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Written Answers to Questions
Friday 15 December 1989
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Standing Committees
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Lord President of the Council how many seats are reserved for staff and advisers for (a) the Government and (b) Opposition parties on the floor of Standing Committees.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : Five places are made available for Government staff and advisers in Standing Committees ; no such arrangement exists at present for Opposition parties.
NORTHERN IRELAND
MacBride Principles
Mr. Beggs : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what information he has on the adoption by companies in Northern Ireland of the MacBride principles ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Needham [holding answer 7 December 1989] : I am not aware that any company operating in Northern Ireland has adopted the MacBride principles.
Companies in Northern Ireland have to obey Northern Ireland law. They do not have to make available information beyond that which is statutorily required.
We are in favour of jobs and of justice and we have therefore consistently opposed the campaign based on the MacBride principles because it could adversely affect existing jobs, cut new investment and hit at the creating of the new jobs and extra employment opportunities that are needed in Northern Ireland.
Equality of opportunity in employment is best achieved through Northern Ireland law and effective action.
ENERGY
North Sea (Pipelines)
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what pipelines have been agreed to serve oil flow from developments in the North sea over the next four years ; and if he will provide an estimate of the length of each pipeline and its tonnage of steel.
Mr. Peter Morrison : The following pipelines have been authorised to serve oil flow from developments in the North sea over the next four years. These pipelines have been laid but are not yet in operation.
Field and pipeline |Approximate |Approximate
|Length |Weight
|kilometres |tonnes
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kittiwake
1X8 in flowline |2.0 |144
Arbroath
1X10 in flowline |8.3 |596
1X10 in water injection |8.3 |952
1X8 in gas lift |8.3 |408
Linnhe
1X6 in flowline |7.0 |418
1X6 in gas lift |7.0 |418
1X6 in water injection |7.0 |418
In addition pipelines totalling 189 km in length and total approximate weight 39,700 tonnes have been approved in principle, although not yet authorised.
PRIME MINISTER
South Korea
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Prime Minister how many representations she has received regarding the methods by which cats and dogs are slaughtered for human consumption in South Korea.
The Prime Minister : I have received approximately 950 representations on the subject of human consumption of cats and dogs in South Korea.
Footwear Imports
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Prime Minister whether any decision was taken at the Strasbourg summit concerning the alteration of the voluntary restraint arrangements in respect of leather footwear imports from eastern Europe.
The Prime Minister : No. The Strasbourg summit discussions on European Community relations with eastern and central Europe did not cover such specific issues.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT
Ethiopia
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much food aid has been given to Ethiopia in the current year by Her Majesty's Government ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Chalker : This year under the United Kingdom food aid programme Her Majesty's Government are providing over 27,000 tonnes of food aid to Ethiopia with a value of £6.6 million. In addition, our share of the cost of the 74,000 tonnes of food aid allocated by the European Community to Ethiopia is some £3 million.
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received since 1 August concerning food aid to Ethiopia ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Chalker : Since 1 August there have been a number of appeals to the donor community to supply food aid for the hungry in Ethiopia. Since that time Her Majesty's Government have agreed to provide 21, 700 tonnes of food aid with a value of £4.7 million in response to appeals that they have received from British voluntary agencies.
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Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has any proposals to increase food aid to Ethiopia ; and if he will make a statement.Mrs. Chalker : Within the last two weeks I have approved a further 5,000 tonnes of food aid for the hungry in Ethiopia. This brings our total food aid to Ethiopia to over 27,000 tonnes this year. We will continue to monitor the situation very closely.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Violence
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to widen the types of crime covered by the categories (a) violent crime and (b) assault ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John Patten : We have no present plans to do so, but we are always ready to consider proposals if the hon. Lady has any particular suggestions to make the law more effective.
Entry Clearance
Mr. Lawrence : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many cases over the most recent 12-month period for which figures are available applications for entry clearance for settlement in the United Kingdom by Pakistani citizens have been (a) granted, (b) refused, (c) followed by an application to enter the United Kingdom as a visitor to be present at the birth of the applicant's child, and (d) that application has been refused on the ground that an application had been made for settlement which had been refused.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The only information available is that in the 12 months ending 30 September 1989, 5,450 applications in Pakistan for entry clearance for settlement in the United Kingdom were granted and 2,010 were refused initially. A total of 9,190 applications for a visit entry clearance were refused in the same period because the applicant did not meet the requirements of immigration rules.
