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Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 11 April 1989
HOME DEPARTMENT
Electoral Boundaries (Liverpool)
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the timetable for the redrawing of ward and constituency boundaries in Liverpool.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : There are no immediate plans to review either the ward or constituency boundaries of Liverpool. The Local Government Boundary Commission for England will review the city's external boundaries in its mandatory review of metropolitan district boundaries, due for completion in 1992. The Parliamentary Boundary Commission for England will review the boundaries of constituencies in Liverpool in its general review of constituencies in England, provisionally due to start in 1991.
Members (Prison Visits)
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the procedures that an hon. Member needs to follow when seeking to visit a constituent detained in one of Her Majesty's prisons.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : He or she should contact the governor of the prison, who will normally issue a special visiting order admitting the hon. or right hon. Member to the prison.
Correspondence
Mr. Leighton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Newham, North-East dated 6 March on Paul Higgins.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : A reply was sent on 6 April to the hon. Member concerning Mr. Higgins' appeal. A further letter will be sent to the hon. Member as soon as inquiries about Mr. Higgins' treatment in custody have been completed.
Safer Cities Programme
Mr. Leighton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the criteria by which London boroughs are selected for the safer cities programme.
Mr. John Patten : The criteria used to select safer cities initiatives are that an area must (i) be an urban programme area ; (ii) have a high crime rate ; (iii) be targeted for Government action and (iv) be willing to participate in the safer cities programme. These criteria apply to all areas selected for inclusion in the programme including the London boroughs.
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Telephone Tapping
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will seek to have included in future reports made under section 8 of the Interception of Communications Act 1985, details of the number of interceptions made on telephones belonging to (a) hon. and right hon. Members, (b) leaders of trades unions and (c) elected representatives of public bodies.
Mr. Hurd : The annex to the report for 1988 of the commissioner appointed under section 8 of the Interception of Communications Act 1985 gave the information concerning the number of warrants issued which the commissioner judged could be published without harming national security. I see no reason to take a different view or to depart from the established policy of successive Governments of not commenting on allegations relating to the interception of communications. The commissioner said in his report he was satisfied from his examination of cases that the issuing of the warrant in each case was justified on one or more of the grounds set out in section 2(2) of the 1985 Act. With regard to allegations of the interception of the telephones of Members of Parliament, the position remains as set out by the then Prime Minister the Lord Wilson of Rievaulx on 17 November 1966 at columns 634-41 and reaffirmed since by successive Governments
Basildon (Crime Statistics)
Mr. Amess : To ask the Secretary of State for Home Department what are the latest crime figures for Basildon and for the same period in each of the last four years.
Mr. John Patten : The information requested is published annually in the report of the chief constable of the Essex police and is given in the following table.
|c|Notifiable offences recorded by the police in Basildon|c| Year |Number of offences --------------------------------------------------------- 1984 |11,410 1985 |10,534 1986 |13,581 1987 |13,717 1988 |12,546
Arson
Mr. Wheeler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to support the proposed formation of the arson bureau, which was recommended in the Home Office standing conference on crime prevention report "The Prevention of Arson" ; what steps have been taken to date ; and when the bureau is likely to be running.
Mr. John Patten : I believe that such a bureau might make a useful reduction in the problems of arson. It will first be necessary to develop the working party's proposals to see whether a precise basis for an arson bureau can be established which is acceptable to the Government, the insurers and to the business community. Discussions for that purpose are in hand.
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Prisons
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons prisoners Ella O'Dwyer and Martina Anderson, in H-wing of Durham prison, were locked up under rule 43 on 4 March ; and for how long.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Ms. Ella O'Dwyer and Ms. Martina Anderson were removed from normal association with other inmates in the wing for a period of two weeks in the interests of good order and discipline. The authority under prison rule 43 was given by a member of the board of visitors.
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what complaint mechanisms there are for prisoners who consider their living conditions to be intolerable.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Prisoners may raise complaints informally with members of the prison staff, but there is a provision under the prison rules for them to see on request the governor, a visiting officer of the Secretary of State, or a member of the board of visitors on any matter. They may also petition the Secretary of State, Parliament or the Queen, write to their Member of Parliament (who may refer a complaint to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration), the European Commissioner for Human Rights, or seek redress through the courts.
