Written Answers of 4 February 1994

EDUCATION

  Grant-maintained Schools
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what arrangements have been made for the publication of audited accounts for grant-maintained schools; and where details are available for inspection.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The governing body of a grant-maintained school is required to present each year's accounts to the anual parents' meeting falling next after the submission of the accounts to the Secretary of State. The governing body must also ensure that the accounts are available at the school for inspection by any member of the public.

  Cash Limits
  Mrs. Lait
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what changes he plans to announce to cash limits and running costs limits on votes within his responsibility for 1993–94.

  Mr. Patten
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the related supplementary estimates, the cash limits for class X, vote 1, schools, research and miscellaneous services; vote 2, higher and further education; vote 4, administra-tion; and vote 6, office of Her Majesty's chief inspector of schools in England, will be amended. The changes are as follows:

  Class and Vote

  Current cash limit £

  Change £

  Revised cash limit £

  X.1

  741,282,000

  -32,300,000

  708,982,000

  X.2

  5,404,831.000

  +1,006,000

  5,405,837,000

  X.4

  94,301,000

  +47,000

  94,348,000

  X.6

  48,819,000

  -1,266,000

  47,533,000

  The reduction to the cash limit on class X, vote 1 includes a reduction of £18,500,000 as a contribution towards offsetting the increase of £155 million sought via a supplementary estimate for class X, vote 3, student awards, loans and compensation payments, which is not cash limited; a reduction of £13,000,000 to offset wholly payments to universities and colleges of further education in respect of grants from the European regional development fund towards capital projects; and a transfer of £800,000 to class X, vote 2 to increase provision in respect of bursaries for the training of teachers in shortage subjects.

  The net increase of £1,006,000 on class X, vote 2 takes account of an increase of £1,306,000 in gross provision for grant in aid to the Higher Education Funding Council for England, offset by a transfer of £828,000 from the Home Office for the costs of students sponsored to attend extended and upgraded courses in social work in
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  universities, less a transfer of £622,000 to class X, vote 3 to increase provision for student loans associated with these courses; and the appropriation in aid of receipts of £1,100,000 from proceeds of sale of redundant properties at the Royal College of Art. The remainder of the vote 2 increase is offset by the transfer of £800,000 from class X, vote 1.

  The increase on class X, vote 4 is the net result of a transfer of £127,000 from Property Holdings in respect of buildings maintenance and an increase of £80,000 in receipts of payments arising from services supplied by the Teachers Pensions Agency which are to be appropriated in aid of the vote. The running costs limit has been increased by £127,000 from £90,323,000 to £90,450,000.

  The decrease on class X, vote 6 is the net result of a reduction of £1,300,000 in forecast outturn on programme and a transfer of £34,000 from Property Holdings in respect of buildings maintenance. The running costs limit has been decreased by £29,000 from £31,960,000 to £31,931,000. This is the net effect of the transfer from Property Holdings and a transfer of £63,000 for non-running costs provision in the same vote.

  The increases on class X, votes 2 and 4 are wholly offset elsewhere and will not therefore add to the planned total for public expenditure.

  School Governors
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what right school governors have to visit and inspect schools of which they are governors.

  Mr. Forth
  The Education Acts do not give governors an express right to visit their schools; but governors have a range of statutory duties and powers, and are entitled to expect reasonable access to schools as necessary to allow them to carry out their functions.

  Further Education Funding Council
  Mr. Robert Ainsworth
  To ask the Secretary of Slate for Education (1) what assessment was made of the previous employment record of the new property controller of the Further Education Funding Council before he was appointed;

  (2) who was consulted about the conduct of the new property controller of the Further Education Funding Council while he was employed by the Welsh Development Agency before his appointment to the Council.

  Mr. Boswell
  In accordance with its normal recruitment procedures, the Further Education Funding Council made an assessment of the previous employment record of the newly appointed head of property services on the basis of information obtained from his application form, from discussion with him at interview and from references taken up prior to his interview and the subsequent offer of employment. The references, which were provided in confidence, provided sufficient information about his conduct during his employment with the Welsh Development Agency to satisfy the council.

  Office for Standards in Education
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how many Ofsted contracts have been awarded to local education authority-based registered
  933
  inspectors; what is their total value; in how many cases the contract was awarded to an LEA-based registered inspector when there was a lower bid entered by a registered inspection from outside the LEA sector; and what is the sum of the amounts by which the awarded contracts exceeded the value of lowest bid submitted by a non-LEA-based inspector in the financial year 1993–94 to date;

  (2) how many Ofsted contracts were awarded to registered inspectors based outside local education authorities; what is their total value; in how many cases the contract was awarded to a registered inspector from outside the LEA sector when there was a lower bid entered by an LEA-based registered inspector; and what is the sum of the amounts by which the awarded contracts exceeded the value of the lowest bid submitted by an LEA-based inspector, in the financial year 1993–94 to date.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The arrangements for inspecting schools under the Education (Schools) Act 1992, including the awarding of contracts to registered inspectors, are a matter for Ofsted.

  I have asked Professor Sutherland to write to the hon. Member.

  City Technology Colleges
  Mrs. Ann Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if the policy of parental preference applies to city technology colleges.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  All parents of children within the catchment area of a city technology college are free to express a preference for a place at the college. So many do so that inevitably many are disappointed not to receive the offer of a place. CTCs have a duty as far as possible to ensure that the pupil intake is representative of the full range of ability among pupils within the catchment area.

  Dyslexia
  Mr. Pawsey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will set out the actions taken by his Department over the past five years to help children with dyslexia.

  Mr. Forth
  The Department has provided over £300,000 to support research into the early identification of dyslexia and ways in which information technology can assist dyslexic pupils.

  The Education Act 1993 and the code of practice which subject to Parliament's approval my right hon. Friend hopes to issue this summer will significantly improve the arrangements for the education of all children with special needs. The code offers guidance to all schools and LEAs on their responsibilities towards all pupils with special needs of all kinds, including those with dyslexia.

OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT

  Burma
  Mr. Paice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance Her Majesty's Government are giving to alleviate the plight of the Rohingya refugees from Burma who fled to Bangladesh at the end of 1991.
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  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  Her Majesty's Government have provided some £1·2 million for the Rohingyas via the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Red Cross-Crescent movement. My noble Friend the Minister for Overseas Development has approved a further £1 million in response to recent UN appeals for both care and maintenance programmes and for the official repatriation programme now expected to get under way, following agreements between the Burma authorities and UNHCR.

ENVIRONMENT

  Cash Limits
  Mr. Waterson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what changes he proposes to make to the cash limits on the two PSA services votes in 1993–94.

  Mr. Curry
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for class VII, vote 13—sale of the PSA businesses—will be increased by £4,540,000 from £39,351,000 to £43,891,000. The increase will not constitute a claim on the reserve as it will be netted off the proceeds from the Government's privatisation programme.

  The provision is sought mainly to fund a payment to the purchaser of PSA projects, as provided for in the sale agreement, to adjust the consideration payment one year after completion of the sale depending on the numbers of transferred staff still employed by the business.

  In addition, the cash limits for class VII, vote 11—PSA services—will be reduced by £43,535,000 from £163,760,000 to £120,225,000. This takes account of earlier recoveries of works expenditure from customer departments and a reduction in forecast severance expenditure. The net running cost limit on this vote will reduce by £7,512,000 from £103,596,000 to £96,084,000.

  Mr. Congdon
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what changes he has to announce to his Department's cash limits and running costs limits for 1993–94.

  Mr. Gummer
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimates, the following changes will be made:

  (i) the cash limit for class VII, vote 5—central environmental services, etcetera—will be reduced by £6,300,000 from £391,336,000 to £385,036,000. This change reflects a saving of £6,300,000 in forecast expenditure on grant in aid to the National Rivers Authority;

  (ii) the cash limit for class VII, vote 6—Property Holdings and other services to government—will be increased by £1,000 to £2,000. This reflects the token supplementary estimate taken for this vote. The gross running cost limit will be increased by £614,000 from £20,062,000 to £20,676,000 to meet early retirement costs and consultancy fees, and is partly funded by take up of running cost end-year flexibility entitlement—covered by the increase in the running costs limit announced by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 14 July 1993, Official Report, columns 512–17. The net running cost limit for the Security Facilities Executive agency will be reduced by £271,000 from £1,101,000 to £830,000. This reflects changing levels of business within SAFE. The net running cost limit for the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre will be increased by £5,624,000 from £1,200,000 to £6,824,000. This reflects increased

  935
  business for the QEIICC and the introduction of an accommodation charge for the centre itself. This increase will be offset by increased receipts;

  (iii) the cash limit for class VII, vote 7—DOE administration—will be increased by £357,000 from £225,544,000 to £225,901,000. This change reflects a number of small transfers to and from other votes, the most significant being an increase of £353,000 from Property Holdings—class VII, vote 6—in respect of maintenance charges. The Department of the Environment's gross running cost limit on class VII, vote 7 will be reduced by £2,864,000 from £226,578,000 to £223,714,000. In the main, this reduction is necessary to match the projected shortfall in Planning Inspectorate executive agency receipts;

  (iv) the cash limit for class VII, vote 8—revenue support grant, payments of non domestic rates, Valuation Office services, etcetera, England—will be reduced by £666,000 from £28,808,799,000 to £28,808,113,000. This reflects the transfer of £155,000 in manpower savings from valuation tribunals to class VII, vote 12, for disabled persons' rate relief, emergency financial assistance to local authorities and rate rebates in enterprise zones, and a saving of £511,000;

  (v) the DOE/Housing Corporation non-voted cash limit will be increased by £9,113,000 from £1,786,093,000 to £1,795,206,000, to reflect the transfer of £14,404,000 from the city challenge programme—to fund housing associations in city challenge areas—and an increase of £741,000 following the full take-up of end-year flexibility entitlement—announced by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 14 July 1993, Official Report, columns 512–17. It included the switching of £6,032,000 from capital to revenue to cover increased costs in demand-driven revenue programmes for which the Housing Corporation is responsible;

  (vi) the DOE/urban aid non-voted cash limit will be reduced by £18,380,000 from £996,672,000 to £978,292,000. The change reflects a transfer of £14,404,000 to the housing vote—vote VII, 1—to meet an equivalent increase in city challenge housing association expenditure. A transfer of £1,376,000 to the Department of Transport is necessary in order to refund resources originally transferred to DOE for the London Docklands development corporation, but which are now no longer required. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport will announce an equivalent increase in his cash limit today. The London Docklands development corporation's external financing limit for 1993–94 will be correspondingly reduced to £105,388,000. A further reduction of £2,600,000 will be made to reflect an excess carry-over of resources by the docklands light railway in 1992–93. The docklands light railway external financing limit for 1993–94 will be correspondingly reduced to £32,017,000.

  (vii) the DOE/local authority capital non-voted cash limit will be reduced by £3,677,000 from £2,461,475,000 to £2,457,808,000. This change reflects reductions in provision for minor current expenditure grants for private sector renewal which have been partly offset by full take-up of end-year flexibility entitlement of £1,470,000. The original entitlement of £61,000 announced by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 14 July 1993, Official Report, columns 512–17, has been increased following revision of the forecast outturn figures;

  (viii) the DOE/new towns non-voted cash limit will be increased by £20,613,000 from minus £116,938,000 to minus £96,325,000. This change reflects a shortfall in receipts of £39,607,000 and a reduction in expenditure of £17,912,000. The external financing limit for Letchworth Garden City development corporation will be reduced from zero to minus £1,082,000; and

  (ix) the housing action trusts external financing limit will be reduced by £8,678,000 from £86,779,000 to £78,101,000. This change reflects a reduced borrowing requirement by housing action trusts.

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  Any cash limit increases will be offset by savings within the DOE, or transfers within DOE or from other Departments and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

  Steel and Newsprint (Energy Costs)
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what new measures he proposes to assist the steel and and newsprint industries to reduce their energy costs; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  The Government's best practice pro-gramme produces guides and case studies showing the successful implementation of energy efficiency technology and techniques in different industrial sectors, including steel and paper and board—covering newsprint. These have already helped stimulate take-up of measures leading to energy savings. Further projects are in the pipeline and proposed for the future.

  Statutory Sick Pay
  Mr. Ingram
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will provide figures for the amount his Department has been reimbursed by the Department of Social Security in respect of statutory sick pay provision for each of the past three years.

  Mr. Baldry
  The figures are:

  £

  1990–91

  350,406

  1991–92

  246,508

  1992–93

  180,237

  Public Bodies
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) which of the public appointments for which he is responsible require advance notice to and consultation with the Chief Whip's Office; and which appointments made since 1979 have been so notified and consulted upon;

  (2) which appointments since 1979 to public bodies or posts to which he is responsible have included candidates nominated by the Chief Whip's Office; if any nominees by this source have been appointed; and if he will give details.

  Mr. Baldry
  It is not the practice of Her Majesty's Government to answer parliamentary questions about discussions and consultations between Departments and offices of government relating to public appointments.

  Groundwork Trusts
  Mr. Gunnell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what funding has been allocated nationally to Groundwork trusts in each year since 1990–91; and what is the expected allocation for 1993–94 and 1994–95.

  Mr. Atkins
  The Groundwork Foundation has allocated the following funds to Groundwork trusts in England from its grant in aid as contributions to their approved running costs:
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  Year

  Amount £

  Number of Trusts

  1990–91

  1,292,407

  22

  1991–92

  1,622,319

  25

  1992–93

  1,521,017

  25

  1993–941

  1,994,318

  28

  1Estimated outturn.

  For 1994–95 the foundation has made an initial provision of £2,889,000 for a target of 37 trusts in England.

  Mr. Gunnell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what funding has been allocated to each of the individual Groundwork trusts in Yorkshire and Humberside in each year since 1990–91; and what are the expected allocations for 1993–94 and 1994–95.

  Mr. Atkins
  There are two Groundwork trusts in the Yorkshire and Humberside region—South Leeds and Wakefield. Grants paid from the Groundwork Foundation's grant in aid as a contribution towards the trusts' approved running costs have been allocated as follows:

  South Leeds £

  Wakefield £

  1990–91

  178,000

  57,692

  1991–92

  150,000

  48,444

  1992–93

  55,000

  42,275

  1993–94

  55,000

  15,000

  Allocations for 1994–95 have not yet been made.

  The trusts are also able to apply for grants for projects under departmental programmes, but details of these payments are not readily available.

  Integrated Pollution Control
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to respond to the report by Environmental Data Services on integrated pollution control, a copy of which has been sent to him.

  Mr. Atkins
  The Government welcome the comprehen-sive review of the operation of integrated pollution control up to April 1993 by Environmental Data Services. I am pleased to note that the results of this study confirm that IPC has resulted in improved environmental performance.

  Officials in the Department of the Environment and Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution are currently consider-ing the findings of the report in detail and will receive a presentation from the authors.

  Ozone Layer
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has as to the average percentage thinning of the stratospheric ozone layer over -(a) Shetland and (b) northern Europe generally, in each year since 1979.

  Mr. Atkins
  The table sets out, for each year for which data are available, estimates of the average percentage departure of the thickness of the stratosperhic ozone layer over Shetland, from the long-term mean.
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  Year

  Shetland (Lerwick)

  1981

  +5·2

  1982

  +7·0

  1983

  -2·6

  1984

  +2·1

  1985

  -1·8

  1986

  +0·9

  1987

  +0·6

  1988

  -2·1

  1989

  + 1·5

  1990

  -0·9

  1991

  -0·3

  1992

  -3·2

  1993

  -6·7

  Analysis of global ozone data is carried out by the World Meterological Office—United Nations Environment Programme ozone scientific assessment panel. Its latest estimate of the average depletion of the ozone layer at northern European latitudes is 3 per cent. per decade from 1979 to 1991. Large departures of 1 to 2 per cent. from this trend from late 1991 to May 1993 were reported by the United Kingdom stratospheric ozone review group, whose report has been placed in the library of the House. These years were greatly influenced by atmospheric dynamics and Mount Pinatubo volcanic aerosol and the low figures for 1992 and 1993 therefore do not necessarily imply an acceleration of ozone loss.

  Environmental Information
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what new classes of environmental information held by his Department were made available to the public between July 1992 and July 1993; what new rights to participate in the decision-making process on environmental issues were extended by his Department to the public in this period; and what new rights to seek remedies in the event of breach of environmental laws or failure to provide environmental services were introduced by his Department for the public.

  Mr. Atkins
  Since December 1992 the public have had statutory rights of access to all classes of environmental information subject to safeguards on confidentiality. In addition, a comprehensive system of public registers was already in place to enable the public to inspect information relating to the work of the pollution control authories. The environmental information regulations introduced the right of appeal to the courts for failure to release environmental information and the White Paper "Open Government"—Cm 2290—announced that the Government are consider-ing whether an independent tribunal should be established to hear disputes.

  Carbon Dioxide Emissions
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his assessment of the adequacy of stabilisation of carbon dioxide emissions at 1990 levels as a United Kingdom contribution to the global restriction of carbon dioxide emissions.

  Mr. Atkins
  The United Kingdom's programme of measures aimed at returning emissions of carbon dioxide to 1990 levels by 2000 fully meets our commitments under the United Nations framework convention on climate
  939
  change. The adequacy of the convention's commitments is due to be reviewed by the conference of parties to the convention in 1995, and again by 1998.

  Living Over the Shop Campaign
  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will announce his decision in respect of the living over the shop campaign; and how he proposes to implement that decision.

  Sir George Young
  I propose to make up to £10 million in supplementary credit approvals available to local authorities in 1994–95, to enable them to carry out flats over shops schemes. I am pleased that we have received over 500 separate bids from local authorities for resources totalling £40 million. I shall announce the allocations by the end of February. In addition, the Housing Corporation is funding such schemes from its approved development programme.

  I am encouraged by increasing interest from authorities, housing associations and property owners in bringing spare space above shops back into residential use.

  Disabled People
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to ensure the provision of easy access for the disabled to all public buildings and spaces in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Baldry
  In England and Wales, building regulations made under the Building Act 1984 make provision for access by disabled people to new public buildings. I have asked the Building Regulations Advisory Committee to advise me on whether these provisions should be extended to cover certain alterations and changes of use in such buildings. I hope to make a statement on this before Easter.

  Elsewhere in the United Kingdom this is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

  Council Housing
  Ms Glenda Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many families currently on local authority waiting lists need(a) one bedroom, (b) two bedrooms and (c) three or more bedroom properties.

  Sir George Young
  Information on the number of households on council housing waiting lists is reported by local authorities on their annual housing investment programme—HIP1—returns.

  The latest available figures show a total of 1,208,790 households on council housing waiting lists in England on 1 April 1993.

  No information is collected centrally on the size of dwellings required by families on the housing waiting lists.

  Ms Glenda Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many(a) one bedroom, (b) two bedroom and (c) three or more bedroom properties local authorities manage; and how many are currently available in (i) Greater London and (ii) south-east England.

  Sir George Young
  Local authorities report each year on the number of dwellings that they manage in their subsidy claim form returns.
  940
  The latest available figures are for 1 April 1993 and show that local authorities managed 980,106 properties with one bedroom, 1,204,067 with two bedrooms and 1,577,847 with three or more bedrooms.

  The number of local authority owned dwellings that were available for letting immediately, or after minor repairs, on 1 April 1993 totalled 9,663 in Greater London and 5,172 in south-east England—excluding London—as reported by local authorities in their latest annual housing investment programme—HIP1—returns. Information is not centrally available on size of local authority-owned dwellings that are vacant.

  Building Regulations
  Ms. Glenda Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what representations he has received from housing associations regarding the review of part M of the Building Regulations and its application; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) what representations he has received from (a) consumer groups and (b) Age Concern regarding the review of part M of the Building Regulations; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Baldry
  I have received a number of representa-tions regarding the review of part M of the Building Regulations, including some from housing associations, consumer groups and Age Concern who consider that the requirements in the Building Regulations relating to access for disabled people should be extended to cover new dwellings. The Building Regulations Advisory Committee is at present examining the desirability and practicability of this. I hope to be in a position to make a statement on this before Easter.

