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Mrs. Gillian Shephard : Most social security benefits have some form of automated assistance ; we are at present in the process of developing a computer application for incapacity benefits.
Contingency Reserves
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what process was used to determine the allocation to local Department of Social Security offices of the £3 million released from the social security contingency reserves.
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Mr. Scott : The additional allocations to local offices were made from money recovered during 1989-90 from social fund loan repayments. I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Leeds, West (Mr. Battle) on 31 January 1990 at columns 194-95 regarding the basis on which those allocations are made.
Community Charge
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether foster parent allowances will be treated as income when calculating entitlement to community charge benefit.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The community charge benefit scheme will not treat as income any fostering allowance made to a claimant.
Mr. Jopling : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the cost of applying individually to a husband and wife the £8,000 limit on assets which cause a community charge payer to be ineligible for rebates.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : Information on the individual capital holding of members of couples is not available.
Mr. Marlow : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the likely cost of community charge rebate for 1990-91 ; and how much that would increase if savings were to be disregarded.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard [holding answer 8 February 1990] : Expenditure on community charge benefit in England, Wales and Scotland in 1990-91 is currently forecast to be £1.75 billion. Information is not available to make precise estimates but it seems probable that expenditure would increase by between £250 million and £300 million if the capital limit was abolished and no income was assumed to be derived from capital holdings.
Correspondence
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether he will make it his policy that when a woman writes a letter to his Department in respect of her entitlement to benefit his offices will reply to the writer of that letter rather than her husband.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : It is already the policy for officers of the Department to reply direct to the writer of any letters rather than to a third party. I am aware of a particular case of a letter having been sent in error to the husband of one of the hon. Member's constituents, for which the local office manager has now apologised.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Mink Farms
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many mink farms are currently in operation in each county and region in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland ; and what were the equivalent figures 12 months ago.
Mr. Maclean : Fifty mink farms (premises) are currently in operation in the United Kingdom, compared with 61 a year ago, as follows :
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|As at 31 March |As at 20 February
|1989 |1990
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
England
Northern |16 |13
Humberside |2 |2
Northumberland |1 |1
North Yorkshire |1 |1
South Yorkshire |1 |1
West Yorkshire |11 |8
Midlands and West |18 |15
Cheshire |2 |1
Lancashire |14 |12
Staffordshire |1 |1
Greater Manchester |1 |1
Eastern |7 |7
Herefordshire |1 |1
Lincolnshire |1 |1
Norfolk |1 |1
Suffolk |4 |4
South Eastern |5 |4
Buckinghamshire |1 |1
Hampshire |2 |2
Isle of Wight |1 |1
West Sussex |1 |-
South Western |6 |4
Cornwall |2 |2
Dorset |1 |1
Gloucestershire |1 |-
Wiltshire |2 |1
Total England |52 |43
Scotland |8 |6
Northern Ireland |1 |1
|--- |---
Total United Kingdom |61 |50
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will instruct his officials to reinspect all mink farms to ensure that after the recent storms they continue to comply with current regulations ;
(2) if he will revoke the licence of the mink farm in Stansted, Essex, following the recent large-scale escape of mink into surrounding countryside and buildings ;
(3) what information he has on the escape of farmed mink following damage to their cages in the recent storms ;
(4) whether he has revoked the licences of any mink farms following damage during the recent storms ;
(5) whether he intends to review the conditions of the Mink Keeping Order.
Mr. Maclean : On 25 January very severe winds damaged a mink farm at Stansted and several animals escaped when their pens broke open after being blown through the perimeter fence. The owner fulfilled his statutory duty by notifying MAFF immediately, and as soon as the storm subsided the damage was repaired. Most of the escaped mink have been recaptured or accounted for, but eight are still missing. The licence of the farm has not been revoked. The circumstances of the escapes were wholly exceptional and the pens and fence have been made secure. This was the only notification of escaped mink following the storm.
All farms are visited at least annually by MAFF inspectors to check that the conditions of their licences are being respected. The Mink Keeping Order expires at the end of 1992 and its renewal will be reviewed well before then.
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North Sea Dumping
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's definition of inert or harmless as a description of substances permitted to be dumped in the North sea by the 1987 North sea agreement.
