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Mr. Waldegrave : The allowance paid to children of Diplomatic Service officers who attend boarding schools in the United Kingdom is based on an average of the fees of all boarding schools on the headmasters' conference list.
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Only limited information is kept on schools used overseas. Each mission maintains its own list of authorised schools which offer education of a kind available without cost under the state system in Britain.Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list in the Official Report the number of allowances and the total amount paid by the Government for boarding school fees in both the United Kingdom and overseas for the education of the children of (a) members of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, (b) members of the Diplomatic Service communications division and (c) the Overseas Development Administration including children of technical co-operation officers for the latest year for which figures are available.
Mr. Waldegrave : Fees are not paid for children to attend overseas boarding schools.
Expenditure on allowances paid to enable children to attend boarding schools in the United Kingdom in the financial year 1987-88 was as follows :
(a) FCO £7,031,000
(b) Diplomatic Service (DS) communications division £753,000 (
(c) ODA £1,500,000
The number of children at boarding school will vary during the course of the year. The numbers currently attending are : (
(a) FCO 989 children
(b) DS communications division 111 children
(c) ODA 447 children
Diplomatic Service officers retain their right to boarding school allowance while serving in the United Kingdom in recognition of their liability to further overseas postings. In these circumstances the allowance is taxable and is grossed up to take account of the tax liability. The cost figures above take account of this.
Holiday Visits
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the approximate cost of holiday visit passages paid in respect of (a) children of Foreign Office personnel being educated in the United Kingdom and in receipt of education allowances and (b) members of the Diplomatic Service communications division being educated in the United Kingdom and in receipt of education allowances and of any further travelling expenses paid for the latest available year.
Mr. Waldegrave : The cost of fares paid to enable children to rejoin their parents overseas during the three school holidays was £977,000, made up as follows :
(a) FCO £920,000
(b) Diplomatic Service Communications Division £57,000 In addition, the sum of £51,000 (£48,000 plus £3,000) was spent as a contribution towards the cost of travel between school and airports in the United Kingdom.
These figures include costs of journeys made by children aged 18 to 21 who are in full-time further education and not, therefore, in receipt of education allowances.
Tjeluvyo Mgedezi
Mr. Hood : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make immediate
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representations to the South African Government to appeal for clemency for Tjeluvyo Mgedezi, the miners' leader who has been sentenced to be hanged.Mrs. Chalker : It is not our normal practice to intervene in such cases. We do so only exceptionally, when all other avenues have been exhausted. Our criteria are that the case must be clearly political, and there must also be strong extenuating circumstances or grounds to doubt the fairness of the judicial process. Our embassy in Pretoria has spoken with Mr. Mgedezi's lawyers and understands that he intends to petition President Botha for clemency.
Mrs. Molly Maher
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs why officials from his Department advised Mrs. Molly Maher of 28 Singleton road, Brighton, that they had no power to obtain or provide local assistance in interpretation facilities or provide advice and assistance to British citizens contemplating civil actions abroad ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Waldegrave : Formal interpretation/translation services overseas are not provided by consular officials, although at times they are able to assist informally. Consular officials cannot give legal advice to British citizens in general or specific terms on civil actions abroad. It is for the individual's own lawyers to recommend whether a case should be instituted and how it should be carried through.
In this instance Mrs. Maher's lawyer elected to serve papers through legal rather than diplomatic channels. However, Mrs. Maher has been in regular contact both with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the British embassy, Madrid, which has been checking and advising her of progress.
Disarmament
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what policy decisions have been taken by Her Majesty's Government on the definition of the phrase "at an early date" in article 6 of the 1968 nuclear non-proliferation treaty, with regard to the process of negotiated nuclear disarmament.
Mr. Waldegrave : Article VI of the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons requires the parties to it to pursue negotiations on effective measures connected with nuclear disarmament. Since the United States and the Soviet Union possess between them the overwhelming preponderance of nuclear weapons it is universally recognised that the primary responsibility for negotiations falls to them. The United States and Soviet Union are currently engaged in such negotiations which aim at 50 per cent. reductions in their strategic nuclear weapons.
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how his Department was represented, in terms of papers presented or observers sent, at (a) the workshop on the verification of nuclear and conventional arms reductions at St. Bartholomew's hospital medical college from 30 November to 2 December and (b) the international scientists symposium, "Ways out of the Arms Race," at Imperial college of science and technology, in London from 2 to 4 December.
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Mr. Waldegrave : A member of the arms control and disarmament research unit of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office attended both the workshop on the verification of nuclear and conventional arms reductions at St. Bartholomew's hospital medical college and the international scientists' symposium at Imperial college as an observer. He was joined by another member of the unit for the symposium.
