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Companies Act 1989
Mr. Hayward : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he proposes to commence any provisions of the Companies Act 1989.
Mr. Redwood : Parts of section 75 of the Companies Act 1989 came into force on 25 January 1990. These provisions extend the purposes for which information which is restricted information for the purposes of section 179 of the Financial Services Act 1986 may be disclosed.
Vietnam
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry why export credit guarantee cover has not generally been available for contracts with Vietnam since 1982.
Mr. Ridley [holding answer 22 January 1990] : ECGD's assessment of individual markets is based upon economic considerations. It is not departmental policy to publish the full details of these assessments, but in the case of Vietnam, I can say that cover for medium and long-term business was withdrawn following defaults on repayment. Vietnam is currently in breach of its financial obligations to the International Monetary Fund and its major creditor countries.
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WALES
Ambulance Dispute
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the ambulance dispute in Wales.
Mr. Grist : This is an unnecessary and damaging dispute. The offer made by the management side is fair and constructive and is the most the NHS can reasonably afford without cutting into patient services. It should be accepted and normal working resumed.
The industrial action being taken by ambulance staff has not so far affected accident and emergency services in any part of Wales. Non-urgent and outpatient services are however being disrupted to varying degrees. Day patients, particularly the elderly and infirm, are suffering as a direct result of this action.
We hope that the dispute can be settled quickly to avoid any further hardship to patients.
Supply Teachers
Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many complaints about the pay arrangements for supply teachers he has received ; and to which local education authority they referred.
Mr. Wyn Roberts : Two. The local education authorities to which they referred were West Glamorgan and Gwent.
Fishing Industry
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will detail the total assistance given to the fishing industry (a) in Wales and (b) for vessels registered for the port of Milford Haven in each year since 1974.
Mr. Peter Walker [holding answer 19 January 1990] : Details of total assistance given to the fishing industry in Wales for each year since 1974 are contained in the published "Appropriation Accounts" covering the period ; copies are available in the Library of the House. These publications contain details of EC grant aid for the construction and modification of fishing vessels and for marketing, processing and infrastructure projects associated with the fishing industry, as well as Government expenditure on harbour grants, grants for the decommissioning of fishing vessels and costs incurred on fisheries protection operations.
Assistance was given to Milford Haven registered vessels in two of the years since 1974, as follows :
£
£
297,139 |42,776
Welsh Language
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list by grade those posts in his Department for which a knowledge of Welsh is essential.
Mr. Wyn Roberts [holding answer 23 January 1990] : The information is as follows :
1 Grade 7
1 HEO
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2 EO1 AO
2 Typists
In addition there are a number of work areas within my Department in which a proportion of Welsh speakers is very desirable. Staff are recruited and deployed accordingly.
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list by grade those staff, excluding Her Majesty's inspectorate, in his Department's education division, whose duties involve the Government's proposals for the introduction of Welsh in the national curriculum who are able to conduct the full range of their responsibilities through the medium of Welsh.
Mr. Wyn Roberts [holding answer 23 January 1990] : No such criterion is used, but the following information relates to numbers of Welsh speakers whose duties include the proposals for the introduction of Welsh in the national curriculum :
1 Grade 2
1 Grade 3
1 Grade 5
1 HEO
SOCIAL SECURITY
Disability Benefits
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how he proposes to consult disability organisations on his plans for disability benefits outlined in "The Way Ahead : Benefits for Disabled People."
Mr. Scott : We have sent a copy of our proposals to a wide range of disability organisations and other interested bodies, including the Disability Benefits Consortium which represents over 250 organisations of and for disabled people. We shall take account of comments made during the course of our detailed work on the major changes we have announced, in particular the new disability allowance and the disability employment credit.
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security on what basis the Government estimate that 50,000 people might be entitled to disability employment credit.
Mr. Scott : The estimate of 50,000 potential disability employment credit (DEC) recipients is a tentative one, derived by examining the OPCS disability survey data to identify two main eligible groups : (
(a) disability and incapacity benefit recipients not currently working but who, in response to the survey questions on employment, indicated interest in and capacity for doing some limited paid work, and
(b) disability benefit recipients who were already working but whose hours of work and earnings indicated potential entitlement to the DEC.
