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Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 1 March 1989
HOME DEPARTMENT
The Satanic Verses"
Sir Eldon Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will invite the Commission for Racial Equality and the local police community liaison committees set up under the Police and Criminal Justice Act to clarify to the leaders of ethnic minority groups that he has no power to ban the publication of Mr. Salman Rushdie's book, "The Satanic Verses."
Mr. Hurd : The Minister of State and I have taken every opportunity to explain the position directly to the Moslem communities. My impression is that their representatives are well aware that I have no power to ban the publication of Mr. Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses". I welcome the press statement by the Commission for Racial Equality, sent to all community relations councils, condemning the Ayatollah's statements, paying tribute to the way Moslems have adapted to the requirements of this country and calling for tolerance. I also welcome what the police are doing to explain the legal position to community leaders through various channels of communication ; police community consultative groups are available for this purpose.
Lynx Ltd.
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will initiate an inquiry into the charitable status of the company known as Lynx Ltd.
Mr. John Patten : I understand that Lynx Ltd. is not a charity.
Remand Prisoners
Mr. Grocott : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average length of time spent in custody by prisoners awaiting trial, and what was the comparable figure for 1979.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The latest readily available information was published in table 2.1 of "Prison statistics England and Wales 1987" (Cm. 547), a copy of which is held in the Library.
Complaints Against the Police
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list by year and by police force for each of the last five years the number of civil cases that have been taken out against the police and the number of cases that were proved ; what was the disciplinary action taken ; what compensation was paid out ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Information is available centrally only in respect of the Metropolitan police. For that force the available information is as follows :
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Year |Awards made by the courts|Total amount paid |Settlements out of court |Total amount paid ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1984 |7 |£15,617 |37 |£162,986 1985 |7 |£13,949 |56 |£193,558 1986 |10 |£46,836 |52 |£330,332 1987 |6 |£11,233 |63 |£173,714 1988 |17 |£107,035 |49 |£250,556
Corresponding information for other forces, and details of any disciplinary action taken are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Eamonn John Wadley
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, further to his correspondence with the hon. Member for Leyton concerning Mr. Eamonn John Wadley, if he will name the doctors who decided that he could be interrogated ; if he will direct them to explain their reasons for disagreeing with Mr. Wadley's private doctor and the police surgeon who regarded such interrogation as not suitable because of Mr. Wadley's state of health ; why they made their decision after Mr. Wadley's doctor and the police surgeon had left the scene ; and if he will make a statement on his policy towards interrogation of individuals with a history of recurrent mental illness.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 lays down a statutory procedure for investigating complaints against police. Under this procedure it is open to Mr. Wadley to make a complaint, or for anyone else to do so on his behalf, if he considers that there was misconduct on the part of a police officer during the time he spent in police custody.
Guidance to the police on interviewing suspects who are mentally ill or mentally handicapped is contained in the code of practice for the Detention, treatment and questioning of persons by police officers, issued in accordance with the 1984 Act.
Drugs
Mr. French : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the value of drugs seized by the police, for the most recent five years for which figures are available, in (a) Derby, (b) Preston, (c) Darlington, (d) Slough, (e) Luton and (f) Gloucester.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The information is not available in the form requested.
Criminal Justice Legislation
Mr. Randall : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to publish the findings of the working group in connection with proposals for changes to criminal justice legislation.
Mr. John Patten : I assume that the hon. Member has in mind the working group set up last year to advise on changes in the law relating to the right of silence. My right hon. Friend expects to receive the working group's report around Easter, and to arrange publication thereafter.
Animal Experiments
Mr. John Browne : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library revised
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tables 2 and 3 of the "Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals, Great Britain, 1987" (Cm. 515) relating to the number of procedures recorded under safety studies.Mr. Douglas Hogg : The errors are regretted. Revised copies of the tables have been placed in the Library today. Corrected figures will be published in the 1988 statistics in the middle of this year.
Broadcasting (Gaelic and Welsh)
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has on the number of hours in (a) Gaelic and (b) Welsh broadcast by (i) BBC1 and BBC2 and (ii) ITV, C4 and S4C in each of the last five years.
