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Valuation Tribunals
Mr. Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what is the conclusion of the financial management and policy review of valuation tribunals. [80067]
Ms Armstrong: I have today placed in the Libraries of the House copies of the FMPR report of Valuation Tribunals. The report has also published on the DETR's web site.
This is the second FMPR of the VT service. It covers the full range of judicial, management and procedural issues. It takes account of extensive consultations with the VT service, the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), local authorities and the private sector.
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We have decided that VTs should remain lay, independent and local bodies. A move to the private sector is considered inappropriate for such quasi-judicial bodies. A national agency is also considered inappropriate at the moment, although an efficiency scrutiny might consider the scope for rationalising jurisdictions and support services for a range of similar services.
A new Management Board, supported by a new national office, is needed to set standards and spread best practice within the service. To raise the quality of the service requires a review of membership levels, new arrangements for their appointment, and a requirement for new members to attend appropriate training and to provide written certain undertakings.
Significant savings are to be made by the establishment of 14 administrative units to replace the 38 offices which existed at the start of the review. New staffing arrangements are needed to support the new administration structure. Consultants have recently been appointed to bring forward detailed proposals.
Effective administration needs the continued modernisation of the VT IT system, and better use of IT for communicating with the 'outside world'.
The appeal procedures need reform to reduce delays, improve information and guidance to rate and tax payers, and to address the existing culture of brinkmanship. The review recommends more effective incentives and a simpler system. These proposals are the subject of a further consultation paper, which I am also publishing today (copies of which have also been placed in the House Libraries and on the DETR's web site).
The aim is to implement recommendations on judicial management and staffing aspects by 1 April 2000. Changes to office accommodation and the establishment of the 14 administrative units will be phased in over a longer period. New appeal procedures need to be developed in time for appeals arising from the non-domestic rating revaluation on 1 April 2000, though implementation may need to be phased.
Mr. Burgon:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what action he intends to take in response to the consultation exercise for amending the Special Waste Regulations 1996 and Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994. [80068]
Mr. Meacher:
The proposals set out in the consultation paper issued by my Department, the Scottish Office and the Welsh Office on 2 April 1998 were generally welcomed by both industry and the Environmental Agencies. Having analysed the responses, we intend to proceed with the proposed amendments to the Special Waste Regulations, together with some further minor changes to the format of the consignment note and to the schedule under which carrier's notify movements of multiple loads--aimed at assisting monitoring and enforcement. In response to representations from business, we also intend to amend the Regulations to enable registers of Special waste to be retained in exceptional cases at sites other than those from which special waste has been removed, subject to consent by the local Environment Agency. Two consequential changes will also be made. First, to update references in the
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Regulations to the latest versions of the Approved Supply List and Approved Classification and Labelling Guide. Secondly, the Government's powers to set fees in respect of Special waste will be repealed, in order to enable the Agencies to utilise powers to set charges under the Environment Act 1995.
A number of respondents to the consultation exercise said that lower fees should apply to wastes being recycled or recovered. Although it is not feasible to consider this issue as part of the current exercise, the Environment Agencies will in the longer term be reviewing the fees for Special waste in the context of making a charging scheme. This would be subject to consultation and subsequent approval by the Government. Later this year, it is also intended to undertake a general review of the Regulations.
Following advice from the Environmental Agencies, we also intend to proceed with a small number of adjustments to the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994 aimed at encouraging the recycling or recovery of Special waste. Exemptions from licensing will be provided, subject to various conditions, to enable:
The consultation paper additionally proposed that the existing exemption for operations recovering silver from waste should be extended to include Special waste. There was very little support for this proposal and strong arguments against it which we have discussed with the Environment Agency in the context of ensuring proper protection for the environment and human health. As a consequence we have decided not to proceed. The Government have been considering the introduction of regulations to set standards for oil storage installation on which an announcement is planned later this year. The proposal in the consultation paper to amend the exemption for temporary storage of Special waste to include a separate limit for waste oil will be considered in the context of that announcement.
A further announcement will be made when the amending Regulations for England are ready to be laid before Parliament. As a devolved matter, the amendments for Scotland and Wales will be for consideration by the Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales.
Mr. Burgon:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what action he intends to take to minimise disturbance to small cetaceans in accordance with the United Kingdom's obligations under the agreement on the conservation of small cetaceans of the Baltic and North seas. [80069]
Mr. Meacher:
I have today published two sets of guidelines aimed at minimising disturbance to cetaceans in UK waters. The first is aimed at those involve in whale watching, both tour operators and members of the public
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who participate in tours; the second at those involved in recreational activities in UK coastal waters who may incidentally encounter cetaceans.
The Government are committed to protecting all species of whales, dolphins and porpoises and to maintaining healthy population levels for our and future generations. Where guidelines do not already exist we hope that this initiative will stimulate the development of locally targeted codes of conduct based on the over- arching principles contained in these guidelines.
Mr. Burgon:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he expects the works notice powers to come into force. [80070]
Mr. Meacher:
I have laid before the House new regulation, the Anti-Pollution Works Regulations 1999, which will enable new powers for the Environment Agency to serve works notices on polluters or potential polluters to be brought into force.
The works notice powers will enable the Environment Agency to serve a notice on polluters or potential polluters requiring them to carry out works or operations to remedy or prevent water pollution. They represent a more direct regulatory measure for the Agency than its existing powers to carry out anti-pollution works itself and then recover costs from the person responsible.
Works notices provide an additional regulatory goal for the Agency that will help prevent pollution incidents which in the past have occurred when a potential polluter has failed to respond to an informal approach.
i. storage of up to 23,000 litres of unused (waste) household paint pending re-use;
ii. laundering of up to 250 tonnes of waste textiles contaminated with oil, together with associated storage;
iii. storage of up to 5 tonnes of nickel cadmium or nickel metal hydride batteries and up to 10 tonnes of lead acid batteries pending recovery;
iv. storage of up to 23,000 litres of silver-bearing waste from printing or photographic processing pending recovery.
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