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Mr. Michael Spicer : Arrangements will be made to safeguard the independence of the privatised distribution companies.
Mr. Blair : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what, after electricity privatisation, the consequences will be of the insolvency of an area board.
Mr. Michael Spicer : As with previously privatised industries, such as British Gas, existing insolvency law would apply.
Column 373
Mr. Blair : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether he has made any estimate of the impact of 1992 and the single European market on the ability of the Government to prevent nationals of other EEC member countries owning shares in a privatised electricity supply industry.
Mr. Michael Spicer : It is not the Government's intention to prevent nationals of other EEC member states from owning shares in the privatised electricity supply industry.
Mr. Blair : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will estimate the cost of transferring the national grid to the distribution companies.
Mr. Michael Spicer : The benefits of promoting competition will outweigh any costs that might arise.
Mr. Blair : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when he anticipates publishing the regulatory framework for prices under the Electricity Bill.
Mr. Michael Spicer : We intend to make draft licences, which will include descriptions of the price controls, available for the Committee stage of the Electricity Bill.
Mr. Blair : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether, after electricity privatisation, contracts between large users direct with generators will be subject to any regulation.
Mr. Michael Spicer : No. Competition law will apply to such contracts but the licences issued to National Power and PowerGen will contain a non-discrimination provision.
Generating Costs
Mr. Blair : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether he has made any estimate of the anticipated generating and operating cost per kilowatt hour of (a) nuclear power and (b) fossil fuel power up to the year 2000.
Mr. Michael Spicer : This is an operational matter for the Central Electricity Generating Board. I have asked the chairman to write to the hon. Member.
Atomic Energy
Mr. Blair : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what was the budget allocation to atomic energy research made by his Department for each financial year from 1979-80 to 1988-89 ; and what is his Department's anticipated expenditure for 1989-90.
Mr. Michael Spicer : Expenditure was, and is expected to be, as follows :
|£ million
------------------------------
1979-80 |146
1980-81 |188
1981-82 |203
1982-83 |212
1983-84 |204
1984-85 |196
1985-86 |190
1986-87 |158
1987-88 |141
1988-89 |145
Notes:
Figures are rounded to the
nearest million.
The 1979-80 and 1980-81
figures are outturn figures
taken from the 1983-84 Public
Expenditure White Paper.
Outturn figures for 1981-82
to 1986-87 are based on the
Cabinet Office annual reviews
of Government funded R and D
which were first published in
1984.
Figures for the years before
1986-87, when the United
Kingdom Atomic Energy
Authority was put on a
trading fund basis, include
some expenditure on non-R and
D work.
Figures for 1987-88 and
1988-89 are the costs
incurred and expected to be
incurred by the UKAEA on
nuclear R and D work for the
Department.
Expenditure forecasts for
1989-90 will be published in
the 1989 Public Expenditure
White Paper.
Energy Efficiency Office
Mr. Blair : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what was the budget allocated for the Energy Efficiency Office for each financial year from 1979-80 to 1988-89 ; and what is his Department's anticipated expenditure for 1989-90.
Mr. Peter Morrison : The Energy Efficiency Office was established on 31 October 1983. Its net budget allocation has been as follows :
|£ million
------------------------------
1984-85 |16.8
1985-86 |20.5
1986-87 |26.0
1987-88 |24.5
1988-89 |20.8
Figures for my Department's estimated expenditure for 1989-90 will be published in the Public Expenditure White Paper.
Advanced Gas Cooled Reactors
Mr. Blair : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy how many years the advanced gas cooled reactors at (a) Dungeness, (b) Hartlepool and (c) Heysham 1 are behind schedule ; and what has been the cost of delay for each individual advanced gas cooled reactor to date.
Mr. Michael Spicer : This is an operational matter for the Central Electricity Generating Board. I have asked the chairman to write to the hon. Member.
Sulphur Emissions
Mr. Blair : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if his Department has any plans to research into magnetohydrodynamics as a means of reducing sulphur emissions from coal-fired power stations.
