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Proportion of net expenditure allocated to:-
|Total net |1. Adminis- |2. Hosting of |3. Allowances |4. General allow-
|expenditure |tration in |meetings and |for attending |ances to nominees
|1988-89 |general |conferences |meetings |on the Committee
|Outturn £000s |per cent. |per cent. |per cent.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Family Practitioner Committees in Wales
Clwyd |40,566 |1 |n/a |- |n/a
East Dyfed |35,775 |1 |n/a |- |n/a
Gwent |44,752 |1 |n/a |- |n/a
Gwynedd |25,627 |1 |n/a |- |n/a
Mid Glamorgan |54,022 |1 |n/a |- |n/a
Powys |12,123 |2 |n/a |- |n/a
South Glamorgan |41,741 |1 |n/a |- |n/a
West Glamorgan |38,350 |1 |n/a |- |n/a
Community Health Councils in Wales
Clwyd |68 |91 |- |9 |-
East Dyfed |63 |80 |- |20 |-
Gwent |77 |92 |- |8 |-
Gwynedd |70 |86 |- |14 |-
Mid Glamorgan |131 |90 |- |10 |-
Pembrokeshire |26 |94 |- |6 |-
Powys |30 |88 |- |12 |-
South Glamorgan |77 |96 |- |4 |-
West Glamorgan |77 |97 |- |3 |-
Proportion of net expenditure allocated to:-
|Total net |1. Adminis- |2. Hosting of |3. Allowances |4. General allow-
|expenditure |tration in |meetings and |for attending |ances to nominees
|1988-89 |general |conferences |meetings |on the Committee
|Outturn £000s |per cent. |per cent. |per cent.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Family Practitioner Committees in Wales
Clwyd |40,566 |1 |n/a |- |n/a
East Dyfed |35,775 |1 |n/a |- |n/a
Gwent |44,752 |1 |n/a |- |n/a
Gwynedd |25,627 |1 |n/a |- |n/a
Mid Glamorgan |54,022 |1 |n/a |- |n/a
Powys |12,123 |2 |n/a |- |n/a
South Glamorgan |41,741 |1 |n/a |- |n/a
West Glamorgan |38,350 |1 |n/a |- |n/a
Community Health Councils in Wales
Clwyd |68 |91 |- |9 |-
East Dyfed |63 |80 |- |20 |-
Gwent |77 |92 |- |8 |-
Gwynedd |70 |86 |- |14 |-
Mid Glamorgan |131 |90 |- |10 |-
Pembrokeshire |26 |94 |- |6 |-
Powys |30 |88 |- |12 |-
South Glamorgan |77 |96 |- |4 |-
West Glamorgan |77 |97 |- |3 |-
Local Government Finance
Mr. Gwilym Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his remarks in the Official Report, columns 990-94, on 24 January, what responses he has received from South Glamorgan, Powis, Gwynedd, Newport and Cardiff councils.
Mr. Grist : My right hon. Friend has received and is considering one reply from South Glamorgan county council.
Welsh Office (25th Anniversary)
Mr. Martyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the overall financial cost of the anniversary celebration concert at St. David's halls marking the 25th anniversary of the Welsh Office.
Mr. Peter Walker : The concert will be held in March ; the estimated cost to the Welsh Office is £9,000.
Conductive Education
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has for developing in Wales an availability of conductive education methods for disabled children ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Grist : The Welsh Office is associated with the commitment announced by my right hon. Friend the
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Minister for the Disabled to contribute towards the establishment of a new International Peto Institute. This will secure the continuing availability of conductive education in Budapest for children from all parts of the United Kingdom while building up a nucleus of trained conductors to provide this service in the United Kingdom. My right hon. Friend has no immediate plans to establish a centre for Wales. An application by Clwyd education authority, on behalf of other education and health authorities, is being considered in the Department.Soviet Delegation
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he is taking to ensure that the Soviet delegation which he will shortly welcome to Wales will be made aware of the customs and national identity of the Welsh people ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Walker : I am pleased to say that in a highly successful two-and-a-half-day visit to Wales the parliamentary delegation from the Supreme Soviet was made fully aware of the customs and national identity of the Welsh people.