  Homelessness
  Mr. Straw
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 28 January,Official Report, column 438, which local authorities formally made representations to him in writing seeking restrictions on the rights of access of homeless persons to social housing before October 1993.

  Sir George Young
  Over the years, as part of our continuing dialogue with local authorities, we have received a steady flow of representations on different aspects of housing policy, including the homelessness legislation. We do not keep a separate record of the sort of representations that the hon. Member appears to have in mind.

  Packaging Waste
  Mr. John Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has received a plan from the companies of the packaging chain to recover packaging waste.

  Mr. Gummer
  My hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment and Countryside, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Trade and Technology and I will be meeting the producer responsibility group on Monday 7 February. We expect to receive a plan from the group at that meeting. I will ensure that copies are placed in the Library.
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SOCIAL SECURITY

  Independent Tribunal Service
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answers of 20 January,Official Report, columns 798–99, what target he has set for the time to process an appeal by the independent tribunal service; how many appeals were processed after this target time; and how many appeals in total were dealt with during this period.

  Mr. Scott
  The responsibility for the administration of the independent tribunal service lies with its president, His Honour Judge Anthony Thorpe. I am informed by Judge Thorpe that in his view there was until recently insufficient information on which to base a target for disability appeal tribunals. The independent tribunal service is currently collecting information to enable Judge Thorpe to set targets for this work for 1994–95.

  Invalidity Benefit
  Ms Mowlam
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many men aged 55 years and over, have had their entitlement to invalidity benefit withdrawn in the last six months.

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

  Lung Cancer
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to review the criteria for diagnosis of asbestos-related lung cancer.

  Mr. Scott
  We have no such plans.

  Public Bodies
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security which appointments since 1979 to public bodies or posts for which he is responsible have included candidates nominated by the Chief Whip's Office; if any nominees by this source have been appointed; and if he will give details.

  Mr. Hague
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 3 February,Official Report, column 838.

  Child Dependency Additions
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what saving in the cost of child dependency additions will result from deferring entitlement from 28 to 52 weeks of incapacity, in 1995–96 and each subsequent year for which estimates are available; and what are the average numbers of families and children expected to be affected in each year.

  Mr. Scott
  The information is in the table:

  1995–96

  1996–97

  Estimated Savings1

  £5 million

  £5 million

  Estimated number of families affected2

  10,000

  10,000

  Estimated number of children affected2

  20,000

  20,000

  1 Estimates expressed in constant 1993–94 prices, rounded to the nearest £5 million, and are net of offsetting expenditure on income-related benefits.

  2 Figures given are the average number of cases affected at a point in time in the years concerned, rounded to the nearest 10,000.

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  Advisory Panel on Assessment of Incapacity
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he will consult the members of the Advisory Panel on Assessment of Incapacity as to their willingness to have their identity revealed to hon. Members; and if he will publish the names of those who have no objection;

  (2) if he will make the briefing and background papers which are supplied to members of the Advisory Panel on Assessment of Incapacity available on request to organisations not represented on the panel;

  (3) which organisations are represented on the Advisory Panel on Assessment of Incapacity; and by what criteria they were selected.

  Mr. Scott
  I am not willing to consult or publish as suggested. The assessment panel members have not been selected as representatives of particular organisations. I explained my reasons in Standing Committee E on the Social Security (Incapacity for Work) Bill on 1 February at columns 27–28.

  I can reassure the hon. Member that copies of the background paper used by the assessment panel are available from this Department.

  European Law
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 26 January,Official Report, column 265, if he will outline what is meant by the referral to the European Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling on questions of European Law; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Scott
  If a court or tribunal isa member state is unclear on a question of European law in a case before it, the issue can be referred to the European Court of Justice for a definitive interpretation of the provisions of European law in question. Such a referral can be made by any court or tribunal if it considers that a decision on the issue is necessary to enable judgment to be given. Once the European Court of Justice has answered the question, it is sent back to the national court or tribunal, which then applies the ruling to the case before it. Such a ruling by the European Court of Justice, interpreting provisions of European law at the request of a national court or tribunal, is called a preliminary ruling.

  Child Support Agency
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the projected expenditure in 1993–94 on staff wages for the Child Support Agency.

  Mr. Burt
  The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Ros Hepplewhite, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from Ros Hepplewhite to Mr. Hugh Bayley, dated 3 February 1994:
  I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking for details about the projected expenditure on staff wages in the Child Support Agency in 1993/94.

  943
  Of the total budget of £116 million allocated for the Agency's capital and running costs in 1993/94, approximately £74 million is for staffing costs.
  I hope you find this information useful.

  Mr. Ingram
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security on how many occasions since April 1993 the Child Support Agency has issued letters alleging parenthood which have been subsequently withdrawn as being in error.

  Mr. Burt
  The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Ros Hepplewhite, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from Ros Hepplewhite to Mr. Adam Ingram, dated 3 February 1994:
  I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security, asking about maintenance enquiry forms (MEFs) sent in error by the Child Support Agency.
  The information requested is not collected. It is estimated, however, that of the 344,000 MEFs issued to the end of December 1993, less than 0·05 per cent. have been withdrawn owing to error.
  I hope that you find this reply helpful.

  Child Support Act 1991
  Miss Lestor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he intends to publish the report in connection with the operation of the Child Support Act 1991 in relation to ethnic minorities; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Burt
  [holding answer 28 January 1994]: Prior to the launch of the Child Support Agency, the Department of Social Security commissioned surveys on the new system of child maintenance among a number of groups, including Asian and Afro-Caribbean communities. These surveys were carried out with a view to developing specific publicity campaigns and were taken into account in addressing the information needs of the communities but were not intended for publication.

  EC (million ecu)

  All member states (million ecu)

  United Kingdom share (million ecu)

  United Kingdom percentage share

  Total ECSC loans advanced 1952–92

  19,670·4

  —

  4,792·8

  24·0

  Total disbursement of conversion loans at 31 December 1992

  —

  5,485·2

  1,893·8

  34·5

  Total disbursement of article 54 loans at 31 December 1992

  —

  13,624·7

  2,862·8

  21·0

  Total loans for workers' houses disbursed at 31 December 1992

  —

  560·5

  36·2

  6·5

  Research Programmes

  A total figure for the period 1952–92 and a breakdown by country is not readily available, figures for the last three years are given:

  Million ecu

  Steel industry

  Coal industry

  1990

  43

  36

  1991

  62

  48

  1992

  58

  48

  944

  Elderly People
  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his Department's estimate of the number of people who will be aged(a) 65 years and over and (b) 80 years and over for each year to 2010.

  Mr. Hague
  [pursuant to his reply, 28 January 1994, c. 446]: The information contained a typographical error. The estimate for the number of people—in thousands—aged 80 and over in 2001 should read "2,499".

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Industrial Research Establishments
  Mr. Ingram
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade on what date he received a copy of the KPMG report on his Department's industrial research establishments; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Heseltine
  I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Ribble Valley (Mr. Evans) on 4 May 1993,Official Report, column 4, when I undertook to report the conclusions of the KPMG report to the House. An initial report was received from KPMG in November 1993 and further work has been commissioned which I expect to be completed in the near future.

  Coal and Steel Industries
  Mr. Nicholas Brown
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the total budget allocated by the European Community, under the European Coal and Steel Community treaty, to assist the improvement of economic and social conditions in the coal and steel-producing regions of the EC, giving figures separately, and in each year since their establishment, for(a) industrial loans, (b) conversion loans in areas where coal and steel industries have suffered severe job losses, (c) housing loans to improve living conditions for coal and steel workers, (d) readapation grants for workers made redundant in coal and steel industries, (e) RECHAR, (f) RESIDER and (g) coal and steel research; and what proportion of each of these grants has been awarded to (i) the northern region and (ii) the United Kingdom as a whole.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  The information is as follows:

  RECHAR (million ecu1)

  RESIDER (million ecu1)

  Total EC

  325

  131

  United Kingdom share

  158

  5

  Northern England

  26

  5

  1 at 1993 prices.

  945

  £ million

  ECSC contribution

  Iron and steel employees readaptation benefits scheme at 1990 prices—1974 to 1992

  282

  Readaptation benefits to coal workers—1984 to 1993

  266

  Source: Evaluation report EMIS 6.

  A more detailed breakdown is not readily available but some further information is available in the ECSC financial report for 1992, which I am arranging to be placed in the Library of the House.

  Special Advisers
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 17 December,Official Report, column 986, what are the special adviser Lady Strathnaver's particular qualifications, expertise or experience relating to his departmental responsibilities.

  Mr. Heseltine
  She does her job well.

  Pension Funds
  Mr. Nigel Jones
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) how many court cases have involved superannuation scheme transfers by state-owned industries since 1988; and what were their outcomes;

  (2) which state-owned industries have used superannua-tion scheme surpluses for uses other than those for which the funds were established since 1988; and if he will make a statement;

  (3) how state-owned industries' pension fund trustees are consulted over changes to the funds;

  (4) how many trustees are appointed to each of the state-owned industries' pension funds; how they are selected; and if he will name the current trustees in each case.

  Mr. Eggar
  The management of the pension funds of state-owned industries is a matter for the individual industry concerned and for the fund trustees.

  Public Bodies
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade which non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible have been(a) abolished or (b) created since 1979.

  Mr. Eggar
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 1 February 1994,Official Report, column 611.

  British Gas
  Mr. Hain
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the total grant aid received by British Gas from the European Community for key infrastructure improvements prior to privatisation.

  Mr. Eggar
  This subject is a matter for the board of British Gas. I have therefore passed on this request to the chairman of British Gas.

  Insurance
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what review he makes of insurance companies' participation in block insurance schemes of insurance 946
  companies premium rate policies in respect of geographi-cal areas and of insurance discounts for neighbourhood watch and allied schemes.

  Mr. Neil Hamilton
  None. The Secretary of State's powers under the Insurance Companies Act 1982 are primarily concerned with the solvency of insurance companies and, except where such matters are concerned, he does not intervene in their day-to-day business.

  Cash Limits
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what changes will be made to his Department's cash limits and running costs limits for 1993–94.

  Mr. Heseltine
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for class IV, vote 1—support for business, consumer and investor protection, energy programmes and administration—will be increased by £1,789,000 from £1,237,111,000 to £1,238,900,000.

  An increase in the gross running costs limit for the Department of Trade and Industry from £328,299,000 to £330,088,000 fully accounts for this amount. The increase largely results from the take-up of £1,528,000 under the end year flexibility arrangements announced by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 14 July 1993, Official Report, columns 512–17. The balance is accounted for by transfers from Property Holdings of £245,000 and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of £28,000 offset by a transfer to the Office of Public Service and Science of £12,000 in respect of machinery of government changes.

  There are some other changes in the allocation of provision. This includes a net increase of expenditure by the Warren Spring Laboratory and United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority merger costs amounting to £5,591,000 and £200,000 towards support for the mining equipment industry. These amounts are offset by a corresponding reduction on the fast reactor energy programme.

  Chlorofluorocarbons
  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what quantity of CFCs was exported from the United Kigdom for each year from 1990 to 1993.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  In 1990 the United Kingdom exported 48,400 metric tonnes of CFCs. These are defined as chlorinated and fluorinated derivatives of acylic hydrocarbons and comprise commodity codes 290340100 to 290340600 of the combined nomenclature. More recent information is not available due to commercial confidentiality.

WALES

  Teachers
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many full-time teachers were employed by Welsh local education authorities in the years 1991–92, 1992–93 and 1993–94.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  The latest available data are for 1992–93. The information for that and earlier years is
  947
  contained in "Statistics of Education and Training in Wales: Schools", No. 2, 1994,—tables 6.03 and 6.06—published on 2 February 1994.

  Channel Tunnel
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made as to the effect the operation of the channel tunnel will have on transport in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  Road transport will have good access to the tunnel via the trunk road and motorway network. It is for the railway operators to assess the needs of their customers. Connections with the inter-capital services from Waterloo are expected this year. Services are expected to develop as British Rail's schedules become fully operational.

  Gross Domestic Product
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the current gross domestic product per head by constituency in Wales.

  Mr. Redwood
  Estimates of gross domestic product are not available for areas smaller than counties.

  A470
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when plans will be brought forward to upgrade the A470 road between Betws y Coed and Blaenau Ffestiniog; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  The draft orders for the first stage of the improvement, between Cancoed and Minffordd, were published on 30 November 1993. Further stages are being progressed.

  Redundancy Payments
  Mr. Ieun Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish the total amounts spent on redundancy payments for each Welsh health authority or trust, and for Wales as a whole, for each year since 1987.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The information requested is not available centrally.

  Equal Opportunities
  Mr. Roger Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what he is doing to promote equal opportunities for women entrepreneuses in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  Assistance for business start-ups and for existing businesses is of course available on an equal opportunities basis throughout Wales, but women entrepreneuses can face additional challenges and I am funding the consortium Chwarae Teg to report on the appropriateness of existing business support services in meeting the particular needs of women. In the light of these findings, Chwarae Teg will develop an action plan for improving those services.
  948

  Landfill Sites
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the landfill refuse disposal sites in Wales(a) which are licensed for co-disposal and (b) for which applications for licences for co-disposal have been made but not yet granted.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  This information is not maintained centrally. I would refer the hon. Member to the district councils which are responsible for licensing waste disposal facilities.

  Breast Cancer
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of women in the eligible target group have been screened for breast cancer in the last three years in Wales; how many women have breast cancer; and how many women died from breast cancer in Wales.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  As at 31 March 1993, 39 per cent. of the eligible women in Wales—women aged 50 to 64 —were known to have been screened for breast cancer in the previous three years as part of the national screening programme. However, it should be noted that the screening centres for the populations in north and west Wales did not become operational until the end of 1991 and the beginning of 1992 respectively.

  Estimates of the number of women who currently have breast cancer are not available centrally. However, an average of 1,685 new breast cancer cases per year were registered for Welsh residents for the period 1984 to 1988.

  In the three years to 31 December 1992 there were 2,365 deaths of Welsh female residents from breast cancer.

  Health Promotion Authority
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what consultations he has had with the chairman of the Health Promotion Authority for Wales concerning the calling in of the district auditor to investigate fraud and embezzlement in the authority;

  (2) on what date the district auditor was requested to investigate the travel budget of the health promotion for Wales; and on what date he expects to receive the auditor's report.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  On 13 December 1993, following an internal enquiry, the chairman of the Health Promotion Authority for Wales requested the district audit service to carry out a full investigation of all expenses claims for international travel. Its investigation is continuing and a report is expected in mid-February. The chairman has kept the Department informed throughout and is continuing to do so.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the chairman of the Health Promotion Authority for Wales, the chairman of the South Glamorgan health authority and the provost of the Welsh National School of Medicine in relation to the total cumulative salary and terms and conditions of employment present and future of the executive director of the Health Promotion Authority for Wales; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  Professor Catford has resigned from both his authority and college posts with immediate
  949
  effect from Wednesday 2 February 1994. He therefore has no present or future terms and conditions of employment in relation to the Health Promotion Authority for Wales.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received in relation to the travel expenses of the executive director of the Health Promotion Authority for Wales.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  To date, I have received one letter and 11 parliamentary questions from the hon. Member.

  Cervical Cancer
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of women in the target group have had a cervical cancer smear test in Wales within the last five years; how many women in Wales have cervical cancer; and how many women died of cervical cancer.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  As at 31 March 1993 an estimated 84 per cent. of women in the target group—women aged 20 to 64 resident in the district but excluding those no longer required to be screened—were known to have had a cervical smear test in the previous five years as part of the national recall system.

  Estimates of the number of women who currently have cervical cancer are not available centrally. However, an average of 373 new cervical cancer cases per year were registered for Welsh residents for the period 1984 to 1988.

  In the five years to 31 December 1992 there were 611 deaths of Welsh residents from cervical cancer.

  Cash Limits
  Mr. Richards
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what changes he proposes to make to the cash limits for his Department in the current financial year.

  Mr. Redwood
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimates, the cash limit on class XV, vote 2 will be increased by £4,500,000 from £173,940,000 to £178,440,000; the cash limit on class XV, vote 8 will be reduced by £22,145,000 from £1,381,726,000 to £1,359,581,000; and the cash limit on class XV, vote 9 will be increased by £404,000 from £65,142,000 to £65,546,000. The local authority capital cash limit—WO/LACAP—will be increased by £358,000 from £409,185,000 to £409,543,000 and the cash limit on the European regional development fund—WO/ERDF—will be reduced by £18,116,000 from £50,650,000 to £32,534,000. The running costs limit for the Department will be increased by £165,000 from £77,284,000 to £77,449,000.

  The increase in the cash limit for class XV, vote 2 is required partly to offset a forecast shortfall in receipts by the Welsh Development Agency.

  The net reduction in the cash limit for class XV, vote 8 arises mainly from the transfer of provision to class XV, vote 7 in respect of (i) a revised estimate of drug expenditure for GP fundholders—£6,750,000—and (ii) NHS trusts—£16,182,000. These transfers comprise part of a spring supplementary estimate for class XV, vote 7 of £46,178,000.

  The increase in the cash limit for class XV, vote 9 comprises mainly a transfer of £147,000 from the Property Services Agency and additional resources for capital expenditure of £250,000.
  950
  There are also changes to two non-voted cash limits. The increase in the cash limit for WO/LACAP is in respect of a transfer from HO/LACAP in respect of the replacement of fire service mobilisation and communication systems. The reduction in the cash limit for WO/ERDF reflects lower than expected expenditure on ERDF projects in 1993–94.

  None of the proposed changes will add to the planned total of public expenditure.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Special Advisers
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to his answer of 16 December,Official Report, column 871, what are the particular qualifications, experience or expertise relating to Northern Ireland of the special adviser Mr. Jonathon Caine.

  Sir Patrick Mayhew
  It is not my practice to comment on the qualifications, expertise or experience of my special adviser.

  Public Bodies
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible have been(a) abolished or (b) created since 1979.

  Sir John Wheeler
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer given him by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 1 February,Official Report, column 611.

  Statutory Sick Pay
  Mr. Ingram
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will provide figures for the amount his Department has been reimbursed by the Department of Social Security in respect of statutory sick pay provision for each of the past three years.

  Sir John Wheeler
  The information requested is as follows:

  Year

  Amount £

  1990–91

  93,269·04

  1991–92

  60,164·56

  1992–93

  63,817·38

  Cash Limits
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on cash and running costs limits for the Northern Ireland Office, Northern Ireland departmental services, the independent living fund and certain national agricultural schemes for 1993–94.

  Sir John Wheeler
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, it is proposed that the cash limit for class XVI, vote 1—the Northern Ireland Office—will be increased by £29,526,000 from £895,440,000 to £924,966,000.

  The cash limit for most Northern Ireland departmental services will be decreased by £46,165,000 from

  951
  £3,628,922,000 to £3,582,757,000. This decrease arises from the transfer of £22,333,000 to the Northern Ireland Office cash limit and other technical changes of £23,832,000 net.

  The cash limit for the independent living fund will decrease by £52,000 to reflect a reduction in provision earlier in the year.

  The cash limit covering national agricultural capital grant schemes and certain assistance for production, marketing and processing and the fishing industry will decrease by £1,063,000 from £11,027,000 to £9,964,000 mainly as a result of transfers to non-cash-limited areas.