Mr. Michael Spicer : Magnetohydrodynamics is not considered to have sufficient promise to justify the substantial funds required to develop it. The advanced coal based generators--such as pressurised fluidised bed and the integrated coal gasification combined cycle generators--reported in Energy Paper 56 (a copy of which is in the Library of the House) are considered preferable and sufficient to meet United Kingdom requirements.
Electricity Industry
Mr. Blair : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what were the staffing levels for the electricity supply industry for each financial year from 1979-80 to 1988-89 ; and what is the planned level for 1989-90.
Column 375
Mr. Michael Spicer : The number of staff employed by the electricity supply industry of England and Wales in post on 31 March of each year from March 1979 to March 1988 and the planned levels for March 1989 and 1990 are as follows :
Year |Total Staff (all grades)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Outturn<1>
March
1979 |159,825
1980 |158,780
1981 |154,910
1982 |146,655
1983 |141,385
1984 |137,210
1985 |133,718
1986 |131,446
1987 |131,087
1988 |130,217
Planned<2>
March
1989 |130,200
1990 |129,580
<1> Data from the Handbook of Electricity Supply Industry Statistics,
published by The Electricity Council.
<2> Industry forecasts.
Electricity Disconnections
Mr. Blair : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy how many domestic electricity disconnections were there in the years 1979-80 to the most recent year for which figures are available.
Mr. Michael Spicer : The Electricity Council informs me that the figures for disconnections in England and Wales are as follows :
Year |Number ------------------------ 1979-80 |98,894 1980-81 |118,221 1981-82 |108,266 1982-83 |91,334 1983-84 |90,722 1984-85 |91,039 1985-86 |102,714 1986-87 |98,823 1987-88 |88,870
There is a continued downward trend in disconnections and in the 12 months ending 31 October 1988 the total was 80,592, the lowest since records began in 1976.
Advertising and Promotional Budgets
Mr. Blair : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is the advertising and promotional budget for the Central Electricity Generating Board, including the area boards for the years 1978-79 to 1987-88 ; and what is the anticipated expenditure for the next five years.
Mr. Michael Spicer : This is an operational matter for the industry. I have asked the chairman of the Electricity Council to write to the hon. Member.
Mr. Blair : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is the advertising and promotional expenditure by his Department for each of the last five and next five years.
Mr. Parkinson : Advertising and promotional expenditure for the years 1986-87 and 1987-88 was £37 million
Column 376
(of which £24.6 million represents advertising costs associated with the privatisation of British Gas) and £5.6 million respectively. The provision for 1988-89 is £6.5 million. It is not possible to identify separately all advertising and promotional expenditure before 1986-87. Forecasts of the Department's advertising and promotional expenditure for future years are not available. Further information on the Department's publicity budget will be published in the 1989 public expenditure White Paper early in the new year.Nuclear Plants
Mr. Blair : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy how much money has been set aside by the Central Electricity Generating Board in each of the last 10 years for (a) the decommissioning of nuclear plant and (b) the disposal of nuclear waste.
Mr. Michael Spicer : These figures are available in the CEGB's report and accounts for the relevant years, copies of which are in the Library of the House.
Pressurised Water Reactors
Mr. Blair : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is the anticipated cost of building the family of four new pressurised water reactors.
Mr. Michael Spicer : This is a matter for the CEGB.
Power Stations (Construction)
Mr. Blair : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the major projects in hand for the construction of power stations by companies or groups other than National Power and Power Generators.
Mr. Michael Spicer : The details of the proposed projects are provided to the Department on a commercial-in-confidence basis. It is for the companies to announce details of their plans.
Electricity Supply (Channel Link)
Mr. Blair : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he has plans to increase the capacity of the Channel link between the Central Electricity Generating Board and Electricite de France.
Mr. Michael Spicer : It is for the CEGB and, after privatisation, the successor companies to bring forward any proposals for a second link.
Coal-fired Power Stations
Mr. Blair : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what information he has on the intention of the Central Electricity Generating Board on proceeding with the coal-fired power stations at West Burton and Kingsnorth.
