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Inflation
Sir Trevor Skeet : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he intends to align with the practice in other European Community countries in calculating inflation.
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Mr. Lilley : My right hon. Friend the Chancellor has no plans to do so at present. The practices followed in compiling consumer prices indices vary between Community countries. The United Kingdom regularly joins in discussions with other members with a view to understanding the differences in methodology. When changes in the retail prices index have been proposed they have always been considered by the RPI advisory committee and due account taken then of practice elsewhere.Capital Gains Tax
Mr. Beith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many taxpayers paid capital gains tax in 1987-88.
Mr. Lilley : The number of individuals and trusts who have a liability to pay capital gains tax from gains on disposals made in 1987-88 is provisionally estimated at 170,000.
Investment
Mr. Butterfill : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the business fixed investment figures in the United Kingdom for the last five years ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Norman Lamont : The latest annual data for business investment are :
In the five years to 1988 (1983-88) business investment grew by over 50 per cent. in real terms.
Currency
Mr. Robert Sheldon : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has any plans to introduce a £100 note.
Mr. Major : The Bank of England is responsible for the note issue. It has no plans to introduce a £100 note.
Capital Investment
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the latest figures on capital investment by business.
Mr. Norman Lamont : Business investment was 12 per cent. higher in real terms in the first three quarters of 1989 than in the same period in 1988. In the two years to 1988 business investment grew by over 30 per cent.
Taxation
Mr. Hanley : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (a) whether he will raise the income limits which govern the Inland Revenue's practice for remitting arrears of tax where information provided to the Revenue had not been used within a reasonable time and (b) what are the implications of independent taxation for the income limits.
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Mr. Lilley : I am pleased to announce that limits are to be increased from today. From 6 April 1990 the income scale will apply separately to the incomes of husbands and wives.
(a) The Inland Revenue's practice of remitting tax in cases where the Department has not made timely use of information available is set out in a White Paper of July 1971 (first report from the Select Committee on the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration : Session 1970-71 : Cmnd 4729). The proportion of arrears collected varies according to the size of the taxpayer's gross income ; the balance of the arrear is remitted.
The new scale of limits will apply to arrears of tax, the actual of likely amount of which is first notified to the taxpayer of his agent on or after today.
Gross income Gross income
For taxpayers aged 65 or over or who are in receipt of the national insurance retirement or widows' pension each of the bands is increased by the following :
Pensioners addition to each band
£
£
3,300 |2,500
If a taxpayer in this category has gross income of £15,300 or less the whole of the arrear will be remitted, whilst some remission will be allowed on gross income up to £35,300.
(b) At present income limits for the purposes of the concession apply equally to a single person or the joint incomes of a husband and wife. With the introduction of independent taxation the income scale will apply only to the spouse assessed.
This new rule will apply to arrears of tax, the actual or likely amount of which is notified to a taxpayer on or after 6 April 1990.
ECOFIN
Dr. Twinn : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the outcome of the latest meeting of the European Community's Economic and Finance Council.
Mr. Ryder : The ECOFIN Council met in Brussels on 12 March. Before the formal meeting of the Council, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer attended the lunch at which prospects for Germany monetary union were discussed. The Chancellor also stressed the importance of making good progress in establishing the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and emphasised the attractions of London as its location.
During the formal Council, I represented the United Kingdom. A common position was established on the proposal to revise the financial perspective which sets out EC budgetary ceilings. A Council declaration identifying
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areas in which further measures against EC budget fraud are needed was also agreed. I stressed the importance of simplifying the relevant EC legislation, improving reporting by member states and agreeing on administrative sanctions. The Court of Auditors' annual report for 1988 formed the basis of an agreed opinion on the discharge of the 1988 budget.Revised Council decisions on the promotion of economic convergence and co- operation between central banks during stage 1 of EMU were formally adopted, and the Council took note of reports on multilateral surveillance of member states' economies during stage 1 from the monetary committee, the economic policy committee and the committee of central bank governors. I also stressed the need for early proposals from the Commission and a discussion in the Council on technical VAT and statistics systems after 1992.
