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Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidelines are given to local authorities administering the community charge, concerning the savings which (a) a married couple, (b) partners cohabiting and (c) single people may have before the £8, 000 threshold is applied ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : I have been asked to reply.
The housing benefit guidance manual (chapter 6), together with the community charge benefit guidance manual, provides local authorities with detailed guidance on the assessment of capital for married and unmarried partners, and for single claimants. Copies of both manuals are in the Library.
Local Government Finance
Sir John Stanley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list each standard spending assessment element used to calculate the standard spending assessment of Tonbridge and Malling borough council in 1990-91, stating the amount of standard spending assessment attributed to each element.
Mr. David Hunt : The elements of the standard spending assessment for Tonbridge and Malling are as follows :
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|£ million
--------------------------------------
Other services |5.364
Capital financing |0.466
|---
Total |5.830
Sir John Stanley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what figures he used for calculating the revenue support grant entitlement of Tonbridge and Malling borough council in 1990 in accordance with paragraph 2.5 of the revenue support grant distribution report (England) for (a) standard spending assessment for the area of the receiving authority, (b) DA per adult, (c) CCSS, (d) relevant population, (e) distributable amount, (f) net TSS, (g) rate support grant and (h) population of England.
Mr. David Hunt : The figure for the standard spending assessment for the area of Tonbridge and Malling is £57.443 million, the distributable amount (DA) per adult is £292.51, the community charge for standard spending (CCSS) is £277.94, the relevant population of Tonbridge and Malling is 76,916, the distributable amount for 1990-91 is £10,428.5 million, net total standard spending (TSS) is £29,805.3 million, revenue support grant to be paid to receiving authorities is £9,467.6 million and the sum of the relevant populations of all charging authorities in England is 35,652,150.
Water Privatisation
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many applicants for water shares had their cheques cashed and have not received their shares.
Mr. Trippier : As at Friday 23 February, the receiving banks for the water share offers were dealing with about 750 requests for replacement interim share certificates.
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the basis on which applications for water shares by small investors were scaled down.
Mr. Trippier : Full details of the scaling down of applications by customers receiving preference, and by others, were published in the national press on 12 December. Each of the 10 offers was substantially oversubscribed, and this necessitated scaling down of most applications. Allocations favoured applicants for the lowest denominations and, among those applicants, preference was given to qualified customers.
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will publish a list of the major shareholders in the water industry.
Mr. Trippier : The registers of holders of interim rights in the water plcs are open to inspection. In addition, it is a requirement of the Companies Act that persons having an interest in 5 per cent. or more shares in any plc must give details of their interest to the company, and this information is open to public inspection.
Councillors (Employment)
Mr. O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if people who will be employed by any new arm's length company formed with the new legislation
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directed at local government and are members of local authorities will be able to continue service as a councillor ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : After paragraph 21 of schedule 11 to the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 comes into force, a person employed by a company which is (in accordance with part V of that Act) under the control of a single local authority will be disqualified from membership of that authority. This will apply whether or not the company is an arm's length company.
Councillors (Payments)
Mr. O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what arrangements he has made with local authority associations on the question of the new formula for payment for attending council meetings ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : My hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government and Inner Cities has received a letter from the chairmen of the Association of County Councils, the Association of District Councils and the Association of Metropolitan Authorities, setting out certain points agreed by these associations. He has made it clear that the introduction of the new scheme of remuneration for councillors will be deferred until 1 July 1990 while these points are considered.
Water Charges
Sir John Stanley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what percentage increase in charge for each of the financial years 1990-91 and 1991-92 was proposed to him by the West Kent Water Company before he announced his proposals for limiting increases in the charges of the statutory water companies in the reply to the hon. Member for Stroud (Mr. Knapman) of 7 February, Official Report, column 640.
Mr. Trippier : We took account of all representations made by West Kent Water Company before announcing our proposals for K on 7 February. It would not be appropriate for me to disclose the details of the company's representations as they were made on a commercial in confidence basis.
