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|£000's
--------------------------
Derbyshire |35.2
Kirklees |26.7
Oxfordshire |15.8
Richmond |54.1
Surrey |39.0
Manchester Education Authority
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on his Department's meeting on 4 April with the deputation from Manchester education authority.
Mr. Alan Howarth : I met a delegation from the authority on 4 April. The delegation drew to my attention a number of concerns, especially the level of Manchester's annual capital guideline for 1990-91. The Department has made careful note of the points raised at the meeting and will bear them in mind in future discussions with the authority.
Voluntary Youth Organisations
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will set the level of funding for 1990-91 for voluntary youth organisations ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. MacGregor : The Department has allocated £2.1 million in grant aid to 67 national voluntary youth organisations for the 1990-91 financial year, for a range of programmes of work related to this Department's priority objectives for the youth service. The organisations concerned have been informed individually of their allocations.
Discretionary Awards
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the level of expenditure by local authorities on discretionary awards to 16 to 18-year-olds in 1987-88.
Mr. Jackson : For the academic year 1987-88, local authorities in England and Wales reported expenditure of nearly £38 million on lesser -value discretionary awards made under section 2 of the 1962 Education Act (as amended) to students aged 16 to 18.
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National Curriculum
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he now expects to announce the remaining subject working parties for the national curriculum ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. MacGregor : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that my hon. Friend gave him on 15 March 1990, Official Report, column 318 .
Special Needs
Mr. Paice : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has on the provision of funding for in-service training for teachers specialising in special needs subject areas for the years 1985 -86 to 1989-90.
Mr. MacGregor : Under the local education authority training grants scheme and the in-service teacher training grants scheme which it replaced, funds have been made available in each of these years for the training of teachers in special needs areas. Under the previous scheme, the funding was intended to cover expenditure of about £1.98 million in 1985-86 and about £2.079 million in 1986-87 on training teachers in special educational needs in ordinary schools. Under the present scheme, the total amounts of expenditure eligible for support in the relevant national priority areas were as follows :
|(£000s)
--------------------------------------------------------
1987-88
Special needs (schools) |3,500
Special needs (further education) |500
|------
Total |4,000
1988-89
Hearing impairments |1,500
Visual impairments |600
Severe learning difficulties |2,200
Designated teachers in ordinary schools |1,240
Special needs (further education) |600
|------
Total |6,140
1989-90
Hearing impairments |1,700
Visual impairments |900
Severe learning difficulties |2,500
Designated teachers in ordinary schools |1,400
Special needs (further education) |600
|------
Total |7,100
Allergy Research
Mr. Paice : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what research projects financed by the Medical Research Council are being carried out into allergies.
Mr. Jackson : The latest information available from the medical research council (MRC) indicates that in 1988-89 total expenditure on projects wholly or partly related to allergies was about £1 million. A full list of such projects funded in 1989-90 will be available from the MRC in July.
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Bradford Community College
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will take steps to make extra funds immediately available to Bradford community college to obviate reductions in the numbers of students enrolled at the college and redundancies of teaching staff ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jackson : Bradford's education component of its standard spending assessment (SSA) for 1990-91 is £179.7 million. Decisions about service budgets and the allocation of resources are a matter for the authority.
Schools Budgets
Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) if he has any proposals to ensure that schools operating local management of schools receive a very high proportion of the schools' budget ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) if he will make it his policy to devolve the whole of the schools' budget to eligible schools operating under local management of schools ; and if he will make a statement ;
(3) what measures are in place on the proportion that local education authorities can retain of schools' budgets ; and if he will make a statement ;
(4) what powers he has to ensure that a high proportion of the schools' budget is administered by the schools themselves.
Mrs. Rumbold : Statutory guidance on local management of schools states that local education authorities are expected to delegate to governors responsibility for the large majority of their expenditure on schools. Most of the resources held back at the discretion of local education authorities are subject to an initial overall ceiling of 10 per cent. of total spending, with a target of reducing this proportion to 7 per cent. within three years. We will review in the light of experience the limit on discretionary retention of resources, including the items of spending subject to this limit.
Education Support Grant, Liverpool
Mr. Hind : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much money was available to Liverpool local authorities in education support grants in each of the last three years, and how much of the funding was taken up by Liverpool city council in each of those years.
Mr. MacGregor : The amounts of grant allocated to the local education authorities in the Liverpool area under the education support grants programmes for the last three years were as follows :
£,000
|1987-88|1988-89|1989-90
-------------------------------------------
Knowsley |373.7 |541.0 |1,031.8
Liverpool |679.4 |941.5 |855.3
St. Helens |321.0 |455.6 |659.7
Sefton |154.6 |456.5 |519.8
Wirral |445.5 |521.6 |630.3
The amount of grant claimed by Liverpool LEA in 1987-88 was £655, 300 and in 1988-89 £896,300, representing a take-up of 96 per cent. and 95 per cent.
