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National Galleries and Museums (Correspondence)
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Minister for the Arts whether he will place in the Library a copy of the letter from the chairmen of national galleries and museums, which he received in July.
Mr. Luce [holding answer 6 November 1989] : I do not propose to do so.
Grants
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Minister for the Arts whether he will publish a table showing the current level of grants by (a) the Arts Council and (b) the regional arts associations to enable client arts companies to pursue (i) social, (ii) educational and (iii) local activities.
Mr. Luce [holding answer 6 November 1989] : I am informed that it is not possible to give a precise breakdown on the basis of these categories.
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Minister for the Arts whether he will publish tables showing the level of purchase grants in (a) cash and (b) real terms for each national gallery and museum in each of the last 10 years.
Mr. Luce [holding answer 6 November 1989] : Purchase grants for each of the national museums and galleries for which I am responsible have been as follows :
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£ thousand
|1980-81|1981-82|1982-83|1983-84|1984-85|1985-86|1986-87|1987-88|1988-89|1989-90
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
British Museum |1,517 |1,692 |1,590 |1,617 |1,737 |1,460 |1,400 |1,400 |1,400 |1,400
British Museum
(Natural History) |113 |157 |171 |181 |190 |190 |190 |190 |190 |190
Imperial War Museum |90 |110 |87 |97 |147 |100 |100 |100 |100 |100
National Gallery |3,109 |2,930 |2,988 |3,331 |3,331 |2,750 |2,750 |2,750 |2,750 |2,750
National Maritime Museum 244 178 182 203 203 205 205 205 205 205
National Museums and
Galleries on Merseyside - |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |750 |<1>750
National Portrait Gallery 291 302 278 310 301 310 310 310 310 310
Science Museum |355 |362 |336 |434 |416 |461 |375 |375 |375 |375
Tate Gallery |1,888 |1,794 |1,860 |2,041 |1,815 |1,815 |1,815 |1,815 |1,815 |1,815
Victoria and Albert Museum 1,130 1,160 1,184 1,320 1,320 1,145 1,145 1,145 1,145 1,145
Wallace Collection |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |<2>-
After adjustment by the GDP deflator, the figures are:
British Museum |1,517 |1,542 |1,353 |1,315 |1,346 |1,073 |996 |947 |882 |836
British Museum
(Natural History) |113 |143 |146 |147 |147 |140 |135 |128 |120 |114
Imperial War Museum |90 |100 |74 |79 |114 |73 |71 |68 |63 |60
National Gallery |3,109 |2,670 |2,542 |2,709 |2,582 |2,020 |1,957 |1,860 |1,733 |1,643
National Maritime Museum 244 162 155 165 157 151 146 139 129 122
National Museums and
Galleries on Merseyside - - - - - - - - 473 <1>448
National Portrait Gallery 291 275 237 252 240 228 221 210 195 185
Science Museum |355 |330 |286 |353 |322 |339 |267 |254 |236 |224
Tate Gallery |1,888 |1,634 |1,583 |1,660 |1,582 |1,333 |1,292 |1,227 |1,144 |1,084
Victoria and Albert Museum 1,130 1,060 1,007 1,073 1,023 841 815 774 722 684
Wallace Collection |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |<2>-
<1>The National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside was established in 1986.
<2>The terms of the bequest to the nation preclude acquisitions.
PSA Buildings
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Minister for the Arts which national museums and galleries have not yet accepted responsibility for their buildings from the Property Services Agency.
Mr. Luce [holding answer 6 November 1989] : All of the national museums and galleries sponsored by my Department are now responsible for their building and maintenance programmes and received grant-in-aid for these purposes.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Public Sector Employees
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will ensure that the agreement of trade unions is sought prior to any changes to remove employment rights from public sector employees as part of any future plans to privatise public sector jobs.
Mr. Lilley : The Government ensure that there is appropriate consultation with employees and their representatives about changes that affect them.
Northern Region
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many small businesses have been registered for value added tax in the Northern region for each year since 1983 ; and how many have been deregistered.
Mr. Ryder : Records are not maintained by size of business or in such a way that will enable figures for the Northern region to be identified with precision. However, the local VAT offices at Carlisle, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, Washington and Middlesbrough cover an area bounded by Carlisle and Berwick in the north to Barrow and Scarborough in the south.
