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Petty Officer John Black
Mr. Latham : To ask the Attorney-General whether, pursuant to his letter to the hon. Member for Rutland and Melton dated 4 May, he will make a statement on the progress of his proposed application to the High Court under section 13 of the Coroners Act 1988 that the inquest into the death of the late Petty Officer John Black should be re-opened.
The Attorney-General : The Treasury Solicitor has prepared a draft application and accompanying affidavit in support. When approved by me the application will be entered in the Crown Office.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Unemployment Benefits
127. Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much money has been paid in unemployment benefit to claimants in the Liverpool travel-to-work area during the past 10 years.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The information requested is as follows :
Estimated amount of
unemployment benefit paid to
claimants
in the Liverpool
travel-to-work area
|£ million
------------------------------
1979-80 |20.5
1980-81 |41.4
1981-82 |55.7
1982-83 |49.3
1983-84 |48.7
1984-85 |51.3
1985-86 |51.4
1986-87 |55.8
1987-88 |47.0
1988-89 |36.3
Vaccine Damage (Compensation)
Mr. Holt : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many victims of vaccine damage have been paid compensation in each of the past 10 years.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The information requested is not available. The numbers of awards made under the vaccine damage payments scheme are as follows.
Year |Awards made ------------------------------------ 1980 |255 1981 |74 1982 |43 1983 |42 1984 |29 1985 |26 1986 |15 1987 |10 1988 |4 <1>1989 |1 <1> To 30 June.
Mr. Holt : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he has any plans to amend the vaccine damage payments scheme in the light of the decision on vaccine and causation by Mr. Justice Loveday.
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Mr. Peter Lloyd : I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to the right hon. Member for Stoke on Trent, South (Mr. Ashley) on 23 March at column 773.
Family Credit
Mr. Clay : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what number and proportion of family credit recipients pay income tax.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The latest information relates to the end of March 1989, when income tax was being deducted from earnings in 199, 000 cases, being about 71 per cent. of all family credit cases.
Child Benefit
Mr. Clay : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the net saving per annum of abolishing child benefit.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Precise savings would depend on assumptions made about the effects on other benefits and numbers claiming income-related benefits. In broad terms it is estimated the net savings would be somewhat over £3 billion at 1989-90 values.
Social Fund
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will explain the reasons for the delay in publishing year end data for the social fund for the financial year 1988-89 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The year end social fund data were subject to a number of accuracy checks. Data were published as soon as possible after completion of this action.
Pensioners
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what is his estimate of the number of pensioners in (a) Scotland and (b) the United Kingdom who have paid insufficient contributions and who therefore do not receive the full basic national insurance retirement pension ;
(2) what is his estimate of the number of pensioners in (a) Scotland and (b) the United Kingdom who have their basic national insurance retirement pension enhanced by increments from (i) deferring the date of their retirement, (ii) contributing to the graduated pension scheme, and (iii) contributing to SERPS.
Mr. Peter Lloyd [holding answer 26 June 1989] : As at 30 September 1988, 1,577,470 pensioners were in receipt of a basic national insurance retirement pension enhanced by increments earned by deferring the date of their retirement. 4,457,360 pensioners were in receipt of the basic state pension and graduated pension ; 163,720 were in receipt of Graduated Pension only ; 2,382,350 pensioners were in receipt of the basic state pension and SERPS ; 9,130 were in receipt of SERPS only.
As at 30 September 1988, 810,050 pensioners were in receipt of less than the full basic national insurance retirement pension because of insufficient contributions.
Note : Information is available for Great Britain only.
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EMPLOYMENT
Employment Training
10. Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what information he has about the number of ET placements in the north-west region.
Mr. Nicholls : We estimate that over 21,200 people on employment training in the north-west region are on placements with employers or projects on any one day.
18. Mr. Jack Thompson : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what information he has about the number of ET placements in the northern region.
Mr. Nicholls : We estimate that over 17,700 people on employment training in the northern region are on placements with employers or projects on any one day.
56. Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has any plans to review payments to trainees on Employment Training.
Mr. Nicholls : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Lewisham, Deptford (Ms. Ruddock) on 20 June 1989 at column 113 .
