HC Deb 12 February 1988 vol 127 cc394-5W
Mr. Jim Marshall

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what total levels of debt existed in each of the years from 1979 to 1986 in each category for which deductions were made from debtors in those years under the Payments for Debt (Emergency Provisions) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971.

Mr. Stanley

The information is available only for financial years and is as follows:—

Mr. Stanley

Information on the total deductions made from public sector employees earnings is readily available only for 1985–86 and 1986–87 and is as shown:

Year Amount £
1985–86 1,736,302
1986–87 1,799,290

Mr. Jim Marshall

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what were the total amounts recovered in each of the years from 1979 to 1986 under the Payments for Debt (Emergency Provisions) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971; and what were the total administrative costs for the recovery of these sums.

Mr. Stanley

This information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Jim Marshall

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what total deductions were made from(a) criminal damage compensation payments and (b) criminal injury compensation payments in each of the years from 1979 to 1986 under the Payments for Debt (Emergency Provisions) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971.

Mr. Stanley

The information is available only from April 1981 and is as follows:

Deductions from Compensation
Financial Year Criminal Damage £ Criminal Injuries £ Totals £
1981–82 328,137 76,362 404,499
1982–83 11,518,210 113,638 1,663,848
1983–84 202,042 119,143 321,185
1984–85 146,038 98,074 244,112
1985–86 64,296 102,223 166,519
1986–87 72,805 139,720 212,525
1 Included a single deduction in excess of £1.2 million.

Mr. Jim Marshall

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what categories of debts payments were deducted from debtors in each of the years from 1979 to 1986 under the Payments for Debt (Emergency Provisions) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971; and what are the total amounts deducted in each category were in each of those years.

Mr. Stanley

The categories of debt in respect of which deductions were made from 1979 to 1986 were rent, rates, district heating, electricity and gas. Information on the total amounts deducted over this period is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.