§ Mr. ChaytorTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what the average spend was by local authorities for meeting their duties48W under Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 in 2000–01; and what the average planned spend is in 2001–02; [938]
(2) what average funding was allocated to local authorities for meeting their duties under Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 in 2000–01 and in 2001–02. [940]
§ Mr. MeacherFollowing the 1998 Comprehensive Spending Review, £12 million per year was added to the totals for Standard Spending Assessments (SSA) for English local authorities to reflect the revenue implications of the implementation of the Contaminated Land Regime in Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 This funding has been allocated to individual local authorities under the normal system for SSA calculations, and is supported by Revenue Support Grant payments.
Capital expenditure by local authorities on the investigation and remediation of contaminated land for which they are responsible has been supported by the Contaminated Land Supplementary Credit Approval Programme (SCAs). A total of £21 million was available in 2000–01 for projects submitted by local authorities or the Environment Agency, with the same amount being available in 2001–02.
Expenditure outturn figures for the SCA programme in 2001–02 are not yet available, as expenditure returns by individual local authorities are not required until mid-July.
§ Mr. ChaytorTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of local authorities have met their duty under Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to produce a written strategy by the end of June on inspecting their areas for the purpose of identifying contaminated land. [939]
§ Mr. MeacherThis information is currently being gathered by the Environmental Agency. I will write with the information that my hon. Friend requires as soon as possible.