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Advisory Committees
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Attorney-General why he does not regard it as appropriate to disclose information about members on (a) the north-east London area advisory committee and (b) the north-east London advisory committee Waltham Forest division sub-committee ; what steps he is taking to ensure that the local community are confident that these individuals are fit for their positions ; and if he will make a statement.
The Solicitor-General : The purpose of these committees is to advise the Lord Chancellor on the appointment of justices. The final decision is his. The Lord Chancellor believes that it is appropriate for the names of the members to be disclosed but sees no purpose in the publication of personal information about them.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Private Medical Insurance
Mr. Gordon Brown : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the £40 million tax relief estimated for 1989-90 for private medical insurance he estimates will go to those who already have private medical insurance.
Mr. Norman Lamont [holding answer 17 March 1989] : The introduction of tax relief for private medical insurance paid by or on behalf of the elderly has no cost in 1989-90. As I explained in the Budget debate it is estimated that about 90 per cent. of the cost in 1990-91 will be attributable to those who already have private medical
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insurance. Over later years this proportion is expected to decline, though the figure will depend upon take-up and marketing by insurers.Mr. Gordon Brown : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the £40 million tax relief he has set aside for private medical insurance he estimates will go to (a) BUPA and (b) Private Patients Plan.
Mr. Norman Lamont [holding answer 17 March 1989] : The benefit of tax relief on qualifying private medical insurance premiums will go to the person paying the premium and not to the providers of private medical insurance.
Mr. Gordon Brown : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what is his estimate of the cost of private medical insurance tax relief for 1991-92 and 1992-93 ;
(2) what is his best estimate of the proportion of pensioners who will take up private medical insurance tax relief in each of the five years from 1989.
Mr. Norman Lamont [holding answer 17 March 1989] : Tax relief on private medical insurance premiums paid by the elderly will not be available until 1990-91. It is estimated that about 5 per cent. of the 12 million people aged 60 and above will be covered by private medical insurance in 1990-91. The number of people covered and the cost of the relief in future years will depend, among other things, on the extent to which medical insurance for the over-60s is promoted and taken up.
Mr. Gordon Brown : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if a firm will be eligible for tax relief if they pay the private medical insurance tax relief of ex-employees who are aged over 60 years.
Mr. Norman Lamont [holding answer 17 March 1989] : A firm will normally be entitled to a deduction for these costs under existing law in computing the taxable profits of its trade. But relief would not also be due under the new relief-at-source scheme to be introduced in April 1990.
Seafarers (Taxation)
Mr. Woodcock : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish details of any special arrangements for the taxation of earnings of seafarers which apply or are in active contemplation in each of the member states of the European Economic Community.
Mr. Norman Lamont : Last year for United Kingdom resident seafarers we eased the conditions for entitlement to the 100 per cent. foreign earnings deduction available to those United Kingdom residents who work wholly or partly abroad for a qualifying period of 365 days. Seafarers may now visit the United Kingdom for up to 90 consecutive days and up to one quarter of the total number of days abroad and in the United Kingdom without losing the deduction.
I understand that in Greece, for many years, the earnings of ratings have been exempt from tax and a special low rate of tax (5.5 per cent.) is applied to officers' earnings. A number of other EC countries (Belgium, Denmark, Germany and Netherlands) have either introduced or are reported to be considering arrangements, the effect of which is to use the seafarers' tax liability as the basis for calculating a subsidy in favour of the employing shipping company.
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Shipping
Mr. Woodcock : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a summary of the arrangements for special depreciation on shipping investment in European Economic Community countries.
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Mr. Norman Lamont : The information available about the tax treatment of depreciation on shipping investment is as follows :
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Country |Rate/Method of |Notes
|depreciation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Belgium |Based on life of eight years; 20 per cent. a |Investment allowance of 13 per cent. for
|year straightline reducing to 10 per cent. |new ships
Denmark |Stage payments in advance of delivery (up
|to a maximum of 30 per cent. of total cost)
|attract allowances of 15 per cent. a year for up
|to two years. Post-delivery rate on unrelieved
|expenditure is 30 per cent. (reducing balance).
