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Mr. Grist : This information is not held centrally.
Voluntary Fund-raising
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what steps he has taken to seek the views of community health councils in Wales on the place of voluntary fund-raising in the financial structure of the National Health Service in their areas ; and what views have been expressed to him ;
(2) what research he has commissioned on the views of (a) patients and (b) carers and families of patients on the degree to which the National Health Service in each health authority district in Wales should be financed by voluntary and charitable donations.
Mr. Grist : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave him on 23 April 1990.
Office Furniture (Expenditure)
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what was the total expenditure on (a) office chairs and (b) other office furniture in his Department in each of the four quarters of the financial year 1989- 90 ;
(2) what was the total expenditure on office furniture in his Department in the fiscal years (a) 1985-86, (b) 1986-87, (c) 1987-88, (d) 1988-89 and (e) 1989-90.
Mr. Peter Walker : The expenditure figures are given in the following tables. Much of the furniture in the
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Department's 56 offices has aged and merits replacement in the interests of staff well-being and health and safety considerations. A decision was therefore taken in 1987 to increase the annual furniture budget in 1988-89 and subsequent years in order to undertake a furniture modernisation and replacement programme. The 1989-90 figure was further increased by the need to furnish a new office at Llanishen for the Welsh Office education department and HMI, for which the cost of the necessary office furniture was £132,000.
Financial |Expenditure
Year |in cash terms
|£000s
------------------------------------------
1985-86 |204
1986-87 |117
1987-88 |131
1988-89 |363
1989-90 |<1>461
<1> Provisional.
|c|Financial Year 1989-90|c|
|1st |2nd |3rd |4th
|Quarter |Quarter |Quarter |Quarter<1>
|£000s |£000s |£000s |£000s
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(a) Office Chairs |5 |14 |9 |71
(b) Other Office
Furniture |42 |71 |34 |215
<1> Provisional.
National Rivers Authority
Mr. Gwilym Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he has appointed the members of the advisory committee for Wales on National Rivers Authority matters.
Mr. Peter Walker : I have made the following appointments : Professor Ron Edwards (Chairman)
Professor Michael Bruton
The Lord Moran KCMG
Dr. Hugh Tebbutt
Councillor John Thompson JP
Dr. Stephanie Tyler
Mr. Murray McLaggan JP
Mr. Bryan Riddleston
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT
Poland
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much aid has so far been given to Poland ; what form it took ; and what plans exist for it to be increased.
Mrs. Chalker : In 1989-90, bilateral aid for Poland was £64 million. This consisted of the United Kingdom contribution of $100 million (£61.7 million) to the international stabilisation fund for Poland ; and disbursements of £2.3 million from the know-how fund. Expenditure under the balance of the £50 million know-how fund, and the separate £15 million agricultural project will be spread over a number of years.
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action is being taken to encourage British industry to invest in Poland.
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Mrs. Chalker : Under the know-how fund for Poland, support is available for up to 50 per cent. of the costs of feasibility studies which British companies may need to undertake before investing in eastern Europe. Specific training can also be provided for potential local joint venture partners. Additionally, an investment protection and promotion agreement exists for Poland, and the full range of ECGD's investment insurance cover is available to equity investors. The Department of Trade and Industry provides British companies with information and advice on the latest legislation and other matters relating to joint ventures.Mozambique
Mr. Mans : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how Her Majesty's Government will respond to Mozambique's 1990 emergency appeal.
Mrs. Chalker : The Government will pledge 10,000 tonnes of food aid and £3.5 million in emergency relief for Mozambique at the international donors conference on emergency assistance to Mozambique which is being held in New York today.
Romania
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the £500,000 of aid for Romania, announced on 5 April, is to be paid from the overseas aid programme ; whether it is to be administered by the Overseas Development Administration or the joint Overseas Development
Administration-Foreign and Commonwealth Office east European unit ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Chalker : Our contribution to the World Health Organisation's programme of assistance for the Romanian health service is an exceptional one-off payment from the know-how fund for eastern Europe, in response to Romania's particularly acute humanitarian needs. Expenditure from the fund is met from a separate section of the aid vote, but is additional to and separate from the agreed PES provision for overseas aid to developing countries. The contribution is being administered by the eastern European department of the diplomatic wing of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Social Fund
Mr. Marlow : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his reply of 26 March, if he will set out the policy considerations involved in his decision not to make retrospective ex-gratia payments to those pensioners with savings up to £16,000.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The changes in the capital rules for the income-related benefits formed part of a package of measures, designed to help savers, which were announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his Budget statement. The changes took effect from the benefit uprating dates in April. It is well-established policy that such changes are not applied retrospectively, with the recalculation of benefit entitlement this would require, and to do so in this case would be neither appropriate nor practical.
