Written Answers of 26 June 1987

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Departmental Costs
  Mr. Maples
  asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what effect the transfer of the immigration appellate authorities to the Lord Chancellor's Department will have on the Home Office running costs limit.

  Mr. Hurd
  The Home Office departmental gross running costs limit will reduce by £852,000 from £760,509.000 to £759,657,000 due partly to reduced Home Office administration costs associated with the transfer of the immigration appellate authorities and partly to a change in the classification of minor building works.

  Pakistan v. England Cricket Match
  Dame Jill Knight
  asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has received a report from the chief constable of West Midlands about the disorder at the Pakistan v. England cricket match at Edgbaston on 25 May; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Hurd
  I have received a full report from the chief constable. The disorder at Edgbaston was confined to a small minority of spectators in the Rae Bank stand area of the ground. The stand had become overcrowded and a number of those present had drunk too much. One member of the public was seriously injured.

  It is important that steps should be taken to avoid a recurrence of this lamentable outbreak and I welcome the early discussions which the Test and County Cricket Board and the test grounds authorities have had with the police to identify and implement a range of measures to curb unruly behaviour at matches in the future.

NATIONAL FINANCE

  EC Budget Council
  Miss Fookes
  asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the outcome of the latest meeting of the European Community Budget Council.

  Mr. Brooke
  The Budget Council met on 2 June in Luxembourg. I represented the United Kingdom.

  The Council discussed the Commission's preliminary draft supplementary and amending budget for 1987. I made it clear that there was no question of additional resources being provided for the Community in 1987 and that ways must be found of reducing expenditure.

  The Council adjourned without reaching agreement.

  EC (Budget)
  Mr. Robert B. Hughes
  asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the European Commission's latest cash position and the implications for the United Kingdom.
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  Mr. Brooke
  The European Commission estimated that its spending obligations in June would again exceed available revenues under the budget for 1987.

  The Commission therefore requested member states to advance from July into June the payment of own resources other than VAT in accordance with article 10(2) of Council regulation 2891/77: a similar advance was made last month. The Government are satisfied that this request was within the vires of article 10(2) and accordingly made an advance payment on 19 June of £133 million from the Consolidated Fund under section 2(3) of the European Communities Act 1972. The payment of levies and duties on 20 July will be reduced by the amount of the advance.

  The Commission has also informed us that it has had to overdraw its accounts with member states in June in accordance with article 12(2) of Council regulation 2891/77. The amount involved for the United Kingdom is expected to be of the order of £210 million. The Government are meeting this obligation from the Consolidated Fund in accordance with section 2(3) of the European Communities Act, 1972. Repayment of drawings made under this facility will be made by deduction from subsequent own resources payments.

  Neither of these facilities involved increasing the total amounts which the Community is authorised to spend during 1987. There is therefore no net addition to public expenditure.

  EC (Council Meetings)
  Sir Geoffrey Johnson Smith
  asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the European Community's Economic and Finance Council's meeting, and its joint meeting with the Agriculture Council, in Luxembourg on 15 June.

  Mr. Nigel Lawson
  The United Kingdom was represented at the joint Council by myself and my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. I then attended the first part of the Economic and Finance Council, and Her Majesty's permanent representative to the European Communities represented the United Kingdom thereafter.

  The joint Council discussed the Community's budgetary situation and this year's agricultural price fixing exercise. We stressed the need for the price fixing to make significant contributions to reducing the expenditure overruns anticipated for this year and next, and, more generally, to move the Community towards a more market oriented agriculture policy. We reiterated our firm opposition to the Commission's proposal for an oils and fats tax. We argued that the Community's arrangements for handling the agricultural consequences of currency realignments must be radically reformed and that the switch proposed by the Commission from advances to reimbursement of agricultural guarantee expenditure would be an essential element in solving the Community's budgetary problems in the current year. Discussion of these issues continues in the individual Councils.

  The Economic and Finance Council formally adopted the reference framework for the 1988 Community budget on the basis of the common position reached at its meeting on 11 May.

  The Council heard progress reports on the work being carried out by the Monetary Committee and the Committee of EC Central Bank Governors on strengthening the European monetary system.
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  The Council discussed draft directives on credit and suretyship insurance and mutual recognition of listing particulars to be issued when securities are admitted to official stock exchange listings. Both directives were referred to later Councils for further consideration.

  The Council considered the Commission's formal report on the financial effects for Spain and Portugal of the Council's decision to delay reimbursement to member states of losses incurred on the disposal of butter stocks. The Council asked permanent representatives to examine the report in preparation for a substantive discussion at its July meeting.

