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Community Charge
Mr. Andrew Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the estimated cost to the Exchequer of extending the capital cut- off limit for community charge rebate scheme to £8,000 for spouses rather than for each couple.
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Mrs. Gillian Shephard : I refer the hon. Member to my reply to my right hon. Friend the Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Mr. Jopling) on 22 February 1990.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Horse Exports
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what recent representations he has had about checks at ports and airports in the United Kingdom post-1992 in respect of the export of live horses.
Mr. Maclean : There have been many representations for the retention of existing horse export controls after 1992.
Food Safety
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much of his allocation for food safety research in 1989-90 had been spent as of 12 February ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : The information requested is not readily available but we estimate that in 1989-90 the Department will spend the moneys allocated to research and development on food safety and applied nutrition.
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether his spending of £8.5 million on food safety research in 1989-90 includes work on food spoilage and applied nutrition ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : Yes. The Department's food safety research programme includes work on applied nutrition and spoilage organisms which are detrimental to the quality of food.
Food Surpluses (Sales)
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish a table showing the amount of special sales agreed by the European Economic Community over the most recent 12-month period for which figures are available ; and if he will list the nations to which these food exports were sent and the average price of such sales in terms of pence per pound.
Mr. Curry : At any one time CAP arrangements provide for a number of sales schemes from intervention and from the open market. These tend to follow established patterns. However, the following sales to non-EC countries, agreed over the last 12 months, have distinguishing features :
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Date |Destination |Commodity |Quantity(t) |Price (pence
|per pound)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
February 1989 |USSR |Wheat |900,000 |3.7
March 1989 |Poland |Barley |27,121 |3.4
March 1989 |USSR/Poland/other |Wheat |1,047,211 |<1>4.1-4.3
| destinations
April 1989 |Poland |Barley |21,561 |3.6
April 1989 |Poland |Wheat |67,706 |4.3
April 1989 |USSR/Poland/other |Wheat |233,305 |<1>4.3
| destinations
October 1989 |USSR |Barley |1,244,550 |3.3
November 1989 |USSR |Wheat |980,000 |4.3
December 1989 |USSR |Barley |1,620,000 |3.7
January 1990 |USSR |Wheat |3,220,000 |4.1
February 1990 |Eastern Europe and|Rice |12,150 |8.4
| USSR
The table above does not include goods exported free of charge as part of either the Community's food aid
programme or the package of measures recently agreed to assist countries in Eastern Europe.
<1> The quantities destined for the USSR and Poland (which it is not possible separately to identify) benefited
from an additional subsidy of 0.14 pence per pound.
Tobacco
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the total production of tobacco in the European Economic Community in each of the five most recent annual periods for which figures are available ; what has been the cost to the European Economic Community of supporting the production and storage or purchase of tobacco in each of these years ; and what has been the total expenditure in disposing of tobacco by means of exports to other nations in each of those years.
Mr. Curry : Total production of tobacco in the European Economic Community is shown in the table :
|Tonnes
--------------------------------
1984 |348,610|EC10
1985 |360,171|EC10
1986 |382,818|EC12
1987 |383,277|EC12
1988 |395,014|EC12
Expenditure on a given harvest impinges on the following year's budget. A breakdown of expenditure on the 1984 to 1988 harvests is shown in the table :
Total |Premia |Intervention|Export
Year |expenditure |refunds
|(mecu) |(mecu) |(mecu) |(mecu)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1985<1> |863 |819 |12 |32
1986<1> |782 |734 |16 |32
1987<2> |804 |732 |27 |43
1988<2> |966 |895 |28 |43
1989<2> |1,139 |972 |105 |62
<1> EC10
<2> EC12
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what measures have been taken to reduce the expenditure of the European Economic Community on tobacco production and storage.
Mr. Curry : An agricultural stabiliser was introduced in the tobacco sector in 1988. It achieved a saving of 11 million ecu for its first year of operation.