  The combined running cost limit for the Northern Ireland Office and Northern Ireland departments will be increased by £6,869,000 from £723,455,000 to £730,324,000. This reflects the take-up of £3,582,000 end-year flexibility entitlement announced by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 14 July 1993, Official Report, columns 511–17, a net transfer of £1,610,000 from the Department of Social Security, mainly in respect of child

  Supplementary Benefit and Income Support

  Year ending

  Type of Benefit

  Claimants

  Dependent Partners

  Children

  December 1978

  Supplementary Benefit

  116,446

  29,279

  70,545

  December 1979

  Supplementary Benefit

  115,359

  26,326

  64,790

  December 1980

  Supplementary Benefit

  128,993

  32,443

  80,308

  December 1981

  Supplementary Benefit

  149,977

  38,133

  93,595

  December 1982

  Supplementary Benefit

  164,888

  44,888

  109,863

  December 1983

  Supplementary Benefit

  174,515

  48,812

  117,083

  December 1984

  Supplementary Benefit

  180,806

  49,091

  116,258

  February 1986

  Supplementary Benefit

  184,374

  52,802

  135,251

  May 1987

  Supplementary Benefit

  190,780

  51,815

  134,052

  May 1988

  Income Support

  184,140

  44,940

  118,240

  May 1989

  Income Support

  183,400

  42,420

  121,900

  May 1990

  Income Support

  179,000

  38,500

  118,580

  May 1991

  Income Support

  180,773

  Figures Not Available

  May 1992

  Income Support

  199,820

  40,400

  139,420

  May 1993

  Income Support

  Figures Not Yet Available

  NB. Income support replaced supplementary benefit on 11 April 1988.

  Family Income Supplement and Family Credit

  Year and type of benefit

  Families

  Children

  1978

  Family Income Supplement

  8,426

  30,402

  1979

  Family Income Supplement

  7,898

  27,493

  1980

  Family Income Supplement

  8,534

  28,857

  1981

  Family Income Supplement

  11,295

  36,378

  1982

  Family Income Supplement

  12,678

  38,734

  1983

  Family Income Supplement

  13,357

  39,557

  1984

  Family Income Supplement

  figures not available

  952
  support costs, a transfer of £1,657,000 from the Inland Revenue in respect of services provided and minor transfers totalling a net £20,000. Of the revised running cost provision, £174,692,000 is for the NIO and £555,632,000 is the NI departments.

  These changes will not add to the planned total of PE.

  Benefits
  Sir David Knox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many and what percentages of adults and children, distinguishing between claimants, adult dependants and child dependants, received(a) supplementary benefit or income support, (b) family income supplement or family credit, (c) rent rebates or rent allowances or (d) rate rebates or community charge benefit or council tax benefit in each year since 1978–79.

  Mr. Ancram
  The available information is set out in the tables. Housing benefit is the Northern Ireland equivalent to community charge benefit and council tax benefit.

  Year and type of benefit

  Families

  Children

  1985

  Family Income Supplement

  14,777

  42,613

  1986

  Family Income Supplement

  14,941

  41,322

  1987

  Family Income Supplement

  14,818

  40,399

  1988

  Family Credit

  13,451

  34,897

  1989

  Family Credit

  14,224

  36,204

  1990

  Family Credit

  14,039

  35,073

  1991

  Family Credit

  15,244

  37,294

  953

  Year and type of benefit

  Families

  Children

  1992

  Family Credit

  17,984

  42,532

  1993

  Family Credit

  figures not yet available

  NB: Family credit replaced family income supplement on 11 April 1988.

  Housing benefit recipients

  Financial year

  Rent/rates rebates [housing executive tenants]

  Rent/rates allowances [private tenants]

  Rates rebates [owner occupiers]

  Totals

  1984–85

  119,200

  19,000

  49,200

  187,400

  1985–86

  117,600

  19,200

  47,600

  184,400

  1986–87

  117,600

  20,100

  51,700

  189,400

  1987–88

  118,300

  21,100

  54,000

  193,400

  1988–89

  109,273

  20,253

  35,538

  165,064

  1989–90

  109,113

  21,585

  28,200

  158,898

  1990–91

  109,113

  21,519

  35,471

  166,103

  1991–92

  110,206

  17,595

  32,598

  160,399

  1992–93

  110,439

  26,162

  28,512

  165,113

  NB: Housing benefit was introduced on 21 November 1983

  Note: Figures for 1984–85 to 1987–88—inclusive—rounded to nearest hundred

  Supplementary Benefit and Income Support

  Year and type of benefit

  Mid-year total adult (16+) population estimates

  Supplementary Benefit/ Income Support claimants and dependent partners as a percentage of the adult population Per cent.

  Total number of children in receipt of Child Benefit

  Children dependent on Income Support/ Supplementary Benefit as a percentage of children receiving Child Benefit Per cent.

  1978

  Supplementary Benefit

  1,034,061

  14

  481,349

  15

  1979

  Supplementary Benefit

  1,043,306

  14

  488,114

  13

  1980

  Supplementary Benefit

  1,051,772

  15

  489,050

  16

  1981

  Supplementary Benefit

  1,065,301

  18

  478,712

  20

  1982

  Supplementary Benefit

  1,071,588

  20

  474,086

  23

  1983

  Supplementary Benefit

  1,080,683

  21

  470,528

  25

  1984

  Supplementary Benefit

  1,091,449

  21

  467,556

  25

  1985

  Supplementary Benefit

  1,101,960

  1—

  465,144

  1—

  1986

  Supplementary Benefit

  1,112,556

  21

  463,178

  29

  1987

  Supplementary Benefit

  1,122,715

  22

  459,962

  29

  954

  Family income supplement and family credit Families and children receiving FIS/family credit as proportion of families and children receiving child benefit

  Year and type of benefit

  Families Per cent.

  Children Per cent.

  1978

  Family income supplement

  4

  6

  1979

  Family income supplement

  4

  6

  1980

  Family income supplement

  4

  6

  1981

  Family income supplement

  5

  8

  1982

  Family income supplement

  6

  8

  1983

  Family income supplement

  6

  8

  1984

  Family income supplement

  Figures not available

  1985

  Family income supplement

  7

  9

  1986

  Family income supplement

  7

  9

  1987

  Family income supplement

  7

  9

  1988

  Family credit

  6

  8

  1989

  Family credit

  7

  8

  1990

  Family credit

  6

  8

  1991

  Family credit

  7

  8

  1992

  Family credit

  8

  9

  1993

  Family credit

  Figures not yet available

  Note: Family credit replaced family income supplement on 11 April 1988.
  955

  Year and type of benefit

  Mid-year total adult (16+) population estimates

  Supplementary Benefit/ Income Support claimants and dependent partners as a percentage of the adult population Per cent.

  Total number of children in receipt of Child Benefit

  Children dependent on Income Support/ Supplementary Benefit as a percentage of children receiving Child Benefit Per cent.

  1988

  Income Support

  1,128,038

  20

  461,056

  26

  1989

  Income Support

  1,135,388

  20

  459,274

  27

  1990

  Income Support

  1,142,825

  19

  459,646

  26

  1991

  Income Support

  1,156,767

  1—

  461,314

  1—

  1992

  Income Support

  1,171,347

  21

  463,098

  30

  1993

  Income Support

  1,180,000

  2—

  2—

  2—

  1 Figures not available.

  2 Figures not yet available.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  St. Helena
  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commowealth Affairs how many times property on St. Helena has fallen forfeit to Her Majesty's Government; and if he will make a statement on the circumstances in which this occurs.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  We are aware of one case in which a real property has technically fallen forfeit to Her Majesty. However, under the relevant legislation the Government of St. Helena would have to follow further procedures in order to give effect to that forfeiture. The Government of St. Helena have declared that they have no plans to take these steps. I will write to the hon. Gentleman shortly setting out the legal background.

  Ministers (Travel)
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the(a) budgeted and (b) actual expenditure by his Department on (1) internal and (2) overseas travel by the Secretary of State in 1989–90 and after 26 October 1989, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93 and so far in 1993–94.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  There is no separate budget for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs' internal travel, which is minimal.
  956
  Similarly, his overseas travel is paid from a budget shared with other FCO Ministers. The figures for actual expenditure since 1989 on his overseas travel are:

  £

  1 April 1989 to 26 October 1989

  287,856·86

  27 October 1989 to 31 March 1990

  506,903·44

  1 April 1990 to 31 March 1991

  694,404·04

  1 April 1991 to 31 March 1992

  1,037,373·50

  1 April 1992 to 31 March 1993

  1,569,712·00

  1 April 1993 to date

  1,021,503·70

  Mr. Tom Clarke
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list all the overseas visits that have been made by Foreign Office Ministers since June 1987; and what was the purpose of each visit.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  The information is available in a table of 30 pages which has been placed in the Library.

  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what ministerial visits have been made by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, including the Overseas Development Administration, over each of the last three years to(a) Indonesia, (b) Jordan, (c) Oman, (d) Nigeria, (e) Ecuador, (f) Malaysia and (g) India; and what was their main purpose in each case.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  Over the last three years, Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers including the Minister for Overseas Development have made the following visits to the named countries.
  957

  Country

  Minister

  Date

  Purpose of visit

  Indonesia

  Lord Caithness

  April 1991

  Bilateral

  Mr. Goodlad

  October 1992

  Bilateral

  Secretary of State

  April 1993

  Bilateral

  Jordan

  Secretary of State

  January 1991

  Bilateral

  Mr. Hogg

  March 1991

  Bilateral

  Mr. Hogg

  July 1993

  Bilateral

  Secretary of State

  January 1994

  Bilateral

  Oman

  Nil

  Nigeria

  Mrs. Chalker

  January 1991

  Bilateral

  Secretary of State

  January 1993

  Bilateral

  Baroness Chalker

  January 1993

  Bilateral

  Ecuador

  Mr. Garel-Jones

  June 1993

  Bilateral

  Malaysia

  Lord Caithness

  April 1991

  Bilateral

  Lord Caithness

  October 1991

  Bilateral

  Secretary of State

  July 1992

  Bilateral

  Mr. Goodlad

  April 1993

  Bilateral

  India

  Secretary of State

  May 1991

  Funeral of Rajiv Gandhi

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd

  September 1991

  CPA Conference

  Secretary of State

  January 1992

  Bilateral

  Mrs. Chalker

  February 1992

  Bilateral

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd

  March 1992

  EC Troika

  Secretary of State

  November 1993

  Bilateral

  Lockerbie Bombing
  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Government of Libya to make two of its citizens available to face charges concerning the Lockerbie bombing; what responses he has recently received from the Libyan Government on this matter; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  I have made no such representa-tions. The Libyan Government are fully aware of the requirements of the United Nations Security Council, and in particular that they should ensure the apearance of those accused of the Lockerbie bombing for trial before the appropriate United States or United Kingdom court.

  South Pacific Commission
  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what are the reasons for withdrawing from the South Pacific Commission.

  Mr. Goodlad
  Withdrawal from membership of the South Pacific Commission will allow us to concentrate limited financial resources where they will have most effect, on maintaining a bilateral diplomatic presence in a number of south Pacific countries, and on a continuing bilateral and multilateral aid programme. Since the New Hebrides became independent as Vanuatu in 1980 the United Kingdom's right to membership of the commission has depended solely on the existence of the Pitcairn island dependency. Withdrawal will not affect support for the commission's development projects, which is met from the Overseas Development Aministration's aid programme budget.
  958

  Belize
  Dr. Spink
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the current security of Belize; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  The sovereignty and in-dependence of Belize are recognised by all members of the United Nations. Belize is also a member of the Organisation of American States. We have made clear our readiness to participate with others in any consultations arising from a future threat to Belize's security.

  Dr. Spink
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will raise the issue of the security of Belize and the political instability in Guatemala at the United Nations Security Council; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  I have no plans to do so. Belize is a member of the United Nations and would be free to raise this issue if she so wished.

  Korea
  Mr. Parry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent talks have taken place between Her Majesty's Government and the United States of America concerning the current situation on the Korean peninsula.

  Mr. Goodlad
  We are in regular and continuous contact with the United States government on Korean matters.

  Mr. Parry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's policy on the peaceful reunification of the Korean peninsula.

  Mr. Goodlad
  We have consistently supported efforts to achieve peaceful reunification of the two Koreas. This requires an early resumption of substantive discussions between them.
  959

  Flight ULE 966
  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 25 January,Official Report, column 145, how many Jamaican citizens intending to travel to the United Kingdom on flight ULE 966 arriving at Gatwick on 21 December checked special travel documentation, issued by Caribbean Gold, the tour operators, with officials at the British high commission; and what advice these passengers received.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  The British high commission in Kingston has no record of any enquiries from Jamaican citizens holding special travel documentation from Caribbean Gold.

  Azerbaijan
  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is Her Majesty's Government's policy on the supply of arms to Azerbaijan; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  Since February 1992 a voluntary Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe embargo has been in place in the supply of military equipment to the parties in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. We have stood by the terms of this embargo and will continue to do so.

  As I made clear in my answer to the hon. Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. Mullin) on 27 January, Official Report, column 467, it would be a serious matter if a British company were found to be breaking this embargo.

  European Union
  Mr. Robert Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the forthcoming business in the Council of the European Union.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  The following meetings are planned.

  7–8 February: Foreign Affairs Council.

  14 February: ECOFIN Council.

  21–22 February: Agriculture Council.

  The following subjects are likely to be discussed:

  (a) Foreign Affairs Council: 7–8 February

  Presidency priorities: open debate

  EP resolutions

  White Paper on Growth, Competitiveness and Employment: follow-up

  Accession negotiations: preparation for negotiating meetings

  CFSP financing

  Appointments to Court of Auditors

  Ombudsman decision

  Relations with Baltic countries: negotiating mandate

  Russia: progress of negotiations on partnership and co-operation agreement

  Ukraine

  Relations with EP, in particular

  Legislative programme

  Inter-institutional agreements

  Ratification of decision on EP seats

  Former Yugoslavia

  Appointment of European observer in Cyprus

  Relations with Algeria: Union position for Co-operation Council

  Council regulation on implementing EEA

  Negotiating mandate for mid-term review of Lome IV Trade policy problems

  Trade policy instruments

  960

  Transfer of jurisdiction to Court of First Instance

  Uruguay Round: preparation for Marrakesh meeting

  Conclusion of US/EC agreement of spirits

  Budget discipline

  Dual use of goods

  Other business: relations with Switzerland

  (b) ECOFIN Council: 14 February

  Presidency work programme (possible)

  Portuguese convergence programme

  Follow-up to White Paper on Growth, Competitiveness and Employment

  EMU implementation

  7th VAT Directive

  Agriculture Council: 21–22 February

  Spanish and Portuguese accession—wine (possible)

  Greek agricultural surveys (possible)

  Genetic resources (possible)

  European forestry information and communication system (possible)

  Wine balance sheets (possible)

  Milk producers compensation (possible)

  Price-fixing

  Wine regime reform (possible)

  Plant breeders rights

  Cash Limits
  Mr. Cyril D. Townsend
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further changes he proposes to make in his Department's diplomatic wing cash limits and running cost limits for 1993–94.

  Mr. Goodlad
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the following changes will be made.

  The cash limit for class II, vote 1—overseas representation—will be reduced by £2,027,000 from £818,609,000 to £816,582,000.

  The gross running costs limit on class II, vote 1 will be reduced by £10,228,000 from £579,877,000 to £569,649,000 following a transfer of provision to class II, vote 2 and vote 4.

  The cash limit for class II, vote 2—other external relations—will be increased by £100,827,000 from £301,230,000 to £402,057,000. The increase will be met by underspends of £·2 million on vote 1, by underspends of £1·8 million on vote 2 and by increased appropriations in aid. The balance will be charged to the reserve.

  The cash limit for class II, vote 4—the British Council —will be increased by £4,636,000 in respect of adverse foreign currency movements—£2,636,000—and restruc-turing costs—£2,000,000. The amounts will be met by a claim on the reserve and by underspends on vote 1 respectively.

  As the increases will be offset by savings and charges to the reserve, they will not add to the planned total of public expenditure.

LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL

  Cash Limits
  Mr. Page
  To ask the Lord President of the Council what changes he proposes to the Privy Council Office vote cash and running costs limits for 1993–94.

  Mr. Newton
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit of class XIX, vote 3 will be increased by £7,000 from £2,308,000 to £2,315,000 and the running costs by £47,000 from £2,330,000 to £2,377,000.
  961
  The increase in the cash limit reflects the transfer of funds from Property Holdings class VII vote 6 owing to increased accommodation costs and will not add to the planned total of public expenditure.

  The increase in the running costs reflects the transfer from Property Holdings; the additional £40,000 is for the cost of the central drugs co-ordination unit and the ambit of class XIX, vote 3 is to be modified accordingly.

SCOTLAND

  Diabetics
  Mr. Connarty
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what policy he has for targeting care towards insulin-dependent diabetics who are lone parents;

  (2) what measures he has in place, or intends to introduce, to encourage diabetics to be more open about their condition and to ensure adequate support in the community.

  Mr. Stewart
  As part of their treatment, insulin dependent diabetics are advised of the crucial importance of maintaining an injecting and dietary routine, and of regularly measuring blood sugar levels, in order to reduce the risk of falling into a diabetic coma. It is particularly important that those living alone, and lone parents, should follow this advice closely and consider keeping neighbours or relations informed of their movements.

  A joint task force of the Department of Health and the British Diabetic Association, with Scottish and other United Kingdom Health Department representation, is currently considering the implementation in the United Kingdom of the St. Vincent declaration of the World Health Organisation on the care of diabetic patients. As part of its work, the task force is considering how best to promote the self-care and community support of diabetic citizens—including those living alone and lone parents —and their fullest possible integration into society.

  Tups
  Mr. Macdonald
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the cost to the Treasury of hiring out tups under the tup and bull scheme in the crofting counties; and what are the projected savings if the tups were instead to be sold to crofters.

  Sir Hector Monro
  The various livestock improvement schemes for crofters, including the ram supply scheme, cost approximately £800,000 in 1992–93 of which £300,000 was offset by charges and other income generated by the stud farms. The change from a ram supply to a ram purchase scheme should reduce the net annual deficit associated with the schemes by about £125,000.

  Crofter Housing Scheme
  Mr. Macdonald
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will place a copy of the PIEDA report on the crofter housing scheme in the Library when it is completed; and if he will state the cost of commissioning the report.

  Sir Hector Monro
  My Department has commissioned PIEDA plc to undertake an evaluation study of the crofters, etcetera, building grants and loans scheme. The report of the study will be published shortly and I shall arrange for a copy to be placed in the Library.
  962
  For reasons of commercial confidentiality, I am unable to provide details of the cost of commissioning the report.

  Cervical Smear Tests
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 20 January,Official Report, column 759, if he will make it his policy to monitor centrally the amount of time taken to notify women of the results of their cervical smear tests within each health board area.

  Mr. Stewart
  Yes. The new national co-ordinating unit for cervical screening which is being set up, following the recommendations of the Inverclyde inquiry report, will monitor the achievement of the targets set for health boards on this programme.

  Ayrshire and Arran Health Board
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much it cost Ayrshire and Arran health board to produce and distribute its annual report and financial review 1992–93; and how much it cost the health board to produce its annual review in 1993.

  Mr. Stewart
  It cost Ayrshire and Arran health board £12,111 to produce its 1992–93 annual report and £17,000 to produce its annual review in 1993. The 1992–93 financial review was produced in-house and costs are not separately identifiable. Distribution costs cannot be identified. They constitute mainly internal costs and some postage expenses.

  GP Fundholders

  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will state the distinction he makes in the roles of general practitioner fundholders compared to non-fundholders in respect of NHS priorities and planning guidance for the future of the NHS; and on what specific legislation he bases this distinction.

  Mr. Stewart
  GP fundholders are purchasers of health care and control approximately 20 per cent of the total hospital and community health services budget for the patients on their lists. As such, they are accountable under the National Health Service (Fundholding Practices) (Scotland) Regulations 1993—SI 1993 No. 488—for their purchasing decisions and need to be aware of national priorities and targets which the Government expect purchasers collectively in Scotland—health boards and GP fundholders—to achieve, within the resources it makes available.

  Other general practitioners are not accountable in the same way, although the Government have encouraged health boards to involve GPs in planning and in reaching decisions about purchasing care.

  Cash Limits
  Mr. Kynoch
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what changes the Lord Advocate proposes to the Crown Office cash and running costs limits for 1993–94.

