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Mr. Jessel : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 7 December.
Dr. Reid : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 7 December.
Mr. Raffan : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 7 December.
Ms. Abbott : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 7 December.
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 7 December. Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 7 December.
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Ms. Mahon : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 7 December.Mr. Favell : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 7 December.
Mr. Eastham : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 7 December.
Mr. Stern : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 7 December.
Mr. French : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 7 December.
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 7 December.
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 7 December.
Mr. Pike : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 7 December.
Mr. Hanley : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 7 December.
The Prime Minister : This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. I shall depart for Strasbourg later today to attend the European Council
Public Appointments
Mrs. Roe : To ask the Prime Minister how many persons above the age of (a) 60, (b) 65 and (c) 70 years she has appointed to public bodies in each of the last 10 years.
The Prime Minister : We do not classify appointments in this way.
Cambodia
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Prime Minister how many letters and telephone calls she has received on the subject of Cambodia in the last month ; and if she will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : I have received approximately 6,900 letters on Cambodia-related matters in the past month.
Factory Closures
Mr. Parry : To ask the Prime Minister if she will meet the hon. Member for Liverpool, Riverside to discuss the implications of the proposed closure of the BAT factory, Liverpool, following her promise in the House to meet any hon. Member in whose constituency a factory closure is about to occur, Official Report, 12 February 1981, column 981.
The Prime Minister : I will of course always make every effort to meet hon. Members in whose constituencies a main factory closure occurs. Delegations, however, should go to the Minister concerned.
Downing Street (Telephones)
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Prime Minister how many direct telephone lines are in existence at No. 10 Downing street, London, connecting that address to the Head of Government of any other country ; and which countries are so connnected.
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Berlin Wall
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Prime Minister if she has any plans to visit the Berlin wall.
The Prime Minister : I have at present no plans to do so, but my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs visited Berlin on 16 November. I greatly welcome the freer movement which has eased the division of that city.
Official Duties
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Prime Minister what provision she has made for her official duties to be carried out in the event of (a) her absence abroad or (b) her incapacity through illness.
The Prime Minister : During my absences abroad I continue to exercise my official responsibilities. The provision to be made in the event of illness would depend upon the circumstances.
El Salvador
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Prime Minister if she herself has made any representations to the United States authorities about the recent murder of six priests and others in El Salvador by death squads alleged to be connected with the El Salvadorian Government ; and if she will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : No. I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Liverpool, Mossley Hill (Mr. Alton) on 30 November by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs at column 416 from which he will see that the Salvadorean authorities are aware of our views.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Family Incomes
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the value of total child care assistance, combining tax reliefs and benefits payments, for a man on average earnings with a wife and two children aged five and 11 years in each EEC country in £ sterling equivalents ; and what are each of these totals as a percentage of the average earnings in that country.
Mr. Scott : Benefit rates for family benefits in each EC member state, converted into sterling using purchasing power parities to give a more accurate reflection of domestic purchasing power, are contained in the Department's "Tables of Social Benefit Systems in the European Communities" which is available in the Library. Tax allowances for children in each EC member state are set out in the table.
It is not possible to calculate the combined effect of cash benefits and tax allowances for a family on average earnings since there are no available statistics on average annual earnings. For a full picture one would also need to take account of the impact of social security contributions, which in most EC countries are much higher than in the United Kingdom, but again this is impossible for the family type in question without annual earnings data.
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Tax allowances for children BelgiumChild allowance deducted as percentage of tax amount due. For two children 20 per cent. is deducted.
Denmark
No tax deductions are given, but taxpayers with minor children are entitled to various tax-free child subsidies.
France
Income divided by co-efficient applicable to family circumstances, (eg three for married persons with two children). Tax tables then applied, and resulting tax is multiplied by same co-efficient to give tax due.
Federal Republic of Germany
Deduction of £623 per annum per child.
Greece
Allowance for first two children £623 each.
Ireland
Allowance of £472 given in respect of an invalid child under 16 years of age.
Italy
Each spouse may deduct from his or her tax amount £20 for each qualifying child (ie minor child, disabled child or child under 26 years of age who is studying or learning a trade).
Luxembourg
Where taxable income does not exceed £14,423, and if there are four or fewer children, relief is given by dividing income by appropriate co- efficient (eg 3.4 for two children), applying tax table and then multiplying tax due by the same co-efficient. In other cases, deductions for children are made from income tax due, according to family size and income.
Netherlands
Allowance of £203 for parents of one of more children under the age of 12. If both parents "work outside the household" they may each claim this amount.
Portugal
Deduction of £329 for each child up to 11 years of age, £461 for each child over 11 and up to 24 years of age.
Spain
Deduction of £161 from income tax amount for each qualifying child (unmarried, under 25 and supported by taxpayer).
These figures were valid on 1 January 1989 and national currency has been converted into sterling using purchasing power parities.
Tenants (Local Authority Reimbursement)
Mr. Lofthouse : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much growth is to be allowed in the reimbursement to local authorities for (a) housing benefit in respect of local authority tenants and (b) rent allowances to private tenants for 1989-90 to 1991-92.