  The Council met a delegation from the European Parliament to discuss some technical amendments to a Community own resources regulation, on which the Council had previously reached a common position. Significant progress was made towards agreement.

ENVIRONMENT

  Stratospheric Ozone Review Group
  Mr. Paice
  asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when the first report from the stratospheric ozone review group will be published.

  Mr. Moynihan
  The review group has completed its report, and a final draft is now being prepared. I expect it to be published in August.

  I have placed a copy of the executive summary of the report in the Library of the House.

  Development Commission
  Mr. Paice
  asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what arrangements he has made for the provision of the additional resources for the Development Commission announced as part of the farming and rural enterprise package.

  Mr. Moynihan
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimate, the cash limit for Class X, Vote 2 will be increased by £599,000 from £195,909,000 to £196,508,000 to include the extra resources for the Development Commission. The increase was announced as part of the Government's "Farming and Rural Enterprise" package on 10 March 1987. The increase will be within the Department's existing public expenditure provision and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

WALES

  Departmental Cash Limits
  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  asked the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will announce an increase in his cash limits to take account of the pay settlements following the recommendations of the National Health Service review bodies.

  Mr. Grist
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimates. the cash limit for class XVII, vote 8 (Hospital and Community Health Services, etc., Wales) will be increased by £17,730,000 from £699,106,000 to £716,836,000 and that for class XVII, vote 5 (Tourism, roads and transport, housing, other environmental services (including civil defence), education 4
  and science, arts and libraries, and health and personal social services, Wales) by £270,000 from £214,298,000 to £214,568,000. These increases should enable services to continue to be delivered and developed as planned and follows the decision to implement, from 1 April 1987, the recommendations of the review bodies in respect of doctors, dentists, nurses, midwives and professions allied to medicine, as announced by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 23 April 1987.

  These increases will be charged to the reserve and therefore do not add to the public expenditure planning total.

EDUCATION AND SCIENCE

  Science Funding
  Mr. Franks
  asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he proposes any changes to the cash limits for his Department's Votes for science funding in 1987–88.

  Mr. Jackson
  Yes. Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimates the 1987–88 cash limits for class XII, votes 5 to 11 will be increased as follows :

  £ million

  Vote Description of expenditure

  Current cash limit

  Revision

  Revised cash limit

  5 AFRC

  52·927

  +1·5

  54·427

  6 MRC

  133·530

  +6·3

  139·830

  7 NERC

  71·270

  +0·8

  72·070

  8 SERC

  350·252

  +7·5

  357·752

  9 ESRC

  240·45

  +0·8

  24·845

  10 BM(NH)

  17·558

  +0·3

  17·858

  11 Other Science

  7·667

  +0·3

  7·967

  The changes in the cash limits are made to enable the Science Vote bodies to sustain the work of the most able scientists and their teams as my right hon. Friend announced on 1 April 1987, at column 1098. The new cash limit for the Medical Research Council includes an additional £2,500,000 to enable the council to carry out a directed programme of AIDS research as announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services on 25 February 1987, at column 2729. All these increases are being charged to the reserve, and will not therefore add to the public expenditure planning total.

  Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research
  Mr. Patrick Thompson
  asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement about appointments to the governing body of the Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research.

  Mr. Kenneth Baker
  I announced last December the appointment of Sir Hugh Campbell Byatt as chairman of the reconstituted governing body of the Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research. I have now appointed nine other governors :

  Mr. M. Austin—Head of modern language department, Lord Grey school, Buckinghamshire;

  Mr. A. H. R. Calderwood — County Education Officer, Cleveland county council;

  Mrs. F. Gilmore — Managing director, Michael Peters and Partners;

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  Mr. A. Harding — Dean of modern studies, Oxford polytechnic;

  Professor L. Hickey — Professor of Spanish, Salford university;

  Mr. R. T. Pullin — Department of education, Sheffield university;

  Mr. R. Taylor — Director of IC (Language and Communication Services) Ltd.;

  Mr. M. Whalley — Modern language adviser, Essex county council;

  Mr. N. L. M. Wolfers—Group adviser (Asia and Pacific), Midland Bank Group.

  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland, has appointed as his nominee Mr. M. J. Prowse, general adviser on secondary education for Dumfries and Galloway region education authority and chairman of the consultative committee on the curriculum's central support group on modern languages.