Prison Rules
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken to ensure British prisons comply with recommendation 12(873) of European prison rules and in particular with regard to (a) part II, 10, 2, regarding preparation of reports on every prisoner, (b) part II, 14, 1, on individual cells, (c) part II, 14, 2, on night supervision, (d) part II, 11,1, on allocation of prisoners with regard to their age, status and medical needs, (e) part II, 11, 4, on detention of young prisoners under conditions which protect them from harmful influences, (f) part III, 52, on training of prison staff, (g) part III, 57, on inclusion of specialist staff, such as psychiatrists and (h) part IV, 100, 2 and 3, on availability of specialised institutions under medical management ; and how many British prisons fulfil these conditions.
Mr. Mellor : The recommendation adopted by the Committee of Ministers in respect of the European prison rules states that
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"the governments of member states should be guided in their internal legislation and practice by the principles set out in the text of the European Prison Rules with a view to their progressive implementation".The Government comply with this recommendation.
Every establishment in Her Majety's prison service in England and Wales meets in full all the rules referred to specifically in the question, apart from those aspects of rule 14 which relate to the sharing of accommodation. On the latest available figures for the use of cellular accommodation designed for fewer prisoners than it currently holds over 70 prisons in England and Wales met its requirements. The current building programme provides for progressive reduction of overcrowding. Responsibility for prisons in Scotland rests with my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland.
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken to ensure British prisons comply with article 10 of the international covenant on civil and political rights.
Mr. Mellor : The United Kingdom ratified the International covenant on civil and political rights on 20 May 1976, subject to the reservation that where there is a lack of suitable facilities or where the mixing of adults and juveniles is deemed to be mutually beneficial the Government reserved the right not to apply article 10.2(b) and 10.3 so far as those provisions required juveniles who are detained to be accommodated separately from adults.
In England and Wales the statutory rules, and supplementary guidance issued from time to time in the form of standing orders and circular instructions (copies of which are available in the Library), comply with the principles of article 10 subject to that reservation. They are also reflected in the prison service's statement of purpose issued in November 1988.
Governors of all prison service establishments have been asked to ensure that a copy of the international convenant is freely available to prisoners and staff in prison libraries.
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken to ensure British prisons comply with resolution (73) 5 standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners adopted on 19 January 1973, and in particular with the stipulation regarding the medical examination of sick prisoners ; and which British prisons fulfil this stipulation.
Mr. Waddington : The European standard minimum rules have been superseded by European prison rules adopted by the Council of Europe on 12 February 1987. The rules are not legally binding on member countries, but the prison service in England and Wales aims to reflect them in its policies and practice. Copies of the rules were sent to governors in 1988. There is no reasons to believe that any prison is failing to conform with the principles of prison rule 30(1) as regards the care of prisoners who fall sick.
Gallup Media Survey
Mr. Hayes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received about the Gallup media survey conducted among right hon. and hon. Members ; and if he will make a statement.
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Disabled People
Mr. Ron Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has received recent representations from the British Polio Fellowship calling for changes pursuant to the White Paper "Broadcasting in the 1990s", to benefit the disabled ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Waddington : I have received representations from a number of members of the British Polio Fellowship about programme quality and diversity in relation to commercial television. The provisions in the Broadcasting Bill relating to Channels 3, 4 and 5 give the Independent Television Commission the necessary powers to ensure the maintenance of proper standards in these areas.
Visas
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when Mrs. Saeeda Begum, date of birth 15 May 1968 ref. Imm/95359, the wife of Mr. Mohammed Jehangir, of Bradford, will be told by the post in Islamabad whether she is to be issued with a visa to join her husband.
Mr. Sainsbury : I have been asked to reply.
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 honourable Member will receive a reply from the unit as soon as possible.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Microwaves
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to assess the risk to consumers of using microwaves for primary heating of food products.
Mr. Maclean : The research results which we announced on 4 December have already led to improvements in instructions given by microwave oven manufacturers. These will lead in turn to improved evenness of cooking, irrespective of whether the oven is used for re-heating cook-chill foods or for cooking from raw. The potential risks of cooking from raw are less because the longer cooking time (including standing time) allows for greater conduction of heat through the food. When cooking from raw, consumers will in any case apply the tests normal in any kind of cooking to see whether food is cooked.
Porcine Somatotropin
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Caerphilly, of 6 December, Official Report, column 248, on what grounds the veterinary products committee recommended refusal of porcine somatotropin.
Mr. Maclean : The veterinary products committee recommendation was based on its consideration of the data available at the time and submitted by the company. These did not show that the porcine somatotropin product concerned met the criteria for the issue of an animal test certificate.
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Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Caerphilly of 6 December, Official Report, column 248, whether he accepted the recommendations of the veterinary products committee in respect of porcine somatotropin ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : Yes. In the event, the applicant company chose not to pursue the matter and withdrew its application.
Salmonella
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his estimate of the proportion of (a) turkeys and (b) chickens sold this Christmas that will have been contaminated by salmonella.