France |According to life of ship:
|--------------------------------------------
| Life Rate (reducing
| (years) balance)
| (per cent.)
|------------------ ------------------------
| 8 31.25
| 10 25
| 15 16.66
| 20 12.5
|--------------------------------------------
Federal Republic |Normal rates based on expected useful life: |80 per cent. of book profit from sale of ship
of Germany |large passenger ship: 18.75 per cent.; |can be taken to a tax-free reserve, provided
|others: 25 per cent. (reducing balance). |ship owned for at least six years. Replacement.
|Corresponding straightline rates are 6.25 |must take place within two years.
|per cent. and 8.33 per cent. Additional 40
|per cent. of net cost of new ship can be taken over
|first five years (straightline basis only).
Greece |Special tax rules according to age and
|tonnage of ship. (No details available.)
Ireland |Initial allowance of up to 75 per cent. for
|capital expenditure on new or secondhand
|ships (reducing to 50 per cent. for 1989-90)
|which may be taken as and when required.
|Italy |Accelerated allowance of 15 per cent. for
|each of first three years. Normal rates
|thereafter. Passenger, tanker or refrigerated
|ships: 10 per cent. (straightline). Others
|(including dry cargo ships): 9 per cent.
Netherlands |Usual rates 12-16 per cent. (reducing |Special investment premium of 4 per cent.
|balance) over 12-20 years according to |per year over five years reduces depreciation
|expected life of ship. |base. Book profit from sale of ship can be
|taken to tax-free reserve. Replacement must
|take place within four years.
Spain |Tankers, refrigerated ships: 15 per cent. |10 per cent. tax credit for investment in new
|Passenger/cargo: 12.5 per cent. (reducing |fixed assets. Book profit from sale of ship tax
|balance). Corresponding straightline rates are |free if reinvested in replacement ship within
|6 per cent. and 5 per cent. |two years.
United Kingdom |25 per cent. of reducing balance. |Allowances can be rolled forward and taken
|as required. Cost of newly-acquired ship can
|be used to offset a balancing charge on the
|disposal of another vessel, where disposal and
|acquisition occur in the same chargeable
|period.
Tax Threshold
Mr. Grylls : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the full cost to the Exchequer of raising the threshold when tax-payers have to pay 40 per cent. income tax (a) from £20,000 to £21,000, (b) from £21,000 to £22,000, (c) from £22,000 to £23,000, (d) from £23,000 to £24,000 and (e) from £24,000 to £25,000.
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Mr. Norman Lamont [holding answer 10 March 1989] : The direct revenue cost in a full year at 1989-90 income levels of raising the basic rate limit by £1,000 from the 1988-89 level of £19,300 is estimated to be about £200 million. Each further increase of £1,000 would cost about £10 million less, so that the cost of raising the limit from £24,000 to £25,000 would be about £150 million.
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Estimates are based on a projection of the 1986-87 survey of personal incomes and are provisional.National Debt
Mr. Tim Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in the Official Report an analysis of the total national debt of £197 billion as at 31 March 1988, showing how much was incurred in the following periods : (a) 1979-80 to 1987-88, (b) 1974-75 to 1977-78, (c) 1970-71 to 1973-74, (d) 1964-65 to 1969-70 and (e) 1959-60 to 1963-64.
Mr. Lilley [holding answer 13 March 1989] : Taken literally, the question appears to ask what fraction of the particular stocks currently outstanding (31 March 1988) was issued, net of redemptions, during each period. Figures for Treasury Bills and the various National Savings products are unavailable. Of those gilt-edged stocks currently outstanding (nominal value = £140.9 billion) the (net) amounts incurred were as follows :
|£ billion
-------------------------------------------
(a) 1979-80 to 1987-88 |109.5
(b) 1974-75 to 1979-80 |21.5
(c) 1970-71 to 1973-74 |3.9
(d) 1964-65 to 1969-70 |2.4
(e) 1959-60 to 1963-64 |1.9
However, such a series is not very informative. The average life of gilt- edged stocks is somewhere near eight years, and debt has to be issued continually to replace any that is redeemed ; we would almost always expect to see a declining series, as above, whatever the relative strengths of public sector finances in each period. However, the national debt is not the most useful or comprehensive measure of public sector indebtedness. It includes debt held by official bodies within central Government, it does not cover the whole of central Government and it excludes entirely the debt of other parts of the public sector. In addition, it takes no account of the public sector's short-term assets, including foreign exchange reserves.
