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Mr. Lilley [holding answer 7 December 1989] : General guidance on the extent to which civil servants may take part in political activities is given in the Civil Service pay and conditions of service code and in departmental instructions.
Manufactured Goods
Mr. Canavan : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the balance of trade in manufactured goods.
Mr. Norman Lamont [holding answer 9 January 1990] : The information was published on 29 December 1989, in table 12 of the montly press notice on the current account of the balance of payments, copies of which are available in the House of Commons Library.
Uniform Business Rate
Mr. Richard Shepherd : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what forecasts he has made of the impact on the rate of inflation of the uniform business rate ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Norman Lamont [holding answer 10 January 1990] : The uniform business rate in 1990-91 will raise in real terms broadly the same amount from business as in 1989-90 : it will not add to real business costs as a whole. For future years, there is a statutory guarantee that the national non-domestic rate poundage will increase by no more than the rate of inflation.
LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL
Parliamentary Rifle Range
Mr. Allen : To ask the Lord President of the Council what use is made of the parliamentary rifle range ; what representations he has had seeking its closure and replacement by (a) a childcare facility or (b) a use likely to benefit a large number of hon. Members and staff ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Chope : I have been asked to reply.
Th sports and social club's rifle range occupies a windowless basement room within the House of Lords. I have received no proposals concerning the room since I answered the hon. Member's question on 29 November.
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ENERGY
IAEA Safeguards
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what information his Department collects on a routine basis on the imports and exports of nuclear materials for the purposes of reporting to the international safeguards authorities.
Mr. Baldry : Under articles 24 and 25 of Euratom Regulations 3227/76 (of the Official Journal ) the Department forwards to the Euratom safeguards directorate reports by all nuclear operators of exports and imports of nuclear materials. These reports are, in turn, passed by Euratom to the IAEA.
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if Her Majesty's Government have given any consideration to the International Atomic Energy Agency playing a role in safeguarding fissile materials involved in non-explosive military uses.
Mr. Baldry : I am content with the UK-Euratom-IAEA agreement which excludes material and facilities in the United Kingdom's military cycle.
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make it his policy to seek an extension to the International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards regime to cover visits to non-declared suspect facilities.
Mr. Baldry : No. Safeguards-related visits and inspections are matters for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the relevant state. In the case of non-nuclear weapon states party to the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons (NPT), the treaty obliges them not to manufacture or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons, and accept IAEA safeguards on all source or fissionable material in all their peaceful nuclear activities.
In relation to non-parties to the NPT, IAEA safeguards can be applied only on a voluntary basis.
In either case the agency's statutes require the inspectors to report any non-compliance to the director general who shall thereupon transmit the report to the board of governors.
Fuel Exports and Imports
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will provide the latest available equivalent figures about fuel exports and imports to those given in the tables in his answers of 9 November, Official Report, column 767 and 19 December 1989, Official Report, columns 118 and 119.
Mr. Wakeham : The equivalent information for fuel exports and imports for the 11 months to November 1989 following my previous answers on 9 November and 19 December is as follows :
Table 2
January to November 1989
|£ million at
|1985 prices<2>
---------------------------------------------
Exports (fob
Coal |73
Oil |<1>
Imports (cif)
Coal |584
Gas |1,032
Oil |8,648
<1> Contains a small amount of natural gas
exports.
<2> Figures at 1985 constant prices have
been derived by applying the unit value for
exports in 1985 to the relevant volumes in
1989. The figures for gas are estimated.
Note:
Provisional data for the whole of 1989
should be available in mid-February.
Table 2
January to November 1989
|£ million at
|1985 prices<2>
---------------------------------------------
Exports (fob
Coal |73
Oil |<1>
Imports (cif)
Coal |584
Gas |1,032
Oil |8,648
<1> Contains a small amount of natural gas
exports.
<2> Figures at 1985 constant prices have
been derived by applying the unit value for
exports in 1985 to the relevant volumes in
1989. The figures for gas are estimated.
Note:
Provisional data for the whole of 1989
should be available in mid-February.
ENVIRONMENT
Contracts
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, further to his answer to the hon. Member for Great Grimsby on 14 December, Official report, column 751, if he will list separately the contracts that have been extended by the Property Services Agency and the Crown Suppliers to the Department of the Environment.
