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Mr. Curry : In setting research priorities, we take full account of the advice of the priorities board for research and development in agriculture and food. In preparing its advice to Agriculture Ministers and the chairman of the Agricultural and Food Research Council, the priorities board draws on the views of retailers, as well as food manufacturers, farmers, growers, academics and others.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Local Government Finance
Mr. Hind : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer by how much local authorities overspent in 1989-90 and 1988-89 ; what were the effects on inflation ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Norman Lamont : Local authorities' total net current expenditure exceeded their grant-related expenditure (GRE) by 7 per cent. in both 1988- 89 and 1989-90.
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Increases in total domestic rates added around 0.36 per cent. and 0.4 per cent. to the level of the RPI in 1988-89 and 1989-90 respectively.Supply Side
Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent measures he has introduced affecting the supply side of the economy.
Mr. Norman Lamont : The Government have introduced many measures designed to improve the operation of the supply side of the economy, through improved incentives, more open markets, the abolition of unnecessary or obsolete regulations, and the introduction of greater competition to the public sector. The following are among the most recent measures introduced which should have important supply side effects.
The successful transfer of the 10 water supply companies to the private sector last December means that since 1979 we have reduced the size of the state-owned sector of industry by almost half. The future privatisation programme includes the sale of the 12 regional electricity distribution companies in England and Wales in the autumn. And, of course, more competition has been introduced into the electricity generating industry with the splitting of the CEGB into National Power and PowerGen, leading up to their intended privatisation early next year. The Scottish electricity industry will also be sold next year.
The Employment Act 1989 has continued the Government's process of gradual reform of industrial relations legislation to remove inflexibilities from the labour market and reduce unions' capacity to abuse their market power. Specifically the Act removed the remaining legal protection from all types of closed shop, and from secondary industrial action. The Dock Work Act 1989 repealed the national dock labour scheme, so removing the unneccessary costs imposed by its restrictive labour practices.
Last October saw two highly significant reforms : the reform of employees' national insurance contributions which cut contributions for virtually all employees, and removed a major disincentive to the low-paid who previously lost out when their income rose above the two intermediate steps, now abolished ; and the abolition of the pensioners' earnings rule which also removed a severe disincentive, allowing a large number of pensioners to work and earn more income without having their pensions abated or eliminated altogether. We have now launched the first training and enterprise councils, or TECs (local enterprise councils in Scotland), which will be charged with developing the quality effectiveness and relevance to local labour markets of the Government's existing training and business assistance programme.
The Budget last month included a number of measures of specific help to small businesses, whose general success is vital to the efficient operation of the supply side. These included an increase in the small firms corporation tax threshold, a comprehensive system of relief from VAT on bad debts, simplification of VAT registration rules, and the maximum increase in the VAT registration threshold allowed under EC law.
The Budget also gave a further boost to the Government's measures to encourage wider share ownership by increasing the annual limit on investment in
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a personal equity plan, and providing capital gains tax deferral for sales of shares to employee share ownership plans. In addition, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced the Government's intention to abolish stamp duty on share transactions. This will reduce the cost of share dealing, improving the competitiveness of the United Kingdom equity market and encouraging the spread of share ownership. This reform will take effect in late 1991-92, to coincide with the introduction of the stock exchange's TAURUS dematerialised (paperless) share register and settlement system.Public Sector Investment
Mr. Adley : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about changing guidelines on public sector investment criteria.
Mr. Norman Lamont : The Treasury issues guidance on investment appraisal by central Government, as do Departments for their own programmes. These documents are revised from time to time to reflect improvements in methodology, the objective in all cases being to achieve best value for money.
Farm Land (Sporting Rights)
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what representations he has received about the valuation of sporting rights on farm land;
(2) representations he has received about value added tax on sporting rights on farm land.
Mr. Ryder : The only recent representations on these matters of which I am aware are contained in a letter from my hon. Friend to my noble Friend the Paymaster General.
Community Support Loans
Mr. Leighton : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the legal conditionality which might attach to any Community support loans referred to in his answer to the hon. Member for Richmond and Barnes (Mr. Hanley) on 3 April, Official Report, column 523.