A better measure is the public sector net debt, which is analagous to the PSBR-PSDR.
In 1987-88 prices, the total PSBR over each period was as follows :
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(a) 1979-80 to 1987-88--£88.4 billion equivalent to £9.8 billion a year.(b) 1974-75 to 1978-79--£111.9 billion equivalent to £22.4 billion a year.
(c) 1970-71 to 1973-74--£39.8 billion equivalent to £9.9 billion a year.
(d) 1964-65 to 1969-70--£33.4 billion equivalent to £5.6 billion a year.
(e) 1959 to 1963--£27.4 billion equivalent to £5.5 billion a year.
Note : before 1963-64 PSBR data are only available in calendar year form.
Income Tax (Scotland)
Mr. Robert Hughes : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the income tax yield from taxpayers resident in Scotland for the latest available tax year.
Mr. Norman Lamont : Income tax liabilities of taxpayers resident in Scotland amounted to about £3.3 billion in 1986-87, the latest available year.
Cash Limits
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give revised cash limits for 1988-89 which take account of the decision by some Departments not to seek supplementary provision to cover the carry forward allowed under the end year flexibility scheme.
Mr. Major : Under the end year flexibility scheme, announced in 1983, some 34 1988-89 cash limits were increased to allow for the carryforward of capital underspend in 1987-88-- Official Report, 21 July 1988, columns 725-28. Under the terms of the additional flexibility arrangements for the Ministry of Defence announced in 1986, there was a further increase to allow for carryforward and to compensate the defence budget for a writing off part of a debt in respect of loan service and training charges incurred by the Nigerian Government-- Official Report, 21 July 1988, columns 725-36. In the case of four voted cash limits, the relevant departments have not sought parliamentary approval for the extra provision in a Supplementary estimate. To keep the control figures in line with provision, the cash limits are accordingly being reduced ; a list is shown in the following table.
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|c|Revisions to 1988-89 voted cash limits|c|
Class |Vote |Accounting department |Description of |Current cash limit £000 |Decrease £000 |Revised cash limit £000
|expenditure
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I |<1>2 |Ministry of Defence |Defence Procurement |8,822,266 |531,169 |8,291,097
XVI |2 |Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland|Agricultural services and fisheries |76,542 |445 |76,097
XIX |13 |Her Majesty's Treasury |Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency |18,490 |406 |18,084
XX |13 |Office of Fair Trading |Office of Fair Trading |10,227 |75 |10,152
|-------
Total |532,095
<1> The five cash limited Defence votes are each separate cash limits but, by agreement with the Treasury, are managed as a cash block. Underspend on expenditure eligible for the scheme in these cash limits was carried forward to Class 1, Vote 2.
Mortgage Interest Relief
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether Crown servants posted overseas continue to receive mortgage interest relief on their homes in the United Kingdom.
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Mr. Norman Lamont : Crown servants, including members of the armed forces and diplomats, serving abroad who are required to live in job- related accommodation qualify for mortgage interest relief on their homes in the United Kingdom. Most other Crown servants are covered by the existing extra statutory concession under which relief continues during absences, due to employment, for periods up to four years. In a few cases Crown servants, whose salaries remain subject to United Kingdom tax, are posted overseas for periods exceeding four years. We are extending the extra statutory concession to ensure that relief will continue in these cases for the full period of the overseas posting.
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Research Assistants (Passes)
Mr. Allen : To ask the Lord President of the Council how are holders of research assistants' passes with access to the Library reviewed in order to ensure that those who would make fullest use of them are able to do so.
Mr. Wakeham : The passes issued to right hon. and hon. Members for use by their research assistants which give limited access to the Members' Library, are issued for a period of one year in the first instance, and are then renewable on application for three further years. Research assistants holding such passes are required to sign a register each time they use the Library in order to ensure that not more than 15 of them are in the Library at the same time. There is no systematic monitoring of frequency of usage : nor would it appear desirable or practicable to do so.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Lord President of the Council how many hon. Members are on the waiting list for research assistants' passes with access to the Library.