Mr. Michael Spicer : My right hon. Friend is currently considering the CEGB's application for consent to construct a coal-fired power station at West Burton.
He has received no application from the CEGB for consent to construct a coal fired power station at Kingsnorth. It is for the CEGB to decide whether and when to apply for consent to construct any new power station.
Column 377
Chapelcross Nuclear Installation
Mr. Doran : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what contribution has been made by the Central Electricity Generating Board towards the cost of decommissioning the Chapelcross nuclear installation ; and what further contributions the board or its successors will make towards these costs ;
(2) what contributions have been made by Departments of State and public corporations, other than the South of Scotland Electricity Board, the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board and the Central Electricity Generating Board, to the costs of decommissioning the Chapelcross nuclear installation ; and what further contributions such bodies will make towards these costs ;
(3) on what basis the various contributions towards the costs of decommissioning the Chapelcross nuclear installation, whether from the Scottish electricity boards, the Central Electricity Generating Board, or from other public bodies and Departments of State, have been calculated ;
(4) what contributions have been made by the South of Scotland Electricity Board and the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board towards the cost of decommissioning the Chapelcross nuclear installation ; and what further contributions the boards or their successors will make towards these costs.
Mr. Michael Spicer : Neither the Central Electricity Generating Board nor its successors has any liability for the costs which will be incurred in decommissioning the nuclear facilities at Chapelcross.
No contributions have yet been made by customers towards the costs of decommissioning the Chapelcross facilities, since these facilities are still in operation. The eventual contributions of British Nuclear Fuels plc and other bodies towards these costs will be assessed on the basis of the relevant share of usage of the facilities. Where appropriate, provisions have been made for such decommissioning in the accounts of the bodies concerned on the basis of current cost estimates.
EMPLOYMENT
Training Statistics (Nottingham)
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish his Department's operating statistics for each completed month of employment training for Nottingham, specifying (a) the end of month profile for each region, (b) the actual number in training in each region, (c) the number of starts in each month in each region, (d) the number of leavers each month, (e) how many of the trainees are on employment training training allowance and (f) how many are still receiving wages from the Community programme.
Mr. Nicholls : Most of the information requested is given in the following table. Regional profiles for starts are used for internal management purposes only. It is not yet possible to give figures on employment training leavers as the Training Agency's management information system does not differentiate between those who were on the new job training scheme or the community programme and those who were entrants to employment training.
Column 378
Employment Training Statistics-Nottingham|C
|September 1988|October 1988
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Starts |319 |667
In-training on allowances |970 |1,319
In-training on CP wages |2,513 |2,118
Total in-training |3,483 |3,437
Vacancies (London)
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the level of unfilled vacancies in Greater London.
Mr. Lee : In October 1988 the number of unfilled vacancies registered at jobcentres in the Greater London region, seasonally adjusted was 29,000. This figure does not include all vacancies in the economy. A survey conducted in June 1988 showed that there were around 150,000 vacancies in total in Greater London, around four and a half times the level of vacancies recorded at the jobcentre at that time.
Skills Shortages
Mr. Stern : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proposals he has to reduce skills shortages in British industry ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Cope : I refer my hon. Friend to the chapter on training in the White Paper "Employment in the 1990's" and the statement by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State of Monday 5 December 1988.
Radiation
Mr. Cran : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he expects the Health and Safety Commission working group on ionising radiations to report on its review of dose limits for acceptable levels of exposure to radiation.
Mr. Nicholls : The working group on ionising radiation is currently finalising its end of year report which will include advice on dose limitation. The report will be submitted to the Health and Safety Commission in the new year.
Labour Statistics
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment at what time the last set of monthly unemployment figures were made available to the press (a) in Nottingham and (b) nationally.
Mr. Lee : The latest unemployment figures, both national and regional were first available to all enquirers at 11.30 am on 17 Novermber 1988.
Mr. Leighton : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is his Department's estimate of the number of economically inactive people who would like a job.
Mr. Lee : It is estimated from the labour force survey (LFS) that in spring 1987 there were 2,180 thousand people without a job who were economically inactive using the ILO/OECD definition--that is, either not seeking or not available for work--aged 16 and over in Great Britain, who said they would like a job.