Meriden Gap
Mr. Mills : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will consider introducing special measures to reduce the pressure for development in the Meriden gap between Birmingham and Coventry.
Mr. Moynihan : The area in question is in the green belt and is, therefore, subject to the strictest planning control ; the Government will continue to attach great importance to maintaining effective green belt policies in areas like the Meriden gap.
Housing, Solihull
Mr. Mills : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to reduce the number of houses requiring land provision by Solihull council, contained in his strategic guidance for the west midlands published in February 1988 from 7,500 to 7,000.
Mr. Moynihan : The housing figures in the strategic guidance for the west midlands (now incorporated in
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planning policy guidance note 10) were confirmed after extensive discussions with the relevant local authority in 1988. They are now being used in structure and unitary plan preparation. Any change in one component would have repercussions elsewhere and I cannot agree to make this proposed reduction.Housing Management Grants
Sir George Young : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what responses he has received to the consultation paper on the new section 16 grant regime of the Housing and Planning Act 1986 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Chope : The proposals outlined in the consultation paper were generally welcomed by respondents although some views were expressed about the expected local authority contribution and the level of support for ongoing training. I have carefully considered the representations made. I can see no reason to depart from the recommendations of the review committee.
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Bids for promotion grant are now being invited from secondary agencies, and tenant groups wishing to apply for grant to develop a particular management option can now do so.HOME DEPARTMENT
Immigration
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for each month since January 1989 how many calls were made by the police to (a) Isis house and (b) ISIU Harmondsworth (i) where an immigration officer attended, (ii) which were cleared by telephone and (iii) where there was no immigration officer able to attend ; and how many suspects were involved in each of the above three categories.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The information requested is as follows :
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(a) Isis House
|Instances of IO |Offenders |Calls cleared by|Number IO
|attending police|interviewed at |telephone |available
|stations |police stations
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1989
January |156 |196 |118 |4
February |164 |240 |147 |11
March |169 |226 |131 |14
April |183 |256 |117 |18
May |119 |181 |126 |4
June |127 |190 |90 |1
July |164 |265 |141 |17
August |138 |190 |126 |11
September |104 |164 |137 |18
October |165 |218 |130 |7
November |145 |215 |116 |7
December |119 |164 |120 |5
1990
January |133 |177 |146 |2
(b) ISIU, Harmondsworth
|Calls from |Number of immigration
|the police<1> |officers available
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1989
January |174 |0
February |202 |0
March |188 |0
April |185 |0
May |175 |0
June |182 |5
July |193 |7
August |212 |4
September |180 |1
October |185 |3
November |220 |1
December |187 |2
1990
January |272 |2
<1>Enquiries cleared by telephone are not recorded separately and before November 1989
only the number of calls received was recorded-not the number of offenders; thereafter
1 call logged=1 potential offender.
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for each month since January 1989 how many immigration offenders were identified as a result of police call-outs at (a) Isis house and (b) ISIU Harmondsworth.
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Mr. Peter Lloyd : The information requested is as follows :
Immigration offenders identified as a result of police call-outs
|(a) |(b)
|Isis House |ISIU Harmondsworth
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1989
January |111 |95
February |156 |134
March |118 |94
April |137 |117
May |105 |83
June |108 |97
July |132 |91
August |120 |95
September |103 |100
October |126 |109
November |107 |133
December |79 |82
1990
January |78 |106
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many suspected immigration offenders against whom action was taken by officers in each month since July 1989 at (a) Isis house and (b) ISIU Harmondsworth were (i) alleged illegal entrants, (ii) the
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subjects of deportation orders, (iii) seaman deserters,(iv) overstayers, (v) people working in breach of conditions and (vi) people claiming British nationality ; and how many in each category were (1) served with notices of intention to deport and (2) prosecuted in the courts in relation to the immigration offence.Mr. Peter Lloyd : The information requested is as follows :
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(a) Isis house-Offenders dealt with by category
Claimed British nationality
|Illegal |Subjects |Seaman |Over- |Working |Total |Illegal |Over- |Working
|entrantsof depor-|deserters |stayers<1> |in |entrants |stayers |in breach
|tation |breach<1>
|orders
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1989
July |101 |14 |3 |53 |20 |9 |8 |1 |0
August |83 |18 |2 |75 |34 |9 |7 |2 |0
September |65 |7 |0 |48 |21 |2 |2 |0 |0
October |80 |21 |0 |65 |24 |5 |4 |0 |1
November |80 |21 |1 |72 |32 |9 |7 |2 |0
December |85 |9 |1 |52 |33 |5 |5 |0 |0
1990
January |95 |12 |0 |61 |29 |10 |9 |1 |0
<1> Includes cases in which no further action was taken, a police caution was issued or a report was submitted to headquarters.
