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Cold Weather
Mr. Hood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last met representatives of pensioners ; and whether he discussed fuel poverty and cold weather payments for the elderly.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : My noble Friend Lord Glenarthur, then Minister of State, Scottish Office, met representatives of Age Concern in 1987. I understand that fuel poverty and cold weather payments were not raised at that meeting.
Mr. Hood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give details of deaths recorded in Scotland each year since 1979 from cold weather-related illnesses.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Information is available on deaths from hypothermia. This is as follows :
Deaths with any mention of hypothermia, Scotland, 1979-88
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Coal Imports
Mr. Hood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what tonnage of imported coal is presently stocked by the South of Scotland electricity board ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lang : I am advised by the South of Scotland electricity board that coal from different sources is not stocked separately at the power stations.
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Ministers' Offices
Mr. Hood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give details of expenditure on the refurbishment of his and other Ministers' offices at the Scottish Office, Edinburgh, since 1979.
Mr. Rifkind : There has been no expenditure on refurbishing my office in Edinburgh or those of my ministerial colleagues since 1979 other than that incurred in the recent removal to St. Andrew's house. Final costs of that removal are not yet available, but are likely to be in the order of £150,000.
Appointments
Mr. Hood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list all the appointments within his control as Secretary of State and all appointments made by him since June 1987, with salaries and expenses.
Mr. Rifkind : The list of non-departmental public bodies to which I make appointments is contained in the Cabinet Office publication "Public Bodies", a copy of which is available in the Library. The list includes information about the numbers of appointments and the remuneration paid to members. One major body has been set up since the publication of "Public Bodies 1988". This is Scottish Homes to which I have appointed a chairman (remuneration £27,600 per annum) and eight members (£3,775 per annum).
While a list of all appointments made since June 1987 could be provided only at disproportionate cost, a list (correct at 5 December 1988) of all the members of the bodies listed in "Public Bodies" was placed in the Library in response to a Question from the hon. Member for East Lothian (Mr. Home Robertson) answered on 7 December 1988 at column 211.
I also make appointments jointly with other Ministers. The majority of these are shown in the appropriate chapters in "Public Bodies". Other bodies in this category are :
Potato Marketing Board Remuneration determined byWool Marketing Board Boards
Intervention Board for Chairman £4,920 per annum
Agricultural Produce Members expenses only
I make appointments of two members to each of :
Board ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scottish Milk Marketing Board} Aberdeen and District Milk} |Remuneration determined by Marketing Board} |Boards North of Scotland Milk Marketing Board}
Other appointments for which I am responsible are :
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Body |Appointment |Renumeration ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Preliminary review committe for Life Sentence Prisoners |Chairman and 4 members |As for Parole Board for Scotland Appeals Tribunal Panel under Section 64 of the Social Work (Scotland) |12 members |£98 per day Act 1968 Advisory Group on Breast Cancer Screening |Chairman and 15 members |Expenses only The Single Market Committee of the Scottish Economic Council |Chairman and 11 members |Expenses only St. Andrew's Links Trust |Chairman |Expenses only Post Qualification Education Board for NHS Pharmacists in Scotland |Chairman and 10 members |Expenses only Consumer Committee for Scotland under the Agricultural Marketing Act 1958 |Chairman |Expenses only Committee of Investigation for Scotland under the Agricultural Marketing Act 1958 |Chairman |Expenses only
Coal Industry
Mr. Hood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) when he last met Mr. Albert Wheeler ; and whether he discussed the future of the Scottish coal industry ;
(2) when he last met representatives of the National Union of Mineworkers to discuss the Scottish coal industry.
Mr. Lang : Government responsibility for the coal industry in Great Britain, including Scotland, rests with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy. My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland has therefore not discussed the industry with Mr. Wheeler or the National Union of Mineworkers.
Electricity
Mr. Hood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what consultations he has had with Scottish voluntary consumer groups about the setting up of consumer committees responsible for the electricity supply industry.
Mr. Lang : The existing electricity consultative councils for the north and south of Scotland, which operate under
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the provisions of the Electricity (Scotland) Act 1979 and which have been in existence broadly in their present form since 1947, include representatives nominated by voluntary consumer groups. The councils have been consulted by the Scottish Office about the Government's proposed regulatory regime for the electricity supply industry after privatisation, including the setting up of consumer committees which will be responsible to the Director General of Electricity Supply (DGES) in Scotland.Mr. Hood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the estimated average additional cost to the Scottish consumer of the recent increase in electricity prices yearly until 2002.