Workplace Nurseries
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what action he is taking to encourage the establishment of workplace nurseries by Welsh employers ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Grist : The ministerial group on women's issues, on which the Department is represented, has been active in drawing employers' attention to the availability of tax relief on capital equipment and the running costs of workplace nurseries. Whether or not employers in Wales make such provision is a matter for their judgment.Child Care, Welsh Office
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what child care provision is currently made for Welsh Office employees in (a) London and (b) Cardiff.
Mr. Grist : The Department ran a holiday play scheme for children of staff in Cardiff last summer and plans to do so again for the Easter and summer school holidays this year. Staff in the Welsh Office London can make use of the Westminster holiday play scheme which the Cabinet Office organises.
The Welsh Office is also looking at the possibility of providing nursery facilities for its staff in Cardiff in conjunction with other Government Departments.
Literacy and Numeracy
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of standards of literacy and numeracy among participants in (a) YTS and (b) the employment training programme ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Wyn Roberts : Current figures show that the number of ET trainees with a need for literacy and numeracy training is approximately 18 per cent. Equivalent figures for YTS in Wales are not available, but there is provision for young people with literacy and numeracy problems under the arrangements for those with special needs.
Basic Skills
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what funding is being made available in Wales for the basic skills accreditation initiative ; what is the number of participants in the programme ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Wyn Roberts : Funding for the basic skills accreditation initiative is being provided on a United Kingdom basis by the BBC, DES through ALBSU, and the Training Agency. The Department supports the activities of ALBSU and is also supporting with education support grants the introduction of open learning centres for adults with literacy and numeracy problems the BSAI will be delivered through these centres. Although we expect a substantial number of people in Wales to take advantage of opportunities under the initiative, no details are yet available of participation rates.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he has anything to add to his answer on 12 February, concerning the respects in which the responsibilities he expects employers in Wales to fulfil for collecting cash from poll tax defaulters differ from the expectations and responsibilities placed on employers in Scotland.
Mr. Peter Walker : Under the Community Charges (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1989, a
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Welsh charging authority which 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 following information in relation to the position in Scotland has been given to me by my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland.
The enforcement methods to recover community charge debts are substantially the same as those for ordinary "private" debts. The local authority can choose either to proceed on the basis of a summary warrant or a court order obtained in a court action. Summary warrant procedure is an expedited procedure available since 1947 for the recovery of rates (and subsequently made available for the recovery of tax debts). Almost invariably, local authorities opt for summary warrant procedure. A single summary warrant application to the sheriff can cover a number of community charge debtors. An important difference between Scottish and English procedures for enforcement is the absence of a court role in the enforcement of Scottish court orders to recover debts, either private or public e.g. taxes. In Scotland, creditors take the initiative in instructing sheriff officers (independent contractors under the supervision of, but not in the employment of, the court) to take enforcement action against debtors. The Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987 abolished civil imprisonment for non-payment of rates and civil imprisonment is also not available if community charge is unpaid.
Methods of enforcing community charge debts :
The summary warrant authorises the use of the following diligences :
1. An earnings arrestment (similar to the English attachment of earnings procedure).
2. A poinding and sale (roughly comparable to the English "distraint of goods" procedure). ("Poinding" is pronounced "pinding".)
3. An arrestment and action of forthcoming or sale. (Abolition of Domestic Rates, etc (Scotland) Act 1987 Schedule 2, Paragraph 7 as amended)
Earnings Arrestment
This is a new diligence introduced by the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987 and is a system of continuous diligence requiring the debtor's employer to deduct a statutory fixed sum, which is related to net earnings, on each pay day until the debt is cleared. (Abolition of Domestic Rates, etc (Scotland) Act 1987, schedule 2 paragraph 7(3)(b) as amended Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987, section 49 and schedule 2). An earnings arrestment is started by service on the employer of the prescribed form of schedule of arrestment and it remains in effect broadly until the debt is paid or the debtor leaves that employment. The form was designed to provide the employer with easy-to-follow instructions on how to operate the procedure. The employer receives from the sheriff officer a copy of the statutory deduction tables to enable him to calculate the amount to be deducted. He also receives details of the person or body to whom the payment should be made "as soon as reasonably
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practicable". In addition, the employer is entitled to deduct from the employee debtor a nominal fee of 50p for each payment. (Act of Sederunt (Proceedings in the Sheriff Court under Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987) 1988, 1988 No. 2013, Paragraph 38 and Form 30)Poinding and Warrant Sale
This is the method by which the debtor's moveable goods which are in his custody and control are attached, brought within the control of the court, and thereafter and, if necessary, sold with the proceeds being used to pay off the debt. (Abolition of Domestic Rates etc. (Scotland) Act 1987, schedule 2, paragraph 7(3)(a) as amended). Arrestment followed by an action of forthcoming or sale This is the method by which a creditor may attach money or goods belonging to the debtor which are in the hands of a third party. Thereafter the creditor and debtor may agree to the money or goods being transferred to the creditor to settle the debt or failing such agreement a court action of forthcoming or sale is necessary to authorise the transfer of the money or goods to the creditor for sale. (Abolition of Domestic Rates etc. (Scotland) Act 1987, schedule 2, paragraph 7(3)(c) as amended).
