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Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he is taking to formulate and implement a disablement strategy for Wales.
Mr. Grist : The Department has recently consulted health and local authorities and voluntry and professional organisations on a draft circular giving advice on good practice in the provision of services for people with physical and or sensory disabilities. It is intended to publish the final version next month. That will be followed by further guidance when the results of current reviews of existing services and consultation have been analysed.
Elderly People
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what basis and information sources he used in reaching his estimate of the increase in the number of elderly people in Wales over the next 20 years ; and what research his Department has undertaken to verify this prediction ;
(2) what basis he used in reaching his estimate of the number of very elderly people in Wales over the next 20 years ; and what research his Department has undertaken to verify this prediction.
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Mr. Grist : Annual estimates of the population including age structure are made by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys (OPCS) using :(i) the results of the 1981 census ;
(ii) registration of subsequent births and deaths ; and (iii) estimates of migration derived from electoral rolls, the National Health Service Central Register and the International Passenger Survey.
National projections produced by the Government Actuary's Department take the OPCS annual estimate as the base and apply assumptions on future mortality, fertility and migration patterns. Such assumptions, developed in consultation with relevant Departments, are described in "Population projections 1987-2027" series PP2 No. 16, OPCS, and a copy is in the Library. Current population projections can only be verified when the results of future censuses become available.
Business Growth
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many applications he has received from employers under the business growth training programme ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Wyn Roberts : The Training Agency has received over 3,000 applications to participate in the business growth training programme in Wales.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will set out the position in Wales and Scotland with respect to the responsibilities that employers will have for collecting cash from poll tax defaulters.
Mr. Peter Walker : Under the Community Charges (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1989, a Welsh charging authority that has obtained a liability order from a magistrates court may make an attachment of earnings order. This is an order instructing the debtor's employer to make deductions from the debtor's earnings and pay the amounts deducted to the charging authority. The amounts to be deducted will be specified in the attachment of earnings order. The employer may deduct £1 from the debtor's earnings to cover his administrative costs in respect of each deduction. The employer is required to notify the charging authority if the debtor leaves his employment.
The position in Scotland is a matter for my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland.
Commonwealth Games
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will ask the chairman of the Sports Council for Wales for a report on the reasons why the Commonwealth Games Council for Wales did not institute random drug testing on members of the Welsh team selected for the Auckland Commonwealth games.
Mr. Grist : This is a matter for the Commonwealth Games Federation.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will ask the Sports Council for Wales to report to him on the circumstances in which the Commonwealth Games Council for Wales was given a grant of £40,000 towards the cost of sending the Welsh team to the Auckland Commonwealth games.
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Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will meet the chairman of the Sports Council for Wales to discuss the most appropriate form of inquiry into the disqualification for drug-taking of medal-winning weightlifters at the Auckland Commonwealth games.
Mr. Grist : It is for the Commonwealth Games Federation to set up the procedures to detect misuse of drugs and related substances and for the federation, together with the relevant governing bodies for weightlifting, to impose sanctions against the offenders.
Anabolic Steroids
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will seek a report from the Sports Council for Wales on the prevalence of the use of anabolic steroids in sports in Wales receiving public money from the Sports Council.
Mr. Grist : The Sports Council for Wales has been providing information to the Welsh Office on the results of its drug-testing programme, covering 57 sports governing bodies since testing began in 1985. No cases of steroid abuse have been detected in Welsh competitors as a result of the tests.
Health Projects
Mr. Gwilym Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will announce allocations for 1990-91 for health projects under the programme for the valleys ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Walker : District health authorities and the University of Wales college of medicine have today been informed that the following allocations are to be made under the programme for the valleys for projects in 1990-91. The allocations are set out in the table. The £9.738 million allocation approved for the coming year represents an increase of over 60 per cent. on the budget for the present financial year and demonstrates a continuing commitment to improving health care provision in the valleys.
In particular, the allocation to Mid Glamorgan health authority should accelerate the development of a new district general hospital to serve Taff Ely and Rhondda. Subject to the normal detailed approval procedure, a programme for the valleys investment of £8 million over the coming three years is planned towards the total cost of this major development.