  Mr. Lang
  The cash limit for class IX, vote 12—Crown Office, Scotland, procurator fiscal service and Lord Advocate's Department: administration—will be reduced by £400,000 from £39,495,000 to £39,095,000. Within this total, the running cost limit will be reduced by £400,000
  963
  from £33,722,000 to £33,322,000. The resultant saving will, subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, fully offset additional expenditure on class IX, vote 13—Crown Office, Scotland: Crown prosecutions and legal services—resulting from increased court activity and consequential higher than expected witness costs.

  Mr. Kynoch
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what changes he intends to make to the cash limits and running costs provision for 1993–94 within his responsibility.

  Mr. Lang
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimates, I intend to make changes to seven voted cash limits, one non-voted cash block and three running costs limit:

  (a) The cash limit for class XIV, vote 2, agricultural services, Scotland, will be decreased by £6,500,000 from £123,838,000 to £117,338,000. The reduction arises mainly from lower than expected demand for structural measures and accompanying measures to CAP reform.

  (b) The cash limit for class XIV, vote 7, housing and environmental services, Scotland, will be increased by £12,703,000 from £418,959,000 to £431,662,000. The increase takes account of £11,112,000 increase in Scottish Homes' grant in aid to assist housing associations in the acquistion of local authority and new town development corporation housing stock; an increase in provision of £1,589,000 in housing support grant; and an increase in provision of £2,000 to meet an unanticipated shortfall in appropriations in aid of repayment of loans and grants by first-time buyers. These increases will be partly offset by a reduction in the SO/LA2 cash block. There is also an increase of £200,000 from £12,838,000 to £13,038,000 in the running cost provision for Historic Scotland; this will be offset by an increase in the agency's appropriations in aid from £7,674,000 to £7,874,000. In effect this means that there is a net increase of £198,000 in appropriation in aid on the vote as a whole.

  (c) The cash limit for class XIV, vote 12, law, order, miscellaneous health and social work services, Scotland, will be increased by a net total of £2,453,000 from £283,532,000 to £285,985,000. The supplementary estimate allows for an increase in provision of £2,371,000 for the Scottish Criminal Records Office; and an increase in running cost provision of £400,000 for the Scottish Prison Service. These will be partially offset by transfers from other votes.

  (d) The cash limit for class XIV, vote 14, hospital community health, family health—part—and other health services, Scotland, will be decreased by a net total of £17,724,000 from £2,784,391,000 to £2,766,667,000. The decrease takes account of a transfer of £21,042,000 to class XIV, vote 13 for changes in the requirements for GP practice

  Members of the Parole Board for Scotland—1994

  Members

  Year of first appointment

  Designation

  J. M. Scott

  1982 (member)

  Social work

  Chairman

  1992 (Chair for 2 years

  Former District Manager, Strathclyde regional Social Work Department; former member of the Local Review Committee for Dumfries Young Offenders Institution

  I. McNee

  1989

  Independent

  Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Macdonald Lindsay Pindar pic; former Chairman, Lothian Region Children's Panel

  D. S. Aitchison

  1989

  Independent

  Former Assistant Chief Constable, Strathclyde Police

  Dr. J. Baird

  1992

  Psychiatrist

  Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist, Douglas Inch Centre, Glasgow

  Mrs. M. Casserly

  1990

  Social work

  District Officer (Adult Care), Strathclyde Region, Social Work Department

  964

  fundholders and the external financing limit for NHS trusts; and transfers of £2,000,000 to class XIV, vote 12 and £318,000 from class XII, vote 3. There is also an increase of £5,000,000 in health boards' capital expenditure which will be offset by increased receipts from the sale of land and buildings. The increase in the NHS trusts' external financing limit includes £438,000 for take-up of the end-year flexibility entitlement.

  (e) The cash limit for class XIV, vote 19, administration of justice, Scotland, will be decreased by £2,300,000 from £53,005,000 to £50,705,000. The decrease is due to fewer than expected cases arising under the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 1993.

  (f) The cash limit for class XIV, vote 21, Scottish Office administration, will be increased by a net total of £1,142,000 from £164,436,000 to £165,578,000. The increase results from a transfer of £195,000 from the Property Holdings agency in respect of maintenance charges; a transfer of £1,000,000 from class XIV, vote 19, as a result of running costs being redeployed; a tranfer of provision of £25,000 to class XIV, vote 12, the Scottish Office Pensions Agency for the provision of security staff; and a transfer of provision of £28,000 to class XIV, vote 12 for capital provision for the Scottish fire service.

  (g) The cash limit for class XIV, vote 22, Scottish Record Office, will be increased by £26,000 from £10,269,000 to £10,295,000 as a result of a transfer from the Property Holdings agency in respect of maintenance charges.

  (h) The non-voted cash block SO/LA2, which covers housing capital expenditure by local authorities and capital expenditure by new towns, will be decreased by £11,112,000 from £275,414,000 to £264,302,000. This will fully offset the increase in Scottish Homes grant in aid in class XIV, vote 7.

  As a result of the transfers mentioned for votes 7, 12 and 21, the Scottish Office running cost/limit will increase by £1,795,000 from £332,856,000 to £334,651,000.
  The change to class XIV, vote 19, Scottish courts administration, requires a decrease in their running cost limit of £2,300,000 from £42,758,000 to £40,458,000.
  The change to class XIV, vote 22, Scottish Records Office requires an increase in its running cost limit of £26,000 from £4,054,000 to £4,080,000.
  The increases will be offset by savings on other votes within my responsibility and from the reserve. There will not therefore be any addition to the planned total of public expenditure.

  Parole Board
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland who are the members currently appointed to the Parole Board; and what is their term of appointment and their remuneration.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The information requested is as follows:
  965

  Members

  Year of first appointment

  Designation

  W. T. Finlayson

  1991

  Treatment of offenders

  Former HM Deputy Chief Inspector of Prison, former Governor, HM Prison, Comton Vale

  The Very Rev. G. J. T. Forbes

  1991

  Independent

  Provost, St. Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh

  Ms J. Freeman

  1994

  Independent

  Director, APEX Trust

  Mrs. D. Hutton

  1993

  Independent

  Chairman, Scottish Consumer Council

  Mrs. M. B. Kernohan

  1992

  Independent

  Former Procurator Fiscal

  Dr. J. J. McManus

  1988

  Criminologist

  Senior Lecturer in Law, Dundee University

  The Hon. Lord Milligan

  1992

  Judicial

  Senator of the College of Justice

  Sheriff Gordon Shiach

  1991

  Judicial

  Sheriff, Edinburgh

  Dr. P. Whatmore

  1994

  Psychiatrist

  Former Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist

  Members are appointed initially for a three-year term—unless otherwise specified and can be reappointed.

  Members are remunerated on a fee-paid basis. Fees are payable for each meeting attended plus a further 1½ fee for the reading time involved in preparing for meetings. Fees are also payable for other Parole Board-related activities such as interviewing prisoners, representing the board at meetings etc. Rates of fees are:

  Chairman—£211.

  Psychiatric members—£217·40.

  Lay members—£141.

  Serving judicial members of the board do not receive fees.

  Prisoners (Educational Qualifications)
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what were the educational qualifications of prisoners convicted for(a) theft, (b) burglary and (c) violent crimes against the person in each of the past four years.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  I have asked Mr. E. W. Frizzell, the chief executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from E. W. Frizzell to Dr. Norman Godman, dated 4 February 1994:
  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton has asked me to reply to your Question about the educational qualifications of prisoners convicted for theft, burglary and violent crimes against the person in each of the past four years.
  Information on the educational qualifications of persons received into Scottish penal establishments is not collected by the Scottish Prison Service.

  Persons with a charge proved who were sentenced in Greenock sheriff court 1983–1992

  1983

  1984

  1985

  1986

  1987

  1988

  1989

  1990

  1991

  1992

  (1) Housebreaking

  Number of persons with a charge proved who were sentenced in Greenock sheriff court

  175

  104

  117

  129

  133

  92

  126

  102

  82

  100

  Percentage of persons with a charge proved in sheriff courts in Strathclyde who were sentenced in Greenock sherrif court

  3

  2

  2

  3

  4

  3

  4

  4

  4

  4

  Percentage of persons with a charge proved in sheriff courts in Scotland who were sentenced in Greenock sheriff court

  2

  1

  1

  2

  2

  1

  2

  2

  2

  2

  (2) Theft

  Number of persons with a charge proved who were sentenced in Greenock sheriff court

  239

  265

  280

  274

  229

  238

  225

  238

  214

  198

  Percentage of persons with a charge proved in sheriff courts in Strathclyde who were sentenced in Greenock sherrif court

  4

  4

  4

  4

  4

  5

  4

  5

  5

  4

  Percentage of persons with a charge proved in sheriff courts in Scotland who were sentenced in Greenock sheriff court

  2

  2

  2

  2

  2

  2

  2

  2

  2

  2

  (3) Robbery

  Number of persons with a charge proved who were sentenced in Greenock sheriff court

  12

  4

  10

  13

  9

  12

  9

  7

  7

  5

  966

  Crime Statistics
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many convictions there were in(a) the sheriff court and (b) the High Court for (i) house burglary, (ii) theft, (iii) theft from vehicles, (iv) robbery and (v) murder committed in the parliamentary constituency of Greenock and Port Glasgow in each of the past 10 years; and if he will give the total number of convictions for each of those offences committed in that area as a proportion of those committed in both Strathclyde and Scotland as a whole.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Information held centrally on convictions does not indicate the location where the offences were committed but information is available for Greenock sheriff court and generally all such convictions will relate to offences committed in Inverclyde district.

  The available information is listed:
  967

  1983

  1984

  1985

  1986

  1987

  1988

  1989

  1990

  1991

  1992

  Percentage of persons with a charge proved in sheriff courts in Strathclyde who were sentenced in Greenock sherrif court

  3

  1

  3

  4

  2

  3

  3

  2

  3

  2

  Percentage of persons with a charge proved in sheriff courts in Scotland who were sentenced in Greenock sheriff court

  2

  1

  2

  2

  1

  2

  2

  1

  2

  1

  Restraints
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what guidelines have been issued to police forces concerning the use of leg restraints and body-belts with handcuffs in cases involving cases of deportation; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  None. Police forces in Scotland are not equipped with leg restraints or body-belts with handcuffs.

  Scottish Nuclear Ltd.
  Mr. Gallie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement about the objectives he has for Scottish Nuclear Ltd.

  Mr. Lang
  I have set the following objectives for Scottish Nuclear; they are listed in order of priority:

  1. To continue the safe operation of Scottish Nuclear's power stations at Hunterston and Torness, and consolidate and develop their operating performance.

  2. To decommission successfully Hunterston A power station.

  3. To achieve an improved financial performance.

  4. To improve the image and public perception of nuclear power generation.

  5. To investigate improved generating methods, particularly reactor and related technologies for the future.

  6. To consider prudent and relevant diversification which makes sensible use of the company's skills.

  Scottish Nuclear has been working to these objectives since it was set up in 1989. They are still valid today, but may need to be reconsidered in the light of the forthcoming nuclear review of the prospects of nuclear power.

  Dental Treatment
  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the waiting time for children awaiting treatment under an anaesthetic at each dental hospital at the latest available date.

  Mr. Stewart
  [holding answer 3 February 1994]: This information is not held centrally.

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

  Law on Privacy
  Mr. Boateng
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if the Government's White Paper on the law on privacy will address the question of the confidentiality of house sale prices; and if he intends to protect such confidentiality.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The consultation document on the law on privacy, which was issued by the Lord Chancellor's Department on 30 July 1993, did not refer to house sale prices. None of the 122 consultees mentioned it and it will not be specifically referred to in the White Paper.
  968

  House Prices
  Mr. Boateng
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department (1) what plans there are to enable information about the price paid for a house to be made publicly available; and how the information is to be limited;

  (2) what, and how many representations, he received before formulating plans to make the price paid for a house public knowledge.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  There are no current plans for such information to be made publicly available. A consultation document recently issued by Her Majesty's Land Registry invites views on whether to restore the practice of entering the price paid for a property on to the public land register.

  Cash Limits
  Mr. Heald
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what changes there will be to the Lord Chancellor's Department's running costs limits for 1993–94.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The cash limit for class IX, vote 11—Public Record Office—will be increased by £309,000 from £37,858,000 to £38,167,000. The running cost limit for class IX, vote 11 will be increased by £309,000 from £24,200,000 to £24,509,000 to cover certain payments to Property Holdings for building maintenance. This increase will be financed by a transfer of provision from Property Holdings and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

  The cash limit for class IX, vote 1—Lord Chancellor's Department; administration of justice; England and Wales —will be reduced by £17,327,000 from £795,529,000 to £778,202,000 as a result of lower than anticipated expenditure on magistrates court grants and because the payment needed for the Land Registry trading fund in respect of the value of work outstanding at 1 April 1993 was £7,327,000 lower than originally estimated.

  The cash limit for class IX, vote 3—Northern Ireland court service; administration of justice—will be reduced by £880,000 from £24,769,000 to £23,889,000. The reduction arises because of savings from keener than expected tenders in several building contracts and a professional services commission which have been let during the current year. The savings from the cash limit reductions on votes 1 and 3 will more than fully offset additional expenditure on class IX, vote 4, subject to approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, required for higher than estimated expenditure on legal advice and assistance and criminal legal aid.
  969

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

  Service Standards
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make it his policy to ensure that none of the service standards specified in the charters published to date are relaxed or withdrawn during the current Parliament.

  Mr. David Davis
  Under the citizens charter, public services are required to set demanding but realistic standards of service. There is no intention to relax or withdraw service standards. On the contrary, as standards are met, so they are being raised.

  Charles Barker
  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much money was owed to Her Majesty's Stationery Office by the public relations company Charles Barker when it went into liquidation.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  HMSO Books was owed £1,704 when Charles Barker Ltd. went into administrative receivership.

  Cash Limits
  Mr. Patrick Thompson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what proposals he has to change the 1993–94 cash limit of running costs limit for the Office of Public Service and Science.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate the cash limit for the Office of Public Service and Science—class XVIII, vote 1 —will be increased by £90,000 from £73,508,000 to £73,598,000 and the gross running cost limit will also be increased by £90,000 from £90,568,000 to £90,658,000. This takes account of a transfer from the Department of Trade and Industry—class IV, vote 1—of £12,000 in respect of the running costs of the Link secretariat which is being transferred from the Department of Trade and Industry to the Office of Public Service and Science. In addition, £78,000 in respect of maintenance charges is being transferred from Property Holdings—class VII, vote 6. The increase is offset by transfers from other Government Departments and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

  Mr. Patrick Thompson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what changes are proposed to the cash and running costs limit in the year 1993–94 in respect of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration and health service commissioners.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  As announced in the Government's White Paper on open government published in July 1993, there will be a major extension to the responsibilities of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration from 4 April 1994. From that date, complaints that Government Departments and certain other bodies have unreasonably refused access to information in contravention of the code of practice proposed in the White Paper may be referred to the commissioner. In preparation for this work, the commissioner has sought a supplementary estimate for 1993–94 for additional staff and to make accommodation and other resources available for them.
  970
  The supplementary estimate also covers additional staff, their accommodation and administrative costs to match the increasing work loads for the Parliamentary Commissioner for Adminstration and health service commissioners as more complaints are being referred by MPs and received direct from members of the public.

  The increased provision sought reflects the fact that the main functions of the office of the parliamentary commissioner and health service commissioners are demand led. Accordingly the cash limit for the office has been increased to £5,123,000.

  Parliamentary approval of this additional expenditure will be sought in a supplementary estimate for the office of the parliamentary commissioner and health service commissioners—class XIX, vote 4—of £659,000.

PRIME MINISTER

  Special Advisers
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Prime Minister which advisers to his Office are seconded from other organisations; and what are the organisations and the lengths and terms of the secondment.

  The Prime Minister
  Lord Poole is on secondment to the policy unit from James Capel and Co. Ltd. The terms of the secondment are covered by the normal confidentiality rules which apply to employer-employee relationships. The other advisers in my Office are not engaged on secondment terms.

  Political Honours
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Prime Minister on how many occasions since 1979 the political honours scrutiny committee has referred back names submitted to it.

  The Prime Minister
  The political honours scrutiny committee is a committee of the Privy Council. Its proceedings are never divulged.

  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will arrange for future honours lists to include not only particulars of public service of recipients but information on their donations to party funds over the previous 10 years.

  The Prime Minister
  No.

  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Prime Minister what is the definition of the term "for political services" as used in honours lists.

  The Prime Minister
  The term is used to indicate that the person honoured has rendered public service through the exercise of a political office or through a political party.

  Public Appointments Unit
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Prime Minister what information is available to right hon. and hon. Members from the public appointments unit; how this information can be obtained; and if he will make a statement.

  The Prime Minister
  The public appointments unit maintains a register of people who are willing to be considered for public appointments. A nomination form and a leaflet explaining the role of the unit, and giving
  971
  details of the different personal qualities, skills and experience that may be required, is available from the director of the unit, which is in the Cabinet Office. The director welcomes nominations of suitable candidates from all hon. Members.

  The unit also provides advice to Government Departments on public appointments policy and pro-cedures. Details of central guidance and examples of good practice are given in the "Guide on Public Appointments Procedures", produced in September 1992, a copy of which is in the Library of the House.

  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Prime Minister how many names of candidates for public appointments are held on the Chief Whip's list as described in the Cabinet Office guide on public appointments procedures.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  I have been asked to reply.

  My right hon. Friend has a number of sources of information upon which he can draw in providing advice, when requested.

  Mr. Peter Levene
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Prime Minister what requests his office has received for Mr. Peter Levene to give evidence to the Scott inquiry.

  The Prime Minister
  None.

  Disabled People
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Prime Minister what plans he has to promote the rights of disabled people within the international community.

  The Prime Minister
  Following the United Nations decade of disabled persons—1983 to 1992—a number of resolutions to promote the integration and equality of opportunity for disabled people have been adopted, which the Government have supported. These include standard rules on the equalisation of opportunities for persons with disabilities, and resolutions on the full integration of persons with disabilities and the international day of disabled persons. The United Kingdom is also involved in a number of European Community programmes designed to integrate disabled people more fully into society, including HELIOS, Horizon and TIDE.

  No. 10 Downing Street
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 1 February,Official Report, column 610, if he will list each category of miscellaneous indirect costs of non-official events held at 10 Downing street.

  The Prime Minister
  I have nothing further to add to the reply I gave the hon. Member on 1 February 1994,Official Report, column 610.

  Lords-lieutenant
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Prime Minister what are the powers and duties of the lords-lieutenant in England.

  The Prime Minister
  Lords-lieutenant have no statutory powers. Their principal function is to act as the 972
  sovereign's personal representative in the county concerned. Their duties include support of the armed forces, the magistracy and voluntary organisations, as well as certain civic and social functions.

  Public Appointments
  Sir Thomas Arnold
  To ask the Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the total number of public appointments made by Ministers of the Crown or by the Crown or nominations by Ministers.

  The Prime Minister
  The information, as requested, could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Belize
  Dr. Spink
  To ask the Prime Minister what recent contact he has had with the Prime Minister of Belize regarding the security situation; and if he will make a statement.

  The Prime Minister
  I met the Belize Prime Minister during the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Limassol in October 1993. Mr. Esquivel and I have since exchanged letters.

  Executive Agencies
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Prime Minister what proportion of civil servants were operating in agencies run along "next steps" lines as at July 1993.

  The Prime Minister
  Around 60 per cent. of civil servants were working in agencies and other organisations operating on "next steps" lines as at July 1993.

  Cash Limits
  Mr. David Atkinson
  To ask the Prime Minister what proposals he has to change the 1993–94 cash limit or running costs limit for the Cabinet Office; other services vote.

  The Prime Minister
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for class XIX, vote 1—Cabinet Office: other services —will be increased by £166,000 from £21,634,000 to £21,800,000 and the running costs limit increased by £166,000 from £24,414,000 to £24,580,000. The increase will be offset by the following inter-departmental transfers and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure:

  (a) a reduction on Her Majesty's Treasury: administration —class XVII, vote 1—in respect of the transfer of provision for central services—£116,000;

  (b) the transfer of provision for Property Holdings maintenance charges—£56,000;

  (c) a transfer to Department of Social Security administra-tion and miscellaneous services—class XIII, vote 4—for central services—£6,000.

