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Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 9 February 1989
TRANSPORT
Airlines (Licences)
Mr. Cash : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many United Kingdom airlines held licenses containing rights unused for five years on 1 January ; and what was the total number of rights thus unused ;
(2) how many United Kingdom airlines held route licences containing rights unused for three years on 1 January ; and what was the total number of rights thus unused ;
(3) what proportion of route licence rights deleted in the Civil Aviation Authority's 10/86 decision had been unused for five years or more ;
(4) how many route licence rights unused for at least three years remained in the hands of United Kingdom airlines immediately following the Civil Aviation Authority's 10/86 decision.
Mr. Peter Bottomeley : This is a matter for the Civil Aviation Authority. I understand that the information is not readily available in the form requested. I shall draw this to the attention of the chairman of the authority so that he can let my hon. Friend have such information as can be provided.
Channel Tunnel
Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what criteria he will be using to determine whether British Rail's proposals for the construction of a new railway line in Kent establish a commercial case for the new line ; whether his Department will be taking independent economic and financial advice on such proposals ; and whether he will publish any reports prepared by his Department or by independent financial advisers.
Mr. Portillo : As with all British Rail's major commercial investment, if and when British Rail submits proposals for the construction of a new line in Kent, the Department will expect that investment to earn the required rate of return and will need to satisfy itself that the proposals are financially sound. Such Departmental appraisals are not published since they inevitably contain commercially sensitive information.
Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discount rate he proposes to use in establishing whether British Rail's proposals for a new Kent railway line offer a commercial return ; and whether he will revise the discount rate formula for this project to one requiring a rate of return equivalent to commercial rates of return for new private sector capital projects.
Mr. Portillo : I refer to my answer to the right hon. Member for Tonbridge and Malling (Sir J. Stanley) on 30 Janauary, Official Report, column 53.
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British Rail (Investment)
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the level of investment by British Rail for each year from 1978 to 1988 ; what percentage was invested in the east coast line during each of those years ; and what percentage of the east coast investment in each year was spent on (a) electrification and (b) existing stock and system improvement.
Mr. Portillo : The level of investment by British Rail for each year from 1978 to 1988 is as follows :
Year |£ million<1> --------------------------------------- 1978 |421 1979 |433 1980 |449 1981 |373 1982 |311 1983 |302 1984-85 |<2>448 1985-86 |427 1986-87 |414 1987-88 |517 <1> £ million at 1988-89 prices. <2> 15-month accounting period.
It is not possible to provide percentages for the level of investment in the east coast main line during each of those years. Examples of major investment projects on that line approved in recent years include :
|£ million<1>
---------------------------------------------------------
Electrification infrastructure |238.9
New traction and rolling stock |168.8
York area resignalling |20.9
Newcastle area resignalling |35.1
<1> £ million (Q1 1989 prices).
There have also been numerous small schemes.
Roads (Construction and Maintenance)
Mr. David Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of trunk road will be renewed in 1988-89.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : The mileages of motorways and trunk roads renewed this year are likely to be about 52 and 106, respectively. These are lower than planned as a result of the rescheduling of capital maintenance announced on 20 June at column 455.
I am looking to competition between contractors to contain future price increases, so far as possible.
Subject to that, we shall aim to increase the mileages to be renewed each year over the next three years to averages of 84 miles of motorway and 233 miles of trunk road. The maintenance programme for 1988-90 has not been finalised. It will be announced in March as usual.
Carossino Report
Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made in implementing the findings of the Carossino report regarding fair competition between European Community ports.
Mr. Portillo : The Carossino report was adopted by the European Parliament on 16 November 1988 under cover
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of a resolution which instructed its president to forward it to the European Commission and Council. It is for the Commission to take any further action on the recommendations.A380
Mr. Allason : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will designate the A380 as a trunk road.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : We have no plans to do so.