74. Mr. Allen McKay : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what information he collects as a result of participation on ET schemes ; and if he will give a breakdown for the Yorkshire and Humberside region.
Mr. Nicholls : A range of information is collected to enable the Training Agency to manage employment training effectively. The main information about ET entrants and trainees in the Yorkshire and Humberside region is given in the tables.
Employment Training-Northern region Programme information Category |Latest information|Numbers -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Filled places at training managers |30 June |23,000 Starts at training managers |30 June |36,600 Referrals from Employment Service to training agents |30 June |77,300 Action plans completed at training agents |30 June |47,200 Contracted places as at | May |28,500 Estimated project placements as at |30 June |12,200 Estimated employer placements as at |30 June |5,500 Child care allowances during April |28 April |253
Table 2
Employment Training-Yorkshire and
Humberside region
Trainee characteristics April 1989
Category
--------------------------------------------
Sex
Male
Female
Duration of Unemployment
0-5 months
6-12 months
13-23 months
24 months+
Ethnic Origin<1>
1
2
3
4
5
PWD<2> cumulative 5 September to 31 March
<1>Ethnic origin.
1-White.
2-Black/African/Caribbean.
3-Indian/Pakistan/Bangladeshi/Sri Lankan.
4-None of these.
5-I prefer not to say.
<2>PWD-People with disabilities. Those
trainees answering whether they had a
long-term health problem or disability
which affected the type of work they could
do.
=less than 0.5 per cent.
Percentages may not sum to 100 because of
rounding.
89. Mr. Rowe : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the progress of employment training.
Mr. Nicholls : There are 194,000 people currently in training throughout the country which is a tremendous achievement after only 10 months of operation.
90. Ms. Mowlam : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what information he collects as a result of participation on ET schemes ; and if he will give a breakdown for the northern region.
Mr. Nicholls : A range of information is collected to enable the Training Agency to manage employment training effectively. The main information about ET entrants and trainees in the northern region is given in the tables.
Table 1 Employment training-Northern region Programme information Category |Latest information|Numbers --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Filled places at training managers |30 June |23,000 Starts at training managers |30 June |36,600 Referrals from Employment Service to training agents |30 June |77,300 Action Plans completed at training agents |30 June |47,200 Contracted places as at |May |28,500 Estimated project placements as at |30 June |12,200 Estimated employer placements as at |30 June |5,500 Child Care Allowances during April |28 April |253
Employment training-Yorks and Humberside
region
Trainee characteristics April 1989
Category
--------------------------------------------
Sex
Male
Female
Duration of Unemployment
0-5 months
6-12 months
13-23 months
24 months+
Ethnic Origin<1>
1
2
3
4
5
PWD<2> cumulative 5 September to 31 March
Notes:
<1> Ethnic origin
1-White
2-Black/African/Caribbean
3-Indian/Pakistan/Bangladeshi/Sri Lankan
4-None of these
5-I prefer not to say
<2> PWD-People with disabilities. Those
trainees answering whether they had a
long-term health problem or disability
which affected the type of work they could
do.
=less than 0.5 per cent.
Percentages may not sum to 100 because of
rounding.
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92. Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the latest figures on the percentage of workers on employment training who have received the £200 bonus.
Mr. Nicholls : Information is not available about the number of people on Employment Training who have received a training bonus of £200.
Employment Legislation
16. Mr. Yeo : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what assessment he has made of public opinion regarding the Government's reform of trade union legislation ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Cope : At each stage of the step-by-step reform of industrial relations and trade union legislation which the Government have pursued since 1979 we have submitted our proposals for public consultation, and we have been able to frame legislation in the knowledge that the measures will be welcomed by employers, employees and the public generally. Our election manifestos, which contained many of our proposals in this area, have also clearly gained widespread public support.
60. Mr. Waller : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he is considering any further reform of trade union legislation ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nicholls : The Green Paper "Removing Barriers to Employment", published on 20 March, contains the Government's current proposals for the further reform of industrial relations and trade union law. In addition we will not hesitate to come forward with proposals for legislation to help prevent industrial action such as that recently experienced in certain public services, if appropriate.
Visual Display Units
17. Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proposals he has to ensure the health and safety of visual display unit operators.
