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Division Bells
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Lord President of the Council (1) whether he will list the location of all division bells in the SW1 area in the homes of persons other than right hon. and hon. Members and Members of the House of Lords ;
(2) on what date approval was given for the fitting of division bells at (a) 6 Stockton court, Greycoat street, London SW1 and (b) 69 a-- Winchester street, London ; and who made the application in each case.
Mr. Wakeham : It would be inappropriate for me to provide information about the specific location of Division bells. It is the policy of the authorities of the House not to approve the fitting of Division bells in homes of persons other than right hon. and hon. Members.
Passes
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Lord President of the Council (1) what security checks were instituted in the case of Mr. Michael Middleton, employee of Messrs. Kingfisher of Ferndown, Dorset, in the case of his access to the House of Commons for the purpose of delivering food provisions ;
(2) whether he will list the categories of convictions which preclude a person from receiving (a) a day pass or (b) other passes authorising access to the House of Commons.
Mr. Wakeham : It is not appropriate to comment in detail on matters of security of the House.
WALES
Wildlife Poisoning
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list for each of the last five years the number of cases of wildlife poisoning in Wales caused by the illegal use of pesticides or poisons ; and if he will identify the species involved and if possible the poison or pesticide involved.
Mr. Peter Walker : The number of cases of wildlife poisoning in Wales caused by the illegal use of pesticides or poisons identified by the wildlife and storage biology service were as follows :
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|Number of incidents |Species involved |Pesticide/poison involved
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1984 |12 |8 dogs, 2 carrion crows, buzzard, |Strychnine, mevinphos, alphachlorose,
|duck, magpie, water rail |famphur, parathion
1985 |4 |2 cats, 2 carrion crows, 2 magpie, |Alphachlorose, famphur, metaldehyde
|1 pheasant
1986 |10 |3 dogs, 2 cats, 2 foxes, buzzard, |Mevinphos, strychnine, alphachlorose,
|gull, carrion crow, jackdaw, |metaldehyde
|lamb, rabbit, pheasant
1987 |7 |4 dogs, buzzard, jackdaw, herring |Strychnine, alphachlorose, endrin,
|gull, peregrine, pheasant, raven |mevinphos
1988 |6 |5 dogs, cat |Strychnine, metaldehyde
Roads
Mr. David Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give for 1989-90, 1990-91 and 1991-92, the provision for value added tax liability on new construction within the budgets given for capital expenditure on roads by his Department and the local authorities in Wales in chapter 17 of the Government's expenditure plans 1989-90 to 1991-92.
Mr. Wyn Roberts : I shall write to the hon. Gentleman and place a copy in the Library of the House.
Small Businesses
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has on the disruption being caused to development projects of small businesses in rural Wales arising from the suspension of the rural conversion grant scheme in February ; if he has discussed this with the chairman of the Welsh Development Agency with a view to re-establishing the scheme ; if he will make available to the Welsh Development Agency the necessary finance to enable them to meet their obligations under this scheme ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Walker : The Welsh Development Agency has earmarked £3 million to the rural conversion grant programme over the next three years, sufficient to stimulate nearly 1,200 new jobs. The record resources allocated by the agency to conversion grants in the current financial year, broadly double the amount available in 1987-88, are fully taken up, though payment in relation to new schemes will commence in April. The impact on the development of small businesses in rural Wales of the slight delay in payments is therefore minimal.
Development Areas
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing (a) the latest average unemployment rate for development areas in Wales and (b) the unemployment rate on the same date for each travel-to-work area which had an unemployment rate higher than the average for development areas in Wales, denoting which of these areas have in their territory a development area.
Mr. Peter Walker : The information is as follows :
|c|Unemployment rate as at February 1989|c|
|Percentage
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(a) |Average for development areas in Wales|12.6 |-
(b) |Travel-to-work areas with a higher
| unemployment rate than the
| average for the development
| areas in Wales:
| Aberdare |17.7 |IA
| Bangor and Caernarfon |13.3 |DA
| Blaenau Gwent and Abergavenny |13.8 |DA
| Cardigan |18.0 |DA
| Fishguard |16.1 |IA
| Haverfordwest |14.0 |IA
| Holyhead |17.7 |DA
| Lampeter and Aberaeron |13.2 |DA
| Merthyr and Rhymney |14.1 |DA
| Pwllheli |19.0 |IA
| South Pembrokeshire |17.6 |DA
Notes:
1. DA denotes development area.
2. IA denotes intermediate area.
3. Development areas are defined in terms of travel-to-work areas.
Alcohol
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he has issued any guidance to health authorities in Wales on the development by each such authority of an alcohol planning strategy ; and whether he is satisfied with the provisions being made by health authorities in this area.