Mr. Chope : Government Departments cannot contract with each other. There are therefore no contracts extended by the Property Services Agency and the Crown Suppliers to the Department of the Environment.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Fraser : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the current estimated population of the London borough of Lambeth aged 18 years and over and who will be eligible to pay the community charge.
Mr. Chope : The information available to the Department shows that 172,529 people in the London borough of Lambeth were eligible to pay the community charge on 1 December 1989, counting students as one fifth and including the estimated full-year equivalent of contributors to the collective community charge.
Column 768
Commons Crypt
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what work is to be carried out during 1990 to the fabric and structure in the Commons Crypt.
Mr. Chope : There is a major dampness problem in the Crypt Chapel caused by the long-term seepage of moisture through the porous stone.
Consultants have been appointed to identify possible remedies and their report is due shortly. It is therefore, I regret, too soon to say what work will be done this year.
Home Ownership
Mr. Hayward : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment in which 10 local authority areas in the United Kingdom the largest percentage increases in home ownership have occurred since 1979.
Mr. Chope : This information is not available.
The latest information on the percentage change in the number of owner- occupier households at the local authority level comes from the 1981 Census for the period 1971 to 1981 and can be found in table 17 of "Census 1981 : Key statistics for local authorities". We expect the 1991 census to provide corresponding information for the period 1981 to 1991. The Department does, however, make regional estimates of the proportion of the housing stock in owner-occupation and figures for April 1981 and December 1988 are published in table 9.4 of "Housing and Construction Statistics 1978-1988". Copies of both publications are in the Library.
Tyre Fire (Powys)
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will instruct Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution to investigate the pollution implications of the tyre fire at Knighton and Heyhope in Powys.
Mr. Trippier : No. Inspectors have given advice to the local authority which is responsible for regulating waste disposal sites and the burning of tyres.
Questions about the incident itself should be addressed to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.
Reports
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what criteria he uses to decide when to publish a report commissioned by his Department (a) through Her Majesty's Stationery Office and (b) by placing a single copy in the Library.
Mr. Chris Patten : Each case is considered on its merits. The factors involved also include an assessment of the likely public interest, the cost of publication and whether the report concerned should be priced or unpriced.
Northern Industrialised Nations (Conference)
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has for policy initiatives to be taken at the forthcoming international conference of northern industrialised nations in Bergen, Norway in May.
Mr. Trippier : The Bergen conference, which is being organised by the Norwegian Government under the
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auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, will examine the extent to which the recommendations of the report of the World Commission on Environment and Development have been implemented. It will enable Ministers from ECE countries to decide what co-operative action is needed to tackle the main environmental problems of the world, particularly those confronting eastern Europe.The United Kingdom is playing a prominent part in the preparations for the conference. Last year we hosted the first of four international preparatory workshops. We have also contributed a report, "Sustaining Our Common future", reviewing the substantial progress we have made within the United Kingdom in following up the WCED report.
Nature Conservancy Council
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in the Official Report the main findings and conclusions of the most recent joint Department of the
Environment-Nature Conservancy Council staff inspection of the Nature Conservancy Council.
Mr. Trippier : The report of the staff inspection last year of the chief scientist's directorate of the Nature Conservancy Council (NCC) is an internal NCC document which has not yet been finalised. It would therefore be inappropriate to list its findings and conclusions.
Vehicle Smoke Checks
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proportion of smoke in urban areas is estimated to come from diesel vehicles.
Mr. Trippier : Figures for emissions of black smoke from diesel vehicles have not yet been finalised, but will be published for the first time in the Department's annual digest of environmental protection and water statistics early in 1990.
EC Habitats Directive
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he will take to ensure that Community funding made available to implement the European Community habitats directive will be directed to the most-needed areas.
Mr. Trippier : We understand that the European Commission is working up a proposal for funding to assist implementation of the habitats directive once it has been agreed. We shall certainly be keen to ensure that any such funding will be used as effectively as possible.