Deportation
Mr. Tim Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons were removed under deportation powers in 1987 and 1988 ; and whether he will make a statement.
Mr. Renton : A total of 1,388 persons were removed under the deportation powers in 1988, a 50 per cent. increase on the 923 removed in 1987. While the number of deportation orders enforced in the two years was much the same (776 in 1987 and 745 in 1988), the numbers of supervised departures increased very substantially from 147 in 1987 to 643 in 1988. This increase occurred among those removed under section 3(5)(a) of the Immigration Act 1971 for overstaying or working in breach of their conditions. It reflects the combined impact of more effective administrative arrangements introduced on 1 August 1988 and the provisions in the Immigration Act 1988 which restricted the appeal rights of those who had been here for less than seven years to matters of fact and which also provided authority to meet the cost of all supervised departures.
The increases in the figures reflect the Government's determination to make every effort to deal quickly and effectively with those who offend against the immigration laws. As was announced when the Government's expenditure plans were published, we intend to increase the resources devoted to enforcement of the immigration laws over the next three years.
More detailed figures on those removed under the enforcement powers, covering illegal entrants as well as those removed under the deportation process, were published in "Control of Immigration : Statistics--Fourth Quarter and Year 1988" (Home Office Statistical Bulletin 10/89), a copy of which is in the Library.
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FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Kircindeep Singh
Mr. Bidwell : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he is yet in a position to write to the hon. Member for Ealing, Southall concerning the immigration case of Kircindeep Singh in India, mentioned by the Minister of State, Home Office as having been referred to him in a letter dated 6 March.
Mr. Eggar : A reply was sent to the hon. Gentleman on 6 April 1989.
Kampuchea
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will be willing to offer British personnel for an international control mission to monitor a Kampuchean settlement.
Mr. Eggar : It is too soon to say what sort of international presence may be required in the event of a Cambodian settlement, and, hence, the nature of a possible British contribution.
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) if he has expressed concern to Prince Sihanouk over the prince's proposal to bring Khmer Rouge troops back into Kampuchea in the context of a settlement ;
(2) with which members of the Khmer Rouge leadership Her Majesty's Government are prepared to deal ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Eggar : We have no dealings with the Khmer Rouge leadership. Prince Sihanouk has proposed the inclusion of the Khmer Rouge, but excluding Pol Pot, in an interim Government. If some Khmer Rouge involvement proved acceptable to the Cambodian factions, we would not oppose it, though it is clear that neither Pol Pot himself nor his cronies have any place in a peaceful settlement.
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to offer full support for Prince Sihanouk should the prince seek to negotiate with Premier Hun Sen on the basis of backing from the West.
Mr. Eggar : We have made it clear on many occasions that we fully support Prince Sihanouk's efforts to bring about a peaceful and durable settlement in Cambodia.
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will raise the subject of Kampuchea with Mr. Gorbachev and Mr. Deng Xiao Ping in advance of their Sino-Soviet summit in May emphasising Her Majesty's Government's concern over the threat to a peaceful settlement posed by the Khmer Rouge.
Mr. Eggar : Cambodia was one of many issues touched on during Mr. Gorbachev's visit to Britain on 5-7 April. We keep in close touch with the Soviet and Chinese Governments on this subject.
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will propose an amendment to the United Nations' resolution on Kampuchea naming the leadership of the Khmer Rouge as being unfit ever to govern Kampuchea again.
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Mr. Eggar : The terms of any future United Nations resolution on Cambodia will depend on developments. I hope that, by the next session of the General Assembly, Vietnam will have withdrawn completely from its illegal occupation, as called for in successive General Assembly resolutions.
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the European Council of Ministers last discussed the future of Kampuchea ; what issues were raised ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Eggar : Cambodia is regularly discussed in the context of political co-operation amongst the Twelve. The Twelve support efforts to restore an independent, democratic, neutral and non-aligned Cambodia, and call for early and unconditional Vietnamese withdrawal.