Mr. Renton [holding answer 23 January 1989] : The relevant broadcasting organisations have provided the following information. The figures given are for new programming only and do not include the significant number of repeat programmes shown in each category each year.
|c|Table 1|c|
|c|Transmission hours for Gaelic language programmes|c|
|1984 |1985 |1986 |1987 |1988
--------------------------------------------------------------
BBC |20.0 |21.5 |30.0 |42.0 |16.0
Grampian<1><4> |19.5 |19.5 |28.5 |43.5 |32.0
Scottish Television<2><4> |23.0 |21.5 |26.5 |28.5 |29.0
|-- |-- |-- |-- |--
Total |62.5 |62.5 |85.0 |114.0|77.0
|c|Table 2|c|
|c|Transmission hours for Welsh language programmes-|c|
|c|shown on S4C<3>|c|
|1984 |1985 |1986 |1987 |1988
----------------------------------------------------------
BBC |443 |495 |568 |466 |546
ITV |400 |442 |508 |454 |480
Independent producers |192 |184 |206 |217 |253
|--- |--- |--- |--- |---
Total |1,035|1,121|1,282|1,137|1,279
<1>These figures include some material made by Scottish
Television and broadcast by Grampian.
<2>These figures include some material made by Grampian
television and broadcast by Scottish Television.
<3>S4C, the Welsh Fourth Language channel transmits
programmes.
<4>ITV.
Prisoners
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what percentage of people remanded in custody and classified as (a) white, (b) West Indian, Guyanese, African, (c) Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and (d) Chinese, Arab and mixed origin were given a non- custodial sentence during 1987, or for the latest date available ;
(2) what percentage of prisoners who were remanded in custody and who were classified as (a) white, (b) West Indian, Guyanese, African, (c) Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and (d) Chinese, Arab and mixed origin were eventually acquitted or not proceeded with in 1987 and 1988.
Mr. Douglas Hogg [holding answer 20 February 1989] : The information for 1986 is given in the table. The latest information, for 1987, is a less reliable guide because for a large proportion--one fifth-- the outcome of court proceedings is not recorded.
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|c|Persons received into prison service establishments in England and Wales as unsentenced prisoners: by outcome of court proceedings and ethnic|c|
|c|origin, 1986|c|
Percentage
Outcome |White |West Indian, Guyanese, |Indian, Pakistani, |Chinese Arab Mixed Origin|Other, not recorded, |All persons
|African |Bangladeshi |refusal
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Found not guilty or not proceeded against |4 |8 |9 |7 |6 |4
Non-custodial or freed on rising |31 |28 |24 |31 |33 |30
Received under sentence |54 |46 |51 |49 |28 |52
Outcome not recorded |12 |18 |16 |13 |34 |13
|-- |-- |-- |-- |-- |--
Total |100 |100 |100 |100 |100 |100
(Number of receptions) |(53,180) |(6,307) |(1,174) |(1,303) |(1,523) |(63,487)
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the composition of the remand and sentenced prison population by ethnic background of (a) Holloway, (b) Brixton, (c)
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Wormwood scrubs, (d) Wandsworth, (e) Pentonville, (f) Birmingham, (g) Manchester and (h) Liverpool for the latest date available.Mr. Douglas Hogg [holding answer 20 February 1989] : The latest readily available information is given in the table.
