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Mr. Robin Cook : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the agenda, papers and list of participants for the meeting organised by his Department on the subject of the National Health Service trusts on 22 and 23 February.
Mr. Robin Cook : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department will fund to study the impact of the Government's National Health Service reforms.
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Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The Health Service, supported by the Department of Health, is undertaking a wide range of projects designed to inform the implementation of the Government's proposals to improve services.NHS Salaries
Mr. Robin Cook : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the amount spent by the National Health Service on staff wages and salaries in each year since 1970 in cash and constant prices.
Mr. Freeman : Information derived from annual accounts submitted to the Department for the financial years 1974-75 to 1988-89 is shown in the table :
National Health Service Revenue Expenditure on
Salaries and
Wages-England
|£000 (cash)|£000 (at
|1988-89
|prices)
------------------------------------------------
1974-75 |1,792,700 |7,078,960
1975-76 |2,358,604 |7,407,007
1976-77 |2,691,746 |7,458,290
1977-78 |2,921,599 |7,111,610
1978-79 |3,278,452 |7,208,890
1979-80 |3,992,720 |7,517,334
1980-81 |5,242,795 |8,341,130
1981-82 |5,724,522 |8,295,462
1982-83 |6,079,370 |8,216,451
1983-84 |6,413,654 |8,281,502
1984-85 |6,778,435 |8,338,085
1985-86 |7,149,107 |8,345,868
1986-87 |7,719,927 |8,718,422
1987-88 |8,504,072 |9,120,617
1988-89 |9,601,003 |9,601,003
Sources:
Annual accounts of regional and district health
authorities', those of the special health
authorities for the London postgraduate
teaching hospitals and of family practitioner
committees (FPCs). (For the earliest years the
annual accounts of predecessor authorities e.g.
area health authorities which were abolished on
1 April 1982).
Notes:
1. The figures include the total pay costs of
the health authorities' directly and indirectly
employed staff (agency, etc) and include
employers' superannuation and national
insurance contributions. Similar costs forming
part of the administrative expenses of FPCs are
included but payments to doctors, pharmacists
and others contracted with the NHS to provide
family practitioner services are excluded.
Comparatively small salaries and wages costs
charged to capital accounts by health
authorities are also excluded.
2. The figures for the earlier years have been
expressed at 1988-89 prices by use of the Gross
Domestic Product deflator.
3. From 1 April 1974 (NHS Reorganisation) the
accounts of health authorities included income
and expenditure in respect of health services
transferred from local government authorities
to the NHS. Therefore, information for the
years prior to 1974-75 is not comparable to
that for more recent years.
Cancer
Mr. Amos : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the incidence of cancer in the United Kingdom in 1960, 1969 and 1989 ; and if he will make a statement on his assessment of the possible causes.
Mr. Freeman [holding answer 20 February 1990] : There are over 200 different types of cancer. There are many different causes, but in the present state of knowledge tobacco is by far the commonest. The other information requested is as follows :
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Registration numbers and rates (per 100,
000) of newly diagnosed
cases of cancer<1> and population by sex
for 1961, 1969 and 1984.
England and Wales
|Male |Female
-------------------------------------------
1961<2>
Number |56,785 |54,615.0
Population<3> |22,346 |23,820.0
Rate<4> |254.12 |229.28
1969
Number |77,661 |73,804.0
Population<3> |23,752 |25,074.8
Rate<4> |326.97 |294.34
1984<2>
Number |102,324 |99,179.0
Population<3> |24,244 |25,519.0
Rate<4> |422.06 |388.65
<1> International Classification of
Diseases (ICD) codes 9th revision 140-208.
<2> 1961 and 1984 are, respectively, the
first and last years for which this
information is available.
<3> Population in thousands.
<4> Rate per 100,000 population.
Information on Scotland and Northern Ireland are the responsibilities of my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Medicines Control Agency (Fees)
Mr. Robin Cook : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if any assessment was made of the effects of the increase in Medicines Control Agency fees on research and development by smaller companies.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley [holding answer 26 February 1990] : We would not expect the increased fees for product licences to act as a disincentive to research and development by smaller companies. It is believed that the charges for product licences represent only a small fraction of the total cost of bringing a novel medicine to the market place.