Consumer Spending
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the retail price index takes full account of the increase since 1979 in (i) imputed rent and (ii) mortgage interest given in the reply to the hon. Member for Great Grimsby of 19 February, Official Report, column 524-25, concerning consumer's expenditure detailed in table 1.6 of the Monthly Digest of Statistics.
Mr. Lilley [holding answer 7 March 1990] : Imputed rents have not been used as a measure of owner-occupiers' housing costs in the retail prices index since 1975. They were then replaced by mortgage interest payments following a standardised formulation recommended by the Retail Prices Index Advisory Committee.
Female Earnings
Mr. Frank Field : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many women in work, and how many of those with children under five, have earnings below £8,500.
Mr. Lilley [holding answer 7 March 1990] : Information on the distribution of weekly earnings of women in employment is published in the 1989 new earnings survey report and information on dependent children of women in work is given in chapter 9 of the report on the 1987 general household survey. Further information is not available.
Public Sector Asset Creation
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will extend the series of total public sector asset creation as given in table 21.2.15 of the public expenditure White Paper, Cm. 1021, as far back as possible both in cash and in 1988-89 prices.
Mr. Norman Lamont [holding answer 8 March 1990] : Information on total public sector asset creation is available for the years since 1978 -79 and is given in table 21.2.16 of chapter 21 of the 1990 public expenditure White Paper in both cash and real terms (1988-89 prices).
Pay Figures
Mr. Frank Field : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will provide the pay figures for the financial year 1983-84, and as far back as is possible, on
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the same basis as those figures given in table 21.02.13 of Cm. 1021 ; if these figures, are available on a quarterly basis ; and where both sets of data are published.Mr. Norman Lamont [holding answer 9 March 1990] : Figures on a consistent basis with those given in table 21.2.13 are not readily available for earlier years. Calendar years figures for general government expenditure on wages and salaries and so on, consistent with table 9.4 of the 1989 edition of the "United Kingdom National Accounts" (the CSO Blue Book), are given in the table. These data are not on exactly the same basis as that provided in the public expenditure White Paper.
1961 |2,534
1962 |2,722
1963 |2,929
1964 |3,161
1965 |3,473
1966 |3,778
1967 |4,083
1968 |4,382
1969 |4,690
1970 |5,402
1971 |6,372
1972 |7,460
1973 |8,423
1974 |10,556
1975 |14,815
1976 |16,907
1977 |18,281
1978 |20,377
1979 |23,258
1980 |29,469
1981 |33,577
1982 |35,773
1983 |39,060
1984 |41,271
1985 |43,695
1986 |46,896
1987 |50,914
1988 |55,219
The CSO figures are higher than those in the public expenditure White Paper mainly because the former include with wages and salaries and so on, the pension increase elements of pensions paid to members of the teachers' and NHS superannuation schemes and payments to community programme participants engaged by local authorities. Quarterly figures on either basis are not available.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total expenditure by his Department on press and public relations in 1979- 80 and in each following year ; and what is his latest estimate for the current year and budget for 1990-91.
Mr. Ryder [holding answer 12 March 1990] : The expenditure for 1988-89 is £548,264, the estimated expenditure for the current year is £550,525 and the budget provision for 1990-91 is £599,680. Comparable figures for the years 1979-80 to 1987-88 are not available because of the machinery of Government changes, and could be given only at disproportionate cost.
Advertising Expenditure
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the figures for the spending by his Department on (a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising,
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(c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotional material in 1979-80 and in each following year ; and what is his latest estimate for the current year and budget for 1990-91.Mr. Ryder [holding answer 12 March 1990] : The expenditure for 1988-89 is £49,310 and the estimated expenditure for 1989-90 is £52, 486, none of which is on television or radio advertising ; the 1990-91 budget is £49,313, none of which is likely to be on television or radio advertising.
