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Mr. Peter Bottomley : The Department completed its voluntary survey of the ethnic origins of staff already in post in the autumn of 1987. This information is kept up to date on a continuous basis by asking job applicants to complete a questionnaire about their ethnic origin.
The Cabinet Office will be publishing the results of its national ethnic survey of all Departments later this year.
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he has taken to recruit members of ethnic minorities in top grades of employment at his Department.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : The Civil Service Commission is responsible for recruitment of top grades to all Departments of the Civil Service. Recruitment and promotion are carried out on the principle of fair and open competition.
Transatlantic Flights (Prestwick)
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish in the Official Report figures showing the number of transatlantic flights (a) originating at Prestwick airport and (b) using Prestwick as an interim landing point in the years 1978 to 1988.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : The Department does not have this information. I shall draw my hon. Friend's question to the attention of the chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority, who may be able to provide it at least for the later years.
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Scottish Lowland Air Traffic
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received on the review of Scottish lowland air traffic distribution ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has received a large number of representations about BAA's request for a review of Scottish lowland airports policy, the greater proportion against changing it.
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to publish his review of Scottish lowland air traffic distribution ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : My right hon. Friend is considering BAA plc's request for a review in the light of advice from my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland ; he will make an announcement in due course.
A17-A151 Junction (Lighting)
Sir Richard Body : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of whether the junction of the A17 road with the A151 is adequately illuminated at night.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : We considered the provision of lighting carefully during preparation of the A17 New Washway road scheme. Lighting is both expensive and intrusive and can be justified only where it is expected to make a significant contribution to road safety. The provision of lighting to the west of Boston road roundabout, including the A151 link road junction, could not be justified.
We do not normally light isolated junctions in rural areas except as part of a larger system. Isolated clusters of
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lights can be dangerous because switching from darkness to light and back in quick succession can disorientate drivers on the main road. The proper way to warn drivers of a junction is by adequate signing. This has been done.Mersey Tunnels (Tolls)
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he intends to make the orders authorising an increase in Mersey tunnel tolls ; whether he intends to use his powers under the County of Merseyside Act 1980 to confirm or modify the toll levels for fiscal year 1989-90 ; how any waiving of interest repayments would be authorised and financed ; what are his long-term plans for the financing of the Mersey tunnels ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : On 14 April a letter was sent to the Merseyside passenger transport authority informing it of the Secretary of State's decision to confirm, with modifications, its order setting new toll levels for the Mersey tunnels. The order will be made shortly.
The long-term financing of the tunnels is the responsibility of the PTA. I hope there will now be fresh discussions with the PTA about its options for putting the finances of the tunnels on a sound basis.
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will consider lifting tolls on the Mersey tunnels ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : The Mersey tunnels were promoted by the local authorities under legislation on the basis that they should be tolled. The legislation does not provide for the Secretary of State to abolish tolls.
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will commission a study into the potential increase in traffic using the Mersey tunnels should tolls be lifted.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : The Mersey tunnels are the responsibility of the Merseyside PTA. Any such study would be a matter for it.
Motorways (Speed Limit)
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research his Department has conducted to establish whether a 70 mph limit on motorways is conducive to bunching.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : There is little evidence to suggest that the introduction of the 70 mph speed limit on motorways has contributed to dangerous bunching. The limit has, however, contributed to a reduction in accidents on motorways rather than the increase which might be expected if dangerous bunching was on the increase. The severity of injuries is also lower at lower speeds.
Empty Property
Mr. Soley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of properties owned by his Department and suitable for residential accommodation have been empty for (i) up to a year and (ii) over a year ; and where these properties are located, by region of the United Kingdom or local authority area.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : The information for regions in England is :
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|c|Properties owned by the Department and suitable for residential|c|
|c|accommodation|c|
Region |Number |Percentage empty for up |Percentage empty for over
|to a year |a year
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
South West |139 |15 |5
Eastern |365 |2 |1
South East |210 |7 |3
North West |406 |- |-
East Midlands |104 |11 |10
West Midlands |82 |11 |5
London |866 |2 |3
Yorkshire and
Humberside |54 |13 |11
Northern |29 |- |-
|--- |--- |---
England total |2,255 |4 |3
In Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales the respective Secretaries of State are responsible for the management of land purchased for national road schemes.
Roads (Expenditure)
Mr. Amos : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was spent in 1988-89 under the national roads England vote (class VIII, vote I).
Mr. Peter Bottomley : Expenditure is provisionally estimated at £1, 021.6 million, less than 2 per cent., some £20 million, below the cash limit of £1,041.4 million. This reflects commitment to making full use of provision for roads expenditure within the discipline of cash limits.