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respectively of the LEA's approved allocations in those years. Figures for 1989-90 are not yet available, since a final claim for the last quarter of the financial year has not yet been submitted.ENERGY
Gas Tariffs
Mr. Rost : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will amend the Gas Act 1986 to reduce the 25,000 therm threshold for tariff control.
Mr. Peter Morrison : The Government's views on the 25,000 therm boundary is included in its response to the recommendations of the second report of the Energy Select Committee on industrial gas prices.
Electricity Bills
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what assessment has been made of the effect of offering rebates on domestic electricity bills to prospective shareholders of the distribution companies on (a) the number of applications for shares, (b) the unit price of electricity for non-shareholder consumers and (c) electricity conservation ;
(2) what proposals he has for offering rebates on domestic electricity bills to the prospective or actual shareholders of the electricity distribution companies ; and if he will make a statement ;
(3) whether any rebate he proposes for shareholders, prospective or actual, of the electricity distribution companies on their bills will apply to business customers (a) under 100,000 kw, (b) under 1 mw, (c) over 1 mw and (d) over 50 mw.
Mr. Baldry : No decisions have yet been taken on any incentives that may be available to shareholders and customers of the electricity distribution companies.
Electricity
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Devon, North (Mr. Speller) of 2 april, Official Report, column 411, he will make it his policy to require the National Grid Company to purchase the renewables-sourced energy on behalf of public electricity suppliers in England and Wales.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is his most up-to-date assessment of the amount of renewables-sourced energy purchased by the public electricity suppliers in England and Wales in (a) 1995, (b) 2000 and (c) 2005.
Mr. Peter Morrison : The amount of renewables-sourcesd electricity purchased by the public electricity suppliers during the lifetime of the non-fossil fuel obligation will be influenced by the level of the obligation, and applications to contract within the first NFFO renewables order are now being processed by the suppliers in consultation with my Department. A series of further tranches will be brought forward during the 1990s ; these are currently expected to total some 600 mw. The amount of renewables-sourced electricity puchased outside the obligation is a commercial matter for the suppliers themselves.
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Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is his most up-to-date assessment of the impact of the European Commission decision of 28 March approving the Government's non-fossil fuel obligation for the period 1990 to 1998 on the amount of renewables-sourced energy purchased by the public electricity suppliers of England and Wales in the year 2000.
Mr. Peter Morrison : The Commission's decision to authorise aid in relation to United Kingdom nuclear electricity will mean that the amount of renewables-sourced electricity generating capacity will be significantly higher throughout the 1990s than if the non-fossil fuel obligation had not existed.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is his most up-to-date assessment of the level of renewables-sourced energy purchased by the public electricity suppliers of England and Wales in the year 2000 and 2005 coming from (a) methane gas recovery from landfill, (b) refuse incineration, (c) small-scale hydro and (d) wind power.
Mr. Peter Morrison : Renewables technologies have the potential to make a substantial contribution to electricity generating capacity. My Department's most recent assessment of the extent of this contribution is set out in Energy Paper No. 55, copies of which are in the Libraries of both Houses.
Nuclear Installations (Safety Reviews)
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when he expects to receive the final reports of the current long-term safety reviews on (a) Dungeness A, (b) Hinkley Point A and (c) Trawsfynydd.
Mr. Baldry : I understand that the Health and Safety Executive's nuclear installations inspectorate is currently undertaking detailed assessment of the long-term safety reviews prepared by the licensee at Dungeness A, Hinkley Point A, and Trawsfynydd. The inspectorate's findings will be published over the next nine to 18 months.
Radioactive Gas Emissions, Sellafield
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what assessment has been made of the extent to which the operation of the Pond 5 fuel-handling plant and the actions of staff at Sellafield have met health and safety requirements on each occasion that there has been an emission of radioactive gas from the pond arising from chemical reactions or works being carried out in each year since 1985.
Mr. Baldry : I understand that during the operation of this plant there has been no incident which has led to significant emissions of radioactive gas.
Energy Technology Reports
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what were the main conclusions of the Energy Technology Support Unit report on environmental and economic implications of small scale CHP ; and if he will place a copy in the Library.