  Angela Heylin
  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the appointment of Angela Heylin to the citizens charter advisory group.

  The Prime Minister
  Members of the panel of advisers on the citizens charter are appointed in a personal capacity and bring independent, professional expertise from the private sector. Angela Heylin was appointed on that basis.
  973

  Lockerbie
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Prime Minister whether he will discuss Lockerbie when he next meets President Clinton.

  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 3 February 1994]: The agenda for my meeting with President Clinton on 28 February has not yet been fixed.

  Accounting Officers
  Mr. Alan Williams
  To ask the Prime Minister what were the two most recent occasions on which the Prime Minister decided that a written ministerial direction should be issued to an accounting officer overruling the accounting officer's advice.

  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 3 February 1994]: None, so far as I am aware.

HEALTH

  NHS Hospital Admissions
  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many admissions to NHS hospitals for each of the last three years for which figures are available were elective admissions; and how many were emergency admissions;

  (2) how many admissions to NHS hospitals there were in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and how many of these admissions were readmissions within a month of hospital discharge.

  Mr. Sackville
  The table shows the number of elective, day case and non-elective admissions in the general and acute sector. It is estimated that over 80 per cent. of all non-elective admissions are emergencies. Information on readmissions is not collected centrally.

  General and Acute

  1991–92

  1992–93

  Thousands 1993–94 (forecast)

  Elective Admissions

  2,416

  2,323

  2,263

  Day Cases Admissions

  1,536

  1,784

  1,958

  Non-elective Admissions

  3,505

  3,644

  3,753

  Total General and Acute

  7,457

  7,770

  7,974

  Sources: Ordinary admissions, day cases and total admissions:

  1991–92—1992–93: KP70

  1993–94: Quarterly monitoring (Q2)

  Elective, non-electives

  1991–92-—1992–93: Quarterly monitoring (Q4) rescaled by KP70

  1993–94: Quarterly monitoring (Q2).

  GP Surgeries
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent on rebuilding general practitioners' surgeries in each of the last three years; and what percentage has been accounted for by general practitioner fundholders.

  Total capital receipts for regions 1988–89 to 1992–93

  Region

  1988–89 £ million

  1989–90 £ million

  1990–91 £ million

  1991–92 £ million

  1992–93 £ million

  Northern

  4·8

  3·8

  2·8

  4·8

  4·3

  Yorkshire

  10·3

  11·8

  5·3

  4·8

  2·3

  Trent

  13·9

  18·7

  25·9

  4·8

  2·9

  East Anglian

  11·1

  5·5

  3·2

  5·1

  2·6

  974
  Mr. Sackville
  The information is shown in the table. Information held centrally does not differentiate between fundholding and non-fundholding practices.

  1990–91 £ million

  1991–92 £ million

  1992–93 £ million

  79·6

  97·9

  104·9

  Dementia
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps her Department is taking to encourage the joint commissioning by local authorities and district health authorities of generic home care for people with dementia and their carers.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The Department sees joint commissioning between local authorities and health authority purchasers of community care services as important in further strengthening the effectiveness and efficiency of community care provision. To this end, copies of the report "Joint Commissioning—A Slice Through Time", prepared for the Department, were distributed to social services departments and health authorities in March 1993. Copies of the report will be placed in the Library. In addition, the Department is currently undertaking a development project aimed at spreading good practice in joint commissioning of community services in general. This should increase authorities' expertise in joint commissioning for specific client groups.

  Public Bodies
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health which non-departmental public bodies for which she is responsible have been(a) abolished or (b) created since 1979.

  Mr. Sackville
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister gave on 1 February, at column 611.

  Land and Building (Sales)
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer to the hon. Member for Sheffield, Hillsborough (Ms Jackson) on 24 January,Official Report, column 116, if she will publish a table showing what total levels of capital receipts have been realised from the sale of health authority land and buildings for each of the last five financial years in each of the regional health authority areas other than Trent regional health authority.

  Mr. Sackville
  The table shows the total capital receipts of each region. No breakdown of these figures into land, buildings and other assets is available centrally.
  975

  Region

  1988–89 £ million

  1989–90 £ million

  1990–91 £ million

  1991–92 £ million

  1992–93 £ million

  North West Thames

  44·7

  47·1

  20·7

  40·0

  13·1

  North East Thames

  51·6

  22·3

  14·3

  23·7

  18·5

  South East Thames

  30·5

  21·4

  8·3

  16·1

  8·2

  South West Thames

  24–8

  9–4

  15–7

  20–5

  5–9

  Wessex

  17·8

  15·5

  6·4

  5·6

  9·3

  Oxford

  17·1

  5·4

  9·6

  6·9

  5·7

  South Western

  17·3

  17·7

  23·7

  12·5

  10·6

  West Midlands

  9·5

  10·0

  4·2

  9·3

  7·0

  Mersey

  7·3

  15·9

  16·0

  6·0

  7·5

  North Western

  8·7

  8·3

  17·1

  3·1

  7·5

  Source: Receipts and payment returns for regional and district health authorities—England—1989 to 1992–93.

  Note: Figures for 1992–93 are provisional. All figures are cash.

  Ethnic Communities
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what changes her Department has made to the health service provision for elderly members of ethnic communities in(a) London and (b) England, following her recent survey.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The final reports of studies carried out by the Age Concern institute of gerontology of health and social services provision for elderly people from ethnic minorities have been carefully assessed, and executive summaries of each have been commissioned as a prelude to determining how best the research findings might be disseminated.

  The 1993 Royal College of Physicians publication "Access to health care for people from black and ethnic minorities", copies of which will be placed in the Library,

  Directly Managed Unit Private Patient Income by Region

  Region/SHA

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  Northern

  2,071,309

  1,877,310

  1,332,230

  Yorkshire

  5,044,191

  4,541,752

  2,551,178

  Trent

  2,877,057

  3,464,673

  2,615,399

  East Anglia

  5,278,653

  7,318,941

  6,068,307

  North West Thames

  13,377,772

  13,984,258

  11,082,874

  North East Thames

  16,267,305

  11,158,170

  9,893,003

  South East Thames

  11,023,826

  11,692,162

  12,558,427

  South West Thames

  4,150,714

  3,527,592

  2,966,909

  Wessex

  3,322,716

  4,383,335

  3,530,475

  Oxford

  9,510,480

  9,724,622

  10,803,281

  South Western

  4,821,114

  2,111,512

  1,484,225

  West Midlands

  5,612,685

  6,326,507

  5,525,374

  Mersey

  2,051,833

  2,006,183

  312,253

  North Western

  6,644,907

  4,949,840

  4,127,700

  Special Health Authorities

  16,677,193

  21,512,694

  23,942,774

  Total Income

  108,731,755

  108,579,551

  98,794,409

  Source: Annual accounts for regional health authorities, district health authorities and London postgraduate special health authorities.

  Notes:

  1. The figures in the table include money received from NHS patients paying for accommodation in single rooms or small wards—section 63, NHS Act 1977—private in-patients—section 65—and private non-resident patients—section 66.

  2. Overseas visitors—section 121—have been excluded as these are not separately identifiable for all the years requested.

  3. The 1992–93 figures are provisional and subject to National Audit Office audit amendment.

  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much income by region has been generated by private patient facilities in national health service hospitals in each year since 1987–88.

  Mr. Sackville
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Bristol, South (Ms Primarolo) on 31 January at columns 531–32.
  976
  includes a paper by the Department's adviser in ethnic minority health which draws on the institute of gerontology's work. This sets out, for the use of health service purchasers and professionals in the field, the principles which should underline the provision of health care for black and ethnic minority elderly people. It is of course the responsibility of district health authorities to assess the health needs of their resident populations, including the ethnic communities, and to ensure that appropriate services are made available.

  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been private patient income of directly managed units in each year since 1990–91 nationally and by region.

  Mr. Sackville
  The total income figures shown in the table have decreased due to the decreasing number of directly managed units in 1991–92 and 1992–93.

  Counselling and Condoms
  Miss Lestor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information she has received from the health districts which are running evaluation projects looking at the provision of counselling and condoms on a starter basis by general practices; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  Since 1992 the Department has suggested that health authorities consider developing the role of general practitioners in safer sexual counselling and the provision of information and condoms on a "starter"
  977
  basis. Results from these projects are generally favourable. In particular, offering sexual health advice during family planning and smear test consultations is an efficient and effective way of reaching sexually active women. On the basis of their own evaluation, some regions have decided to expand their schemes to include more GP practices. It is, however, a matter for health authorities how they choose to develop the initiative.

  Voluntary Bodies
  Miss Lestor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will list the organisations which are to receive section 64 funding from April 1994 and the amount each organisation will receive;

  (2) if she will list the organisations, which will receive section 64 funding from April 1994, which are based outside London and indicate separately those based in the north-west.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  Ministers are curently considering all applications received for possible funding under the section 64 general scheme during 1994–95. Some organisations have already been notified of the outcome and the remainder will be notified as soon as decisions are taken. In addition further notifications will be issued at a later stage, where, for example, work on a project has yet to start or to accommodate slippage during the year on approved proposals. To qualify for section 64 support, an organisation must generally operate on a national basis; where its headquarters may be located is not a relevant criterion. Information on where it may be based is, therefore, not separately identified.

  Miss Lestor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will give the reasons why the application for section 64 funding, from April 1994, by the George House trust in Manchester was unsuccessful.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  Bids from HIV/AIDS voluntary organisations exceeded the section 64 funding available for 1994–95 by over 100 per cent. Our priority was to continue grants to those organisations to which financial commitments had already been made.

  NHS Capital Schemes
  Mr. Willetts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps have been taken by her Department to notify NHS directors of finance that all NHS capital schemes will in the future need to demonstrate that private sector alternatives have been fully considered before a case is made for public finance.

  Mr. Sackville
  In a letter dated 14 January 1993, FDL(93)03, the National Health Service Management Executive director of finance and corporate information urged NHS directors of finance to make full and appropriate use of the new scope for private capital in the NHS, so that NHS money would be used most productively on patient care, and major improvements to the environment for patients and NHS staff, and to health care services, would be possible. Many examples of private finance options were included in the information pack "Public Service, Private Finance … putting private capital to work for the NHS", sent with the executive letter EL(93)101 to all NHS general managers on 18 November 1993. In this executive letter the director of finance and corporate information said:978
  "I expect private finance to become a standard option that is considered in planning any NHS capital scheme".

  Further instructions on considering private finance options are to be included in the forthcoming NHS capital investment manual. Copies of both letters are available in the Library.

  GPs (Deputising Services)
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the contractual relationship between the NHS and GP deputising services.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  It is for individual general practitioners to choose whether to enter into an arrangement with a deputising service, to obtain their family health services authority's consent, and to agree any contractual arrangement with the deputising service.

  Accident and Emergency Units
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many accident and emergency units there were in London in each of the last five years.

  Mr. Sackville
  The information available is shown in the table. From 1991–92 the numbers of national health service accident and emergency services have been recorded by management units which may provide services on more than one site. In February 1994, the London ambulance service advised that it serves accident and emergency units on 48 sites.

  Inner London

  Outer London

  Total

  Number of hospitals providing A and E services

  1988–89

  27

  31

  58

  1989–90

  27

  31

  58

  1990–91

  29

  31

  60

  Number of NHS management units providing A and E services

  1991–92

  18

  25

  43

  1992–93

  18

  18

  36

  Source: SD2A KH03 return.

  Adoption (Smokers)
  Mr. Janner
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to encourage local authorities to ban male or female smokers from adopting children of(a) under three years or (b) over three years of age.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  We have no plans to encourage local authorities to ban smokers from adopting children of any age. However, the effects of passive smoking are well known and local authorities cannot ignore the information when assessing prospective adopters of young children.

  Hearing Aids
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on her Department's policy concerning the provision of free hearing aids on the national health service.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  Hearing aids continue to be available free of charge through the national health service.
  979

  Disabled Persons
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will take steps to implement the remaining sections of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986; and if she will make a statement.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  We have no plans at present to implement the remaining sections of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986. However, the Department is committed to reviewing the situation in the light of a few years' experience of community care.

  AIDS
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish a table showing details of AIDS support grant allocations to local authorities for 1993–94 and 1994–95.

  Mr. Sackville
  1993–94 allocations to local authorities for HIV/AIDS related services are shown in the table. Final allocations for 1994–95 have not yet been determined.

  Authority

  1993–94 allocations £

  Camden

  745,000

  Hammersmith

  1,155,000

  Kensington

  988,000

  Lambeth

  948,000

  Westminster

  958,000

  Avon

  153,000

  Barnet

  40,000

  Birmingham

  300,000

  Brent

  400,000

  Bromley

  30,000

  Croydon

  49,000

  Ealing

  290,000

  East Sussex

  428,000

  Enfield

  50,000

  Greenwich

  190,000

  Hackney

  468,000

  Hampshire

  140,000

  Haringey

  562,000

  Hillingdon

  120,000

  Hounslow

  320,000

  Islington

  360,000

  Leeds

  267,000

  Leicestershire

  115,000

  Lewisham

  245,000

  Liverpool

  276,000

  City of London

  47,000

  Manchester

  709,000

  Merton

  66,000

  Newcastle

  223,000

  Newham

  300,000

  Oxfordshire

  240,000

  Richmond

  220,000

  Southwark

  355,000

  Sutton

  57,000

  Tower Hamlets

  500,000

  Wandsworth

  190,000

  Waltham Forest

  140,000

  Barking

  28,000

  Barnsley

  18,000

  Bedfordshire

  24,000

  Berkshire

  40,000

  Bexley

  46,000

  Bolton

  17,000

  Bradford

  150,000

  Buckinghamshire

  17,000

  Bury

  50,000

  Calderdale

  26,000

  980

  Authority

  1993–94 allocations £

  Cambridgeshire

  33,000

  Cheshire

  31,000

  Cleveland

  56,000

  Cornwall

  31,000

  Coventry

  54,000

  Cumbria

  31,000

  Derbyshire

  31,000

  Devon

  40,000

  Doncaster

  31,000

  Dorset

  21,000

  Dudley

  31,000

  Durham

  44,000

  Essex

  48,000

  Gateshead

  30,000

  Gloucestershire

  34,000

  Harrow

  42,000

  Havering

  16,000

  Hereford

  34,000

  Hertfordshire

  29,000

  Humberside

  62,000

  Isle of Wight

  22,000

  Kent

  74,000

  Kingston

  43,000

  Kirklees

  39,000

  Lancashire

  22,000

  Lincolnshire

  31,000

  Norfolk

  25,000

  Northamptonshire

  36,000

  Northumberland

  25,000

  North Tyneside

  54,000

  North Yorkshire

  31,000

  Nottinghamshire

  48,000

  Oldham

  31,000

  Redbridge

  30,000

  Rochdale

  17,000

  Rotherham

  31,000

  Salford

  26,000

  Sandwell

  26,000

  Sefton

  31,000

  Sheffield

  86,000

  Shropshire

  93,000

  Somerset

  24,000

  South Tyneside

  45,000

  St. Helens

  26,000

  Staffordshire

  31,000

  Stockport

  31,000

  Suffolk

  20,000

  Sunderland

  48,000

  Surrey

  31,000

  Tameside

  31,000

  Trafford

  31,000

  Wakefield

  40,000

  Walsall

  40,000

  Warwickshire

  26,000

  West Sussex

  23,000

  Wigan

  21,000

  Wiltshire

  31,000

  Wirral

  31,000

  Wolverhampton

  15,000

  Infertility Services
  Ms Jowell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the national health service purchasing authorities which purchase infertility services according to their purchasing strategies submitted to her Department; how much each authority spends on infertility services; which national health service purchasing authorities provide each of(a) advanced reproductive technologies generally (b) in vitro fertilisation (c) gamete intrafallopian

  981
  transfer and (d) infertility counselling within their infertility service purchasing plans; and how much they spend on each service.

  Mr. Sackville
  Individual health authority purchasing plans are monitored by the regional health authorities. The hon. Member may wish to contact the chairmen of the regional health authorities for details.

  Data Protection
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the draft of the code of practice with respect to the confidentiality of medical records has been shown to the Data Protection Registrar.

  Mr. Sackville
  The Data Protection Registrar will be among those consulted on draft guidance on the confidentiality, use and disclosure of personal health information which we will issue shortly.

  Cash Limits
  Mrs. Gillan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what changes she proposes to make to the cash limits and running costs limits for the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys for 1993–94.

  Mr. Sackville
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for class XII, vote 6—Office of Population Censuses and Surveys —will be increased by £149,000 to £33,809,000 and the running costs limit for OPCS will be increased by £149,000 to £48,288,000. This increase will be offset by transfers of £142,000 from Property Holdings and £7,000 from the Employment Department and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

  Community Care
  Mr. Garnier
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what conditions she intends to attach to the community care special transitional grant for 1994–95.

  Mr. Bowis
  We intend that local authorities will again be required to spend the entire grant on community care services and directly associated costs. They will also be required to spend 85 per cent. of the social security transfer element of the grant on community care services provided by the independent sector.

  "Changing Childbirth"
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the implementation of the report of the expert maternity group "Changing Childbirth".

  Mr. Sackville
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health announced on 24 January the Government's intention to implement in full the recommendations in the report of the expert maternity group. The report was previously the subject of extensive consultation with consumers, national health service and professional bodies, and its recommendations for establishing a woman-centred service were widely welcomed.

  EL(94)9 set out action required in the NHS, and copies are available in the Library.
  982

  Pregnant Women
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list by region for the last five years the number of pregnant women who(a) gave birth in a hospital, (b) gave birth in the mother's home, (c) booked a midwife as their lead professional and (d) hold their own medical notes.

  Mr. Sackville
  Information on the number of pregnancies resulting in births at hospital and births at home can be found in table 8.2 of the annual reference volume "Birth Statistics", series FM1. Volumes for 1987 to 1991—series FM1, Nos. 16 to 20—are available in the Library. Information on women booking with a midwife as a lead professional and those holding their own medical notes are not available centrally.

  Abortions
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many abortions in 1992 were carried out under national health service agency agreements by district health authority of usual residence.

  Mr. Sackville
  This information will be placed in the Library.

  Hospital Closures
  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the national health service hospitals closed for each year since 1980; to what subsequent use the sites have been put; and what revenue was gained from these.

  Mr. Sackville
  Since 1980–81 some £1,540 million has been generated by health authorities from the sales of surplus land and property. This money has been reinvested in hospital building contributing to the largest capital programme in the history of the national health service. Information on individual hospital closures is not available.

  Breast Cancer
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of women in the eligible target group have been screened for breast cancer in the last three years for each health region in England; how many women have breast cancer in each region; and how many women died from breast cancer in each health region.

  Mr. Sackville
  The information is not available in the form requested. Table A shows the uptake figures for breast cancer screening by region for 1990–91 and table B for 1991–92. Table C give regional incidence data for the latest available year of 1987. Table D gives mortality data for the years 1990 to 1992.

  Table A Breast cancer—Uptake of screening invitation by region for 1990–91

  Region

  Screened

  Compliance Per cent.

  England

  625,615

  71

  Northern

  46,855

  75

  Yorkshire

  39,956

  68

  Trent

  67,074

  76

  East Anglia

  29,725

  74

  North West Thames

  34,792

  60

  North East Thames

  57,583

  60

  983

  Region

  Screened

  Compliance Per cent.

  South East Thames

  53,213

  70

  South West Thames

  21,076

  70

  Wessex

  48,902

  76

  Oxford

  27,837

  81

  South Western

  53,527

  69

  West Midlands

  73,757

  69

  Mersey

  38,422

  73

  North Western

  32,896

  74

  Table B Breast cancer—uptake of screening invitation by region for 1991–92

  Region

  Screened

  Compliance Per cent.