Mr. Nicholls : The Health and Safety Executive has published guidance on work with visual display units. We are currently discussing further proposals with our European partners.
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Youth Training Scheme
19. Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many YTS places in (a) Scotland and (b) the United Kingdom had not been filled at the most recent available place.
Mr. Cope : At the end of May 1989 there were 13,800 unfilled YTS places in Scotland and 141,200 unfilled YTS places in Great Britain.
20. Mr. Redwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment which European country had the fastest fall in unemployment over the past two years ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lee : Over the past two years the unemployment rate has fallen faster in the United Kingdom than in any other major European country, and is now lower than the European community average.
24. Mr. Burt : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many jobs have been created in the last five years in the United Kingdom, and in the other member states of the European Community ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lee : Employment estimates are not yet available for many EC countries after 1987. Over the five-year period from 1982 to 1987 the increase in employment in the United Kingdom was greater than in the rest of the European Community combined. The table shows the data for each EC country for 1982 to 1987.
Civilian employment (thousands)
|1982 |1987 |Change |Percentage change
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
United Kingdom |23,584 |25,060 |1,476 |6.3
Belgium |3,578 |3,621 |43 |1.2
Denmark |2,476 |2,663 |187 |7.6
Germany |25,177 |25,440 |263 |1.0
Greece |3,501 |3,597 |96 |2.7
Spain |11,043 |11,383 |340 |3.1
France |21,240 |20,976 |-264 |-1.2
Ireland |1,131 |1,067 |-64 |-5.7
Italy |20,297 |20,584 |287 |1.4
Luxembourg |158 |169 |11 |7.0
Netherlands |5,009 |5,251 |242 |4.8
Portugal |3,959 |4,169 |210 |5.3
EC12-United Kingdom |97,569 |98,920 |1,351 |1.4
Sources: United Kingdom (ED) Rest of EC (Eurostat).
The Government have placed great stress on creating the right economic conditions in which enterprise can flourish and jobs can be created. Since 1980 the United Kingdom has had the fastest growing economy in western Europe and we are now in our eighth successive year of sustained growth. As a result of this, employment has increased greatly.
26. Mr. Livingstone To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the level of unemployment in the London borough of Brent.
Mr. Lee : In June 1989 the number of unemployed claimants in the London borough of Brent was 8,815, a fall of 4,674 or 36.7 per cent. over the last 12 months. The comparison is slightly affected by the change of coverage in the count from September 1988 due to the changes in benefit regulations affecting young people under 18 years of age.
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34. Mr. Brazier : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the increase in the number of self-employed people in work since 1979 ; and if he will make a statement.
119. Sir Bernard Braine : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people were self-employed in the United Kingdom in June 1979 and June 1989 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lee : Between June 1979 and March 1989, the latest date for which estimates are available, there was an increase of 1,173,000, or 62 per cent., in the number of
Column 152
self-employed people in the United Kingdom. It is estimated that over 3 million people are now self-employed. Self- employed people now represent 12 per cent. of the work force in employment.35. Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the increase or decrease in each standard planning region of (a) male employees, (b) female full-time employees and (c) female part-time employees since June 1979.
Mr. Lee : The available information is as follows :
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Changes March 1979 to March 1989 in the number of employees in employment by region
Region Males Females all Females full time Females part time
|Change (thousands)|Percentage change |Change (thousands)|Percentage change |Change (thousands)|Percentage change |Change (thousands)|Percentage change
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
South East |-77 |-1.8 |515 |16.4 |317 |16.7 |198 |15.9
East Anglia |96 |23.3 |93 |33.9 |44 |28.1 |49 |41.6
South West |-34 |-3.7 |105 |16.2 |62 |16.9 |43 |15.3
West Midlands |-135 |-10.1 |74 |8.2 |28 |5.3 |46 |12.5
East Midlands |-27 |-2.9 |90 |14.2 |38 |10.3 |52 |19.7
Yorkshire and
Humberside |-181 |-15.2 |42 |5.3 |-5 |-1.1 |47 |13.3
North West |-338 |-21.9 |-21 |-1.9 |-62 |-9.3 |41 |8.8
North |-118 |-16.1 |21 |4.2 |-20 |-6.9 |41 |20.5
Wales |-129 |-21.0 |-3 |-.7 |-35 |-14.0 |32 |20.6
Scotland |-176 |-14.7 |40 |4.6 |-31 |-5.6 |71 |22.5
Northern Ireland |-41 |-13.7 |9 |4.1 |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a
n/a = not available
38. Mr. Hayward : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the United Kingdom's current youth unemployment rate ; what is the figure of other European countries ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Cope : The table shows unemployment rates prepared on a harmonised basis and seasonally adjusted, for those aged under 25 years, for April 1989 in the United Kingdom and other European countries as published by the statistical office of the European Communities. The youth unemployment rate in the United Kingdom is about half the European Communities average.