Mr. Scott : On the basis that subsidy for 1989-90=100, estimates of growth for the following two years are in the table.
|1989-90|1990-91|1991-92
----------------------------------------------------
(a) housing benefit |100 |107.5 |117.6
(b) rent allowances |100 |110.1 |116.2
Information incorporating the new housing revenue account subsidy will be available in the new year.
Rent Allowances
Mr. Lofthouse : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the estimated increases in rent allowances for (a) private landlords and (b) housing associations over the next planning period.
Mr. Scott : Estimates for the next planning period will be published early in the new year in "The Government's Expenditure plans 1990-91 to 1992-93."
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Public Appointments
Mrs. Roe : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many persons above the age of (a) 60, (b) 65 and (c) 70 years he has appointed to public bodies in each of the last 10 years.
Mr. Scott : As the Department is responsible for 14 public bodies with the present number of appointments totalling over 2,000 I regret that this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Unclaimed Benefit
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his estimate of the underpayment from the Consolidated Fund as a result of failure of potential beneficiaries to claim benefits to which they would have been entitled in each of the last five years.
Mr. Scott : The most recent available figures show that 90 per cent. of income-related benefit is taken up by those eligible. Available information is for 1983 and 1985 and is as follows :
|1983 |1985
|unclaimed |unclaimed
|(£ million)|(£ million)
-------------------------------------------------------------
Supplementary Benefit |570 |550
Housing Benefit
Certificated HB<1> |<2>180 |150
Standard HB<3> |<2>310 |360
Family Income Supplement |55 |<5>90
|----- |-----
Totals |1,115 |1,150
Source: Technical Notes.
Notes:
<1> Includes the unclaimed entitlements of Households not
receiving HB plus the excess of certificated amount over
standard receipt for those eligible to certificated HB but
receiving a lesser amount of standard HB. All figures
exclude families where the head or spouse is in full-time
self employment.
<2> Figures refer to 1984 for HB.
<3> All figures exclude households receiving or eligible for
certificated HB.
<4> 1983-84; based on pooled FES data for reasons of sample
size. Figures exclude families where head or spouse is in
full-time self employment.
<5> 1985-86; based on pooled FES data for reasons of sample
size. Figures exclude families where head or spouse is in
full-time self employment.
<6> Detailed analysis on both caseloads and expenditure
take-up are contained in the Technical Notes, copies of
which are in the Library.
Benefit Fraud
Mr. Cartwright : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether he will investigate the use of multiple identities by claimants ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : Special investigation teams were set up in all this Department's regional offices earlier this year to combat fraudulent claims involving the use of multiple identities.
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Social Fund
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish the proportion of social fund expenditure, on a month-by-month basis, which local offices are recommended to spend for each month in the current financial year and for the financial year 1990-91.
Mr. Scott : The national profile of anticipated expenditure for 1989 -90 is set out in the table. It was devised from an analysis of previous levels of national expenditure, as a guide to assist managers of local offices in planning expenditure of their annual budgets. It is not intended to represent a recommended pattern of monthly expenditure, and managers are free to produce their own profiles to take account of local factors in the area.
A profile for 1990-91 has not yet been devised.
National social fund anticipated expenditure profile 1989-90 Percentage of annual gross budget profile Month |per cent. ------------------------------ April |7.93 May |8.33 June |8.33 July |8.33 August |8.33 September |8.02 October |8.88 November |8.89 December |7.75 January |7.38 February |8.62 March |9.21
Family Credit
Mr. Squire : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many families with children with taxable incomes below the tax threshold are in receipt of family credit.
Mr. Scott : On the latest available information there are about 85, 000 cases where income tax was not being deducted from the earnings of the main earner at the time of the claim for family credit.
Attendance Allowance
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what was the total number of applications for attendance allowance received in Scotland in each year since 1980 ;
(2) what was the total number of applications for attendance allowance in Scotland which were refused in each year since 1980 ; (3) what was the total number of applications in Scotland for attendance allowance granted at (i) the higher rate and (ii) the lower rate in each year since 1980.
Mr. Scott [holding answer 27 November 1989] : The information is in the table.
Attendance allowance: New claims received and decided in Scotland
1980 to 1989
Year Number Number of claims decided
|of claims
|received |Higher rate|Lower rate |Rejections
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1980 |14,694 |3,137 |5,206 |<1>4,973
1981 |15,200 |3,358 |4,564 |<1>5,460
1982 |18,118 |4,038 |4,888 |6,561
1983 |18,597 |2,846 |7,795 |9,560
1984 |22,044 |4,531 |9,348 |9,421
1985 |23,908 |4,716 |9,472 |9,625
1986 |25,623 |4,441 |9,232 |10,304
1987 |29,348 |6,266 |11,374 |10,195
1988 |34,817 |7,825 |11,816 |13,047
<2>1989 |26,826 |5,830 |7,740 |9,485
<1> Estimated figures: data for 1980 and 1981 incomplete.