The numbers of VAT registrations and deregistrations processed by these offices in the years in question were :
@ Year |Registrations |Deregistrations ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1983 |6,679 |5,595 1984 |6,664 |5,859 1985 |7,456 |7,521 1986 |7,745 |7,343 1987 |7,926 |6,648 1988 |9,756 |7,386 1989<1> |7,803 |5,821 <1>to 30 September
Greater London (Legislation)
Mr. Fraser : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to ensure that prints of legislation relating to London and Greater London such as Greater London Council (General Powers) Acts are available to members of the public ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Ryder : Greater London Council (General Powers) Acts and other local Acts relating to Greater London Council matters were published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, from which copies may still be obtained.
NATO Exercises
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the extent of involvement by his Department in NATO exercise Wintex/Cimex 1987 and exercise Wintex/Cimex 1989 ; what is the number of staff engaged in the exercise planning process and in the exercises themselves ; and what are the posts, ranks and responsibilities of the staff involved.
Mr. Ryder : The Treasury plays its part in testing those procedures in which we have an interest. Staff participate as required ; it would not be appropriate for me to supply the details requested.
Business Statistics Office (Newport)
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff have been employed in the business statistics office in Newport in each of the past five years.
Mr. Lilley : The number of staff in post at the Business Statistics Office at 1 April of each of the last five years were :
|Number
---------------------
1985 |705.0
1986 |706.5
1987 |682.5
1988 |660.5
1989 |658.0
Imports
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the percentage rate of growth of imports year by year from 1984 to 1989 of (a) capital goods and (b) consumer goods.
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Mr. Norman Lamont : The percentage growth in the volume of imports in each year from 1984 is as follows :
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Overseas Trade Statistics basis
Percentage change on
previous year:
|1984 |1985 |1986 |1987 |1988 |1989
-----------------------------------------------------------------
(a) Capital goods |18 |7.0 |1.5 |11.0 |24 |<1>21
(b) Consumer goods
(including passenger
motor cars) |3 |2.5 |9.0 |8.5 |16 |<1>17
<1> 1989 figure is the first 9 months of 1989 over the same
period in 1988.
Excluding the more erratic items-ships, North Sea installations
and aircraft.
Official Report
Miss Widdecombe : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the price of the Official Report.
Mr. Ryder : Following a review by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, I have authorised increases of 65p in the prices of the daily part and Standing Committee debates and of £3 in the price of the weekly part. Subscription rates will be adjusted accordingly and the scale of charges for reprints of Members' speeches appearing in the Official Report will also be raised. These increases, coupled with careful control of production costs, are further steps towards eliminating the central subsidy required, a goal that has now been achieved with respect to the fortnightly index, bound volumes and the volume index where prices will remain unchanged. The rises will come into effect from the beginning of the new Session.
Small Business Tax Accounts
Mr. Jack : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps the Inland Revenue are taking to simplify tax accounts for small businesses.
Mr. Lilley : As from next April, detailed tax accounts will no longer be needed from many small businesses. Taxpayers will still need to keep accurate business records, but three line accounts will be accepted with tax returns. This relaxation could simplify dealing with tax for up to a million small businesses.
Civil Service Pay
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) by what percentage the pay of (a) grade 7 civil servants and (b) grade 5 civil servants would need to rise to equal the median pay levels of comparable private sector jobs ;
(2) what was the outcome of the recent exercise on comparisons of senior Civil Service pay levels with the private sector.
Mr. Ryder [holding answer 6 November 1989] : This year's pay negotiations for civil servants at grades 5 to 7 were informed by a survey of data on private sector pay levels and benefits for comparable jobs. The results of the survey are confidential to the parties and cannot therefore be released.
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will raise the pay levels of civil servants to match those of comparable jobs in the private sector ;
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(2) what assessment he has made of the effect on morale of the comparative levels of pay in the Civil Service and the private sector ;(3) when he next intends to undertake a comparison of private sector pay levels against Civil Service pay levels.
Mr. Ryder [holding answer 6 November 1989] : The longer term pay determination arrangements under the new flexible pay agreements, now covering nearly all civil servants, provide for surveys of private sector pay levels every four years. The appropriate data on pay for comparable jobs in the private sector are taken into account together with other factors, such as affordability, recruitment and retention patterns etc., in each of the negotiations about pay increases for civil servants. Morale can be influenced by many factors, one of which may be pay. As far as pay is concerned, all the recent settlements under the new flexible pay agreements have been overwhelmingly accepted by staff.