Mr. Peter Walker : My Department, along with others, has recently issued a joint circular to health authorities, and a wide range of other organisations, on planning to tackle the problem of alcohol misuse. A copy of Welsh Office Circular 8/89 is in the Library of the House. Progress is to be monitored : relevant aspects of health authorities' work are to feature in forthcoming performance reviews.
Disabled Persons
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what progress has been made in implementing section 5 of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986, in respect of its obligation to place duties upon education authorities and social services authorities to identify, assess and provide for the needs of people with mental handicaps at the time that they move out of full-time education ; and what arrangements have been made to ensure that these facilities are being monitored in respect of their implementation in terms of quality of life.
Mr. Peter Walker : The attention of local authorities was drawn to their detailed responsibilities under section 5 and 6 of the Act at the time of their implementation and it is upon them that the responsibilities now lie. No central record is held of individual assessments but social work service officials will be conducting a survey of local authority services for disabled people in the coming months.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to implement sections 1 and 2 of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986 ; and whether he will meet the cost implications required to appoint authorised representatives for all people with mental handicaps in connection with the provision of services and the right to obtain relevant information to facilitate an informed choice of a selection of appropriate support services.
Mr. Peter Walker : As my ministerial colleagues in the Department of Health have repeatedly said, each section of the Act will be implemented as and when the necessary resources can be identified and made available. We are making good progress on implementation with six key sections now in force. We have agreed with the local authority associations that section 7 is the next priority and detailed work on sections 1, 2 and 3 will follow as soon as possible. Local authorities will be consulted about the potential cost implications at an appropriate time.
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many social workers trained to deal with physically handicapped people are employed by each county council in Wales.
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Mr. Peter Walker : Information relating to the number of senior social workers, social workers and community workers with qualifications is given in the following table :
|Number
------------------------------
Clwyd |134
Dyfed |120
Gwent |175
Gwynedd |72
Mid Glamorgan |201
Powys |25
South Glamorgan |156
West Glamorgan |102
<1> Full-time staff only, as
at 30 September 1988, with a
certificate of qualification
in social work of the CCETSW
or equivalent, a declaration
of recognition of experience,
a certificate in social
service or a senior
certificate in residential
care.
Rural Water Supply
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many rural water supply schemes have been requisitioned of the Welsh water authority by district councils in Wales in each year.
Mr. Peter Walker : The information requested is not held centrally. I am asking the chairman of the Welsh water authority to write to the hon. Gentleman.
Therapists
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will list the number of professionally qualified people in post in each health authority area in Wales, and the number of vacancies that exist within the same disciplines, as (a) speech therapists, (b) occupational therapists and (c) physiotherapists ; (2) what steps are being taken to improve training facilities for speech therapists, occupational therapists and physiotherapists in Wales.
Mr. Peter Walker : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Alyn and Deeside (Mr. Jones) on 21 October at columns 1015-16, which gives the information requested in respect of physiotherapists and speech therapists. Information on the number of occupational therapists in post in each Welsh district health authority as at 30 September is given in the following table. As indicated in my earlier reply information on the number of vacancies is not currently collected by the Department on a regular basis, but information obtained in the course of the 1988 manpower resource planning exercise indicated that at the all- Wales level at 30 September 1988 there were about 75 (whole-time equivalent) vacancies for occupational therapists. This aggregate figure is approximate only ; reliable information at individual district health authority level is not currently available.
Following the results of the 1988 manpower resource planning exercise, consideration is being given to how training provision for speech therapy and occupational therapy may be improved in Wales. The need for improved training capacity for physiotherapy will be assessed in the light of the 1989 round of manpower resource plans.