Mr. Ian Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many councils have announced budgeted spending below their standard spending assessment.
Mr. Peter Walker : Welsh local authorities are currently in the process of setting their budgets for 1990-91. The information sought is therefore not yet available.
Project 2000
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much money has been invested in Project 2000 in Wales ; how many students there are on the courses ; how the courses are funded ; and in which colleges they are held.
Mr. Wyn Roberts : The sum of £696,000 has been made available for implementation of Project 2000 in Wales in 1989-90. This includes £420,000 to prepare for implementation of which £365,000 has been allocated to DHAs to fund ad hoc schemes to launch Project 2000 ; and £276,000 allocated to the Welsh National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting for extra teachers and certain development and planning costs.
Information is not held as to the resources invested by individual DHAs. It is the intention that the new courses will be introduced from autumn 1991.
Community Charge
Mr. Gwilym Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what regulations he intends to lay before the House governing the standard community charge in Wales.
Mr. Grist : We have no plans to make further regulations on the standard community charge.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Mr. Salman Rushdie
Mr. Allan Stewart : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many police officers have been involved in the protection afforded to Mr. Salman Rushdie ;
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(2) what is his estimate of the cost of continuing the present special security measures for Mr. Salman Rushdie throughout the 1990-91 financial year ;(3) what is his latest estimate of the cost of the special security measures taken for Mr. Salman Rushdie.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : It would not be proper to disclose information about police protection which would indicate its nature and scale in a particular case.
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if it remains the policy of his Department to ensure that Mr. Rushdie receives full police protection regardless of cost as long as there remains a threat to his life ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The need for protection is assessed by the police. It will continue for as long as is considered necessary, having regard to all of the circumstances.
Iranian Citizens (Deportation)
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Iranian citizens were deported from the United Kingdom on grounds of public security in the last 12 months ; and what further action is to be taken against Iranian nationals in the United Kingdom suspected of acting on instructions of the Iranian regime and whose presence may present a continuing danger to public security.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : During the past 12 months, a total of 31 Iranian citizens have been served with notice of the intention to make deportation orders against them on the grounds that this would be conducive to the public good for reasons of national security ; 29 of the 31 left the United Kingdom without an actual deportation order being made against them, one was deported and action on the other deportation order served has been deferred to await the outcome of current criminal proceedings.
I am unable to give any details of any possible further action but my right hon. and learned Friend will not hesitate to use the powers vested in him under the Immigration Act to require the departure of any overseas national whom he is satisfied poses a threat to the security of this country.
Horserace Betting Levy Board
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will outline the investment plans for the distribution of the current levy of the Horserace Betting Levy Board monies ; if such plans are inclusive of the £4 million surplus which has accrued ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) what plans exist within the Horserace Betting Levy Board for the improvement of catering and accommodation facilities for stable staff ; and if he will make a statement ;
(3) what proposals are under consideration to allocate funds from the Horserace Betting Levy Board for the establishment of pensions schemes for stable staff ; and if he will make a statement ; (4) what proposals there are for the Horserace Betting Levy Board to make an investment in the company Satellite Information Services ; and if he will make a statement ;
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(5) what proposals there are for the setting aside of funds of the Horserace Betting Levy Board for the provision of low -cost loans for stable staff accommodation ; and if he will make a statement ; (6) who determines the distribution of the funds of the Horserace Betting Levy Board ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Peter Lloyd : It is the statutory duty of the Horserace Betting Levy Board itself to determine the distribution of its funds, for purposes conducive to one or more of the following : (a) the improvement of breeds of horses ; (b) the advancement or encouragement of veterinary science or veterinary education ; (c) the improvement of horse racing.