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Population<1> of specified Prison Service establishments on 30 June 1988: by establishment, type of prisoner and ethnic origin Number
Establishment and type of |White |West Indian, Guyanese, |Indian, Pakistani, |Chinese, Arab, Mixed |Other, not recorded, |All origins
prisoner |African |Bangladeshi |origin |refusal
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Holloway:
Untried |118 |79 |5 |9 |53 |264
Convicted unsentenced |28 |5 |- |3 |5 |41
Sentenced |101 |50 |2 |5 |6 |164
Non-criminal |2 |1 |- |- |- |3
All prisoners |249 |135 |7 |17 |64 |472
Brixton:
Untried |411 |156 |15 |16 |15 |613
Convicted unsentenced |113 |40 |5 |1 |8 |167
Sentenced |226 |59 |10 |5 |1 |301
Non-criminal |- |- |- |- |- |-
All prisoners |750 |255 |30 |22 |24 |1,081
Wormwood Scrubs:
Untried |324 |201 |26 |19 |19 |589
Convicted unsentenced |- |- |- |- |- |-
Sentenced |354 |67 |20 |12 |8 |461
Non-criminal |- |- |- |- |- |-
All prisoners |678 |268 |46 |31 |27 |1,050
Wandsworth:
Untried |- |- |- |- |- |-
Convicted unsentenced |55 |2 |- |1 |2 |60
Sentenced |1,073 |298 |41 |44 |21 |1,477
Non-criminal |- |- |- |- |- |-
All prisoners |1,128 |300 |41 |45 |23 |1,537
Pentonville:
Untried |169 |84 |16 |8 |6 |283
Convicted unsentenced |87 |6 |4 |3 |- |100
Sentenced |353 |57 |8 |6 |6 |430
Non-criminal |15 |5 |2 |3 |1 |26
All prisoners 624 152 30 20 13 839
Birmingham:
Untried |332 |66 |35 |8 |17 |458
Convicted unsentenced |32 |6 |5 |- |4 |47
Sentenced |461 |79 |26 |19 |5 |590
Non-criminal |6 |2 |5 |- |1 |14
All prisoners |831 |153 |71 |27 |27 |1,109
Manchester<2>:
Untried |515 |39 |23 |24 |12 |613
Convicted unsentenced |143 |8 |- |1 |4 |156
Sentenced |928 |43 |27 |14 |3 |1,015
Non-criminal |- |- |- |- |- |-
All prisoners |1,586 |90 |50 |39 |19 |1,784
Liverpool:
Untried |6 |- |- |- |3 |9
Convicted unsentenced |6 |- |- |- |- |6
Sentenced |1,306 |26 |7 |14 |21 |1,374
Non-criminal |- |- |- |- |- |-
All prisoners |1,318 |26 |7 |14 |24 |1,389
<1> The figures are those recorded centrally and are approximate.
2 Remand centre and local prison.
TRANSPORT
Short Sea Europe Conference
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will be sending a representative to the short sea Europe conference on 14 to 15 March.
Grid-lock Traffic Jams
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action he is taking to prevent grid-lock traffic jams ; and when he intends to implement action throughout the country.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : The term "grid-lock" relates mainly to traffic jams that occur in city centres. Often these are the result of particular incidents such as breakdowns.
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The police have primary responsibility for controlling the movement of traffic. Local highway authorities are responsible for the construction and management of most urban roads. They and the police are able to call on a wide range of traffic management techniques and technology to ease traffic flow.In London, where congestion is particularly heavy, my right hon. Friend has issued a statement which sets out his policies for improving traffic conditions. Copies have been placed in the Library of the House.
Picnic Areas
Mr. Conway : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will give the number of picnic areas with toilet facilities proposed by his Department, the cost per site and the anticipated dates of opening ;
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(2) what considerations he has given to appointing a private contractor to operate the picnic sites proposed by his Department ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Peter Bottomley : We propose the provision of six further picnic sites on all-purpose trunk roads in England. The estimated cost per site ranges between £52,000 and £300,000. Five of the sites are due to open before the end of 1989, and the sixth is planned to open in 1992.
Our policy is to arrange for the general management and maintenance of picnic areas to be carried out by county councils as agent authorities. A small catering facility is also provided at many picnic areas. About half of the existing 26 sites have one and it is intended to provide one at each of the six proposed sites. Private contractors are appointed to operate all such catering facilities. The contractors are selected by competitive tender.
Ferries (Vehicle Weights)
Mr. Ward : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has any plans to discuss with our EEC partners a requirement for all vehicles using roll-on roll-off passenger vessels to be weighed ; and whether he will consider extending this to non-passenger vessels.
Mr. Portillo : There have been discussions with European shipping administrations about the United Kingdom regulations requiring the weighing of goods vehicles before loading on passenger ro-ro vessels. Whilst most Administrations have appreciated the value of our regulations, the extent to which they are likely to take such measures themselves is not clear.
I have no plans at present to extend the regulations to non-passenger ro-ro vessels.
Mr. Ward : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he proposes to extend the requirements of Statutory Instrument 1988 No. 1275 concerning the weighing of vehicles using roll-on roll-off passenger vessels to foreign registered ships.
Mr. Portillo : A draft order extending the Merchant Shipping (Weighing of Goods Vehicles and Other Cargo) Regulations 1988 to non-United Kingdom ships will be laid this week. Subject to the appropriate parliamentary approval the new regulations will come into force on 31 March.
