| Previous Section | Home Page |
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Asylum
Mr. Darling : To ask the Attorney-General how many appeals against refusal of asylum in the United Kingdom were heard by the immigration appellate authorities in each of the years 1985, 1986, 1987 and 1988.
The Attorney-General : In 1987, 407 such appeals were heard before adjudicators and 42 before the immmigration appeal tribunal. In 1988, 525 appeals were heard before adjudicators and 80 before the tribunal. Figures for 1985 and 1986 are not available.
Police Computers (Disclosure of Information)
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Attorney-General, what is his policy towards the prosecution of perpetrators of unauthorised disclosures of information from police computers under the Official Secrets Act ; and if he will make a statement.
The Attorney-General : The institution or continuance of criminal proceedings in these cases, as with all other cases, is considered in accordance with the guidelines set out in the code for crown prosecutors issued under section 10 of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985. Proceedings will be instituted or continued only where the evidence is sufficient to conclude that there is a realistic prospect of conviction and a prosecution is required by the public interest.
ENVIRONMENT
Seal Products
Mr. Burt : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether Her Majesty's Government will support an indefinite extension of European Community Directive 83/129/EEC which bans the importation of harp and hooded seal pup skins and products ; and if he will make a statement on the health of seals in United Kingdom waters.
Column 322
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The killing of harp and hooded seals for trade has aroused strong public concern in many countries. We have considered carefully the conservation case for trade controls on these species and have consulted the sea mammal research unit of the Natural Environment Research Council, which is internationally acknowledged for its expertise in this area.
Our view is that a permanent extension of the current temporary European Community directive (83/129 EEC) controlling this trade, which is due to expire on 1 October 1989, is required to ensure the conservation of the seal populations in question.
The Government have also taken additional conservation measures to help reduce the threat to the United Kingdom seal population. My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department announced last October the introduction of new orders under the Conservation of Seals Act 1970 which extend throughout the year the general protection given under the Act. These measures apply to common and grey seals in England and common seals in Scotland. The seal population in the North sea and Irish sea have been affected by a virus. Research is continuing into the epidemic at the sea mammal research unit as part of this Department's North sea research programme. A total of around 2,750 seals were reported dead from a population of 95,000 grey seals and 25,000 common seals.
Community Charge
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the factual errors in his Department's leaflet "The Community Charge--How It Will Work for You".
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will explain the provisions for exemption of prisoners as set out in his Department's leaflet "The Community Charge--How It Will Work for You."
Mr. Gummer : The Department's leaflet gives an accurate summary of the circumstances in which persons in detention are exempt from liability to the community charge, the full provisions of which are set out in paragraph 1 of schedule 1 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988.
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out the cost of (a) production and (b) distribution of his Department's leaflet "The Community Charge--How It Will Work for You."
Mr. Gummer : My Department has produced 23 million copies of the leaflet "The Community Charge--How It Will Work for You" at a total cost of £367,887.
The estimated cost for distributing this leaflet to all households in England is under £600,000.
Mr. Greg Knight : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proportion of widows he estimates will gain under the community charge.
Mr. Gummer : I have no estimate of the proportion of widows who would pay less under the community charge than with rates. I would expect many to be gainers since 83 per cent. of single pensioner households and 75 per cent. of other single adult households are expected to gain.
Column 323
Mr. McLoughlin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he is yet able to publish the community charge payable this year (a) on average in England and Wales and (b) in Derbyshire.
Mr. Gummer : Illustrative 1989-90 community charges will be published once data needed from local authorities has been received and analysed.
Mr. Rooker : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he now expects to publish illustrative poll tax figures for English local authorities based on 1989-90 budgets.
Mr. Gummer : The Government have no plans to introduce a poll tax. Illustrative 1989-90 community charges will be published once data needed from local authorities has been received and analysed.
Mr. Evennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proportion of single-parent families he estimates will gain under the community charge.
Mr. Gummer : I expect nearly 80 per cent. of single families to pay less with the community charge than they would with rates.
Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the wealth distribution effects on lower income groups of the changeover from domestic rates to community charge.
Mr. Gummer : Figures placed in the Library on 15 December 1988 confirm that many of the poorest households would be better off under the community charge than under the rates. Community charges on average would be less than domestic rates for all income bands up to £200 per week ; and households with a net weekly income of under £50 would, on average, pay over 20 per cent. less with community charge than with domestic rates.