The final figure of 50,000 reflects further broad assumptions about the extent to which these people are likely to be able to find suitable jobs and to take advantage of the DEC.
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assumptions are made about the level of disability employment credit in suggesting in paragraph 5.17 of "The Way Ahead" that the gross cost of the new benefit will be £80 million.
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Mr. Scott : It is assumed that applicable amounts for the disability employment credit will broadly follow those for family credit, but precise details of the credit are still to be considered.Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what his Department estimates to be the average costs arising from disability, other than those associated with mobility or attendance needs.
Mr. Scott : The surveys of disability carried out by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys (OPCS) found that average extra costs arising from disability ranged from £3.20 for the least severely disabled adults to £11.70 for the most severely disabled adults. The majority of disabled people have more than one disability, and OPCS found that it was not possible to produce reliable estimates of the extra costs attributable to each type of disability.
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether the proposed age-related additions to severe disablement allowance will take account of recipients of NCIP and HNCIP transferred to SDA.
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Mr. Scott : Yes. Our intention is that people who have transferred from NCIP and HNCIP will have the addition related to their age when incapacity for work began for the purposes of these benefits.
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give (i) the extra expenditure and (ii) any savings for each year up to 2000 as a result of each of the main measures on disability benefits which he announced on 10 January ; and if he will make further projections for (a) extra costs and (b) savings for each of these measures between the years 2000 and 2025 where these can be estimated in broad orders of magnitude.
Mr. Scott : The available information is given in the table. It is not possible to provide reliable estimates for each measure in every year, particularly in the longer term, since the costs and savings depend on a large number of factors which cannot be accurately forecast. The table therefore gives estimates for the next four financial years, together with projections of the likely effects in 2000-01 and 2025-26 The figures for 2000-01 and, in particular, those for 2025-26 are subject to considerable margins of uncertainty.
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1990-91 £ million 1989-90 prices
(-) |Net Effect
Increase in adults' disability premium in Income Support and Housing Benefit |+18 |- |+18
Introduction of £10 carers' premium in Income Support and Housing Benefit |+6 |- |+6
Increase in disabled child's premium in Income Support and Housing Benefit |+8 |- |+8
Extension of Attendance Allowance to disabled babies |+5 |- |+5
Extension of Attendance Allowance to terminally-ill people without a waiting period |+13 |- |+13
Increase in top rate of Invalidity Allowance to £10 |+1 |neg. |+1
Extension of Mobility Allowance to people who are deaf and blind |+4 |- |+4
Additional funds for the Independent Living Fund<2> |+19 |- |+19
Introduce Disability Allowance |- |- |-
Abolish upper age limit for payment of help with mobility needs |- |- |-
Introduce age-related addition in Severe Disablement Allowance |+35 |-20 |+15
Introduce Disability Employment Credit<3> |- |- |-
End entitlement to Reduced Earnings Allowance in new cases |neg. |-1 |-1
End accruals of new rights to Invalidity Benefit Additional Pension |- |- |-
|---- |---- |----
Totals<4> |+109 |-21 |+88
1990-91 £ million 1989-90 prices
(-) |Net Effect
Increase in adults' disability premium in Income Support and Housing Benefit |+18 |- |+18
Introduction of £10 carers' premium in Income Support and Housing Benefit |+6 |- |+6
Increase in disabled child's premium in Income Support and Housing Benefit |+8 |- |+8
Extension of Attendance Allowance to disabled babies |+5 |- |+5
Extension of Attendance Allowance to terminally-ill people without a waiting period |+13 |- |+13
Increase in top rate of Invalidity Allowance to £10 |+1 |neg. |+1
Extension of Mobility Allowance to people who are deaf and blind |+4 |- |+4
Additional funds for the Independent Living Fund<2> |+19 |- |+19
Introduce Disability Allowance |- |- |-
Abolish upper age limit for payment of help with mobility needs |- |- |-
Introduce age-related addition in Severe Disablement Allowance |+35 |-20 |+15
Introduce Disability Employment Credit<3> |- |- |-