Chelmsford Bypass
Mr. Burns : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when emergency telephones will be installed on the A12 bypass at Chelmsford ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : It is not general policy to site emergency telephones on non-motorway trunk roads given the other telephone facilities frequently available. We are to announce shortly a limited number of sites where we propose to install such telephones because of the particular need for them there. It is not currently planned to site one on the A12 bypass at Chelmsford.
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British Island Airways
Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what date the appeal was lodged by British Island Airways to his Department regarding the Gatwick-Glasgow, Gatwick-Edinburgh and Gatwick-Manchester routes ; when he will make his decision ; and what is the reason for the delay.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : The appeal was lodged on 23 August 1988. It was one of a number of cases resulting from licensing decisions which followed the merger of British Airways and British Caledonian. My right hon. Friend's decision on the appeal was issued on 22 February.
Seat Belts
Mr. Roger King : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the Motor Vehicles (Wearing of Rear Seat Belts by Children) Act 1988 will be brought into operation.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : The Act requires that the regulations to give effect to the legislation have first to be approved by Parliament. We have today published draft regulations, together with an explanatory memorandum, for public consultation. Copies have been placed in the Library. Comments are invited by 2 May.
Our intention is to bring the draft regulations before the House shortly, with a view to their coming into effect during the summer. --
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Single European Market
72. Mr. Dickens : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment he has made of opportunities that exist for the wood processing industry in the United Kingdom on the completion of the single internal market in Europe in 1992.
Mr. Maude : The reduction in administrative and technical barriers will provide opportunities for companies throughout the United Kingdom in many business areas and industries. The Government are making every effort to ensure that United Kingdom companies take the necessary action to prepare for the single market.
Dolls' House Furniture
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he has any plans to lay an order prohibiting the manufacture, sale and display of doll's house furniture ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : No. I am consulting about the implementation of the European Community dangerous imitations directive 87/357/EEC. The directive prohibits the supply of articles, which, because of their similarity to foodstuffs, endanger health and safety of consumers, especially children. The regulations will not apply to food imitations that do not constitute a hazard, but concern has been expressed about the possibility that the directive may affect imitation food supplies with dolls' houses. All comments made during the current consultation will be carefully considered before final decisions on implementation are made.
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Financial Services Act
Mr. Hind : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he has any plans to seek to amend the Financial Services Act 1986.
Mr. Maude : My right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State has today published a consultative document proposing two amendments to the Financial Services Act. The first amendment would provide a new basis for the assessment by the Securities and Investments Board of the rules of a self-regulating organisation. The second amendment would enhance the ability of the board and of recognised self-regulating organisations, when carrying out functions under the Act, to rely upon other regulators of the same or similar kinds of financial services. It is intended to effect any changes by means of amendments to the Companies Bill currently being considered in another place. Comments are invited on the proposals by 31 March. A copy of the consultative document has been placed in the Library of the House.
Telephone Calls (Overcharging)
Mr. Knapman : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will call for a report from the Director General of
Telecommunications providing figures, expressed in percentage terms of total calls, of failure rates of British Telecom metering equipment resulting in overcharging for telephone calls for the latest period for which figures are available (a) in the Stroud exchange area, (b) in the Sevenoaks area, and (c) nationally.
Mr. Maude : The Director General of Telecommunications already takes a close interest in the accuracy of metering. On 29 June 1988, he announced the establishment of a new scheme for the approval of public telecommunications operators' metering and billing systems. Under this scheme, the British Approvals Board for Telecommunications will grant approval to systems which meet a performance standard and the British Standards Institution will undertake routine independent monitoring of quality control procedures. The scheme is currently being implemented. I understand that the director general is already considering the particular issues that my hon. Friend raises and that he will write to my hon. Friend directly once his considerations are complete.
Directory Inquiries
Mr. Heddle : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will direct Oftel to discuss with the chairman of British Telecom whether there has been any diminution in the standard of service and efficiency offered by British Telecom's directory inquiries unit following the transfer of all standard directory telephone numbers on to computer ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maude : The Director General of Telecommunications already keeps such matters under review. It is for him to decide which issues he should raise with British Telecom, but I shall draw my hon. Friend's interest to the director general's attention.