Air Security
Mr. Litherland : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will meet the chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority to discuss the introduction of mandatory protective measures for modern aircraft requiring (a) the fitting of locks to doors and latches and (b) the reinforcing of bulkheads and control systems from possible explosive damage ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : The question would be more appropriately directed to the Civil Aviation Authority, which has the statutory responsibility for the safety regulation of civil aviation. I shall bring the hon. Member's concern to the attention to the chairman.
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Empty Property
Mr. Soley : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what percentage of properties owned by his Department and suitable for residential accommodation have been empty for (i) up to a year and (ii) over a year ; and where these properties are located, by region of the United Kingdom or local authority area.
Mrs. Rumbold : The Department of Education and Science owns no residential accommodation.
Modern Hebrew
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what representations he has received about the status of modern Hebrew in the GCSE curriculum ;
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(2) if he will make a statement about the position of modern Hebrew in the GCSE modern language schedules ;(3) if he will consider revising the GCSE schedules to include modern Hebrew ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Rumbold : My right hon. Friend is not aware of any issue concerning the GCSE in modern Hebrew. We assume that the hon. Member is referring to the draft order on modern foreign languages in the national curriculum and the proposals which my right hon. Friend announced in his reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Mr. Knapman) on 3 March at column 338 . My right hon. Friend has received a small number of representations from organisations, local education authorities, teachers and others about the place of modern Hebrew in the national curriculum. We are at present considering the responses received during the consultation period.
Universities (Grants)
Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether the University Grants Commission under its present powers, can divide grants to universities into separate blocks for teaching and for research.
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Mr. Jackson : This would be within the powers available to the Universities Funding Council under the Education Reform Act 1988.
Teachers (Incentive Allowances)
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish a calculation, in relation to his Department's figure of total baseline costs of school teachers' incentive allowances shown in appendix A of Cm. 625, showing how the total figure was derived from the expected numbers of allowances ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Rumbold : The derivation of the figure for the total baseline costs of incentive allowances shown in appendix A of the second report of the interim advisory committee on school teachers' pay and conditions is set out in the following table :
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|c|Estimated numbers<1> and cost<2> of incentive allowances, financial year 1989-90|c|
Rate |Level of allowance |Numbers in ordinary|Numbers in special |Total numbers |Total cost
|schools |schools
|(£) |(000's) |(000's) |(000's) |(£ million)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A |801 |53.5 |0 |53.5 |49.4
B |1,200 |54.2 |11.5 |65.7 |90.8
C |2,400 |14.8 |2.1 |16.9 |46.7
D |3,201 |26.1 |0.3 |26.4 |97.4
E |4,401 |8.9 |0.1 |9.0 |45.6
|---
Total |329.9
<1>Numbers are a financial year average of the estimates for the school years 1988-89 and 1989-90. These take the accelerated introduction
of the A allowances into account.
<2>The total cost figure includes employers' oncosts.
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what announcements he made in 1988, in relation to school teachers' pay and allowances for 1988-89, concerning the total value or cost of incentive allowances payable in that year ; if he will publish a calculation for each such figure of total value or cost showing how the total figure was derived from the expected numbers of allowances ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Rumbold : My right hon. Friend made no such announcements in 1988.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Attendance Allowance
Sir John Farr : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he expects people who are terminally ill to be able to claim attendance allowance immediately, in line with the recommendation of the recent Social Security Advisory Committee report ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Scott : I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to the right hon. and learned Member for Aberavon (Mr. Morris) on 6 February at column 490.
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Empty Property
Mr. Soley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what percentage of properties owned by his Department and suitable for residential accommodation have been empty for (i) up to a year and (ii) over a year ; and where these properties are located, by region of the United Kingdom or local authority area.
Mr Peter Lloyd : All property occupied by the Department is vested in my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment ; any surplus property is returned to the Property Services Agency for reuse or disposal as appropriate.