End entitlement to Reduced Earnings Allowance in new cases |neg. |-1 |-1
End accruals of new rights to Invalidity Benefit Additional Pension |- |- |-
|---- |---- |----
Totals<4> |+109 |-21 |+88
1990-91 £ million 1989-90 prices
(-) |Net Effect
Increase in adults' disability premium in Income Support and Housing Benefit |+18 |- |+18
Introduction of £10 carers' premium in Income Support and Housing Benefit |+6 |- |+6
Increase in disabled child's premium in Income Support and Housing Benefit |+8 |- |+8
Extension of Attendance Allowance to disabled babies |+5 |- |+5
Extension of Attendance Allowance to terminally-ill people without a waiting period |+13 |- |+13
Increase in top rate of Invalidity Allowance to £10 |+1 |neg. |+1
Extension of Mobility Allowance to people who are deaf and blind |+4 |- |+4
Additional funds for the Independent Living Fund<2> |+19 |- |+19
Introduce Disability Allowance |- |- |-
Abolish upper age limit for payment of help with mobility needs |- |- |-
Introduce age-related addition in Severe Disablement Allowance |+35 |-20 |+15
Introduce Disability Employment Credit<3> |- |- |-
End entitlement to Reduced Earnings Allowance in new cases |neg. |-1 |-1
End accruals of new rights to Invalidity Benefit Additional Pension |- |- |-
|---- |---- |----
Totals<4> |+109 |-21 |+88
1990-91 £ million 1989-90 prices
(-) |Net Effect
Increase in adults' disability premium in Income Support and Housing Benefit |+18 |- |+18
Introduction of £10 carers' premium in Income Support and Housing Benefit |+6 |- |+6
Increase in disabled child's premium in Income Support and Housing Benefit |+8 |- |+8
Extension of Attendance Allowance to disabled babies |+5 |- |+5
Extension of Attendance Allowance to terminally-ill people without a waiting period |+13 |- |+13
Increase in top rate of Invalidity Allowance to £10 |+1 |neg. |+1
Extension of Mobility Allowance to people who are deaf and blind |+4 |- |+4
Additional funds for the Independent Living Fund<2> |+19 |- |+19
Introduce Disability Allowance |- |- |-
Abolish upper age limit for payment of help with mobility needs |- |- |-
Introduce age-related addition in Severe Disablement Allowance |+35 |-20 |+15
Introduce Disability Employment Credit<3> |- |- |-
End entitlement to Reduced Earnings Allowance in new cases |neg. |-1 |-1
End accruals of new rights to Invalidity Benefit Additional Pension |- |- |-
|---- |---- |----
Totals<4> |+109 |-21 |+88
1990-91 £ million 1989-90 prices
(-) |Net Effect
Increase in adults' disability premium in Income Support and Housing Benefit |+18 |- |+18
Introduction of £10 carers' premium in Income Support and Housing Benefit |+6 |- |+6
Increase in disabled child's premium in Income Support and Housing Benefit |+8 |- |+8
Extension of Attendance Allowance to disabled babies |+5 |- |+5
Extension of Attendance Allowance to terminally-ill people without a waiting period |+13 |- |+13
Increase in top rate of Invalidity Allowance to £10 |+1 |neg. |+1
Extension of Mobility Allowance to people who are deaf and blind |+4 |- |+4
Additional funds for the Independent Living Fund<2> |+19 |- |+19
Introduce Disability Allowance |- |- |-
Abolish upper age limit for payment of help with mobility needs |- |- |-
Introduce age-related addition in Severe Disablement Allowance |+35 |-20 |+15
Introduce Disability Employment Credit<3> |- |- |-
End entitlement to Reduced Earnings Allowance in new cases |neg. |-1 |-1
End accruals of new rights to Invalidity Benefit Additional Pension |- |- |-
|---- |---- |----
Totals<4> |+109 |-21 |+88
1990-91 £ million 1989-90 prices
(-) |Net Effect
Increase in adults' disability premium in Income Support and Housing Benefit |+18 |- |+18
Introduction of £10 carers' premium in Income Support and Housing Benefit |+6 |- |+6
Increase in disabled child's premium in Income Support and Housing Benefit |+8 |- |+8
Extension of Attendance Allowance to disabled babies |+5 |- |+5
Extension of Attendance Allowance to terminally-ill people without a waiting period |+13 |- |+13
Increase in top rate of Invalidity Allowance to £10 |+1 |neg. |+1
Extension of Mobility Allowance to people who are deaf and blind |+4 |- |+4
Additional funds for the Independent Living Fund<2> |+19 |- |+19
Introduce Disability Allowance |- |- |-
Abolish upper age limit for payment of help with mobility needs |- |- |-
Introduce age-related addition in Severe Disablement Allowance |+35 |-20 |+15
Introduce Disability Employment Credit<3> |- |- |-
End entitlement to Reduced Earnings Allowance in new cases |neg. |-1 |-1
End accruals of new rights to Invalidity Benefit Additional Pension |- |- |-
|---- |---- |----
Totals<4> |+109 |-21 |+88
Estimates for 2025-26 are rounded to the nearest £5 million, except in the case of ending new accruals of IVB additional pension rights where they are rounded to the nearest £25 million. Asterisk denotes less than £2 million.