Mr. Lang : I am advised by the South of Scotland electricity board and the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board that the estimated average additional costs to electricity consumers within their areas of the most recent increase in tariffs, which took effect on 1 April 1988, are as set out in the table.
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SSEB NSHEB
|Increase |Average consumption|Increase |Average consumption
|£/pa |KWh/pa |£/pa |KWh/pa
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Domestic tariff |10.96 |3,800 |13.41 |4,921
Domestic white meter tariff |19.55 |11,400 |19.99 |12,589
The effect of these increases will remain the same for each year up to 2002, assuming that the average consumptions and patterns of usage remain the same.
An Comunn Gaidhealach
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he hopes to respond to An Comunn Gaidhealach's structure plan for 1987 to 1991.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : In March 1987 my Department asked An Comunn Gaidhealach to present a financial plan setting out its policies and expenditure proposals for the period 1987 to 1991. The plan was intended to inform decisions on grant aid to An Comunn for 1988-89 and generally to help with the assessment of the Society's aims, objectives and capabilities. This is the approach followed with non-departmental public bodies and other organisations requesting financial assistance. My officials have discussed the plan with An Comunn on several occasions, and will continue to do so.
Special Branch
Mr. Livingstone : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much from the total police budget was allocated to the special branch for each year from 1979 to the current date.
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Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : This information is not held centrally. The allocation of expenditure on special branch activities is a matter for the chief constable of the force concerned.
New Towns
Mr. Ingram : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the bodies and organisations which have responded to the consultation document "The Scottish New Towns--Maintaining the Momentum".
Mr. Lang : The information requested by the hon. Member is as follows :
Abronhill Community Council (Cumbernauld)
Ayrshire Chamber of Industries
Broomlands and Bourtreehill Residents Association
Calderwood Community Council
Church of Scotland Department of Ministry and Mission
Coleman Ballantine Architects, Glasgow
Condorrat Community Council
Cumbernauld Development Corporation
Cumbernauld and District Trades Council
Cumbernauld and Kilsyth District Council
Cumbernauld and Kilsyth Enterprise Trust
Cumbernauld Theatre Trust Ltd.
Deans Community High School (Livingston)
Dedridge Community Council
Dundee and Tayside Chamber of Commerce and Industry Fife Branch East Kilbride Chamber of Commerce
East Kilbride Christian Council
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East Kilbride Citizens Advice BureauEast Kilbride Development Corporation
East Kilbride Fabian Society
East Kilbride Residents Federation
Fraser and Partner, Business Managers, Glenrothes
Girdle Toll and Bourtreehill Community Council
Glenrothes Enterprise Trust
Glenrothes Residents Council
Housing Architects Group Irvine Development Corporation Irvine Development Corporation
Kirkcaldy District Council
Livingston Ecumenical Parish
Livingston Voluntary Organisations Council
Murieston Residents Association (Livingston)
National and Local Government Officers Association (NALGO) Neighbourhood Care Networks (Livingston)
Scottish Churches Industrial Mission
Scottish Local Authorities with New Towns (SLANT)
Scottish National Party
Scottish Old Age Pensions Association
Scottish Society of Directors of Planning
Sealand Industries PLC Cumbernauld
Sixth Year Cumbernauld High School
The Building Societies Association
Whinnyknowe and Balgeddie Meadows Residents Association
Housing Estates (Sale)
Mr. Gordon Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has been notified of any approaches for buying estates owned by the Scottish Special Housing Association.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Glasgow, Govan (Mr. Sillars) on 10 January at columns 558-60.