Mr. Maclean : The results of a survey carried out by the Public Health Laboratory in 1987 were that salmonella was isolated from 65 out of 101 samples (64.4 per cent.) of frozen whole chickens. No later figures are available.
The advice given to local authorities on the identification and rejection of carcases showing signs of salmonella enteritidis infection and the 19 measures which I announced to combat salmonella earlier this year should reduce the incidence of infection in poultrymeat. Thorough cooking and proper handling of poultrymeat should remove any risk.
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Teacher Shortages
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement regarding the most recent Government figures for teacher shortages.
Mr. Alan Howarth : The most recent Government figures are those for January 1989 which I gave in my reply to the hon. Member for Don Valley (Mr. Redmond) on 24 October 1989 at column 394. The Department's September survey, which provided a broad indication of the start of term staffing situation, indicated that the position had not worsened since January. The Government will continue to take measures to attract teachers and reduce shortages.
Education Council
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the outcome of the meeting of the European Community Education Ministers in Brussels on 14 December ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. MacGregor : I represented the United Kingdom at the Education Council in Brussels on 14 December.
The Council agreed the extension of the European community action scheme for the mobility of university students--the ERASMUS programme--for a further five years from 1990-94, at an estimated cost of 192 million ecu (about £140 million) for the first three years of the new phase.
Education Ministers also discussed co-operation with the countries of eastern Europe, and, in particular, with Poland and Hungary. We had the benefit of a prior discussion with the Education Ministers from Poland and
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Hungary. We recognised the importance of assistance in the field of education and training and agreed urgently to pursue proposals for the establishment of a European training foundation and the development of exchange and other programmes in these areas. The Council also discussed technical and vocational education. We agreed conclusions inviting the Commission to review existing Community programmes in this area and to prepare proposals for further measures that might be desirable at Community level having regard to the principle of subsidiarity and the need to secure value for money.Contracts
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many contracts over £92,500 have been let by his Department in the 1988-89 financial year and in the current financial year to date ; how many of these were (a) automatically renewed and (b) open to competition through advertisement throughout the European Community.
Mrs. Rumbold : The number of contracts awarded by the Department and covered by the provisions of the EC supplies directive, for which the current threshold is £92,000, was three in the 1988-89 financial year and one in the current financial year to date. Of these, two were awarded following advertisement in the Official Journal of the European Communities and two were considered to be exempt from advertising and may have been awarded to the previous supplier.
Part-time Teachers
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps his Department is taking to encourage the recruitment of part- time teachers ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Alan Howarth : The employment and deployment of teachers is the responsibility of local education authorities and schools. It is for them to decide whether to employ part-time staff. Our proposed education support grant programme for 1990-91 includes support for expenditure of over £2 million on local recruitment measures to attract back more former teachers and to recruit mature entrants. The invitation to bid suggested that LEA recruitment models might include the establishment of supporting and flexible working practices such as part-time work and job share.
Grant-maintained Status
Mr. David Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many schools have now approached his Department seeking advice on the possibility of obtaining grant-maintained status.
Mrs. Rumbold : To date 79 schools have embarked on the process of applying for grant-maintained status and parents at 51 of them have voted in favour of proceeding with an application. My right hon. Friend has approved 32 and rejected nine applications for grant-maintained status. Decisions on the remaining applications will be taken on their merits in due course.
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Teacher-Pupil Ratio (Durham)
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the teacher-to-pupil ratio in the Durham area in each year since 1979.
Mrs. Rumbold : The overall pupil-teacher ration in maintained schools in Durham local education authority area each year between 1979 and 1989 was as follows :
January each year
|Ration
---------------------
1979 |18.7
1980 |18.7
1981 |18.5
1982 |18.3
1983 |18.6
1984 |18.5
1985 |18.5
1986 |18.6
1987 |18.7
1988 |18.3
1989 |18.3
Durham University
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has on consultations held between Durham university and Teesside polytechnic about the formation of a joint board to supervise medical studies at the new college of Durham university on Teesside.
Mr. Jackson : We are aware of the local discussions about the University of Durham's proposal to develop a new college of the University of Durham on Teesside, including most recently the development of an institute of health studies. However, no formal proposal has yet been made.
Zidovudine
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the progress of the Medical Research Council/INSERM trial of zidovudine ; and what information he has as to progress on the similar trial undertaken in the United States of America.
Mr. Jackson : The latest available information is contained in the Medical Research Council's press notice of 20 October, a copy of which is available in the Library.
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will update the figures of participants in the Medical Research Council/INSERM trial of zidovudine given in reply to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe on 6 June, Official Report, column 21.
Mr. Jackson : The number of participants enrolled in the MRC/INSERM trial of zidovudine up to 13 December 1989 was 659 in the United Kingdom and 618 in France.