Mr. Curry : Her Majesty's Government accept the definition of "inert materials of natural origin"
contained in Oslo Commission decision 89/1 of 14 June 1989. This is
"solid, chemically-unprocessed geological material whose chemical constituents are unlikely to be released in the marine environment". They include such materials as sand, gravel, stones and rock material originating on land as well as colliery waste ; none of which have been contaminated by anthropogenic processes.
No comparable definition has been adopted for "harmless". This is a quality which has to be assessed on a case by case basis in the light of careful scientific assessment.
I can give some examples of characteristics of liquid industrial wastes which the Government consider harmless. They include wastes which are very rapidly neutralised in the sea into substances which are naturally present in the sea, such as salts and water. Organic constituents at trace levels are rapidly biodegraded and so can have no effects on marine life. No trace of wastes can be found by the most sensitive means of analysis within five minutes of dumping. Constituents of the wastes are tested on oyster embryos to ensure that they have no effects on particularly sensitive life forms in the sea.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food under which section of the 1987 North sea agreement is the authorisation being granted by the Government for the dumping of paracetamol in the North sea.
Mr. Curry : The issue of licences for the deposit of substances from the United Kingdom in the sea is subject to the provisions of part II of the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985. In considering whether to grant such licences we take into account paragraphs 21 and 22 of the 1987 North sea conference declaration which permit the dumping of harmless industrial waste until practical land-based alternative means of disposal are available.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what research his Department is undertaking or planning to investigate the increase of detritus and domestic rubbish being entrapped in commercial fishing nets in the North sea.
Mr. Curry : The directorate of fisheries research is planning to monitor the incidence of litter in commercial fishing nets in the course of forthcoming cruises of fisheries research vessels.
Mr. Mans : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he intends that dumping at sea of industrial waste covered by the 1987 North sea declaration will cease.
Mr. Gummer : Ever since the 1987 North sea declaration we have been working hard to identify acceptable land-
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based means of disposal for the industrial wastes which we have licensed for disposal at sea. I am very glad to be able to announce that we intend that none of these wastes will continue to be dumped at sea after the end of 1992. In two cases, however, it might not be technically feasible to meet this deadline. We will extend the licences for these two last wastes into 1993 only if absolutely necessary on technical grounds and for the shortest possible part of that year.I am also glad to emphasise that we have already stopped the dumping at sea of more than half the industrial wastes which were licensed in 1987. Only nine wastes covered by the 1987 North sea declaration remain and some of these will cease to be dumped at sea in the course of this year.
The identification and implementation of acceptable land--based disposal alternatives on this times scale requires a high degree of commitment by the companies concerned. However, although the 1987 North sea declaration accepted that wastes such as ours which do not harm the sea could continue to be disposed of at sea as long as no practicable land-based means of disposal was available, the Government have been determined to ensure that these wastes ceased to be dumped at sea as soon as possible. I am extremely pleased that we have now been able to set a firm timetable for ending all these disposals at sea.
Bottled Water
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if any representations were made by his Department to the importers of Perrier water about traces of benzene identified in tests by the food safety directorate since August 1989 ; and when such contamination was first identified in Perrier water in Britain.
Mr. Maclean : Preliminary results from the food safety directorate's tests of United Kingdom supplies of Perrier water became available on 14 February. My officials made clear to the company that, although the levels detected here and in the United States posed a negligible risk to health, the Government were concerned at what appeared to be adventitious contamination by benzene.
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what guidelines govern the quality and safety of bottled water sold in the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : The European Community directive on the exploitation and marketing of natural mineral waters (80/777) requires, inter alia, that all natural mineral waters must be officially recongised and monitored by a competent authority and that certain chemical and microbiological criteria must be met.
Other types of bottled drinking water are covered by the EC directive relating to the quality of water for human consumption (80/778). If the Food Safety Bill is passed, I would intend to use powers therein to make regulations specifically covering such bottled water. In the meantime advice to local authorities on the type and frequency of sampling water intended for bottling is contained in Department of the Environment circular 25/84 (Welsh Office circular 51/84).
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Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many cattle confirmed as bovine spongiform encephalopathy sufferers have, immediately prior to notification, been the subject of bovine somatotropin experimentation ; and what percentage these constitute of the total number of bovine somatotropin-treated cows.
Mr. Maclean : I am not aware that any animal in which BSE has been confirmed has previously been the subject of bovine somatotropin experimentation. Epidemiological studies conducted by the Ministry have not found any connection between the incidence of BSE and the use of pharmaceutical products.
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list those species of animals known to him as having a vertically transmitted form of spongiform encephalopathy.