Nuclear Tests
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps Her Majesty's Government intend to take to fulfil their undertakings under the partial nuclear test ban treaty 1963, to set a date for the ending of all nuclear testing.
Mr. Waldegrave : The 1963 partial test ban treaty does not require the parties to it to set a date for the ending of all nuclear tests. The parties to the treaty state as their principal aim the speediest possible achievement of an agreement on general and complete disarmament. The cessation of nuclear testing is clearly linked with this. For as long as we rely for our security on deterrence based in part on the possession of nuclear weapons we will need to test them at a minimum level. The cessation of nuclear testing, therefore, remains a long-term goal.
WALES
Water Rate
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish in the Official Report the average equated water rate poundage for each water authority in Wales.
Mr. Grist : The information requested by the hon. Member is set out in the table :
Average equated water rate 1988-89 Water authority |Water supply |Sewerage services |Environmental services|Pence total ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Severn Trent<1> |22.6 |27.6 |0.75 |50.95 Welsh Water |52.11 |49.02 |1.87 |108.00 Source: Water authority returns. <1> The geographical area which Severn Trent serves extends into mid-Wales. However, it is not possible to break the figure down on a purely Welsh basis.
Elderly Patients
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of patients visit general practitioners for treatment according to the number of appointments made for treatment within the following age bands (a) under 65 years, (b) between 65 and 74 years and (c) over 75 years.
Mr. Grist : Information on the numbers of appointments with GPs is not available centrally.
Disabled Persons (Staff)
Mr. Sean Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of his Department's staff are classed as disabled.
Mr. Peter Walker : 1.4 per cent.
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Value Added Tax
Mr. Heddle : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessments he has made as to the likely effect on (a) his Department's capital building programme and (b) the rent the Department will pay under occupational leases, of implementation of the European Court of Justice's judgment on value added tax on non-domestic buildings.
Mr. Peter Walker : Implementation of the European Court of Justice's judgment on value added tax will have no effect on my Department's capital building programme, since compensating adjustments have been made to the relevant expenditure provisions. At this stage, before landlords have decided whether to exercise their option to tax rents, it is not possible to offer meaningful estimates of the effects of the judgment on rental costs.
Pesticides
Mr. Geraint Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement detailing the funding of research into the effect of pesticides used in the Welsh agricultural industry.
Mr. Peter Walker : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given to the hon. Member for Bridgend (Mr. Griffiths) on 1 December 1988, at column 328, by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
Industry (Ownership)
Mr. Geraint Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has of the likely pattern of ownership of industry in Wales over the next five years ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Walker : I have made no such estimate.
Special Waste
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish in the Official Report figures for each of the last five years of the volume of special waste imported into, and exported out of, Wales.
Mr. Ian Grist : This information is not maintained centrally.
Skill Shortages
Mr. Roy Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the level of skill shortages in (a) Newport, (b) Gwent and (c) Wales.
Mr. Peter Walker : Information on skill shortages is not held centrally. Area offices of the Training Agency collect local information on the CALLMI system (computer assisted local labour market intelligence).
Mr. Roy Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has on how many manufacturing companies are having difficulties recruiting skilled manual labour in (a) Newport, (b) Gwent and (c) Wales.
Mr. Peter Walker : Information is not available centrally on the number of manufacturing companies having difficulties recruiting skilled labour. Any problems are dealt with locally by the area office of the Training Agency.
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Employment Training
Mr. Roy Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people in (a) Newport, (b) Gwent and (c) Wales are participating in training and retraining programmes.
Mr. Peter Walker : The number of people participating in training and retraining programmes is as follows :
|YTS |Employment training |Residual community
|programe job training
|scheme
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newport |1,295 |586 |12
Gwent |4,317 |1,894 |25
Wales |26,083 |12,225 |4,760
Figures are not available for miscellaneous smaller training programmes such as training for enterprise ; local grants to employers and the wider opportunities training programme.
Council House Tenants
Mr. Roy Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many council house tenants in (a) Newport, (b) Gwent and (c) Wales receive benefit of some kind.
Mr. Grist : The numbers of council tenants in receipt of housing benefit in 1987-88 were as follows :
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|Tenants
------------------------
Newport |10,700
Gwent |37,508
Wales |189,745
Source: Department of
Social Security.
Information on the number of council tenants in receipt of other benefits could not be obtained without incurring disproportionate costs.