Mr. Peter Morrison : The report, the third in the energy and environment paper series by the Department's chief
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scientist's group at ETSU, examines the possible environmental and economic potential of small-scale combined heat and power (CHP) in Britain, and considers the realistic contribution that it might make to the abatement of greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide. The broad conclusions of the report are that, in the longer term, there is a realistic prospect that small-scale CHP could provide electricity equivalent to about 10 per cent. of current demand, and that this would cut United Kingdom carbon dioxide emissions by 4 per cent.I have arranged for copies of the report to be placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what were the main conclusions of the Energy Technology Support Unit report on the abatement of gaseous emissions by energy-efficient lighting ; and if he will place a copy in the Library.
Mr. Peter Morrison : The report from the Department's chief scientist's group at ETSU, assessed the scope for using existing technologies to improve the energy efficiency of lighting in the United Kingdom. The broad conclusions are that, using cost effective measures, 8 per cent. of United Kingdom electricity demand could be saved ; that the minimum potential for reduction in emissions of carbon dioxide (CO ) was calculated to be equivalent to 2 per cent. of current United Kingdom CO emissions ; and that, including reductions in other gases such as methane, total emissions of greenhouse gases would be reduced by 1.4 per cent.
I have arranged for a copy of the report to be placed in the Library of the House.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Business Investment
109. Mr. Jacques Arnold : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of gross domestic product was accounted for by business investment in 1989.
115. Mr. Mans : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of gross domestic product was accounted for by business investment in 1989.
122. Mr. Arbuthnot : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of gross domestic product was accounted for by business investment in 1989.
Mr. Norman Lamont : Business investment accounted for 13 per cent. of gross domestic product at current market prices in 1989.
Mr. Sumberg : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the level of business investment during 1989 and 1988.
Mr. Norman Lamont : Business investment reached £56 billion in 1989, at constant 1985 prices, up from £51.5 billion in 1988. Between 1986 and 1989 business investment grew by over 40 per cent. in volume terms.
European Monetary System
110. Mr. Fearn : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from British industry regarding British entry into the exchange rate mechanism of the European monetary system.
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Mr. Ryder : My right hon. Friend has received a number of representations.Interest Rates
111. Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the effect of high interest rates on businesses.
Mr. Ryder : Interest rates have been set to put downward pressure on inflation, which is the greatest threat to the future prosperity of business.
Manufacturing Investment
113. Mr. Tim Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the level of manufacturing investment in (a) 1989 and (b) 1982.
121. Mr. Stevens : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the level of manufacturing investment in (a) 1989 and (b) 1982.
Mr. Norman Lamont : Estimates of manufacturing investment for 1989 and 1982 are shown at table I of the GDP press notice (CSO(90)39) released on 16 March. Copies of the notice are available from the House of Commons Library.
Manufacturing Industry (Labour Costs)
114. Mr. Butterfill : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the unit labour costs for United Kingdom manufacturing industry for the last three years.
Mr. Norman Lamont : The figures for unit labour costs for the United Kingdom manufacturing industries are given in the table.
Year |Manufac- |Percentage
|turing Unit |Changes
|Labour costs
|1985=100
----------------------------------------------------
1986 |104.6
1987 |105.2 |0.6
1988 |106.3 |1.0
1989 |110.5 |4.0
EC (Trade Balance)
116. Mr. Allen Adams : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the balance of trade with the European Economic Community in (a) 1979 and (b) 1989.
117. Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the balance of trade with the European Economic Community in (a) 1979 and (b) 1989.
119. Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the balance of trade with the European Economic Community in (a) 1979 and (b) 1989.
Mr. Norman Lamont : The information may be found in the monthly review of the external trade statistics and its 1989 mid-year supplement, available from the Library of the House, or on the Central Statistical Office database which may be accessed through the Library.
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Manufacturing Output
118. Mr. Hannam : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the level of manufacturing output in (a) 1988 and (b) 1983.
120. Mr. Riddick : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the level of manufacturing output in (a) 1988 and (b) 1983.
123. Mr. Amess : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the level of manufacturing output in (a) 1988 and (b) 1983.
124. Mr. Patrick Thompson : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the level of manufacturing output in (a) 1988 and (b) 1983.
Mr. Norman Lamont : Figures on the level of United Kingdom manufacturing output are published in the monthly index of output of the production industries press notice, table 1.
Training
Mr. Amos : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what effect he expects his Budget to have on training.
Mr. Norman Lamont : My right hon. Friend the Chancellor proposed a tax relief on business donations to the new training and enterprise councils, or TECS, most of which will be coming into operation over the next year. I expect this to encourage businesses to contribute more money to local training and enterprise initiatives.
Football
Mr. David Evans : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from football authorities about his Budget.