London Regional Transport (Assaults)
Mr. Skinner : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many physical assaults have taken place on (a) women and (b) men between the ages of 45 and 65 years on London Regional Transport buses in the last 12 months ; and what were the figures for 1985, 1986 and 1987 ;
(2) how many physical assaults have taken place on (a) women and (b) men between the ages of 65 and 80 years on London Regional Transport buses in the last 12 months ; and what were the figures for 1985, 1986 and 1987 ;
(3) how many physical assaults have taken place on (a) women and (b) men between the ages of 25 and 45 years on London Regional Transport buses in the last 12 months ; and what were the figures for 1985, 1986 and 1987 ;
(4) how many physical assaults have taken place on (a) women and (b) men between the ages of 16 and 25 years on London Regional Transport buses in the last 12 months ; and what were the figures for 1985, 1986 and 1987 ;
(5) how many children below the age of 14 years have been physically assaulted on London Regional Transport buses in the last 12 months ; and what were the figures for 1985, 1986 and 1987.
Mr. Portillo : Assaults on passengers on buses in London are dealt with by the Metropolitan police. London regional transport does not maintain a central statistical record of such assaults.
London Underground (Assaults)
Mr. Skinner : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many children below the age of 14 years have been physically assaulted on the London underground in the last 12 months ; and what were the figures for 1985, 1986 and 1987 ;
(2) how many physical assaults have taken place on (a) women and (b) men between the ages of 16 and 25 years on the London underground in the last 12 months ; and what were the figures for 1985, 1986 and 1987 ;
(3) how many physical assaults have taken place on (a) women and (b) men between the ages of 25 and 45 years on the London underground in the last 12 months ; and what were the figures for (i) 1985, (ii) 1986 and (iii) 1987 ;
(4) how many physical assaults have taken place on (a) women and (b) men between the ages of 45 and 65 years on the London underground in the last 12 months ; and what were the figures for (i) 1985, (ii) 1986 and (iii) 1987 ;
(5) how many physical assaults have taken place on (a) women and (b) men between the ages of 65 and 80 years on the London underground in the last 12 months ; and what were the figures for (i) 1985, (ii) 1986 and (iii) 1987.
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Mr. Portillo : Available statistics distinguish the age of victims of crime on the London Underground only as between adults and juveniles (under 16). Assaults recorded on the years mentioned were as follows :
|1985 |1986 |1987 |1988
--------------------------------------------------------------
Violence against the person |837 |878 |929 |1,048
Per cent. Female (all ages) |14 |16 |16 |20
Per cent. Juvenile (both sexes) |4 |4 |3 |5
Illegal Parking
Mr. Warren : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take action in collaboration with the appropriate authorities to introduce a scheme to remove promptly vehicles parked illegally on major traffic routes in London.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : Enforcement of parking controls in London rests primarily with the Metropolitan police who have powers to remove illegally parked vehicles throughout the Metropolitan police area.
A key objective is to keep traffic flowing on main routes. Officials maintain regular contact with the police and London borough councils over a range of parking and related matters.
Mr. Warren : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will review the effectiveness of the law relating to the illegal parking of vehicles on public footways, and publish such statistics as are available concerning the actions taken to implement the law.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : We are currently reviewing the need for changes to the law and shall make an announcement as soon as possible.
Statistics on the issue of fixed penalty notices and successful prosecutions for illegal parking on footways are not collected separately.
Fares
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the reply to the hon. Member for Westminster, North (Mr. Wheeler), Official Report, 26 January, columns 738-39, if he has any plans to introduce differential pricing based on passenger contribution to new investment ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Portillo : No. It is for the operators to determine the level and distribution of fares.
Clamping
Mr. Harris : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the impact of clamping on traffic.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : Journey times in the wheel-clamping area improve considerably.
London Assessment Studies
Mr. Sedgemore : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what has been the cost to date of the four London assessment studies on roads ; and what is his estimate of the total cost of the studies by the time they are completed ;
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(2) what has been the cost to date of the east London assessment study on roads ; and what is his estimate of the total cost of the study by the time it is completed.Mr. Peter Bottomley : The total cost of stage 1 of the studies was about £3 million. It is estimated that stage 2, which began in December 1987, will cost £4 million to complete. The east London assessment study costs are estimated at being one quarter of the total.