Rateable Values
Mr. Benyon : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the report by consultants on substitutes for rateable values as they are used in housing legislation ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Chope : Copies of the report by Price Waterhouse on market rents as substitutes for rateable values as used in housing legislation have today been placed in the House Libraries. The consultants were commissioned to survey
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rents in certain sectors of the private rented market, to provide evidence on which to base substitutes for the rateable value limits which define protection under certain rent, landlord and tenant and housing Acts, and to make recommendations. The proposed substitutes, set out in the table, would apply to agreements made on or after 1 April when the community charge comes into effect. They will be provided by means of regulations under section 149 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, applying inEngland and Wales, to come into force on 1 April.
Housing Act 1988: Rent Act 1977 (new tanancies)
Upper Limit for In Greater London Tenancies with an annual protection rent of less than
£25,000 (excluding cer-
tain service charges)
Lower Limit In Greater London Tenancies with an annual rent of more than
£1,000 (excluding cer-
tain service charges)
Outside Greater Tenancies with an annual
London rent of more than £250
(excluding certain ser-
vice charges)
Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 Part 1:Local Government and Housing Act 1989, Schedule 10
Ground rent qualification In Greater London £1,000 pa
Outside Greater London £250 pa
The upper limit will broadly be based on the rental equivalent for the premium paid ie an annual equivalent payment taken over the unexpired length length of the lease, assuming a maximum lease length of 100 years. The annual equivalent would be derived using the formula shown on the consultants' report, using an interest rate of 6 per cent. Both inside and outside Greater London, it is proposed that protection will generally apply to leases where the erntal equivalent of the premium computed on
this basis is £25,000 pa and below.
Leasehold Reform Act 1967
Both the ground rent and the upper limit qualifications will be the same as those under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, part 1, and Local Government and Housing Act 1989, schedule 10, above.
Commercial Rates
Mr. Richard Shepherd : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list all local rating authorities which have increased commercial rates (a) by 20 per cent. per annum compound in real terms and (b) by 15 per cent. per annum compound in real terms, for five successive years since 1979.
Mr. Chope [holding answer 10 January 1990] : There is none in either category.
Mr. Richard Shepherd : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list for each local authority in England the gross commercial and non-domestic rateable value totals in (a) 1973 and (b) on 2 January 1990 ; and if he will list in each case the percentage increase.
Mr. Chope [holding answer 10 January 1990] : I will write to my hon. Friend shortly.
Institute for European Environmental Policy
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent reports commissioned by his Department from the Institute for European
Column 771
Environmental Policy have been published ; and what plans he has for commissioning further reports from the Institute for European Environmental Policy.Mr. Trippier [holding answer 11 January 1990] : A study by the Institute for European Environmental Policy commissioned by my Department was published on 12 December under the title "Environmental Policy and 1992". My Department has recently let a contract to the institute to provide advice and information on the international aspects of integrated pollution control. The institute also provides regular advice and information to my Department on European Community environmental policy issues under a standing consultancy agreement.
Pollution, Bexhill
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will investigate the risks posed by drums of (a) sodium cyanide, (b) dioxins, (c) sulphuric and (d) hydrochloric acids on beaches at and near Bexhill in Sussex.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory [holding answer 1 January 1990] : I am aware that containers, drums and packages, a few containing hazardous substances, have been washed ashore at a number of locations along the south and east coasts in recent weeks. It is thought that they originate from a Pakistani-owned and registered vessel, the Muree, which sank off the Devon coast on 28 October last year.
The Department of Transport's marine pollution control unit has examined the ship's manifest and has advised Ministers that none of the cargo would pose a significant threat to the marine environment. However, some substances which were on board could be hazardous to people who come into direct contact with them. Warning messages have been issued to fishermen and local authorities in areas where it is thought they may come ashore.
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Social Security Commissioners (Appeals)
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Attorney-General how many decisions were issued by the social security commissioners relating to each social security benefit, distinguishing between single payments and other supplementary benefits, in each month since January 1988 ; how many appeals to the commissioners relating to each benefit are outstanding ; and in how many of these cases the appeal (a) is not ready for hearing, (b) is awaiting a hearing and (c) has been heard but the commissioner's decision has not been issued.
The Attorney-General : The information is not readily available in the form requested. However, the number of decisions issued by the commissioners in calendar years 1988 and 1989 for each category of benefit is shown in the tables, although existing statistics do not distinguish between supplementary benefit and single payment appeals.
