| Previous Section | Home Page |
Column 703
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what arrangements were made for the disposal of hens believed to be contaminated with salmonella enteritidis, slaughtered under the recent compensation scheme ;
(2) what arrangements were made for the disposal of hens slaughtered under the recent compensation scheme.
Mr. Donald Thompson : The agriculture departments are arranging for the disposal of all carcases of birds slaughtered under the scheme by burial or incineration.
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what arrangements his Department made for the supervision of hens believed to be salmonella-infected slaughtered during the last three months outwith his recent compensation scheme.
Mr. Donald Thompson : None. The slaughter and disposal of hens outside the scheme is the responsibility of the owner and is subject to the relevant statutory provisions such as those governing welfare and hygiene.
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether any inspection by his staff during 1988 revealed the presence of salmonella in poultry farms.
Mr. Donald Thompson [holding answer 23 January 1989] : Poultry farms are not routinely inspected for the presence of salmonella. Under the Zoonoses Order 1975, which requires the reporting of isolations of salmonella, 870 reports (provisional) of salmonella of all serotypes in poultry in 1988 were received.
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Teachers (Training)
Mr. Allason : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will issue guidance to local education authorities on the practice of allowing teachers to take their training days at home.
Mrs. Rumbold : Under the terms of the school teachers' pay and conditions document 1988 a teacher is required to be available for work for 195 days in any year, of which 190 days are to be days on which he or she may be required to teach pupils. The intention is that the remaining five days should be used primarily for in-service training. The form that such training should take is at the discretion of local education authorities.
National Curriculum (Northumberland)
Mr. Amos : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion in (a) cash terms and (b) as a percentage of the extra resources being made available for the implementation of the national curriculum will be provided to Northumberland.
Mrs. Rumbold : Targeted support for expenditure by local education authorities on activities relating to the introduction of the national curriculum is channelled through education support grants and LEA training grants. My right hon. Friend has approved expenditure on such activities by Northumberland in 1989-90 of £437, 700 under the education support grants programme and
Column 704
£328,000 under the LEA training grants scheme. These figures represent respectively 0.8 per cent. and 0.7 per cent. of the total amounts being made available for such activities in that year. It is for LEAs to determine what additional support to devote to the implementation of the education reforms from block grant or from their own resources.PRIME MINISTER
Israel
Q32. Mr. Latham : To ask the Prime Minister whether she will pay an official visit to Israel.
The Prime Minister : I have at present no plans to do so.
Libya (Chemical Weapons Plant)
Q80. Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Prime Minister if she will raise at the next meeting of the European Council the participation of European firms in the manufacture of the chemical weapons plant in Libya ; and if she will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : The European Council will next meet on 26-27 June and it is too early to speculate on what will be discussed. The issue is, however, a matter of great concern to us, particularly given Libyan links with terrorism, and we are already co-ordinating closely with EC partners and others about it. All EC states are members of the informal "Australia group" of Western countries which holds consultations on export controls on chemical weapon precursors and other related measures.
North-west Kent
Q87. Mr. Dunn : To ask the Prime Minister if she has any plans to visit north-west Kent.
The Prime Minister : I have at present no plans to do so.
Cabotage
Q122. Sir David Price : To ask the Prime Minister what progress she has made in the Council of Ministers of the European Community in persuading other member Governments to accord equal rights of cabotage to each other's coastal shipping, and if she will name the non-complying Governments.
The Prime Minister : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport is continuing to press hard for agreement on cabotage liberalisation in the Transport Council.
The six member states who have laws restricting cabotage trades to ships of their national flag are the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain. We have an agreement with the Federal Republic which ensures that British operators offering a competitive service have no bureaucratic difficulties in participating in German cabotage trades.
Sir Leon Brittan
Q143. Mr. Tam Dalyell : To ask the Prime Minister why she will not make a statement on her communications with Sir Leon Brittan, KBE, since his appointment as a Vice-President of the European Commission on 1 January.
Column 705
The Prime Minister : I have nothing to add to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member on 10 January 1989 at column 493.
Child Abuse
Mr. Allen : To ask the Prime Minister (1) which Government Departments have been involved in the Broxtowe child sex abuse case ; and if she will make a statement ;
(2) further to her reply to the hon. Member for Nottingham, North of 19 January about the Broxtowe estate, whether she has any progress to report.
The Prime Minister : The offences were investigated by the Nottinghamshire constabulary and the successful prosecutions were conducted by the Crown Prosecution Service.
The Nottinghamshire social services department received appropriate support and guidance from the regional office of the Department of Health's social services inspectorate. Otherwise no Government Departments were directly involved in the case.
The Department has in hand an active programme of research into child care, including child abuse and child sexual abuse.