Programme for the Valleys health schemes to be funded in 1990-91
New developments and existing commitments
DHA/health interest |Funding
|1990-91
|£ million
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On-going Projects
Gwent
Ebbw Vale Community Hospital [commitment] |1.13
Mid Glamorgan
Ystrad Fechan Community Hospital [commitment] |2.4
Aberdare Elderly Unit [commitment] |0.2
Know your Midwife, Rhondda [commitment] |0.06
Community Nursing (Valleys) [commitment] |0.085
Bargoed Ambulance Station [commitment] |0.27
West Glamorgan
Pontardawe Psychiatric Day Centre [commitment] |0.11
UWCM/Mid Glamorgan/Gwent
Domiciliary Ante-natal Care Project [commitment] |0.085
UWCM/Mid Glamorgan
Myocardial Infarction Project [commitment] |0.008
|-------
Sub-total of DHA commitments |4.348
UWMC
Teamcare Valleys [commitment] |0.5
|-------
Sub-total of commitments |4.848
|-------
New Projects
Mid Glamorgan
New DGH, Taff Ely/Rhonnda [development] |2.65
Improvement to East Glamorgan Hospital [development] |0.35
East Dyfed
Amman Valley Hospital Development [development] |0.12
West Glamorgan
Pontardawe Psychiatric Day Hospital [development] |0.084
Gwent
Child Development Centre for North Gwent [development] |0.25
Day Hospital for Chronically Mentally Ill Tredegar [development] |0.19
West Glamorgan
Valleys Communities Dental Health Project [development] |0.108
Powys
Dental Health Project (Upper Swansea Valley) [development] |0.071
Mid Glamorgan
Mobile Dental Clinic for Merthyr Cynon and Rhymney Valleys [development] |0.033
West Glamorgan
Share and Care Scheme, Neath and Port Talbot [development] |0.002
Redevelopment of Gellinudd Hospital [development] |0.680
Mid Glamorgan
Project to combat Drug Misuse |0.05
Gwent
Project to combat Drug Misuse |0.062
UWCM
Team Care Valleys [development] |0.24
|-------
Sub-total of new developments |4.89
|-------
Total of commitments plus new developments=4.848+4.89= |9.738
PRIME MINISTER
Green Currencies
Mr. Ralph Howell : To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to her reply to the hon. Member for Ludlow (Mr. Gill) on 25 January, Official Report, column 1047, what are the
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reasons why all green currencies could not be dismantled in 1990 ; and if she will list the member states which are opposed to such dismantlement.The Prime Minister : The Council of Ministers has agreed that all monetary gaps should be dismantled by the end of 1992 at the latest. Because of the effects of very large devaluations on prices, public expenditure and the rate of inflation, it has been generally accepted Community practice that large monetary gaps should be dismantled in stages. Reflecting this, the Commission has not proposed the complete elimination of monetary gaps in 1990, and a majority of member states could be expected to resist such a proposal.
African National Congress
Mr. Kaufman : To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to her reply about the African National Congress to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on 16 January, Official Report, column 160, whether the African National Congress has since that reply removed what she referred to as an ambiguity ; and whether, in the light of developments since that reply, she continues to regard the African National Congress as a terrorist organisation.
The Prime Minister : We have welcomed the South African Government's decision to lift the bans on the African National Congress and other political organisations. We look to them to make a correspondingly positive response. As yet, the ANC has not committed itself unambiguously to the pursuit of a peaceful solution to South Africa's problems through negotiation. We continue to urge it to do so.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Civil Service
104. Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the increase or decrease in (a) the work undertaken by the Civil Service and (b) the number of civil servants (i) since 1974 and (ii) since 1979 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Ryder : The information on workload changes is not available in the form requested. However, it is estimated that, between 1979 and 1988, the workload for new and existing activities increased by the equivalent of 85,000 posts. This was, of course, more than fully offset by efficiency improvements and cost-effective transfers outside the Civil Service.
The changes in the number of civil servants are as follows : (i) 692,036 at 1 April 19744
(ii) 732,275 at 1 April 1979, an increase of 40,239 (5.8 per cent.))
