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ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Crown Prosecution Service
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Attorney-General if he is satisfied that the Crown Prosecution service is able to undertake prosecutions involving extensive technical detail, such as serious fraud cases and health and safety at work prosecutions ; and if he will make a statement.
The Attorney-General : The Crown Prosecution service is able to undertake prosecutions involving extensive technical detail. In general the most serious fraud cases are conducted by the serious fraud office and health and safety at work prosecutions are conducted by inspectors appointed under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
THE ARTS
Public Appeals
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Minister for the Arts if he will specify each donation made by his Department in response to public appeals for financial aid during each financial year since 1979-80.
Mr. Luce : Since 1983 when the Office of Arts and Libraries was established, grants have been made to the bodies it sponsors and to many other institutions and projects. Examples of donations to specific appeals include £500,000 to the Royal Academy trust appeal fund launched in 1982, £25,000 to the Dulwich picture gallery
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appeal in 1985, and £150,000 in response to an appeal by the Carnegie (United Kingdom) trust for the improvement of arts venues for the benefit of disabled people in 1988.Arts Administration Inquiry
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Minister for the Arts when he will publish a table of (a) the places which and (b) the dates when Mr. Richard Wilding will be visiting to take evidence for his inquiry into the structure of arts administration.
Mr. Luce [holding answer 6 February 1989] : Full details of Mr. Wilding's visits have not yet been finalised, but he will be visiting all the English regional arts associations during the course of the review ; the dates of those visits are as follows :
Date |Place --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2-3 February |South West Arts 16 February |Merseyside Arts 20 February |Yorkshire Arts 21-22 February |Northern Arts 27 February |Southern Arts 1-2 March |East Midland Arts 2-3 March |Lincolnshire and Humberside Arts 7-8 March |North West Arts 9-10 March |West Midland Arts 14 March |Merseyside Arts (second visit) 20 March |South East Arts 21 March |Eastern Arts
PRIME MINISTER
Bradford, South
Q44. Mr. Cryer : To ask the Prime Minister when next she expects to pay an official visit to Bradford, South.
The Prime Minister : I have at present no plans to do so.
Stretton on Dansmoore
Q104. Mr. James Pawsey : To ask the Prime Minister if she has any plans to visit Stretton on Dansmoore, near Rugby.
The Prime Minister : I have at present no plans to do so.
Government Departments (Value for Money)
Q156. Mr. Latham : To ask the Prime Minister what progress is being made in achieving greater value for money within Government Departments ; and whether she will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : The Government attach very high priority to getting better value for money from public expenditure and good progress is being made. Efficiency scrutinies have saved over £1.4 billion on a cumulative basis ; and in the current year Departments aim to achieve value -for-money improvements in purchasing and supply totalling some £340 million, while market testing and contracting out is now saving some £40 million a year. The recent Public Expenditure White Paper provides many more examples of value-for-money improvements. Beyond this, we are creating agencies to improve efficiency in Executive activities on which my right hon. Friend the Minister of State, Privy Council Office announced
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progress on 1 February, at column 237-239. Finally, we are continuing to improve output and performance measurement so that all Departments and managers can be set targets and be judged on the results that they achieve.Libya
Q159. Mr. Ron Brown : To ask the Prime Minister if she will pay an official visit to Libya.
Freedom of Information Rally
Q164. Mr Allen : To ask the Prime Minister if she will make it her policy to accept any invitation issued to address the freedom of information and official secrets rally at the Albert hall, Nottingham on 8 February.
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 7 February.
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 7 February.
Mr. Ian Taylor : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 7 February.
Mr. Key : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 7 February.
Mr. Butler : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 7 February.
Mr. Jack : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 7 February.
Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 7 February.
Mr. Stern : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 7 February.
The Prime Minister : This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others including the Spanish Foreign Minister. In addition to my duties in the House I shall be having further meetings later today including one with the Soviet Deputy Prime Minister. This evening I hope to have an audience of Her Majesty the Queen.
NATIONAL FINANCE
International Organisations
Mr. Galbraith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list those international organisations on which his Department is represented and the total cost of these commitments.