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|c|Occupational therapists|c|
|c|Staff in post (whole-time equivalents) as at 30 September 1988|c|
|Whole-time equivalents
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Clwyd |31.9
East Dyfed |12.8
Gwent |37.3
Gwynedd |15.2
Mid Glamorgan |35.5
Pembrokeshire |8.3
Powys |6.6
South Glamorgan |74.2
West Glamorgan |29.0
All Wales |250.8
Crime (Housing Estates)
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will meet the chief constables of Wales to discuss how crime on local authority housing estates might be eliminated ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Walker : I keep under review the crime levels on housing estates and in the country generally. In addition my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State represents the Welsh Office on the ministerial group on crime prevention. My Department works closely with statutory agencies and the voluntary sector to reduce crime on housing estates--grants totalling over £600,000 have been given by the Welsh Office over the last two years for a variety of crime preventive schemes for this purpose. I remain informed of the views of chief constables on all local matters.
Lluesty Hospital
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will visit Lluesty hospital, Holywell, to discuss with patients and staff the proposals of Clwyd health authority to close Lluesty hospital ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Walker : I understand that no proposal to close Lluesty hospital has been put to Clwyd health authority. It would therefore not be appropriate for me to hold any discussions at this stage.
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) how many (a) nursing staff, (b) ancillary staff, (c) paramedical staff, (d) patients and (e) beds there are at Lluesty hospital ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) how many geriatric patients are under treatment at Lluesty hospital.
Mr. Peter Walker : As at 28 February 1989, there were 48.3 nursing staff, 24.0 ancillary staff and 3.1 physio-therapists. These staff are recorded as whole-time equivalents.
In the period January to September 1988 inclusive, the numbers of in- patients and beds, both of which were recorded under the geriatric speciality, were as follows :
<1> |Number ------------------------------------------- In-patients |394 Average daily available beds |74.0 <1> Excludes day care.
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NHS (Clwyd)
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make additional cash allocations to Clwyd health authority ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Walker : Plans to increase the cash allocations to Clwyd health authority were announced in January for the coming financial year. Other specific initiatives are to be announced shortly. The authority's initial revenue cash allocation for 1989-90 is £107.13 million, an increase of 6.5 per cent. over the 1988-89 allocation ; in addition the authority is expected to achieve cost improvements and generate additional income next year equivalent to a further 1.3 per cent. of their revenue allocation. The authority's initial capital allocation for next year is £6.915 million, an increase of more than 40 per cent. over this year. I believe that these resources will be sufficient to allow the authority to meet inflationary pressures and provide for further service development.
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will visit Clwyd health authority at Preswefa, Mold, Clwyd, to hear the authority explain why it has rejected the White Paper "Working for Patients".
Mr. Peter Walker : I will be meeting a range of organisations in Wales to hear their views on the White Paper "Working For Patients", including the chairmen of district health authorities.
Hospital Journeys (Clwyd)
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the distance by bus route from Shotton, Deeside to (a) Lluesty hospital and (b) Abergele hospital, Clwyd.
Mr. Wyn Roberts : The distances by bus to Lluesty hospital and Abergele hospital are 9.5 miles and 30 miles respectively.
NHS Review
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will receive a deputation of the Clwyd local medical committee to hear their views on the National Health Service White Paper "Working for Patients" ;
(2) if he will address a general meeting of Clwyd general practitioners from 40 practices on the National Health Service review ; and if he will make a statement ;
(3) how many general practitioners in Wales he has met to discuss his proposals concerning the National Health Service ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Walker : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister gave today.
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he has received objections from general practitioners in Wales concerning his National Health Service review proposal ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Walker : I have received comments on the White Paper from a number of general medical practitioners and I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister gave today.
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what research or assessment his Department has
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undertaken into the impact on general practitioners in Wales of the Department of Health's proposals for general practitioners ; (2) what research projects his Department has undertaken on the practices of general practitioners in rural Wales.Mr. Peter Walker : The document "A New Contract" setting out proposals for changes in the arrangement for the remuneration and terms of service for general medical practitioners was issued jointly by the Health Ministers for Wales and England. I will be having discussions with representatives of the GPs.
Broadleaved Woodland Grant Scheme
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on how many occasions the Forestry Commission awarded grants under the broadleaved woodland grant scheme in Wales between its inception and closure ; and on how many occasions the grant of £100 for obtaining professional advice in the preparation of a plan of operations under the BWGS was awarded.
Mr. Peter Waker : To date, the Forestry Commission has approved 671 applications for grant under the broadleaved woodland grant scheme in Wales. The grant of £100 has been paid on 142 of those applications.
