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Column 490
The former assumes that the mortgage interest rate remains at the level in November for the remainder of 1989- 90.Estimates for the cost of allowances and reliefs at 1988-89 levels of income are given in the table. All estimates are provisional and subject to revision.
Cost of tax allowances and reliefs
|£ million
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Married man's allowance |13,100
Single person's allowance |8,700
Wife's earned income allowance |3,300
Election for separate taxation of wife's earnings |310
Age allowances |380
Mortgage interest relief<1> |5,500
Life assurance premium relief (where insurance
contract made before 14 March 1984)<1> |480
Employee's contributions to occupational pensions<2> |1,700
Employer's contributions to occupational pensions<2><3> |2,600
Contributions to personal pensions (including
retirement annuity premia and FSAVCS)<3><5> |425
Investment income of occupational pension
schemes<2><3> |4,400
<1>Including the cost of deductions at source for non-taxpayers.
<2>The total cost of tax reliefs for pension schemes cannot be calculated
by adding together the costs of the individual reliefs as this would imply
a considerable degree of multiple taxation.
<3>On the basis that under present arrangements employers' contributions
are not taxable as a benefit in kind of the employee.
<4>It is not possible to provide more detailed estimates or reliable
estimates of the cost of exempting investment income and lump sum payments
related to retirement annuity contracts.
<5>Assuming relief at the basic rate of income tax.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Namibia
Mr. Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many detainees were discovered when the Clarke mission visited the SWAPO camp at Kwanza Sul in Angola ; and whether UNTAG has subsequently ensured their return to Namibia to vote in the current elections provided for under the United Nations plan.
Mr. Waldegrave : The United Nations mission on detainees found no detainees in any of the alleged detention centres it visited in Angola.
Mr. Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the Clarke mission to investigate SWAPO camps in Angola and Zambia ; and if he will list those camps visited.
Mr. Waldegrave : We have noted the report's findings. The United Nations mission visited 22 locations in Angola, including Minya camp, Old Hainyeko camp, Ethiopia camp, Lenin camp and the vocational training centre in Kwanza Sul. It also visited eight locations in Zambia, including Nyanko camp near Kaomo.
Mr. Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what has been the total United Nations contribution to SWAPO ; on what criteria the contribution has been made ; and how much has been the United Kingdom contribution to this total.
Mr. Waldegrave : The United Nations has financed certain travel and accommodation costs for SWAPO since
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1977. The budget for this purpose for the biennium 1988-89 was $1, 006,000. The United Kingdom contributed 4.86 per cent. of the United Nations regular budget in 1988-89. SWAPO has also benefited from projects run by the Council of Namibia and other United Nations bodies. United Nations funding of SWAPO was terminated on 1 April.Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what political and financial support the Government is prepared to give the United Nations to assist in the discharge of the responsibilities of any Namibian constituent assembly.
Mr. Waldegrave : We are making a substantial financial and material contribution to the United Nations transition assistance group whose role will continue until independance. The costs of the constituent assembly will be met by the existing Administration.
Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support the Government will give to the Secretary General of the United Nations in his plans to provide assistance to Namibia in the period between elections and independence.
Mr. Waldegrave : We fully support the secretary general's efforts to mobilise assistance to Namibia in the period between elections and independence. We already provide assistance to Namibia bilaterally and through the European Community and the Commonwealth.
Refuseniks
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 Tatiana Futoryanskaya of Moscow and her daughter Ilana ;
(2) what representations have been made to the Russian authorities about the case of Andre and Irene Itkina Yershov of Kharkov and their daughter.
Mr. Waldegrave : We have not previously raised these particular cases with the Soviet authorities but we shall be ready to do so if my hon. Friend will provide the details.
Drug Smuggling (Bahamas)
Mr. Cummings : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last met representatives of the Bahamas ; whether the question of illegal drugs was raised ; and if he will make a statement on aid to the Bahamas to combat drug smuggling.
Mr. Sainsbury : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has not met Bahamian Government representatives, but my hon. Friend the then Minister of State, Home Office, had constructive meetings in May with Prime Minister Pindling about the threat from cocaine. In the last two years we have provided £66,000 of assistance to reinforce the Bahamas' capability to combat drug trafficking.
East Timor
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will seek to persuade the United Nations to establish an inquiry into allegations of torture and disappearances during the Indonesian occupation of East Timor.
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Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last met Amnesty International to discuss the Indonesian occupation of East Timor ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Sainsbury : Amnesty International has raised the question of human rights in East Timor with us in the course of regular contacts at official level. We are thus aware of its concerns and take careful note of its reports.
Germany
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government on the reunification of Germany.
Mr. Maude : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr. Wallace) on 13 November.
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government regarding the lands formerly occupied by Germany and now recognised as belonging to Poland.
Mr. Waldegrave : We give de facto recognition to those parts of Poland's borders established at the Potsdam conference in 1945. We welcomed the treaty of 1970 between Poland and the FRG, including its provisions which related to Poland's western frontier.
China
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations Her Majesty's Government have made to China concerning human rights.
Mr. Maude : Following the events of June, the Presidency made a number of representations to the Chinese authorities stressing the concern of the Twelve at the repression in China. On 27 June the European Council issued a declaration which requested the Chinese authorities to respect human rights. Within the United Nations system we raised our concerns about human rights in China in the July meeting of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. My right hon. Friend the then Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs also raised the situation in China in his speech to the United Nations general assembly on 27 September.