In comparison, personal injury accidents on roads in the east London assessment study area alone cost in the region of £50 million each year.
Roads (Expenditure)
Mr. Sedgemore : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what he estimates will be the cost to the Government of road building and road repairs in London for 1988-89 ; and what estimate he has for the next five years.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : The cost to the taxpayer of national road building and road repairs in London in 1988-89 is expected to amount to some £200 million. This includes expenditure on construction and maintenance by the Department of Transport and the London Docklands Development Corporation, and transport supplementary grant by the Department towards capital expenditure by London local authorities on their road schemes.
It does not include any element of the block grant allocations to the London local authorities. There is no specific grant for roads maintenance.
Comparable forecasts over the next five years are not possible. Over this period work is expected to begin on 21 trunk road schemes costing approximately £600 million.
Anticipated central Government spending on road building and roads maintenance in London in 1988-89 comprises :
C
|£ million
-------------------------------------------------------------------
DTp expenditure on trunk road construction and
maintenance |88
DTp transport supplementary grant to London
local authorities |42
LDDC expenditure supported by DOE on road
construction and maintenance in Docklands |87
|--
Total |217
London Regional Transport
Mr. Sedgemore : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the allocated grant to London Regional Transport and its subsidiaries for 1988-89 ; and what estimates have been made for the next five years.
Mr. Portillo : The grant to London Regional Transport for 1988-89 will be £190 million. The estimated grant requirement for 1989-90 is £286.6 million. Estimates have not been made for later years.
British Transport Police
Ms. Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many British Transport police were allocated to Liverpool street, Fenchurch street, King's Cross, Euston, Waterloo, Victoria and Paddington stations at the latest available date.
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Mr. Portillo [holding answer 6 February 1989] : BTP figures for uniformed patrol sergeants and constables based at these British Rail termini are in the table :
|Number
-------------------------------
Liverpool Street |21
Fenchurch Street |Nil
King's Cross |25
Euston |35
Waterloo |25
Victoria |38
Paddington |16
These officers also patrol the rail network within the police divisions concerned. There is also a small complement of plain-clothes CID officers at each terminus.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Tigray
Sir Bernard Braine : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he has taken to verify allegations that the Ethiopian armed forces have been using napalm against the civilian population of Tigray ; whether the concern already expressed to him about the continued violation of basic human rights in Tigray has yet been raised with the United Nations Commission on Human Rights ; and whether he will make a statement.
Mrs. Chalker : We take very seriously allegations of the use of napalm against civilians in the conflict in Tigray but conclusive evidence is not available. We shall raise our concerns about such reports at the current meeting of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.
European Youth Foundation
Mr. Jacques Arnold : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contribution Her Majesty's Government makes to the European Youth Foundation, established by the Council of Europe, to enable youth organisations to undertake multilateral international youth activities.
Mr. Waldegrave : In 1988 we contributed FF 1,802,478 to the European Youth Foundation. The figure for 1989 is FF 1,861,910.
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Adult Education (London)
Mr. Murphy : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement about the future of adult education in inner London following the abolition of the Inner London education authority.
Mr. Jackson : Inner London councils have been asked to set out their intentions with regard to adult education in their development plans for education in their areas after 1 April 1990. We shall be giving careful consideration to these plans which are required to be published by the end of February 1989.
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Mr. Murphy : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the level of resignations of adult education lecturers in inner London.
Mrs. Rumbold : The Department has no data on the level of resignations of adult education lecturers in inner London. The inner London boroughs have made clear in their draft development plans their intention to provide an adult education service which is responsive to local needs, and are considering various approaches to staffing, principally through statutory transfer or block recruitment, in order to secure this provision.
