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Mr. Scott : I regret that this information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
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Action Credit Schemes
Ms. Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what national insurance contribution is payable by participants in action credit schemes who are in receipt of a £5 per week disregard in order to maintain a full national insurance contribution record ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : Earnings from action credit schemes are normally accrued by the employer in a special account and are released to the employee at the end of the training period. A single earnings-related class 1 national insurance contribution is due on the final payment and is subject to the weekly upper earnings limit. Participants can also pay voluntary class 3 contributions during the course of the scheme.
Energy Consumption
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give the target reductions for energy consumption in the buildings occupied by his Department.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The Department's target for energy savings is to reduce the level of consumption by15 per cent. over the next five years, after correction for weather and space occupied, in line with the Government's overall target for energy consumption.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give the energy consumption, broken down by fuel, of the buildings occupied by his Department for the latest year available.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The latest available figures are for the financial year 1988-89. The division of administration of the Department of Health and Social Security was not completed at that time and the figures therefore reflect the consumption of both Departments.
|Energy
|consumption
---------------------------------------
Gas |7.8m therms
Electricity |130m kWhrs
Solid fuel |4,250 tonnes
Liquid fuel |4.6m litres
Ms. Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what steps have been taken to enable people on action credit schemes to maintain full entitlement to national insurance contributions if (a) the participant receives the commission bonus, but remains unemployed, and (b) the participant receives the commission bonus and enters full-time employment.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : A person who completes a course of training under an action credit scheme but who subsequently remains unemployed can then claim class 1 national insurance contributions credits. If he or she enters full-time employment class 1 national insurance contributions will be payable in the normal way.
WALES
Channel Tunnel
13. Mr. Stern : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he last discussed with the chairman of British Rail investment in facilities for the marshalling of freight for transmission through the channel tunnel.
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Mr. Peter Walker : I have had discussions with British Rail at both national and regional level during 1989. Further discussions at national level will be taking place next week.
Local Government
14. Mr. Murphy : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he last met representatives of (a) county councils and (b) district councils in Wales ; and what matters were discussed.
Mr. Peter Walker : I met representatives of the Welsh Counties Committee and the Council of Welsh Districts on 30 January to discuss local authority budgets for 1990-91. I also met Gwent district councils association on 13 March 1990, when it discussed a variety of issues. On 25 April I had the pleasure of opening the new headquarters for the Council of Welsh Districts in Cardiff.
Training and Enterprise Councils
15. Mr. Gwilym Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the proposed total expenditure for training in Wales in 1990-91 ; how much of this will be spent on training and enterprise councils ; and what assessment he has made of the progress made in developing these councils.
Mr. Roberts : The Training Agency's total budget for Wales is £144, 324,000. How much of this will be allocated to TECs will depend upon their individual start dates. The network of TECs in Wales is now complete with seven councils in the development phase. I am extremely pleased that we have reached this position much earlier than originally envisaged and look forward to all the TECs in Wales being operational by about the turn of the year.
Legislative Devolution
16. Mr. Gow : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proposals he has for legislative devolution in the Principality.
Welsh Language
17. Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received about the Welsh language in the national curriculum.
Mr. Roberts : My right hon. Friend has received a great number of representations about Welsh in the national curriculum, including about 160 responses to his statutory consultation exercises.
Labour Statistics
18. Mr. Roy Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are the latest unadjusted figures for unemployment in (a) Newport, (b) Gwent and (c) Wales ; and if he will give the equivalent figures for 1979 on the most nearly comparable basis.
Mr. Peter Walker : On 9 March 1990 the number of unemployment claimants in the Newport district, Gwent and Wales was 4,636, 13,722 and 86,638 respectively. Unadjusted figures for 1979 are not available on a basis
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that enables a valid comparison to be made. Since the last general election unemployment in Newport district, Gwent and Wales has fallen by 49.2 per cent., 47.4 per cent. and 45.1 per cent. respectively.Local Government Finance
19. Mr. Ian Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proportion of local government expenditure will be raised from the community charge payer, the uniform business rate payer and Government grant ; and what were the Government's original estimates if councils had kept to Government spending guidelines.