  I believe that a smaller governing body reconstituted in this way will be the best fitted to guide the development of the centre so that it focuses more closely on the needs of schools and the promotion of our policy on the study of foreign languages. The current scheme of government for the centre provides, however, for a fixed complement of 16 governors, and can be amended only on the recommendation of the governing body. So, to enable the scheme to be varied to permit greater flexibility in the numbers, I am appointing five officials from my Department to the remaining governorships. They will cease membership as soon as the scheme of government is changed.

  Plant Breeding Institute and National Seed Development Organisation
  Sir Anthony Grant
  asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a further statement on the sale of part of the Plant Breeding Institute and the National Seed Development Organisation.

  Mr. Jackson
  After consideration of the bids received, the following companies have now been included on a short list of possible purchasers for certain Plant Breeding Institute plant breeding assets and the National Seed Development Organisation :

  Booker plc

  Imperial Chemical Industries plc

  Unilever plc

  I shall announce the name of the successful purchaser in due course.

  Teachers (Pay)
  Mr. Franks
  asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he will be initiating the consultations on the order which will bring into effect the 1 October 1987 pay increases for teachers.

  Mr. Kenneth Baker
  I have today sent to the relevant local education authority associations, teachers' associations and bodies representing the interests of governors of voluntary schools, drafts of the following:

  (a) an order which provides for the 1 October part of the 1987 pay increase for school teachers by reference to the document described below;

  (b) a document to be published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office entitled "School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document 1987" which sets out the provisions which will be brought into effect by the order, including the conditions of employment previously set out in the first order; and

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  (c) a circular identifying key features about the arrangements for pay set out in the document.

  Any comments have been invited by 17 July. These drafts fulfil the Government's intention announced on 2 March to provide for an average 16·4 per cent. pay increase for teachers in 1987 and to introduce a new pay structure.

  Copies of the covering letter and the drafts are available from the Vote Office.

DEFENCE

  Cash Limits
  Mr. Stevens
  asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he proposes to make any changes to the current cash limits for 1987–88.

  Mr. Younger
  Yes. The following changes are being made, subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary Summer Supplementary Estimate.

  £'000s

  Class I

  Current Cash Limit

  Increase/ Decrease

  Revised Cash Limit

  I,1

  7,255,411

  +2,0001

  7,257,411

  I,4

  1,480,330

  -2,0002

  1,478,330

  1 Increased provision

  2 Transferred to I, 1.

  The increase in class I, vote 1 provision reflects some works services to be undertaken other than through the Property Services Agency. The works in question are port facilities which will be constructed by a private commercial company on the Ministry's behalf. With the necessary money being transferred from class I, vote 4, this change has no effect on public expenditure.

SOCIAL SERVICES

  Departmental Cash Limits
  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether any changes will be made to cash limits for his Department.

  Mr. Newton
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimate, the cash limit for class XIV, vote 3 (Miscellaneous Health Services and Personal Social Services, England) will be increased by £2,500,000 (from £399,664,000 to £402,164,000), to reflect the increased allocation to the Public Health Laboratory Service Board announced on 15 May, and the cash limit for class XIV, vote 1 (Hospital and Community Health Services) will be reduced by £1 million to £10,339,618,000. Since the non-cash limited class XIV, vote 2 (Family Practitioner and Other Services (England)) now requires £1,500,000 less than was earlier estimated, there is no net change in the public expenditure planning total.

EMPLOYMENT

  Departmental Cash Limits
  Dr. Twinn
  asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether any changes will be made to his Department's cash limits for 1987–88.

  Mr. Fowler
  The cash limits on class VII, vote 1 will be reduced by £3,125,000 from £1,397,636,000 to
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  £1,394,511,000 and the cash limit on class VII, vote 5 will be reduced by £6 million from £1,992,128,000 to £1,986,128,000 to enable a transfer of £9,125,000 to be made to the Department of Trade and Industry (class V, vote 2) to fund expenditure by that Department in 1987–88 on the inner cities initiative and city action teams. This increase will be subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimate. My Department's remaining provision for those programmes will be transferred to the DTI in Winter Supplementary Estimates.

  No net increase to public expenditure results from these changes.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  Departmental Costs
  Mr. Gerald Bowden
  asked the Attorney-General what effect the transfer to the Lord Chancellor's Department of the immigration appellate authorities announced by the Prime Minister on 12 March, Official Report, column 264, and other recent changes will have on the Lord Chancellor's running costs limit.