Available information about those served with notices of intention to deport or prosecuted for immigration offences relates to overstayers and those found working in breach of their conditions. This is set out below.
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Overstayers Working in breach
|Notice of inten-|Police prosecu- |Notice of inten-|Police prosecu-
|tion to deport |tions |tion to deport |tions
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1989
July |45 |0 |14 |2
August |71 |1 |28 |3
September |44 |3 |19 |1
October |58 |1 |17 |2
November |68 |1 |25 |2
December |45 |1 |28 |1
1990
January |57 |0 |16 |4
(b) ISIU Harmondsworth-Offenders dealt with by category:
|Illegal Entrants |Subjects of |Seaman Deserters |Overstayers |Working in
|Deportation Orders |Breach
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1989
July |75 |3 |0 |31 |29
August |66 |4 |1 |37 |33
September |86 |6 |0 |40 |28
October |90 |6 |0 |34 |30
November |119 |10 |0 |34 |32
December |82 |15 |1 |28 |27
1990
January |93 |10 |1 |52 |47
Note: Those claiming British nationality are not recorded separately.
Overstayers Working Breach
|Notice of Intention|Police Prosecutions|Notice of Intention|Police Prosecutions
|to Deport |to Deport
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1989
July |31 |0 |27 |2
August |37 |0 |21 |2
September |40 |0 |25 |3
October |31 |3 |27 |3
November |34 |0 |30 |2
December |24 |4 |27 |0
1990
January |46 |6 |45 |2
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Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times in each month since July 1989 immigration officers at (a) Isis house and (b) ISIU Harmondsworth took action as a result of (i) police call-outs, (ii) denunciations, (iii) Home Office file inquiries, (iv) information provided by other Government agencies, (v) information arising from a major or middle-tier operation and (vi) information arising as a consequence of another inquiry.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The information requested is as follows :
(a) Isis House
Action taken following
|Police call out |Denunciations |Home Office file|Other |Middle/major |Others
|inquiries |Government |tier operations
|agencies
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1989
July |132 |16 |17 |0 |0 |12
August |120 |17 |29 |0 |25 |11
September |103 |8 |11 |0 |3 |10
October |126 |10 |22 |0 |0 |18
November |107 |28 |35 |0 |3 |22
December |79 |7 |12 |1 |54 |14
1990
January |98 |23 |16 |7 |15 |21
(b) ISIU, Harmondsworth
Action taken following
|Police call out |Denunciations |Home Office file|Middle/major |Others<1>
|inquiries |tier operations
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1989
July |91 |17 |14 |7 |6
August |95 |12 |8 |6 |5
September |100 |15 |13 |25 |6
October |109 |22 |9 |3 |11
November |133 |20 |18 |18 |5
December |82 |23 |22 |16 |5
1990
January |106 |15 |18 |24 |20
<1> Includes information provided by other Government agencies.
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make available to the House the report produced by the immigration service as a result of Operation Goldring.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : No. The report concerns inquiries into applications for settlement on the basis of marriage and includes information about named individuals and agencies. It would not be appropriate to make this information available while the Department is considering the case for further action.