Comparable figures for the years 1979-80 to 1987-88 are not available because of the machinery of Government changes, and could be given only at disproportionate cost.
Management Consultants
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the total fees paid out by his Department to management consultants in 1979-80 and in each following year ; and what is his latest estimate for the current year and budget for 1990-91.
Mr. Ryder [holding answer 12 March 1990] : For 1979-80 and each ensuing year up to and including 1987-88, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 17 March 1989, Official Report, column 383 , by my right hon. Friend the then Paymaster General. The fees paid in 1988- 89 were £2,334,613, the estimated fees for the current year are £2,757,110 and the budget provision for 1990-91 is £3,157, 489.
National Income
Mr. Denzil Davies : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage, in the latest available year, of the national income of the United Kingdom was made up of interest, dividends and private rents.
Mr. Major [holding answer 12 March 1990] : Interest and dividends are redistributive transactions which have no net impact on national income. The share of rent in total domestic income is given in table 16.3 of the CSO publication "United Kingdom National Accounts", 1989 edition.
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Income Tax
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of income tax payers are currently paying tax at the higher rate.
Mr. Lilley [holding answer 13 March 1990] : About 7 per cent. of taxpaying single people and married couples are liable at the higher rate in 1989-90. The estimate is based on a projection of the 1987-88 survey of personal incomes and is, therefore, provisional.
Council of Ministers
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the name and status of the report of the working party which reported to the Council of Ministers of the European Economic Community, referred to by the Economic Secretary in his speech on 27 February, Official Report, column 243, the date of the Council meeting at which the report was considered, and the action then agreed ; and if he will place a copy of the report in the Library.
Mr. Curry : I have been asked to reply.
The working party referred to by my hon. Friend was an expert group chaired by the European Commission, whose report was sent to the Council of Ministers in June 1989. I am arranging for a copy to be placed in the Library. Subsequently the Council adopted regulation 3757/89 introducing compulsory physical stock checks in intervention stores. The Commission has also made regulations adjusting the flat-rate systems for financing storage and interest costs, and adopted other measures to improve the management of public storage.
HEALTH
Northern RHA (Statistics)
Mr. Leadbitter : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for each district of the Northern regional health authority the number of (a) in-patients, (b) qualified nursing staff and (c) consultants for the latest available year ; and if he will give figures for the five previous years.
Mr. Freeman : The information requested is given in the tables.
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In-patient cases treated, by district health authority, Northern RHA, 1983 to 1988-89
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(b) Qualified nursing and midwifery staff at 30 September 1983-1988 (Excludes agency staff) Source: DH (SM13C) Annual Census of NHS Non-Medical Manpower. <1>All figures are rounded to the nearest ten (10) whole-time equivalent. <2>Excludes midwifery students and health visitor students.
(c) Hospital medical and dental consultants
at 30 September each year
region |Newcastle district health authority (teaching)
1983 |908 |289
1984 |922 |291
1985 |954 |297
1986 |973 |302
1987 |1,000 |308
1988 |1,003 |277
Note: Includes permanent paid and honorary staff.
Contracts for consultants in non-teaching district health authorities are held by the regional health authorities. Districts where these staff work cannot be identified centrally, and are therefore included with the regional total.
Kidney Transplants
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give the latest conveniently available figures for the shortage of kidneys to transplant.
Mr. Freeman : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 20 February at column 720.
Health Authorities (Land Sales)
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what contribution he expects land sales to make to the revenue of health authorities in London during the coming financial year.
Mr. Freeman : In the coming financial year surplus property with an estimated value of £163 million will be available for disposal by the four Thames regional health authorities. However, the need to obtain planning permission, and the depressed and uncertain state of the property market, preclude a reliable forecast of what receipts will actually be received.
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Community Health Councils
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he last met the representatives of community health councils ; and what matters were discussed.
Mr. Freeman : My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State has not met representatives of community health councils (CHCs). However, I met the chairman and officers of the Association of Community Health Councils for England and Wales on 23 November 1989 to discuss the role of CHCs. Questions arising from the meeting are still being considered.