Recent price-fixing decisions have resulted in reductions in prices and premia for the less marketable varieties. Measures to restrict and control intervention have also been introduced. However, existing market management measures have not been as effective as we would have wished. The Commission has shown a welcome determination to tackle the costs of the tobacco regime. In the current price-fixing discussions we are pressing for even more effective steps to promote budgetary discipline.
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proportion of the tobacco grown
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within the European Economic Community is of (a) the high tar and (b) the low tar variety ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Curry : European Community production of the high tar varieties represented 65 per cent. of the 1988 harvest, with low tar varieties representing 35 per cent.
We are concerned to ensure that support given to the tobacco regime does not undermine efforts being made under the Europe against Cancer programme to reduce the incidence of disease and early death attributable to smoking. The Commission's plan of action under this programme stresses the need to reduce production and redirect it towards varieties which are least harmful to health. One consequence of recent reductions in support for the less- marketable and higher tar varieties has been a 25 per cent. fall in production of some of these since 1987. The maximum tar directive, which will probably be adopted in May this year, will limit the tar content of cigarettes marketed in the European Community to 15 mg by 1992 and 12 mg by 1997 and contribute considerably towards limiting production of these varieties.
We shall continue to press for measures directed at reorientation of production towards the more marketable and lower tar varieties.
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the total amount of Community-produced tobacco which was used for consumption (a) within the European Economic Community and (b) outside the European Economic Community in the most recent annual period for which figures are available ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Curry : There are no data available on the consumption of European Community raw tobacco. However, in 1988 the Community produced 395,014 tonnes and exported 149,869 tonnes to third countries.
Food Prices
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the increase in retail food prices over the most recent 12-month period for which figures are available ; and what estimate he has made of the increase in retail food prices which will stem from the elimination of the green pound differential.
Mr. Curry : In the year to January 1990 the food component of the retail price index rose by 8 per cent. The Government are committed to eliminating the monetary gap associated with the green pound by the end of 1992 at the latest. The effect of devaluing the green pound will depend on movements in the market rate for sterling over this period. As a broad guide, elimination of the present monetary gap by devaluation of the green pound might add some 1 to 1.5 per cent. to retail food prices on average.
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Executive Agencies
Mr. Gill : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has reached a decision on setting up the central veterinary laboratory and the veterinary medicines directorate as executive agencies.
Mr. Gummer : The feasibility studies set in hand by my predecessor following his written reply of 20 April 1989 to my hon. Friend the Member for Bridlington (Mr. Townsend) have now been concluded. I am satisfied in the light of these studies that setting up the central veterinary laboratory and the veterinary medicines directorate, both at Weybridge, as executive agencies will bring benefits in terms of further increases in the efficiency and effectiveness with which these two parts of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food conduct their business on behalf of customers in other parts of the Ministry and outside it. I accordingly propose to launch the two agencies with effect from April next. I propose to appoint Dr. T. W. A. Little as chief executive of the central veterinary laboratory and Dr. J. M. Rutter, the present director of the veterinary medicines directorate, as its chief executive.
North Sea Dumping
Dr. Kim Howells : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many licence applications have been made over the past five years to the Oslo commission by the British Government to allow the dumping of wastes in the North sea ; and what was the nature of the wastes in question.
Mr. Curry : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 13 February, Official Report, at column 199. Since that date information has been submitted to the Oslo commission on a fifth waste, a chalk solution from sugar refining.
Dr. Kim Howells : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list, by works and by geographical location, the sources of the most significant volumes and tonnages of materials dumped under licence in the North sea over the past five years.
Mr. Curry : Most of the material dumped from the United Kingdom under licence in the North sea in the past five years has been material dredged from ports and harbours. The most significant volumes (in excess of 1 million tonnes per annum) have been dredged from the firth of Forth, the Tees, the Humber and the Harwich. Stone from certain collieries on the Durham and Northumberland coast has also been dumped at sea in quantities exceeding 1 million tonnes per annum.