  The Attorney-General
  There will be a net increase in the Lord Chancellor's Department's gross running costs limit of £1,610,000 from £188,903,000 to £190,513,000. Two factors contribute to this change : firstly, the transfer of the immigration appellate authorities to the Lord Chancellor's Department, and, secondly, the fact that expenditure on judges' robes and sheriff's rewards is no longer to be classified as running costs.

  Land Registry
  Mr. Hayes
  asked the Attorney-General what change is proposed for the 1987–88 running costs limit for the Land Registry.

  The Attorney-General
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimate, the running costs limit for the Land Registry will be increased by £9,067,000 from £91,030,000 to £100,097,000. The high level of activity in the conveyancing and mortgage market and the growth in the credit economy continues to generate heavy work loads for the Land Registry and the number of applications for registration in 1987–88 is now forecast to exceed, by 12·8 per cent., the level upon which the running cost limit was originally based. The additional resources sought will help to reduce the time in processing applications thereby reducing the risk of serious disruption to conveyancing in England and Wales. All of the increased running costs will be offset by the extra fee revenue generated by the higher work load and no net increase in public expenditure is involved.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Central Electricity Generating Board
  Mr. Patrick Thompson
  asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when the Monopolies and Mergers Commission report on the transmission activities of the Central Electricity Generating Board will be published.

  Mr. Maude
  The report is published today.
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  The commission was asked to report whether the CEGB could improve its efficiency and thereby reduce its costs in discharging its functions for the transmission of electricity in bulk.

  The commission found that the CEGB generally manages the transmission function efficiently in the interests of its customers (that is, mainly, the area boards) and in discharge of its statutory duty. However, the commission found room for improvement in some aspects of management and organisation. The report identifies a failure so far to manage effectively a major new computer project for grid control and points to a number of other areas of weakness. The report makes a number of recommendations for improvement. In certain cases the CEGB already has remedies in hand.

  Nothing learnt in the inquiry casts doubt upon the technological competence of the CEGB in its transmission of electricity in bulk. In particular, the CEGB maintains a very high level of security of supply through its transmission network (as was evident during the severe weather during the early months of the year). The commission found no course of conduct by the CEGB which operates against the public interest.

  Departmental Cash Limits
  Mr. Maples
  asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether any changes will be made to his Department's cash limits for 1987–88.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimates, the cash limit on class V, vote 2 will be increased by £9,125,000 from £462,124,000 to £471,249,000 to fund additional expenditure in 1987–88 on the inner cities initiative and city action teams, for which my Department now has responsibility. No net increase to public expenditure results from this change. The Department of Employment's existing provision for these programmes and their running costs will be transferred to my Department in Winter Supplementary Estimates.

  Internal Market Council
  Mr. Maples
  asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will report on the Internal Market Council held on 11 June.

  Mr. Alan Clark
  The council reached agreement on eight items in the presidency action programme for completing the community's internal market. These were a directive and recommendation on the introduction of mobile telephony in the community, directives on standards for simple pressure vessels and on permissible sound pressure levels for tower cranes, two directives on type approval arrangements for motor vehicles and their trailers, and regulations on the requirements on exporters to provide customs authorities with guarantees, on the rules applied by member states to customs debt, and on the temporary importation of containers. The Council also discussed the entry into force of the Community patent convention and the proposed directives on the controls and formalities applicable to EC nationals at intra Community borders; on a right of residence for EC nationals in other member states; and on the classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous preparations.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  China
  Mr. Baldry
  asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the outcome of the claims negotiations with China.

  Mr. Eggar
  Discussions between the two Governments led to the signature of a claims agreement between China and the United Kindgom in Peking on 5 June 1987. The agreement was signed by the Chinese Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr. Zhou Nan and Her Majesty's ambassador to China, Sir Richard Evans, copies of which have been placed in the Library of the House.

  The agreement takes the form of a mutual waiver of all claims which had arisen before 1 January 1980. In recognition of this waiver the two Governments have agreed to pay each other a sum of compensation. The Chinese Government will be paying us a total of £23,468,008 in two instalments. We will pay China a total of US$3·8 million, also in two instalments.

  The Government have decided that the whole of the balance of money remaining after the US$3·8 million has been paid to China should be distributed amongst British private claimants. There will thus be a sum in excess of £20 million for the private claimants. The Government have waived their entitlement to share in this money in respect of their own claims. All the money will be distributed to the private British claimants, both corporate and individual, or to their heirs and successors as well as to the British holders of bonds issued or guaranteed by successive former Chinese Governments prior to 1 October 1949 who acquired these bonds on or before Thursday 4 June 1987.