Mr. Robin Cook : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the recent increase in the licence fee charged by the Medicines Control Agency and what are the reasons for it.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley [holding answer 26 February 1990] : The latest amending regulations--the Medicines (Fees Relating to Medicinal Products for Human Use) Amendment Regulations 1990 SI 1990 No. 210-- incorporate a 70 per cent. increase in all the licence fees charged by the Medicines Control Agency.
When the Medicines Control Agency was established it was made clear that it was to be fully funded by licence fees. Fee levels were originally set too low to achieve this objective and have had to be increased. A full review of charges will take place over the next few months.
Mr. Robin Cook : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made on reducing the Medicines Control Agency's fees for smaller companies on products with a limited market.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley [holding answer 26 February 1990] : When the new fee structure for the MCA was established on 1 April 1989 we promised that there would be a full review of the fees charged during 1989- 90. The
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review has had to be deferred but will take place in the next few months and any adjustment which we consider necessary will be incorporated in a further set of amending regulations to come into effect in June/July 1990.However, in the meantime we have introduced concessions which give small companies additional time to pay fees.
Health Spending
Mr. Robin Cook : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was (a) total National Health Service spending and (b) hospital and community health service spending as a proportion of real national disposable income in each year since 1964.
Mr. Freeman [holding answer 26 February 1990] : The information requested, which is readily available only from 1974-75 onwards, is as follows :
Gross expenditure as a percentage of national disposable income (at 1985 prices) -------------------- 1974-75 |5.0|3.8 1975-76 |5.2|3.9 1976-77 |5.1|3.9 1977-78 |4.9|3.7 1978-79 |4.8|3.6 1979-80 |4.8|3.6 1980-81 |5.4|4.1 1981-82 |5.5|4.1 1982-83 |5.4|4.0 1983-84 |5.3|3.9 1984-85 |5.3|3.9 1985-86 |5.1|3.7 1986-87 |5.2|3.8 1987-88 |5.2|3.7 1988-89 |5.1|3.7 1989-90 |5.1|3.7 <1> Estimate
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EMPLOYMENT
Employment Training
Mr. Leighton : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what reason the National Computing Centre gave for leaving employment training.
Mr. Nicholls : The National Computing Centre is still operating under employment training.
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the total number for employment training of (a) people in training, (b) agreed action plans at training agents, (c) referrals to training agents from employment service, (d) referrals from training agents to training managers, (e) starts at training managers, (f) trainees who completed more than the three months' training, (g) employment training allowances paid and (h) trainees who successfully completed action plans for each of the months September 1988 to December 1989 inclusive for Great Britain, the standard regions, Scotland and Wales.
Mr. Nicholls [holding answer 12 February 1990] : Information is not available in the precise form requested. Information is available only for the eight Training Agency regions in England and for Scotland and Wales. The latest figures of employment training filled places are given in table 1. Action plans agreed at training agents are given in table 2. Referrals from the employment service to employment training are given in table 3. Information as requested for referrals from training agents to training managers is not available. Starts with training managers are given at table 4. Information about the length of time spent on the programme by trainees who leave each month, about the number of allowances paid and about the number of trainees successfully completing action plans over the period is not available.