Three quarters of the sewage sludge dumped came from London. More than half the volume of liquid industrial waste disposed of at sea was from the ICI works at Billingham.
Dr. Kim Howells : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what arrangements exist for the monitoring of the effects of industrial waste dumping in the seas around Britain.
Mr. Curry : Monitoring is undertaken at least every two years in all disposal sites for solid industrial waste and in or close to all sites for liquid industrial waste. In addition there is a separate programme for surveillance of water
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quality of coastal areas. The Ministry also undertakes a programme of surveillance of quality of fish and shellfish in coastal waters and there is a continuing programme of assessment of fish disease in United Kingdom waters.Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish a table showing the number of confirmed cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy for each county of England and Wales for the four-week period ended 16 February.
Mr. Maclean : The information is as follows :
County |Number
---------------------------------------
Avon |20
Bedfordshire |3
Berkshire |6
Buckinghamshire |10
Cambridgeshire |6
Cheshire |26
Cleveland |1
Clwyd |7
Cornwall |50
Cumbria |14
Derbyshire |5
Devon |60
Dorset |63
Dyfed |27
Essex |5
Glamorgan South |1
Gloucestershire |26
Gwent |6
Gwynedd |1
Hampshire |44
Hereford and Worcester |18
Hertfordshire |5
Humberside |6
Isle of Wight |2
Kent |30
Lancashire |6
Leicestershire |30
Lincolnshire |11
London |2
Manchester |1
Norfolk |13
Northamptonshire |4
Northumberland |1
Nottinghamshire |2
Oxfordshire |22
Powys |5
Shropshire |27
Somerset |67
Staffordshire |18
Suffolk |10
Surrey |9
Sussex East |14
Sussex West |29
West Midlands |1
Warwickshire |15
Wiltshire |71
Yorkshire North |31
Yorkshire South |2
Yorkshire West |5
|-------
Total |838
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the number of bovines which have been identified since 30 September 1989 as bovine spongiform encephalopathy suspects at (a) slaughterhouses and (b) livestock markets ; and of these how many were subsequently confirmed as bovine spongiform encephalopathy cases.
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Mr. Maclean : The information for the quarter October to December 1989 is as follows :
Location |Number |Number
|reported |confirmed
----------------------------------------------
Slaughterhouses |22 |21
Markets |20 |15
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what records he keeps in respect of cattle infected with BSE ; whether he now records the movement of progeny of BSE-infected cattle ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : For each suspected case of BSE, the Ministry collects information necessary to study the epidemiology of the disease, including breeding history, feeding records and clinical history. Movements of all cattle must be recorded in accordance with the Movement of Animals (Records) Order 1960 (as amended).
Rabies
Mr. Warren : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has on the number of deaths due to rabies in each of the countries of the European Community during each of the last five years for which data are available.
Mr. Maclean : During the last five years there have been five human deaths from rabies and in every case the disease was acquired in other parts of the world. The details are as follows :
Year |Country |Where acquired ------------------------------------------------------------ 1986 |West Germany |India 1987 |United Kingdom|India 1988 |Belgium |Zaire 1988 |United Kingdom|Bangladesh 1988 |United Kingdom|Pakistan Source: WHO Rabies Bulletin Europe.
Turkeys
Sir Richard Body : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has received from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society about the number of inspections made on its behalf of turkey-rearing units owned by companies that compound their own foodstuffs to ascertain whether they are complying with the law relating to antibiotics.
Mr. Maclean : In 1989 inspectors of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain made 925 visits to premises registered for the manufacture of medicated feedingstuffs. It is not possible to identify separately how many of these were to turkey rearing units.
DEFENCE
Foreign Exchange Costs
Mr. Speed : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what were the estimated foreign exchange costs, both direct and indirect, of the British forces in (a) the Federal Republic of Germany, (b) Cyprus and (c) Gibraltar for the last 12 months.