Mr. Ryder : The possibility of attaching binding economic conditions to support loans from the Community to an individual member state was discussed at the last informal ECOFIN, but no formal proposal has been put forward.
Delors Plan
Mr. Denzil Davies : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the latest proposals of the European Community Commission on the Delors plan and the financing by member states of budget deficits by monetary means.
Mr. Ryder : The European Commission's latest report, entitled "Economic and Monetary Union : The Economic Rationale and Design of the System", was deposited in the Vote Office with an explanatory memorandum on Tuesday 24 April. This report notes that there is a "virtual consensus" in the Community in favour of a rule proposing no monetary financing of public deficits.
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ECOFIN
Mr. Norris : 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. Major : The ECOFIN Council met in Luxembourg on 23 April. The Paymaster General and I represented the United Kingdom. The Council heard a report on the presidency's negotiations with the European Parliament on the revision of the financial perspective but without substantive discussion. The German Finance Minister reported on the latest developments regarding economic and monetary union between the two Germanies. There was further discussion of the site and presidency of the European bank for reconstruction and development. I stressed the strong case for London and the need for an early decision in order to begin the bank's work in eastern Europe as soon as possible. I also emphasised the need to maintain budgetary discipline in the context of agricultural price fixing.
A brief note from the presidency outlining the necessary procedures for conducting multilateral surveillance of member states' economies was also agreed, as was the text of a speech to be given by the presidency at the forthcoming meeting of the interim committee of the International Monetary Fund.
The presidency offered a progress report on discussions concerning the scope of zero and reduced VAT rates, pointing out that there was a need for further work on a wide range of issues before decisions could be taken. In the subsequent discussion, the Paymaster General expressed our regret that no progress was made in accepting the Commission's proposals for substantial increases in travellers' allowances between now and the completion of the single market on 1 January 1993.
A package of three tax measures which would encourage cross-border co- operation in tax affairs was also discussed but without agreement.
Arms Exports
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what routine arrangements exist for co-ordination between Customs and Excise officers and the Department of Trade and Industry to ensure that regulations prohibiting the export of arms are carried out ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Ryder [holding answer 23 April 1990] : Customs and Excise is in regular contact with the DTI on these matters. In particular, whenever customs staff at ports and airports in the course of their routine monitoring arrangements have grounds for suspecting an export licensing irregularity they are required to contact the Department of Trade and Industry for a ruling on the licensability of the items in question.
Unit Labour Costs
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the annual percentage rise in unit labour costs in manufacturing in West Germany, France, Italy, the United States, Japan, Sweden and the United Kingdom since 1979.
Mr. Norman Lamont [holding answer 23 April 1990] : Following is the information requested.
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|c|Growth in manufacturing unit labour costs in
national currencies|c|
(annual average percentage
change)
|1979-88<1>|1979-89
------------------------------------------------
United Kingdom |5.0 |4.9
United States |2.3 |-
Japan |-1.2 |-
Germany |3.2 |-
France |6.2 |-
Italy |8.5 |-
Sweden |6.1 |-
<1> Latest complete annual data.
Source: IMF except for United Kingdom (CSO).
Optical Equipment
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) shops and (b) manufacturers dealing with optical equipment were trading in Britain in 1987 ; and what are the current figures.
Mr. Norman Lamont [holding answer 20 April 1990] : What information is available is shown in the table.
|c|Total number of legal units registered for VAT as at end of
April 1989|c|
|1987 |<1>1989
-----------------------------------------------------------------
(a) Shops
Opticians |<2>2,200|2,476
Chemists and photographic shops |8,717 |8,528
(b) Manufacturers
Surgical instruments and appliances |409 |402
Scientific and industrial instruments
and systems |2,807 |2,961
Photographic and document copying
equipment |124 |155
<1>Latest year for which figures are available.
<2>Opticians were not required to register for VAT in 1987. This
figure, which is comparable to that shown for 1989, is estimated
from entries in the Opticians Register for 1987.
Source: CSO Register of Businesses.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Cambodia
Mr. Ernie Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has had an opportunity to discuss the Australian peace proposals for Cambodia ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maude : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to my hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe (Mr. Lester) on 26 March, at columns 29-30.