Mr. Maclean : Scrapie, which occurs naturally in sheep and goats, is the only spongiform encephalopathy which is definitely known to be transmitted maternally. It is likely that the lamb or kid may become infected at birth or soon after being born, but whether true vertical transmission--i.e. infection contracted in utero before the lamb or kid is born--can occur is not certain.
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if, in the light of recommendations of the British Cattle Veterinary Association, he intends to act by prohibiting surgical interference with suspect bovine spongiform encephalopathy cases.
Mr. Maclean : No. The Ministry does not encourage unnecessary surgical interference with bovine spongiform encephalopathy suspects, but the decision as to whether or not surgery is appropriate in any particular case is a matter of veterinary judgment and professional ethics in the light of individual circumstances.
Mr. Pike : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy were reported in Lancashire from August 1988 until 14 February 1990.
Mr. Maclean : From 1 August 1988 to 14 February 1990, 218 suspected cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy were reported in Lancashire.
Wild Birds (Poisoning)
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will introduce measures to prevent the use of alphachloralose for the purpose of the illegal poisoning of wild birds.
Mr. Maclean : Alphachloralose is widely available, not just as a pesticide. The Government seek to deter illegal poisoning of wildlife by investigating every notified incident and pursuing those where the evidence suggests that pesticides have been abused. The cost of this is defrayed from the levy on holders of pesticide approvals.
Fishing Vessels (Decommissioning Grants)
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has about decommissioning grants available to fishing vessels
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and the amount put in by European Community sources for decommissioning for (a) Holland, (b) France, (c) Denmark, (d) the United Kingdom and (e) Spain.Mr. Curry : There is provision under EC regulation 4028/86 for decommissioning grants over the period 1987 to 1991. They are available to all member states.
The information requested on EC funding is not centrally available, but I will supply the information as soon as I have obtained it from the commission.
Carbadox
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about his reasons for banning the feed additive carbadox.
Mr. Gummer : Carbadox is an active ingredient used in growth- promoting feed additives. It is not banned in the EC but is authorised, subject to strict conditions by the Community directive governing feed additives. This is binding on all member countries although no product containing carbadox is currently licensed in the United Kingdom.
Bananas
Mr. Andy Stewart : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about the plans by the Dominican Republic to export bananas to the European Community.
Mr. Curry : Our policy on the import of bananas permits the United Kingdom to fulfil its long-standing commitment to provide preferential access for bananas from our traditional suppliers, Jamaica and the Windward Islands.
During the negotiations last autumn on the renewal of the Lome Convention and on the accession to it of new members, the Dominican Republic gave certain undertakings to Caribbean members of the group of ACP countries with respect to exports of bananas. We consider that it is important that the DR should abide by its undertakings and hope that it and the ACP will be able to discuss and resolve their differences.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Violent Crime
12. Mr. Buckley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what, in each of the last five years, has been the increase in reported incidents of violent crime.
50. Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what in each of the last five years has been the change in reported incidents of violent crime.
Mr. John Patten : Between 1984 and 1988 the average annual percentage increase in recorded crimes of violence was 7.9 per cent. Full- year figures for 1989 are not yet available.
Prison Recidivism
13. Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is taking to reduce prison recidivism within the 15 to 22 years age groups ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Mellor : Our proposals for punishing more young offenders in the community should help to reduce reoffending. When young people receive custodial sentences, our aim is to help to prepare them to lead law-abiding and useful lives on their release, with greater emphasis on the development of personal responsibility.
Concessionary Television Licences
14. Mr. Canavan : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many representations he has received over the last 12 months about concessionary television licences for pensioners.
Mr. Mellor : In my reply to the hon. Member's question of 22 January I confirmed that in 1989 we received 212 letters and four petitions about reduced-price or free television licences for pensioners. Since 1 January 1990 we have received a further 46 such letters, 23 of them from hon. Members.
Birmingham Pub Bombings
15. Mr. Clay : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a further statement on the Birmingham pub bombings case.
Mr. Waddington : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave earlier to the hon. Member for Mansfield (Mr. Meale).
Mr. Sedgemore : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the chief constable of the West Midlands showing on what date and on whose initiative Assistant Chief Constable Tom Meffen interviewed the hon. Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. Mullin).