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Mr. Archie Hamilton : The estimated direct foreign expenditure costs of the British forces in Cyprus and Gibraltar in 1989-90 are some £100 million and £50 million respectively. In respect of the foreign exchange costs of British Forces Germany, I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to the hon. Member for Great Grimsby (Mr. Mitchell) on 10 January 1990, at column 633. No reliable estimate can be made of the foreign exchange content of sterling expenditure in connection with these forces.
Air Misses
Mr Norman Hogg : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many air misses were recorded in the airspace over, and in the vicinity of, Cumbernauld and Kilsyth in 1988 and 1989.
Mr. Neubert : Two such air misses were reported in this period.
Private Security Firms
Mr. Graham : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many private security firms have had their contracts with his Department terminated prematurely as a result of unsatisfactory performance.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : We have terminated a total of three contracts with private security firms prematurely as a result of unsatisfactory performance. Only two firms have been involved, however.
Mr. Graham : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Walsall, South (Mr. George) of 16 February, Official Report, column 430, if he will list the defence establishments at which the private security firms are currently deployed in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Ireland and (d) Wales.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : It is not our practice to give details of security arrangements at individual defence establishments.
Mr. Graham : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the critera used by his Department to determine which establishments should be guarded by private security firms.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : It is not our practice to disclose the criteria used to determine which MOD establishments should be guarded by private security firms.
Mr. Graham : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the procedures for monitoring the performance of private security firms employed by his Department.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : All contracts held by private security firms employed by the MOD are subject to monthly assessment by the Department. Companies that consistently fail to meet their contractual obligations will have their contracts terminated.
Bishopton ROF
Mr. Graham : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consultations have taken place with the Defence Police Federation in connection with the proposed withdrawal of Ministry of Defence police from Royal Ordnance Bishopton ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Neubert : The decision to withdraw Ministry of Defence police from Royal Ordnance Bishopton in June this year was taken in December 1989. The Defence Police Federation was informed immediately, and so was given six months' notice of withdrawal. It sought a meeting with officials which took place on 15 December at which the reasons for withdrawal were explained to it. There will be no redundancies among MDP officers as a result of the withdrawal as all officers concerned will be redeployed.Clockwork Orange"
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what communication his Department had with General Sir Peter Leng, former Land Forces Commander in Northern Ireland, on Saturday 17 February, after learning from Mr. James Adam that General Leng had made a statement about the sanctioning of Clockwork Orange.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : General Sir Peter Leng informed MOD officials on Saturday 17 February that he had no reason to disagree with any statements recently issued by Ministers concerning Clockwork Orange or other matters pertinent to the case of Mr. Wallace.
Running Costs
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what is the current annual cost of maintaining Royal Navy vessels in the Caribbean ;
(2) what is the current annual running cost of the Armilla patrol.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : It is not practicable to separate the costs of individual fleet tasks, since financial provision for manpower, fuel, supplies and other items is made to cover the operations of the fleet as a whole.
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current annual running cost of the Army detachment stationed in Belize.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The estimated cost of maintaining an Army garrison in Belize in 1989-90 is £18 million. This includes a small element for capital costs.
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current annual running cost of the Royal Air Force detachment stationed in Belize.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The estimated cost of maintaining a Royal Air Force detachment in Belize in 1989-90 is £11 million.
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current average annual running costs of (a) a Buccaneer strike/attack squadron, (b) a Jaguar offensive support squadron, (c) a Nimrod maritime patrol squadron and (d) a Tornado F3 air defence squadron.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The approximate annual running cost of a Buccaneer strike/attack squadron is £33.74 million ; for a Jaguar offensive support squadron £30.63 million ; for a Nimrod maritime patrol squadron £35.33 million ; and for a Tornado F3 air defence squadron £49.76 million.
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current annual cost of (a) a regular Army
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soldier, (b) a Territorial Army soldier, (c) a Royal Navy sailor, (d) a Royal Naval Reserve sailor, (e) a Royal Air Force airman and (f) a Royal Auxiliary Air Force airman.Mr. Archie Hamilton : I will write to the hon. Member.
