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Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Eastwood (Mr. Stewart) of 28 February, Official Report, column 272, whether on 26 October 1989, or in the continuing contacts mentioned by him in Official Report, column 271, he raised with the chairman of British Steel its investment programme and future intentions towards Ravenscraig ; (2) pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Glasgow, Govan of 28 February, Official Report, column
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271, whether in his discussions with the chairman of British Steel on 26 October 1989 he raised the future of Dalziel works ; (3) pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Glasgow, Govan of 28 February, Official Report, column 271, whether on 26 October 1989 the chairman of British Steel informed him that a plate mill was stored at Lackenby ;(4) pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Glasgow, Govan of 28 February, Official Report, column 271, whether on 26 October 1989 he discussed with British Steel's chairman the issue of a single plate mill strategy ;
(5) where his meeting was held with the chairman of British Steel on 26 October 1989 ; and how long the meeting lasted.
Mr. Lang : My right hon. and learned Friend's meeting with the chairman of British Steel was held in his office in Whitehall ; it lasted about an hour. The detailed matters discussed are commercially confidential.
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Glasgow, Govan of 28 February, Official Report, column 271, whether the continuing contact with British Steel since last October has been at ministerial or official level.
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Glasgow, Govan of 28 February, Official Report, column 271, what specific issues his Department has raised with British Steel in its continuing contact with that organisation.
Mr. Lang : The detailed matters raised by my right hon. and learned Friend's Department with British Steel are commercially confidential.
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what correspondence he has received from British Steel since his meeting with the chairman of British Steel on 26 October.
Mr. Lang : My right hon. and learned Friend has received two letters from the chairman of British Steel, the contents of which are commercially confidential.
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he received information from British Steel about (a) its intention to impose a production pause on Ravenscraig over the Christmas and new year holiday period, and (b) the latest production pause to be imposed on Ravenscraig.
Mr. Lang : My right hon. and learned Friend's officials received information from British Steel on 22 November 1989 about the first production pause and on 20 February 1990 about the latest production pause.
Pensioners
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many single pensioners are now eligible for payment of the poll tax who had (a) no liability for rates in 1987-88, (b) no liability for rates in 1988-89 and (c) liability for 20 per cent. rates in 1989-90.
Mr. Rifkind [holding answer 22 February 1990] : Information on the number of single pensioners in
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Scotland who are now liable for the community charge but who had no liability for rates in 1987-88 or 1988-89 is not available. This is because a number of pensioners had no liability to pay domestic rates, not as a result of the housing benefit they received, but, for example, because they lived in another person's house and made no payment towards the rates of that property. These pensioners were not entitled to housing benefit and therefore they would not have been identified by the housing benefit management information system. Our latest estimate for 1989-90 is that about 150,000 single pensioners in Scotland are receiving the maximum community charge rebate of 80 per cent.Bed-and-Breakfast Accommodation
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will estimate (a) the number of bed and breakfast establishments in Scotland, (b) the number which operate commercially for less than 100 nights per annum, (c) the number which have six or fewer beds for commercial let and (d) the number which meet both the criteria set out in categories (b) and (c) above.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 5 March 1990] : In order to be eligible for the rating exemption announced by my right hon. and learned Friend last week, bed and breakfast establishments must operate for fewer than 100 nights per annum or have six or fewer beds for commercial let.
The information requested is as follows and is taken from the register of the Scottish Tourist Board compiled for the purposes of taking an entry in the board's "Where to Stay" guides :
B
|Number
------------------------------------------------------------------
(a) Number of establishments |3,846
(b) Number which operate commercially for less than
three months<1> per year |68
(c) Number which have six or fewer beds |2,943
(d) Number which meet criteria at both (b) and (c) |45
<1> For the purposes of the board guides, establishments are
described as open for a given number of months in the year. No
information is available on the number of days of opening.
Local Income Tax
Mr. Wallace : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the cost of preparing the answer of 27 February to the hon. Member for Glasgow, Cathcart (Mr. Maxton), Official Report, columns 117-19.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 5 March 1990] : About £110.
