HC Deb 04 July 1979 vol 969 cc636-7W
Mr. Latham

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the number of staff within his Department whose duties consist wholly or mainly of discharging the outstanding commitments of the British Urban Development Services Unit, or liaising with the New Towns Overseas Environment Committee; and what is their annual administrative cost, including provision for pensions and relevant overheads.

Mr. Geoffrey Finsberg

None. The very limited amount of work involved is being carried out by departmental staff as a minor part of their duties.

Mr. Latham

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will give details of the work currently being carried out by his Department into (a) institutional planning in Kuwait, (b) the revised master plan for Bahrain, and (c) technical co-operation in Malaysia, all of which were taken over after the disbanding of the British Urban Development Services Unit; what is the staff allocation to each project; what is the full administrative cost; and what is the agreed fee income.

Mr. Geoffrey Finsberg

None. The Governments concerned have not pursued proposals put to them by the former British Urban Development Services Unit.

Mr. Latham

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make a statement on the outcome of the Bermuda dockyard study, completed by his Department after the disbanding of the British Urban Development Services Unit; what was the total expense of this project; and what was the fee income.

Mr. Geoffrey Finsberg

In July 1978 the Bermudan Government commissioned BUDSU to carry out a study of the dockyard area as part of the review of their 1974 development plan. Following the dissolution of BUDSU it was agreed with the New Towns Consortium that the study should be carried out by staff of Peterborough Development Corporation in association with Coopers & Lybrands Associates Ltd. The study was completed successfully last December and the team's report was presented to the Bermudan Government in February this year. They paid £40,800 for the study which included a profit element.