The following information has been provided by the board. The board has no expenditure plans as to : Satellite Information Services ; the establishment of pensions schemes for stable staff ; or loans to stable staff to purchase or rent accommodation.
As to capital expenditure on the improvement of catering and accommodation facilities for stable staff, the board accords a high priority to assisting race courses to improve, where necessary, their staff hostels and associated canteen facilities, and is discussing with Racing Welfare the possibility of assisting with housing projects for married staff at a number of racehorse training centres.
The board's next policy statement, which it aims to publish by the end of this month, will set out its heads of expenditure for 1990-91, including the expenditure of higher-than-forecast income from the horserace betting levy, and the relative priorities for those heads.
Ambulance Dispute
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for reports from chief constables on the cost (a) per constable hour, (b) at overtime rates per officer, (c) in numbers of police involved and (d) in number of police man-hours used, in order to cover the duties of ambulance staffs currently in dispute (i) nationally and (ii) in Nottinghamshire.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Police constables' pay is on a scale connected with number of years of service. It is therefore not possible to give a national hourly basic or overtime rate per officer. For examples of hourly rates charged by some police authorities for assisting ambulance services, I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Stalybridge and Hyde (Mr. Pendry) on 8 February, Official Report, column 722.
I understand that the Nottinghamshire force is likely to charge approximately £18 per hour, a rate which includes national insurance and pension contributions and rent allowance.
I understand that the total number of man hours which forces have provided in assisting ambulance services in England and Wales up to and including 13 February has been about 1.1 million. In Nottinghamshire, where assistance has been provided by the police for only a few days recently, I understand that the number of man hours is about 1,100. Information on the number of police officers involved either in Nottinghamshire or nationally is not readily available.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis as to the way in
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which the cost incurred by the Metropolitan police arising from the current ambulance workers' dispute is (a) calculated and (b) recouped ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Peter Lloyd : The London ambulance service is charged for the hours worked by officers at full salary cost for normal duty hours and the appropriate rates for overtime. Other costs, including those for vehicles and catering, are charged on a full repayment basis ; and there is a 5 per cent. charge to cover administrative overheads. Costs are claimed weekly from the London ambulance service two weeks in arrears.
Fire Service
Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will consider urgently the need to guarantee supplies of water for fire fighting ; and if he will make a statement ; (2) if he will seek to amend the Fire Services Act in order to establish a legal obligation to provide water supplies for fire fighting purposes.
Mr. John Patten : It is clearly essential that water supplies for firefighting are guaranteed. We have received representations from the South Yorkshire county fire service expressing concern that the fire service may face additional costs arising from the provision by water undertakers of facilities to provide a flow of water for firefighting purposes above that required for domestic purposes. We have no plans for legislation in this area but will keep the situation under review.
Electronic Tagging
Mr. Maclennan : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list in the Official Report the numbers of defendants appearing in (a) Nottingham magistrates court, (b) Tyneside magistrates court and (c) Tower Bridge magistrates court who have been electronically tagged ; and the numbers of those in each area who subsequently breached their conditions.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I refer the hon. Member to my reply to questions from the hon. Member for St. Helens, South (Mr. Bermingham) on 9 February, Official Report, column 823 .
Demonstrations (Police Videos)
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis on (a) the number of occasions that the police have used video cameras to record demonstrations during the year 1989, (b) the dates on which this occurred, (c) the identities of the organisers of each demonstration, (d) whether the organisers agreed to the demonstrations being video taped in each case and (e) the use to which the video produced on each occasion has since been put.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The Metropolitan police use video cameras to record demonstrations if they have reason to believe that disorder may occur. These video tapes may be used for debriefing or training officers or for evidential purposes. No record is kept of the occasions on which the Metropolitan police videotaped demonstrations in 1989.
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Probation Service
Mr. Robert G. Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he proposes to publish a green paper on the probation service.
Mr. John Patten : We have published today a Green Paper, "Supervision and Punishment in the Community", (Cm 966). This sets out options for the first major reorganisation of the probation service since its formation in 1907, and invites comments from interested organisations and individuals.