South Korea
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations Her Majesty's Government have made to the Government of South Korea concerning human rights abuses.
Mr. Sainsbury : None. Since President Roh assumed office in February 1988 we have been pleased to note a substantial improvement in the Republic of Korea's human rights record.
Hong Kong
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the hon. Members who have visited Hong Kong at the invitation of the Hong Kong Government in each of the last three years.
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Mr. Maude : The list for the current and three previous financial years is as follows :
1986-87
Full Sponsorship
Mr. Ian Wrigglesworth (Ex-Stockton, South)
Mr. Jack Dormand (Ex-Easington)
Mr. David Alton (Mossley Hill)
Mr. George Roberston (Hamilton)
Mr. James Couchman (Gillingham)
Mr. David Atkinson (Bournemouth East)
Mr. Donald Anderson (Swansea, East)
Mr. Robert Jackson (Wantage)
Partial Sponsorship
Mr. Neil Hamilton (Tatton)
Mr. Hugh Dykes (Harrow, East)
Mr. Clive Soley (Hammersmith)
Mr. Brynmor John (Ex-Pontypridd)
1987-88
Full Sponsorship
Mr. Bryan Gould (Dagenham)
Mr. Tristan Garel-Jones (Watford)
Dr. Jeremy Bray (Motherwell, South)
Mr. Jerry Wiggin (Weston-Super-Mare)
Mr. Michael Neubert (Romford)
Mr. George Foulkes (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley)
Mr. Alan Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed)
Rt. Hon. Sir Peter Blaker (Blackpool, South)
Dr. John Marek (Wrexham)
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley (Surrey, South-West)
Partial Sponsorship
Rt. Hon. Jack Ashley (Stoke-on-Trent, South)
Rt. Hon. Alfred Morris (Wythenshawe)
Mr. James Hill (Southampton, Test)
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1988-89Full Sponsorship
Sir Russell Johnston (Inverness, Nairn and Lochaber)
Rt. Hon. John Smith (Monklands, East)
Mr. Andrew MacKay (Berkshire, East)
Mr. Stuart Randall (Kingston upon Hull, West)
Mr. Timothy Yeo (Suffolk, South)
Mr. Andrew Rowe (Mid Kent)
April-October-- 1989
Full Sponsorship
Rt. Hon. Gerald Kaufman (Gorton)
Rt. Hon. Sir Peter Blaker (Blackpool, South)
Mr. George Foulkes (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley)
Sir Hal Miller (Bromsgrove)
Mr. Tony Blair (Sedgefield)
Mrs. Elizabeth Peacock (Batley and Spen)
Mr. Andrew Mitchell (Gedling)
Mr. Kenneth Warren (Hastings and Rye)
Mr. William Powell (Corby)
Partial Sponsorship
Mr. Robert Wareing (Liverpool, West Derby)
Mr. Timothy Yeo (Suffolk, South)
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the cost to the Hong Kong Exchequer for (a) fares and (b) hospitality for visiting hon. Members in each of the last three years.
Mr. Maude : The cost to the Hong Kong Government of these visits for this and the three previous financial years is as follows :
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|1986-87 |1987-88 |1988-89 |April-October 1989
|HKD |HKD |HKD |HKD
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Full sponsorship |(8) |(10) |(6) |(9)
(a) Air fare |200,542 |312,327 |180,128 |288,000
(b) Hospitality (including hotel) |127,527 |126,512 |80,396 |89,533
Partial sponsorship |(4) |(3) |(Nil) |(2)
(a) Hospitality (including hotel) |27,119 |26,577 |Nil |17,585
|------- |------- |------- |-------
Total |355,188 |465,416 |260,524 |395,118
Note: Figures in brackets denote the number of Members of Parliament.
Under the Hong Kong Government's visits programme, a number of Members of Parliament are offered fully sponsored visits to the territory each year-- both air fare and hotel accommodation are provided. In addition, a number of Members of Parliament who pass through Hong Kong and agree to undertake a programme of visits are offered partial sponsorship, ie hotel accommodation only.
Albania
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if there are any plans to resume diplomatic relations with Albania ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Waldegrave : Our 1980 offer to establish diplomatic relations without pre-conditions remains open, but the Albanian Government have unfortunately not taken it up. Officials from the FCO have held talks with Albanian officials with a view to resolving the problems which have hindered the establishment of diplomatic relations, most recently in 1988. No agreement was reached, but we
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should be happy to continue discussion with the Albanian Government if this seemed likely to lead to a mutually satisfactory outcome.State Recognition
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what criteria are adopted by Her Majesty's Government in recognising a sovereign state.
Mr. Sainsbury : The normal criteria that we apply for recognition as a state are that it should have, and seem likely to continue to have, a clearly defined territory with a population, a Government who are able of themselves to exercise effective control of that territory, and independence in their external relations. Other factors, including some United Nations resolutions, may also be relevant.
Republic of Korea
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's present relations with the Republic of Korea.
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Mr. Sainsbury : Our relations with the Republic of Korea are excellent. We look forward to the further strengthening of relations during the visit of President Roh Tae-woo later this month.
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if there are any plans to recognise the Democratic People's Republic of Korea ; and if he will make a statement.
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