Dental Staff
Mr. Burns : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to issue guidance on changes to disciplinary procedures for hospital and community medical and dental staff.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : A circular containing guidance on new and revised disciplinary procedures for hospital doctors and dentists, and for community doctors, has been published today. This follows negotiations with the professions on the basis of recommendations from a joint working party. A copy of the circular, HC(90)(9), is being placed in the Library.
The circular amends the procedure for holding inquiries into doctors' alleged serious professional misconduct or incompetence--the HM(61)112 procedure--as well as the right of appeal against dismissal. Improvements include setting time limits to help reduce the cost and delay of these procedures.
Two new procedures are being introduced : professional review machinery, a peer group approach for reviewing the conduct of hospital consultants said to have failed repeatedly to honour their contractual commitments, and an intermediate procedure, which deals with allegations of professional misconduct or incompetence which are sufficiently serious to warrant disciplinary action but are unlikely to lead to dismissal.
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These changes should result in a more comprehensive disciplinary framework for medical and dental staff and should make it easier for health authorities to take appropriate action where necessary.NHS Reform
Mr. Anthony Coombs : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioner practices have registered their interest in becoming fund holders under the Government's proposed reforms for the National Health Service set out in "Working for Patients".
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : I announced this morning that 850 GP practices have so far registered their interest in becoming fund-holding practices. The response so far is a clear endorsement of the attractiveness of the scheme. It shows that significant numbers of GPs recognise the advantage of being able to choose to take control of some NHS funds to finance a range of local services for their patients and to having more influence over the quality of hospital services.
South Western RHA
Mr. Robert Hicks : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about the position of the chairman of the South Western regional health authority.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : Sir Vernon Seccombe's appointment as chairman of South Western regional health authority ends on 31 July. After seven years as regional health authority chairman, Sir Vernon has told me that he would like to continue in the National Health Service but in a position which is much nearer to his home. I have therefore asked if he would be willing to take over the chairmanship of Plymouth health authority after the current chairman retires on 31 March. I am pleased to say that Sir Vernon has accepted. I am grateful to him for all that he has achieved during his successful period of office as regional health authority chairman and glad that he will continue as a district health authority chairman. The precise date for Sir Vernon to take up his new responsibilities will be announced shortly. Sir Vernon's successor as regional health authority chairman will also be announced shortly.
Salmonella
Sir Peter Emery : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of salmonella infection in human beings have been proved absolutely to have arisen from the consumption of eggs ; and in how many cases it was impossible to trace back to an egg or to an egg farm such infection and assumptions made that it originated in this manner.
Mr. Freeman : The evidence linking eggs and salmonella infection in man is based on many different kinds of information. It is not often possible to prove absolutely the cause and effect in individual cases--any more than individual cases of cancer of the lung can be proven as due to cigarettes.
Since the beginning of 1988, the PHLS communicable disease surveillance centre (CDSC) has investigated 11 outbreaks (involving at least 759 people) of salmonella infection in which a statistical association with eggs was
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found. In five of these (involving at least 341 people) there was supporting microbiological evidence. Most of these investigations have been published in the medical literature.In 1988 and 1989, public health professionals reported to CDSC 76 outbreaks (involving at least 1,257 people) which they attributed to eggs or foods which contained egg.
Egg packaging is required to show certain information, for example, the packaging station number which will assist investigations to trace back eggs implicated in food poisoning outbreaks. However, the packaging may not always be available and, when it is, it is not always possible to identify a producer particularly in those cases where a packing station is handling eggs from more than one source.
Storm Damage
Mr. David Howell : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what insurance cover is provided to district health authorities for the protection of hospitals and other buildings against storm damage ; what estimates he has received of the damage inflicted by storms in January and February on property belonging to district and regional health authorities ; and what funds will be made available to repair the damage caused.