Cold Weather Payments
Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what steps his Department is taking to extend cold weather payments to include senior citizens, the sick and disabled who do not receive income support.
Mr. Scott : We are satisfied that the social fund cold weather payments scheme concentrates the help available on those most at risk from the cold and who are most in need of help to pay for extra heating.
DEFENCE
Aldermaston
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will make a statement as to progress by his Department's fraud squad on its inquiries into fraud on construction projects at the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston.
Mr. Neubert : I have nothing to add to the answer which I gave to the hon. Member for Caerphilly (Mr. Davies) on 9 January at column 804.
Column 914
Recruitment
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many men and women were recruited to the Army, the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force in 1985, 1986, 1987 and 1988 ; how many left each of the services prematurely ; and what the average length of service was for each.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Information on premature wastage is not readily available for calendar years but is available for financial years. The total intakes to the United Kingdom regular forces in financial years 1985-86 to 1988-89 are detailed in table 1. The total numbers of exits from the services under premature wastage outflow categories during the same period are detailed in table 2. The categories included in the outflow numbers are those listed in table 4.18 of volume 2 of the "Statement on the Defence Estimates" with the exception of "Time and age expiries or exercise of rights at option point" and for service women only "By exercise of right to give 18 months notice". Details of average length of service could not be produced without disproportionate cost.
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Table 1-Intake to United Kingdom Regular Forces from civilian life Number
|Total |Officers |Servicemen |Total |Officers |Servicewomen
All Services
1985-86 |32,651 |30,407 |2,799 |27,608 |2,244 |327 |1,917
1986-87 |34,049 |31,014 |2,920 |28,227 |2,902 |360 |2,542
1987-88 |33,826 |31,215 |2,548 |28,667 |26,11 |362 |2,249
1988-89 |33,863 |30,862 |2,262 |28,600 |3,001 |361 |2,640
Royal Navy
1985-86 |4,276 |3,987 |568 |3,419 |289 |32 |257
1986-87 |5,336 |4,791 |592 |4,199 |545 |36 |509
1987-88 |5,181 |4,601 |455 |4,146 |580 |26 |554
1988-89 |5,298 |4,598 |484 |4,114 |700 |31 |669
Royal Marines
1985-86 |1,093 |1,093 |65 |1,028 |- |- |-
1986-87 |1,233 |1,233 |62 |1,171 |- |- |-
1987-88 |991 |991 |53 |938 |- |- |-
1988-89 |937 |937 |43 |894 |- |- |-
Army
1985-86 |20,268 |19,173 |1,374 |17,799 |1,095 |151 |944
1986-87 |19,918 |18,718 |1,362 |17,356 |1,200 |154 |1,046
1987-88 |21,041 |19,895 |1,254 |18,641 |1,146 |148 |998
1988-89 |21,348 |19,921 |1,150 |18,771 |1,427 |147 |1,280
Table 1-Intake to United Kingdom Regular Forces from civilian life Number
|Total |Officers |Servicemen |Total |Officers |Servicewomen
All Services
1985-86 |32,651 |30,407 |2,799 |27,608 |2,244 |327 |1,917
1986-87 |34,049 |31,014 |2,920 |28,227 |2,902 |360 |2,542
1987-88 |33,826 |31,215 |2,548 |28,667 |26,11 |362 |2,249
1988-89 |33,863 |30,862 |2,262 |28,600 |3,001 |361 |2,640
Royal Navy
1985-86 |4,276 |3,987 |568 |3,419 |289 |32 |257
1986-87 |5,336 |4,791 |592 |4,199 |545 |36 |509
1987-88 |5,181 |4,601 |455 |4,146 |580 |26 |554
1988-89 |5,298 |4,598 |484 |4,114 |700 |31 |669
Royal Marines
1985-86 |1,093 |1,093 |65 |1,028 |- |- |-