Social Fund
Mr. Eastham : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many referrals have been made to the social fund inspectors ; of these, how many have been referred back to Department of Social Security local offices for reconsideration ; how many of the decisions referred back to the local office have been altered and if he will also split the figures issued (a) between community care grants, budgeting loans and crisis loans and (b) and by region.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I am advised by the social fund commissioner that between 11 April 1988 and 31 March 1989 social fund inspectors received 2,954 applications for
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review. A total of 1,109 cases have been referred back to social fund officers for determination. The regional details are as follows :Column 271
|c|Table 1-Applications for review|c|
|Budgeting loans |Crisis loans |Community care grants|Totals
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
London North |53 |20 |145 |218
London South |43 |12 |51 |106
Midlands |139 |38 |158 |335
North Eastern |471 |26 |223 |720
North Western |412 |16 |131 |559
Scotland |529 |29 |232 |790
Wales and South Western |122 |21 |83 |226
|------- |------- |------- |-------
Totals |1,769 |162 |1,023 |2,954
|c|Table 2-Applications referred back to the SFO for determination|c|
|Budgeting loans |Crisis loans |Community care grants|Totals
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
London North |21 |5 |75 |101
London South |17 |4 |16 |37
Midlands |58 |16 |56 |130
North Eastern |183 |5 |90 |278
North Western |185 |1 |54 |240
Scotland |164 |9 |63 |236
Wales and South Western |46 |5 |36 |87
|------- |------- |------- |-------
Totals |674 |45 |390 |1,109
|c|Table 3-Applications redetermined in the applicant's favour|c|
|Budgeting loans |Crisis loans |Community care grants |Totals |Decisions not completed
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
London North |5 |2 |35 |42 |22
London South |5 |0 |4 |9 |7
Midlands |24 |3 |29 |56 |18
North Eastern |82 |1 |38 |121 |15
North Western |68 |0 |19 |87 |34
Scotland |77 |5 |36 |118 |18
Wales and South Western |17 |2 |18 |37 |8
|------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Totals |278 |13 |179 |470 |122
Community Care Grants
Mrs. Beckett : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether he will issue a direction extending eligibility for community care grants to people leaving institutional care whose income is above income support level because they are entitled to invalidity benefit.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I refer the hon. Member to my hon. Friend's reply to the hon. Member for Nottingham, North (Mr. Allen) on 16 December at column 750-51.
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will state for the financial year 1988-89, the number of claimants who were awarded and accepted (a) a social fund loan and (b) a community care grant as a percentage of the total number who received single payments in 1987-88 ; and in each case, what was the proportion which these represented of the total number of income support, supplementary benefit, claimants.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Information on the number of individuals receiving an award is not collected.
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will state for the financial year 1988-89, the number of income support claimants awarded and
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accepting (a) two budgeting loans, (b) three budgeting loans, (c) four budgeting loans, (d) five budgeting loans and (e) six or more budgeting loans.Mr. Peter Lloyd : The information is not collected and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will state, for the financial year 1988-89, the number of his Department's local offices spending less than (a) 50 per cent., (b) 60 per cent. and (c) 75 per cent. of their community care grant budget.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Such information for the period April 1988 to February 1989 is available in the Library.
Information for March 1989 will be placed in the Library later this month.
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will state, for the financial year 1988-89, the proportion of total social fund expenditure which has been subsequently written off as unrecoverable.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Information is available only for the period ending 30 September 1989. The details are set out as follows and are provisional :
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|£
-------------------------------------
Funeral payments |6,354,434
Budgeting loans |4,315
Crisis loans |10,920
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will state, for the financial year 1988-89, the proportion of social fund loan application refusals which were issued on the grounds of the claimant's inability to repay.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Only 1 per cent. of applications processed were refused on grounds of the applicant's inability to repay.
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Benefits
Mrs. Beckett : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will state the value in real terms both in absolute figures and as a percentage, of retirement and other state pensions and all other welfare and national insurance benefits and allowances paid in November 1979 in relation to those to be paid from April 1988 ; and if he will indicate the actual figure for each benefit in each year.
Mr. Scott : The comparisons requested between benefit rates in November 1979 and April 1988 are set out as follows. Comparisons are given only for those benefits in existence at both dates. Benefit rates for the intervening years are set out in "Social Security Statistics 1988", a copy of which is in the Library.
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|November 1979<1> rates in|April 1988 rates |Percentage change in real
|real terms |terms
|£ |£
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Retirement pension<2>
Single person |40.91 |41.15 |0.6
Married couple |65.50 |65.90 |0.6
Unemployment benefit<3>
Single person |32.48 |32.75 |0.8
Married couple |52.59 |52.95 |0.7
Sickness benefit<3>
Single person |32.48 |31.30 |-3.6
Married couple |52.59 |50.70 |-3.6
Industrial disablement benefit<4> |66.72 |67.20 |0.7
Industrial death benefit<5> |41.88 |41.15 |-1.7
Maternity allowance
Single person |32.48 |31.30 |-3.6
Married couple |52.59 |50.70 |-3.6
Non-contributory retirement pension
Single person |24.58 |24.75 |0.7
Married couple |39.33 |39.55 |0.6
War disablement pension<6> |66.72 |67.20 |0.7
War widows' pension<7> |53.47 |53.75 |0.5
Attendance allowance
Higher rate |32.66 |32.95 |0.9
Lower rate |21.77 |22.00 |1.0
Invalid care allowance
Single person |24.58 |24.75 |0.7
Married couple |39.33 |39.55 |0.6
Severe disablement allowance
Single person |24.58 |24.75 |0.7
Married couple |39.33 |39.55 |0.6
Mobility allowance |21.07 |23.05 |9.4
Child benefit<8> |7.02 |7.25 |3.2
One parent benefit |4.39 |4.90 |11.6
<1>Benefit rates for 1979 to 1982 were set as a result of a forecast of future inflation, rather than by the historic method used since
1983; this discontinuity makes comparisons difficult.
