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Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 17 May 1990
THE ARTS
Bands
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Minister for the Arts what financial support (a) the Arts Council and (b) regional arts associations have given to (i) brass bands and (ii) silver bands in each of the last 10 years.
Mr. Luce : This information is not held centrally. However, both the Arts Council and the regional arts associations are active in supporting the work of brass and silver bands where a professional input is involved. In particular, the Arts Council will consider applications for financial assistance under its music for small groups programme.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Manufactured Goods
Mr. Skinner : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on action he proposes to reduce the deficit in trade in manufactured goods.
Mr. Norman Lamont : The deficit in trade in manufactures will fall as domestic demand and capacity pressures ease and exports increase. There are clear signs that this is happening ; in the first quarter of 1990 the volume of exports of manufactures--less erratics--was 9 per cent. higher than in the same quarter a year earlier, while imports were only 1 per cent. higher.
Public Expenditure
Mr. Leighton : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the average public expenditure per capita paid for out of national taxation for each citizen of (a) the United Kingdom and (b) Northern Ireland.
Mr. Norman Lamont : Public expenditure is financed from a number of sources including taxation, national insurance contributions, borrowing, interest and dividend receipts and local authorities' revenue collection. There is, generally, no direct linkage between specific areas of expenditure and sources of revenue. Consequently, information is not available in the form requested.
Information on per capita general Government expenditure in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, financed from all sources including local authority revenue collection, was given in the reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Wrye Forest (Mr. Coombs) on 19 December 1989, Official Report, columns 179-90.
G7 Countries (Interest Payments)
Mr. Allen : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list how much gross domestic product is used for scheduled interest payments (a) in the public sector and (b) in the private sector of the G7 countries.
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Mr. Ryder : United Kingdom sector net interest payments and GDP data are published in the CSO "Blue Book", 1989 edition. General Government net interest payments are published in the CSO's "Financial Statistics". Data on sectoral net interest payments and GDP for the other G7 countries are published by the OECD in "National Accounts volume II, 1975-1987".
Civil Service Pensions
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give an estimate of the number and percentage of the total of (a) pensions in payment to retired civil servants, (b) pensions to be paid to existing civil servants on retirement which are/will be (i) uprated in line with prices each year and (ii) uprated by any other formula.
Mr. Ryder : There are 385,395 pensions in payment to retired civil servants, plus a further 117,905 dependants' pensions. The numbers of pensions in payment is expected to show some increase for the next 10 to 15 years. All civil service pensions, in common with other public service pensions, are uprated annually in line with prices.
EC Finance Ministers
Mr. Simon Coombs : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on his recent meetings with other European Community Finance Ministers.
Mr. Ryder : My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer regularly meets his Community counterparts at the Council of Economic and Finance Ministers, the last meeting of which took place in Luxembourg on 23 April. My right hon. Friend made a statement in the House about the outcome on 25 April, Official Report, column 238.
In addition, my right hon. Friend sees his European colleagues for bilateral discussion from time to time, most recently Sr Carli, the Italian Minister of Finance, on 30 April in Rome.
Petrol Prices
Sir Dudley Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if it remains Government policy that unleaded petrol should cost significantly less than the leaded variety.
Civil Service Costs
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total cost of civil service support for the Financial Secretary on the occasion of the debate on the private Member's motion on Monday 14 May.
Mr. Lilley : Ministers generally receive support for debates from the civil service on matters of fact and Government policy. Separate costings are not available.
Economic Statistics
Mr. Higgins : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, further to his statement to the Treasury and Civil Service Committee on 3 April, he can now announce his plans to improve the quality of economic statistics.
Mr. Major : I have arranged for the Central Statistical Office to take further steps to improve the quality of
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statistics in three areas--services, companies and balance of payments. My aim is to introduce these changes as quickly as possible so that some results will begin to appear in the figures as early as the end of this year. This is a development made possible by last summer's reorganisation of the CSO which was undertaken to enable improvements to be made to economic statistics.On services, I propose that extensions are made to quarterly inquiries of turnover in the services industries, and that more information on external trade in services is collected on a quarterly basis. On company statistics, I propose to obtain more quarterly information on capital expenditure, stockbuilding and profits. On balance of payments (and other financial) statistics, I propose that the quarterly direct investment inquiry should be expanded, and that more information be collected about United Kingdom companies' financial transactions with domestic and overseas residents. Because of the severe problems with balance of payments statistics, I have asked the CSO to undertake a thorough review over the next 12 months of the way in which these statistics are collected and compiled. In addition, I have asked the CSO, in consultation with the appropriate bodies, to consider the case for wider use of statutory surveys. This should improve the quality of statistics by increasing response rates. It should also ensure that the burden on businesses is shared more fairly.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Prison Disturbances
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cellular spaces were destroyed during the recent prison disturbances.