Afghanistan
Mr. Cummings : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs under what conditions diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and Afghanistan will be re-established ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maude : Diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and Afghanistan have not been broken. British diplomats were temporarily withdrawn from Kabul in February 1989. It is still too early to say when they will return.
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Mr. Cummings : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he will take to prevent weapons from reaching elements opposed to the Government of Afghanistan in Afghanistan ; and whether he will raise this matter with the United States of America or at the United Nations.
Mr. Maude : None. We understand the issue of arms supplies to all sides is under discussion by the parties to the 1988 Geneva accords.
China
Mr. Wallace : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether any recent representations have been made to the Government of the Republic of China regarding human rights violations since the events in June 1989 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maude : We and our EC partners have made our concerns very clear. On 2 and 21 February, the EC presidency in the UN Commission on Human Rights recorded the deep dismay of the international community at the repression of peaceful demonstrations in June 1989, and called upon the Chinese authorities to guarantee full respect for human rights throughout China, including Tibet. On 7 March, Britain and its EC partners co- sponsored a resolution in the Commission on Human Rights critical of human rights violations in China, which was narrowly defeated. We and our EC partners made representations in February to the Chinese Government about the arrests of Catholic priests.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his Department's latest estimate of the number of deaths in the incident in Tiananmen square, Peking.
Mr. Maude : It is not possible to provide a precise figure for the number of deaths in Peking last June. Amnesty International estimated that at least 1,000 civilians died.
Middle East
Mr. Cummings : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has discussed with his Israeli counterpart, or any Israeli official, the issue of nuclear or chemical weapon proliferation in the middle east ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Waldegrave : No, but my right hon. and learned Friend the then Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs raised the question of Israeli accession to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty during his talks with Professor Arens on 15 February 1989.
Mr. Cummings : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the United Nations and other international bodies on the Israeli treatment of the Palestinians.
Mr. Waldegrave : We are in touch with interested UN agencies and other international organisations about Israel's treatment of Palestinians in the occupied territories, which unfortunately often falls below the expected standard. We take every opportunity to remind the Israeli authorities of their obligation to administer the occupied territories in accordance with their obligations under international law.
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Mr. Cummings : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if, through the British consulate in east Jerusalem, Her Majesty's Government are monitoring Israeli use of west bank water resources, in respect of possible contraventions of the 1949 Geneva convention on the responsibilities of occupiers.Mr. Waldegrave : We take a close interest in all aspects of the Israeli administration of the occupied territories and take every opportunity to remind the Israeli authorities of their obligations to respect international law. My right hon. Friend the then Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs mentioned the question of discriminatory allocation of water resources to the Foreign Minister of Israel when they met in New York in September last.
Mr. Cummings : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on progress in the middle east peace process and on the relations between the Palestine Liberation Organisation and Her Majesty's Government.
Mr. Waldegrave : Our aim is to encourage a dialogue between Israel and representative Palestinians as a first step towards a comprehensive settlement of the Arab/Israel dispute. We look to the next Israeli Government to pursue such a dialogue with vigour and speed. We use our frequent contacts with the PLO to urge it to maintain its welcome commitment to a peaceful, negotiated settlement.
Mr. Cummings : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Her Majesty's Government are monitoring Israeli use of the natural resources of the west bank and Gaza strip.
Mr. Waldegrave : We take a close interest in all aspects of the Israeli administration of the occupied territories, including the use of natural resources, and take every opportunity to remind the Israeli authorities of their obligation to respect international law.
Mr. Cummings : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the United States and the European Community on violations of the 1949 Geneva convention in the occupied territories on the west bank and the Gaza strip ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Waldegrave : We are in frequent contact with the United States and our EC partners about Israel's administration of the occupied territories. We take every opportunity to remind the Israeli authorities of their obligations under international law.
Israel
Mr. Cummings : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on the possession by Israel of chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons.
Mr. Waldegrave : As far as we are aware, Israel has never confirmed or denied possession of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons.
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Iraq
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will instruct the United Kingdom ambassador to the United Nations to initiate investigations at the United Nations into the Iraqi nuclear weapons programme.
Mr. Waldegrave : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 19 April, at column 1013. I have nothing further to add.