Harmonised unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted) for under
25 year olds, April 1989
European country |Total percentage rate
------------------------------------------------------------------
Spain |36.6
Italy |32.0
Greece<1> |24.4
Ireland |22.3
France |21.5
Belgium |17.7
Netherlands |16.3
Portugal<2> |12.0
Denmark |9.8
Germany |5.2
Luxembourg |3.8
United Kingdom |9.2
EC average |18.0
<1> April 1987.
<2> March 1989.
41. Mr. Irvine : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the number of people of working age in employment in (a) the United Kingdom and (b) other European countries.
Mr. Lee : The United Kingdom has a higher proportion of people of working age in employment than any other
Column 152
European Community country except Denmark. The latest available European Community figures are for 1987 when the United Kingdom had 68 per cent. of persons aged 15 to 64 in employment. Most other European Community countries had less than 60 per cent. of such persons employed. Denmark had 77 per cent. employed (Scandinavian countries outside the European Community had similar figures) and Germany and France had 61 per cent. and 59 per cent. respectively.Mr. Conway : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment in how many parliamentary constituencies in the United Kingdom unemployment has fallen by over 50 per cent. since January 1986 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lee : Between January 1986 and June 1989 unemployment fell by 50 per cent. or more in 359 parliamentary constituencies in Great Britain. The comparison is affected by the change in compilation of the count in March 1986 to reduce over recording and changes in benefit regulations in September 1988 affecting young people under 18.
54. Mr. Orme : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many and what percentage of claimants in Salford, East were classified as long-term unemployed in April ; and what plans he has to reduce this number.
Mr. Lee : In April 1989 the number of unemployed claimants, in Salford, East who had been unemployed for over 12 months was 2,664 or 49 per cent. of the total unemployed. Employment training is specifically designed to give the longer-term unemployed the opportunity to acquire the skills they need to return to work.
Column 153
62. Mr. Brandon-Bravo : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the change in the number of long- term unemployed people aged 24 to 45 years in the last two years.
Mr. Lee : Unemployment figures are not available for the requested age group. However, the number of unemployed claimants aged 25 to 44 years in the United Kingdom who had been unemployed for over 12 months fell by 134,515 or 45.6 per cent. in the two years to April 1989.
70. Dr. Woodcock : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what major Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development country has the sharpest fall in the rate of unemployment over the past two years ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Cope : Over the past two years the unemployment rate has fallen faster in the United Kingdom than in any other major OECD country. The unemployment rate in the United Kingdom is now lower than the European Community average.
77. Sir Fergus Montgomery : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the fall in the numbers of long- term unemployed in the north-west.
Mr. Lee : The number of unemployed claimants in the north-west who had been unemployed for over 12 months fell by 37,633 or 25.1 per cent. in the year to April 1989.
79. Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the latest unemployment figure for the Rugby/Daventry travel-to- work area.
Mr. Lee : In June 1989 the number of unemployed claimants in the Rugby and Daventry travel-to-work area was 1,929.
81. Mr. Loyden : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he has taken to reduce unemployment in the last year.
Mr. Lee : Nearly 3 million new jobs have been created over the last six years and there are now more people in work in this country than ever before in our history. The Government will continue to provide the right economic conditions to create new jobs and reduce unemployment further. In addition, an extensive range of employment and training measures are already in place to help unemployed people back into work.
85. Mr. Sumberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment by what amount unemployment in the parliamentary constituency of Bury, South has changed over the last six months for which figures are available.