Student Loans
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretry of State for Education and Science what assessment he has made of the extent to which students whose parents are classified as semi-skilled would be unlikely to undertake higher education following the introduction of the Government's student loan scheme ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Jackson : The Government's proposals have been designed to apply to students in a variety of circumstances. Top- up loans mean more money for students. The Government are confident that the increase in resources will make higher education more attractive to students from all backgounds.Grammar Schools
Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretry of State for Education and Science if he will make it his policy to set up an educational trust to promote the formation of grammar schools.
Mr. Alan Howarth : The Government's policy is not to impose any particular pattern of secondary school provision on LEAs. It would therefore not be appropriate to set up a trust to promote the formation of grammar schools. Any statutory proposals put forward by local education authorities for the formation of grammar schools would be considered on their merits.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Company Taxation
Mr. Allen : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total tax benefit due to offsetting capital losses against capital gains tax (a) for industry as a whole and (b) for privatised industry, for each of the last 10 years at constant prices.
Mr. Lilley : I regret that the information requested is not available centrally.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total tax benefit due to unclaimed capital allowances (a) for industry as a whole and (b) for privatised industries, for each of the last 10 years at constant prices.
Mr. Lilley : I regret that data at this level of detail are not available centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Overseas Entertainers (Taxation)
Mr. Hanley : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the amount of withholding tax deducted from overseas entertainers for each of the years 1987-88, 1988-89 and estimated for 1989-90, for (a) the music industry, (b) the film industry, (c) sport and (d) other ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lilley : The special scheme for deducting tax at source from payments to non-resident entertainers and sportsmen yielded £6.9 million net (after repayments) in the period 1 May 1987 (when it took effect) to 31 March 1988, £12.4 million net in 1988-89 and £8.7 million net for the eight months to 30 November 1989. A breakdown of these figures into the categories specified could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Advertising
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps are being taken to eliminate inefficiency in Government advertising campaigns ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Ryder : The National Audit Office reported to Parliament on 5 December on publicity services for Government Departments and the Select Committee on Public Accounts examined witnesses on 11 December. I await the report from the Select Committee and in the meantime officials are examining the recommendations of the National Audit Office.
Valuation Services
Mr. Dykes : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans the Government have for valuation services ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Major : In the light of studies carried out by an interdepartmental group of officials, the Government have taken the following decisions affecting the Government's valuation services and the management of Government property.
First, a project team under Treasury leadership will investigate how best to set up consistent and compatible databases for each of the Government's main property estates, to be used both for purposes of capital asset management and for assessment of Government contributions in lieu of rates. The team will begin work shortly. Secondly, Departments will by April 1991 be "untied" for valuation work which does not need to be undertaken in- house. Such work will be considered for market testing and contracting-out. Valuations for the purposes of assessing liability to business rates and other taxes will continue to be done in-house.
Thirdly, in general valuation services provided by Government valuers, whether to Government Departments or to other bodies, should be charged for. The aim is to introduce charging from April 1991. Finally, the deployment of Government valuers will continue broadly as now, except that the Inland Revenue will take over from April 1991 responsibilities for valuation of the Government's estates for rating purposes from the Treasury's rating of Government property department, which will cease to exist from that date. Consideration will be given to establishing parts of the Government's valuation services as executive agencies.
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Family Courts
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Attorney-General if the Lord Chancellor will consider bringing forward an amendment to the Courts and Legal Services Bill [Lords] to establish a family courts system.
The Attorney-General : No, the Government hope to make further progress on family matters in the Courts and Legal Services Bill, but improvements in the procedure and jurisdictional arrangements for family proceedings can be achieved only in step with reform of the substantive law. It would not be feasible to set up a family court until the substantive law has been unified. The Children Act marked the first step in an ordered programme of reform.
Legal Aid (Northern Ireland)
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Attorney-General if he will indicate for each of the last three years the numbers of persons who have received legal aid in Northern Ireland.
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The Attorney-General : The number of persons who have received legal aid certificates in each of the last three financial years is as follows :
Financial |Legal aid |Legal aid |Total
year |certificates|certificates
|civil |criminal
|proceedings |proceedings
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1986-87 |13,108 |27,685 |40,793
1987-88 |15,283 |25,802 |41,085
1988-89 |14,099 |22,520 |36,619
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Attorney-General if he will publish a table in the Official Report to show by reference to each council area in Northern Ireland, or similar geographical area the number of persons who received legal aid in each of the last three years.
The Attorney-General : Information regarding persons in receipt of legal aid is held on a Northern Ireland basis and cannot be provided in any other format.
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Attorney-General if he will publish a table in the Official Report to show for each of the last three years the sums paid in legal aid to (a) solicitors and (b) barristers by each council area in Northern Ireland.
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