Mr. Brooke : Subscriptions were made during 1987-88 to the following international organisations at a total cost of £18,700 : Plan Econ
Institute of International Finance
Data Resources Incorporated
Wharton
International Council for Automatic Data Processing in Government Administration
London Docklands
Mr. Soley : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will set out the total allowance in cash terms which the
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developers of the Canary wharf scheme in London's docklands will be eligible to claim under the scheme for 100 per cent. allowances on the capital amount, assuming the scheme is built to completion as set out in the master building agreement.Mr. Norman Lamont : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Bow and Popular (Ms. Gordon) on 20 January at column 348.
EC (Contributions)
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consideration he has given to the report of the court of auditors in relation to the use of accountancy and other devices by the European Economic Community to deal with their overspending in relation to budgetary controls agreed by the European Council ; and what steps he will take to prevent such devices being used in the future in the light of the further increase in Community resources agreed in February 1988.
Mr. Brooke : I share the concern of the court of auditors about the use of accountancy devices which camouflage the underlying trend of Community expenditure. The new budget discipline arrangements put in place following the February 1988 Brussels European Council, and especially the legally binding controls on agricultural expenditure, address the fundamental problems which prompted the use of such devices in the past.
Incomes, Profits and Rents
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the level of (a) personal incomes, (b) company profits, (c) dividends and interest payments and (d) rents for each year since 1975 ; and what has been the percentage increase in each during each of these years.
Mr. Major [holding answer 2 February 1989] : This information appears in the 1988 edition of the Central Statistical Office publication "United Kingdom National Accounts" which may be found in the House of Commons Library. The information may also be obtained from the CSO databank which is a collection of macroeconomic time series in computer readable form to which the House of Commons Library has direct access. This databank includes the latest versions of all series on it.
WALES
Hospital Waiting Lists
Mr. John Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are the current in-patient waiting lists for (a) West Glamorgan and (b) Neath and Port Talbot for (i) urgent and (ii) non-urgent cases.
Mr. Grist : Waiting list information is collected on the basis of the number of people waiting for admission to a particular hospital. Information on waiting lists as at 31 March 1988, the latest available, is given in the following table :
In-patient Waiting
List
|Urgent |Non-Urgent
-----------------------------------------------------------------
West Glamorgan |172 |5,151
Neath and Port Talbot Hospitals |43 |1,344
Mr. John Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are the current waiting lists for first time out-patient appointments, specialty by specialty, in (a) West Glamorgan, and (b) Neath and Port Talbot ; and what are the average waiting periods for each specialty.
Mr. Grist : Waiting list information is collected on the basis of the number of people waiting for a first time
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appointment at a particular hospital or clinic. Information on waiting lists as at 31 March 1988 is given in the following table. Information on the average waiting period for appointments is not available centrally. However the notional waiting time to clear out- patient waiting lists is presented in the following table for comparison :Column 589
West Glamorgan Neath and Port Talbot
Hospitals
|Waiting list |Notional waiting time<1>|Waiting list |Notional waiting time<1>
|(days) |(days)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
General Medicine |266 |20 |100 |27
Paediatrics |156 |30 |73 |44
Chest Diseases |29 |25 |10 |46
Dermatology |1,578 |133 |445 |126
Neurology |476 |115 |82 |146
Physical Medicine/Rehabilitation |29 |26 |- |-
Rheumatology |392 |145 |101 |171
General Surgery |1,679 |73 |399 |37
Ear, Nose and Throat |2,969 |187 |1,430 |287
Traumatic and Orthopaedic Surgery |1,871 |58 |709 |59
Ophthalmology |1,766 |125 |462 |171
Radiotherapy |4 |1 |- |-
Urology |1,153 |481 |- |-
Dental Surgery |52 |6 |49 |40
Orthodontics |114 |36 |- |-
Neurosurgery |37 |35 |- |-
Gynaecology |653 |43 |62 |14
Psychiatric Children |23 |23 |- |-
Mental Illness |45 |13 |- |-
Haematology |16 |4 |- |-
<1> The notional time to clear a waiting list (given in days) is obtained by dividing the total waiting list at 31 March by the average daily number of new
out-patients seen during the previous twelve months.