Alcohol (Animal Tests)
Mr. Cartwright : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many (a) dogs and (b) baboons have been used in licensed alcohol research during each calendar year since 1985 ; (2) how many animals have been used in licensed experiments in the United Kingdom in connection with research into the link between alcohol and violent behaviour during each calendar year since 1980 ; (3) what information he has about the number of animals which have become physically addicted to alcohol as a result of licensed alcohol research in the United Kingdom since 1980.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Information on scientific procedures relating to alcohol research has been collected separately only since 1987, and has been published in table 3 of "Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals,
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Great Britain, 1987" (Cm. 515) and 1988 (Cm. 743), copies of which are in the Library. These statistics disclose that there were eight procedures involving dogs in alcohol research in 1988, none involving dogs in 1987, and none involving non-human primates in either year. The information recorded centrally does not reveal the further details about alcohol research for which the hon. Member has asked.Residence Directive
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the residence directive which has been agreed in principle by the Home Affairs Council makes provision for the residence in the United Kingdom of dependants of European Economic Community nationals who are citizens of nations other than members of the European Economic Community ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Yes. I explained to the House the provisions relating to family members during my speech on the proposed directives on 8 February at columns 1100-24.
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the purpose of the minute of the recent meeting of the Council of Home Office Ministers which dealt with the possible extension of the definition of dependants for the purposes of the residence directive ;
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whether the Commission will be presenting proposals to deal with the issues raised in the minute ; and if the issues covered by the minute will be dealt with by majority vote.Mr. Peter Lloyd : I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave him on 21 February at columns 810-11. If the proposed right of residence directives are adopted on the revised legal bases favoured by the United Kingdom and a number of other member states, any future amendment to them would require unanimity.
Television Licences
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his oral answer to the hon. Member for Stockton, South of 7 December 1989, Official Report, column 461, if he will now make a statement on the issue of concessionary television licences at Willey Flatts, in Yarm, about which he has also received correspondence from the hon. Member for Stockton, South.
Mr. Mellor : I regret that we cannot identify the Willey Flatts scheme, nor trace any correspondence from my hon. Friend about it. If he will provide the full address, including the postcode, I shall be happy to investigate further.
Birmingham Pub Bombings
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he last met the Irish Foreign Minister ; and what discussions took place concerning the possible release of the six men convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings.
Mr. John Patten : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to a question from the hon. Member for Hackney, South and Shoreditch (Mr. Sedgemore) on 25 January 1990 at column 1044.
Firearms
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made by the Council of Home Office Ministers on the proposed mutual recognition of firearms licences ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I assume that my hon. Friend is referring to the European Commission's proposals for a Council directive on the control of the acquisition and possession of weapons. The Commission has now put forward a revised draft of the directive but no discussions have yet taken place within the Council on the revised draft. We are however currently considering the amended proposals very carefully. The indications are however that, as drafted, the revised directive is unlikely to be acceptable to us as it fails to provide those safeguards necessary to preserve security and maintain law and order.
Police (Corruption Inquiry)
Mr. Terry Fields : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the cost to public funds of the inquiry by West Yorkshire police into alleged police corruption involving certain Merseyside officers ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I understand that the charges which have been agreed by the West Yorkshire police for the investigation have totalled £43,600.
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Demonstrations
Mr. Tracey : 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 the cost of policing the students' march in London on 15 February ; which roads were closed and between what hours ; how many arrests were made ; and whether he will consider issuing instructions to the Commissioner banning large marches on public roads during weekdays.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I understand from the Commissioner that on 15 February, between 12.45 pm and 2.40 pm, approximately 18,000 students marched from Battersea park to Hyde park. Some roads along the route were closed for a period as the march progressed, but information about the length of time particular roads were closed is not available. There were nine arrests during the march.
Section 12 of the Public Order Act 1986 enables the police to impose conditions on persons organising or taking part in a public procession if they reasonably believe it may result in serious public disorder, serious damage to property, serious disruption to the life of the community, or if its purpose is to coerce. In London any decision to impose conditions under the section is an operational matter for the Commissioner alone to decide.