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Table 1
Employment training filled places
September 1988 to December 1989
Training |South |London |South |West |East |Yorkshire |North |Northern |Wales |Scotland |<1>Great
agency |East |West |Midlands |Midlands |and |West |Britain
region |and Eastern |Humberside
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1988
September |3,800 |4,600 |3,000 |5,200 |3,900 |9,800 |6,700 |4,400 |2,400 |4,400 |48,000
October |5,200 |6,300 |4,300 |7,700 |5,700 |10,200 |9,900 |7,100 |4,400 |6,600 |67,000
November |6,300 |9,400 |5,700 |10,100 |7,600 |14,500 |13,400 |9,700 |6,000 |9,100 |92,000
December |7,100 |10,600 |6,900 |12,100 |8,900 |16,000 |15,500 |11,900 |7,400 |11,700 |108,000
1989
January |8,500 |13,300 |8,400 |15,100 |10,600 |19,100 |18,500 |14,500 |9,300 |14,000 |131,000
February |9,600 |15,200 |10,000 |18,200 |12,900 |22,100 |22,500 |18,000 |11,900 |17,900 |158,000
March |10,000 |16,600 |10,900 |20,700 |14,000 |24,000 |24,900 |20,100 |13,400 |21,000 |176,000
April |10,300 |17,500 |11,400 |22,300 |15,000 |24,800 |26,000 |21,200 |14,200 |22,100 |185,000
May |10,900 |17,900 |11,600 |22,600 |15,400 |25,100 |26,600 |22,000 |14,600 |22,500 |189,000
June |11,500 |18,300 |11,800 |22,800 |15,500 |25,200 |27,600 |23,000 |14,800 |23,200 |194,000
July |14,500 |19,000 |11,800 |23,200 |16,400 |25,200 |29,000 |24,400 |15,800 |23,700 |203,000
August |14,200 |19,000 |11,500 |23,600 |16,800 |25,100 |28,700 |24,700 |16,000 |24,400 |204,000
September |14,900 |20,200 |12,000 |23,400 |16,900 |25,200 |29,100 |24,900 |16,500 |25,100 |208,000
October |14,900 |20,700 |12,300 |23,200 |16,800 |25,200 |28,800 |24,300 |16,600 |25,700 |209,000
November |14,800 |21,100 |12,200 |23,200 |16,800 |25,200 |29,800 |24,400 |16,600 |26,400 |212,000
December |14,300 |21,000 |11,900 |22,500 |16,600 |25,100 |28,800 |24,200 |16,100 |26,100 |208,000
<1> Great Britain total includes small number of trainees at residential training colleges and large contractors not included in regional figures.
Table file CW900227.023 not available
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Table 2
Employment Training
Action plans agreed at training agents
September 1988 to December 1989
Training |South |London |South |West |East |Yorkshire |North |Northern |Wales |Scotland |Great
agency |East |West |Midlands |Midlands |and |West |Britain
region |and Eastern |Humberside
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1988
September |3,200 |3,200 |1,700 |4,300 |3,100 |4,200 |4,100 |4,400 |1,900 |4,100 |34,300
October |3,100 |4,200 |2,300 |4,400 |3,600 |5,100 |5,800 |4,400 |2,500 |5,000 |40,300
November |3,600 |4,700 |2,400 |5,000 |3,600 |5,700 |6,400 |4,500 |3,100 |6,600 |45,400
December |3,300 |4,400 |1,800 |4,600 |2,600 |4,500 |5,200 |3,600 |2,400 |5,500 |37,800
1989
January |3,500 |4,900 |2,200 |5,000 |3,700 |5,800 |6,600 |5,100 |3,200 |6,100 |46,000
February |3,900 |5,700 |2,400 |6,100 |3,700 |6,000 |7,500 |5,800 |3,700 |7,300 |52,200
March |4,300 |6,100 |2,800 |5,900 |4,000 |5,600 |7,200 |5,300 |3,400 |7,800 |52,300
April |3,600 |4,500 |2,300 |4,900 |3,600 |5,100 |6,400 |4,600 |2,800 |5,700 |43,700
May |3,000 |4,300 |2,000 |4,000 |3,000 |5,000 |5,300 |4,300 |2,800 |5,300 |38,900
June |3,200 |4,700 |2,200 |4,500 |3,400 |4,800 |6,400 |4,700 |2,700 |6,200 |42,800
July |3,500 |4,200 |1,800 |4,300 |3,100 |4,700 |6,000 |4,000 |2,300 |4,500 |38,200
August |2,900 |4,400 |1,800 |3,900 |3,100 |4,600 |5,600 |3,900 |2,200 |5,500 |37,900
September |3,600 |5,000 |2,800 |5,200 |3,000 |6,300 |6,600 |5,100 |3,200 |6,400 |47,700
October |3,100 |4,600 |2,200 |4,200 |2,700 |4,900 |6,300 |4,400 |2,800 |5,800 |41,000