Column 379
Playground Accidents
Mr. Robert G. Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the number of children who turn up at hospital because of playground accidents for every month since his Department started collecting figures ; and if he will make a statement about those figures.
Mr. Nicholls : The table shows the available information. Before 1986 reports of playground injuries cannot be separately identified. While a large number of these major injuries would have required attention at hospital I have no information on the exact numbers. Non-fatal injuries in playgrounds other than those specified as major are not reportable. I shall be writing to the hon. Member about the monthly breakdown of the figures.
Injuries to children, 18 years of age or younger, reported to the
Health and Safety Executive's Factory and Agriculture Inspectorates
for years beginning 1 April
1986-87 <1>1987-88
|Fatal |<2>Major|Fatal |<2>Major
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Resulting from sports
activities in school
playgrounds |0 |995 |2 |765
Resulting from indoor
and outdoor play
activities in school |0 |2,161 |1 |1,234
In playgrounds other
than those in schools |1 |87 |1 |84
<1> Provisional
<2> Major injuries as scheduled under the Reporting of Injuries
Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1986 (RIDDOR).
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Atomic Energy (Departmental Unit)
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many people have been employed in the Atomic Energy (Unit C) section of his Ministry in each of the last 10 years ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Ryder : The information requested is as follows :
|Number
----------------------
1978-83 |3 or 4
1984 |6
1985 |8
1986 |9
1987 |14
1988 |16
I am satisfied that Unit C of the Ministry's food science division, now known as the food safety (radiation) unit, has been adequately staffed to carry out its duties throughout this period.
Radioactive Caesium Deposition (Cumbria)
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has made the preliminary contour map of radioactive caesium deposition resulting from the aeriel survey of Cumbria available to all the farmers in the restricted area of that county ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Ryder : No. Only the final report on this survey will be published.
Column 380
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will make the preliminary contour map of radioactive caesium deposition resulting from the aerial survey of Cumbria available in the Library ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Ryder : I have nothing to add to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member on 28 November at column 190.
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many farmers and landowners (a) from the restricted area of Cumbria and (b) from outside the restricted area attended the meeting at Edenbridge house, Carlisle on 23 November to discuss the aerial survey of post-Chernobyl radioactivity ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Ryder : The farmers and landowners who attended the meeting on 23 November were chosen by their representative organisations. I understand that all of them farm within the original restricted area of Cumbria, though the farms of three of them are no longer under restriction.
Veterinary Products
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when his powers to ban a veterinary product if that product has satisfied the Veterinary Products Committee in terms of its safety, quality and efficacy and has therefore been granted a product licence were last used ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Donald Thompson : It has rarely been necessary to use my power in this way, the last occasion being The Medicines (Hormones Growth Promoter) (Prohibition of Use) Regulations 1986, re-enacted in 1988, made to implement a Community decision which we had contested.
Pollen Beetle
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps his Ministry is taking to contain the spread of the metogethes, or pollen beetle.
Mr. Ryder : The pollen beetle is indigenous to and widespread in the United Kingdom. There are a number of approved pesticides which are effective against it.
Improvement Scheme
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the expenditure by county in England and Wales under the agricultural improvement scheme for each of the last three years.
Mr. Ryder : I regret that the information is not available in the form requested.