Departmental Staff (Child Care)
Ms. Richardson : To ask the Prime Minister what child care provision is provided by the Cabinet Office for the pre-school-age children of employees ; what child care provision, for school holiday or after-school care, is provided for employees' children aged five and over ; what plans there are for increasing provision in the next five years ; and how these are to be funded.
The Prime Minister : At present the Cabinet Office does not provide child care facilities. It is considering the need to do so.
Engagements
Dr. Goodson-Wickes : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 26 January.
Mr. David Evans : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 26 January.
Mr. Riddick : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 26 January.
Mr. Rooker : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 26 January.
Mr. Amess : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 26 January.
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 26 January.
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 26 January.
Mr. Stern : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 26 January.
Mr. Ian Taylor : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 26 January.
Mr. Cran : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 26 January.
Column 706
Mr. Sumberg : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 26 January.
The Prime Minister : This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House I shall be having further meetings later today.
Soviet Union
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Prime Minister on how many occasions permission for emigration to or travel within the Soviet Union or other Comecon Eastern bloc countries has been denied to applicants formerly employed at (i) Ministry of Defence, (ii) atomic weapons research establishments, (iii) MI5 and (iv) Government Communications Headquarters at Cheltenham, since May 1979.
The Prime Minister : The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Retirement Age
142. Mr. Holt : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the financial implications for the Government of implementing a universal retirement age of 63 years.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Pembroke (Mr. Bennett) on 24 January at column 522.
National Insurance
143. Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the annual yield from employers' national insurance surcharge contributions.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : There has been no national insurance surcharge since the end of the 1984-85 financial year.
Social Fund
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will summarise to what each social fund configuration for computerisation purposes relates.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Each local office has been allocated one of three microcomputer configurations depending on its predicted workload. The three types of configuration provide different levels of microcomputer capacity but perform identical functions.
Administrative Costs
Mr. Sean Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the cost of administering the social security system in 1978-79 and 1987-88, in 1978-79 prices.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The administration costs are as follows :
|£ million
------------------------------
1978-79 |761
1987-88 |<1>996
<1> At 1978-79 prices.
The main reasons for the additional costs in 1987-88 were the salary and other costs of extra staff in the local offices of both the Department of Social Security and the Department of Employment, together with the greater use of computers and consultants.
Mentally Ill People (Sheltered Homes)
Mr. Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security under which category sheltered homes for the mentally ill will be defined in his forthcoming changes in board-and-lodgings allowance.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Sheltered accommodation can take a variety of forms ranging from registered homes to warden-controlled flats. Some types of sheltered accommodation, usually shared housing where meals many be supplied by the landlord, are classed as lodgings or hostels for benefit purposes. From April 1989 people in lodgings will no longer rely on special payments of income support to meet their accommodation costs. Instead they will be able to receive normal income support payments and housing benefit in the same way as the majority of other claimants.
We have consulted widely on proposals to make similar changes to payments for people in hostels. We have deferred any change until after April 1989 to allow us time to examine more fully the effects on hostels' finances. An announcement will be made once final decisions have been reached.
Young People (Entitlement)
Mr. Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the entitlement to social security including housing benefit for young people on leaving local authority care.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Young people aged 16 or 17 who leave care and register for a job or a YTS course are entitled to income support for a period after they leave school if they are not living with their parents nor any person acting in place of their parents. During this period they are guaranteed an offer of a YTS place. Some 16 and 17-year-olds may receive income support both during and after that period because, for example, they are incapable of work or a YTS course by reason of disablement, or they are responsible for a child.
Young people living in board and lodgings or hostels, including those on YTS, may receive help with their accommodation costs from income support as well as their other needs. Other young people who are responsible for paying housing costs are entitled to claim housing benefit ; those on income support or with net incomes at or below that level get a maximum 100 per cent. of rent and 80 per cent. of rates. From April, young people in lodgings will also be entitled to housing benefit in the same way as other tenants. We are reviewing the arrangements for people in hostels.
Further help may be sought from the social fund. In particular those who qualify for income support may be eligible for communicy care grants to help them set up home.
Pensions
Mr. Andrew Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what was the average growth in incomes
Column 708
in each of the last 10 years of (a) households in the second decile group and (b) pensioner households in the second decile group of pensioner households ;(2) what was the average growth in incomes in each of the last 10 years of (a) households in the second decile group and (b) pensioner households in the third decile group of pensioner households.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to him on 23 January at column 414 .
Benefits (Disqualification)
Ms. Short : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what guidance he has issued to his local offices to ensure that when claimants have their benefit stopped, for reasons such as non-availability for work, the decision is explained clearly and their right to appeal is pointed out ; and if he will make a statment on how current arrangements are operating.
Mr. Scott : Local office staff have been given guidance to the effect that once a decision to withdraw benefit has been confirmed they should issue a letter or explanatory notice. This notification sets out the reason for the withdrawal, the means whereby the claimant can obtain a full explanation, their right of appeal and how to exercise it, and a reference to the citizens advice bureau or local law centre from which they can obtain free advice.
