§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many consent applications citing clause 92 of the Local Government Bill have been received from each of the metropolitan county councils, the Greater London council and the Inner London education authority;
(2) how many consent applications citing clause 93 of the Local Government Bill have been received from each of the metropolitan county councils, the Greater London council and the Inner London education authority.
§ Mr. Kenneth BakerThis information is set out in the following table:—
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Applications received under clause 92 of the Local Government Bill and section 9 of the Local Government (Interim Provisions) Act 1984 as amended by clause 93 of the Local Government Bill Authority Clause 92 Section 9/Clause 93 Greater London Council 193 521 (264) Inner London Education Authority 1 28 (17) Greater Manchester Council 90 208 (169) Merseyside County Council 18 83 (59) South Yorkshire County Council 71 236 (209)
Authority Clause 92 Section 9/Clause 93 Tyne and Wear County Council 9 105 (78) West Midlands County Council 99 264 (210) West Yorkshire County Council 1 95 (60) Note: Figures in brackets represent the number of applications received where the amount involved was below £250,000 in relation to building or engineering works and below £100,000 in relation to other categories detailed in section 9(1) of the Act.
§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement about delays in granting consent for applications received under section 7 of the Local Government (Interim Provisions) Act 1984.
§ Mr. Kenneth BakerEach application must be considered carefully and on its individual merits. If unnecessary delays are to be avoided, it is imperative that fully documented applications are submitted at the earliest possible stage.
§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has consulted any claimants' organisations about the Greater London council consent application under section 7 of the Local Government (Interim Provisions) Act.
§ Mr. Kenneth BakerNo.
§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment why consent under section 7 of the Local Government (Interim Provisions) Act for Searchlight took over three months to be granted; and whether he has personally visited the organisation.
§ Mr. Kenneth BakerI refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on Wednesday 10 July.
§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he or his officials have visited Spare Rib the London Lesbian and Gay Centre or the Women's Peace Bus since the Greater London council applied for consent under section 7 of the Local Government (Interim Provisions) Act to make a grant to the three organisations.
§ Mr. Kenneth BakerNo.
§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) why consent for the Greater London council claimants festival has not been forthcoming;
(2) why consent to the All London Teachers Against Racism and Facism is being delayed.
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Number of applications by value (£) Authority Not supplied Under 100 100–999 1,000–9,999 10,000–99,999 100,000–1 million Over 1 million Greater London Council 390 213 258 809 514 68 5 Greater Manchester Council 40 110 118 216 137 9 0 Inner London Education Authority 180 527 0 0 0 0 0 Merseyside County Council 60 48 39 61 10 6 0 South Yorkshire County Council 108 117 75 140 43 2 0 Tyne and Wear County Council 5 39 41 101 30 2 0 West Midlands County Council 36 122 64 227 134 7 1 West Yorkshire County Council 65 43 35 75 39 4 0 All Authorities 884 1,219 630 1,629 907 98 6
§ Mr. Kenneth BakerResponses are awaited to requests made to the GLC for further information needed to enable proper consideration to be given to these applications.
§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the representations received in support of the Greater London council application for consent under section 7 of the Local Government (Interim Provisions) Act for the London Lesbian and Gay Centre, Spare Rib and Women's Peace Bus.
§ Mr. Kenneth BakerThirty two letters have been received in support of the Greater London council's application for consent under section 7 of the Local Government (Interim Provisions) Act for the London Lesbian and Gay Centre, four letters in support of the application for Spare Rib and five letters in support of the application for the Women's Peace Bus.
§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment why consent has not been forthcoming to the Greater London council's anti-racism awareness campaign; and whether he has consulted the Council for Racial Equality about his decision.
§ Mr. Kenneth BakerA response is awaited to a request made to the GLC for further information needed to enable proper consideration to be given to this application.
My right hon. Friend has not consulted the Council for Racial Equality with regard to this matter.
§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list all outstanding applications for consent received from the Greater London council and the dates they were received.
§ Mr. Kenneth BakerI shall write to the hon. Member.
§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many consent applications for the Greater London council and each of the metropolitan county councils under section 8 of the Local Government (Interim Provisions) Act were for a value of less than £100, between £100 and £1,000, between £1,000 and £10,000, between £10,000 and £100,000, between £100,000 and £1 million and over £1 million.
§ Mr. Kenneth BakerFinancial considerations are not always a material factor in determining applications under the Act and such details have not been supplied or sought in every case. The information requested is as follows:
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§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment when a further series of general consents will be issued under sections 8 and 9 of the Local Government (Interim Provisions) Act, and clauses 92 and 93 of the Local Government Bill.
§ Mr. Kenneth BakerA further series of general consents under sections 8 and 9 of the Local Government (Interim Provisions) Act and statements of intention to consent under clauses 92 and 93 of the Local Government Bill were issued on 11 June. Further consents will be issued in due course, as appropriate.
§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many consent applications under sections 7, 8 and 9 of the Local Government (Interim Provisions) Act are still being considered by his Department.
§ Mr. Kenneth BakerThree hundred and sixty-one.