(iii) 565,075 at 1 October 1989, a decrease of 167,200 (22.8 per cent..
Inland Revenue Documents
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many different standard forms, letters and notices are currently being used by the Inland Revenue ; and if he will list the 20 most frequently used of these documents, and the approximate annual usage of each of these.
Mr. Lilley : The Inland Revenue has approximately 8,200 different forms, notices and so on in use, of which
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2,500 are used in correspondence with persons outside the Department. The 20 external documents most frequently used are as follows :
Form |Type |Approximate
|annual usage
|(millions)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
P3(T) |PAYE Coding Notes |28.0
P2(T) |PAYE Coding Notice |26.0
P46 |Notification: new employee |19.0
Tax Return |Notes: simple profit statement insert|16.4
P30B(Z) |Payslip |16.0
P11 |PAYE Working Sheet |15.0
P14 |Statement of employee's pay etc |15.0
300 Coda |Schedule D assessment |14.7
MIRAS 70 |Application to pay mortgage interest |14.0
|under the MIRAS Scheme
P15 |Employee's PAYE coding claim |13.0
P45 |Employee's leaving certificate |11.5
11 Notes |Tax Return: Notes |11.2
P6(T) |Employers PAYE coding |8.5
|notification
64D |Schedule D assessment: Notes |7.2
64 |Appeal notification |6.7
P1 |Tax Return: employee earning |6.5
|below £8,500
P1 Notes |Tax Return Notes employee earning |6.5
|below £8,500
11 |Tax Return-self employed taxpayer |5.7
P70(T) |Schedule E assessment |5.6
11P |Tax Return-employee |5.5
Workplace Nurseries
Mr. Allen : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total tax yield from the tax on workplace nurseries for the last year for which figures are available.
Mr. Lilley : There is no separate tax on workplace nurseries. I regret that information on which to base a reliable estimate of the tax liability on the benefit of subsidised workplace nurseries provided by employers is not available.
CBI
Mr. Bellingham : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he next plans to meet the president of the Confederation of British Industry ; and what matters he proposes to discuss.
Mr. Norman Lamont : My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer will be addressing the CBI annual dinner on 17 May this year.
Banks (Third World Debts)
Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the current policy of the Inland Revenue in relation to the tax treatment of United Kingdom banks which make provision against Third world debt.
Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the current policy of the Inland Revenue in relation to the tax treatment of United Kingdom banks which make provision against Third world debt.
Mr. Lilley : The Inland Revenue operates the test laid down by law. This provides tax relief to the extent that the principal is estimated to be irrecoverable.
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Income Tax
Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has received any recent representations about the level of income tax.
Mr. Lilley : My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has received a large number of representations regarding the level of income tax.
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many bands of marginal income tax rates exist in (a) the United Kingdom, (b) other Group of Seven countries and (c) other EEC countries.
Mr. Lilley : The information requested is as follows :
Country |Number of bands of
|income tax rates
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(a) United Kingdom |2
(b) Other Group of Seven countries
Canada |3
France |12
Germany |2,119
Italy |7
Japan |5
United States of America |2
(c) Other EEC countries
Belgium |7
Denmark |3
Greece |9
Ireland |3
Luxembourg |24
Netherlands |3
Portugal |5
Spain |16
Notes:
1. The figures given refer to the bands of national income tax rates
only. In some countries additional local income tax is imposed.
2. In Germany there is no system of tax bands: rates rise gradually from
19 per cent. to 53 per cent. according to a 2,119-stage table.
3. In the United States of America there is an additional intermediate
income tax rate band for some taxpayers.
4. The figure given for Belgium applies to taxpayers with an income of
over £10,873 (at the latest available purchasing power parity). For
income below this amount a tax table of gradually increasing rates is
used.
Building Society Accounts
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many building society accounts are subject to the composite rate ; how many of these would be wholly liable to tax in the absence of the composite rate system ; how many would not be liable for tax at all ; and how much tax each group pays.
Mr. Lilley : I regret that information of this kind distinguishing accounts held by building societies is not readily available.
Mortgage Interest Tax Relief
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many individuals are currently receiving mortgage interest tax relief ; what were the comparable figures for 1973-74, 1978-79, 1983-84, 1988-89 and 1989 -90 ; and what is the current cost to the Exchequer.