1986-87 |1,233 |1,233 |62 |1,171 |- |- |-
1987-88 |991 |991 |53 |938 |- |- |-
1988-89 |937 |937 |43 |894 |- |- |-
Army
1985-86 |20,268 |19,173 |1,374 |17,799 |1,095 |151 |944
1986-87 |19,918 |18,718 |1,362 |17,356 |1,200 |154 |1,046
1987-88 |21,041 |19,895 |1,254 |18,641 |1,146 |148 |998
1988-89 |21,348 |19,921 |1,150 |18,771 |1,427 |147 |1,280
Table 1-Intake to United Kingdom Regular Forces from civilian life Number
|Total |Officers |Servicemen |Total |Officers |Servicewomen
All Services
1985-86 |32,651 |30,407 |2,799 |27,608 |2,244 |327 |1,917
1986-87 |34,049 |31,014 |2,920 |28,227 |2,902 |360 |2,542
1987-88 |33,826 |31,215 |2,548 |28,667 |26,11 |362 |2,249
1988-89 |33,863 |30,862 |2,262 |28,600 |3,001 |361 |2,640
Royal Navy
1985-86 |4,276 |3,987 |568 |3,419 |289 |32 |257
1986-87 |5,336 |4,791 |592 |4,199 |545 |36 |509
1987-88 |5,181 |4,601 |455 |4,146 |580 |26 |554
1988-89 |5,298 |4,598 |484 |4,114 |700 |31 |669
Royal Marines
1985-86 |1,093 |1,093 |65 |1,028 |- |- |-
1986-87 |1,233 |1,233 |62 |1,171 |- |- |-
1987-88 |991 |991 |53 |938 |- |- |-
1988-89 |937 |937 |43 |894 |- |- |-
Army
1985-86 |20,268 |19,173 |1,374 |17,799 |1,095 |151 |944
1986-87 |19,918 |18,718 |1,362 |17,356 |1,200 |154 |1,046
1987-88 |21,041 |19,895 |1,254 |18,641 |1,146 |148 |998
1988-89 |21,348 |19,921 |1,150 |18,771 |1,427 |147 |1,280
Ambulance Service
Sir Alan Glyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what additional training is being undertaken and equipment provided for the ambulance service provided by the Army to bring it up to the same standard as the normal civilian ambulance service ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : All service medical attendants receive basic training in medical skills. The majority of those assisting in maintaining a service to the public during the present dispute are full-time medical personnel who normally work in hospitals, medical centres and medical field units. Many of these men will already have been trained specifically to handle medical emergencies. Refresher and additional training has been given where necessary and additional equipment has been fitted to service vehicles to ensure that an effective emergency service can be provided to the public.
Colombia
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what additional sums are being paid to Special Air Service forces serving in Colombia as part of the anti-drug campaign ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : It is not the practice to comment on matters concerning special forces. Service personnel serving overseas receive their normal pay and, in addition, allowances appropriate to the country in which they are deployed.
HEALTH
Self-governing Hospitals
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health which hospitals being considered for self-governing status, have academic, medical or scientific staff working at them
Column 918
with honorary appointments ; and what arrangements he has made with the related university authority to ensure that the teaching and research work of academic staff continues and develops.Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Until Parliament has approved the necessary legislation, no units will be considered for NHS trust status. However 190 units have expressed interest, including 80 which I understand are likely to be in a position to apply for NHS trust status in April 1991. A number of the units expressing interest include hospitals with significant connections with university, medical and dental schools ; all of these might therefore be expected to have working at them clinical academic staff with honorary NHS contracts.
