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Air Pollution

5. Mr. Soley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent representations he has received regarding air pollution. [12504]

Mr. Gummer: My Department has received 420 representations from members of the public, business, local authorities and other bodies, in response to consultation on the draft national strategy for air quality, which the Government are preparing in accordance with the Environment Act 1995.

Mr. Soley: Bearing in mind the fact that one in seven children suffer from asthma, which is thought to be aggravated--and even occasionally caused--by air pollution, and given that nobody believes that the Government have coherent policies on transport or air pollution, what hope does the Secretary of State offer to those children and their parents?

Mr. Gummer: I am surprised by the hon. Gentleman's final comments. We have a national air quality strategy and have arranged a common strategy with the rest of the European Union. We are seen as the leader in Europe on this. I have committed myself to getting rid of summer and winter smog within 10 years, and shall spend much of my time working on that. Our policies are the best in Europe. We are continuing along those lines with an integrated transport strategy, which the hon. Gentleman knows about. On environmental issues, the Labour party knows so little and cares so little that it cannot even produce a coherent question.

Mr. Evennett: I welcome what my right hon. Friend has done to improve air quality and to monitor the effects of pollution. Is he aware that, in my part of south-east London, there are still considerable air pollution problems? Will he continue to look into those problems and examine the results of the monitoring that is taking place in Bexley?

Mr. Gummer: Certainly. As my hon. Friend knows, we are working closely with local authorities. I am happy to consider the specific problems of the London borough of Bexley. Air quality is improving. We have high

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standards to attain, which we are determined to reach. We are recognised by the rest of the world as being well ahead of most other countries.

Mr. Meacher: How can the Secretary of State pretend that he is being serious about his so-called air quality strategy when it fails to set any standards for before 2005, when even then it fails to set any statutory standards for PM10s--by far the most dangerous particles--when it allows monitoring away from the areas of greatest traffic density and when he has provided no powers or money to local authorities to implement it? For all those who have suffered from the doubling in recent years of air pollution-caused asthma, is not the strategy just another pathetic Tory pre-election scam?

Mr. Gummer: I know that the hon. Gentleman is coming from a long distance back, as the Opposition have done nothing about the environment. It seems that even less will be done now, as the hon. Gentleman has not even read his brief properly. He does not appear to know that we have provided local authorities with money and powers and that we are working with them to carry out our national air strategy. Nor does he seem to understand that we hosted a conference of northern European nations to work out a common air quality strategy that we now lead. No doubt the hon. Gentleman will suggest that we should spend more money and propose a whole series of new taxes to pay for that. The Government have achieved the necessary results. We are leading the rest of Europe--something that the hon. Gentleman could never understand or achieve.

Mr. Tredinnick: Will my right hon. Friend discuss with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport the key problem of vehicle exhaust emissions? Is he aware that only 40,000 vehicles were tested last year and 6 per cent. were found to be above the limit? Particularly in respect of the M1, which carries the heaviest traffic, does he agree that that is a completely inadequate number, and that the Vehicle Inspectorate needs to test many more vehicles in order to cut down the toxic fumes from which we all suffer on motorway journeys?

Mr. Gummer: I am sure that my hon. Friend is right to say that we need to concentrate more on that. We are taking part in the negotiations on the auto-oil programme so that it will be a success throughout Europe. As my hon. Friend knows, half the pollution in Britain comes from the rest of Europe and we export half our pollution to Europe. We need a common policy, and we are determined to achieve it.

Local Government Finance

6. Mr. Pope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions he has had with the local authority associations on standard spending assessments. [12505]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment (Sir Paul Beresford): We have discussions with the local authority associations on standard spending assessments several times throughout the year.

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Mr. Pope: Can the Minister confirm that, following this year's financial settlement, the Government are responsible for forcing up council tax bills by more than 6 per cent.? Will he further confirm that, if Hyndburn council received the same assistance from the Government as Westminster, it would be able to give every band D council tax payer a rebate of £572? Is it not the case that we have to pay more so that Tory Westminster can pay less?