November |2,600 |4,700 |2,400 |4,400 |3,000 |4,900 |6,000 |4,400 |2,700 |5,900 |41,000
December |2,400 |3,900 |1,800 |3,400 |2,500 |4,600 |4,400 |3,400 |1,900 |4,300 |32,600
Table 3
Employment Service Referrals to Employment Training:
September 1988 to December 1989
Employment Service |London and |South |West |East |Yorkshire |North |Northern |Wales |Scotland |Great
Region |South East |West |Midlands |Midlands |and |West |Britain
|and Eastern |Humberside
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1988
September |20,700 |5,100 |10,300 |7,500 |10,100 |12,700 |12,500 |5,200 |12,300 |96,500
October |17,900 |4,400 |8,700 |6,700 |9,100 |11,400 |7,700 |5,400 |11,700 |82,900
November |16,800 |3,900 |9,100 |6,300 |8,900 |11,100 |6,400 |5,700 |12,100 |80,400
December |14,100 |3,500 |8,200 |4,600 |7,600 |9,200 |5,700 |5,100 |10,500 |68,300
1989
January |18,200 |5,000 |10,500 |6,700 |10,100 |13,700 |8,200 |6,100 |13,100 |91,600
February |18,200 |4,800 |10,400 |6,600 |8,900 |12,900 |7,800 |6,200 |14,000 |89,900
March |18,700 |5,200 |10,700 |6,600 |10,000 |14,700 |7,800 |6,400 |15,800 |95,800
April |16,800 |4,300 |8,600 |6,600 |9,300 |12,800 |7,100 |5,700 |11,100 |82,300
May |15,600 |3,800 |7,900 |5,400 |7,800 |11,000 |6,400 |5,000 |11,300 |74,300
June |19,000 |3,400 |9,600 |6,900 |9,200 |14,300 |8,000 |5,500 |15,300 |91,200
July |16,000 |3,400 |8,500 |5,500 |7,700 |12,600 |6,600 |5,000 |10,300 |75,700
August |16,900 |3,200 |8,100 |5,600 |7,800 |11,800 |6,600 |4,700 |12,500 |77,200
September |19,500 |4,200 |9,300 |6,300 |8,500 |13,800 |7,200 |6,300 |13,800 |89,000
October |15,300 |4,000 |7,700 |5,000 |7,300 |11,900 |6,600 |5,100 |12,400 |75,200
November |15,800 |3,700 |7,400 |5,900 |7,800 |11,600 |6,400 |5,100 |12,000 |75,700
December |12,900 |3,000 |5,800 |4,600 |6,500 |8,700 |4,600 |3,800 |9,100 |59,100
Table 4
Starts at employment training managers
September 1988 to December 1989
Training |South |London |South |West |East |Yorkshire |North |Northern |Wales |Scotland |Great
agency |East |West |Midlands |Midlands |and |West |Britain<1>
region |and Eastern|Humberside
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1988
September |1,500 |2,500 |1,100 |2,500 |1,800 |3,000 |3,000 |2,400 |1,400 |2,300 |21,500
October |2,100 |3,100 |1,700 |3,700 |2,700 |4,500 |5,000 |3,200 |2,000 |3,100 |31,100
November |2,000 |3,100 |2,000 |3,800 |2,900 |5,500 |5,500 |3,600 |2,700 |4,100 |35,200
December |1,700 |2,400 |1,700 |3,300 |2,200 |4,400 |4,100 |2,900 |2,200 |3,900 |28,900
1989
January |2,300 |3,800 |2,100 |4,300 |2,900 |5,500 |5,500 |3,600 |2,900 |3,700 |36,700
February |2,500 |3,400 |2,500 |5,000 |3,600 |6,100 |7,100 |4,800 |3,600 |5,400 |43,900
March |2,100 |3,800 |2,300 |4,900 |3,200 |5,400 |6,500 |4,700 |3,200 |6,000 |42,200
April |2,300 |3,100 |2,000 |4,100 |3,100 |4,900 |5,800 |3,800 |2,900 |4,400 |36,300
May |1,600 |2,600 |1,700 |3,300 |2,400 |4,100 |4,800 |3,200 |2,300 |4,400 |30,000
June |2,400 |3,100 |1,900 |3,800 |2,800 |4,500 |6,300 |4,100 |2,600 |4,800 |36,400
July |4,500 |3,100 |1,500 |3,300 |3,000 |3,800 |5,300 |3,600 |2,700 |3,400 |34,200
August |1,900 |2,700 |1,200 |3,200 |2,500 |3,500 |4,500 |3,000 |2,300 |4,500 |29,300
September |3,400 |4,800 |2,300 |4,500 |3,500 |5,500 |6,200 |4,900 |3,700 |5,600 |44,200
October |2,500 |3,300 |1,900 |3,800 |2,800 |4,600 |5,200 |3,700 |2,900 |4,800 |35,600
November |2,300 |3,600 |1,700 |3,800 |2,800 |4,800 |5,600 |3,700 |2,400 |4,900 |36,200
December |1,500 |2,600 |1,400 |2,900 |2,100 |3,700 |3,700 |2,900 |1,900 |3,500 |26,300
<1> Great Britain total includes small number of trainees at residential training colleges and large contractors not included in regional figures.
