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Private Finance Initiative
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many, and which, United Kingdom local authorities have (a) promoted and (b) participated in schemes under the Private Finance Initiative in the last year. [39988]
Ms Armstrong: My Department's press release of 10 February, a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library, lists 42 individual PFI schemes in England, promoted by 34 local authorities. Local authorities whose projects appear on this list can be confident that they will receive support for their contractual commitments. In Wales, so far no PFI schemes have been signed but the Welsh Office is treating six projects as pathfinders. 26 Scottish authorities have indicated to the Scottish Office an intention to apply for support towards PFI schemes.
SSSIs
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the (a) number and (b) total area in hectares of sites of special scientific interest in (i) East Sussex and (ii) the United Kingdom. [39989]
Angela Eagle: The figures requested are as follows:
| Number of SSSIs (ASSI in Northern Ireland) | Area in hectares | |
|---|---|---|
| East Sussex | 64 | 18,543 |
| United Kingdom | 6,510 | 2,181,312 |
Rail Services
Mr. Livsey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to ensure that the information services provided at railway stations are improved. [40105]
Ms Glenda Jackson: The Government are reviewing the regulation of the railway as part of our overall review of transport policy, and our proposals for the long-term reform of the railway will be published in our White Paper later in the year. In the interim, the Government have issued the Franchising Director with revised objectives, instructions and guidance which require him to secure a progressive improvement in the quality of passenger and station services and to manage existing franchise agreements in a manner which promotes passengers' interests.
The existing franchise agreements require operators to meet minimum station standards, which include the provision of communication and information systems within three years of taking over the franchise. Therefore these standards must be implemented during 1999 in
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respect of the first franchises to be awarded in 1996. Some operators are achieving higher standards than those specified within a shorter timescale.
Mr. Dawson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will amend the Housing Act 1996 Code of Guidance with respect to youth homelessness strategies to make specific reference to meeting the particular housing needs of care leavers. [40164]
Mr. Raynsford
[holding answer 29 April 1998]: The revised Code of Guidance, which we hope to issue later in the year, will draw local authorities; particular attention to the considerations which they should bear in mind when assessing care leavers' housing needs.
Mr. Drew:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what proposals he has to review the Widdecombe definition of politically restricted posts. [39869]
Mr. Raynsford
[holding answer 29 April 1998]: The Government are firmly committed to the principle of political impartiality among senior and other front line public servants. In our consultation paper, "Modernising Local Government--A new ethical framework", a copy of which was sent to all hon. Members on 7 April, we are inviting views on an approach we are proposing for designating posts as politically restricted, and in particular on the level of any salary threshold.
Mr. Hinchliffe:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on local authorities' responsibilities when implementing national pay review body awards for chief executive officers. [39979]
Mr. Raynsford
[holding answer 29 April 1998]: Agreement was reached last year in the national negotiating body for chief executives on a new package of pay and conditions. The principal pay-related features of the package were a 2.5 per cent. pay rise from 1 July 1997; and local reviews in each local authority of the salary of their chief executive, to be completed by 1 April 1998 in the light of the new national pay structure and the accompanying national agreement on implementation. Any further pay rise stemming from the local review is to be paid from 1 January 1998.
Angela Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what plans he has to reduce waiting times for local authority disability facilities grants; [40334]
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Mr. Raynsford:
Information on the average waiting times for disabled facilities grants is not collected by the Department. Local authorities already have a statutory duty under section 34 of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 to notify the applicant within six months of the date of application whether the application is approved or refused. We have no plans to change this.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many applications to release GMOs into the environment have been considered in each year since 1990; for each year how many have been (a) approved and (b) refused; and how many are outstanding. [40321]
Angela Eagle:
Following the introduction of our regulations in March 1993, a total of 152 applications have been considered. These breakdown per year as:
(2) what was the average waiting time for a disabled facilities grant for (a) all applications, (b) council tenant applications, (c) housing association tenant applications, (d) private tenant applications and (e) owner occupier applications in the last year for which figures are available. [40335]
| Year | Applications approved | Applications refused | Applications outstanding |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| 1994 | 24 | 0 | 0 |
| 1995 | 40 | 0 | 0 |
| 1996 | 28 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997 | 25 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998 | 14 | 0 | 0 |
Whilst no consents have been refused, in many cases applicants have been required to significantly amend their applications to provide further information to enable a decision to be made. Also, some consents would have been refused unless the applicant had agreed to implement the strict risk management procedures recommended by the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what level of quantifiable risk must be reached before permission to release a GMO into the environment is refused. [40323]
Angela Eagle:
The Department's approach to risk assessment for GMO releases is set out in Chapter 4 of "The Regulation and Control of the Deliberate Release of Genetically Modified Organisms" and this is consistent with the approach published in "A Guide to Risk Assessment and Risk Management for Environmental Protection". These have been placed in the House of Commons library.
In all cases we obtain expert advice from the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE).
Sir Norman Fowler:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the financial effect of the establishment of the Greater London Authority on revenue support grant levels for other regions; and if he will make a statement. [40365]
Ms Armstrong:
As we said in our White Paper "A Mayor and Assembly for London" (Cm 3897), we have carefully considered how the costs of the Mayor, Assembly and new central service of the Greater London
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Authority should be paid for, and have decided to meet most of the costs ourselves through grant. We have no plans to cut support to other parts of the country to pay for the Authority.
Dr. Gibson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of (a) the measures required to control urban foxes and (b) the effects of releasing urban foxes into the countryside. [39112]
Angela Eagle:
A recent decline in reported sightings suggests that the number of urban foxes has fallen in some cities, and a study in 1987 showed that urban foxes tend to be self-regulating. Furthermore, although foxes could in theory transmit certain infections to man, such a toxocariasis, hydatid disease or pasteurellosis, from the limited data available foxes have not been implicated in any cases of these diseases among humans. It is not therefore thought necessary to consider measures to control them.
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