Standing Orders
Mr. Salmond : To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will list every change in the Standing Orders of the House since 1979 ; and if he will indicate the name and ministerial status of the person moving the appropriate motion to change the Standing Orders.
Mr. Wakeham : A table showing the dates at which the Standing Orders of 1988, relating to Public Business, were passed and amended is given in "Standing Orders of the House of Commons : Public Business 1988" (pages ix to xvi ; HC 1 ; Session 1988-89). The House also frequently approves motions which either modify Standing Orders for the duration of a Session or a Parliament or suspend Standing Orders for a specific purpose or a specific period. A list showing every change and the name and ministerial status of the person moving the appropriate motion could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Miss Pamella Bordes
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Lord President of the Council on what date approval for the fitting of a division bell to premises occupied by Miss Pamella Bordes was given by the Serjeant at Arms ; and who made the application.
Mr. Wakeham : No application has been made for a Division bell to be fitted to premises known to be occupied by Ms. Bordes.
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Photo-passes
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will give the number of photo-passes to the House held by staff of each Government Department.
Mr. Wakeham [holding answer Thursday 9 March 1989] : Photo- passes giving restricted access to the Palace of Westminster are issued to departmental staff permanently employed within the precincts, to departmental messengers, to ministeral drivers and to officials who are required to attend often at short notice. The following is the information requested :
|Number
----------------------------------------------------------
Government Actuary Department |1
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food |32
Cabinet Office |57
Central Office of Information |2
Customs and Excise |19
Crown Suppliers |135
Ministry of Defence |97
Department of Education and Science |50
Department of Employment |102
Department of Energy |76
Department of the Environment |228
Foreign and Commonwealth Office |103
Department of Health }
} |176
Department of Social Security}
Home Office |160
Inland Revenue |95
Law Officers' Departments |10
Lord Advocate's Department |4
Lord Chancellor's Department |163
Northern Ireland Office |35
Office of Arts and Libraries |2
Office of Fair Trading |1
Office of Parliamentary Counsel |29
Overseas Development Administration |19
Prime Minister's Office |42
Privy Council Office |13
Property Services Agency |287
Scottish Office |81
Department of Trade and Industry |192
Department of Transport |60
Her Majesty's Treasury |162
Welsh Office |43
Government and Opposition Whips' Office |18
SOCIAL SECURITY
Appeals
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the reasons for the delays in dealing with the appeal before the social security appeals tribunal in the case of Mr. George McLeod, 689 Mosspark drive, Glasgow.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Mr. McLeod appealed on 3 May and 20 June 1988 against two separate decisions issued by the adjudication officer. The delay in submitting the papers to the social security appeal tribunal was caused partly by the local office having to process a larger than normal volume of appeals resulting from benefit take-up campaigns in the area and partly by the need to resolve issues raised by Mr. McLeod in subsequent correspondence. The appeals were heard on 16 February 1989 and notification of the tribunal's decision was sent to him on 6 March 1989.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish a table showing the number of
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cases relating to the 26-week period of unemployment benefit qualifications which have gone to an appeal tribunal and the number for which appeals were successful, broken down for Great Britain, England, Wales, Scotland and by Department of Social Security Region.Mr. Peter Lloyd : The number of appeals against disqualification for unemployment benefit, for reasons generally known as voluntary unemployment, heard and decided during the three months ended 30 June 1988 (the latest period for which information is available) and the outcome of those appeals are in the following table :
Number of appeals
Area |Heard and decided |Decided in claimant's
|favour
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Great Britain |2,329 |1,040
England |1,829 |774
Wales |154 |84
Scotland |346 |182
English regions:
North Eastern |416 |155
North Western |410 |179
London North |271 |116
London South |234 |113
Midlands |274 |111
South Western |224 |100
Information is not available as to the number of these appeals which were against disqualifications for the maximum period of 26 weeks.