Youth Training
Mr. Blair : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment at constant 1989-90 prices if he will give the spending on YTS and employment training for the past five years and the projected spending over the next three years.
Mr. Nicholls : The expenditure on YTS and employment training by the Employment Department Group Training Agency (and its predecessors, the Training Commission and the Manpower Services Commission) is as follows :
|YTS |Employment
|(£ million)|Training
|(£ million)
------------------------------------------------
1985-86 |1,011.1 |-
1986-87 |1,041.0 |-
1987-88 |1,137.7 |-
1988-89 |1,063.4 |454.8
1989-90 |983.0 |1,112.0
1990-91 |836.0 |1,151.9
1991-92 |716.2 |1,085.6
1992-93 |654.5 |1,071.8
The figures shown are at constant (estimated) 1989-90 prices and were calculated by use of the GDP deflator index shown in the Chancellor's Autumn Statement.
Youth training scheme figures exclude community industry (included under the heading "Youth Training" in the public expenditure White Paper), evaluation, research and development, and marketing. Planned expenditure on YTS reflects a substantial decline in the number of 16 and 17-year-old entrants to the labour force. Also, youth training, which will replace YTS from 29 May and be increasingly delivered by training and enterprise councils, incorporates funding flexibilities to encourage a higher level of employer contributions towards training costs than has been the case under YTS.
Mr. Blair : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many complaints about the level of training have been received by training managers over the past year in respect of (a) YTS and (b) employment training.
Mr. Nicholls : This information is not available.
Mr. Blair : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many placements on (a) YTS and (b) employment training have been terminated as a result of dissatisfaction on the part of the Training Agency with the training provided in respect of the past year.
Mr. Nicholls : This information is available only at
disproportionate cost.
Mr. Blair : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has any plans to conduct a survey of trainee satisfaction in respect of either YTS or employment training.
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Mr. Nicholls : Existing surveys of trainees who leave either YTS or employment training cover this aspect of evaluation.
Astra Training Services
Mr. Blair : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the estimated value of the skillcentre sites sold to Astra Training Services ; and whether any estimate was made of their development value.
Mr. Nicholls : All Skills Training Agency sites were valued prior to the sale, and their potential development value was estimated by commercial property advisers appointed by the Government. Were my right hon. and learned Friend to give an estimate of the value of sites included in the sale package announced earlier this month, (Official Report, 13 February 1990, column 141), this could be deducted from the valuation of all STA sites published in the STA's trading account for 1988-89 (which will be published shortly), to produce an estimate of the value of those sites not included in the sale package. This could have a detrimental effect when these remaining sites are offered for sale.
Mr. Blair : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish the calculations that gave rise to the sum of £11 million being paid to Astra in respect of the skillcentres sold to it.
Mr. Nicholls : The payment of some £11 million to Astra Training Services Limited is the price which emerged from open, competitive bidding and subsequent negotiation. Publication of calculations undertaken by bidders to arrive at their offers would constitute a breach of commercial confidentiality and could disclose bidders' future plans for the business to potential competitors.
Mr. Blair : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if there will be any requirement on Astra in the sale conditions to continue training at any site.
Mr. Nicholls : One of the Government's chief objectives for the sale of the Skills Training Agency (STA) has been to transfer into the private sector as much as possible of the STA's training business. The Secretary of State is satisfied that the aim of Astra Training Services Limited is to run a training business.
Construction Industry Training Board
Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many construction firms are protected from the levy to the construction industry training board as a result of the payroll figure of £15,000 contained in the Industrial Training Levy (Construction Board) Order 1989.