<2>The basic rate of benefit, which is also the basic rate of benefit for invalidity pension and widow's pension.
<3>Rate for benefit under pension age.
<4>100 per cent. disablement pension.
<5>Higher permanent rate. Since 11 April 1988, this benefit is paid only to those already in receipt at 11 April 1988.
<6>100 per cent. disablement pension for other ranks.
<7>Higher rate.
<8>Rate in 1979 was set in April.
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Rating Reform
Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security further to his reply of 14 April to the hon. Member for Glasgow, Govan, Official Report, column 743, on deductions from benefits for payment of the poll tax, on what authority the interim advice to which he referred was given.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The interim advice was issued on the authority of officials within the headquarters of the Department. It took the form of an internal management memorandum and was designed to keep regional and local staff abreast of developments in this area. The content of the memorandum paraphrases the Community Charges (Deductions from Income Support) (Scotland) Regulations 1989 (SI 1989 No. 507) which came into force on 8 April 1989.
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Child Benefit
Mr. Squire : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the level of child benefit in 1989-90 if the increase in tax- free income of taxpayers with children were maintained at the same level as that of taxpayers without children in relation to the 1978-79 level.
Mr. Peter Lloyd [holding answer 21 December 1988] : Child benefit is a part of the public expenditure programme not a personal allowance against income-tax. For the purposes of answering this question, in the table, personal income tax allowance in both 1978-79 and 1989-90 have been converted into tax revenue foregone and added to the annual value of child benefit in each year. The results suggest that, in order to restore parity in the coming financial year with 1978-79 for married taxpayers with and without children, child benefit would have to be reduced by 32p for one-earner married couples with one or two children and by 17p for couples with three children. If the comparison were based on single taxpayers, the corresponding reductions would be 50p and 30p.
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|c|Reductions in child benefit needed to maintain the 1978-79 level of tax-free income for taxpayers with and without children|c|
|Single person |Married couple |Married Couple, 1 child,|Married couple, 2 |Married couple 3
|aged 3 |children, aged 4, 6 |children, aged 3, 8, 11
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Child Benefit and tax not paid on
allowances 1978-79 (£pa) |325.05 |506.55 |673.19 |839.83 |1,018.02
Note 1
Child Benefit and tax not paid on
allowances 1989-90 (£pa) |696.25 |1,093.75 |1,470.75 |1,847.75 |2,224.75
Note 1
Child Benefit and tax not paid on
allowances 1989-90 if married
couple with children increased
at same ratio as married couple
without children |- |- |1,454.09 |1,814.03 |2,198.92
Change in child benefit required in
1989-90 to restore to position in
1978-79 (£ per child per week) |- |- |-0.32 |-0.32 |-0.17
Child Benefit and tax not paid on
allowances 1989-90 if married
couple with children increased
at same ratio as single person |- |- |1,440.63 |1,797.24 |2,178.56
Change in child benefit required in
1989-90 to restore to position in
1978-79 (£ per child per week) |- |- |-0.58 |-0.49 |-0.30
Notes:
1. Tax free income is calculated by applying the standard rate of tax to the appropriate tax allowances and adding the annual value of Child Benefit in payment. For example, tax free
income in 1989-90 for a one-earner married couple with one child is calculated as: 25 per cent. (standard tax rate) X £4,375 (married man's tax allowance) = £1,093.75 plus £377 (Child
Benefit of £7.25 per week for 52 weeks). Total tax free income = £1,470.75.
2. Figures for 1978-79: tax allowances-single person's £985, married couple £1,535, children under 11 £100, children between 11-15 years £135. Tax rate 33 per cent. Child Benefit £2.57
per week.
3. Figures for 1989-90: tax allowances-single person £2,785, married man £4,375. Standard rate of tax 25 per cent. Child Benefit £7.25 per week.