Welsh Water Authority
Mr. Gwilym Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he has received any response from the Welsh water authority following the Monopolies and Mergers Commission's report ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Walker : I have received the authority's initial response, which has been published today, and have placed a copy in the Library of the House.
The Monopolies and Mergers Commission was asked to report on the efficiency and costs of, and the services provided by, Welsh Water. After a thorough investigation, for which I am grateful, the Commission made 24 recommendations, eight of which it considered should be a matter of priority for the authority. Overall the Commission considered that, although it had detailed comments to make, the authority now had the right policies in place.
The recommendation that the Commission considered should be a matter of priority for the authority related to the implementation of the new customer accounting system, the collection of arrears of debt, manpower efficiency, the proposed cost and saving investment strategy, the development of business information systems, a work planning system to introduce and monitor performance targets for small jobs, the efficiency of section 15 agencies, the relationship between costs and services and the need for the athority to undertake rigorous and critical examination of its own operations.
The authority has successfully implemented its new customer accounting system, ahead of schedule, and introduced a work planning system to bring in and monitor performance targets for small jobs. Effective action is in hand to implement the other recommendations. A number of the recommendations not in these priority categories have also been implemented.
I am pleased to note that the authority is taking a positive stance in its consideration of the report ;
Column 701
implementation of its detailed recommendations will further improve the authority's performance and add to the considerable strides it has made towards increased efficiency.I have drawn the Commission's report and this first response by the Welsh water authority to the attention of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment so that he can bring both to the attention of the other regional water authorities.
THE ARTS
Scottish Arts Council
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Minister for the Arts what was the Scottish Arts Council grant in current prices in each year from 1978.
Mr. Luce : The information requested is as follows :
|£
------------------------------------------
1978-79 |13,547,311
1979-80 |14,390,861
1980-81 |13,561,463
1981-82 |13,970,323
1982-83 |14,555,203
1983-84 |<1>15,385,276
1984-85 |14,765,495
1985-86 |15,083,981
1986-87 |15,228,263
1987-88 |15,268,807
1988-89 |15,258,000
<1> Included £917,851 at 1983-84 prices
for Scottish Opera deficit.
Items in Lieu of Tax
Mr. Baldry : To ask the Minister for the Arts if there have been any items accepted in lieu of tax or allocated since he last made an announcement on the subject to the House.
Mr. Luce : Since my announcement on 26 January at column 665, I am pleased to announce that a painting by Ce zanne, "Alle e a Chantilly" has been accepted in lieu of capital transfer tax. The amount of tax satisfied was £3,387,556 and was met by a call on the Reserve. A decision as to the allocation of this painting has not yet been taken.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT AGENCY
Comic Relief
Mr. John Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to increase contributions to the developing world over the next three years in the light of the public response to comic relief.
Mr. Chris Patten : I pay tribute to the remarkable fund-raising achievement of comic relief and to the generosity of the British public. We are currently discussing with comic relief how we can fund projects with it so that the proceeds go much further. The aid programme is planned to grow in real terms over the next three years.
Column 702
Namibia
Mr. Rathbone : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what special assistance he is planning for Namibia during its period of transition to independence.
Mr. Chris Patten : We shall maintain the existing programme of English language training and scholarships for Namibians living both within and outside the country, at a cost of about £1.5 million annually. I announced recently a contribution of £500,000 towards the programme for the repatriation of refugees being undertaken by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. We are ready to help also with the costs of relocating exiled Namibian institutions.
NATIONAL FINANCE
National Debt
Mr. Robert Banks : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the amounts of the national debt owing on the day of the spring Budget for each of the last 10 years.
Mr. Lilley : National debt is conventionally defined as the liabilities of the national loans fund, which is not the most useful or comprehensive measure of public sector indebtedness. It does not cover the whole of central government, it excludes entirely the debt of other parts of public sector, and it take no account of the public sector's short term assets.