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Ms. Short : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether employment training trainees who were formerly in receipt of income support can apply for a loan or a grant from the social fund ; what account is taken of the £10 training premium ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Scott : A claimant receiving income support when starting employment training would normally continue to do so, and would be eligible for help from the social fund in the normal way. When a crisis loan is being considered, all resources available to the claimant are taken into account.
Pension Age
Sir David Steel : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether he has any plans to integrate the pension age for men and women.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : I refer the right hon. Member to paragraph 18 of the Government's response to the 10th report from the House of Lords Select Committee on the European Communities, Session 1988-89, on equal treatment for men and women in pensions and other benefits--Cmnd. 1038.
Disabled People (Benefits)
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what response he has received to "The Way Ahead : Benefits for Disabled People" from Age Concern England ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Scott : Age Concern England has sent me a written response and was represented at a meeting I held on 5 April with the Disability Benefits Consortium to discuss "The Way Ahead". We shall give careful consideration to all their comments in carrying forward the detailed work on our proposals.
Pensions
Mr. Soley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the state retirement pension for a single pensioner and a pensioner couple in each year from 1987 to 1989.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The information requested is set out in the table.
|c|Standard Rate basic Retirement
Pension-1987-89|c|
|Man or |Man plus
|Woman<1>|Wife<2>
-----------------------------------------------
1987 |38.70 |61.95
1987 |39.50 |63.25
(wef 6 April 1987)
1988 |41.15 |69.50
(wef 11 April 1988)
1989 |43.60 |69.80
(wef 10 April 1989)
Source: Abstract of Statistics for Index of
Retail Prices, Average Earnings, Social
Security Benefits and Contributions.
<1>On basis of own National Insurance
Contributions.
<2>On basis of his National Insurance
Contributions.
Councillors (Benefit Claims)
Mr. Norman Hogg : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what advice he has given to local offices of his Department concerning the payment of invalidity
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benefit to claimants who are local authority councillors and who may be in receipt of councillors' allowances ; and if he will make a statement.Mrs. Gillian Shephard : Since 11 May 1987, local authority councillors have been able to receive invalidity benefit in full where their entitlement to local government attendance allowance does not exceed the therapeutic earnings limit (currently £35 a week) for invalidity benefit ; and, where the limit is exceeded, invalidity benefit is abated only by the amount of the excess. These arrangements, which were introduced in 1987 on an ex-gratia basis, were formalised in schedule 8 to the Social Security Act 1989. Instructions were issued to offices putting these arrangements into effect.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what income it is assumed that a person will draw from savings of (a) £6,000, (b) £10,000, (c) £13,000 and (d) £16, 000 when determining eligibility for reduced levels of community charge ; and what marginal rate of return is assumed for each £1,000 savings over £3,000.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The information requested is shown in the table.
|c|Tariff income assumed at various
levels of capital|c|
Capital |Tariff income
|(£ per week)
------------------------------------------
6,000 |12
10,000 |28
13,000 |40
16,000 |52
No tariff income from the first £3,000 of savings is assumed when assessing income-related benefits : the actual income received from the savings is disregarded.
When account is taken of the first £3,000 of savings, and of the application of the 15 per cent. benefit taper, the annual average interest rate implied by the tariff income rules varies from 0.2 per cent. (on capital of £3,250) to 2.6 per cent. (on capital of £15, 750.01).
HOME DEPARTMENT
Birmingham Pub Bombings
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken to prevent material in police archives relating to the Birmingham pub bombings case from being destroyed or tampered with.