Housing
Mr. Roy Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) how many repossession orders there have been in (a) Newport, (b) Gwent and (c) Wales since the housing benefit changes last April ; and how many there were in 1987 ;
(2) how many cases of homelessness there have been in (a) Newport, (b) Gwent and (c) Wales since the housing benefit changes last April ; and how many there were in 1987 ;
(3) how many cases of eviction there have been in (a) Newport, (b) Gwent and (c) Wales since the housing benefit changes last April ; and how many there were in 1987.
Mr. Ian Grist : Information on homelessness resulting from eviction and repossession in 1987 is given in the following table. Statistics for the period following the housing benefit changes are not yet available.
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Cases of eviction
|Cases accepted as |Action by local authority|Action by other landlord |Total evictions |Cases of repossession
|homeless |action by mortgagee
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1987
Newport |625 |7 |150 |157 |94
Gwent |1,503 |47 |269 |316 |160
Wales |5,683 |158 |1,030 |1,188 |859
SOCIAL SECURITY
Family Credit and Housing Benefit
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many people he expects to be eligible for family credit and housing benefit in 1989-90, with a breakdown of their tenure ; (2) how much he expects to spend on family credit in 1989-90 ; and how much of this is attributable (a) to the notional compensation for free school meals and milk and (b) to the freezing of child benefit.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Estimates of the average number of people likely to receive family credit and housing benefit in 1989-90 along with the estimate of expenditure on family credit will be published in the public expenditure White Paper early in the new year.
Pensioners
Mr. Andrew Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the total number of pensioners overseas currently in receipt of United Kingdom pensions ; and what are (a) the numbers in each country, (b) the
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number in countries where annual increments apply and (c) the number in countries where annual increments do not apply.Mr. Peter Lloyd : I refer my hon. Friend to my hon. Friend's reply to him on 19 May 1988 at columns 551-54. More up to date figures are not available.
Mr. Andrew Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the average income of those 75 years of age and over ; and what is the real term increase in the incomes of those aged 75 years and over since 1979.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : In 1986 the average net income of those aged 75 and over was £78.08. This represents a 26.9 per cent. real increase since 1979.
Source : Family Expenditure Survey 1986.
Mr. Andrew Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) at what level of income the earnings rule has operated in respect of retirement pensions in each year from 1984-85 to the present date ;
(2) if he will list the value of the earnings rule for retirement pensions as a percentage of (i) gross and (ii) net average earning for each year since 1984.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The information requested is as follows :
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Average weekly Earnings rule as a
earnings of all male percentage of gross and
manual workers<1> net earnings
Uprating dates Earnings rSingle person Married couple Single person Married couple
|gross |net |gross |net |gross |net |gross |net
|£ |£ |£ |£ |£ |per cent.|per cent.|per cent.|per cent.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
November 1984 |70.00 |159.60 |108.90 |159.60 |115.50 |43.9 |64.3 |43.9 |60.6
November 1985 |75.00 |168.70 |115.60 |168.70 |122.80 |44.5 |64.9 |44.5 |61.1
July 1986 |75.00 |176.70 |122.60 |176.70 |129.90 |42.4 |61.2 |42.4 |57.7
April 1987 |75.00 |185.50 |131.30 |185.50 |138.40 |40.4 |57.1 |40.4 |54.2
April 1988 |75.00 |200.60 |144.90 |200.60 |152.10 |37.4 |51.8 |37.4 |49.3
<1> Estimates of average weekly earnings for full-time employees, seasonally adjusted.
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he has any plans to improve the arrangements for payment to pensioners on income support of assistance for fuel costs during the winter months.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : General help with fuel costs is provided within income support allowances. The income support premiums target extra help to vulnerable groups including pensioners.
In addition, the social fund cold weather payments scheme provides help with extra heating costs incurred when the weather is particularly cold. A number of improvements to this scheme have already been announced which will increase the number of payments which can be made.
Housing Benefit
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 30 November, how the estimated 1988-89 annual expenditure on housing benefit in Nottingham was calculated.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : It is largely a matter for the local authority to determine the basis for calculating the annual housing benefit expenditure estimate. In making an estimate the authority should take account of the effect of changes to the scheme and local factors such as increases in rate and rent levels. Actual expenditure for the financial year is, of course, subject to audit by the district auditor.
VAT
Mr. Heddle : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessments he has made as to the likely effect on (a) his Department's capital building programme and (b) the rent the Department will pay under occupational leases of implementation of the European Court of Justice's judgment on value added tax on non-domestic buildings.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Implementation of the European Court of Justice's judgment on VAT will have no effect on the Department's capital building programme since compensating adjustments have been made to the relevant expenditure provisions. At this stage, before landlords have decided whether to exercise their option to tax rents, it is not possible to offer meaningful estimates of the effects of the judgment on rental costs.
Disabled Persons (Staff)
Mr. Sean Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what percentage of his Department's staff are classed as disabled.