Civil Service Dispersal
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in the Official Report details of those sections of his Department which have been relocated in the last five years, indicating the sites to which they have been moved ; whether consideration is being given to future relocation of London-based sections of his Department to sites outside London ; and whether the central Borders of Scotland has been identified as a suitable area for any future moves.
Mr. Ryder [holding answer 6 November 1989] : No sections of the Treasury have been relocated in the last five years. A review of the location of its activities is taking place under the policy that my right hon. Friend the, then, Paymaster General announced on 31 March 1988 at columns 610-11. No decisions have yet been taken.
War Games
Mr. Rowe : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if war games used by firms to instil aggressiveness are deductible against tax.
Mr. Lilley [holding answer 6 November 1989] : Payments which are not of a capital nature are deductible for tax purposes in calculating trading profits if they are made wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the payer's trade.
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Income
Mr. Denzil Davies : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what was the income per capita in each of the regions of England as a percentage of the United Kingdom level in 1979-80 and in each succeeding year up the latest available year.
(2) what was the income per capita in Northern Ireland as a percentage of the United Kingdom level in 1979-80 and in each succeeding year up to the latest available year.
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(3) what was the income per capita in Scotland as a percentage of the United Kingdom level in 1979-80 and in each succeeding year up to the latest available year.(4) what was the income per capita in Wales as a percentage of the United Kingdom level in 1979-80 and in each succeeding year up to the latest available year.
Mr. Major [holding answer 6 November 1989] : Figures for total personal sector income per capita are available for calendar rather than for fiscal years and these are as follows :
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Total personal sector income per capita
(United Kingdom = 100)
|1979 |1980 |1981 |1982 |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
North |90.4 |92.4 |93.7 |95.0 |92.4 |90.6 |92.5 |91.7 |91.2
Yorkshire and Humberside |93.6 |94.2 |93.0 |94.1 |93.1 |91.2 |92.6 |93.2 |92.5
East Midlands |96.1 |95.8 |95.6 |95.6 |95.3 |96.3 |95.1 |95.3 |93.5
East Anglia |95.1 |97.0 |96.1 |95.5 |95.2 |99.6 |99.1 |97.7 |98.9
Greater London |123.2|122.6|124.2|122.3|121.9|122.8|125.0|124.1|126.6
Rest of South East |109.1|109.2|110.5|109.7|111.8|112.1|111.2|111.7|112.5
South East |114.8|114.6|116.0|114.7|115.8|116.3|116.6|116.6|118.0
South West |95.2 |97.9 |96.2 |96.9 |97.5 |97.1 |96.6 |96.6 |96.7
West Midlands |95.1 |91.5 |89.2 |88.9 |88.8 |87.9 |88.4 |89.2 |89.0
North West |94.5 |94.6 |94.3 |94.0 |93.1 |92.7 |92.4 |92.5 |91.7
Wales |89.3 |90.2 |87.7 |89.6 |88.9 |87.5 |87.9 |85.4 |84.2
Scotland |94.3 |94.1 |95.8 |96.6 |96.7 |97.8 |96.0 |96.9 |95.9
Northern Ireland |83.8 |81.7 |82.4 |84.7 |84.5 |84.4 |82.2 |82.2 |81.5
The figures for the last four years were published in Economic Trends No. 421 November 1988 ; a copy of which is available in the Library. They are income estimates for the personal sector which in addition to households include private non-profitmaking bodies, unincorporated private businesses, private trusts and the funds of life assurance companies and pension schemes. The figures include income from employment, self-employment, rent (including imputed rent of owner-occupied dwellings), dividends plus net interest and social security benefits.
Figures for 1987 are provisional and a revised set including the year 1988 will be available in March-April 1990.
Figures for income per capita of the household sector (as opposed to the personal sector) have also been produced for 1984 and 1987 and these were published in Economic Trends No. 429 July 1989 ; a copy of which is available in the Library.
The per capita income is calculated by dividing total income by resident population, including children, in each region.
Trader Salesmen
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what resources he is making available to sanctioning the tax returns of self-employed trader salesmen in London.
Mr. Lilley [holding answer 3 November 1989] : The information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Exchange Rate
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the obligations and responsibilities required of by Her Majesty's Government in the event of the United Kingdom joining the exchange rate mechanism.
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Mr. Lilley [holding answer 31 October 1989] : These are contained in the resolution of the European Council of5 December 1978 on the establishment of the European monetary system (EMS) and related matters.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Fylingdales
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions have been held between the Soviet Union and the United States concerning the future of Fylingdales early warning station ; and what was the outcome.