A more useful measure of public sector indebtedness is the net public sector debt which includes debt held by local authorities and public corporations, as well as central Government. It also takes account of the public sector's short term assets. Net public sector debt is measured on 31 March each year, and the figures for the last 10 years are :
|£ billion |Per cent. of GDP
--------------------------------------------------------------------
1978 |87.9 |54.2
1979 |95.3 |50.6
1980 |102.1 |45.6
1981 |116.5 |47.0
1982 |127.2 |46.7
1983 |135.0 |45.5
1984 |147.3 |46.2
1985 |160.7 |46.3
1986 |166.8 |44.8
1987 |171.1 |42.2
1988 |171.3 |38.2
1989<1> |157.0 |32.0
<1>Forecast.
Exchange Equalisation Account
Mr. Tim Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what transfers were made to the exchange equalisation account from the national loans fund and vice versa in each month from April 1988 to February 1989.
Mr. Lilley : The net transfer between the National Loans Fund and the exchange equalisation account over the financial year is published in table 16.7 of the Central Statistical Office's annual "Abstract of Statistics".
Column 703
Gilts
Mr. Tim Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what gilts have been brought in by the Bank of England in each month from April 1988 to February 1989.
Mr. Lilley : The most recent and comprehensive figures for official transaction in gilts are contained in table 8 of the February 1989 Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin. (These figures are published on a quarterly rather than monthly basis).
It is not the practice to give information on the particular stocks involved in these transactions on grounds of market sensitivity.
Treasury Loan
Mr. Tim Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when 15 per cent. Treasury loan 1998 was first issued ; how much was issued ; at what price ; how much is now outstanding ; and what is the highest coupon gilt issued.
Mr. Lilley : 15 per cent. Treasury loan 1998 was first issued on 14 October 1976 and the original amount was £600 million nominal. The issue price was £96. There is currently £1,100 million nominal outstanding. The highest coupon gilt ever issued and the highest coupon currently outstanding are 15 per cent.
Value Added Tax
Mr. Heddle : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what considerations caused him to revise the proposals on value added tax on non -residential construction from those originally published on 21 June 1988.
Mr. Lilley : I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk, South (Mr. Yeo) on 6 February at columns 548-50.
Mr. Heddle : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will specify the assumptions and forecasts he has made about non-residential construction in the private sector in each of the years 1989-90, 1990-91, 1991-92, and 1992-93, in calculating value added tax yield in future years on such construction.
Mr. Lilley : The assumptions and forecasts used to calculate the VAT yield from non-residential construction in 1989-90 and 1990-91 are consistent with the economic forecasts contained in the FSBR.
Mr. Heddle : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether he has undertaken any study into the effect of the output and activity of the construction industry of his proposals for applying value added tax to non- residential construction ;
(2) whether he has undertaken any study into the likely effect on employment in the construction industry of his proposals for applying value added tax to non-residential construction ;
(3) whether he has undertaken any study into the likely effect on urban development corporations of applying value added tax to non-residential construction ;
(4) whether he has undertaken any study into the likely effect on inner city regeneration of his proposals for applying value added tax to non- residential construction.
Mr. Lilley : As I made clear in my statements on 21 June 1988 and 6 February 1989, the Government had no choice
Column 704
but to remove the zero-rating found unlawful by the European Court of Justice. After consulting the construction and property industries, the Government are satisfied that the best solution is to combine the taxations of certain new construction with the landlord's option to tax rents, so that the tax could "wash through" the system to the maximum possible extent.Interest Rates
Mr. Wareing : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are interest rates in (a) Britain and (b) Germany.
Mr. Lilley : Three-month interbank rates on 20 March were 13.1 per cent. in the United Kingdom and 6.6 per cent. in Germany.
Take-home Pay
Mr. Robert G. Hughes : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the percentage increase in the real take-home pay of a married man with two children on half average male earnings from 1978-79 to 1988-89.
Mr. Norman Lamont : I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Lancashire, West (Mr. Hind) on 22 March.
TRANSPORT
Trunk Roads
Sir Eldon Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has completed his review of the trunk road network ; and if he is now in a position to improve the A11 trunk road through Elveden, Suffolk.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : The review of the trunk road programme is still in progress. Possible improvements to the A11 are being considered along with many other candidates for inclusion. Each must compete on its merits for a share of the resources available. We expect to make an announcement later in the spring. I could not say more about the prospects for particular proposals before then. We shall look separately at the possibility of shorter term improvement of the junction of the A11 and the B1106 at Elveden when we receive the report from Suffolk county council to which I referred in my reply to my hon. Friend on 14 March 1989 at column 205 .
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