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support the United Kingdom has given to the Kampuchea peace talks ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Eggar : We have supported the efforts of Prince Sihanouk and the ASEAN, as well as the two Jakarta informal meetings and talks between the factions in France and elsewhere. We have raised the issue among the five permanent members of the Security Council. With our EC partners we have issued several statements.
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Northfield (Mr. King), Official Report, 8 March, column 877, that he has placed the matter of Kampuchea on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council, if he will now take the issue forward as a matter of urgency.
Mr. Eggar : As my right hon. and learned Friend stated in his reply, the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council will carry forward discussion of Cambodia when they feel it is appropriate.
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Thai Government about the future of Khmer Rouge soldiers based in camps on the Thai/Kampuchea border and how the Thais propose to disarm and neutralise the threat of the Khmer Rouge army to peace and development in both Kampuchea and Thailand.
Mr. Eggar : We regularly discuss the Cambodian problem with Thailand (and other members of the Association of South East Asian Nations). We believe that the only framework for removing any threat from Khmer Rouge forces is a peaceful political settlement.
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will initiate proposals at the United Nations for the Kampuchean refugees in camps in Thailand to be given refugee status and the protection and rights afforded to refugees.
Mr. Eggar : These Cambodians are in Thailand as a result of Vietnam's occupation of their country. We hope that they will soon be able to return in safety. The question of refugee status for any individual in Thailand is a matter for the Thai authorities.
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will initiate proposals to
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extend United Nation's protection in the Kampuchean refugee camps in Thailand to ensure that those wishing to leave camps controlled by the Khmer Rouge may do so safely.Mr. Eggar : We have taken a leading role with the Thai Government and the relevant United Nations agencies in securing proper access by United Nations personnel to Khmer Rouge-controlled camps. The Thai Government do not allow displaced persons in any of the Cambodian camps to leave them freely.
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) if he will hold talks with representatives of the People's Republic of Kampuchea ;
(2) if, following the recent establishment by the Government of Thailand and the Government of Kampuchea of a joint committee to oversee economic co -operation, he will send a delegation to Kampuchea to discuss future aid, trade and commercial links between the United Kingdom and Kampuchea.
Mr. Eggar : We have no plans at present to alter our policy towards the so-called People's Republic of Kampuchea.
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if, following Prince Sihanouk's recent statement that the coalition Government of democratic Kampuchea is dominated by the Khmer Rouge, he will seek to have CGDK removed from the United Nations where they occupy a seat.
Mr. Eggar : I refer the hon. Lady to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State to the hon. Member for Kirkcaldy (Dr. Moonie) on 5 December 1988 at column 40 .
Human Rights
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much has been spent by the Government since 1979 in fighting cases before the European Court of Human Rights up to, and including the hearing of 28 March ; how much has been paid for the instruction of lawyers ; what are the estimated costs in employees' time, travelling and accommodation costs of officials involved in these cases ; how much has been paid out in costs or expenses and compensation by the Government following rulings by the court ; and if he will list the sums involved in each case which has reached a ruling stage.
Mrs. Chalker : The information requested is given in the accompanying table.
It is not the practice to publish fees paid to individual counsel in specific cases. The total Government legal costs incurred to date in relation to the 24 cases before the court between 1979 and 28 March 1989 is approximately £215,000.
It is not possible to estimate the costs in respect of officials' time, travel and accommodation for each of these cases.
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Case |Compensation paid to the|Costs and expenses paid
|applicant/s |to the applicant/s
|(Including proceedings
|prior to those before
|the Court)
|£ |£
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday Times |- |22,626.78
Young, James & Webster |74,917.00 |61,774.00
Dudgeon |- |3,315.00
X |- |64,811.11
Campbell & Cosans |3,000.00 |9,577.13
Silver & Others |- |33,066.59
Campbell & Fell |- |13,000.00
Malone |- |3,744.10
Ashingdane |- |-
Abdulaziz, Cabales &
Balkandali |<1>- |32,000.00
James & Others |- |-
Lithgow & Others |- |-
Rees |- |-
Gillow<2> |10,735.00 |2,134.00
Weeks |8,000.00 |1,793.33
AGOSI |- |-
Monnel & Morris |- |-
Boyle & Rice |- |3,450.00
O |5,000.00 |9,235.25
H |12,000.00 |4,966.55
W |12,000.00 |28,246.94
B |12,000.00 |12,075.00
R |8,000.00 |6,229.50
Brogan |<3>
<1> Approximate.