Sea Pollution
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions Her Majesty's Government have held during this Parliament with representatives of the Irish Government concerning pollution levels in the Irish sea.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Regular formal and informal contact takes place between representatives of the United Kingdom and Irish Governments on particular aspects of the marine environment such as the falling discharge of radioactive substances or factors relevant to the management of fisheries. More wide-ranging discussions on the marine environment take place from time to time. The next such meeting of officials is scheduled for 24-25 May.
Local Authority Estates
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information his Department holds on the estate management board partnership arrangements between local authority tenants and some local authorities ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Trippier : The Department's consultants, the Priority Estates Project (PEP) Ltd., are currently working with local authorities and tenants on eight council estates to set up estate management boards (EMBs). They are :
Column 324
B Local authority |Estate ------------------------------------------------------------------ Birmingham |Bloomsbury Blackburn |Shadsworth Bristol |Halston Drive Burnley |Stoops/Hargher Clough Rochdale |Freehold Rossendale |Bacup Stoke |Chell Heath West Lancashire |Digmoor
Tenants on the Belle Isle North estate in Leeds are also developing an EMB with the support of the city council.
My Department welcomes the development of EMBs as an important new way of giving council tenants much more say in how their estates are managed.
I am placing in the Library copies of the Priority Estates Project's guide to setting up EMBs.
I hope that other local authorities will want to consider EMBs as one possible way of improving delivery of housing services for their tenants.
Leasehold Reform Act 1967
Mr. Heddle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Mid-Staffordshire, on 17 January, Official Report, column 148, if he is yet in a position to announce his conclusions to the consultation paper on disputes between valuations under the Leasehold Reform Act 1967.
Mr. Trippier : We are still considering the responses to our consultation paper in conjunction with the Welsh Office and hope to announce our joint conclusions later this summer.
Rose Theatre
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will consider scheduling the recently discovered site of the Rose theatre in Southwark in view of the imminent threat from developers.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley [holding answer 12 May 1989] : The question of scheduling will be kept under review. Given the developers' strong commitment to preserve the remains the priority is for all parties concerned urgently to explore the best means of safeguarding them physically and the scope for providing public access in the future.
HEALTH
Health Service Income
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give for each district health authority, regional health authority and special health authority and for England as a total, the amount of income to the National Health Service from (a) charitable appeals, (b) subscriptions, (c) donations and grants, (d) legacies, (e) dividends and interest and (f) the total trust fund income for the latest available year.
Mr. Freeman : Information for 1987-88 (the latest year available) as shown in the annual accounts of health authorities and special trustees in England has been placed in the Library.
Column 325
PRIME MINISTER
Pollution (Bristol Channel)
Mr. Speller : To ask the Prime Minister if she will seek to reduce the pollution of the Bristol channel by co-ordinating those departments which authorise or control dumping of sewerage, chemical, agricultural, nuclear and industrial waste into the Bristol channel, together with control of dumping ships' refuse or the pumping out of tanks by ships in passage.
The Prime Minister : Departments with responsibilities in this field already co-ordinate their activities, and at national level policies to protect the marine environment are co-ordinated by the Department of the Environment. The Bristol channel, and all other United Kingdom coastal waters will benefit from the range of new initiatives adopted at the second North sea conference hosted by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment in November 1987. These are set out in the guidance note on the ministerial declaration published in February 1988, a copy of which is in the Library.
European Regional Development Fund
Mr. O'Brien : To ask the Prime Minister whether the answer to the hon. Member for Barnsley, West and Penistone (Mr. McKay) on Tuesday 16 May, Official Report, column 165, concerning EC funds includes bids made by local authorities for the European regional development fund ; and if she will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : Yes, all bids from local authorities and from other bodies are put forward in the name of the member state, and grants paid to local authorities count as part of the member state's receipts.
DEFENCE
Clyde Submarine Base
Mr. McFall : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many workers at the Clyde submarine base have been retired on medical grounds in each of the years since 1974.
Mr. Sainsbury : The information requested is as follows :
Retirements on medical grounds Year |Numbers ------------------------ <1>1975 |8 <1>1976 |8 <1>1977 |4 <1>1978 |13 <1>1979 |12 1980 |9 1981 |6 1982 |11 1983 |9 1984 |15 1985 |16 1986 |37 1987 |20 1988 |17 <1> Figures for these years relate to industrial staff only.
Absent Without Leave
Mr. Terry Davis : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many soldiers in the Queen's Own Hussars went absent without leave in 1987.