Mr. John Patten : I understand that the West Midlands police and the Devon and Cornwall constabulary have made arrangements to ensure that all material in their possession relating to the Birmingham pub bombings case is stored in secure conditions pending the outcome of further inquiries into the safety of the convictions of the Birmingham Six.
Probation Service
Mr. Boswell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultations he has held on changes in the probation service.
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Mr. John Patten : In February we published the White Paper, "Crime, Justice and Protecting the Public" (Cm. 965), which set out our proposals for change in the way the courts in England and Wales deal with offenders. Since then, we have published two consultative documents about changes to the probation service, both related to the White Paper.
The Green Paper "Supervision and Punishment in the Community" (Cm. 966) sets out options for reorganising the probation service, to enable it to meet the demands of the White Paper. We have invited comments on the Green Paper by the end of June. We published a further consultative paper on 17 April, "Partnership in Dealing with Offenders in the Community". This sets out various ways in which voluntary organisations and profit-making bodies could collaborate more closely with the probation service in work with offenders in the community. Comments have been invited by the end of September. Draft national standards for the supervision of offenders before and after release from custody were published today. Again, comments have been invited by the end of September.
Drugs
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will meet representatives of the Association of Chief Police Officers, the National Drugs Investigation Unit and the Metropolitan police to discuss police investigation methods into the drug crack.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : My right hon. and learned Friend has no plans to meet representatives from these organisations specifically to discuss police investigations into crack. The Home Office is in regular contact with the organisations mentioned on a wide variety of policing matters.
Immigration
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has yet completed his review of the workings of the Immigration (Carriers' Liabilities) Act 1987 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : A review of the workings of the carriers' liabilities Act has not been undertaken, nor is one planned.
Telephone Tapping
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total cost to his Department of telephone tapping services provided by British Telecom in 1989.
Mr. Waddington : It has been the practice of successive Governments not to give information about the costs relating to interception authorised under the Interception of Communications Act 1985.
Contempt of Court Act
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will be proposing legislation to amend section 10 of the Contempt of Court Act, in respect of the interests of justice category ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John Patten : Section 10 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 provides that no court may require a person to
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disclose, nor will he be guilty of contempt for refusing to disclose, the source of his information in a publication for which he is responsible, unless it is established to the court's satisfaction that disclosure is necessary in the interests of justice or national security or for the prevention of disorder or crime. We believe that these are and remain proper grounds on which to allow a court to insist on disclosure.Commission for Racial Equality
Mr. Tim Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff are employed by the Commission for Racial Equality ; and how many of these are of (a) Afro-Caribbean, (b) Indian, (c) Pakistani and (d) Bangladeshi origin.
Mr. John Patten : At 30 March 1990, the Commission for Racial Equality employed 193.35 staff of which 87 were of black Caribbean, black African or other black origin ; 17 were of Indian origin ; six of Pakistani origin and three of Bangladeshi origin.
Prison Visits
Mr. Neil Hamilton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give a breakdown of the prison service grant of £1,564,000 for assisted visits to prison inmates giving the number of visits this figure represents and the total number of individuals who have received visits under this scheme.
Mr. Mellor : Under the assisted prison visits scheme the cost of visits to inmates by close relatives who are on low incomes may be met from public funds. The scheme is not cash limited and the costs of all valid claims by eligible people are met in full. The Budget estimate for the scheme in England and Wales for the year ending 31 March 1990 was £1,564,000. The actual cost of the scheme in the year was £1,489,941, of which just over 70 per cent. was taken up by travelling costs, and the remainder by subsistence and other expenses. This represents the payment of 60,807 claims divided between 15,680 claimants.
Figures for the number of individual inmates who have received assisted visits are not readily available and could not be obtained except at disproportionate cost.
Prisons
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many additional places have been provided by extending existing prisons since 1984 and how many more will be provided when current plans are completed.
Mr. Mellor : During the period 1 January 1984 to 11 February this year, the latest date for which figures are available, 2,446 additional places were provided at existing prison establishments in England and Wales.
The following net increases in places at existing establishments are currently planned for the period up to 1993-94 :
|Increases
------------------------------
1990-91 |1,171
1991-92 |573
1992-93 |1,059
1993-94 |315
These figures do not take account of the effect which the recent disturbances may have on the number of places available in future years.