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Mr. Scott : Separate figures for the Department of Social Security are not available, but the June 1988 percentage for the Department of Health and Social Security was 1.42.
Languages
Mr. Andrew Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security which of his Department's publications are produced in languages other than English ; and which are the additional languages used.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The following list details all of the forms currently available, or which will be available by the end of January, in Welsh.
Family Credit
FC1 and FC2.
Social Fund
SF100, SF200, SF101, SF102, SF103 and SF113.
General
BF134.
National Insurance
NI255 and RD3A.
An up-to-date version of leaflet FB2 entitled "Which Benefit", which gives details of the Social Security benefits available, is currently in preparation in Urdu, Bengali, Gujerati, Hindi, Punjabi, Chinese and Turkish. A revision of the previous leaflet has been necessary following the Social Security changes in April 1988. It is hoped to publish the amended version by the end of the year.
Benefit Forms
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the forms which have to be filled in for each benefit administered by his Department ; and how many pages and how many questions are found in each.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : A list of the principal claim forms for benefits administered by the Department is as follows. The other information requested is not readily available and could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.
Main Benefit |Form No. |Details
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Income |B1 |Income Support for people who are
Support |unemployed
|B1 (Student) |Income Support for Students who
|are unemployed (during long
|vacations)
|B71D |Income Support for people invol-
|ved in Trade Disputes
|SP1 |Income Support for people who are
|over retirement age
|A1 |Income Support-for people who
|are sick or looking after children
|or sick or elderly relatives
Social Fund |SF100 |Maternity Payment-postal claim
|form
|SF200 |Funeral Payment-postal claim
|form
|SF300 |Application for Budgeting Loan or
|Community Care Grant
|SF400 |Crisis Loan application form
Widows Benefits |BW1 |Application for Widows Pension,
|Widows Payment and/or Widowed
|Mothers Allowance
Retirement Pensions |BR1 |Application for Retirement Pension
Child Benefits |CH2 |Initial Claim for Child Benefit
|including One Parent Benefit if
|appropriate
|CH12 |Claim for Child Benefit for addi-
|tional children
|BG1 |Claim for Guardians Allowance if a
|person takes an orphaned child
|into the family
Incapacity Benefits |SC1 |Claim for Statutory Sick Pay
|(SSP) or Sickness Benefit self
|certificated sickness
|SSP1(E) |Claim for Sickness or Invalidity
|Benefit for people who do not
|qualify for SSP from work
|SP1(T) |Claim for Sickness or Invalidity
|Benefit when SSP from work runs
|out
|SDA1 part of leaflet NI252 |Claim for Severe Disablement
|Allowance (for people below retire-
|ment age who cannot work
|because of illness or disablement)
Maternity pay |MA1 |Claim for Statutory Maternity Pay
|(SMP) from work or Maternity
|Allowance
Family Credit |FC1 |Family Credit-postal claim form
Agency Benefits |AG1 |Claim for help with National
|Health Service charges and travell-
|ing expenses
Attendance Allowance |NI251 |Attendance Allowance
|NI212 |Invalid Care Allowance-for
|people looking after someone who
|has Attendance Allowance
Injury and Disability |BI104 |Constant Attendance Allowance for
|people who need constant atten-
|tion because of the effects of an
|industrial accident or disease
|BI103 |Reduced Earnings Allowance for
|people who cannot return to their
|former occupation because of the
|effects of an industrial accident or
|disease
|BI100A |IIDB for Industrial Accidents
|BI100(OA) |IIDB for Occupational Asthma
|BI100B |IIBD for a Prescribed Industrial
|Disease
|BI100C |Claim for further award of
|Unemployability Supplement-the
|initial award does not need a
|separate claim form
|BI100(OD) |IIDB for Occupational Deafness
|BI100P |IIDB for Pneumoconiosis (certain
|cases only)
|BI100Pn |IIDB for Pneumoconiosis,
|Byssinosis, Silicosis and Asbestosis
|WS1 |Claim for Workmens
|Compensation Supplement-for
|people who contracted industrial
|diseases before 5 July 1948
|PN1A |Pneumoconiosis, Byssinosis and
|Miscellaneous Disease Benefit for
|people who contracted the relevant
|diseases as a result of employment
|before 5 July 1948
|NI225 |Claim for Mobility Allowance
Centrepoint, Soho
Sir George Young : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he will increase his grant to Centrepoint, Soho to enable them to accommodate 16 to 17-year-olds ;
(2) what steps he intends to take to ensure continuity of funding for Centrepoint, Soho's work with homeless 16 to 17-year-olds in the west end of London.
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