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Mr. Lilley : Estimates of the numbers of tax units receiving mortgage interest relief in the years requested are as follows :
|Million
------------------------
1973-74 |4.5
1978-79 |5.6
1983-84 |7.5
1988-89 |9.1
1989-90 |9.3
The cost of providing mortgage interest relief in 1989-90 is estimated to be £7 billion.
Mr. Geraint Howells : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received about the levels of mortgage interest tax relief ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received about the ceiling on mortgage tax relief ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lilley : My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has received a number of representations concerning the levels of mortgage interest tax relief.
Company Car Parks
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how much revenue would be raised if company car parks in inner London were taxed as a benefit in kind ; and what information he has on the income distribution of the people affected ;
(2) how much revenue would be raised if company parking spaces were taxed as a benefit in kind in all major cities in the United Kingdom ; and what information he has on the income distribution of those people affected.
Mr. Lilley : I regret that the information requested is not available.
Tax
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list all the points on the income scale for a single man with the standard allowance at which the combined national insurance and marginal rates alter and those rates.
Mr. Lilley : Information for 1989-90 is given in the table. The calculations use the class 1 national insurance contribution rates introduced in October 1989.
Levels of income at which the marginal rate of
income tax and
national insurance contributions of a single
person<1> changes, 1989-90
Weekly |Marginal rate
Income |of income tax
|and national
|insurance
|contributions<2>
£ |per cent.
---------------------------------------------------
43.00 |9
53.56 |34
325.00 |25
451.63 |40
<1>. Assumed to be non-aged with no reliefs or
allowances other than the single person's
allowance.
<2>. Class 1 national insurance contributions for
an employee contracted in to the State Earnings
Related Pension Scheme (SERPS).
Column 18
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the overall revenue from taxation plus national insurance contributions in cash terms, real terms and as a percentage of gross domestic product both including oil and excluding oil in each year since 1978-79 and in each five -year period working back from the present for as much of the last 30 years as possible.
Mr. Norman Lamont : Such information as is readily available is included on the CSO database in the following series (identified by their database code) :
GTEA : total general Government revenue from taxes, social security contributions and royalties
ABLG : total North sea taxes
CAOB : GDP (a) at market prices
DJDT : implied GDP (at market prices) deflator
The database can be accessed on-line by the House of Commons library.
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the regional distribution of (a) the personal tax burden and (b) the overall tax burden.
Mr. Lilley : I regret that estimates of total personal taxes and total taxes are not made on a regional basis. However, in 1987-88 the regional distribution of income tax liabilities is estimated to have been as follows :
Region |Amount of income
|tax liability of resi-
|dents
|(£ billion)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
North |1.8
Yorkshire and Humberside |3.3
North West |4.3
East Midlands |2.5
West Midlands |3.6
East Anglia |1.6
South East |18.4
South West |3.5
Wales |1.5
Scotland |3.4
Northern Ireland |0.8
Members of Her Majesty's forces and the Merchant Navy are excluded.
Mortgages
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the cost to the Exchequer of (a) a 1 per cent. increase in mortgage lending rates, (b) the cumulative cost since mortgage rates began to rise in June 1988 up to the end of 1989-90 and (c) the estimated cost for 1990-91.
Mr. Lilley : An increase of 1 percentage point in the current level of mortgage interest rates would increase the annual cost of mortgage interest relief by about £550 million. The estimated additional cost of mortgage interest relief, resulting from the increases in mortgage interest rates above their 10 per cent. level of June 1988, will be £2.4 billion by the end of 1989-90. This cost will to a large extent be offset by an increase in the tax yield on interest from deposits. The cost of relief in 1990-91 will depend on the levels of borrowing and interest rates.
Personal Allowances
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the cost of increasing all personal allowances by the current increase in average earnings of 9.25 per cent.