Mr. Peter Walker : On the basis of local authority budgets for 1990- 91, 58 per cent. of expenditure will be met from Government grant, 20 per cent. from the national non-domestic rate and 22 per cent. by charge payers. After allowing for rebates and transitional relief the amount met locally should reduce to below 19 per cent. If local government had spent in line with my settlement 61 per cent. of its expenditure would have been met by central Government grant and 21 per cent. by non-domestic rates, leaving 18 per cent. to be met by community charge payers. After taking account of transitional relief and community charge rebates the share met by charge payers would have fallen to below 15 per cent.
21. Dr. Marek : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his policy to increase the standard spending assessment for Clwyd.
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Mr. Peter Walker : Standard spending assessments (SSAs) for 1990-91 were discussed with, and agreed by, the Welsh local government associations. The formulae for 1991-92 are under discussion and all representations will be considered before final decisions are taken on grant distribution for that year.
22. Mr. Alan W. Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on his experience with implementation of the community charge in the current year ; and whether he will recommend any major changes in its application next year.
Mr. Peter Walker : I have been impressed with the professionalism demonstrated by Welsh local authorities in implementing the community charge, and I have written to the chairmen of the associations to that effect. As with any new policy, the Government will monitor the working of the policy in practice.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the number of local authorities in Wales which are charging standard community charge on empty properties at (a) single rate, (b) double rate (c) other ratios.
Mr. Peter Walker : I have made no such assessment. I shall shortly be collecting information from all charging authorities about the use they have made of their powers to specify property classes and set multipliers at less than the maximum.
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Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has held with the local authorities in Wales on the level of standard community charge to be levied on empty properties.
Mr. Peter Walker : I consulted the Welsh local authority associations on draft regulations prescribing standard charge classes and maximum multipliers for those classes. Within the framework established by legislation and regulations, decisions on standard charge multipliers for any class of property are for individual charging authorities.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he has any plans to visit any of the poll tax administration and collection offices in Wales.
Mr. Peter Walker : I have no present plans to do so.
Sea Defences
20. Mr. Raffan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will order an immediate and comprehensive review of the Principality's sea defences.
Mr. Grist : A survey of the sea defences round the coastline of Wales and England was announced by the chairman of the National Rivers Authority, Lord Crickhowell, on 22 March.
Baden-Wurttemberg
23. Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he last met representatives from the government in Baden-Wurttemberg ; and what was discussed.
Mr. Peter Walker : I had the very great pleasure of accompanying the Minister--President of Baden-Wurttemberg, Herr Dr. Lothar Spath, and other members of his delegation, including senior business men, during their visit to Wales on 26-27 March. Together, Herr Dr. Spath and I signed a co- operation agreement between Wales and Baden-Wurttemberg which will pave the way for joint activity in a range of industrial, academic, technological and commercial fields.
Transport
24. Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he has had any recent discussion with Welsh local authorities on the future of transport.
Mr. Roberts : My right hon. Friend has had a number of meetings with local authorities' representatives, including the Gwent District Councils Association on 13 March 1990. A variety of issues, including transport, was discussed.
Flooding, Towyn
25. Sir Anthony Meyer : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what communication he has had with the European Community regarding aid for flood victims in Towyn.
Mr. Grist : The Department has been involved in arranging payment of £111,500 as EC aid to the three appeals set up by the mayors of Colwyn, Rhuddlan and Delyn.
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Local Income Tax
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what would be the estimated charge on the basis of current expenditure (a) per household and (b) per capita for each Welsh district if a system of local income tax were introduced.
Mr. Peter Walker : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to him on 22 February 1989, c. 624. I have made no subsequent estimates of the effect of introducing a local income tax in Wales.
Waste Recycling
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his Department's policy regarding the separation and recycling of waste by district, borough and city councils in Wales.
Mr. Grist : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Cardiff, West (Mr. Morgan) on 27 April, c. 366-67.
Road Deaths
Mr. Boyes : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a table showing the number of road fatalities in Wales since 1 October 1989 and for each year from 1980 to 1990.
Mr. Roberts : Data for 1990 are not yet available, but the provisional figure for the period October to December 1989, the latest available, is 55. Information requested is as follows for the remaining years.
|Fatal road
|casualties
---------------------------------
1980 |268
1981 |275
1982 |300
1983 |245
1984 |250
1985 |245
1986 |235
1987 |220
1988 |226
<1>1989 |232
<1> Provisional.