<2> These sums were reimbursed by the Government of Guernsey.
<3> Judgment awaited.
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NATIONAL FINANCE
714 Certificates
Mr. Steel : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many section 714 certificates have been issued to the self-employed in each of the last five years ; and how many of these have been issued to persons already engaged in full-time employment paying income tax through the PAYE system.
Mr. Lawson : There are several types of 714 exemption certificate. 714I and 714S certificates are issued only to self-employed individuals. 714P certificates are issued to partnerships and companies but it is not possible to say how many are issued to each category.
The numbers of certificates issued, including renewals, in each of the last five years are :
Year |714I & S|714P -------------------------------------- 1984-85 |149,410 |29,877 1985-86 |164,856 |31,986 1986-87 |167,316 |32,627 1987-88 |180,562 |32,074 <1>1988-89 |187,994 |34,509 <1> to 29 March 1989.
There is no record of issues to persons already engaged in full-time employment taxed through the PAYE system.
Whisky (Excise Duty)
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish (a) the annual amount of revenue accruing to the Exchequer in real terms from the levying of excise duty on Scotch whisky and (b) the proportion of excise duty which has arisen from whisky production in Speyside, in the latest year for which figures are available.
Mr. Lilley : During 1987-88 an estimated £0.7 billion accrued to the Exchequer from clearances to the home market of whisky produced in the United Kingdom. This figure includes a small amount attributable to production outside Scotland. An estimate is not available of the proportion of the tax borne by production in Speyside.
Third World Debt
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether Her Majesty's Government support the initiative by United States Treasury Secretary Nicholas Brady to provide debt relief to major Third world debtors.
Mr. Lilley : The United Kingdom welcomes the recognition that the next phase of the debt strategy can give greater emphasis to debt reduction. It believes that this should not require a transfer of risk from the private to the public sector.
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action Her Majesty's Government intend to take, in support of the Brady initiative, to persuade British banks to reduce the debt and the debt service of major Third world debtors.
Mr. Lilley : The interim committee of the IMF encouraged the Governments of creditor countries to review the extent to which tax, regulatory and accounting
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systems might unnecessarily constrain the participation of commercial banks in debt reduction. It does not appear that such obstacles arise in the United Kingdom, but the United Kingdom has agreed to review its policies in these areas. G7 Ministers agreed that concrete negotiations on debt and debt service reduction are a matter for the debtor countries and the commercial banks.Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if Her Majesty's Government will support a United States initiative to increase the resources of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank so that greater debt relief can be provided for major Third world debtors.
Mr. Lilley : Secretary Brady has not proposed that the resources of the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank should be increased. A general capital increase at the World Bank of $74.8 billion was agreed in February 1988. The United Kingdom share was $3.7 billion. The interim committee has asked the executive board of the IMF to complete its work on the ninth review of quotas with a view to a decision by the board of governors before the end of this year.
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, following the International Monetary Fund riots in Venezuela, whether it remains the Government's policy only to assist major Third world debtors who comply strictly with International Monetary Fund adjustment policies.
Mr. Lilley : The United Kingdom fully supports the internationally agreed strategy for middle-income debtors which involves the adoption by debtors of appropriate strong adjustment policies supported by the IMF and World Bank in conjunction with the provision of finance by creditors. Economic reform is vital to this process, which aims to restore growth and creditworthiness. The United Kingdom is playing an important role through its financial support to the international financial institutions, through Paris Club reschedulings and the provision of new export credits, and by maintaining and encouraging an open trading system and a favourable world economic environment.