  A cut-off date of Thursday 4 June 1987 has been set on which bond holders must show that they held British nationality. This has been done in order to avoid transfer of the bonds from foreign to British hands. British bond holders who wish to share in this distribution will be required to make a formal statutory declaration that they had acquired the bonds on or before Thursday 4 June 1987.

  It is hoped that an Order in Council will be made shortly and laid before Parliament providing for the distribution of this China fund.

  Foreign Affairs Councils
  Mr. Baldry
  asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish in the Official Report a statement on the outcome of the Foreign Affairs Councils held on 25 and 26 May and 22 and 23 June.

  Mrs. Chalker
  My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs attended the Foreign Affairs Council which took place in Brussels on 25–26 May and Luxembourg on 22–23 June. The May Council was preceded by a meeting of Ministers in political co-operation at which the Foreign Ministers of the Twelve reviewed the situation in South Africa and issued a statement. In the light of the report of the experts sent to the region by the UN Secretary General, Ministers also issued a statement on the use of chemical weapons in the Iran-Iraq war. Copies of both statements have been deposited in the Library of the House.

  On both occasions the Council discussed the Commission's proposals for the future financing of the Community. My right hon. and learned Friend stressed
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  that the key to solving the Community's financial problems was better control of expenditure, especially agricultural expenditure. Foreign Ministers will have further discussions in advance of the European Council at a special meeting on 27–28 June.

  The Council agreed a decision on the delegation to the Commission of powers for the implementation of measures adopted by the Council.

  The Council discussed trade relations between the Community and Japan. It approved Commission proposals for a negotiating mandate in the GATT article XXIV.6 negotiations to ensure that the enlargement of the Community does not increase the imbalance of advantages between the two trading partners; and for an amendment to the Community's anti-dumping regulations to prevent circumvention of the rules by assembly operations with imported components. It also invited the Commission to make proposals for tariffs on Japanese exports diverted from the United States, should these be shown to be damaging or threaten the interests of Community producers.

  In the light of the US Congressional debate on trade legislation, the Council reaffirmed the Community's determination to defend its interests as necessary, in accordance with its GATT rights. It gave its full support to the intention of Commissioners de Clercq and Andriessen to visit Washington next month to draw attention to the dangerous consequences of protectionist legislation. The Council asked the Commission to make every effort to achieve an early settlement to the negotiations with the US on pasta export restitutions.

  The Council welcomed draft Commission proposals for a negotiating mandate on tropical products in the Uruguay round.

  The Council adopted conclusions on the Community's relations with Latin America reflecting the importance which the Community and Twelve attach to that relationship. It agreed to proceed with the signature of protocols to the co-operation and association agreements with a number of Mediterranean countries. The additional protocols to the EC-Tunisia co-operation agreement consequent on Spanish and Portuguese accession to the Community were signed on 25 May. They were followed by the third meeting if the EC-Tunisia Co-operation Council. A ministerial meeting between representatives of the Community and Gulf Co-operation Council was held on 23 June.

  The Council approved a revised Commission proposal for the second financial protocol to the EC-Yugoslavia cooperation agreement. This has now been initialled.

  The Commission presented to the Council a proposal for a regime to regulate radioactive contamination in food in the event of a nuclear accident.

  The Council approved directives on credit and suretyship assurance, legal expenses insurances and the mutual recognition of listing particulars.

SCOTLAND

  Lord Advocate (Parliamentary Questions)
  Sir Hector Monro
  asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on what arrangements he intends to adopt in respect of parliamentary questions relating to the responsibility of the Lord Advocate.
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  Mr. Rifkind
  A Scottish Office Minister will answer questions on matters falling within the responsibilities of the Lord Advocate. Questions for oral answer will be taken during the period allocated to questions to the Secretary of State for Scotland which will now extend to 3.30 pm.

  Departmental Cash Limits
  Sir Hector Monro
  asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether any changes will be made to his cash limits to take account of the pay settlements following the recommendations of the National Health Service review bodies.
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  Mr. Rifkind
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimate, the cash limit for class XVI, vote 14 (Prisons, Hospitals and Community Health Services, etc, Scotland) will be increased by £36,000,000 from £1,678,483,000 to £1,714,483,000. This increase will enable services to be maintained and follows the decision to implement, from 1 April 1987, the recommendations of the review bodies in respect of doctors, dentists, nurses, midwives and professions allied to medicine, as announced by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 23 April 1987.

  The public expenditure costs of these changes have been charged to the Reserve and do not add to the public expenditure planning total.