Mr. John Patten : No report from the chief constable is called for because the facts are well known to my right hon. and learned Friend. On 2 September 1986 the hon. Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. Mullin), after discussing the contents of his book with officials of the Home Office criminal department, agreed to meet officers of the West Midlands police. But when the hon. Member was seen by the assistant chief constable on 23 September 1986, and was asked to provide information supporting his claim to have interviewed people who had committed the Birmingham pub bombings, he declined to do so, and has refused to do so subsequently.
43. Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the chief constable of the West Midlands as to how many hours his force devoted in (a) 1986, (b) 1987, (c) 1988 and (d) 1989 to investigating the claim of the hon. Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. Mullin) to have traced and interviewed all the persons responsible for the Birmingham pub bombings.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. Mullin) on 25 January at column 1036. My right hon. and learned Friend referred to the failure of the hon. Member for Sunderland, South to disclose the names of those whom he states are responsible for the Birmingham pub bombings. A considerable amount of time, particularly in 1986, was spent by West Midlands police in attempting to identify those persons whom the hon. Member has in
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mind. The results of the research were discussed with him, but he neither confirmed nor denied the possible identifications which had emerged.No records were kept of the specific number of hours dedicated to this research.
35. Mr. Galloway : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a further statement on the Birmingham pub bombings case.
84. Mr. David Young : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a further statement on the Birmingham pub bombings case.
Mr. John Patten : My right hon. and learned Friend is considering very carefully the further material which has been presented to him by a solicitor acting on behalf of the six men convicted of the Birmingham public house bombings, and will decide as soon as possible whether it justifies any intervention on his part.
29. Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has completed his consideration of the new evidence in the case of the Birmingham pub bombings.
41. Mr. Martlew : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has completed his consideration of the new evidence in the case of the Birmingham pub bombings.
44. Mr. John Garrett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has completed his consideration of the new evidence in the case of the Birmingham pub bombings.
Mr. John Patten : My right hon. and learned Friend has not yet completed his consideration of the further material which has been presented to him by a solicitor acting on behalf of the six men convicted of the Birmingham public house bombings. He will decide as soon as possible whether it justifies any intervention on his part.
27. Ms. Short : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when his Department first became aware of the claim by the hon. Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. Mullin) to have traced and interviewed the persons responsible for the Birmingham pub bombings ; and what action was taken.
Mr. John Patten : The Home Office first became aware of the claims of the hon. Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. Mullin) in May 1986, when extracts from his forthcoming book "Error of Judgement" were passed to my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr. Hurd) by my hon. Friend the Member for Harborough (Sir J. Farr). We later obtained a full copy of the book shortly after publication in July 1986. These claims were made before the decision of my right hon. Friend on 20 January 1987 to refer the whole case to the Court of Appeal. The hon. Member for Sunderland, South has been repeatedly asked to make available any relevant material to substantiate his claims. He has not done so.
Wapping Dispute
17. Mr. Leighton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has had concerning the publication of the report by the Northamptonshire police into the policing of the industrial dispute at Wapping.
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West Midlands Police
18. Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has anything to add to his answer of 1 February, Official Report, column 304, concerning DS Brian Morton.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave earlier to the hon. Member for Sheffield, Hillsborough (Mr. Flannery).
Parole
19. Mr. Sayeed : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a further statement on his proposals to retain his discretion to refuse parole in the most serious cases.
Mr. John Patten : The White Paper "Crime, Justice and Protecting the Public" (Cm. 965) makes it clear that the Home Secretary will continue to consider the release of those offenders serving determinate sentences of seven years or more. These will have committed the most serious crimes and may be a serious risk to public safety.
46. Mr. Stevens : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a further statement on his proposals for the supervision of prisoners released on parole and the liability of such prisoners committing further offences to recall to prison, and to serve all the outstanding sentence in addition to any new sentence imposed.
Mr. John Patten : Chapter 6 of the White Paper "Crime, Justice and Protecting the Public" (Cm. 965) sets out the Government's legislative proposals on parole. All prisoners serving imprisonment of more than one year will be supervised on release until three quarters of their sentence. All released prisoners will be liable, if convicted of another imprisonable offence committed before the end of the original sentence, to recall to prison to serve up to the rest of their sentence.
Error of Judgement"
20. Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when his Department first received a copy of the book "Error of Judgement" ; and what action was taken.
48. Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when his Department first received a copy of the book "Error of Judgement" ; and what action was taken.
Ms. Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when his Department first received a copy of the book "Error of Judgement" ; and what action was taken.
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