Libya
Mr. Janman : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received on the article in "Defence and Foreign Affairs Weekly", volume XVI, No. 10, 12 to 18 March, by Gregory R. Copley, on the current situation in Libya and the declining political position of Colonel Gadaffi ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Waldegrave : We have received no such representations and we have no diplomatic relations with Libya.
Chile
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been made by Her Majesty's embassy in Santiago to the new Chilean Government concerning human rights and political prisoners ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maude : Shortly before the inauguration of President Aylwin on 11 March, Her Majesty's ambassador wrote to the Minister of Justice- designate to remind him of our concern about excessive delays in the remand procedure under the former regime and its use of military courts to try civilians, and particularly the case of Sra Ledy Castro, since freed on bail.
More recently, my right hon. and learned Friend the Lord President of the Council, who attended the celebrations following President Aylwin's inauguration, expressed to the new Chilean Ministers our satisfaction at their approach to the human rights problem.
ENVIRONMENT
Homelessness
3. Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his most recent assessment of the level of homelessness in England and Wales.
43. Mr. Clay : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the total housing needs of homeless people.
Mr. Michael Spicer : The most recent figures available give a total of 31,840 households accepted as homeless by local authorities in England in the last quarter of 1989. Homelessness in Wales is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.
19. Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give the latest figures for homelessness in Yorkshire and Humberside region ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Chope : Accommodation was found for 3,100 households accepted as homeless by local authorities in Yorkshire and Humberside in the last quarter of 1989.34. Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received regarding the level of homelessness in Leicester.
Mr. Michael Spicer : Over the past year my officers have discussed the problem of homelessness with Leicester city council twice. The director of housing has written to my Department requesting additional resources to help deal with it.
58. Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he has to fund programmes to accommodate permanently people sleeping rough in London.
Mr. Skinner : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the implementation of new proposals to deal with the problem of teenage homelessness.
Mr. Michael Spicer : The Government are concerned about the needs of rough sleepers and Departments are looking at the way their policies work together to ensure that appropriate assistance is available. An announcement will be made in due course.
62. Mr. Ian Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proportion of households accepted as homeless in 1989 was as a result of a breakdown in family life or because of a breakdown of a relationship with a partner.
Mr. Michael Spicer : Local authorities make quarterly returns of the numbers of households for which they have accepted responsibility for securing accommodation under the homelessness provisions of the Housing Act 1985. They also provide a breakdown of these acceptances by the main immediate reasons for homelessness.
For 1989 the figures are as follows :
|per cent.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Parents, relatives or friends no longer able/willing to
accommodate |43
Breakdown of relationship with partner |17
Mortgage arrears |6
Rent arrears:
Local authority dwellings |3
Private dwellings |2
Loss of private rented dwelling (other reasons) |12
Loss of service tenancy |4
Other |13
|-------
All reasons |100
(Number of households accepted-100 per cent. |(126,240)
51. Mr. Fraser : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has any new proposals to deal with the problem of homeless families and homeless single people.
69. Mr. Squire : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a further statement on Government assistance for the homeless.
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73. Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he plans any new initiatives to deal with homelessness.
81. Mr. Leighton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make a further statement on the progress of his proposals about homelessness in England and Wales.
Mr. Michael Spicer : I refer the hon. Members to the reply I gave earlier to my hon. Friend the Member for Stevenage (Mr. Wood).
52. Mr. Meale : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to use Government owned empty property for homeless families.
Mr. Michael Spicer : I refer the hon. Member to my earlier reply to the hon. Member for Vauxhall (Miss Hoey).
Local Government Finance
12. Mr. Loyden To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will next meet representatives of local government to discuss the poll tax.
61. Mr. Patchett To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will next meet representatives of local government to discuss the poll tax.
70. Ms. Gordon : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will next meet representatives of local government to discuss the poll tax.
Mr. Chris Patten : There is no meeting fixed at present.
16. Mr. Robert G. Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the five boroughs in inner London with the highest overspend in terms of £ sterling per head over standard spending assessment.
Mr. David Hunt : The five inner London boroughs whose 1990-91 budgets represent the highest overspends in pounds per head of relevant population compared with their standard spending assessments are :
Greenwich
Lambeth
Hammersmith
Southwark
Tower Hamlets
26. Mr. Nellist : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received opposing the poll tax since 1 April ; and if he will make a statement.
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