Mr. Gordon Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what is his instruction to Scottish Homes over the sale of housing estates, or their transfer outside the public sector ;
(2) what is his policy towards permitting the sale of housing estates that are currently part of the Scottish Special Housing Association and consultation with tenants.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Scottish Homes will have a central role in implementing the Government's housing policy including arrangements to diversify tenure in public sector housing to give tenants a wider choice of housing. In certain circumstances, therefore, it will be appropriate for Scottish Homes to consider proposals by other landlords for the voluntary transfer of houses in its ownership. A number of such proposals have been submitted to the Scottish Special Housing Association and I have announced that it will be for Scottish Homes to respond formally to these proposals after 1 April 1989. The Government have said that Scottish Homes will apply to any such proposals the principles underlying the statutory safeguards for proposed sales by local authorities set out in the Housing Act 1988. Scottish Homes has been invited to draw up detailed procedures which follow closely relevant aspects of the guidelines, issued in September 1988, to local authorities on the voluntary transfer of housing to private bodies together with supplementary guidance which is relevant to disposals by Scottish Homes. A copy of the supplementary guidance will be placed in the House of Commons Library as soon as possible. The procedures to be adopted by
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Scottish Homes will be published when they have been agreed with my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State.My right hon. and learned Friend announced on 30 January 1989 that he has agreed a number of basic principles to be adopted by Scottish Homes in handling these matters after 1 April 1989. In particular proposals will in the first instance be assessed rapidly by Scottish Homes and those not rejected will be made public immediately. Scottish Homes will then consider the proposals in greater detail and, where these are judged to be practicable, tenants and other interested organisations such as local authorities will be consulted. My right hon. and learned Friend has agreed Scottish Homes' proposal that in all cases tenants' views will be ascertained by means of a postal ballot. Only where a majority of tenants replying are in favour of the proposals will Scottish Homes approve proposals and submit them for my right hon. and learned Friend's consent. My right hon. and learned Friend will not consent to any proposals submitted by Scottish Homes unless he is satisfied that they are in the public interest and in particular that the tenants' interests are properly safeguarded, that the proposals constitute good value for money, and that the arrangements for consulting tenants were properly handled.
Rents
Mr. Gordon Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the increase in average rents for (a) council houses and (b) Scottish Special Housing Association houses since 1979 ; and what is his estimate of likely increases from 1989 to 1992.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Between 1979-80 and 1988-89, the average annual council house rent in Scotland increased by £587.35. The increase in council house rents for future years is a matter for the local authorities concerned.
Between 1979-80 and 1988-89, the average rent for Scottish Special Housing Association houses increased by £716.80. The increase for 1989-90 in such rent will be £84.80. The increase in 1990-91 and 1991-92 will be for Scottish Homes to determine.
Housing Waiting Lists
Mr. Gordon Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his latest estimate of the numbers on council house, new town and Scottish Special Housing Association waiting lists.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Reliable and consistent information on council house waiting list figures is not available centrally. I must therefore refer the hon. Member directly to the local authorities in which he is interested.
With regard to new towns, figures supplied by the development corporations to the Industry Department for Scotland show that waiting list numbers at 31 December were as follows :
New town |Number
--------------------------------
East Kilbride |<1>4,272
Glenrothes |1,017
Cumbernauld |1,188
Livingston |686
Irvine |729
|-----
Total |7,892
<1> Common waiting list with
East Kilbride District Council.
The Scottish Special Housing Association does not maintain waiting lists for its general needs houses. When such houses become vacant the local district council is normally invited to nominate tenants. There are 4,081 names on the association's direct waiting list which covers areas where local authorities have such nomination facilities. The latest available figures show 1,628 names at present on the waiting list for economic expansion housing.
Sub-standard Houses
Mr. Gordon Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many homes in Scotland he estimates to be sub-standard.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The Scottish Development Department does not make such estimates. Latest estimates by local authorities of the number of houses below the tolerable standard in their areas were published in SDD statistical bulletin HSU No. 3 "Housing Trends in Scotland--Quarter ended 31 March 1988".
SSHA Homes
Mr. Gordon Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his latest figure for the number of Scottish Special Housing Association homes.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : As at 20 January 1989, the number of SSHA homes was 77,856.
Radiation (Rannoch)
Mr. Bill Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the most up-to-date figures for the level of air and land radiation for the Rannoch area of north Tayside ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Air sampling, which is appropriate only immediately after an incident, has not been undertaken in the Rannoch area. Soil and vegetation sampling has been undertaken throughout Scotland as part of a comprehensive research programme commissioned by the Department of the Environment and the Scottish Development Department.
The measured level of caesium 137 in the upper 7.5 cm of the soil sample taken in the Rannoch area of north Tayside in 1987 was 2,200 bec/sq m, although levels in an adjoining area were as high as 20,000 bec/sq m.
Final reports on the work are in the course of preparation and when published will be placed in the Library.
Rate Support Grant
Mr. Hood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the levels of support grant to each local authority in Scotland for each year since 1979, and the percentage increase or decrease above the level of inflation these represented.
Mr. Lang : The information requested is set out in the table.
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