  England

  922,726

  71

  Northern

  70,214

  75

  Yorkshire

  64,598

  74

  Trent

  92,257

  77

  East Anglia

  41,939

  81

  North West Thames

  50,484

  58

  North East Thames

  73,439

  61

  South East Thames

  70,868

  71

  South West Thames

  49,176

  67

  Wessex

  54,027

  78

  Oxford

  60,050

  77

  South Western

  73,001

  74

  West Midlands

  102,011

  72

  Mersey

  46,786

  69

  North Western

  73,876

  73

  Table C Breast cancer registrations by Regional Health Authority 1987 malignant neoplasm of female breast

  Number

  England

  22,026

  Northern

  1,352

  Yorkshire

  1,658

  Trent

  2,193

  East Anglian

  1,084

  North West Thames

  1,354

  North East Thames

  1,621

  South East Thames

  1,351

  South West Thames

  1,168

  Wessex

  1,682

  Oxford

  1,208

  South Western

  1,789

  West Midlands

  2,649

  Mersey

  1,104

  North Western

  1,813

  Table D Deaths—Cancer of the breast by region

  Region

  1990

  1991

  1992

  England

  12,824

  12,980

  12,804

  Northern

  757

  801

  796

  Yorkshire

  927

  888

  888

  Trent

  1,250

  1,260

  1,287

  East Anglian

  585

  576

  593

  North West Thames

  840

  886

  819

  North East Thames

  1,009

  1,020

  938

  South East Thames

  1,042

  1,087

  1,061

  South West Thames

  860

  877

  885

  Wessex

  856

  871

  871

  Oxford

  629

  623

  648

  South Western

  952

  1,019

  989

  West Midlands

  1,401

  1,437

  1,402

  Mersey

  674

  590

  646

  North Western

  1,042

  1,045

  981

  984

  Consultant Episodes
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 31 January,Official Report, columns 531–33, when she intends to publish the number of finished consultant episodes by region for private patients in national health service hospitals in 1992–93, in-patients plus day cases; and for what reasons the revenue generated is known for 1992–93 but not the activity level.

  Mr. Sackville
  Information about revenue and activity comes from different information systems. Private patient treatment numbers are part of the hospital episode statistics which are not submitted to the Department until clinical information has been added to the patient record. We expect the information on the number of private patients treated in the national health service to be available by the end of March.

  Cervical Cancer
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of women in the eligible target group have had a cervical cancer smear test within the last five years for each health region in England; how many women have cervical cancer in each region; and how many women died of cervical cancer in each health region.

  Mr. Sackville
  The information required is not available in the form requested. Table A gives latest available Korner data from 1991–92 on the number of women tested for cervical cancer in the last 5·5 years by region. Table B gives the latest available incident data. Table C gives the latest available mortality data for 1989 to 1992.

  Table A Cervical cancer test Status of residents aged 20 to 64 by regional health authority

  Number of women tested in last 5·5 years

  Coverage Per cent.

  England

  11,048,444

  79·9

  Northern

  737,788

  83·5

  Yorkshire

  844,486

  84·8

  Trent

  1,147,980

  87·5

  East Anglia

  477,109

  85·8

  North West Thames

  714,127

  65·0

  North East Thames

  805,961

  64·4

  South East Thames

  794,951

  70·3

  South West Thames

  707,827

  78·0

  Wessex

  699,260

  87·6

  Oxford

  613,479

  85·1

  South Western

  766,994

  86·5

  West Midlands

  1,240,756

  84·1

  Mersey

  556,856

  82·0

  North Western

  940,870

  83·5

  Table B Cervical cancer registrations by regional health authority 1987 Malignant neoplasm of cervix uteri

  Number

  England

  3,636

  Northern

  248

  Yorkshire

  397

  Trent

  405

  East Anglian

  150

  North West Thames

  161

  985

  Number

  North East Thames

  164

  South East Thames

  210

  South West Thames

  144

  Wessex

  282

  Oxford

  152

  South Western

  270

  West Midlands

  415

  Mersey

  263

  North Western

  375

  Table C Deaths cancer of the cervix by region

  Region

  1988

  1989

  1990

  1991

  1992

  England

  1,809

  1,692

  1,653

  1,531

  1,532

  Northern

  148

  117

  119

  114

  102

  Yorkshire

  144

  151

  135

  133

  131

  Trent

  196

  177

  160

  175

  148

  East Anglian

  68

  63

  72

  62

  56

  North West Thames

  101

  109

  97

  83

  103

  North East Thames

  124

  123

  97

  103

  120

  South East Thames

  131

  146

  117

  107

  133

  South West Thames

  89

  80

  81

  76

  66

  Wessex

  107

  99

  99

  95

  71

  Oxford

  81

  52

  56

  76

  57

  South Western

  122

  121

  114

  76

  133

  West Midlands

  206

  172

  186

  152

  179

  Mersey

  105

  111

  123

  109

  92

  North Western

  187

  171

  197

  170

  141

  GP Fundholders
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what powers health authorities have to impose financial penalties on general practitioner fundholders who have patients waiting over 18 months for surgery.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  None. Fundholders are expected to comply with patients charter standards in the same way as district health authorities, and are providing extremely effective in improving waiting times.

  Mrs. Ann Winterton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the case identified by a general practitioner in a letter to the hon. Member for Congleton, a copy of which has been drawn to her attention in a letter of 11 January, about priority used by the North Staffordshire infirmary in the allocation of treatment to the patients of fundholding and non-fundholding general practices is consistent with her policies; what action she has taken in that case; and if she will make a statement.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  [holding answer 17 January 1994]: This was an issue about magnetic resonance imaging scanning. Patients are referred for a scan on the basis of urgent clinical need and there is no preference for the patients of either fundholders or non-fundholding general practitioners.

  Accommodation Costs
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much money was received in total by the NHS from NHS patients paying for accommodation in single rooms or small wards in 1988–89, 1990–91 and 1992–93; what was the estimated average charge for such accommoda-tion; and how many people paid such a charge in each of those years.
  986
  Mr. Sackville
  The figures requested on income are shown in the table. Information on the number of people paying such charges are held locally. Therefore, estimated average charges are not known. Income of this sort enables hospitals to improve services for all patients.

  Income from amenity beds

  Year

  Sum received £

  1988–89

  764,276

  1990–91

  1,260,313

  1992–93

  1,776,185

  Source: Annual accounts and receipts and payments returns for regional health authorities, district health authorities and London postgraduate special health authorities.

  Notes:

  1. Figures for 1988–89 and 1990–91 were obtained from the annual accounts of health authorities. The figures for 1992–93 were only separately identifiable in the receipts and payments returns. The figures for 1992–93 are not, therefore, directly comparable with those for the earlier years.

  2. Amenity bed income received by national health service trusts has been omitted as it is not separately identified from private patient in annual accounts.

  GP Retraining
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the total cost to the NHS, for each of the last five financial years of allowances to general practitioners for retraining courses.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  Expenditure on the postgraduate education allowance for general practitioners, introduced in April 1990, has been:

  £ million

  1990–91

  44·4

  1991–92

  47·6

  1992–93

  49·1

  These sums were not identified separately within GPs' remuneration prior to 1990–91. Payments made through the more limited postgraduate training allowance scheme totalled £1·3 million in 1988–89 and £2·5 million in 1989–90.

  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement of the criteria to be satisfied by retraining courses in order for general practitioners to qualify for reimbursement of the costs of attending those courses; and what was the date on which current department guidelines were introduced.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  Criteria for the approval of courses held in England which qualify for the postgraduate education allowance are not promulgated centrally. The responsibility for the accreditation of such courses is exercised centrally by the regional advisers in general practice.

  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the total number of retraining courses undertaken by general practitioners for each of the last five years.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  Locally based data are collected and held by the regional advisers in general practice.
  987
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what data have been collected by her Department on the number of retraining courses for which general practitioners are entitled to be reimbursed.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  None. General practitioners are not reimbursed directly for attendance at training courses. GPs who maintain a balanced programme of education and training can claim the postgraduate education allowance. To qualify, GPs must attend an average of five days accredited training a year.

  Hospital Waiting Lists
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish the total amount of financial penalties imposed on hospitals for having patients wait over 18 months for surgery; if she will break the figure down by financial year; and if she will list the hospitals concerned, by region.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  Regions have been given allocations from the waiting times fund on the understanding that deductions would be made for specific breaches of the patients charter guarantees. These deductions act as an incentive to good management and some regions therefore pass them on to the responsible provider units. Deductions are not collected directly from provider units.

  Trust Chairs (Remuneration)
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the annual remuneration paid to each trust chair.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  National health service trust chairmen's remuneration is paid on the basis of the following three bands, according to unit turnover:

  Unit turnover 1988–89

  Band

  Rates per annum (£)

  In excess of £50 million

  Band 1

  19,285

  Between £20 million and £50 million

  Band 2

  17,145

  Less than £20 million

  Band 3

  15,125

  District Health Authorities
  Mr. Kilfoyle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health who are those people currently appointed to serve on district health authorities.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  [pursuant to his reply, 24 January, c. 117–19]: I regret that part of the information supplied was incorrect and incomplete. The correct and additional information about chairmen of district health authorities is set out as follows:

  North West Thames Regional Health Authority

  East and North Hertfordshire - Mr. A. Preston

  Brent and Harrow - Mrs. C. Quest

  988

NATIONAL FINANCE

  Consultants
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on which occasions since 1979 his Department has employed the services of external consultants; and if he will give details of the purposes for which they were employed and the cost of employing them.

  Mr. Nelson
  I regret that information going back beyond August 1991, and specific information about individual contracts after that date, can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  The table gives the number of consultancies by contract type and total value awarded by Her Majesty's Treasury from August 1991 to date.

  Consultant type

  Number of contracts

  Total value £

  Management

  60

  1,041,053

  Research

  29

  457,010

  Job Evaluation

  2

  167,000

  Audit

  6

  130,000

  Computer

  9

  99,700

  Training

  10

  56,501

  Building/Works

  8

  34,642

  Energy

  2

  30,700

  Recruitment

  2

  20,500

  Purchasing

  2

  10,200

  Public Appointments
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which of the public appointments for which he is responsible require advance notice to and consultation with the Chief Whip's Office; and which appointments made since 1979 have been so notified and consulted upon.

  Mr. Nelson
  It is not the practice of Her Majesty's Government to answer parliamentary questions about discussions and consultations between Departments and offices of government relating to public appointments.

  Unicorn Heritage plc
  Mr. Miller
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on whose authority Treasury approval was given to the Heritage Department's decision to write off £200,000 owed by Unicorn Heritage plc to the English tourist board.

  Mr. Portillo
  Treasury officials gave their approval to a request from the Department of National Heritage to write off debts owed to the English tourist board, including that of Unicorn Heritage plc. In doing so, they acted in accordance with the procedures on losses and special payments laid down in chapter 36.2 of "Government Accounting", available in the Library of the House.

  Civil Servants
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total amount paid out in redundancy and severance payments to civil servants in each of the past five years for which figures are available, broken down into civil service grades.
  989
  Mr. Dorrell
  The total of compensation payments made to civil servants under early retirement/severance arrangements—which also cover redundancy—is as follows:

  Year

  £ million

  1991–92

  96

  1992–93

  180

  11993–94

  169

  1 to December 1993.

  Figures are not separately identifiable for redundancy nor is information available by civil service grade.

  Inland Revenue Forms
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Inland Revenue forms were redesigned in 1992–93.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The Inland Revenue's corporate communications office, which is responsible for all the main tax forms, redesigned 1,148 forms in 1992–93.

  Figures are not available centrally for forms which are not the responsibility of the corporate communications office.

  Tax Relief
  Mr. Enright
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 28 January,Official Report, column 455, if he will give the total tax relief paid by the Treasury without naming the individuals.

  Mr. Dorrell
  No. The rules about taxpayer confidential-ity apply to companies as well as to individuals.

  Cash Limits
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what changes are proposed to the cash and running costs limits for 1993–94 in respect of the Office of HM Paymaster General.

  Sir John Cope
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for class XVII, vote 13, the Office of HM Paymaster General, will be increased by £36,000 to £4,436,000 and the running costs limit will be increased by £1,533,000 from £25,291,000 to £26,824,000. The changes reflect a transfer of £36,000 from Property Holdings—class VII, vote 6— for building maintenance costs; additional work being carried out at the request of the Office of HM Paymaster General's customers; and early retirement costs forming part of efficiency measures currently being undertaken. The cash limit increase will be financed by a transfer from Property Holdings, and the running costs increase by additional income. These increases will not, therefore, add to the planned total of public expenditure.

  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what changes are proposed to the Treasury's cash and running costs limits in 1993–94.

  Mr. Nelson
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate on class XVII, vote 3, two changes are proposed:(a) the cash limit for class XVII, vote 1—Her Majesty's Treasury —will be reduced by £116,000 from £76,468,000 to £76,352,000,
  990
  and the running costs limit will be reduced by £116,000 from £79,621,000 to £79,505,000. The reduction reflects a transfer of central services to the Cabinet Office, class XIX, vote 1 which will be showing a corresponding increase.
  (b) the cash limit for class XVII, vote 3—Forward: Civil Service Catering—will be increased by £950,000. The net running costs limit for Forward will also be increased by £950,000 and there will be an increase in appropriations in aid of £968,000. These changes are a result of increased trading activity and the impact of the sale of Forward. The cash limit increase of £950,000 is expected to be offset by receipts from the sale and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what changes are proposed to the Central Statistical Office's cash and running costs limits for 1993–94.

  Mr. Nelson
  The cash limit for class XVII, vote 14 will be reduced by £309,000 from £43,551,000 to £43,242,000 and the running costs limit by £258,000 from £42,211,000 to £41,953,000. These reductions reflect the following: the surrender of £326,000 in running costs provision in respect of VAT receipts for payments to the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, which are now VAT exempted; a transfer from Property Holdings—£68,000—class VII, vote 6; and extra receipts from the Department of the Environment—£51,000—class VII, vote 7. The changes will not add to the planned total of public expenditure.

  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what changes are proposed to the Department for National Savings' cash limits and running costs limits for 1993–94.

  Mr. Nelson
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit on class XVII, vote 10—expenditure of the Department for National Savings on administration, publicity costs and certain other expenses—will be increased by £734,000 from £199,300,000 to £200,034,000. The increase comprises of £579,000 take-up under the end-year flexibility arrangements for running costs—as announced by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 14 July 1993,Official Report, columns 512–18—and a transfer of £155,000 from the Department of the Environment—Property Holdings—class VII, vote 6, in respect of buildings maintenance.

  As a result of these changes, the running costs limit for the Department for National Savings will be increased by £734,000 from £195,142,000 to £195,876,000. The increase will be offset by a transfer and a change to the reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

  Insurance Premium Tax
  Mrs. Beckett
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether insurance premium tax will apply to(a) private medical insurance, (b) insurance against redundancy, (c) permanent health insurance contracts of less than five years duration and (d) insurance against negative equity.

  Sir John Cope
  Private medical insurance, insurance against redundancy and insurance against negative equity are all forms of general insurance and, as such, will be liable to insurance premium tax. Premiums in respect of long term insurance as defined in the Insurance Companies Act 1982, including permanent health insurance for not less than five years or until retirement, will be exempt.
  991

  Taxation
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a table showing the direct and indirect tax burden in 1978–79 and in 1994–95 as a proportion of gross earnings for (i) a single person, (ii) a married couple both working, (iii) a married couple with one partner working, (iv) a married couple with two children, one partner working and (v) a married couple with two children, both working at 50 per cent., 100 per cent., 150 per cent., 200 per cent., 500 per cent. and 1,000 per cent. of average earnings.

  Percentage of combined male and female gross earnings paid in income tax and national insurance contributions in 1978–79 and 1994–95 Married couple, both working with two children1

  Multiples of average earnings2

  ½

  1

  1½

  2

  5

  10

  1978–79

  Income tax3

  1·1

  16·8

  22·2

  24·9

  44·8

  62·5

  NICs

  6·5

  6·5

  6·0

  5·1

  2·0

  1·0

  Income tax and NICs

  7·6

  23·3

  28·1

  30·0

  46·9

  63·5

  1994–95

  Income tax3

  4·7

  14·9

  18·9

  22·6

  33·0

  36·5

  NICs

  7·1

  8·6

  7·6

  6·1

  2·4

  1·2

  Income tax and NICs

  11·8

  23·4

  26·5

  28·7

  35·4

  37·7

  1 Assuming that the husband earns the relevant multiple of average male earnings and the wife earns the relevant multiple of average female earnings.

  2 The earnings levels used are those for full-time workers on adult rates of pay, whose pay is unaffected by absence. Average earnings for males are assumed to be £92·80 per week in 1978–79 and £374·30 per week in 1994–95. Average female earnings are assumed to be £59·60 per week in 1978–79 and £256·40 per week in 1994–95.

  3 Income tax is shown net of child benefit in order to provide comparability with 1978–79 when support for children was partly given through child tax allowances. Both children are assumed to be under 11 years old. Households are assumed to receive no reliefs besides the standard allowances and only to have income from employment.

  Ms Harman
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many more income tax payers in 1994–95 will be paying tax at the margin(a) at the basic rather than the lower rate as a result of his proposal to freeze personal allowances, other things being equal, (b) at the basic rather than the lower rate, in addition to those under (a), as a result of his proposal to freeze the married couples allowance and related allowances, and (c) at the lower rather than the basic rate as a result of his proposal to widen the lower rate band.

  Mr. Dorrell
  [holding answer 27 January 1994]: Excluding the effect of changing the width of the lower rate band and other tax changes in 1994–95, there would be about 120,000 more people paying tax at the basic rather than the lower rate in 1994–95 than there would have been if the personal allowance had been increased in line with statutory indexation. Nobody will pay tax at the basic rather than the lower rate because of the freezing of the married couple's and related allowances. About 800,000 more people will have the lower rate of tax as their marginal rate through widening the lower rate band by £500.

  Inflation
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the average rate of inflation between(a) March 1974 and May 1979 and (b) November 1988 to January 1994; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nelson
  [holding answer 3 February 1994]: Between March 1974 and May 1979 the average rate of inflation, as measured by the retail prices index, was 15·5
  992
  Mr. Dorrell
  [holding answer 26 January 1994]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Peckham (Ms Harman) on 19 January 1994, Official Report, columns 635–42, for figures for 1994–95. Figures for 1978–79 were placed in the House of Commons Library in answer to a previous question by the hon. Member on 13 April 1989, Official Report, column 624. The available figures for a married couple with two children where both are working are given in the table:

  per cent. per annum. This compares with 5·1 per cent. for the period November 1988 to December 1993, the latest month for which information is available.

  Bass Clef Jazz Club
  Mr. Sedgemore
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what he estimates was the value of goods taken by VAT officers from the Bass Clef jazz club in Hoxton square, Hackney N1, on 28 January; whose property it was that was taken; for what reason it was taken; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir John Cope
  [holding answer 3 February 1994]: It would be inappropriate for me to make public the tax affairs of a particular company. In general, removal of goods under regulation 65 of the VAT (General) Regulations 1985 is seen by customs as a last resort. However, it considers that such action is necessary when businesses refuse to pay VAT debts and the debts continue to increase.

NATIONAL HERITAGE

  Regional Tourist Boards
  Mr. Robert Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many people sit on the executive boards of each regional tourist board; and how many are(a) councillors, (b) private sector representatives and (c) English tourist board representatives.

  Mr. Sproat
  The information is as follows:
  993

  Regions

  Local Authority

  Private Sector

  English Tourist Board

  Co-opted

  Managing Director

  Total Members

  Cumbria

  18

  10

  1

  2

  —

  31

  East Anglia

  11

  6

  1

  —

  1

  19

  East Midlands

  10

  5

  1

  5

  —

  21

  Heart of England

  30

  12

  1

  16

  1

  60

  London

  3

  6

  1

  2

  —

  12

  Northumbria

  11

  3

  1

  —

  —

  15

  North West

  9

  8

  1

  4

  —

  22

  South East England

  29

  19

  1

  3

  —

  52

  Southern

  49

  19

  1

  8

  1

  78

  West Country

  53

  18

  1

  9

  —

  81

  Yorkshire and Humberside

  25

  9

  1

  7

  —

  42

  The regional tourist boards are non-statutory bodies.