Mr. Lee : In June 1989 the number of unemployed claimants in the Bury, South constituency was 2,352, a fall of 434 over the past six months.
94. Mr. Evennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current level of unemployment in Bexley ; and what was the level three years ago.
Mr. Lee : In June 1989 there were 3,825 unemployed claimants in Bexley local authority area compared with 8,603 in June 1986, a fall of 4,778 or 55.5 per cent. over the
Column 154
last three years. The comparison is slightly affected by the change of coverage in the count from September 1988 due to the benefit regulations affecting those young people under 18.104. Mr. Amess : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the latest total for the number of people registered as unemployed in the Basildon constituency and for the corresponding period in each of the last four years.
Mr. Lee : The table shows the number of unemployed claimants in Basildon parliamentary constituency for each June from 1985 to 1989. The figures are affected by the change in the compilation of the count in March 1986 to reduce over-recording and by the change of coverage from September 1988 resulting from changes in benefit regulations affecting people aged under 18 years. Direct comparisons cannot therefore be made.
Unemployment in Basildon parliamentary constituency
June |Number of unemployed
|claimants
---------------------------------------------------------------
1985 |6,767
1986 |6,448
1987 |5,345
1988 |3,701
1989 |2,670
107. Mr. Favell : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are now unemployed in the north-west.
Mr. Lee : In June 1989 there were 256,764 unemployed claimants in the north-west.
110. Mr. Dover : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the current levels of unemployment in the United Kingdom and in the EEC.
Mr. Lee : Over the past two years the rate of unemployment has fallen faster in the United Kingdom than in any other major industrialised country, and is now lower than that of the majority of our European partners. The unemployment rate in the United Kingdom is also lower than the European Community average.
International comparisons of Unemployment
Standardised unemployment rates<1>-Seasonally adjusted
|Percentage rate|Latest month
----------------------------------------------------------------
Spain |17.7 |February
Ireland | <1>(17.0) |May
Italy | <1>(10.7) |May
France |10.1 |April
Belgium |9.5 |April
Netherlands |9.4 |January
Greece | <1>(7.4) |April 1987
Denmark | <1>(7.1) |May
United Kingdom |6.6 |April
Germany |5.5 |March
Portugal |5.5 |November
Austria | <2>(4.8) |February
Norway |4.8 |February
Finland |3.8 |April
Luxembourg | <1>(1.8) |April
Sweden |1.6 |April
EC average | <1>(9.3) |May
<1> For those EC countries for which no OECD standardised rates
are available, similar harmonised rates compiled by the
Statistical Office of European Communities (EUROSTAT) are shown
in brackets. These showed the United Kingdom rate at 6.8 per
cent. in May compared with the EC average of 9.3 per cent.
<2> National definitions. Standardised rates not available for
Austria.
117. Mr. Roger King : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of the United Kingdom population is in employment ; and what is the European average.
Mr. Lee : In 1987 nearly 45 per cent. of the total population of the United Kingdom were in employment, compared with an average of around 39 per cent. for Europe as a whole (excluding eastern Europe).
HIV-positive Workers
21. Mr. Key : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has any evidence of discrimination in the workplace against persons who are HIV positive ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nicholls : There is little significant evidence available, but my right hon. Friend is concerned about any unjustified workplace discrimination. In most occupations there is no risk of infected persons passing HIV to others. There is no justification for employers to treat people who are HIV-positive differently from other employees or job applicants.
Strikes
22. Mr. Ian Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has received any representations about strikes in the public sector ; and if he will make a statement.
27. Mr. Hanley : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has received any representations about unofficial strikes ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nicholls : My right hon. Friend has received many representations concerning the recent irresponsible and unnecessary industrial action in certain public sector services. The Government are considering what needs to be done to protect the public interest, and we will not hesitate to come forward with appropriate proposals for legislation if that proves necessary.
32. Mr. Thornton : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many strike ballots have been held before proposed strikes in the last five years ; how many resulted in a vote not to strike ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nicholls : The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service is currently aware of some 1,023 ballots which took place between 26 September 1984 and 31 May 1989 of which 115 were against taking strike action.
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