My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Health will continue to be responsible for the provision of clinical services for medical education and research. The NHS and Community Care Bill, currently before the House, empowers NHS trusts to provide teaching, training and research. We are also receiving advice from the steering group on undergraduate medical and dental education, which contains representatives of all the main bodies with responsibility for undergraduate medical and dental education.
General Practitioners (Complaints)
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has any proposals to allow lawyers to represent patients in complaint hearings against general practitioners before family practitioner committees ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : There are no plans to change the present procedures under which neither party may be represented by a paid advocate except where appeals are concerned.
Column 919
Haemophiliacs
Sir Michael McNair-Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health why the haemophiliac sufferers contaminated with the HIV virus have not yet received the capital sum promised them via the McFarlane Trust : and when he expects the payments to be made.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Detailed arrangements for payment of the ex-gratia sums announced by my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Health on 23 November 1989 at columns 11-12 are being finalised. Discussions with the McFarlane Trust are almost complete and we hope that it will be possible to start making the payments within a matter of days. A further statement will be made as soon as possible.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Corporation Tax
Mr. Rowe : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the cost to the Exchequer of introducing a nil rate corporation tax band on the first £5,000 of a company's profits ; and what would be the cost if it were to be introduced (a) for companies in the first five years from registration for value-added tax and (b) for non-registered companies.
Mr. Lilley : On the assumption that a single £5,000 nil rate band would be available to a company group and would be divided equally between the members of the group, the direct revenue cost is tentatively estimated at some £100 million. This estimate is based on the existing distribution of taxable profits and therefore excludes the effect of behavioural changes. These cannot readily be quantified but they are likely to have a further very substantial effect upon revenue. I regret that information required to provide estimates under conditions (a) and (b) is not available.
Research and Development
Mr. Warren : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the amounts of money spent by the Governments of the United Kingdom, West Germany and France on research and development in industry, the universities and defence during their last financial years ; and what are their spending expectations in each of these categories separately in their current financial years.
Mr. Norman Lamont : The available information relates to net central Government expenditure on research and development analysed by the European Community objectives, industrial production and technology, research financed from general university funds and defence. For the United Kingdom the information for 1987-88, 1988-89 and 1989-90 was published in table 7 on page 95 of the August 1989 issue of "Economic Trends", a copy of which is in the Library. Comparable figures for France and West Germany for the years available are given in the table.
Column 920
|1987 |1988<1> |1987 |1988<1>
Industrial production and technology |808 |800 |761 |771
Research financed from general university funds |1,551 |1,693 |683 |735
Defence |660 |687 |1,952 |2,357
Source: Statistical office of European Community: Government financing of R and D in Member States 1980-88.
Notes:
1. Converted to £ sterling using purchasing power parities calculated by OECD.
2. The figures relate to appropriations for commitments and are not strictly comparable with outturn data.
<1>Provisional.
Drugs
Mr. Martlew : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer by how much the balance of payments deficit is affected by the illegal importation of drugs.
Mr. Norman Lamont : Illegally imported drugs are not included in the published data.
Companies
Mr. Allen : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been expended by the United Kingdom on the acquisition of companies abroad and on the acquisition by foreign companies of United Kingdom companies in 1989 ; and what are the comparable figures for each year since 1979 at constant prices.
Mr. Norman Lamont : The latest available figures are given in business bulletin "Cross-Border Acquisitions and Mergers--Third Quarter 1989." Figures are available on this basis only from 1986. A copy of this publication is available in the Library. Because the figures relate to transactions for which there are no suitable price deflators, values on a constant price basis are not available.
Value Added Tax
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has any proposals to review the overall position of charities in respect of value added tax ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Ryder : I cannot anticipate my right hon. Friend's Budget statement.
Inland Revenue
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether any changes are proposed in the cash limit and running cost limit for 1989- 90 for the Inland Revenue.