I will write to my hon. Friend when information on the additional cost of policing the march is available.
Fire Safety
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what computer codes have been or will be used to assist in the assessment of fire risk as part of his Department's consideration of public fire safety ; and if such codes are open to public scientific scrutiny.
Mr. John Patten : The Home Office statistical Department uses codes to computerise information recorded on the fire report forms received from United Kingdom fire brigades in respect of all major fires. The Home Office codebook is a complex document designed for use by trained coding staff. Work is currently under way in the Home Office to revise both the fire report form and associated coding. Interested parties are being consulted, and the final version will be distributed to all United Kingdom fire brigades.
Northamptonshire Constabulary
Mr. William Powell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish (a) the authorised establishment and (b) the actual strength of the Northamptonshire constabulary in each year since 1979.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The information requested is as follows :
Northamptonshire Police
31 December |Authorised |Actual
|establishment|strength
--------------------------------------------------------
1979 |978 |926
1980 |978 |971
1981 |1,066 |1,003
1982 |1,066 |1,000
1983 |1,018 |1,001
1984 |1,025 |1,010
1985 |1,031 |1,017
1986 |1,054 |1,041
1987 |1,074 |1,075
1988 |1,106 |1,090
1989 |1,121 |1,119
From 1 April 1990, the authorised establishment of the force will be increased by 20 posts.
ID Cards
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has any plans to introduce national identity cards ; what contingency plans he has for the introduction of identity cards should the need arise ; whether he plans to study the advantages of introducing a national identity card in future ; whether he has any plans to explore the technological specification for a national identity card ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John Patten : The advantages and disadvantages of a compulsory system of identity cards were examined last year, when it was concluded that the former were outweighed by the latter. My right hon. and learned Friend accordingly has no plans to introduce such a system now, nor in any contingency which is at present foreseeable, and there would be no purpose in exploring the technological aspects of a compulsory card.
Gun Clubs
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 23 January, Official Report, column 592, regarding gun clubs, if he will specify what he means by a reasonable time which will be allowed to them in which to comply with the revised criteria ; and if he will make a further statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Home Office officials will shortly be writing to each approved club explaining the new criteria and indicating the date by which it should comply. Clubs will be given about three months from the date of issue of the letter in which to adapt to the new controls.
CPS (North Wales)
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has received any complaints from the Chief Constable of North Wales about the conduct by the Crown prosecution service of north Wales of criminal proceedings against persons accused of assaults against police officers.
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has received any representations from the chief constable of north Wales about the relationship between the police and the Crown prosecution service.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : No. Within the forum provided by the Director of Public Prosecution's senior liaison committee, on which the Home Office is also represented, the chief constable of north Wales, in his capacity as chairman of the Association of Chief Police Officers' crime committee, has raised matters of mutual interest to the police and the Crown prosecution service and has drawn attention to the effect of certain Crown prosecution service requirements on the police service.
Column 34
Rates Arrears
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many repossession orders for non-payment of rates have been issued in each year since 1976 within each (a) district, (b) borough and (c) city council area ; and how many individuals have been imprisoned due to rates arrears in the same period.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 15 February 1990] : I am assuming that the information requested relates only to Wales. Information on repossession orders for non-payment of rates is not collected centrally. According to records held centrally, which are approximate, two people were known to have been committed to custody by courts in Wales for non-payment of rates in 1976. The corresponding figures for 1982 and 1988 were seven and four respectively. Statistics for other years could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Information for England and Wales is published annually in "Prison Statistics, England and Wales" (table 6.3 of the latest volume, for 1988, Cm. 825) copies of which are in the Library.
Community Service
Mr. Grylls : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of the criminals failing to complete their community service orders are returned to court for re-sentencing.