Column 326
Nuclear Test Veterans
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will request the National Radiological Protection Board to produce an update of its report on the mortality of nuclear test veterans ; (2) if he will detail the nature of the work that is proceeding with the study by the National Radiological Protection Board of the mortality of nuclear test veterans.
Mr. Sainsbury [holding answer 15 May 1989] : Details of deaths of nuclear test veterans are currently flagged at the National Health Service central register and are passed to the NRPB. This information is then added to NRPB's database which maintains a record of all deaths and personnel present during the test programme together with the control group. The NRPB is examining the position this year (five years from the previous cut off date) and will advise whether the major effort of a full scale statistical analysis would be justified.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Equal Opportunities
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many and what percentage of officers in each of grades 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 respectively, in his Department are (a) women and (b) from ethnic minorities.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Information is not available in the form requested because records are held on a combined basis with the Department of Health. I refer the right hon. Member to my reply to him on 22 March at column 679.
Ethnic Monitoring
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether his Department has conducted monitoring exercises in compliance with the code for the Commission on Racial Equality and Equal Opportunity Commission, respectively, separate from the Department of Health ; whether his Department plans to do so ; whether his Department plans to maintain records of the ethnic origins of its staff and officers separate from the Department of Health ; and whether he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The Department will continue to pursue the equal opportunities policies and practices of the former Department of Health and Social Security. These follow the guidance in the codes of practice of the Commission for Racial Equality and the Equal Opportunities Commission and include the monitoring of personnel policies and procedures as set out in the codes of practice. Work is in hand to enable staff records, including ethnic origin data, to be separately identified from those for staff of the Department of Health.
Pension Schemes
Mr. Stern : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many full-time workers are not in occupational or personal pension schemes ; and what was the equivalent number in 1979.
Column 327
Mr. Peter Lloyd : In 1979, 11.8 million employees were not members of occupational pension schemes. Of these, 7.65 million were full-time employees.
Provisional figures for 1987 show that 11.4 million employees were not members of occupational pension schemes. This was of course before the Government's pension reforms took effect ; since the introduction of personal pensions in July 1988, over 2 million people have opted to join a personal pension scheme. The number of full-time employees is not yet known.
Vaccine Damage
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many vaccine damage payments were made in 1985 ; and if he will categorise these according to the age of the child when the vaccination took place, the year of vaccination, and the nature of the vaccination.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Twenty-six payments were awarded in 1985 under the provisions of the Vaccine Damage Payments Act 1979. Details are in the table.
Vaccine Damage Payments Scheme Awards made in 1985 by age of child at date of vaccination; year of vaccination and type of vaccination Age at date of |Year vaccination was |Type of vaccination cited vaccination (months) |given |on the claim form -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. 9 to 12 |1962 |Triple 2. 0 to 3 |1969 |Pertussis 3. 6 to 9 |1978 |Pertussis 4. 3 to 6 |1979 |Triple 5. 3 to 6 |1963 |Triple 6. 3 to 6 |1973 |Triple 7. 6 to 9 |1983 |Pertussis 8. 3 to 6 |1967 |Triple 9. 3 to 6 |1969 |Triple 10. 0 to 3 |1959 |Polio 11. 6 to 9 |1971 |Triple/Pertussis 12. 3 to 6 |1962 |Triple 13. 3 to 6 |1957 |Triple 14. 6 to 9 |1974 |Triple 15. 0 to 3 |1983 |Polio 16. 15 to 18 |1963 |Pertussis 17. 3 to 6 |1957 |Diptheria/Pertussis 18. 3 to 6 |1962 |Pertussis 19. 3 to 6 |1981 |Diptheria/Tetanus/Polio 20. 3 to 6 |1976 |Pertussis 21. 3 to 6 |1969 |Pertussis 22. 3 to 6 |1967 |Pertussis 23. 3 to 6 |1983 |Triple/Polio 24. 0 to 3 |1971 |Pertussis 25. 3 to 6 |1982 |Triple/Polio 26. 5 years |1969 |Pertussis/Polio
Claims Statistics
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list for the Greenock and Port Glasgow offices of his Department the statistical information he has to date regarding the different reasons given by social fund officers for refusals to claimants for (i) budgeting loans, (ii) crisis loans and (iii) community care grants ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd [holding answer 15 May 1989] : Provisional figures for the period 11 April 1988 to 31 March 1989 are set out in the table.
The table gives the number of times that a reason for decision is used by social fund officers for determining a nil award for community care grants, budgeting, and crisis loans.