Mr. Ryder : The Football Association, the Football League and the Football Trust have expressed appreciation of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor's proposal to reduce the rate of pool betting duty for the benefit of football supporters.
Top Rate Tax
Mr. Hanley : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer(1) by how much revenue from top rate tax has risen in (a) percentage terms and (b) real percentage terms since the top rate was reduced to 40 per cent. ;
(2) by how much revenue from top rate tax has changed since the top rate was reduced to 40 per cent.
Mr. Lilley : Liability to income tax at rates of 40 per cent. and above is estimated to have increased by £3.1 billion between 1987-88 and 1990-91, an increase of 40 per cent. in nominal terms and 15 per cent. in real terms. The estimate is based on a projection of the 1987-88 survey of personal incomes and is provisional. It reflects independent taxation and the allowances and thresholds proposed in the 1990 Budget.
Mr. Hanley : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many taxpayers he estimates would pay more in tax were the top rate to be raised from 40 to 50 per cent.;
(2) how much revenue would be raised were the top rate of tax raised from 40 to 50 per cent.
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Mr. Lilley : The revenue yield in a full year at 1990-91 levels for income from an increase in the higher rate of income tax from 40 to 50 per cent. is estimated to be £3 billion ; 1.7 million taxpayers would pay more tax. The estimates are based on a projection of the 1987-88 survey of personal incomes and are provisional. They reflect independent taxation and the levels of allowances and thresholds announced in the 1990 Budget, but they exclude the consequential effects on capital gains tax and any behavioural effects.Investment Income
Mr. Hanley : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how much revenue he estimates would be raised by a 7.5 per cent. investment income surcharge on investment income above (a) £5,000, (b) £2, 500 and (c) £1,000 in 1989-90 ;
(2) how much revenue he estimates would have been raised by a five per cent. investment income surcharge on investment income above (a) £5,000, (b) £2,500 and (c) £1,000 in 1989-90.
Mr. Lilley : Provisional estimates are as follows :
Yield in a full year for 1989-90 £ million Threshold Rate of surcharge £ |5 per cent. |7.5 per cent. -------------------------------------------------------- 1,000 |1,000 |1,500 2,500 |800 |1,200 5,000 |600 |900
Estimates are based on a projection of the 1987-88 survey of personal incomes and are, therefore, provisional.
Capital Gains Tax
Mr. Hanley : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would have been the revenue gain of a capital gains tax threshold of £2,500 in the last financial year.
Mr. Lilley : It is tentatively estimated that the full year yield of a reduction in the 1989-90 capital gains tax annual exempt amount to £2,500 would be of the order of £100 million. This estimate allows for some change in taxpayers' behaviour in response to the reduced annual exempt amount, but does not allow for possible short-term effects. No allowance has been made for any change in the treatment of capital gains of companies which are taxed within corporation tax.
Environmental Quality
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact of the fiscal measures he has taken in his Budget on the quality of the United Kingdom environment.
Mr. McCartney : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact of the fiscal measures he has taken in his Budget on the quality of the United Kingdom environment.
Mr. Lilley : The Budget proposed a widening of the price differential between unleaded and 4-star leaded petrol from 14.2 to 15.6 a gallon (3.1 to 3.4p a litre). This will continue the process, begun in the 1987 Budget, of encouraging car drivers to switch to the use of unleaded
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petrol. The burden of taxation on motorists was also shifted from vehicle excise duty, which was frozen, to petrol usage ; the duty was more than revalorised to compensate. The Budget also proposed that tax relief be made available for expenditure by waste disposal operators on preparing sites for waste disposal and making sites good after disposal operations have ceased. These measures will bring worthwhile environmental benefits.Duty-Free Allowances
Mr. John Townend : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will review the travellers' allowance which at present applies to goods obtained outside the European Community.
Mr. Ryder : The allowances for goods obtained outside the EC derive from EC legislation. They include both quantitative limits on alcohol and tobacco, and a £32 value allowance for other items. The £32 value allowance has the limited purpose of waiving duty and tax on small purchases of a personal or souvenir nature. The Government have long supported Commission proposals to increase this very low allowance, but some member states have blocked any rise for fear of the increased revenue loss from cross-border shopping or through opposition to the availability of duty-free sales for intra-EC traffic, to which the same level of allowances applies.
The Government remain committed to a substantial increase in this allowance.
Departmental Staff
Mr. Tom Arnold : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the responsibilities of each of the deputy secretaries in his Department and the number and ranks of staff reporting to each.
Mr. Ryder : There are six deputy secretaries in the Treasury. Their responsibilities and the number of staff who report to them are as follows :
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