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) whether the figures for the average annual running costs of a Tornado GR1 squadron and a Challenger regiment provided on page 48 of the 4th report of the Defence Committee, HC 383, Session 1988-89, include both units based in the United Kingdom and those in West Germany ; (2) whether the figures for the average annual running costs of units provided on page 48 of the 4th report of the Defence Committee, HC 383, Session 1988-89, include those Royal Navy units undergoing refit or on standby.
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what is the current annual running cost of (a) an armoured regiment, (b) an infantry battalion and (c) an artillery field regiment stationed in the United Kingdom ;
(2) what is the current annual running cost of (a) an armoured regiment, (b) an infantry battalion, (c) an artillery field regiment and (d) an Army Air Corps regiment stationed with the British Army of the Rhine.
Mr. Archie Hamilton [holding answer 19 February 1990] : Running costs vary according to a unit's composition and its precise task at the time. Running costs for 1989-90, to the nearest £ million, are as follows :
|British Army|United
|of the Rhine|Kingdom
|£ million |£ million
----------------------------------------------------------------
Armoured regiment |13 |13
Infantry battalion |15 |11 to 13
Artillery field regiment |13 to 16 |14
Army Air Corps regiment |21 |-
These figures are at current prices. They do not include civilian support costs.
Military Training
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give the combined acreage of land used for military training in Scotland.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Military training in Scotland takes place on 24,659 acres of land in Ministry of Defence ownership. In addition we have training rights, in some cases very limited, over a further 173, 280 acres.
Harrier GR5
Mr. Rogers : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Harrier GR5s have been delivered to date.
Mr. Alan Clark : A total of 57 Harrier GR5s have been delivered. This figures includes two prototypes.
Nimrod AEW
Mr. Rogers : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in which year the first Nimrod AEW aircraft was originally intended to come into service.
Mr. Alan Clark : Nimrod AEW should have entered RAF service for training in 1982 and for operations in 1984.
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IUKADGE Command and Control
Mr. Rogers : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the exact amount of the cost implications of the delay to the introduction of the IUKADGE command and control system, referred to in his answer of 26 June 1989, Official Report, column 370.
Mr. Alan Clark : I have nothing to add to the answer given to the hon. Member's earlier question on this subject, Official Report, 6 July 1989, column 266.
AWACS
Mr. Rogers : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current status of the E-3 AWACS programme.
Mr. Alan Clark : The E-3 AWACS programme is proceeding in accordance with the schedule announced to the House of Commons in 1986. Delivery of the first aircraft will be made in early 1991.
Foxhunter Radar
Mr. Rogers : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Foxhunter radar yet performs according to the original specifications given when it was ordered.
Mr. Alan Clark : Work on improving Foxhunter is well in hand. Radars to an agreed interim standard continue to be delivered for installation in the Tornado ADV by the RAF, providing an operational capability superior to that of the equipment being replaced. These will shortly be followed by radars to the full technical standard.
SCOTLAND
NHS Expenditure
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement about growth in expenditure on the National Health Service since 1979.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Gross expenditure on the National Health Service in Scotland has grown from £1,064 million in 1979-80 to a planned £3,064 million in 1990-91, an increase of 36 per cent. in real terms.
Data Protection
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will introduce regulations to prevent the use of information for purposes other than those associated with the management or collection of the community charge, which has been disclosed to a charging authority by a community charges registration officer for the purpose associated with the community charge ; what other duties there are for a community charge registration officer or charging authority to use or disclose community charge data for other purposes ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The community charges register is available for inspection to the extent specified and for the purposes set out in section 20 of the Abolition of Domestic Rates Etc. (Scotland) Act 1987, as amended by the Local Government Finance Act 1987, as amended by the Local Government Finance Act 1988 and the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 and in the
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