those areas where the higher threshold at (a) would apply to seek to adopt a lower threshold, through the local plan process. These threshold arrangements should be based on assessments which include local needs and available supply of land for housing, and adopted only through the local plan process.
Where a local planning authority has not yet adopted its local plan or UDP it will have to have regard to Circular 6/98 in preparing its plan. However, PPG1 makes it clear that where development plans are very close to adoption at the time that new information (including guidance) becomes available, it may be preferable to adopt the plan and then start an immediate review. Therefore, in cases where plans are close to adoption (for example where a modifications stage has already been held and no further modifications on other issues are proposed by the local authority), it may be appropriate, in order to prevent further delay, for the local planning authority to adopt its plan and to prepare proposals for early alterations to the plan having regard to the policy guidance in Circular 6/98.
Local planning authorities should prepare such proposals for alterations expeditiously and agree timetables for alteration with the Government Office for the Region. In cases where local planning authorities fail to take such action promptly, the Secretary of State may well consider it appropriate to direct them to prepare alterations to their adopted development plans within a specified period.
To investigate the possible rationalisation of the regulatory mechanisms which the Environment Agency and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency operate, and the opportunities for integrating regulatory regimes which currently operate on a similar basis but under different legislation, so as:
to identify any significant barriers to integration within each of the Agencies, whose removal would improve the quality of regulation by producing worthwhile improvements in environmental protection and enhancement, customer service and business efficiency,
to establish whether such barriers could be overcome by administrative means or management action by the Agencies; and
insofar as this is not the case, to recommend legislative changes to enable them to be removed.
(a) housing developments of 25 or more dwellings or residential site of 1 hectare or more, irrespective of the number of dwellings; and
(b) in Inner London, in housing developments of 15 or more dwellings, or to residential sites of 0.5 hectare or more, irrespective of the number of dwellings.
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