Environmentally Sensitive Areas
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list in the Official Report (a) the total extent, in hectares, of each environmentally sensitive area, (b) the extent of agricultural land within each environmentally sensitive area, (c) the number of farmers eligible to enter
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into management agreements in each environmentally sensitive area, (d) the number of agreements concluded with farmers in each environmentally sensitive area and, (e) the total area of land covered by agreements in each environmentally sensitive area.Mr. Peter Walker : The information requested is as follows :
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|Cambrian mountains |Cambrian mountains |Lleyn peninsula
|(designated 1 March |extension (designated 1|(designated 1 January
|1987) |January 1988) |1988)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(a) |72,800 hectares |80,200 hectares |39,750 hectares
(b)<1> |53,900 hectares |58,050 hectares |39,280 hectares
(c)<2> |200 |350 |960
(d)<3> |108 | 51 | 97
(e)<3> |13,179.40 hectares | 1,777.20 hectares | 4,439.31 hectares
Notes:
<1> Figures cover semi-natural rough grazings and improved agricultural land but exclude woodlands.
<2> Estimated.
<3> As at 3 February 1989.
Channel Tunnel
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what opportunities he foresees for (a) Wales and (b) west Wales as a result of the construction of the Channel tunnel ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Wyn Roberts [holding answer 6 February 1989] : The Government have revitalised the economy of Wales : industry is now more diverse and competitive and overall economic performance and activity have improved. Wales is thus well placed to take full advantage of the trading opportunities which the tunnel will afford in terms of better access to Europe.
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West Wales will share in these benefits and, in particular, the improved facilities at Milford Haven and Pembroke dock put the area in a strong position to take advantage of all the opportunities for increased levels of trade with Europe.Welsh industry is already involved with the construction phase of the tunnel. To date several Welsh firms have been successful in attracting work worth over £7 million. I am sure that Welsh concerns will continue to play a valuable role during construction.
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ENVIRONMENT
Drinking Water (Quality)
Ms. Quin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list all those water supplies in England which currently fail to meet the standards set out in the European Economic Community directives on the quality of drinking water and whether or not these are subject to derogations ; how and when it is proposed for each of these water supplies to meet the standards laid down ; and what the latest estimated cost of complying with the standards is in each case.
Mr. Moynihan : Drinking water supplies to the following areas in England regularly exceed one or more of the standards set in the EC drinking water directive. Under the terms of the directive the Department has granted derogations (exemptions) for non-toxic parameters provided that the situation is due to the nature and structure of the ground and there is no public health risk. We have also applied to the Commission under article 20 for a longer period in which to meet the directive in certain cases and have submitted programmes of improvement. Implementation of the remedial programmes would mean that most supplies should comply with the directive by 1990. Most of the derogated supplies should comply by 1995. Anglian Water Authority Area
Bucklesham
Braintree
Braintree--Northern Rural
Braintree--Kelvedon and Tiptree
Colchester--Lexden
Colchester--Greenstead
Colchester--South
Colchester--West Bergholt
Colchester--North
Bures
Baylham--Kirby Rise
Baylham--Winston
Belstead
Heigham--Kirby Cane
Mattishall
Mundesley
Raydon, Belstead, Alton, Great Wenham
Rushall--Bunwell
Harwich Peninsula (S)
Harwich Peninsula (U)
Alford--Driby
Elkesley
Elkesley--Grove--Newton--Ordsall Road
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Everton (Lincoln Division)Gainborough
Grove--Ordsall Road
Ordsall Road
Scarle
Winterton Holmes
Winterton Holmes--Barrow
Mumby--Fordington
Driby--Fordington
Parts of Huntingdon and South Cambridgeshire districts (Kingston pumping station)
Parts of Huntingdon and South Cambridgeshire districts (Lords Bridge pumping station)
Parts of Cambridgeshire district--Croydon pumping station Sandhouse-- Battlesdon
Heacham and Hunstanton
Docking
Grafham--Huntingdon
Birchmoor (Cambridge division)
Pulloxhill (Cambridge division)
Meppershall (Cambridge division)
Dunton--Newspring (Cambridge division)
Foxcote--Grafham (Cambridge division)
Pitsford East (Oundle division)
Pitsford West
Ravensthorpe
Part of Havering--Dagenham Well
Part of Redbridge--Seven Kings Well
Part of Redbridge--Roding Well
Colchester--Lexden (Colchester division)
Maltby le Marsh
Welton le Marsh--Candlesby--Fordington
Waddingham--Glentham--Ulceby
North West Authority Area
Chester CBC : Ashton and Moldsworth
Chester CBC : Malpas
Congleton DC : Congleton Town Area
Southport
Formby
High Peak District Glossop
Stockport MB : excluding Reddish, Heaton Mersey, Heaton
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