Further increases in places at existing establishments after 1993-94 are also planned, but the timing and number of these depend on the availability of resources.
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average cost per place of the prisons currently under construction.
Mr. Mellor : The average cost per place of the 14 prisons currently under construction, or where construction is due to start shortly, is about £117,000.
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the estimated total capital cost at current prices of the 24 new prisons in the prison building programme.
Mr. Mellor : The total capital cost of the design and construction of the 24 prisons in the prison building programme is estimated at £1,355 million. This total represents the sum of the various costs incurred, or likely to be incurred, at each prison at outturn prices. It is not possible in the time available to provide a total at current prices.
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many places in the new purpose-built prisons have been provided since 1984 and how many more will be provided at the end of the current prison building programme.
Mr. Mellor : Since 1984, a total of 3,512 places have been provided in new prison establishments in England and Wales. A further 8,397 places are due to be provided by 1994 in new prison establishments which are either under construction or are due to be started shortly. The current programme also envisages the construction of a further 3, 600 places, but the locations and time scales of these places have yet to be determined and they will have to be assessed in the light of the prison service's needs.
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which new prisons have opened in premises converted from other uses since 1984 ; and how many places they contain.
Mr. Mellor : The following prison establishments currently in use have been converted from other uses since 1984 :
Name |Type |Places (cer-
|tified normal
|accommoda-
|tion)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Lindholme, near Doncaster |Adult male |1,001
(former RAF station) |category C
|training
Downview, Banstead (former |Adult male |332
mental hospital and nurses |category C
home) |training
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which new prisons have been opened since 1984.
Mr. Mellor : The following prison establishments have been opened since 1984 in England and Wales :
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Name of establishment |Date of
|opening
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wayland, Norfolk (Adult Male, Category C) |1985
Stocken, Leicestershire (Adult Male, Category C) |1985
Thorn Cross, Cheshire (Young Offender Institution) |1985
Full Sutton, Yorkshire (Adult Male, Category B
Dispersal) |1987
Littlehey, Cambridgeshire (Adult Male, Category C) |1988
The Mount, Hertfordshire (Young Offender
Institution) |1988
Swaleside, Sheppey (Adult Male, Category B) |1988
Garth, Lancashire (Adult Male, Category B) |1988
Police Pay
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what were the increases or otherwise in real terms of the pay of police constables, at various levels of seniority, for the periods (a) 1973 to 1978, (b) 1978 to 1983 and (c) 1983 to 1988 ; and if he will list other significant changes in the terms and conditions of service of police officers and the dates at which they became effective.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Increases in real terms in the basic pay of police constables for the periods in question are set out in the table. Since 1973 other significant changes in the terms and conditions of service of police officers have included changes in pension arrangements in 1975 (counting of war service) and 1982 (increase in contributions) and increases in annual leave (1979, 1983 and 1987). Allowances payable in addition to basic pay have been uprated on a regular basis.
|c|Increases in pay of Police Constables (real
terms)|c|
1. 1973-1978<1>
Rank and Service |Percentage
|increase
|(real terms)<2>
Constable |Per cent.
---------------------------------------------------
Under 1 year |20
After 1 year |19
After 2 years |18
After 3 years |18
After 4 years |11
After 5 years |11
After 6 years |5
After 7 years |5
After 8 years |9
After 13 years |3
After 17 years |2
<1>1 April 1973-1 April 1978
<2>To the nearest whole number
|c|2. 1978-1983<1>|c|
Rank and service |<2>Percentage
|increase
|(real terms)
---------------------------------------------------
Constable
Under 1 year |38
After 1 year |41
After 2 years |44
After 3 years |41
After 4 years |40
After 5 years |44
After 6 years |49
After 7 years |54
After 8 years |52
After 12 years |55
After 15 years |56
<1> 1 April 1978-1 April 1983.
<2> To the nearest whole number.
|c|3. 1983-88<1>|c|
Rank and service |Percentage
|increase (real
|terms)<2>
---------------------------------------------------
Constable
Under 1 year |-
After 1 year |-
After 2 years |5
After 3 years |5
After 4 years |5
After 5 years |5
After 6 years |5
After 7 years |5
After 8 years |5
After 12 years |5
After 15 years |5
<1> 1 April 1983-1 April 1988.