Mr. Lilley : Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimate the cash limit for class XIX vote 7 will be increased from £1,234,973,000 to £1,237,173,000 and the running cost limit for Inland Revenue from £1,202,092,000 to £1,202,308,000. The change in running cost limit arises from a transfer from the Cabinet Office (Office of the Minister for the Civil Service) for challenge funding (class XX, vote 1) and the costs associated with the distribution of profit-related pay pamphlets (these are recovered from HM Treasury--class
Column 921
XIX, vote 11). The change in the cash limit also includes an amount for capital to provide for purchase of land in Nottingham for the relocation of London headquarters staff ; this increase will be met from existing but unallocated public expenditure provision.Customs and Excise
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether any changes are proposed in the cash limit and running cost limit for 1989- 90 for Customs and Excise.
Mr. Ryder : Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimate the cash limit for class XIX vote 2 will be increased from £563,065,000 to £580,342,000 and the running cost limit for Customs and Excise from £505,620,000 to £505,897,000. The change in the running costs limit arises from the transfer from the Cabinet Office (Office of the Minister for the Civil Service) (class XX, vote 1) for challenge funding and the costs associated with a programme for the training of overseas customs officers, the costs of which are being met by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (class II, vote 1) and the Home Office (class XI, vote 3). There is therefore no net increase in public expenditure as a result of these increases. The change in the cash limit also includes an amount to cover the costs of payments made or being made in respect of interest (or ex-gratia payments in lieu of interest) on repayments of VAT, the need for which I announced in a written reply on 19 December 1989 ( Official Report, col 178 ) : these costs fall outside the definition of the public expenditure planning total.
Revenue Support Grant
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest estimate of the effect of his decision to bring forward payments of revenue support grant to local authorities on the central Government borrowing requirement in 1990-91.
Mr. Norman Lamont [ holding answer 16 January 1990] : Assuming current interest rates, there will be an interest cost of less than £100 million to central Government in 1990-91, compared with the situation if grant were still to be paid according to the present rate support grant profile. This has no effect on the PSBR, since local authorities will save the cost of borrowing the amounts brought forward.
Aquisitions
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total value for 1989 of takeover acquisitions made by (a) United Kingdom companies abroad and (b) foreign companies in the United Kingdom ; and what the comparable figure was for (i) five years and (ii) 10 years ago.
Mr. Norman Lamont : The latest available figures are given in Business Bulletin "Cross-Border Acquisitions and Mergers--Third Quarter 1989". Figures are available on this basis only from 1986. A copy of this publication is available in the Library.
Column 922
Manufacturing Output
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the increase in output per head in manufacturing since 1979 together with the increase in output per head in the rest of the economy.
Mr. Norman Lamont : The increases in output per head in manufacturing and non-manufacturing between 1979 and the third quarter of 1989 were 53 per cent. and 14 per cent. respectively.
EMPLOYMENT
Homeworkers
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many accidents causing (a) minor injuries, (b) serious injuries and (c) fatalities there have been in the last 10 years to homeworkers while they were engaged with their work in their homes ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nicholls : Injuries occurring in domestic premises arising out of homework activity are not separately identified from the generality of injuries to employees and the self-employed and therefore data cannot be supplied.
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many representations he has received from right hon. and hon. Members since 1979 concerning the rights of homeworkers ;
(2) how many representations he has received since 1979 from members of the public concerning rights of homeworkers.
Mr. Nicholls : Records show that 14 letters on the subject of homeworking have been received direct from members of the public since 1979 and 16 through Members of Parliament. Members have also sent seven letters on their own account. Ministers have also received deputations including a Member of Parliament on two occasions. It is not possible in the time available to state how many of the letters should be categorised "representations on the rights of homeworkers".
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the average rates of pay (a) per week and (b) per item made for homeworkers in England and Wales giving the most recent figures for each year since 1979.
Mr. Nicholls : The information requested is not available.
National Insurance
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the number of national insurance contributors paying the share fishermen's rate (a) nationally, (b) in Grimsby and (c) in Scotland in the latest available year.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : I have been asked to reply.
During 1986-87, the latest year for which final figures are available, a total of 12,300 United Kingdom contributors paid the share fishermen's rate of national insurance contribution : of these 11,600 were in Great Britain. I regret that separate figures are not available for either Scotland or Grimsby.
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