An application can be refused for more than one reason. The total number of reasons for decision used will be equal to or greater than the number of applications refused. Information on the numbers of applications processed and awarded is available in the Library.
Column 327
Office: Port Glasgow ILO 1988-89
Number of times a reason for refusal used
|Grants |Budgeting loans|Crisis loans
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Savings over £500 meet the full cost |1 |0 |0
Not in receipt of IS |n/a |137 |0
Not in receipt of IS for 26 weeks |n/a |180 |0
Not in receipt of IS and unlikey to qualify |45 |n/a |0
Item(s) excluded by Direction |27 |69 |1
Applicant excluded |113 |5 |0
Applied for less than £30 |6 |19 |0
Adjusted amount less than £30 |2 |6 |0
Total debt exceeds £1,000 |n/a |0 |0
Previous application and decision for the item |27 |66 |2
No serious risk to health or safety |n/a |n/a |7
Inability to repay |n/a |58 |3
Help available from another source |5 |7 |3
Priority too low to meet from the budget |18 |333 |6
Alternative available to the whole application |10 |6 |7
Loan refused because CCG awarded |n/a |43 |1
Others not covered above |72 |17 |18
n/a-Not available.
Community Charge
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list by each charging authority in England and Wales the income level at which (a) a single person aged under 25 years, (b) a single person aged over 25 years, (c) a single pensioner, (d) a pensioner couple
Column 328
and (e) a couple with two children all with no savings would lose entitlement to a community charge rebate, assuming the Department of the Environment's latest community charge figures.Mr. Peter Lloyd [holding answer 27 April 1989] : The information requested has been placed in the Library.
Column 329
Pensioners
Mr. Nicholas Baker : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he has any plans to amend the rule whereby the retirement pension is paid not from the day of retirement but from the first day of the week following retirement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : We have no plans to do so. The majority of new claims for retirement pension are paid from the Monday following retirement.
Mr. Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the composition of (a) the pensioners prices index and (b) the retail prices index.
Mr. Lee : I have been asked to reply.
The price indices for one--and two--person pensioner households whose incomes are mainly comprised of state benefits are based on the expenditure patterns of such households and changes in prices across the full range of goods and services, with the exception of housing. The general index of retail prices is based on expenditure patterns of all households, excluding the pensioner households above and the 3-4 per cent. of households with the highest income, and changes in prices across the full range of goods and services including housing.
More details can be found in "A short guide to the Retail Price Index", Employment Gazette, August 1987, pp 393-406.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEATH AFFAIRS
CSCE Human Rights Conference
Mr. Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the forthcoming CSCE human rights conference in Paris.
Mr. Waldegrave : The Paris meeting of the Conference on the Human Dimension (CDH) opens on 30 May and will last four weeks. Its main tasks will be to review human rights cases and situations in CSCE participating states as well as the working of the human rights monitoring mechanism agreed at the Vienna CSCE meeting.
CSCE Information Forum
Mr. Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the recent CSCE information forum in London.
Mr. Waldegrave : The Information Forum, held at the Government's invitation in London from 18 April to 12 May 1989, was the first of the series of regular meetings in the Helsinki process following the third main CSCE follow-up meeting held in Vienna from November 1986 to January 1989. The forum was opened by the Prime Minister, and was attended by some 650 delegates from the
Column 330
35 CSCE participating states. For the first time in CSCE meetings, all working sessions were open to the press and public.Many personalities in the field of information participated in the forum. The British delegation was led by Lord Rees-Mogg, and included journalists, telecommunications experts, cultural personalities and academics, as well as a small number of Government officials. The forum was a success : it stimulated numerous direct personal contacts between media experts from East and West ; generated worthwhile ideas for future contact and co- operation ; and welcomed the progress made towards greater freedom of expression in the Soviet Union and eastern Europe whilst exposing the Governments of those countries to demands for closer compliance with their commitments in the information field. Some 67 proposals for follow-up action (largely on improving working conditions for journalists) were tabled : they will go forward to the CSCE follow-up conference at Helsinki in 1992, and will meanwhile be studied by Governments.
Immigration
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when Mr. Nasim Ahmed, who was born on 2 July 1965, and whose reference is IMM/84536 and A.421238, first applied to the British post in Islambad to enter the United Kingdom ; when Mr. Ahmed successfully appealed against refusal to grant him entry ; and when the British post in Islambad was instructed to issue Mr. Ahmed with a visa to enter the United Kingdom.