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when Her Majesty's Government anticipate that positive flows of resources to the major Third world debtors will be resumed.
Mr. Lilley : Future resource flows to the major Third world debtors will depend in large part on the efforts of the countries themselves to repatriate flight capital and attract inward direct investment. The OECD estimates that in 1987 net resource flows to developing countries as a whole less net investment income paid by these countries were positive by $30 billion.
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information he has on what percentage of the pre-tax profits of British banks was accounted for by debt servicing and repayments by major Third world borrowers in each of the last five years.
Mr. Lilley : Data are not collected centrally in the form requested.
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Balance of Payments
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the balance of payments deficit as a percentage of gross domestic product in (a) 1974 and (b) 1988.
Mr. Major : The current account deficit on the balance of payments was equivalent to 3.8 per cent. of GDP in 1974. In 1988 the deficit was equivalent to 3.2 per cent. of GDP.
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EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Capital Investment
Mr. Leighton : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what has been the level of capital investment in each year since 1979 in constant prices in (a) schools, (b) polytechnics, (c) universities.
Mr. Jackson : The information available is as follows :
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£000 (1979 Prices)
|c|Capital expenditure on Maintained Schools, Voluntary Aided and Special Agreement Schools,
Polytechnics and Universities.|c|
Schools
|Maintained |Voluntary Aided|Polytechnics |Universities
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1979-80 |258,155 |n/a |19,480 |153,800
1980-81 |292,157 |n/a |28,553 |144,600
1981-82 |200,860 |n/a |24,128 |138,800
1982-83 |184,650 |n/a |24,675 |134,300
1983-84 |186,021 |13,144 |20,754 |123,900
1984-85 |188,215 |16,272 |20,633 |122,200
1985-86 |189,164 |19,381 |23,501 |128,300
1986-87 |192,245 |16,338 |23,003 |136,700
1987-88 |<1> |18,184 |<1> |128,800
1988-89 |<1> |22,955 |<1> |130,600
<1> Not yet available.
The figures above relate to capital expenditure on schools and polytechnics in England whereas the universities figures are for Great Britain and apply to grants made on the advice of the University Grants Committee. Universities also have access to capital funding from other Government Departments, research councils and their own private funds, but such expenditure cannot be separately identified.
The figures for voluntary aided and special agreement schools show the total value for grant aided capital expenditure, including the governors' contribution of 15 per cent. Figures for the years prior to 1983-84 are not readily available.
St. Anne's Primary School, Worksop
Mr. Ashton : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science why his department did not approve additional expenditure on St. Anne's primary school, Worksop, as requested by the governors and the Southwell diocesan education committee and Nottingham county council, in their submission to him on 14 September 1988.
Mr. Butcher : It was not possible to provide an allocation for this school from the limited resources available because, under the Department's well-publicised criteria, it had a lower priority than the approved statutory proposals for other schools in south Worksop.
Mr. Ashton : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps he intends to take to reduce the split-site operation of St. Anne's primary school, Worksop.
Mr. Butcher : It is for the diocese and governors, in consultation with the Nottinghamshire LEA, to decide on priorities for improving educational facilities at this school. Should a scheme to unite the school on one site be submitted with the authority's plans for 1990-91 we shall give it most careful consideration in accordance with the criteria that we apply to all similar proposals.
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Aided Schools
Mr. Ashton : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science why his Department refuses to give priority to capital allocation for projects carried out by governors of aided schools unless they are for basic need in housing growth areas and not simply for improvement.
Mr. Butcher : Since resources available for providing grant aid are limited, my right hon. Friend has to apply a series of criteria in order to determine which of the many applications he receives should receive priority. These are, first, committed expenditure on projects which are already under way, second, basic need for additional school places in areas of population growth, third, building work which governors have a statutory duty to undertake as a result of proposals approved under section 13 of the 1980 Education Act and, fourth, projects to improve or replace inadequate buildings.
Under-fives
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the individuals appointed to the recently announced committee of inquiry into the educational experience of under-fives, indicating for each the duration they have taught in (a) a nursery school or class and (b) a reception class.
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