Psychiatric Nurses
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list those health authorities which provide a full-time psychiatric nursing service seven days a week ; and if he will provide details of emergency cover arrangements made by those authorities which do not have a full-time service.
Mr. Grist : Deployment of psychiatric nurses is a matter for individual health authorities. The information requested is not available centrally.
Mental Hospital Sites
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his policy that money raised from the sale of mental hospital sites is used in full for the development of services for the mentally ill.
Mr. Grist : The Welsh Office proposes to issue later this year revised and consolidated guidance to district health
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authorities on the management of the National Health Service estate, including the disposal of National Health Service land and buildings. In respect of the use of receipts from sales at mental illness hospital sites this guidance will concentrate on the need, already clearly stated in the Welsh Office mental illness strategy, for health authorities to satisfy themselves in advance of significant reductions in the provision of hospital psychiatric services that there is a pattern of alternative services available which will meet adequately the individual needs of persons suffering from a mental illness who are or would otherwise have been in hospital. The Welsh Office will wish to be assured through the county mental illness plans drawn up by the district health authorities, social services authorities and other interested groups, through the executive committee's annual review process of district health authorities' performance and through the revised arrangements for local consultation on changes in health services that this is happening and in particular that there is in place a financial strategy for the development of a comprehensive new pattern of mental illness services which takes fully into account the contribution that existing service resources, including land and buildings, can make. While, therefore, there is unlikely to be a blanket requirement that all receipts from sales at mental illness hospital sites should be re-invested in the new pattern of services, the Department will wish there to be a clear linkage between the development of local services and the optimal use of the resources which become available.Mental Illness
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will list all submissions under the mental illness strategy which have been made by participating bodies, stating which have been accepted for Welsh Office funding ; and if he will give the amount in each case ;
(2) what extra resources have been provided to health authorities, local authorities and the voluntary sector to date in carrying out his mental illness strategy ; what posts and projects are currently being funded ; and what extra resources will be provided in future ; (3) what arrangements have been made to ensure that funds provided for projects financed under his mental illness strategy are spent in full on these projects.
Mr. Grist : The local planning and implementation of the mental illness strategy is co-ordinated by the eight county joint planning teams, which comprise representatives of district health authorities, social services authorities, and other interested groups. All eight county teams have submitted plans which have been considered as a basis for Welsh Office funding for the current year. Chapter 16 of the Government's expenditure plans 1990-91 to 1992-93 (Cm. 1016) indicated that the sum of £2.2 million would be made available in 1990-91 to support developments under the mental illness strategy. Provisional offers totalling some £1.6 million are being made to county teams ; the distribution of these extra resources by county and between partners in the teams is not yet finalised, and depends upon the acceptance of the offers by the county teams, and in some cases the clarification of particular aspects of specific proposals. A further offer of some £100,000 is being made in respect of bids from other organisations intended to support the development of services under the strategy on an all-Wales rather than a county basis.
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The overall total of £2.2 million available under the strategy represents resources additional to those directly available to partner agencies in the county teams for the provision of mental illness services. Recipient bodies will be responsible for ensuring the full and proper application of funding to the agreed purposes ; the Welsh Office will be monitoring activity and reviewing progress made by county teams during the course of the year, and will be holding annual review meetings with each team.It is not possible to forecast what resources will be made available in future years, not least because that will depend in part upon the progress made in developing new patterns of service, and the levels of funding which the county team partners are prepared to commit from their own resources.
Office Chairs
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what criteria apply to decisions on the replacement of office chairs in his Department.
Mr. Peter Walker : Office chairs are replaced when they are broken, worn out or no longer meet modern standards or requirements.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the standard useful life of office chairs used by civil servants.
Mr. Peter Walker : A number of factors will determine the life of an office chair, including the frequency of use, changing user requirements, the introduction of information technology, and improvement in product design and manufacture.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the average age of the office chairs in his Department replaced with new chairs in the final quarter of the financial year 1989-90.
Mr. Peter Walker : At least 10 years.
Energy Consumption
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give the target reductions for energy consumption in the buildings occupied by his Department.