  This information was supplied by the English tourist board and is the most up to date available.

  Tourist Authorities (Overseas Marketing)
  Mr. Robert Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what are the figures for expenditure on overseas marketing by tourist authorities in(a) Germany, (b) France and (c) Spain.

  Mr. Sproat
  Figures obtained by the British Tourist Authority from the national tourist offices of these countries show the following overseas marketing budgets for 1994.

  £ million

  Germany

  10·8

  France

  32·8

  Spain

  13·5

  It is difficult to be sure exactly what these figures cover because of the very different ways in which each country organises its promotion of tourism. However, the figures for Germany exclude staff costs and any expenditure by the Länder.

  Ministers (Travel)
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what was the(a) budgeted and (b) actual expenditure by his Department on (1) internal and (2) overseas travel by the Secretary of State in 1992–93 after 25 September 1992 and so far in 1993–94.

  Mr. Brooke
  In 1992–93, the budget for both Foreign and United Kingdom travel and subsidence for all Ministers and spokesmen in the Department was £37,000 in total. The amount spent from 25 September until the end of the financial year was £24,215. In the financial year 1993–94, the amount budgeted for the same purpose was £38,000. The spending to date is £21,053.

  Royal Works of Art
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when the compilation of the inventory of royal works of art will be completed.

  Mr. Sproat
  The Lord Chamberlain has stated that it is anticipated that the inventory of works of art in the royal collection will be completed by the end of 1997.
  994

  Broadcasting Franchises
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what assessment he has made of the likely impact of the recently announced changes in the regulations governing broadcasting franchises on tele-vision and radio companies based in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Brooke
  The only recent changes have been to the regulations governing the ownership of companies holding ITV licences. Any new owners would be bound by the terms of the Broadcasting Act 1990 and the conditions of the original licence, particularly on regional programmes and regional production.

  Cash Limits
  Mr. Cyril D. Townsend
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what changes will be made to the cash limits or running cost limits for 1993–94 for which he has resonsibility.

  Mr. Brooke
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimates, the following changes will be made to the case limits within class XI:

  (i) vote 1—museums and galleries—will be increased by £1,225,000 from £217,303,000 to £218,528,000 for additional provision to meet a payment to Inland Revenue in respect of an item accepted in satisfaction of tax. The increase will be charged to the reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

  (ii) vote 5—film, tourism, sport and broadcasting—will be increased by £220,000 from £130,108,000 to £130,328,000. This is the net result of additional administrative costs of £340,000 in the promotion of tourism, partly offset by extra appropriations in aid to the vote of £120,000 from compensation payments. The net increase is being met from savings on class XI, vote 7—DNH administration.

  (iii) vote 6—Royal palaces, Historic Royal Palaces agency, Royal Parks agency, historic buildings, ancient monuments and the National Heritage—will be reduced by £169,000 from £194,252,000 to £194,083,000. This is the net result of a transfer of £500,000 to the Department of Transport and a reduction of £700,000 in respect of an overspend on the vote in the previous financial year, offset by receipts of £994,000 from VAT refunds and admission fees, transfers of £15,000 from the Chessington Computer Centre in respect of services now provided on a repayment basis, and £22,000 from Property Holdings to cover additional property maintenance charges.

  (iv) vote 7—Department of National Heritage administration—will be reduced by £486,000 from £25,334,000 to £24,848,000. This is the net result of a transfer of £350,000 to the Office of the National Lottery and £220,000 for the promotion of tourism, partly offset by extra receipts of £46,000 from the sale of statistical information and a transfer from Property Holdings of £36,000 to the Department and of £2,000 to the Royal Fine Art Commission to cover additional property maintenance charges.

  (v) Vote 8—Office of the National Lottery—will be increased by £350,000 from £1,501,000 to £1,851,000. The increase is the net result of additional provision of £1,270,000 for consultancy

  995
  and professional advice associated with the grant of the national lottery licence, partly offset by savings in other costs of £920,000. The net increase is being met from savings on class XI, vote 7—DNH administration.

  (vi) In addition, the Department of National Heritage gross running costs limit will be reduced by £488,000 from £29,682,000 to £29,194,000. The gross running costs limit of the Office of the National Lottery will be reduced by £720,000 from £1,000,000 to £280,000.

  Public Bodies
  Ms Mowlam
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage which agencies, quangos and associated public bodies were transferred to the responsibility of his Department when it was set up; and what was the cost of transferring them.

  Mr. Sproat
  On being established in April 1992, my Department became responsible for the Historic Royal Palaces agency and for sponsoring 43 non-departmental public bodies—NDPBs—and other bodies, which are listed in "Public Bodies 1993" These are:

  Executives NDPBs

  Arts Council

  British Film Institute

  British Library

  British Tourist Authority

  Broadcasting Complaints Commission

  Broadcasting Standards Council

  Crafts Council

  English Tourist Board

  Football Licensing Authority

  Historical Buildings and Monuments Commission for England

  British Museum

  Geffrye Museum

  Greater Manchester Museum of Science and Industry

  Horniman Museum

  Imperial War Museum

  Museum of London

  National Gallery

  Natural History Museum

  National Maritime Museum

  National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside

  National Museum of Science and Industry

  National Portrait Gallery

  Sir John Soane's Museum

  Tate Gallery

  Victoria and Albert Museum

  Wallace Collection

  Museums and Galleries Commission

  National Film and Television School

  National Film Development Fund

  National Heritage Memorial Fund

  Registrar of Public Lending Right

  Royal Armouries

  Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts

  Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England)

  South Bank Theatre Board

  Sports Council

  Advisory Bodies

  Advisory Committee on Historic Wreck Sites

  Advisory Committee on the Government Art Collection

  Advisory Committee for the Public Lending Right

  Library and Information Services Council

  Reviewing Committee on the Export Works of Art

  Royal Find Art Commission

  Theatres Trust

  In addition, my Department assumed policy responsibility for the following public corporations:

  British Broadcasting Corporation

  Independent Television Commission

  Radio Authority

  Sianel Pedwar Cymru (S4C)

  996
  The costs associated with their transfer are those relating to the preparation and promulgation of the Transfer of Functions (National Heritage) Order 1992.

  Broadcasting Restrictions
  Lady Olga Maitland
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage, whether he has completed his review of the Northern Ireland broadcasting restrictions; and what conclusions he has reached.

  Mr. Brooke
  The Government will keep the matter under review in the light of further developments.

DEFENCE

  Bosnia
  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the roles of No. 39 (1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit) Squadron Royal Air Force and No. 51 Squadron Royal Air Force in operations over Bosnia.

  Mr. Hanley
  Aircraft of No. 39 (1 PRU) Squadron undertake photographic reconnaissance over Bosnia. Their work is of value to the NATO air forces enforcing the no-fly zone and to our forces on the ground. Aircraft of RAF No. 51 Squadron do not conduct operations over Bosnia.

  Low Flying
  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many aircraft, and of what types, are scheduled to be deployed to Goose Bay for low flying training in 1994; and what are their planned dates of deployment.

  Mr. Hanley
  Currently, the only aircraft type planned to deploy to Goose Bay for low-flying training in 1994 is the Tornado GR1. Nine aircraft will deploy at the start of the season and will be used by each squadron in rotation. The planned deployments dates for the squadrons are:

  18 April to 2 May

  2 May to 16 May

  16 May to 30 May

  30 May to 13 June

  13 June to 27 June

  8 August to 22 August

  22 August to 5 September

  5 September to 19 September

  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many aircraft, and of what types, were involved in the Italian air force deployment to West Freugh during November 1993; what were the dates of the deployment; how many low-level sorties were undertaken by Italian aircraft during the deployment, and at what minimum authorised altitudes; and if he will make a statement on the nature and scope of the agreement with the Italian authorities granting access to United Kingdom weapons range and low flying facilities for Italian military aircraft.

  Mr. Hanley
  The Italian air force—IAF—aircraft deployed to the test and evaluation range at West Freugh between 5 and 12 November 1993 were as follows:

  2 AMX—Fast Jets

  2 G-222—Transport Aircraft

  1 HH-3F—Helicopter

  997
  The aircraft flew a total of 17 low-level sorties over the range area; they were authorised to fly down to a minimum height of 500 ft. No low-level sorties were flown in the United Kingdom low flying system—UKLFS.

  There is no bilateral arrangement between the RAF and IAF which facilitates IAF use of RAF weapons ranges outside of a NATO exercise or squadron exchange.

  Low flying in the UKLFS by the IAF is carried out under reciprocal arrangements which permit RAF aircraft to fly at low level in Italy. In general, the IAF is not authorised to fly below 500 ft in the United Kingdom.

  Goose Bay
  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the numbers of Royal Air Force personnel on the establishment of Royal Air Force (Unit) Goose Bay, excluding personnel on temporary training detachments, on 1 August and 1 December in each year since 1990; and if he will make a statement of his plans for the future role of Royal Air Force (Unit) Goose Bay.

  Mr. Hanley
  Figures are not available in the form requested. Figures for the years in question are, however, as follows:

  Number

  March 1990

  94

  March 1991

  93

  June 1992

  99

  December 1992

  99

  June 1993

  99

  December 1993

  102

  The RAF has a continuing requirement for the high quality low-flying training which is available to it at Goose Bay and in other parts of north America. The proven ability of the RAF unit at Goose Bay to provide the comprehensive support which squadron detachments to Canada and the USA require has ensured that such training has continued to be carried out successfully. Consequently, there are no plans to alter the future role of the unit.

  Euratom Treaty
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will set out the areas of his Department's activities covered by chapter III on health and safety of the Euratom treaty.

  Mr. Hanley
  None. The Euratom treaty does not apply to military activities.

  Depleted Uranium Shells
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on progress made in environmental monitoring of depleted uranium shell test firing into the Solway firth.

  Mr. Aitken
  We have continued our well-established programme of analysing soil and vegetation samples from seven locations on the Kirkcudbright range every four months and seawater and silt samples from the nearby waters of the Solway firth once a year. In addition a contract was placed with an independent contractor, W. S. Atkins Environment of Epsom, on 13 December 1993 to undertake an environmental assessment of depleted 998
  uranium firing at the Kirkcudbright and Eskmeals ranges. The contractor is due to make his final report in April and, in letters to local MPs, I have recently reaffirmed my intention that as much as possible of the report should be made public.

  Arms Sales (Nigeria)
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consignments of United Kingdom-made arms sold to Nigeria have not yet been delivered.

  Mr. Aitken
  The information requested can be supplied only at disproportionate cost. I will write to the hon. Member.

  Military Supplies (Exports)
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what military supplies have been exported from the United Kingdom over the past five years.

  Mr. Aitken
  I refer the hon. Member to the information contained in table 1.11 of the 1993 edition of "UK Defence Statistics", a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.

  Public Bodies
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible have been(a) abolished or (b) created since 1979.

  Mr. Hanley
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 1 February,Official Report, column 611.

  Statutory Sick Pay
  Mr. Ingram
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will provide figures for the amount his Department has been reimbursed by the Department of Social Security in respect of statutory sick pay provision for each of the past three years.

  Mr. Hanley
  For the last three financial years, the Ministry of Defence has been reimbursed the following amounts by the DSS in respect of statutory sick pay provisions:

  Financial year

  £

  1990–91

  8,776,265

  1991–92

  6,473,761

  1992–93

  6,499,710

  Cash Limits
  Mr. Day
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what changes he proposes to the class I cash limits and running costs limits for 1993–94.

  Mr. Rifkind
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the spring supplementary estimates, the following changes will be made:
  999

  Class I Cash Limits

  £000

  Vote

  Current cash limit

  Change

  Revised cash limit

  1

  12,405,216

  +264,594

  12,669,810

  2

  3,844,613

  + 45,969

  3,890,582

  3

  7,153,498

  -383,998

  6,769,500

  These changes decrease the block defence cash limit by £73,435,000. They allow for increased expenditure on class I, votes 1 and 2, which will be offset by lower expenditure on class I, vote 3. The changes additionally take account of a decrease of £75,000,000 to reflect a forecast underspend against provision for recovery from Operation Granby which is subject to specific limits. Also reflected is the net effect of transfers between the Ministry of Defence and other Government Departments. The running costs limit will be increased by £55,069,000 from £5,475,310,000 to £5,530,379,000, £53,232,000 of this increase results from the continued rationalisation of activities to meet the new force structure. This involves the transfer of certain administrative tasks into the running costs total and does not add to the overall level of defence expenditure. The increase also reflects minor changes of £1,837,000 principally due to interdepartmental transfers.

EMPLOYMENT

  Ministers (Travel)
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the(a) budgeted and (b) actual expenditure by his Department on (1) internal and (2) overseas travel by the Secretary of State since 27 May 1993.

  Mr. David Hunt
  Ministers in this Department do not have individual travel budgets. However, since my appointment on 27 May 1993, I have spent £3,354 on travel within the United Kingdom and £10,241 on travel overseas. These figures do not include the cost of my official car.

  Labour Statistics
  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the proportion of workers in(a) temporary or contract employment and (b) part-time work in each EC country, in (i) the latest year for which information is available and (ii) 10 years previously.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Latest comparable estimates of the proportion of employees in temporary employment and the proportion working part time across all EC countries are for spring 1991 and are given in the table. No comparable figures exist prior to 1983, so proportions for this year have also been supplied in the table.

  In addition, a footnote to the table provides spring 1993 figures for the United Kingdom.
  1000

  Proportion of employees in temporary and part-time employment

  Percentage

  Proportion of employees in temporary employment

  Proportion of employees working part-time

  Country

  1983

  1991

  1983

  1991

  Spain

  —

  32

  —

  4

  Greece

  16

  15

  5

  3

  Portugal

  —

  14

  —

  4

  Denmark

  —

  12

  26

  24

  France

  3

  10

  9

  12

  Federal Republic of Germany

  —

  9

  12

  15

  Ireland

  6

  8

  6

  9

  Netherlands

  6

  8

  21

  32

  Italy

  7

  5

  4

  5

  United Kingdom1

  5

  5

  19

  23

  Belgium

  5

  5

  8

  13

  Luxembourg

  2

  3

  6

  7

  Europe 10

  —

  8

  12

  16

  Europe 12

  —

  10

  —

  14

  Source: Eurostat "Labour Force Survey 1983–91".

  "—" information not available.

  1 More recent figures for the United Kingdom, from the spring 1993 labour force survey, show 6 per cent. of employees in temporary employment and 25 per cent. of employees working part time.

  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the number of those aged(a) 16 to 18 years, (b) 18 to 19 years and (c) 16 to 24 years unemployed in the parliamentary constituency of Greenock and Port Glasgow; what percentages they are of the cohort; how many persons under the age of 25 years in the same parliamentary constituency have never worked; and what percentage of those aged 16 years in Greenock and Port Glasgow (i) stayed on at school, (ii) went into jobs and (iii) went into youth training in the last year for which figures are available.

  Miss Widdecombe
  In October 1993, unadjusted claimant unemployment in Greenock and Port Glasgow stood at 194 for 16 to 18-year-olds, 285 for 18 to 19-year-olds and 1,046 for 16 to 24-year-olds. This represents the extent of the available information at the constituency level.

  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the average wage of(a) a male and (b) a female in (i) full-time employment and (ii) part-time employment in Greenock and Port Glasgow in each year since 1979.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The information available is for Strathclyde. The average earnings of full-time men and women in Strathclyde can be found in tables 110 and 113 of part E of the new earnings survey for each of the years concerned. Copies of the report can be found in the Library.

  Information for part-time men and women is provided in the table:

  Part-time employees in Strathclyde—pay unaffected by absence Average gross hourly earnings: at April

  Men

  Women

  1979

  1—

  1.30

  1980

  1—

  1—

  1981

  1—

  1.78

  1982

  1—

  2.05

  1983

  1—

  2.24

  1001

  Men

  Women

  1984

  1—

  2.33

  1985

  1—

  2.56

  1986

  1—

  1—

  1987

  2.77

  2.88

  1988

  1—

  3.08

  1989

  1—

  3.54

  1990

  1—

  3.97

  1991

  1—

  4.39

  1992

  1—

  4.74

  1993

  1—

  4.87

  1 Denotes sample number too small or standard error too high for a reliable estimate.

  Source: new earnings survey.

  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is his estimate of the most recent residence-based unemployment rates for each district council area in the parliamentary constituency of Greenock and Port Glasgow, giving the figures overall and broken down for males and females; what is the change in the number of unemployed claimants in Greenock and Port Glasgow for the same month in each of the last seven years; and what have been the percentage changes since 1979.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Information about numbers of unemployed claimants in Greenock and Port Glasgow constituency is available monthly from June 1983, and can be obtained from the NOMIS database in the Library. This is the extent of the available information. Residence-based International Labour Organisation unemployment rates are available from the labour force survey for some district councils, but not for Inverclyde, which contains the Greenock and Port Glasgow constituency, because the latter is too small.

  One-stop Shops
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of the population was served by an Employment Service one-stop shop and what percentage was served by seperate employment and benefit offices at July 1993.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Mr. Hugh Bayley, dated 4 February 1994:
  The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the percentage of the population served by our one-stop offices.
  The Employment Service (ES) is working progressively to bring Jobcentre and Benefit Office services together under one roof. This network will provide a new and improved one-stop service offering the full range of ES services to help people back to work. It is expected that this will be completed by March 1996 when there will be a network of some 1,100 offices.
  By July 1993 we had opened 787 of these new style Jobcentres. Although we cannot say what percentage of the national population they serve we do know that they provide an integrated service to some 68 per cent. of our unemployed clients. The remaining 32 per cent. are served by our separate networks of benefit offices and Jobcentres.
  I hope this is helpful.
  1002

  Redundancy Payments Service
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what proportion of letters received by the Redundancy Payments Service from members of the public in 1993 had a reply within five working days;

  (2) what proportion of claims received by the Redundancy Payments Service in 1993 were paid within 14 weeks.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  99·9 per cent. of letters received by the Redundancy Payments Services in 1993 were replied to within five days, and 90 per cent. of claims were paid within 14 weeks.

  Health and Safety Commission
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the membership of the board of the Health and Safety Commission, giving in each case details of days worked per month and any remuneration.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The current membership of the Health and Safety Commission is:

  Mr. F. J. Davies CBE OSt J Chairman

  Councillor E.Carrick

  Mr. C. Chope OBE

  Mr. P. Gallagher

  Mr. P. Jacques CBE

  Mr. N. Pitcher

  Dr. G. Schofield

  Mr. R. Symons CBE

  Mr. A. Tuffin CBE

  Dame Rachel Waterhouse

  The chairman and members of the commission are appointed on a part-time basis.

  Mr. Davies works three days per week as commission chairman for which he is paid £54,088 per annum.

  Commission members receive £1,060 per annum plus £105 for each day they spend on commission business. In 1993, this was an average of two days per member per month.

  Employment Agencies
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many agencies are currently licensed under the Employment Agencies Act 1974, giving, in each case, their location and the numbers of staff employed by them.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  At the last count on 31 December 1993 there were 14,482 holders of licences under the Employment Agencies Act: 7,966 in London and the home counties; 3,056 in the midlands, Wales and the south-west; and 3,460 in the north and Scotland. The exact location of each licence holder is not available centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The Department has no information about the numbers of staff employed by licensed employment agencies.

  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many employment agencies have been refused a licence or had their licence revoked under the Employment Agencies Act 1974 since it came into force; and what were the reasons in each case.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Fifty-eight licences have been refused and nine licences revoked since the Employment Agencies Act came into force in 1976. Convictions for
  1003
  criminal offences were the reason for 26 refusals and four revocations. Evidence of lack of financial probity was the reason for 16 refusals and one revocation. The remaining cases each involved a variety of reasons, principally the persistent failure to comply with regulations applying to employment agencies.