Sir Paul Beresford: I am disappointed that the hon. Gentleman, who I thought had some understanding of standard spending assessments, has taken a line that fell flat on its face last night. Let me put it the other way round. If the flagship Labour authority of Harlow was as efficient as Westminster, relative to its SSA, its band D council tax would be £10, saving local people some £180 this year. In other words, the local authorities should get their act together.

Mr. Peter Atkinson: When my right hon. Friend met councillors from the north-east of England recently and they asked him for increased SSAs and greater Government grants, did they discuss the funding of the North of England Assembly of Local Authorities? Did they tell him about the increasing burden that that authority was placing on them, and did they say that it was advertising for a new director at a salary of £60,000 a year with the duty of promoting regional government in the north-east of England? Is it not a shameful waste of public money? Is not regional government deeply unpopular in the north of England, as people know that it means heavier local taxes and jobs for the boys?

Sir Paul Beresford: My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Funnily enough, the councillors forgot to mention that. We heard much pleading--there was a little of that last night. Taxpayers and council tax payers, through the SSA, have to carry an extra burden of bureaucracy that will gum up the works even more than the regional authority manages to do now.

Mr. Rendel: The Secretary of State has leaned heavily on what he describes as local government association support for his decisions on SSAs. When will the Government carry out official Conservative party policy to abolish capping which, unlike the right hon. Gentleman's policies, is supported by local government associations?

Sir Paul Beresford: I find it intriguing to be told what is official Conservative party policy. The hon. Gentleman should recognise that, while he is free with other people's money, the Government are not.

Mr. Congdon: Does my hon. Friend agree that the representations from local authorities would carry more weight if they got their house in order by managing their resources properly, and in particular embracing compulsory competitive tendering? What further action will he take to prevent local authorities from trying to deter the private sector from making bids and when they make the lowest bids, doing everything in their power to find excuses to give the contract to their own in-house direct services organisation?

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Sir Paul Beresford: My hon. Friend is right. He was a member of a local authority that went down that road to the benefit of the people of Croydon. New orders were laid at the end of last month to achieve exactly what he has mentioned.

Downland Protection

8. Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is taking to protect the downland (a) near Eastbourne and (b) elsewhere. [12507]

Mr. Robert B. Jones: We fully recognise the importance of the chalk downland in Sussex and elsewhere. The Sussex downs are designated as an area of outstanding natural beauty and further protection is given to important sites through designation as national nature reserves and sites of special scientific interest. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has also established the environmentally sensitive areas scheme, which protects downland landscapes, including an extensive area of the Sussex downs.

Mr. Waterson: When my hon. Friend reviews the role of the Sussex Downs conservation board, will he seriously consider the possibility of extending its powers to give it, for example, the power to call in planning applications? Will he also look closely at the suggestion of putting the Eastbourne downland under the control of an independent charitable trust, so that it can be removed from political control and interference once and for all?

Mr. Jones: My hon. Friend has fought a vigorous battle to protect downland in his constituency--sometimes against his Liberal-controlled local authority, which seems to want to develop on the downland. When we receive the advice due from the Countryside Commission, we shall make absolutely certain that we consider all the options, including the sensible ones that my hon. Friend has put forward.

Mr. Sheerman: Can the Minister confirm that industrial waste is being spread on downland? Is he aware that 1 per cent. of Britain's waste is spread on the land, and that there is no efficient method of checking the quality of the waste or how dangerous it can be to the long-term prospects for agriculture? Will he consider an auditing system that works, talk to ADAS about it, and implement it quickly?

Mr. Jones: Without the detail of the hon. Gentleman's complaint, it is obviously very difficult to comment. I am happy to look at the circumstances that he describes. Then we can no doubt consider whether any action is necessary.

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