Mr. Nicholls : About 16,000 small employers are exempt from levy under the provisions of paragraph 5(1) of the
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schedule of the Industrial Training Levy (Construction Board) Order 1989. This is about 29 per cent. of firms on the board's levy register.Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he has any plans to allow construction firms of any size to opt out of participation in the construction industry training board and run their own training schemes.
Mr. Nicholls : We are looking to employers to take more responsibility for training their work force. Grants from levy funds are made available by the construction industry training board to employers for training undertaken to industry agreed standards. We will be asking the board when it is reconstituted to bring forward proposals which will extinguish the contribution made by the better training employers to the levy fund.
Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what factors he considered when setting the figure of £15,000 payroll under the Industrial Training Levy (Construction Board) Order 1989 as the starting point of contributions to the construction industry training board.
Mr. Nicholls : Two main factors were considered before deciding that the level should remain the same as that in the previous order--first, the need for firms to contribute to the costs of training the pool of workers upon which employers draw, and, secondly, that the smallest firms, that is those with the equivalent of a single employee, should be excluded from the levy.
Bolton Job Club
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many registered disabled unemployed have used the services of the Bolton job club during each of the last three years ; and how many have been successful in obtaining employment with this assistance.
Mr. Eggar : During the past three years a total of 14 registered disabled people have used the services of Bolton job clubs. Of these, 10 people left to start a job and one person went on to employment training.
For each of the past three years the breakdown is :
|1987|1988|1989
--------------------------------------------------
Registered disabled people
leaving jobclubs |2 |2 |10
Registered disabled people
leaving to start a job |2 |1 |7
Registered disabled people
leaving to start Employment
Training |- |1 |-
In the same period a further 24 people with health problems who were not registered as disabled used the services of Bolton job clubs. Of these, 12 people left to start a job and three people went on to employment training, further education or the enterprise allowance scheme.
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Radiation
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if he will make a statement on the Health and Safety Commission's consultative document on additional guidance on radiation protection ;
(2) what revised estimates of risk from radiation the Health and Safety Commission took into account when issuing its recent consultative document on radiation protection.
Mr. Nicholls : The consultative document published on 5 February by the Health and Safety Commission sets out draft guidance for employers on measures to maintain levels of protection for employees against ionising radiations in the light of recent revisions of risk estimates. The Health and Safety Commission took into account revised international expert thinking on the risks from radiation, arising out of further information about the survivors of the Japanese atomic bombings, and subsequent interim advice from the National Radiological Protection Board.
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if he will make a statement on workplace levels of radiation ; (2) what proposals the Health and Safety Commission has to recommend a reduction in workplace levels of radiation.
Mr. Nicholls : Levels of exposure to ionising radiations at the workplace have decreased since the Ionising Radiations Regulations 1985 (IRR 85) came into force.
The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) has recently issued a consultative document containing proposals for interim action pending receipt of revised international recommendations. The HSC's working group on ionising radiations will in due course consider the revised recommendations and make proposals for further action.
Tourism
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if his Department has commissioned any research into the provision of bed-and- breakfast accommodation within the British tourist industry after the introduction of the poll tax or community charge ; and if he will make a statement.
Channel Tunnel
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if the Health and Safety Executive sought assistance or advice from the railways inspectorate over issues arising from the construction of the Channel tunnel.
Job Release Scheme
Mr. Hague : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will announce the results of the review of the rates of allowance payable under the job release scheme.
Mr. Eggar : Although the job release scheme closed to new applicants on 31 January 1988, the allowances will
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continue to be paid to participants for up to five years. Following our annual review, the allowances payable from 9 April 1990 under the job release scheme will be as follows :Those who are married with a dependent wife where net income from all sources does not exceed £15 a week : £84.00 taxable. Those who do not have a dependent wife or whose wife's income exceeds £15 a week : £69.15 taxable. The spouse's earnings limit which affects whether the higher or lower rate is paid has been raised to £15 from £14.
TRANSPORT
M3
Mr. John Browne : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement regarding his proposals for the completion of the M3 at Winchester.
Mr. Parkinson : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment and I have decided that the published proposals for the final section of the M3 around Winchester to replace the heavily congested bypass should go ahead.