Mr. Peter Walker : My Department's aim is to reduce its energy consumption over the next five years to a level which will give a saving of 15 per cent. of the current energy bill.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give the energy consumption, broken down by fuel, of the buildings occupied by his Department, for the latest year available.
Mr. Peter Walker : Energy consumption in buildings occupied by my Department in 1988-89 was as follows :
|Energy consumption
---------------------------------------------------------
Electricity |18,048,000 kWh
Gas | 840,000 therms
Liquid fuel | 7,000 litres
Solid fuel | 86 tonnes
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Museum of Modern Art
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will reconsider his refusal to support the proposal to establish at Machynlleth the Welsh museum of modern art ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Roberts : The Department does not provide direct financial assistance for museums other than the National Museum of Wales. The attention of the organisers of the proposed museum at Machynlleth has been drawn to the possibility of alternative sources of support, but it is entirely for the bodies concerned to decide on priorities.
Coastal Sediment, Anglesey
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will appoint an inquiry into the cause of a 6-mile wide band of sediment off the Anglesey coast ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Grist : Water samples are being tested to determine the nature of this occurrence.
Management Information System
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he now has available to him a fully operational management information system.
Mr. Peter Walker : A new computerised finance system became operational on 1 April 1990 as planned.
Rural Housing
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will meet representatives of local authorities to discuss the housing shortage in rural Wales ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Grist : The Department regularly meets all housing authorities in Wales to discuss a wide range of relevant issues.
DEFENCE
Radar Emissions
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has as to any ill effects on animal livestock of radar emissions ; and what estimates he has as to the range over which such emissions might pose a health hazard.
Mr. Alan Clark : I am not aware of any studies into the effects of radar transmissions on animal livestock.
Defence Export Services
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the respective roles of the Defence Export Services Organisation and International Military Services.
Mr. Alan Clark : The primary role of the MOD Defence Export Services Organisation is, in conformity with Government export control policies, to assist the British defence industry in selling its products in overseas markets. It is also responsible for the disposal by sale, at
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home and overseas, of surplus service equipments and stores. International Military Services Ltd. is a private limited company incorporated under the Companies Act whose shares are vested in the Secretary of State for Defence. It offers, on a commercial basis, a range of marketing and project management services in the defence field available to both Government and industry.Stornoway Airport
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what account has been taken of noise from ground engine running in the survey of aircraft noise at Stornoway airport ; and what plans he has to make measurements of that source of noise during the forthcoming military exercise at Stornoway ;
(2) what account has been taken of noise from aircraft performing run-in and break manoeuvres in the survey of aircraft noise at Stornoway airport ; and what plans he has to make measurements of this source of noise during the forthcoming military exercise at Stornoway.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : I have nothing to add to the information contained in the letter of 23 April to the hon. Member from my noble Friend the Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces, a copy of which has been placed in the Library.
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many simulated attacks were made on Stornoway airport during 1988 and 1989 ; and how many of these occurred during periods of military activation of the airfield.
Mr. Neubert : I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave on 9 March 1989 (column 675 ). There were no recorded simulated attacks on Stornoway airport during the periods of military activation in 1988 and 1989.
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the replies to the hon. Members for Western Isles on 20 February, Official Report, columns 664-65, what was the number of practice approach and overshoot movements at Stornoway airport during 1989 which occurred during periods of military activation of the airfield.
Mr. Neubert : There were 60 recorded practice approaches and overshoots by military aircraft at Stornoway airport during periods of military activation of the airfield in 1989.
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what are the minimum permitted height and maximum permitted speed for aircraft carrying out simulated attacks on Stornoway airport ; and what are the regulations concerning the direction of ingress to and egress from the airfield during these attacks.
Mr. Neubert : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 9 March 1989 (column 675 ).
Energy Consumption
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give the target reductions for energy consumption in the buildings occupied by his Department.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The Ministry of Defence has a target of 25 per cent. for the reduction in consumption of
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non-operational energy on the Defence estate for the period 1985-86 to 1990-91. The Ministry will also participate in the target reduction on non-operational energy of 15 per cent. over five years set for all Government Departments with effect from 1 April 1990.Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give the energy consumption, broken down by fuel, of the buildings occupied by his Department, for the latest year available and equivalent figures for each of the armed services.
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