Lecturers (Pay)
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what is the average university lecturer's rise in salary for each of the last 10 years (a) in absolute cash terms, (b) in real terms and (c) in relation to the rise in average earnings ; (2) what is the average polytechnic lecturer's rise in salary for each of the last 10 years (a) in absolute cash terms, (b) in real terms and (c) in relation to the rise in average earnings ; (3) what is the average college of further education lecturer's rise in salary for each of the last 10 years (a) in absolute cash terms, (b) in real terms and (c) in relation to the rise in average earnings.
Mrs. Rumbold : This information is not readily available. The figures requested are being compiled and I will reply to the hon. Member shortly.
Lecturers
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what projections have been made of demand for lecturers for each of the next five years in (a) universities, (b) polytechnics and (c) colleges of further education.
Mr. Jackson : There is no central projection of lecturer numbers in either universities or polytechnics : these are determined by the aggregate decisions of institutions within the resources at their disposal. The public expenditure White Paper (Cm. 612) projects lecturer numbers in further education in 1989-90 at 58,700, implying a staff : student ratio of 9.4 : 1. This is consistent with progress towards implementing the recommendation of the joint government and local authority association study of efficiency in FE, published in the report "Managing Colleges efficiently", that by 1991-92 the national staff : student ratio for FE should be over 10 per cent. tighter than it was in 1985-86. Cm. 612 does not contain any projection of FE lecturer numbers beyond 1989-90.
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what specific proposals there are in view of the long-term commitment to double participation in higher education, to (a) recruit more lecturers and (b) increase in real terms the resources allocated to higher education.
Mr. Jackson : The desirability of substantially widening access to higher education raises fundamental questions about its future pattern, planning and funding. These are
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now properly the subject of wide-ranging debate which has yet to mature. The Government will continue to review the public funding of higher education annually in the light of developing policies. Institutions will similarly review their staffing and other arrangements.Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what monitoring has been undertaken of the numbers of lecturers in the following disciplines in further and higher education, who are leaving the United Kingdom to take up positions abroad, in (a) medicine and dentistry, (b) engineering and technology, (c) veterinary science, (d) mathematical science, (e) physics, (f) chemistry, (g) biology, (h) social sciences, (i) economics, (j) business studies, (k) accountancy, (l) law, (m) languages and literature and (n) arts ; what numbers are recorded as having left in each of those disciplines for each of the last 10 years ; and how many lecturers are under the age of 30 years in each of those disciplines.
Mr. Jackson : The available information, for universities only, is as follows :
A
|Non-clinical|Clinical |Total
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1980 |183 |37 |220
1981 |154 |29 |183
1982 |166 |26 |192
1983 |100 |36 |136
1984 |111 |17 |128
1985 |100 |18 |118
1986 |140 |20 |160
1987 |129 |16 |145
A
|Non-clinical|Clinical |Total
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1980 |183 |37 |220
1981 |154 |29 |183
1982 |166 |26 |192
1983 |100 |36 |136
1984 |111 |17 |128
1985 |100 |18 |118
1986 |140 |20 |160
1987 |129 |16 |145
Donaldson Collection
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will take steps to prevent the break-up and sale of the Donaldson collection of musical instruments at the Royal College of Music ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jackson : I understand from the Royal College of Music that it has no intention of selling, either wholly or in part, its collection of musical instruments. The director made this clear publicly in a letter to the editor of The Daily Telegraph published on 30 January. The college is, however, exploring alternative sources of funding for the collection. No decisions have been reached yet.
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NATIONAL FINANCE
Taxes
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the impact on the retail price index of raising £500 million in revenue in a full year from each of (a) tobacco products, (b) beer, (c) wine and spirits, (d) petrol, (e) value added tax and (f) vehicle excise duty.
Mr. Lilley : It is estimated that the impact on the retail price index of raising £500 million in a full year from the different excise duties and value added tax is as follows :
Raising £500 million Impact effect on the in a full year from retail price index -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (a) |Tobacco products |0.29 (b) |Beer |0.24 (c) |Wine and Spirits |0.39 (d) |Petrol |0.13 (e) |Value added tax |0.12 (f) |Vehicle excise duty|0.13
Relocation
Mr. Cran : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress Departments have made under the Government's relocation policy.