Mr. Freeman : NHS property is not covered by commercial insurance. Authorities are therefore expected to make some provision within their allocations to meet such contingencies. Information is not held centrally on the total damage to NHS property in January and February. Initial provisional estimates from regions which suffered damage arising from the storm on 25 January amount to about £12 million.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Dogs (Hunting)
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to prohibit hare coursing and deer hunting with dogs ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The Government believe that participation in field sports is a matter for the conscience of the individual and have no plans for legislation to prohibit or restrict such activities.
Grants to Local Government
Mr. John Townend : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the main purposes for which grants under section 11 of the Local Government Act 1966 are paid to local authorities.
Mr. Waddington [pursuant to the reply, 7 December 1989, c. 395] : I have today published my proposals for the improved administration of section 11 grant in the form of a draft circular to local authorities on which I am inviting comments. Copies have been placed in the Library.
The new arrangements are the outcome of the Government's consideration of the scrutiny report into the workings of the grant. Some £89 million section 11 grant was paid out in 1988-89 (the latest year for which figures are available) ; provision of £110 million has been secured for 1990- 91.
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Our ethnic minorities make a substantial contribution to this country. The Government are committed to equality of opportunity and good community relations. Barriers which prevent ethnic minorities from making their full contribution to the life of the country must be broken down. The reforms that we propose are designed to enable section 11 to make a major contribution to this objective. The grant has an important role in enabling people from the ethnic minorities to participate fully in the mainstream of British life. This is the Government's prime objective in the reforms proposed for the policy and administration of the grant in the light of the scrutiny report. The scrutiny report shows that new legislation will be needed for any fundamental reform of section 11.The Government agree that it is desirable to make the existing legislation more relevant to current needs, but believe that much can be done, in advance of any possible legislative change, to improve the way in which section 11 funding is administered. The main changes in funding arrangements set out in the draft circular are : the emphasis of the grant in future will be put on practical projects working to identified needs, such as a lack of English language or low achievement in schools and local authorities will in future bid for funding for projects to be judged against such specific criteria ;
all projects will have to be regularly monitored and reviewed against recognisable performance targets ;
in advance of formal legislative change arrangements are being made for some section 11 funding to be redirected to innovative projects that tackle ethnic minority need, to be sponsored by the new training and enterprise councils (TECs), with task forces and city action teams in support ;
local authorities will be strongly encouraged to work with voluntary organisations and to identify a proportion of projects for the voluntary sector ;
new administrative arrangements would come into effect on 1 October 1991. Bids for funding will be invited on an annual basis to a fixed timetable.
The new arrangements will allow for wider and more innovative proposals, but existing projects will still be able to continue if they are brought within the new criteria. To increase effectiveness, all projects, whether local authority or voluntary sector-based, will need to set clear objectives for achievement. For example, specific objectives for section 11 funding in education are :
to give school age children whose mother tongue is not English a command of English and to help them achieve at the same level as others in their age group in all areas of the curriculum ;
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to strengthen ties between schools and the parents of ethnic minority pupils, where those ties are hard to establish because of parents' lack of English or because of cultural factors ; to give ethnic minority adults, who have an inadequate command of English or who lack numeracy or literacy skills, sufficient knowledge and skills to compete for jobs and participate fully in the mainstream of national life.Some specific objectives in the area of employment, training and enterprise are :
to increase the awareness and take-up of the range of educational and employment opportunities by young people from ethnic minorities and to advise employers and community groups on the potential and training needs of such people ;
to secure better take-up by ethnic minorities of small business support services to promote the creation and growth of small firms and self- employment.
The grant can help ethnic minorities in need in a number of ways by providing or aiding the provision of :
Services that cater for the particular problems faced by ethnic minority women and their children, for example, family and women's refuges and maternity social workers.
Social workers able to give help to ethnic minorities who are isolated, speak and write little or no English and experience cultural barriers to full use of services of the elderly ; advice on fostering and adoption and help in the case of mental and physical illness.
The proposals in the circular will encourage the widest take-up in grant while at the same time ensuring that grant-seekers do not become wholly dependent on funding.
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