The Government have recently published the White Paper, "Crime, Justice and Protecting the Public", which gives our legislative proposals for changes in the way courts in England and Wales deal with offenders. It is essential that the probation service should be organised so that it can meet the demands that the proposals would place on it, and the Green Paper sets out several options for the future.
These include : re-organising and strengthening the management of probation services ; using the present Home Office powers to bring about changes in local organisation and procedure ; extending the controls exercised by the Home Office ; moving to a system whereby the Home Office provides 100 per cent. of probation finance removing all financial obligations from local authorities ; and moving to a national service--either under the direct control of the Home Office or as a separate agency.
The Green Paper also discusses ways of involving voluntary organisations and the private sector more in work with offenders, and considers ways of improving probation training where much needs to be done. No final decisions have been made on any of these issues, and the Government are keen to hear the views of the probation service and other interested bodies about the various proposals in the Green Paper.
Prevention of Terrorism Legislation
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has received a report from the Viscount Colville of Culross QC on the operation in 1989 of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Acts 1984 and 1989.
Mr. John Patten : My right hon. and learned Friend has received such a report from Viscount Colville and copies have been placed in the Library.
Constituency Boundaries
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the boundary commission for Wales intends to conduct any further interim reviews of parliamentary constituencies.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The commission has told my right hon. and learned Friend of its intention to review the constituencies of Brecon and Radnor, Carmarthen, Ceredigion and Pembroke, North, Llanelli, Montgomery and Pembroke.
Fishing Limits
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what stage has been reached in his discussions with the Isle of Man Government about the
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creation of a 12-mile fishing limit around the Isle of Man ; how the traditional rights of Northern Ireland fishing boats in these waters will be guaranteed ; what provision is being made for fishing boats from Belgium, France and the Republic of Ireland in the waters around the Isle of Man ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Peter Lloyd : The Territorial Sea Act 1987 made provision for the territorial sea adjacent to the Isle of Man to be extended to 12 miles. Discussions to implement this provision are nearing a conclusion. In respect of fishing, it is recognised that any arrangement to implement extension must safeguard the interests and traditional rights of all fishermen, including those from Northern Ireland, of all nationalities (British, French, Belgian, Irish) who currently have access to the area concerned.
Bankruptcies
Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will legislate to extend the powers of trustees in personal bankruptcies fully to cover the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : No. This is a matter for domestic legislation within these Dependencies and has now been met by the Insolvency Act 1986 (Guernsey) Order 1989, the Bankruptcy (Desastre) (Jersey) Law 1989 and the Isle of Man Bankruptcy Act 1988.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Family Support
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will update the figures given in his answer of 3 March 1989, Official Report, column 365-66, to the hon. Member for Livingston (Mr. Cook) on the level of total Government support for families with children, at 1989-90 constant prices in each year since 1970 to 1989-90.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The answer is set out in the table.
Government support for families with
children 1974-75 to 1989-90<1>
£ million
|Cash |Real
|(1989-90
|prices)
--------------------------------------
1974-75 |1,855 |7,838
1975-76 |2,169 |7,289
1976-77 |2,604 |7,721
1977-78 |2,426 |6,319
1978-79 |3,092 |7,276
1979-80 |3,640 |7,334
1980-81 |3,965 |6,750
1981-82 |4,675 |7,249
1982-83 |5,400 |7,809
1983-84 |6,140 |8,484
1984-85 |6,650 |8,753
1985-86 |7,190 |8,982
1986-87 |7,620 |9,209
1987-88 |8,320 |9,548
1988-89 |8,790 |9,405
<2>1989-90 |9,390 |9,390
<1> Includes (i) child benefit, (ii)
one parent benefit, (iii) child tax
allowances and additional personal
tax allowances (lone parents), (iv)
family credit/family income
supplement, (v) maternity benefit, (
vi) statutory maternity benefit, and (
vii) social fund, income
support/supplementary benefit,
housing benefit and community
charge benefit paid to lone parent
families and to people looking after
elderly parents.
<2> Estimated outturn.
Local Offices (Callers)
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will institute an urgent review of the causes of the chronic jamming of switchboards and other difficulties of callers at local offices ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : All local Department of Social Security offices measure the quality of service provided over the telephone and to personal callers. Office managers are accountable for the standards achieved. Results of a national customer opinion survey conducted by local offices in October 1989 found that 80 per cent. of personal callers said the service was "very or fairly good" and more than 77 per cent. of telephone callers got through to the office in what they considered a reasonable time.