Police Accommodation
Mr. Shersby : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what response he is making to the Scottish Police Federation following representations made to him concerning (a) the position of officers in provided accommodation and the introduction of a provided accommodation allowance and (b) updating of the force rent allowance ; and when he expects to lay regulations governing the level of allowances.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 5 March 1990] : My right hon. and learned Friend and I met the chairman and general secretary of the Scottish Police
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Federation on 8 February to hear their representations about the proposed arrangements to replace rent allowance with a new housing allowance.In response to the representations of the Scottish Police Federation my right hon. and learned Friend has decided to make provision in the forthcoming regulations for an allowance of £300 a year to officers who were living on 31 March 1989 in accommodation provided by the police authority ; this allowance will continue for three years or until the officer leaves provided accommodation, whichever is sooner.
The regulations will have the effect of permitting rent allowance reviews due in 1989 to proceed, but my right hon. and learned Friend is not persuaded that rent allowances should be updated in forces not due reviews in 1989.
The regulations are expected to be laid this week.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Milk Quotas
Mr. Charles Wardle : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has submitted to the European Community Commission any detailed proposals for allocating an additional 1 per cent. of milk quota in 1990.
Mr. Gummer : My proposals were that quota should be allocated to producers who received awards from the Dairy Produce Quotas Tribunal which were scaled back and have not yet been fully implemented ; to smaller producers ; to producers in remote areas, principally the islands of Scotland and the Scilly Isles ; and to new entrants. The Commission raised a number of points in connection with these proposals. With one exception, which concerns my proposal to lend quota to new entrants rather than grant it outright, all points of difficulty have now been satisfactorily resolved and I am awaiting formal Commission agreement. Regulations will then be laid before Parliament and the majority of the quota issued before the end of the current quota year.
Fishing Boat Grants
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he received the applications for fishing boats grants Nos. (1) UK/0/114/89, (2) UK/0/122/89, (3) UK/0/117/89 and (4) UK/0/113/89 ; when he expects to submit them to the European Commission ; and if he will make a statement about the delay in release of these grant payments.
Mr. Curry : The information is as follows :
Z
Project |Date |Date of |Date
number |application |Commission |claim
|received |announcement |received
|of successful
|grant awards
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UK/0/114/89 |5 July 1988 |31 March 1989 |26 June 1989
UK/0/122/89 |5 July 1988 |31 March 1989 |26 June 1989
UK/0/117/89 |31 August 1988 |31 March 1989 |26 June 1989
UK/0/113/89 |30 September 1988|31 March 1989 |6 June 1989
The submission of individual claims for payment of grants is not permitted by the European Commission. The member state must be in receipt of a certain number of
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claims (usually 20 per cent. of the aid awarded in any one round) before they can be submitted to the Commission. We are now satisfied that an appropriate number of claims has been received to meet the Commission's requirements and payment can be expected shortly.Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
Mr. Alan W. Williams : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will initiate a programme of active surveillance of Britain's cattle stock involving veterinary surgeons making visits to farms, markets and slaughterhouses to identify cattle suffering from bovine spongiform encephalopathy or the early symptoms of the disease.
Mr. Maclean : There is already a programme of active surveillance carried out by veterinarians in the Ministry's state veterinary service, official veterinarians employed by local authorities and those in private practice.
Mr. Butler : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what evidence he has as to the transmissibility of (a) bovine spongiform encephalopathy and (b) scrapie through the consumption of bone or bone meal from affected animals.
Mr. Maclean : Epidemiological evidence shows that the most likely cause of BSE was the feeding to cattle of compound rations containing meat and bone meal which included material derived from sheep infected with scrapie.
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Mr. Alan W. Williams : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will provide details of incidents where bulls at artificial insemination centres have been found to have contracted bovine spongiform encephalopathy, including the age of the bull, the breed and the artificial insemination centre.
Mr. Maclean : BSE has been confirmed in five Friesian bulls at AI centres. Their ages in months were 48, 55, 64, 67 and 71. It is not the practice to identify the premises where cases occur.
Mr. Alan W. Williams : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many progeny per year are normally expected from bulls at artificial insemination centres.
Mr. Maclean : A bull approved for use in artificial insemination might be expected to sire an average of 200 progeny, but it may be considerably more for an exceptional animal.
Live Animal Stock (Exports)
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list by year for the last 10 years, and by live animal stock (a) the number and (b) the value of stock exported by the United Kingdom.
Mr. Curry : The number and value of live animal stock exported by the United Kingdom over the last 10 years are listed in the table.