Mr. John Patten [holding answer 19 February 1990] : The available information is published in "Criminal Statistics England and Wales 1988" (table 7.28), a copy of which can be found in the Library. The information relates to the proportion of offenders sentenced to community service orders who breached that order. "Breach" means either the failure to comply with the requirements of the order, or the commission of a further offence. The court may either allow the order to remain in force, or revoke the order and resentence for the original offence.
Alcohol (Sale to Children)
Mr. O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions were carried out in the past two years in West Yorkshire of people guilty of selling alcohol to children ; if he will give the details year by year ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John Patten [holding answer 16 February 1990] : Information for 1987 and 1988 is given in the table. Data for 1989 will not be available until autumn 1990.
Persons proceeded against
for the illegal sale of
alcohol to children
West Yorkshire
|1987|1988
----------------------------
Prosecutions |15 |13
Convictions |11 |12
Football Membership Scheme
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what compensation terms he is offering to companies who had invested in designing the technology necessary to introduce a football identity card.
Mr. Moynihan : I have been asked to reply.
Column 35
The question of compensation does not arise. The companies responded in competition to the invitation to tender for the national membership scheme issued by consultants on behalf of the football authorities. The companies were fully aware that in considering whether to implement the scheme the Government would take account of Lord Justice Taylor's final report on the Hillsborough stadium disaster and that the Football Membership Authority would not be appointed until a statutory instrument had been made subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.NORTHERN IRELAND
Preventable Loss
Mr. Norris : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the extent of preventable loss arising from theft or misappropriation in his Department.
Mr. Cope : Each Department of the Northern Ireland Civil Service reports losses borne on its voted moneys in a losses statement appended to the end of the relevant appropriation account. These accounts are certified and reported to Parliament by the Comptroller and Auditor-General (Northern Ireland). The 1988-89 volume of the Northern Ireland Appropriation Accounts (HC2) was printed on 4 December 1989. Departments are obliged to report all losses above a prescribed threshold to the Department of Finance and Personnel. In addition, Northern Ireland Departments are required to notify the Treasury Officer of Accounts of the Department of Finance and Personnel and the Comptroller and Auditor General (Northern Ireland) of all discovered fraud (including computer frauds) proven or suspected within a Department or non-departmental public body which are perpetrated by members of its own staff, or members of the public or by contractors.
For the year 1988-89 the following were reported :
|Number of|Loss |Recovered
|cases |£ |£
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal fraud (by staff) |12 |30,638 |1,380
External fraud (non-staff) |21 |78,676 |9,542
Also, for the year ending 31 December 1988 the Department of Health and Social Services (Northern Ireland) reported 3,757 cases of fraudulent claims for various benefits which resulted in a total payment of £621,109.
The Northern Ireland Office does not prepare assessments on the extent of preventable loss arising from theft or misappropriation. Financial controls operate throughout the Department to ensure, as far as is reasonably possible, that loss arising from theft or misappropriation is prevented. In addition the Department's internal audit unit provides an assurance as to the adequacy, effectiveness and application of existing financial controls. There were no cases of fraud reported during the 1988-89 financial year. Financial controls would be reassessed in the light of evidence of losses from theft or misappropriation.
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Local Government Finance
Mr. Clifford Forsythe : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the methodology used in arriving at the regional rate.
Mr. Cope : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the explanation of the regional rate methodology given in the information note "Northern Ireland Regional Rate" placed annually in the House of Commons Library in support of the statutory rule which gives effect to the regional rate. The Rates (Regional Rate) Order (Northern Ireland) for the current year was laid before Parliament on 7 March 1989. Similar arrangements will be made for 1990-91.
Fair Employment Commission
Mr. McGrady : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many businesses in Northern Ireland have now registered with the Fair Employment Commission as directed under the Fair Employment (NI) Act 1989 ; and what is the estimate of the number of businesses which have failed to register, but are required to do so.
Mr. Needham : As at 16 February 1990, a total of 1,662 concerns had registered with the Fair Employment Commission. The commission is currently not in a position to state how many concerns have failed to register. The commission's legal department is taking action to obtain information from approximately 80 concerns in order to establish whether they should have registered.
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