The decision follows two lengthy public inquiries conducted by independent inspectors nominated by the Lord Chancellor. Both inspectors considered the relative merits of the published scheme for a cutting across Twyford down and several alternative routes put forward by objectors, including those for routing the motorway in twin-bored tunnels under the down and for building the motorway on the line of the existing bypass.
Because of the adverse effects on the Winchester water meadows and residential areas of the city, the inspectors recommended that western routes following the line of the existing bypass should not be built. They endorsed the Department's novel proposals for removing the bypass completely and restoring the area to link the historic and recreational areas of the water meadows and St. Catherine's hill. The inspectors were impressed by the alternatives for twin-bored tunnels under Twyford down. We too were attracted by the concept of tunnels which would have reduced the amount of land required from the east Hampshire area of outstanding natural beauty, the St. Catherine's hill site of special scientific interest and the two scheduled ancient monuments on Twyford down.
However, we agree with the inspectors that twin-bored tunnels would not be without environmental problems. The two tunnels, each large enough to take three lanes of motorway traffic and a hard shoulder, with portals on either side of Twyford down, would be prominent features in the area of outstanding natural beauty and emphasised by the necessary lighting. There would be considerable problems in disposing of vast quantities of surplus rock, and a tunnel scheme would be less efficient for local traffic distribution.
Such tunnels would be at the forefront of tunnelling technology, and the time necessary to design and construct them would delay seriously the completion of this much-needed section of motorway. Also, because of the innovative nature of the tunnels, the estimated costs of such a scheme varied widely at the inquiries. The 1987-88 inspector concluded that a tunnel solution would cost about £92 million more than the published scheme.
Both the inspectors concluded, and we agreed with them, that the advantages of a tunnel scheme would not
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outweigh the substantial additional costs and the extensive delay in completing the M3. We have decided, in accordance with the recommendation of the two independent inquiry inspectors, that the published proposals are the right solution to the urgent need to replace the heavily congested Winchester bypass which has been the subject of considerable debate for almost 20 years.Channel Tunnel
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has received any proposal from British Rail on which he might expect to make a decision on the Channel tunnel to London rail link.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will seek powers to bring forward proposals for a rail link from the proposed Channel tunnel to London.
Mr. Portillo : British Rail and its chosen joint venture partner, Eurorail, announced at the end of last year their intention to introduce a private Bill in November 1990.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what discussions he has had recently on the rail link from the proposed Channel tunnel to London ;
(2) when he last met Eurorail to discuss the Channel tunnel link ; and what matters were discussed ;
(3) when he last met representatives of British Rail to discuss the rail link from the proposed Channel tunnel to London ; and what was the outcome of those discussions ;
(4) when he last met Trafalgar House to discuss the Channel tunnel rail link and what were the conclusions reached.
Mr. Portillo : I met representatives of British Rail and Eurorail consortium which includes Trafalgar House on Monday 19 February and heard of progress with their work to establish a joint venture.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information his Department has contributed to the development of the Channel tunnel to London high-speed rail link.
Mr. Portillo : The responsibility for planning railways rests with British Rail. My Department has provided information on Government policy and on road plans for which it is the highway authority.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he last met Ove Arup to discuss the Channel tunnel rail link ; and what conclusions were reached.
Mr. Portillo : I have not myself met Ove Arup, but my officials have done so and reported to me on its proposals for rail links to the Channel tunnel.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will seek powers to enable him to commit public funds to ensure the development of a Channel tunnel to London rail link.
European Rail System
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the topics he has discussed within the European Community regarding railways in the last three months.
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Mr. Portillo : At the meeting of the European Council of Transport Ministers which I attended on 4-5 December, there was a debate on Community railway policy. The Council invited the Commission to set up a working party to look at a high-speed network and the scope for technical harmonisation.Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will seek powers to enable him to standardise the height, width and length of British freight wagons with those used on continental railways ; and what his Department is doing to develop compatibility.
Mr. Portillo : No. Decisions on rolling stock are entirely a matter for British Rail. I understand that BR is planning to use advanced wagon designs for Channel tunnel freight which will make it possible for larger loads than at present to be carried on the existing United Kingdom loading gauge. Despite the difference in loading gauge, large fleets of wagons and containers already run between the United Kingdom and mainland Europe.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has on European Community financial support for railway upgrading (a) in Spain and (b) in the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement.
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