Total expenditure under the Agriculture Improvement Scheme was as follows: £ million |1985-86 |1986-87 |1987-88 |<1>1988 ------------------------------------------------------------ England |0.127 |6.670 |14.572 |4.672 Wales |0.054 |3.249 |5.88 |1.396 <1> April to June
Column 381
Percentage distribution by Divisional Office was as follows:
Division |Financial year 1986-87 |Financial year 1987-88 |June quarter 1988
|(includes any 1985-86 |percentage |percentage
|expenditure) percentage
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Beverley |7.34 |5.52 |6.21
Carlisle |4.75 |10.61 |9.22
Newcastle |6.14 |7.10 |3.95
Northallerton |9.67 |8.81 |7.66
Crewe |7.99 |6.23 |7.19
Nottingham |5.29 |5.57 |6.86
Worcester |3.44 |4.63 |5.22
Preston |13.74 |7.32 |6.13
Lincoln |3.07 |2.61 |4.63
Chelmsford |3.30 |6.88 |10.69
Huntingdon |1.77 |1.96 |0.61
Norwich |1.89 |2.25 |2.57
Guildford |3.69 |4.68 |6.98
Maidstone |0.99 |3.36 |1.94
Oxford |2.14 |1.48 |0.85
Exeter |12.88 |8.66 |6.35
Gloucester |3.50 |3.62 |3.31
Taunton |4.45 |3.46 |4.56
Truro |3.96 |5.25 |5.07
|100.00 |100.00 |100.00
Caernarvon |8.79 |11.17 |11.16
Cardiff |3.06 |8.93 |3.07
Carmarthen |49.90 |38.65 |29.81
Llandrindod Wells |32.91 |34.00 |45.91
Ruthin |5.34 |7.25 |10.05
|100.00 |100.00 |100.00
Chickens (Salmonella Enteritidis)
Mr. Alan W. Williams : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many chickens slaughtered for meat are tested for the presence of salmonella enteritidis ; and how many are found to carry the bacteria.
Mr. Donald Thompson : Testing is not a statutory requirement and no firm information is available. Advice has been issued to enforcement authorities on the identification and rejection of birds showing visible signs of salmonella enteritidis at post-mortem inspection. We have asked the industry to consider urgently what other steps can be taken. Salmonella is destroyed if poultry is cooked properly.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Cash Limits
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security on which social security benefits expenditure is cash-limited ; and which are not so limited.
Child Benefit
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many (a) fathers and (b) mothers claim child benefit.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Information available relates to men and women rather than fathers and mothers--child benefit is sometimes claimed by someone other than the parent, for example a grandparent. In Great Britain at 31 December 1987, about 135,000 child benefit claimants were men and about 6,545,000 claimants were women.
Column 382
Sir Ian Gilmour : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the rate of child benefit in 1979 ; and by what percentage the rate has increased between April 1979 and April 1988.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The April 1979 rate of child benefit was £4.00 ; the increase in the rate between that date and April 1988 was 81.3 per cent.
Disability Benefit
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claims in Stoke-on-Trent, North for disability benefit and for reduced earnings allowance are currently pending ; what is the average length of time claimants in Stoke-on-Trent, North are having to wait from the date when their claim is first submitted to the date when the medical examination is done ; what is the average waiting time between the receipt by his Department of the medical examination report and the payment of benefit ; if he will consider paying disability benefit and reduced earnings allowance in cases which are pending ; and how many consultants are currently available to undertake medical examinations to claimants in Stoke-on-Trent, North.
Mr. Scott : Claims from people living in Stoke-on-Trent, North constituency are dealt with by Stoke North local office, but their boundaries are not co terminous. The information which can be provided without incurring disproportionate cost is as follows. As at 6 December, Stoke-on-Trent, North local office had 68 claims for disablement benefit and reduced earnings allowance at the stage of initial enquiries and which had yet to be medically examined. Because payment of benefit is directly linked to an initial medical assessment of the degree of disablement, payment of benefit pending that assessment would not be appropriate.
There are 79 NHS consultants in the Stoke-on-Trent area who may be asked to carry out medical examinations of claimants.
Crisis Loans
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security why local offices of his Department will not give crisis loan applications forms to local advice agencies.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Local offices of the Department are authorised to issue representative samples of social fund forms, including the crisis loan application form, to local advice agencies. I am satisfied that this arrangement is operating effectively. To issue other than representative quantities would be counter-productive as both the forms and the information contained within them are constantly under review.
Cold Weather Payments
Mr. Amos : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the relative merits of (a) the Leeming and (b) the Newcastle weather stations to determine the eligibility for cold weather payments for people in the Hexham constituency.
Mr. Scott : The Newcastle weather station is not used for the purposes of the social fund cold weather payments
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