British Telecom's six-monthly quality of service reports include information on directory inquiry services. I understand that the latest report is available in the Library of the House.
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Gas Prices
Mr. Michael Brown : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what information he has as to the price of firm gas charged to large industrial gas users in (a) the United Kingdom, (b) France, (c) Spain, (d) Luxembourg, (e) Belgium, (f) Italy, (g) West Germany and (h) Holland ; what is the price per therm in each of these countries ; and what effect any disparity in these figures has upon British industry's competitive position in the European Community, the world and in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Maude : I refer my hon. Friend to the recent study by the Office of Gas Supply "The EEC Industrial Gas Market" for data on the six main gas- consuming countries of the EEC ; comparable figures for Spain and Luxembourg are not available. The relative price of gas is only one of many factors affecting British companies' competitive position.
Mr. Michael Brown : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement about the effect that British Gas's present policies relating to the pricing of firm gas to large industrial users has upon British industry's competitiveness in (a) the European Community, (b) the world and (c) the United Kingdom.
Mr. Maude : The Monopolies and Mergers Commission report on gas (Cm. 500) indicated that British Gas's policy of extensive discrimination in the pricing of firm gas placed an arbitrary cost disadvantage on some of its large industrial users, thereby distorting competition in the markets in which they operate. Part of the action taken following publication of the report, as announced by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on 19 October 1988, is to require British Gas not to supply gas to any one contract customer on terms which are more or less favourable than the terms on which it supplies other contract customers with similar volumes, load factors, provision for interruptibility and other relevant conditions of supply.
Nicaragua and Kampuchea
Mr. Battle : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) what was the value of exports to, and imports from, Nicaragua for the years 1986, 1987 and 1988 ; and if he will make a statement ; (2) what was the value of exports to, and imports from, Nicaragua as a proportion of the European Community's total figure for the years 1986, 1987 and 1988 ; and if he will make a statement ; (3) what was the value of exports to, and imports from, Kampuchea for the years 1986, 1987 and 1988 ; and if he will make a statement ;
(4) what was the value of exports to, and imports from, Kampuchea as a proportion of the European Community's total figure for the years 1986, 1987 and 1988 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Alan Clark : The available information is in the tables :
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|c|(ii) Imports|c|
million ECUs
Total EC imports from: United Kingdom imports
from:
|World<2> |Nicaragua|Kampuchea|Nicaragua|Kampuchea
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1986 |334,564 |146.7 |0.4 |2.4 |0.1
1987 |340,058 |84.6 |0.3 |1.2 |0.1
1988 January to June<3> |183,950 |43.3 |0.1 |0.3 |0.0
<1>Special trade.
<2>Trade with non-EC countries.
<3>EC excludes Greece.
Source: Eurostat.
|c|(ii) Imports|c|
million ECUs
Total EC imports from: United Kingdom imports
from:
|World<2> |Nicaragua|Kampuchea|Nicaragua|Kampuchea
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1986 |334,564 |146.7 |0.4 |2.4 |0.1
1987 |340,058 |84.6 |0.3 |1.2 |0.1
1988 January to June<3> |183,950 |43.3 |0.1 |0.3 |0.0
<1>Special trade.
<2>Trade with non-EC countries.
<3>EC excludes Greece.
Source: Eurostat.
Thanet Working Group
Mr. Gale : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the progress made by the Thanet working group and action taken following publication of the Thanet working group report.
Mr. Atkins : I have today placed in the Library of the House copies of a progress report by the working group, entitled "Thanet into the 1990s". I am grateful to those in the local authorities and other organisations who have played their part in the activities of the group and the production of this report.
The business improvement services scheme which DTI launched less than a year ago, has been a success. Two companies supported by this scheme have gone on to win national prizes for marketing and enterprise. Our enterprise initiative business consultancy scheme has also been attractive to Thanet firms. Up to the end of 1988, more than 30 companies had received application forms and a dozen business reviews, for which the DTI pays the full cost, had been completed. The DTI's enterprise and education initiative adviser for Kent is paying special attention to the needs of Thanet.