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|Bovine |Sheep |Goats |Swine |Poultry |Horses, asses,
|animals |mules and
|hinnies
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1980
Number ('000) |370 |393 |<1> |298 |10,928 |11
Value (£'000) |52,437 |11,700 |18 |16,713 |9,989 |48,996
1981
Number ('000) |321 |172 |<1> |606 |15,385 |9
Value (£'000) |55,884 |6,035 |58 |34,147 |13,312 |66,091
1982
Number ('000) |287 |146 |1 |619 |13,296 |9
Value (£'000) |48,810 |5,276 |113 |41,164 |12,002 |71,563
1983
Number ('000) |240 |93 |<1> |571 |11,274 |9
Value (£'000) |30,599 |3,374 |51 |35,777 |11,105 |106,368
1984
Number ('000) |234 |101 |<1> |346 |9,110 |9
Value (£'000) |29,158 |3,163 |46 |22,377 |10,225 |125,891
1985
Number ('000) |173 |84 |<1> |234 |9,617 |9
Value (£'000) |24,171 |2,427 |115 |17,430 |12,358 |205,330
1986
Number ('000) |213 |195 |<1> |134 |9,040 |9
Value (£'000) |29,591 |6,832 |52 |12,554 |11,789 |238,976
1987
Number ('000) |387 |373 |1 |61 |10,235 |10
Value (£'000) |57,826 |13,890 |241 |8,618 |14,046 |231,041
1988
Number ('000) |267 |509 |1 |59 |12,788 |7
Value (£'000) |44,438 |24,741 |66 |8,949 |15,301 |154,146
1989
Number ('000) |330 |589 |<1> |115 |13,599 |7
Value (£'000) |54,218 |28,033 |41 |16,212 |19,276 |140,431
<1> Less than half units shown.
Source: Her Majesty's Customs and Excise.
Equine Meat Trade
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proposals he has to restrict or ban the trade in horse, pony and donkey meat between the United Kingdom and other countries ; and if he will make a statement on his assessment of the impact of the European single market on the trade in horse meat after 1992.
Mr. Curry : We have no proposals to restrict or ban the trade in horse, pony and donkey meat between the United Kingdom and other countries. Any such action would be contrary to article 34 of the treaty of Rome and thus illegal. The Commission's proposals in respect of the single European market contain no items specifically relating to trade in horse meat but envisage that the trade will continue after 1992.
The United Kingdom intends to press strongly in the EC negotiations on the welfare of live animals in transit for provisions which discourage the export of live horses and ponies from the United Kingdom for slaughter.
DEFENCE
NATO (Out of Area)
15. Mr. Hayward : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the role of the United Kingdom's armed forces in NATO's out-of-area capabilities.
47. Mr. Andy Stewart : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the role of the United Kingdom's armed forces in NATO's out-of-area capability.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : NATO has no out-of-area role. The United Kingdom's armed forces do, however, maintain an out-of-area capability, as described in successive Statements on the Defence Estimates.
Community Charge
16. Mr. John Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received from serving members of Her Majesty's forces about arrangements for paying the poll tax.
53. Mr. Ray Powell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received from serving members of Her Majesty's forces about arrangements for paying the poll tax.
104. Mr. Ron Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received from serving members of Her Majesty's forces about arrangements for paying the poll tax.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : My right hon. Friend and I have received a number of representations about arrangements for the community charge.
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Service Women
17. Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he has any plans to allow women into the Royal Horse Guards and the Royal Life Guards ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Under the present deployment guidelines for women in the Army, women may be employed in peace and war in all posts except those where the primary role is direct combat. There are, therefore, no current plans for members of the WRAC to be employed in combat posts in the Household Cavalry, but other posts in these units may be open to them.
24. Mr. Ian Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures his Department is taking to encourage the wider employment of service women.
113. Mr. Couchman : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures his Department is taking to encourage the wider employment of service women.
Mr. Burns : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures his Department is taking to encourage the wider employment of service women.
Mr. Tom King : We have over the last year announced plans to allow women to serve in surface ships of the Royal Navy ; to increase the number of women in the Regular Army by up to 6,000 and to enable them to fill all posts other than those that would deploy to forward areas in war ; to recruit women as pilots and navigators in the RAF ; and to increase the number of women in ground trades in the RAF by 2,000. We are continuing to look for other areas of employment which may be opened up to women.