Information on the number of appeals outstanding relating to each category of benefit is not readily available, but the current total of outstanding appeals is 3,331. In 1988, 19 per cent. of appeals, and in 1989 24 per cent. of appeals, were decided after an oral hearing ; the balance of
Column 772
appeals in each year was decided without an oral hearing. Of the total of outstanding appeals (a) 1,559 are not ready for decision ; (b) 1,528 are awaiting a decision ; and (c) 244 have been decided and a commissioner's decision has not yet been issued.
Number of Decisions issued by the Social Security
Commissioners in
1988
|Number
--------------------------------------------------------
Supplementary Benefit |1,198
Family Income Supplement |18
Unemployment Benefit |176
Sickness Benefit |196
Attendance Allowance |173
Industrial Injury |207
Mobility Allowance |221
Child Benefit |33
Retirement Pensions |45
Statutory Sick Pay |8
General Benefits
e.g. widows benefit, guardian allowance |65
Income Support |-
|-----
Total |2,340
Number of Decisions issued by the Social Security Commis
1989
Supplementary Benefit |1,199
Family Income Supplement |7
Unemployment Benefit |134
Sickness Benefit |125
Attendance Allowance |205
Industrial Injury |205
Mobility Allowance |245
Child Benefit |34
Retirement Pensions |41
Statutory Sick Pay |3
General Benefits
e.g. widows benefit, guardian allowance |68
Income Support |47
Family Credit |2
|-----
Total |2,315
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Attorney-General what is the average cost to public funds of an appeal to the social security commissioners, with or without an oral hearing.
The Attorney-General : It is estimated that the average cost to public funds is £2,428.29.
Compensation
Mr. Alton : To ask the Attorney-General (1) what representations he has received about the present levels of compensation payable under the Administration of Justice Act 1982 ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) whether he will review the current levels of compensation provided for under the Administration of Justice Act 1982.
The Attorney-General : The Solicitor-General and I, as well as the Lord Chancellor, have received a number of letters from members of the public expressing their concern about the present level of bereavement damages which may be awarded under the Administration of Justice Act 1982. The Solicitor-General announced in May 1989 during the Committee stage of the Citizens Compensation Bill (Official Report, Standing Committee C, 3 May 1989, col. 21) that the Lord Chancellor would be reviewing the sum specified in the 1982 Act. Since then, the Lord Chancellor has been studying the question whether it
Column 773
would be appropriate to raise the sum and, if so, to what new level, and he will be issuing a consultation paper shortly.Constitution (Judicial Review)
Mr. Allen : To ask the Attorney-General what representations he or the Lord Chancellor have received seeking a judicial review of the constitution.
The Attorney-General : No such representations have been received either by me or by the Lord Chancellor.
HEALTH
Malaria
Mr. Wilshire : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of malaria contracted in the United Kingdom have been reported in each of the past 10 years.
Mr. Freeman : During the years 1979-88 two cases of malaria contracted by mosquito bite in the United Kingdom were reported to the malaria reference laboratory at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (both in 1983).
In addition there were reports of cases contracted following congenital infection, organ transplant or blood transfusion in the following years : 1984 (four cases), 1985 (four cases) and 1986 (three cases).
Powered Wheelchairs
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether his Department has received a report from the Disablement Services Authority concerning the provision of occupant-controlled indoor and outdoor powered wheelchairs ; and if he will make a statement ; (2) whether his Department will make available the funds to enable the Disablement Services Authority to provide occupant-controlled indoor and outdoor powered wheelchairs to those more severely disabled people who would benefit from such a chair.
Mr. Freeman : The Disablement Services Authority is at present undertaking a study to assess the numbers of most severely disabled people who would benefit from this type of wheelchair. Once the results of the study are known, the authority will consider the resource implications and advise me in due course.
Sight Tests
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what surveys of sight test numbers in late 1989 his Department commissioned ; if he will publish details of the form of the survey and its results ; and if he will publish comparable figures for each of the last 10 years.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The results of a survey of the number of sight tests in the first quarter of 1990 compared with earlier periods should be available after Easter, when we expect to provide a summary of the findings for the Library.
Adopted Children
Mr. Amess : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children were adopted in each of the last five years in (a) England and Wales and (b) the Basildon area.
Column 774
Mr. Freeman : The total numbers of adoption orders granted by courts in England and Wales for children aged under 18 years during each of the last five years are given in the table.
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