Thanet now enjoys European Community employment area status. A major business park development is in train as the working group recommended. United Kingdom and foreign-owned firms are starting to take an interest in the area. Communications are being improved. Many of the recommendations that the working group put forward just over a year ago have been followed up, but there is still work to be done. We know that local communities and agencies will continue to tackle the area's development needs with commitment and enthusiasm. The DTI south-east's area office in Reigate and our office in Margate, in Thanet itself, are well placed to offer advice and help and necessary contact with all Departments.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Indirect Taxation
Mr. Grocott : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of central Government revenue was raised by indirect taxation in the latest year for which
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figures are available ; and what information he has on the corresponding figures for the other member states of the European Economic Community.Mr. Major : The latest directly comparable OECD figures are for 1986. They show the percentage of total general Government taxes and social security contributions derived from indirect taxes.
|c|Percentage of total taxes and
social security contributions
derived|c|
|c|from indirect taxes|c|
|1986
--------------------------------------
Belgium |25
Denmark |39
France |35
Federal Republic of Germany |30
Greece |50
Italy |28
Netherlands |27
Spain |35
United Kingdom |43
Source: Economic Trends, January
1989.
Casinos
Mr. Atkinson : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue was received in the latest available year from (a) the licensing of casinos and (b) the taxation of casinos gaming.
Mr. Lilley : In the financial year 1987-88, a total of £58,000 accrued from the licensing of gaming premises and £61 million from the duty on gross gaming yield.
VAT
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to make an announcement concerning the rate of value added tax that he will apply to the supply of water and sewerage services respectively to commercial and industrial users, and other items currently not subject to that tax, in accordance with the ruling of the court of the European Economic Community of 21 June 1988, and state for each commodity the range of tax permitted by that ruling together with the range of estimated annual yields.
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Mr. Lilley : I refer the hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk, South (Mr. Yeo) on 6 February at columns 548-50.
EC Fraud Inspectorate
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what approach or request has been received by Her Majesty's Government from the Commission of the European Economic Community concerning resources for the expansion of its fraud inspectorate ; and what response he has made to such requests.
Mr. Brooke : The Commission proposed additional posts for anti-fraud work in the 1988 and 1989 preliminary draft budgets. The posts were part of a wider staffing bid which the United Kingdom was not able to accept in full. But the Government have consistently supported the Commission as regards the anti-fraud posts.
VAT (Zero-rating)
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the assurances given by Her Majesty's Government on the alteration of zero- rating includes domestic water supplies, books, magazines and periodicals ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lilley [holding answer 28 February 1989] : I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent (Mr. Foot) in the debate on indirect tax harmonisation on 11 May 1988 at column 412.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT
Aid Statistics
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the total public and private aid and investment from the United Kingdom to under developed countries during 1988 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Chris Patten : The figures are not yet available.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Plastic Bullets
Mr. Ashdown : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many times plastic bullets have been used since they came into use ; what were the circumstances at each incident ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Ian Stewart : The information requested by the right hon. Member has been held in the Library since August 1984. Details of incidents prior to this period are not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
I am writing to the hon. Member with the information for 1988, in which 3,109 plastic baton rounds were fired and I shall place a copy of my letter in the Library. The higher number of plastic baton rounds fired during 1988 than in 1987 was largely in response to widespread rioting in West Belfast during March and August.
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Emergency Provisions Acts
Mr. Ian Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he proposes to accept the recommendations made by Lord Colville in his review of the operation of the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Acts 1978 and 1987.
Mr. Tom King : I warmly welcome Lord Colville's report. It contains a number of important recommendations both for the short and medium term. In particular I welcome his recommendations that certain powers in the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1978 can now be allowed to lapse. These are section 24, under which the security forces have the power to call upon assemblies to disperse, paragraph 4 of schedule 3 under which the Royal Ulster Constabulary may impose directions on the conduct of funerals, and paragraph 5 of schedule 3 under which the Secretary of State has a power to close licensed premises, clubs and so on by order. The draft order and regulations that have been laid before the House today will allow these provisions to lapse, apart from one section of paragraph 4 of schedule 3 which gives the Royal Ulster Constabulary the power to require people taking part in funerals to travel in vehicles. The fact that these provisions are being allowed to lapse demonstrates the Government's purpose in keeping the emergency law under review, and in making adjustments where these are justified. I will be giving careful consideration over the coming months to some other recommendations in Lord Colville's report which have implications for the longer term.
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