  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many inspections were made of employment agencies by his Department in 1993; and what was the figure in each year since 1979.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The annual number of inspections was not recorded in full until 1982. The numbers for the year 1982 to 1993 in the table include visits to investigate complaints.

  Inspection of Employment Agencies

  Year

  Number of Inspections

  1982

  3,686

  1983

  3,997

  1984

  3,650

  1985

  4,252

  1986

  4,337

  1987

  4,547

  1988

  4,854

  1989

  6,274

  1990

  6,093

  1991

  5,199

  1992

  4,842

  1993

  4,567

  Cash Limits
  Mr. Brazier
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what changes will be made to his Department's cash limits or running costs limits for 1993–94.

  Mr. David Hunt
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the following changes will be made:the cash limit for class V, vote 1—Department of Employment: programmes and central services—will be increased by a token £1,000 from £2,499,268,000 to £2,499,269,000; and
  the single running costs limit for the Department of Employment—class V, votes 1 and 2 will be increased by £13,340,000 from £1,448,050,000 to £1,461,390,000.

  In addition:
  the cash limit for class V, vote 2—Department of Employment: Employment Service—will be decreased by £13,775,000 from £638,569,000 to £624,794,000;
  the cash limit on class V, vote 3—Health and Safety Commission and Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service—will be decreased by £3,000,000 from £206,531,000 to £203,531,000 to reflect adjustments to Health and Safety Executive provision; and
  within the cash limit above the running costs limit for the Health and Safety Commission will be decreased by £5,000,000 from £178,131,000 to £173,131,000.

  The changes listed are mainly to provide increased running costs provision to cover reorganisation costs and will not add to the planned total of public expenditure.
  1004

TRANSPORT

  Enforcement Duties
  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list for each vehicle registration office and London enforcement office(a) the number of staff employed on enforcement duties, (b) their salary costs and (c) the enforcement revenue raised for 1992–93.

  Mr. Key
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, North (Ms Walley),Official Report, column 710, on 15 December 1993.

  Vehicle Excise Duty Offences
  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, North (Ms Walley) of 15 December,Official Report, column 713, how many no further steps codes are used in relation to reports of vehicle excise duty offences; and how many offences were written off for each of those codes in 1992–93.

  Mr. Key
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, North,Official Report, column 712, on 15 December 1993.

  Urban Motorways
  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to franchise urban motorways; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Key
  We have at present no such plans. My right hon. Friend announced on 2 December,Official Report, column 650, that we would invite the private sector to bid for contracts under which—would design, build, finance and operate roads for which—would receive payment from Government in relation to the use of those roads; and that we would develop options for the future for more extensive use of private finance. It is too soon to say what the longer-term options might include.

  Airport Departures
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his written answer of 27 January,Official Report, column 393–94, if he will provide a separate breakdown of departures for each United Kingdom airport listed in his answer.

  Mr. Norris
  Notwithstanding the question of commer-cial confidentiality of this information, a breakdown of the figures requested is not held by the Department and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Information on total passenger movements at individual United Kingdom airports is published by the Civil Aviation Authority in its "Annual Statements of Movements, Passengers and Cargo". The figures for 1992 are contained in CAA publication CAP614.

  Cash Limits
  Mr. Dunn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals he has to change his Department's cash limits and running costs limits for 1993–94.

  Mr. MacGregor
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimates, the following changes will be made:
  1005

  (i) the cash limit for class VI, vote 1—national roads, England—will be reduced by £5,200,000 from £2,254,997,000 to £2,249,797,000. This decrease reflects a transfer to class VI, vote 2 partially offset by a transfer of funds from the Department of National Heritage.

  (ii) the cash limit for class VI, vote 2—administration and transport services—will be increased by £10,778,000 from £202,236,000 to £213,014,000 and the Department's gross running costs limit will be reduced by £309,000 from £428,774,000 to £428,465,000. The increase in the cash limit includes various inter-departmental transfers, increased expenditure and a shortfall in receipts on Eurocontrol, increased expenditure on the sale of the DVOIT agency and items of administrative capital and a shortfall of receipts from the recovery of administrative costs and various repayment services. These increases are partially offset by a reduction in running costs and miscellaneous administrative services. There is a reduction of £782,000 from £950,000 to £168,000 in the net running cost limit for DVOIT.

  (iii) the cash limit for class VI, vote 4 will be reduced by £3,037,000 from £180,778,000 to £177,741,000. This decrease reflects a transfer to class VI, vote 2 and a reduction arising from demand financing arrangements.

  (iv) the DOT/LACAP cash limit will be increased by £1,376,000 from £457,135,000 to £458,511,000. This increase reflects a transfer from the DOE/UA cash limit.

  The overall increase will be offset by transfers and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Cash Limits
  Mr. David Porter
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what changes are proposed in her Department's cash limits for 1993–94.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for class III, vote 4—Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food: agricultural, food and fishing services —will be reduced by £12,056,000 from £366,814,000 to £354,758,000. Within this limit, expenditure will be reduced by £10,570,000 on agricultural schemes and by £1,398,000 on flood protection. These reductions reflect a predicted decrease in demand and delay in implementation in further areas of these schemes. The remaining reduction —£88,000—reflects a transfer of funds to the Overseas Development Administration for the St. Petersburg model farm.

  Ministers (Travel)
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the(a) budgeted and (b) actual expenditure by her Department on (1) internal and (2) overseas travel by the Minister of State since 27 May 1993.

  Mr. Jack
  The travel and subsistence budget for myself and my private office staff for the 1993–94 financial year, including the cost of services provided by the Government car service, is £104,251. Expenditure to the end of December 1993 was £74,559. The budget does not differentiate between internal and overseas travel.
  1006

  Beef Special Premium
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the number of recorded claims for the beef special premium in England and Wales; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Jack
  In 1993, there were just below 1·4 million first premium claims and just below 450,000 second premium claims under the beef special premium scheme in England and Wales. These figures are still subject to revision.

  Offal
  Mr. Morley
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will make it her policy to ban the use of offal from calves under the age of six months in meat products; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Soames
  I have no plans to do so. There is no scientific justification for banning the use of any offal from calves under six months of age. This is based on advice from the Government's independent scientific advisers and is supported by the Department of Health and by international bodies such as the European Commission, the World Health Organisation and the Office International des Epizooties.

  Arable Aid, Northumberland
  Mr. Beith
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what delays have occurred in payments of arable aid to farmers in Northumberland who are growers of commercial oilseed rape as a result of computer failure in the Ministry's Carlisle office; what office the cheques are now being paid from; and whether all payments due to be made by 31 December have now been paid.

  Mr. Jack
  Sixteen producers in Northumberland who claimed set-aside payments in respect of oilseed rape grown as a non-food crop on set-aside land were affected by a temporary problem at Carlisle, as a result of which aid for areas planted to other arable crops was excluded from their payments. As soon as this problem was identified, steps were taken at Carlisle to pay the outstanding balances. Payable orders for all payments due to be made by 31 December 1993 to producers in Northumberland have now been issued except for two claims on which there are unresolved queries.

  Public Bodies
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food which appointments since 1979 to public bodies or posts for which she is responsible have included candidates nominated by the Chief Whip's Office; if any nominees by this source have been appointed; and if she will give details.

  Mr. Jack
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him on 2 February, at column 736.

  Touche Ross
  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if her Department or any agencies for which she is responsible has engaged the services of the firm Touche Ross or any of its partners since 1 July 1993.
  1007
  Mr. Jack
  [holding answer 3 February 1994]: Yes, the Department has engaged the services of the firm Touche Ross since July 1993.

  I have asked chief executives to reply on behalf of their agencies.

  Letter from T. W. A. Little to Mr. Alistair Darling, dated 3 February 1994:
  The Minister has asked me to reply to your question about use by the Department or any of its Agencies of the services of the firm Touche Ross since 1 July 1993.
  The Central Veterinary Laboratory has made no use of the services of this company within that timescale.

  Letter from P. I. Stanley to Mr. Alistair Darling, dated 3 February 1994:

  EMPLOYMENT OF TOUCHE ROSS OR ANY OF ITS PARTNERS SINCE 1 JULY 1993.
  The Central Science Laboratory (CSL) became a Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food executive agency on 1 April 1992. I confirm that the CSL Agency has not engaged the services of Touche Ross nor to my knowledge any of its partners since 1 July 1993.

  Letter from Guy Stapleton to Mr. Alistair Darling, dated 3 February 1994:
  The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has asked me to reply to your parliamentary Question asking if the Agency has engaged the services of the firm Touche Ross or any of its partners since 1 July 1993.
  The Intervention Board has not entered into any contracts with Touche Ross since 1 July 1993, and the company is not currently doing any work for the Agency.

  Letter from G. K. Bruce to Mr. Alistair Darling, dated 3 February 1994:
  The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has asked me to reply directly to you on this matter.
  The Pesticides Safety Directorate, an Agency of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, has not engaged the services of Touche Ross or any of its partners since 1 July 1993.

  Letter from J. M. Rutter to Mr. Alistair Darling, dated 3 February 1994:
  The Minister of State has asked me to reply for the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) to your Question about the employment of Touche Ross or any of its partners since 1 July 1993.
  I can confirm that the VMD has not engaged the services of this firm or any of its partners in the period you have identified.

  Letter from Dr. J. M. Walsh to Mr. Alistair Darling, dated 4 February 1994:
  The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has asked me to reply to your Question on whether her Department or any agencies for which she is responsible has engaged the services of the firm of Touche Ross or any of its partners since 1 July 1993.
  I can confirm that since 1 July 1993 the ADAS agency has not engaged the services of Touche Ross or any of its partners.
  1008

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Cash Limits
  Sir Ivan Lawrence
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has for changes to the 1993–94 cash limits within his responsibilities and to his Department's running costs limits.

  Mr. Howard
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for class VIII, vote 2—prisons, England and Wales—will be increased by £8,700,000 from £1,524,554,000 to £1,533,254,000.

  The additional provision is necessary because of the need to meet costs arising from the cancellation of the planned new Prison Service headquarters. The increase will be met from provision reserved for this purpose by HM Treasury and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

  The cash limit for class VIII, vote 3—Home Office administration, immigration and police support services, England Wales—will be reduced by £1,930,000 from £1,312,481,000 to £1,310,551,000 to reflect transfers to the Department for Education, Property Holdings and the Department of the Environment, and to offset part of the new expenditure proposed in class VIII, vote 1—police, Criminal Injuries Compensation Board and other grants, England and Wales.

  The Home Office gross running cost limit will be reduced by £10,357,000 from £1,653,927,000 to £1,643,570,000 to reflect a reallocation of money between subheads in class VIII, vote 2.

  The local authority capital non-voted cash limit will be decreased by £358,000 from £125,593,000 to £125,235,000. The reduced provision results from the transfer of unallocated supplementary credit approvals from the Home Office to the Welsh Office, for the purpose of the replacement of fire service mobilisation and communications systems.

  Police Cautions
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what provisions govern contracts between policemen or employees of the police and newspapers as respects details of charges or cautions(a) when no money changes hands and (b) when money changes hands; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  Any unauthorised disclosure by an officer of any information coming into his possession as a member of the police force is a disciplinary offence, of which the maximum penalty is dismissal. Were money or other consideration to be accepted, the possibility would also arise that the common law offence of bribery had been committed.

  Mr. Ashton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what instructions he has given to chief constables with regard to the confidentiality of official police cautions and revelations of the details of those cautions to the press.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  Responsibility for authorising disclosure of information to the press rests with chief officers. Unauthorised disclosure is a disciplinary offence.

  Home Office guidance to chief officers indicates that police records of convictions, cautions and related

  1009
  information should normally be regarded as confidential, but that information may be released to third parties when to do so would be in the interests of national security, the protection of the vulnerable, to ensure probity in the administration of the law; or where it was a requirement of licensing or similar provisions.

  Mr. Ashton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if it is within the jurisdiction of the Police Complaints Authority to investigate complaints from the public regarding details of official cautions which have been revealed to the press and to ascertain if any payment was received for this information.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  Such a complaint would fall within the jurisdiction of the Police Complaints Authority.

  The responsibility for investigating a complaint rests with the chief officer of the force concerned. The Police Complaints Authority reviews the report of every investigation and has the power to supervise the investigation of serious complaints.

  Prison Education
  Mr. Martyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with whom in his Department responsibility for prison education in England and Wales lies; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The Director General of the Prison Service is directly accountable to the Home Secretary for the Prison Service's performance and operations including arrangements for the provision of education to prisoners. He is also the Home Secretary's principal policy adviser on matters relating to the Prison Service.

  Fire and Rescue Services
  Mr. Nigel Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is the actual spending in the current financial year on fire and rescue in each local authority in England and Wales;

  (2) what is the actual spending per head on fire and rescue in the current financial year for each local authority in England and Wales.

  Mr. Howard
  Fire authorities budgeted spending on fire and civil defence for 1993–94 is shown in total terms and per head of population in the table.

  1993–94 Fire and Civil Defence budgeted spending (£ million)

  Spending per head (£)

  County Fire Authority

  Avon

  21·829

  22·7

  Bedfordshire

  11·780

  22·0

  Berkshire

  15·798

  21·0

  Buckinghamshire

  12·318

  19·2

  Cambridgeshire

  13·795

  20·6

  Cheshire

  21·002

  21·7

  Cleveland

  20·128

  36·1

  Cornwall

  10·146

  21·4

  Cumbria

  11·813

  24·1

  Derbyshire

  18·272

  19·4

  Devon

  22·240

  21·4

  Dorset

  13·748

  20·7

  Durham

  13·914

  23·0

  East Sussex

  16·600

  23·2

  Essex

  34·667

  22·4

  Gloucestershire

  10·285

  19·1

  1010

  1993–94 Fire and Civil Defence budgeted spending (£ million)

  Spending per head (£)

  Hampshire

  27·823

  17·7

  Hereford and Worcester

  12·025

  17·5

  Hertfordshire

  19·547

  19·7

  Humberside

  22·168

  25·4

  Isle of Wight

  3·396

  26·8

  Kent

  35·138

  22·8

  Lancashire

  33·320

  23·7

  Leicestershire

  14·878

  16·7

  Lincolnshire

  11·641

  19·6

  Norfolk

  14·999

  19·8

  Northamptonshire

  11·460

  19·5

  Northumberland

  8·433

  27·5

  North Yorkshire

  14·718

  20·4

  Nottinghamshire

  20·784

  20·5

  Oxfordshire

  11·326

  19·5

  Shropshire

  8·040

  19·5

  Somerset

  9·349

  19·9

  Staffordshire

  18·577

  17·7

  Suffolk

  12·770

  19·3

  Surrey

  26·288

  25·4

  Warwickshire

  11·574

  23·6

  West Sussex

  16·122

  22·5

  Wiltshire

  10·267

  17·8

  Isles of Scilly

  0·088

  44·0

  Fire and Civil Defence Authority

  London

  247·749

  36·4

  Greater Manchester

  70·516

  27·5

  Merseyside

  47·429

  32·9

  South Yorkshire

  30·104

  23·3

  Tyne and Wear

  33·803

  30·0

  West Midlands

  66·728

  25·5

  West Yorkshire

  52·392

  25·4

  Wales

  Clwyd

  8·756

  21·2

  Dyfed

  8·534

  24·3

  Gwent

  11·419

  25·6

  Gwynedd

  6·127

  25·5

  Mid Glamorgan

  12·795

  23·6

  Powys

  2·914

  24·5

  South Glamorgan

  9·508

  23·4

  West Glamorgan

  9·460

  25·7

  Note: The information relating to England is expenditure to compare with SSAs. It is derived from the budgeted expenditure on services provided by the authorities to the Department of the Environment on form RA93–94, converted to outturn prices where necessary and including amounts for capital expenditure charged to revenue and other contingencies as appropriate, net of specific and spcial grants.

  Mr. Nigel Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the standard spending assessments for the current financial year for fire and rescue services in each local authority in England and Wales.

  Mr. Howard
  Standard spending assessments for 1993–94 relate to fire and civil defence expenditure. The information requested in relation to England is given in the table. Individual services are not separately identified in SSAs for Welsh local authorities.

  (£ million)

  County Fire Authority

  1993–94 Fire and Civil Defence SSA

  Avon

  20·473

  Bedfordshire

  11·073

  Berkshire

  16·601

  Buckinghamshire

  12·360

  1011

  County Fire Authority

  1993–94 Fire and Civil Defence SSA

  Cambridgeshire

  12·039

  Cheshire

  20·103

  Cleveland

  19·464

  Cornwall

  7·181

  Cumbria

  8·753

  Derbyshire

  17·067

  Devon

  19·557

  Dorset

  12·065

  Durham

  12·973

  East Sussex

  14·891

  Essex

  31·445

  Gloucestershire

  9·605

  Hampshire

  31·585

  Hereford and Worcester

  12·116

  Hertfordshire

  20·328

  Humberside

  21·322

  Isle of Wight

  2·229

  Kent

  30·998

  Lancashire

  32·276

  Leicestershire

  16·924

  Lincolnshire

  9·583

  Norfolk

  13·010

  Northamptonshire

  11·260

  Northumberland

  5·823

  North Yorkshire

  12·001

  Nottinghamshire

  21·087

  Oxfordshire

  11·284

  Shropshire

  7·839

  Somerset

  7·693

  Staffordshire

  19·345

  Suffolk

  11·023

  Surrey

  22·133

  Warwickshire

  8·993

  West Sussex

  14·836

  Wiltshire

  10·054

  Isles of Scilly

  0·053

  Fire and Civil Defence Authority

  London

  247·910

  Greater Manchester

  72·754

  Merseyside

  48·327

  South Yorkshire

  29·683

  Tyne and Wear

  35·357

  West Midlands

  69·070

  West Yorkshire

  50·752

  Note: The SSAs shown for county fire authorities take no account of capital financing costs.

  Taylforth Libel Case
  Mr. Ashton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report on why it was necessary for the Hertfordshire police to hire Mr. Richard Rampton QC in relation to the Gillian Taylforth libel action against The Sun newspaper; who would have paid for this if she had won her case and been awarded costs; and what amount the police agreed to pay for (i) the Queen's counsel, (ii) junior counsel, (iii) solicitors and (iv) in total.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  I understand that the Hertfordshire constabulary was not represented in the case in question. I am informed by the Commissioner that the 1012
  Metropolitan police was represented by Mr. Richard Rampton QC, because the Metropolitan police has been joined in the proceedings as a third party by The Sun newspaper. Had the plaintiffs' claim succeeded, liability for third party's costs would have fallen to be decided at that point. The Metropolitan police's legal costs have yet to be calculated.

  Police Protection
  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what percentage of the spending of each police authority devoted to providing police protection for(a) the Prime Minister and (b) other members of the Government were met by each police authority in (1) 1992–93 and (2) so far in 1993–94;

  (2) what percentage of the total cost of providing police protection for (a) the Prime Minister and (b) other members of the Government were met by each police authority in (1) 1992–93 and (2) so far in 1993–94;

  (3) what was the spending (a) in 1992–93 and (b) so far in 1993–94 on providing police protection for (i) the Prime Minister and (ii) other members of the Government (1) in total and (2) broken down by police authority.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  Information about the cost of specific police operations is not collected centrally. Expenditure on protection duties qualifies in the usual way for police grant at 51 per cent. and for revenue support grant from the Department of the Environment, leaving only some 15 to 20 per cent. to be raised locally.

  HMP Pucklechurch
  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to rebuild or replace HMP Pucklechurch as a male remand centre, suitable for young offenders.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from D. Lewis to Mr. Robert Maclennan, dated 4 February 1994:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about plans to rebuild or replace HMP Pucklechurch as a male remand centre, suitale for young offenders.
  The Prison Service has no such plans. Pucklechurch has not been used as a male remand centre since April 1990. It is intended that the female prison will close in October 1995, after which the site may be sold.

  Psychotherapy (Offenders)
  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidelines his Department has issued to the probation service on the provision of psychotherapy for offenders in their care.

  Mr. Maclean
  None.