Pension Age
Sir David Price : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he expects the Government's consideration of proposals for the equalisation of pension age to be resolved.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The Government are committed to the principle of equalising state pension age. These are complex issues and it would be wrong to reach a decision without taking all the factors into account. We cannot yet say when we will be able to announce changes.
Family Credit
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will provide a breakdown of the numbers claiming family credit into (a) one-parent and two-parent families, (b) self-employed and employed and (c) regions, showing in each case the average payment per week.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field) on 20 January at column 360. No further information is available.
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people claimed family credit and housing benefit in 1988-89 ; and how many will do so in 1989-90.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I regret that the information requested is not available.
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Income Support
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he will explain how the April 1989 income support rule is derived ;
(2) what element is included in the income support rules for April 1989 for the average rate payment by an income support claimant.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend's statement to the House on 27 October 1988 at columns 445-58.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what element is included in the income support rules for April 1989 for replacement clothing and food.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The income support rates are intended to provide for normal day-to-day living expenses. There is no specific amount included for replacement clothing and food.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what element is included in the income support rules for April 1989 for the average water rate payment by an income support claimant.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Water charges are not a separately identifiable element in the income support rates. Compensation for water charges was included as a once-and-for-all adjustment from April 1988.
Widows (Pensions)
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much it is estimated would have been paid out in 1989-90 in widows' benefits had the age limit for widows' pension not been raised from 40 to 45 years and the threshold for abatement not been raised from 50 to 55 years.
Mr. Peter Lloyd [holding answer 22 February 1989] : I regret that information is not available in the form requested. The latest estimate of the amount of benefit that would have been paid out in widows' benefits in 1989-90 had the age bands for widow's pension not been changed is £965 million. This includes the extra expenditure arising from the changes announced on 28 February at columns 161-62 that women widowed before 11 April 1988 will have their entitlement to widows' benefits determined on the pre-reforms legislation.
Seafarers
Mr. Woodcock : To ask Secretary of State for Social Security if he will provide a summary of any special arrangements for social security contributions by or on behalf of seafarers which apply or are in active contemplation in each of the member states of the European Economic Community.
Mr. Peter Lloyd [holding answer 23 February 1989] : The following special arrangements exist in the United Kingdom for social security contributions paid by and on behalf of seafarers :
1. National insurance contributions paid by the employers of foreign-going mariners are subject to a special rebate, of 0.5 per cent. This reflects the fact that employers of foreign going mariners provide health care facilities for mariners whilst they are on board ship, and because the mariners cannot claim sickness benefit while abroad.
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2. Share fishermen are self-employed but pay a special higher rate of national insurance contribution to reflect their entitlement to Unemployment and Industrial Injuries Benefits. The information available in respect of other EEC countries is as follows : BelgiumEmployers can receive special subsidies against their social security contributions if a crew is abroad for over seven months. Denmark
Employers pay an extra amount per employee to cover sickness insurance.
West Germany
Foreign crew members not resident in Germany do not pay contributions for retirement pension purposes where there is no reciprocal agreement between West Germany and the country of origin. France
Seafarers can retire on full pension at 55, or at 50 or 52 on reduced pension (normal pension age 65).
Greece
Special contribution rates and pension arrangements for employers and employees.
Ireland
No special arrangements.
Italy
No special arrangements.
Netherlands
No special arrangements.
Portugal
No special arrangements.
Spain
Special contribution rates for employers and employees and State subsidy.
CIVIL SERVICE
Next Steps Initiative
Sir Hal Miller : To ask the Minister for the Civil Service what progress he can report on the next steps initiative.
Mr. Luce : Since I last reported to the House on 1 February my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced that he has concluded that the Central Office of Information should become an agency. In addition, last week my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence Procurement announced the decision to set up the four main non-nuclear research establishments, covering 12,500 staff as a single organisation with the intention that they should become a next steps agency by April 1991. I strongly welcome both these announcements, which illustrate the importance which the Government attach to the next steps initiative.
THE ARTS
Yorkshire Arts Association
29. Mr. Battle : To ask the Minister for the Arts when he next intends to meet the chairman of the Yorkshire Arts Association to discuss the funding and structure of the arts in his region.
Mr. Luce : I have no plans to do so.
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