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Mr. Lilley : At 1990-91 levels of income, the direct revenue cost in a full year of increasing all personal allowances by 9.25 per cent. on their 1989-90 levels is estimated to be about £2,240 million. The additional cost of increasing the basic rate limit by 9.25 per cent. is about £430 million in a full year. The costs falling in 1990- 91 would be £1,720 million and £250 million respectively. Estimates are based on a projection of the 1987-88 survey of personal incomes and are provisional.Nursery Vouchers
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many companies currently provide nursery vouchers ; and how much money is raised from taxing these as a benefit in kind.
Mr. Lilley : I regret that this information is not available.
Corporation Tax
Mr. Hunter : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on the level of corporation tax in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Lilley : My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer and I have received a number of representations concerning the level of corporation tax in the United Kingdom.
Construction Companies
Sir John Stanley : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the average annual increase in net income of large construction companies between 1974 and 1979, and since 1979, after deducting from net income as defined in his reply to the right hon. Member for Tonbridge and Malling on 15 January, Official Report, column 97, either actual or estimated amounts for both tax and employers' national insurance contributions.
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Mr. Major [holding answer 9 February 1990] : Based on figures extracted from published accounts, the average annual increase in net income in nominal terms for large construction companies after deducting tax (both United Kingdom and overseas) was 24.3 per cent. between accounting years 1974 and 1979 and 8.4 per cent. between accounting years 1979 and 1988. Employers' national insurance contributions will already have been deducted in the calculation of net income. The underlying figures are published in the MA3 series of business monitors "Company Finance".
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Shops Act 1950
Mr. David Davis : To ask the Attorney-General how many prosecutions have been brought for breaches of the Shops Act 1950 since the recent judgment of the European Court ; and if he will name the local authorities concerned.
The Attorney-General : I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Orpington (Mr. Stanbrook) on 29 January 1990 at column 13.
Land Registry
Mr. Allen : To ask the Attorney-General what were the charges for a land registry search when purchasing or selling domestic property for each of the years since 1979 at constant prices.
The Attorney-General : Pre-completion official searches of the register with priority have attracted no fee during the period. Pre- contract inquiries attracted the fees set out in the table in the financial years indicated. The first column (1979) indicates the actual fee in that year. The following columns show the comparable fees by reference to constant prices based on the 1979 fees.
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|1979 |1980 |1981<1>|1982 |1983 |1984 |1985<2>
|£ |£ |£ |£ |£ |£ |£
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Office Copy Register |0.75 |0.63 |0.75 |0.70 |0.66 |0.63 |0.60
Office Copy Filed Plan |0.75 |0.63 |0.75 |0.70 |0.66 |0.63 |0.60
Search of the Index Map |1.00 |0.84 |1.50 |1.40 |1.33 |1.27 |1.20
<1>From 1 April 1981.
<2>To 31 May 1985.
Since June 1985 there has been no direct charge for these pre-contract inquiries. From 2 April 1990 charges will be reintroduced for those items as follows, with constant price equivalents shown in brackets :
£12.00 (£5.54).
Search of the Index Map £6.00 (£2.77).
Dr. K. Siddiqui
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Attorney-General if he will make a statement on the decision not to prosecute Dr. K. Siddiqui under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.
The Attorney-General : The Director of Public Prosecutions gave very careful consideration to all evidence made available to him, including video evidence, concerning the remarks and actions of Dr. Siddiqui at a public meeting at Manchester city hall on 21 October 1989,
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and he instructed leading counsel to advise him with regard to any criminal liability, especially for incitement to murder. The Director concluded that the evidence was insufficient to render it appropriate to institute criminal proceedings. Nevertheless, the Director regards as a matter of extreme gravity any conduct on the part of any person within this jurisdiction which does amount to the offence of incitement to murder. It will remain his policy, with my full agreement, to deal accordingly with evidence establishing such conduct that may be placed before him.Column 21
HEALTH
Preventable Loss
Mr. Norris : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the extent of preventable loss arising from theft or misappropriation in his Department.
Mr. Freeman : The Department's assessment of preventable loss arising within the Department in the year 1988-89 is nil. Internal management and financial control procedures are under continuous scrutiny to ensure, as far as possible, that no preventable loss arises.
Mr. Norris : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he will list the number of professionally qualified loss-prevention staff employed by his Department and the qualifications held by such staff, excluding qualifications obtained during police or military service.
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