Mr. Eggar [pursuant to the reply, 16 May 1989, col. 135] : In accordance with the recent guidelines on the handling of representations by Members of Parliament in immigration cases, issued to Members on 14 December 1988, I have referred the question to the correspondence unit of the migration and visa department of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The hon. Member will receive a reply from the unit in due course.
EMPLOYMENT
Employment Training
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the number of people on work-related Government employment and training programmes by sex, in each of the standard regions and Wales, for each of the years 1983 to 1988.
Mr. Lee : The estimates of participants in work-related Government training programmes as included in the work force in employment statistics published in the monthly labour market press notice and Employment Gazette are given in the following table. They include those participants who in the course of their participation receive training in the context of a workplace but are not employees, self-employed or in Her Majesty's forces. The latest available figures are for December 1988.
Column 331
Participants in work related Government training programmes in Great Britain<1>
December each year
Thousand
1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988
|Males |Females|All |Males |Females|All |Males |Females|All |Males |Females|All |Males |Females|All |Males |Females|All
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
South East |19 |17 |36 |22 |18 |40 |22 |16 |38 |23 |19 |42 |34 |24 |58 |36 |24 |60
cluded in South East) |6 |5 |11 |7 |5 |12 |6 |5 |12 |7 |6 |14 |10 |8 |19 |13 |10 |23
East Anglia |3 |1 |15 |4 |1 |5 |4 |3 |7 |5 |4 |8 |7 |5 |12 |8 |4 |12
South West |8 |7 |5 |9 |7 |16 |10 |8 |18 |11 |9 |20 |17 |12 |29 |18 |12 |30
West Midlands |11 |10 |20 |12 |11 |23 |13 |11 |24 |21 |17 |38 |26 |20 |46 |28 |19 |47
East Midlands |10 |8 |18 |11 |9 |20 |11 |9 |21 |11 |9 |20 |17 |11 |28 |18 |11 |29
Yorkshire and
Humberside |10 |9 |20 |12 |10 |22 |13 |11 |23 |16 |13 |29 |25 |17 |42 |32 |18 |50
North West |13 |11 |24 |14 |13 |27 |15 |13 |28 |22 |18 |39 |30 |22 |52 |36 |23 |59
North |7 |7 |14 |7 |7 |15 |9 |8 |17 |13 |11 |24 |18 |13 |31 |25 |15 |40
Wales |6 |5 |11 |7 |5 |12 |7 |6 |12 |11 |8 |18 |13 |9 |22 |17 |9 |26
Scotland |8 |7 |16 |11 |9 |19 |12 |9 |21 |15 |12 |27 |22 |15 |37 |29 |18 |48
<1> Participants in the YTS who receive work experience except those who have contracts of employment (those who have contracts of employment are counted as employees in
employment) plus participants in new JTS (up to September 1988) and ET participants who receive work experience (from December 1988).
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the total number of planned employment training places in September 1988 for each of the standard regions and Wales.
Mr. Nicholls : Information on the planned level of filled employment training places is for internal management information purposes only.
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the total number of places by local authorities, private employees, voluntary sector and other public sector sponsors on the latest date for which information is available for each of the standard regions and Wales.
Column 332
Mr. Nicholls : Information on the number of filled employment training places by type of training manager is not held.
Labour Statistics
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the total number of employees in employment in manufacturing in each of the standard regions and Wales, for each of the years 1983 to 1988, inclusive.
Mr. Lee : The information is as follows :
Column 331
Employees in employment in manufacturing industries
Thousand
December each year
|1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987 |1988
-------------------------------------------------------------------
South East |1,505|1,481|1,447|1,386|1,388|1,355
Greater London (included
in South East |585 |567 |548 |515 |519 |491
East Anglia |184 |192 |199 |207 |217 |232
South West |368 |376 |373 |369 |371 |378
West Midlands |709 |707 |709 |698 |710 |732
East Midlands |487 |486 |495 |492 |504 |509
Yorkshire and Humberside |495 |482 |477 |456 |456 |456
North West |682 |661 |650 |623 |618 |618
North |281 |280 |276 |265 |266 |271
Wales |212 |211 |209 |205 |215 |224
Scotland |437 |433 |423 |404 |395 |402
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the total number of employees in
Column 332
employment in manufacturing industry in each of the years March 1979 to March 1989, for each of the standard regions and Wales.Mr. Lee : The information is as follows :
| Next Section
| Home Page |