Land Holdings
18. Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the extent of his Department's current land holding ; and what plans he has to acquire further land.
29. Mr. Lofthouse : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the extent of his Department's current land holding ; and what plans he has to acquire further land.
65. Mr. Pendry : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the extent of his Department's current land holding ; and what plans he has to acquire further land.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : I refer the hon. Members to the answer that I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Ashfield (Mr. Haynes).
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Northern Ireland
19. Sir Michael McNair-Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about the operations of those security forces in Northern Ireland responsible to him.
Mr. Tom King : The armed forces deployed in Northern Ireland in support of the RUC continue to make a substantial and essential contribution to the defeat of terrorism in the Province.
Trident
20. Mr. Allen McKay : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much of the cost of the Trident programme is still to be expended ; and what is his estimate of the annual running cost of one Trident submarine.
67. Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much of the cost of the Trident programme is still to be expended ; and what is his estimate of the annual running cost of one Trident submarine.
100. Mr. Patchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much of the cost of the Trident programme is still to be expended ; and what is his estimate of the annual running cost of one Trident submarine.
114. Mr. Graham : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much of the cost of the Trident programme is still to be expended ; and what is his estimate of the annual running cost of one Trident submarine.
Mr. Alan Clark : Of the total currently estimated cost, about £6, 000 million has yet to be spent, although some £2,000 million of that is already contractually committed. It is too early to say with any precision the likely running costs of the Trident force. They are not, however, expected to be significantly different from those of Polaris.
85. Mr. Sumberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress is being made on the construction of the first two Vanguard-class Trident submarines.
Mr. Neubert : Construction of the first two Vanguard-class submarines at Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd. is well advanced.
22. Mr. Franks : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the current progress of the Trident programme.
Mr. Alan Clark : As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence told the House when announcing the revised Trident cost estimate on 31 January, the Trident programme continues to progress to time and budget towards its in-service date of the mid-1990s.
United States Defence Secretary
21. Mr. Ronnie Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he last met his United States counterpart ; and what was discussed.
25. Mr. Clelland : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he last met his United States counterpart ; and what was discussed.
43. Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he last met his United States counterpart ; and what was discussed.
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52. Mr. Alan W. Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he last met his United States counterpart ; and what was discussed.
Mr. Tom King : I last met Mr. Cheney during my visit to Washington at the end of January. We discussed a range of current defence issues.
Ambulance Dispute
23. Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the cost to date of using the armed forces on civilian ambulance duties.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Up to 31 January 1990 the Ministry of Defence has identified extra costs in the region of £3.5 million for recovery from the Department of Health, the Scottish Home and Health Department and the Welsh Office.
Nuclear Test Veterans
26. Mr. Clay : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent representations he has received about compensation for nuclear test veterans.
51. Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent representations he has received about compensation for nuclear test veterans.
98. Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent representations he has received about compensation for nuclear test veterans.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : A number of recent representations have been received from right hon. and hon. Members and others regarding compensation for nuclear test veterans.
NATO Ministers
27. Mrs. Maureen Hicks : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he last met his NATO counterparts ; and what was discussed.
58. Mr. Geraint Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he last met other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Defence Ministers ; and what matters were discussed.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : My right hon. Friend last met his colleagues from the eastern members of NATO (except Iceland) at the independent European programme group meeting at Gleneagles on 21 February. The last meeting of NATO Defence Ministers was the defence planning committee on 28- 29 November 1989. Copies of the communique s issued after both meetings have been placed in the Library of the House.
28. Mr. Adley : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he next expects to meet his NATO colleagues ; and what he expects to discuss.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : My right hon. Friend will next meet his NATO colleagues at the defence nuclear planning group in early May when a range of defence issues will be discussed.
Eastern Europe
30. Dr. Goodson-Wickes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what studies have been instituted to assess the military implications of political changes in eastern Europe ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Archie Hamilton : We keep the implications of political changes in eastern Europe under constant review. These changes are welcome and we look to the CFE process for reductions in military capabilities to provide enhanced security at the lower levels of forces which NATO has long sought.82. Mr. Amos : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the recent developments in eastern Europe have caused his Department to reconsider its military commitments to NATO.
87. Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a further statement on the impact of recent events in eastern Europe on British defence commitments.
Mr. Tom King : I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that I have given today to my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham, West (Mr. Maples).
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