4. All figures are subject to rounding.
DEFENCE
Pyrton
Mr. Heseltine : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) which military units and civilian contractors have been responsible for construction work at the depot site in the parish of Pyrton in the county of Oxfordshire ;
(2) if he will place in the Library copies of any documents held by his Department relating to the acquisition, planning status, construction, rating and occupancy of the depot site in the parish of Pyrton in the county of Oxfordshire which have not been released to the public record office ;
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(3) which detachments of troops have occupied the site of the depot in the parish of Pyrton in the county of Oxfordshire since its completion, indicating the dates of duration of each occupancy.Mr. Neubert : The property was transferred to the Department of Environment in 1981. I regret that the details requested are not to hand. I will write to my right hon. Friend.
Armed Forces (Pensions)
Mr. Hague : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of whether the new provisions for members of the armed forces to make
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additional voluntary contributions to their pensions relating to payments additional to their basic salaries have been adequately publicised.Mr. Neubert : Arrangements under which members of the armed forces pension scheme may make freestanding additional voluntary contributions based on additional pay were widely promulgated to service personnel in January of this year. In order to provide the maximum possible time for personnel to take advantage of these arrangements within the 1988-89 tax year, promulgation was by signal. Further publication was intended to follow but has been deferred pending review and clarification of the provisions which will be appropriate when the proposed changes in AVC requirements and limits for tax relief purposes, announced during the Budget statement, take effect. I am satisfied that in these circumstances arrangements which are currently available to members of the armed forces have been appropriately publicised.
Empty Property
Mr. Soley : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of properties owned by his Department and suitable for residential accommodation have been empty for (i) up to a year and (ii) over a year ; and where these properties are located, by region of the United Kingdom or local authority area.
Mr. Neubert : Statistics are not collected in quite the form requested. The latest figures available show that on 30 November 1988 there were 78,520 tri-service married quarters, of which 14.4 per cent. had been vacant for under a year and 5.8 per cent. vacant for over a year. At 30 September 1988, of 1,828 civilian houses (including 263 leased from local authorities) 6.2 per cent. had been vacant for under six months and 7.1 per cent. for over six months. Some of these vacant properties are in the process of disposal, others will be undergoing major maintenance or refurbishment, and yet others will be allocated and awaiting the arrival of the families to the unit.
The breakdown by region is :
|c|Percentage vacant by region|c| |c|Tri-service married quarters (as at 30 November 1988)|c| Region |Under 1 year|Over 1 year ------------------------------------------------------------ Northern |14.4 |5.8 Yorkshire/Humberside |16.8 |5.0 East Midlands |21.6 |16.8 East Anglia |13.0 |5.1 South East |13.1 |4.2 South West |15.5 |5.5 West Midlands |14.9 |10.8 North West |13.8 |1.2 Wales |14.2 |4.6 Scotland |15.4 |7.0 Northern Ireland |11.4 |1.6
< |c|Civilian houses (as at 30 September 1988)|c| Region |Under 6 months|Over 6 months ------------------------------------------------------------ Northern |5.5 |20.0 South East |4.0 |1.5 South West |12.3 |7.4 West Midlands |0 |8.7 North West |0 |0 Wales |3.7 |45.1 Scotland |7.9 |11.7
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Territorial Army Bases (Northern Ireland)
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he has any plans to commission an investigation into the security of Territorial Army bases in Northern Ireland ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Security of all Ministry of Defence establishments and bases is kept under constant review as a matter of course. I have no plans at present to commission a specific investigation into security at Territorial Army bases in Northern Ireland.
Gibraltar (Incident)
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the special explosives ordnance team was sent to Gibraltar to assist in the operation in Gibraltar on 6 March 1988 ; when it left the United Kingdom ; and when it returned.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : As was made clear at the inquest, it would not be in the public interest to reveal details about events prior to 6 March 1988 as these could reveal the intelligence background to the operation and methods of operation of the security forces. An explosives ordnance disposal team was sent to Gibraltar when requested by the commissioner of police. They were present in Gibraltar at the time of the incident, carried out render-safe procedures on the suspected car bomb in the white Renault car, and returned to the United Kingdom shortly afterwards.
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the officers, who examined the Renault car parked in Main street, Gibraltar on 6 March 1988, concluded that it did not contain a bomb.
Widows' Pensions
Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list in the Official Report the level of pensions paid to widows of military personnel ; and what information he has on equivalent pensions for those in other countries of the European Community.
Mr. Neubert : The pensions paid to the widows of military personnel under the armed forces pension scheme are at rates which depend upon the individual circumstances of each case. Factors which will affect the rate payable include the rank held by the husband, the date of his retirement or death in service, the provisions of the scheme at that date, the nature of his termination of service, and in most but not all cases the length of service given. It is not therefore possible to provide the information requested.
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