Mr. Peter Brooke : I informed the House on 31 March 1988 (columns 610-11 ) that following the virtual completion of the Civil Service dispersal programme announced in 1979 the Government would set no further central targets for relocation but Departments would be reviewing their location of work with a view in suitable cases to finding locations offering advantages in terms of recruitment and retention of staff, value- for-money and other considerations relevant to service delivery and management. I placed a copy of the guidelines for these reviews in the Library of the House.
In an Adjournment debate on 9 May 1988 I explained at column 128 that these guidelines link departmental reviews of location to the scrutiny of running costs in the annual public expenditure survey so that Departments can report each year to the Treasury on their review plans and progress.
Departmental reports to the Treasury during the 1988 public expenditure survey confirm that most large Departments now have serious and substantial reviews in hand and that the remainder are making the necessary preparations. Over 34,000 Civil Service posts are being reviewed for location or relocation away from London and the south-east, representing more than 15 per cent. of all posts in that region. Many of these reviews are still at the earliest stage and no overall estimates of the future scale of movement can be given. Successful relocations need careful planning and preparation, and I should emphasise that not all the posts now under review will move. Departmental Ministers will announce their decisions once the essential processes of assessment, consultation and decision for each review have been completed.
Ministers are firm in their intention to ensure that the locations of their Departments' activities are thoroughly reviewed and appreciate the potential advantages to
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departmental management as well as the benefits for regional and urban policy of relocating work outside London and the south-east in all suitable cases. No further central targets for relocation or dispersal are being set, but the Government are confident that the present review process will in the coming years add very significantly to the 12,000 posts located or relocated outside London and the south-east between 1979 and 1987. Since 1987 departmental Ministers have announced new relocation decisions totalling some 3, 000 posts, including over 1,000 DSS posts to Glasgow, Belfast and Wigan, and 850 Patent Office posts to Newport. Further announcements can be expected in due course as individual reviews are completed and departmental Ministers take their decisions.Central Office of Information
Mr. Gerald Howarth : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on his plans for the Central Office of Information.
Mr. Lawson : I have considered whether the Central Office of Information should become a next steps agency, and have concluded that it should. The aim will be to give it agency status by April 1990.
NatWest Bank
Mr. John Morris : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has any plans to increase the powers of the Bank of England to investigate the responsibility of the National Westminster Bank for its subsidiary the County NatWest Bank.
Mr. Lawson [holding answer 8 February 1989] : The powers of the Bank of England are fully adequate to enable it to carry out its supervisory responsibilities.
VAT
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy not to implement value added tax standard rating of supplies to university halls of residence until balancing increases can be made in public expenditure plans on either student financial support or grants to universities ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lilley [holding answer 8 February 1989] : The publication of draft clauses implementing the European Court of Justice ruling on VAT zero rates was announced in my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk, South (Mr. Yeo) on 6 February, Official Report , columns 548-50 . Zero rating is to be retained for supplies of construction services and fuel and power to university halls of residence.
EC (Contributions)
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer where the special payment made by the United Kingdom to the European Economic Community of £670,000,000 in respect of overspending by the Community appears in the table indicating the outturn of Community payments in page 1 of Cm. 603, published in January 1988.
Mr. Brooke [holding answer 7 February 1989] : The 1988 intergovernmental agreement (IGA) between
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member states of the European Community made provisions about supplementary finance for the 1988 Community budget. As I informed the House on 23 November 1988, Official Report , columns 1-2, the United Kingdom has paid a contribution of some £613 million (929 mecu) under the IGA. This contribution (£619 million at the exchange rate used for the projection published in Cm. 603 in January 1989) is included in the gross payment of £5,213 million shown on page 1 of Cm. 603 : table 3.1, 1988-89 estimated outturn column. As explained in paragraph 6 of Cm. 603 the IGA also provided for a monetary reserve of 1,000 mecu (some £670 million) to which all member states would have contributed, but this was not activated in 1988. Therefore no payment was made by the United Kingdom in respect of this reserve.
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