<2> To the nearest whole number.
SCOTLAND
Ferries (Fire Safety)
Mr. Beggs : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will provide additional funding to local authorities in south-west Scotland to ensure that fire-fighting teams in that area are adequately trained and equipped to be able to deal with an outbreak of fire on cross-channel ferries at sea between Northern Ireland and Scotland ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The fire services, like other local services, are supported by central Government through the revenue support grant. Within Scotland, it is for the eight fire authorities, including Dumfries and Galloway regional council, to determine the level of fire expenditure and the priorities for their area.
Accountancy Firms
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the accountancy firms which he is using for the privatisation of electricity.
Mr. Lang : The information requested is as follows :
Name of firm |Function
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Coopers and Lybrand |Advisers on regulation, contracts,
Deloitte (formerly | accounting and tax
Coopers and Lybrand)
2. Ernst and Young |Advisers on nuclear matters
3. KPMG Peat Marwick |Reporting accountants to Scottish
McLintock <1> | Hydro-Electric plc (formerly
| North of Scotland Hydro-Electric
| Board)
4. Coopers and Lybrand |Reporting accountants to Scottish
Deloitte<2> (formerly | Power plc (formerly South of
Deloitte, Haskins and | Scotland Electricity Board)
Sells)
<1> Appointed jointly with Scottish Hydro-Electric plc.
<2> Appointed jointly with Scottish Power plc.
Foreign Language Teachers
Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the scheme to give £1,500 on top of their normal grants to graduates prepared to train as foreign language teachers, announced on 13 March, applies also in Scotland ; and if he will make a statement.
Column 291
Mr. Lang : The scheme applies only in England and Wales. The teacher supply position does not at present justify such a scheme in Scotland.Bankruptcy
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the number of staff of the accountant in bankruptcy for each year since 1984-85 ; whether the number of staff is to be increased ; and what were for each year since 1984-85 the total costs of the accountant in bankruptcy's office.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 25 April 1990] : Following the coming into effect on 1 April 1986 of the provisions of the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 1985 the resources made available to the office of the accountant in bankruptcy have been and are being kept under review to match staffing levels to the additional workload resulting from the new provisions. The number of staff in post, at 1 April in each year, was as follows :
Year |Number --------------------- 1984 |2.5 1985 |2.5 1986 |5.5 1987 |5.5 1988 |14.5 1989 |25.5 1990 |37.5
The annual running costs for the office of the accountant in bankruptcy were as follows :
£000 Year |£000 ------------------ 1984-85 |31 1985-86 |38 1986-87 |73 1987-88 |94 1988-89 |221 1989-90 |400
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what were the total sums paid out in each of the last five years from (a) the legal advice and assistance scheme and (b) the civil legal aid scheme to solicitors representing bankrupt persons, persons contesting bankruptcy petitions and otherwise in connection with matters pertaining to bankruptcy.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 25 April 1990] : The information requested is not available.
Column 293
HEALTH
Environmental Health Departments
Mr. McAvoy : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to respond to the Audit Commission report on the work of local authority environmental health departments.
Mr. Freeman : The Audit Commission has not yet produced a report. We will be responding when we have considered the commission's recommendations.
Norwich Health Authority (Land Sales)
Mr. Ralph Howell : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much land has been sold by Norwich health authority in each year since 1979 ; and if he will give details of the price realised in each case.
Mr. Freeman : Information, which has for brevity been restricted to sales of over £50,000, is as follows :
Year and property |Acreage |Price £ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1979-80 to 1984-85 Nil 1985-86 Blofield Hall Hospital, Norwich |16.0 |250,000 Longacre Maternity Home, West Runton |1.4 |129,500 Home Place Convalescent Home, Holt |16.0 |207,000 Hampshire House Nurses Home, Cromer |1.1 |75,000 1986-87 Vale Hospital (part) Norwich |7.4 |240,000 1987-88 Land adjacent to North Walsham Hospital |3.0 |402,000 1988-89 Land at Drayton |1.0 |1,000,000 1989-90 Pine Heath Hospital, Holt |12.0 |701,000
Consultants
Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of hospital consultants are members of the British Medical Association.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : We do not collect such information.
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