However, the Department accepts that service standards vary round the country and where there are
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problems special efforts are in hand to overcome them. If the hon. Member has a particular office in mind perhaps he will let me know so that I can provide further details.Residential Care
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish a table showing, with regard to the payment of income support to people in independent residential care homes and nursing homes for 1988-89, and for the current financial year (a) the ceiling payments for care support for each residential care category, (b) the number of claimants in each category, (c) the expenditure in current and constant prices on each category, (d) the amount by which he estimates that the ceiling payments fall short of the average weekly costs of placements in these categories and (e) the amount by which he estimates that expenditure set out in (c) falls short of the total costs of placements in each category.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard [holding answer 1 February 1990] : Statistically reliable data held centrally is limited to that shown in the table. This gives the available information for 1988-89. No information is yet available for 1989-90.
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Limit on incomeNumber of Income support expenditure
|support |claimants |Cash |September 1989
|payments |prices
|£ |(000s) |£ million |£ million
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Residential care
Old age |130 |58 |- |-
Very dependent/blind elderly |155 |19 |- |-
Mental illness |130 |5 |- |-
Alcohol and drug dependence |130 |2 |- |-
Mental handicap |160 |15 |- |-
Physical handicap below pension age |190 |5 |- |-
Others |130 |3 |- |-
|------- |------- |------- |-------
Totals |- |107 |565 |608
Nursing homes
Others including elderly |185 |34 |- |-
Mental illness |185 |5 |- |-
Alcohol and drug dependence |185 |<1>- |- |-
Mental handicap |200 |1 |- |-
Physical handicap below pension age |230 |2 |- |-
Terminal illness |230 |4 |- |-
|------- |------- |------- |-------
Totals |- |46 |354 |382
<1> Denotes figures under 500.
Notes:
1. Numbers rounded to nearest thousand, expenditure to nearest £ million.
2. Expenditure includes income support applicable amounts for both the appropriate limit and personal expenses.
3. These estimates are based on four quarterly, one per cent., samples of live cases. Although total income
support expenditure figures are available the figures for individual groups of residents are based on too small a
sample to be sufficiently reliable.
4. Centrally held data from claimant records about actual charges is not statistically reliable.
Earnings
Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish figures showing the number of male and female employees in 1990-91, or the most recent available estimate, earning more than the upper earnings limit for national insurance contributions showing the distribution of those earnings (a) over the upper earnings limit but less than £18,001 per year, (b) £18, 001 to £20,000 per year, (c) £20,001 to £25,000 per year, (d) £25,001 to £30,000 per year, (e) £30,001 to £50,000 per year and (f) over £50,000 per year.
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Mrs. Gillian Shephard [holding answer 9 February 1990] : Information on those expected to earn more than the upper earnings limit for national insurance contributions in 1990-91 is shown in the table.
Millions
Earnings band |Males |Females |Total
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
£18,200 to £20,000 |0.45 |0.10 |0.55
£20,001 to £25,000 |1.05 |0.20 |1.25
£25,001 to £30,000 |0.50 |0.05 |0.55
£30,001 to £50,000 |0.45 |0.05 |0.50
Over £50,000 |0.15 |nil |0.15
-------
Total |2.60 |0.40 |3.00
<1>£18,200 a year.
Nursing Homes (Fees)
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what provision is made for patients who refuse to be transferred to nursing homes because the Department of Social Security fails to meet the fees ;
(2) why the chronically sick who are transferred to nursing homes on the recommendation of the appropriate medical authority to avoid bed-blocking are required to meet the homes' charges if they do not qualify for Department of Social Security assistance.
Mr. Freeman : I have been asked to reply.
No patient should be discharged from an NHS bed to care in a private nursing home against his wish if he or the relative will be personally responsible for the home's charges. If a patient in an NHS bed does not agree to a transfer to a fee-charging home, if he or she is in need of continuous nursing care, the patient should remain under the care of the health authority. The Department included guidance on these points in a circular issued to health authorities last year (HC(89)5), a copy of which is available in the Library. This circular requires all health authorities to review and revise their discharge procedures and to report on the action they have taken to their regional health authority by 31 March 1990.
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