Mr. Waldegrave : The United States Administration keep us well briefed on those aspects of their talks with the Soviet Government which could affect our interests. It is not for us to divulge details.
Refusniks
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what representations have been made to the Russian authorities about the case of Marina Gorelik of Moscow. (2) what representations have been made to the Russian authorities about the case of Isaak Aronovich Shifrin of Leningrad.
Mr. Maude : We have not previously raised these particular cases with the Soviet authorities but we will be happy to do so if the hon. Member will provide details.
Loan Service Personnel
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what amount of military aid he allocated in 1987- 88 for the provision of loan service personnel to Belize ;
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(2) what amount of military aid he allocated in 1987-88 for the provision of loan service personnel to Thailand ;(3) what amount of military aid he allocated in 1987-88 for the provision of United Kingdom military training for Belize service personnel ;
(4) what amount of military aid he allocated in 1987-88 for the provision of United Kingdom training for Thai service personnel.
Mr. Maude : It is not our practice to disclose the cost of assistance to individual countries.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Computer Centre (Livingston)
Mr. Frank Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many firms submitted bids to run the Department's computer centre at Livingston.
Mrs. Gillian Shepherd : After considering the capabilities of a number of different firms, three companies were invited to tender for running the computer operations at ACC1 Livingston.
Mr. Frank Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether his Department or staff working within his Department, submitted a bid to retain in-house the contract for running the computer centre at Livingston.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The option of running the area computer centre (ACC) in-house was considered on the basis of a full assessment by the line managers concerned of how the ACC would be run in-house under Civil Service management, in the same way as the Department's existing large computer centres. A bid was not made by the Department's staff. The ACC operations at Livingston constitute new work and the jobs of existing civil servants are not affected.
Computer Contracts
Mr. Frank Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans his Department has for putting out to tender other contracts running different aspects of the Department's computer work.
Mrs. Gillian Shepherd : It is the Government's policy to seek value for money by testing the market. Further computer work in the Department may be put out to tender. The decision to do so will be made on a case-by- case basis as the need arises.
Unemployed Claimants
Ms. Short : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if when unemployed claimants take advantage of employment on trial and subsequently leave the job within the period in which they are allowed to without being held to be voluntarily unemployed transitional protection received during the previous claim will be reinstated in full if they are home owners who were receiving full help with their mortgage interest payments, will these be reinstated in full ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : Yes, providing the claimant satisfies the conditions for employment on trial for
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unemployment benefit purposes. We have also ensured that people who undertake employment for a trial period will continue to receive the higher earnings disregard, and similar concessions have been made available to people, such as lone parents, who are not required to be available for employment.Homeless Families
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will take steps to restore the £6 housing benefit subsidy per week for each child aged under 11 years in a homeless family in bed-and-breakfast accommodation which resulted from recent changes in the benefit system.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The arrangements for subsidising housing benefit paid to homeless families in bed-and-breakfast accommodation, including those with children under the age of 11, enable local authorities to receive an equivalent level of support in 1989-90 to that provided to them through income support prior to 10 April 1989.
Pensioners
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will review the advertising undertaken to alert potential beneficiaries of their possible entitlement to the extra £5 pension this autumn with a view to ascertaining the extent to which pensioners were misled by those adverts, and to avoiding any such inadvertent confusion in future.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : I do not accept that the advertising was misleading. One of the major intentions of the publicity was to ensure that those in doubt made a claim.
Hostel Board and Lodging Charges
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how the Department will monitor the changes in the hostel board and lodging charges in respect of the cost of administration of the new arrangements to (a) the hostels and their management committees, (b) local authorities, and (c) Department of Social Security local offices.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The Department will monitor carefully all aspects of the hostel changes, and will consider any points raised by hostels about administration costs. A grant of £0.5 million has been made available to local authorities to support their costs in taking on the payment of housing benefit to hostel dwellers.
Offices (Doncaster and Wath-on-Dearne)
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list by month and by social security office for the current year the number of short fixed-term temporary staff employed in Doncaster and Wath-on-Dearne social security offices, the reasons, and their qualifications.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : No fixed-term temporary staff have been employed at either Wath-on-Dearne or Doncaster (East) in the current year. The figures for Doncaster (West) are as follows :
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|Number
--------------------------
1 January |3
1 February |7
1 March |7
1 April |7
1 May |4
1 June |4
1 July |3
1 August |3
1 September |2
1 October |9
1 November |12
The recruits were offered fixed-term contracts rather than permanent positions in view of the need to reduce staffing levels in 1990 when major computerisation is introduced. Temporary staff on fixed-term contracts are required to have similar qualifications to those employed on a permanent basis.