We are satisfied with the way these arrangements are operating. As always, they are under constant review.
Appeals
Mr. Martyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many (a) social security, and (b) medical appeals there were in each of the last three years in (i) Wales (ii) England, and (iii) Scotland.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The latest national administrative statistics available in the form required are for the year ending 31 December 1987. The information provided in the attached table is for the years ending 31 December 1985, 1986 and 1987.
I regret that equivalent information is not available for medical appeal tribunals.
Estimated number of appeals lodged
|1985 |1986 |1987
-----------------------------------------
Wales |12,640 |16,032 |18,248
England |194,806|224,190|250,114
Scotland |39,948 |54,519 |60,646
|-------|-------|-------
Total |247,394|294,741|329,008
The information given is considered an estimate because the figures include a small proportion of referrals to social security appeal tribunals by adjudication officers.
Departmental Offices
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what load of current cases the Greenock and Port Glasgow offices of his Department have carried in the past nine months ;
(2) what was the average number of new claims and cases since 11 April 1988 awaiting review at the local offices of his Department of Greenock and Port Glasgow
Column 709
which were recorded as outstanding each month ; and how many were concerned with (a) supplementary benefit claims and (b) single payment claims.Mr. Peter Lloyd : The information available is set out in the tables.
Column 710
The source of the live load figures is the 100 per cent. count of cases in action and is available only on a quarterly basis. The figures given include a small number of cases not actually in receipt of benefit.Column 709
Month ending |30 April 1988 |31 May 1988 |30 June 1988 |31 July 1988 |31 August 1988 |30 September 1988|31 October 1988 |30 November 1988 |31 December 1988
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greenock
Income Support
Live Load |- |11,344 |- |- |11,577 |- |- |11,423 |-
Claims outstanding |28 |31 |56 |44 |36 |85 |45 |78 |128
Assessment Reviews
outstanding |250 |122 |69 |83 |58 |112 |119 |147 |237
Supplementary Benefit Work outstanding
Claims |7 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Single payments |2,930 |1,057 |270 |17 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Port Glasgow
Income Support
Live Load |- |4,847 |- |- |4,783 |- |- |4,659 |-
Claims outstanding |26 |23 |37 |23 |40 |55 |31 |60 |50
Assessment Reviews
outstanding |448 |262 |104 |196 |208 |137 |134 |70 |141
Supplementary Benefit Work outstanding
Claims |3 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Single payments |2,552 |971 |24 |0 |0 |0 |0 |1 |2
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give for the Greenock and Port Glasgow offices of his Department, the current staffing complement, broken down by staffing grades of (a) how many permanent staff are currently in post, (b) how many temporary staff are currently in post, (c) how many members of staff are currently being trained and (d) the annual turnover of permanent staff.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The information requested is as follows :
|Greenock integrated local|Port Glasgow integrated
|office |local office
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Permanent staff
Grade 7 |1.0 |0.0
SEO |1.0 |1.0
HEO |6.0 |3.5
LO1 |33.5 |20.5
LO2 |76.0 |34.0
AA |22.0 |7.5
Typing manager |0.0 |0.0
Typist |3.0 |1.0
Security guard |0.0 |0.0
Messenger |2.0 |1.0
Telephonist |0.0 |0.0
|------- |-------
|144.5 |68.5
Temporary staff |<1>2.0 |<2>14.0
|<2>19.0
|------- |-------
Total staff |165.5 |82.5
|per cent. |per cent.
Annual turnover |<3>11.90 |<3>9.09
|<4>6.85 |<4>15.71
|<2>15.79 |<2>11.11
<1> AO grade.
<2> AA grade.
<3> LO1 grade.
<4> LO11 grade.
Column 710
There are no staff under tutelage in either office.Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many social fund applications were made each month since 11 April 1988 at the Greenock and Port Glasgow offices of his Department for (a) budget loans, (b) crisis loans and (c) community care grants ; and how many of these applications in each of these categories were successful each month.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Such information is available in the Library.
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many new claims for income support were made each month since 11 April 1988 at the local offices of his Department in (a) Greenock and Port Glasgow, (b) Strathclyde and (c) Scotland as a whole ; and how many of these claims were determined each month ; (2) how many people are in receipt of income support in (a) Greenock and Port Glasgow, (b) Strathclyde and (c) Scotland as a whole ; and what are the corresponding figures for those in receipt of supplementary benefit for each year since 1979.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Strathclyde region is served by the following local offices of the Department, although their boundaries are not coterminous :
Airdrie
Clydebank
East Kilbride
Hamilton
Motherwell
Ayr
Coatbridge
Glasgow (13 offices)
Irvine
Oban
Bellshill
Cumbernauld
Johnstone
Paisley
| Next Section
| Home Page |