<2> To 30 September 1989.
CIVIL SERVICE
Health Checks
Mr. Baldry : To ask the Minister for the Civil Service what is Civil Service policy on ensuring regular health checks of all Civil Service personnel.
Mr. Luce : The health of successful applicants to the Civil Service is assessed on entry and some undergo medical examination. Civil servants in certain jobs are routinely examined at regular intervals because of statutory requirements or the nature of their employment. Increasingly Departments are actively promoting positive health in their staff by information and education. Many have arranged routine smear tests for cervical cancer. Fifteen Departments have so far signed up as supporters of the "Look After Your Heart" campaign being run by the Health Education Authority. One component of this campaign is individual fitness testing and blood pressure screening. The Civil Service Occupational Health Service is expanding its facilities to meet increased departmental demand for routine health checks, and can offer a range of services from comprehensive executive-type medical examinations to simple screening tests performed by a trained nurse.
Civil servants are also permitted to have time off work to attend their family practitioners who are being encouraged to offer regular preventive health checks to patients.
Secondment
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Minister for the Civil Service if he will give the numbers and names of (a) persons currently seconded to the Civil Service from private companies and (b) the companies from which they are seconded.
Mr. Luce : My Department's report on interchange in 1988 between the Civil Service and other organisations, a copy of which is in the Library, shows that there were 194 secondments (of three months or more) into the Civil Service from industrial or commercial organisations, and 311 outward secondments (of three months or more) to such organisations last year. The report lists the industrial or commercial organisations which were involved in the secondment. Data for 1989 will be included in the next report, which I hope will be available in the spring.
Secondments are arranged by agreement between the outside organisation and the Government Department concerned. It would not be appropriate to list the names of the employees of the outside organisations involved without their consent. This could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Column 345
THE ARTS
Public Appointments
Mrs. Roe : To ask the Minister for the Arts how many persons above the age of (a) 60, (b) 65 and (c) 70 years he has appointed to public bodies in each of the last 10 years.
Mr. Luce : The information is not kept in the form requested, and could be given only at a disproportionate cost.
Science Museum
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Minister for the Arts what information he has on the admission figures for the Science museum in the period October 1988 to October 1989.
Mr. Luce : I understand that in the year October 1988 to September 1989 attendance at the Science museum, South Kensington, and its two principal outstations, the National Railway museum, York, and the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television, Bradford, totalled 2,387,600.
Office of Arts and Libraries
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Minister for the Arts what was the expenditure by the Office of Arts and Libraries in the last financial year on (a) the arts, (b) museums, (c) libraries and (d) others.
Mr. Luce : The expenditure of the Office of Arts and Libraries in 1989-90 was as follows :
|£000
------------------------------------------------------------
Arts and the Heritage |178,548
Museums and Galleries |154,066
Libraries |79,835
Office of Arts and Libraries Administration |1,438
Details may be found in Volume 7 of the appropriation
accounts for 1988-89, published today (HC 15-VII).
Arts Council (NAO Report)
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Minister for the Arts whether he has received the report of the National Audit Office into the Arts Council of Great Britain.
Tate Gallery
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Minister for the Arts whether it is his intention to assist the Tate gallery, financially, to acquire Johann Zoffany's portrait of Lord Willoughby de Broke and his family at breakfast.
Mr. Luce : The Tate gallery receives an annual grant from my Office specifically for purchases for the collection. The sum allocated to the gallery in the current year for such purposes is just over £1.8 million.
It is for the trustees of each institution, and not for Government, to decide how and when this grant is spent, and whether to apply to other sources of funds which may be available to them to help with this.
TRANSPORT
Motorways (Accidents)
Mr. Hayes : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road accidents have been reported involving stationary vehicles on motorway hard shoulders in each of the years 1980 to 1989 ; and how many people were (a) injured and (b) killed.
Mr. Atkins : The figures requested are in the following table ; accident data for 1989 are currently unavailable.
Column 345
Road accidents on motorways in which one or more vehicles were stationary on
the hard shoulder, and casualties resulting from such accidents:
by severity: Great Britain: 1980-88
Accidents Casualties
|Fatal |Serious|Slight |Total |Fatal |Serious|Slight |Total
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1980 |17 |39 |40 |96 |18 |54 |87 |159
1981 |18 |29 |51 |98 |27 |69 |102 |198
1982 |13 |32 |53 |98 |19 |66 |103 |188
1983 |7 |42 |41 |90 |8 |103 |94 |205
1984 |14 |40 |40 |94 |17 |60 |104 |181
1985 |20 |42 |56 |118 |24 |65 |129 |218
1986 |18 |40 |70 |128 |26 |74 |169 |269
1987 |17 |50 |55 |122 |19 |68 |137 |224
1988 |22 |31 |56 |109 |31 |46 |160 |237
Railways
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of railways in (a) England and (b) Scotland have now been electrified.
Mr. Portillo : At 31 March 1989, BR had 2,443 route miles electrified in England and Wales, and 276 route miles electrified in Scotland.
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