Civil Service Transfers
Mr. Allen McKay : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if, upon the creation of agencies providing his Department's operations, all existing Civil Service staff will be transferred to those agencies with at least existing salary scales, promotion prospects and conditions of service.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The staff of agencies will remain civil servants and members of the Department. We have not so far identified the need for any changes in conditions of service : if we do so, any such changes will be introduced only after the appropriate consultation with staff and their representatives.
Occupational Pensions
Mr. Neale : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he expects to publish a response to the Occupational Pensions Board report on protecting pensions.
Mr. Newton : I am grateful to the Occupational Pensions Board for its report. As a result I will be bringing forward legislation at the earliest opportunity to strengthen the benefit security of members of occupational pension schemes and to provide for help for individuals in dealing with pension schemes. These measures reflect both the recommendations of the Occupational Pensions Board and the comments which have been made by right hon. and hon. Members, interested organisations and the public.
To improve benefit security, I propose four measures. First, we will strengthen the protection for early leavers from occupational pension schemes, which we introduced in 1985, by requiring schemes to revalue all future early leavers' preserved pension rights. Pension rights which go beyond the guaranteed minimum pension will have to be revalued in line with prices, up to a maximum of 5 per cent. a year. Secondly, where a pension scheme winds up, the same revaluation requirement will also apply to future pensions and to pensions in payment. Thirdly, again on wind up, any deficiency in a scheme's assets to meet scheme liabilities, including these new liabilities, will become a debt on the employer. Fourthly, we shall introduce a new ceiling on self-investment for pension
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schemes which will allow them to hold no more than 5 per cent. of their assets in the employer's business ; schemes will of course be given time to meet this requirement.I also intend to initiate a number of further steps to improve the range of help and advice available to individual pension scheme members. To provide an alternative to the High Court as a means of resolving scheme members' grievances, I propose that there shall be a pensions ombudsman. I propose, too, improved tracing services--based on a register of pension schemes--to help individuals discover which company is responsible for pension rights acquired in previous employment, and I wish to see the activities of the Occupational Pension Advisory Service extended and funded more securely. There will also be amendments to the disclosure regulations to improve information available to scheme members.
I shall be implementing other OPB recommendations which include better protection and increased choice for members involved in bulk transfers between pensions schemes.
I shall be seeking the co-operation of the industry in implementing these initiatives. Discussions with the relevant organisations will be set in hand immediately.
Family Benefits
Mr. Corbett : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many (a) mothers and (b) single-parent fathers are currently receiving child benefit ; how many of each are receiving single-parent supplement ; and what have been the comparable numbers in each of the past two years.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard [holding answer 23 October 1989] : The information is not available in the exact form requested. The following is the estimated number of women and men receiving child benefit and one parent benefit for the latest three years :
Child benefit One parent benefit
December |Women |Men |Women |Men
------------------------------------------------------------
1986 |6,626,000|135,000 |544,000 |63,000
1987 |6,578,000|134,000 |615,000 |66,000
1988 |6,572,000|134,000 |643,000 |64,000
SCOTLAND
Health Service
92. Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what consultations he has had in the past month concerning Government proposals for changes in the National Health Service relating, in particular, to the impact on the Health Service in Scotland.
93. Mr. Salmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what consultations he has had in the past month concerning Government proposals for changes in the National Health Service relating, in particular, to the impact on the Health Service in Scotland.
94. Mr. Andrew Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what consultations he has had in the past month concerning Government proposals for changes in the National Health Service relating, in particular, to the impact on the Health Service in Scotland.
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Mr. Michael Forsyth : During October, my right hon. and learned Friend and I continued consultations with a wide range of interested bodies and individuals. In particular, I met on 23 October the Scottish Committee on Hospital Medical Services. Further discussions have taken place at official level with those who have expressed an interest in the proposals for GP practice budgets and for self-governing trusts.
Laboratory and Radiodiagnostic Services
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many health boards are currently exploring the possibility of placing out laboratory and radiodiagnostic services to competitive tendering.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : All health boards are examining the services which they provide to ensure that quality is maintained and value for money achieved.
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