Mr. Mellor : A total of 1,908 inmate places were lost during the recent prison disturbances at Bristol, Cardiff, Dartmoor, Glen Parva, Long Lartin, Manchester, Pucklechurch and Stoke Heath, of which 561 have now been brought back into use.
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to receive the findings of Lord Justice Woolf's inquiry into the recent prison disturbances.
Mr. Waddington : I have not asked Lord Justice Woolf to report by any particular time, but I know that he attaches importance to delivering his report to me at the earliest possible date.
Deportations
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many deportations have taken place from the United Kingdom under regulations which relate to the cases of Messrs Alexander and Oladehinde since his Department lodged its appeal ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The divisional court decided on 21 February 1990 that members of the immigration service could not exercise deportation powers on behalf of the Secretary of State. This decision was reversed by the Court of Appeal on 15 March and an appeal has been made to the House of Lords. Despite the Court of Appeal judgment, the immigration service has not exercised the
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relevant powers since 21 February and action on outstanding affected cases has been suspended since that date. No affected deportation orders have been enforced since 21 February, although 34 people concerned have opted to leave the country under the voluntary supervised departure arrangements.Electoral Rights
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in what circumstances citizens of Namibia enjoy the right to vote in United Kingdom elections.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Namibia joined the Commonwealth on 21 March 1990 and those of her citizens resident in the United Kingdom will become eligible to register as electors here once an Order in Council is made adding Namibia to the list of Commonwealth countries in schedule 3 to the British Nationality Act 1981.
Football
Mr. Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, further to his reply of 8 May, Official Report , column 21 , if he will make a statement on the meeting with representatives of the Football League and the Football Association.
Mr. Waddington : On 8 May I met at my request representatives of the Football Association and the Football League. I told the football authorities that it was unacceptable that they should ignore advice from a chief officer of police that a particular fixture ran a high risk of serious disorder. I indicated that it was their public duty to act on such advice. The Football League representatives accepted that they had been wrong to ignore the advice from the Dorset police on the Bournemouth v . Leeds United fixture on 5 May.
The Football League agreed to work out urgently with the Association of Chief Police Officers effective arrangements for obtaining police advice about the scheduling of fixtures and to act upon it on all occasions.
Extradition
Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many United Kingdom citizens have been sought for extradition by foreign powers in the latest available year ; and into what categories of alleged offence they fell.
Mr. John Patten : The United Kingdom does not distinguish between extradition requests in respect of its own nationals and nationals of other countries. For this reason, the nationality of those whose return is sought is not centrally recorded.
During 1989, extradition proceedings were commenced against 35 individuals in England and Wales. The offences were as follows :
Offence |Number of
|applications
----------------------------------------------------------
Murder |1
Armed robbery |1
Theft |5
Burglary |2
Robbery |4
Obtaining property by deception |2
Forgery |3
Fraud |8
Embezzlement |2
Parental kidnapping |1
Indecent exposure |1
Handling stolen goods |1
Drugs |10
In some cases, extradition was sought for more than one offence.
Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many extraditions have been applied for by the United Kingdom in the latest available year ; and into what categories of alleged offence they fell.
Mr. John Patten : In England and Wales during 1989, extradition applications in respect of 29 individuals were made to foreign and Commonwealth countries. The alleged offences were as follows :
Offence |Number of
|applications
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Murder |2
Armed robbery |1
Assault |1
Malicious wounding |1
Theft |12
Burglary |2
Obtaining money/property by deception |8
Forgery |3
Fraud |3
Receiving/handling stolen goods |3
Deception |1
Bankruptcy |1
False accounting |1
Procuring the execution of a valuable security |1
Perjury |1
Conspiracy to pervert the course of justice |1
Evasion of liability by deception |1
Drugs |5
In some cases, extradition was sought for more than one type of offence.
Women Prisoners
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women prisoners from Her Majesty's remand centre Pucklechurch the prison department has failed to produce in court on the due date following their removal to Her Majesty's prison Holloway after the disturbances in April 1990.
Mr. Mellor : Of the 44 female prisoners temporarily transferred from Her Majesty's remand centre Pucklechurch to Her Majesty's prison Holloway on 23 April as a result of the disturbances, five were not produced in court on the due date because of difficulties in arranging escorts over the long distances involved.
All the women have now been transferred back to Her Majesty's remand centre Pucklechurch and arrangements have been made with the courts concerned to produce those not produced on the original due date.
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Smoke Alarms
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to require every home in the United Kingdom to be fitted with a functioning smoke alarm ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John Patten : We would not anticipate legislation for this until at least the outcome of current research is known. Meanwhile, we are encouraging the installation and maintenance of smoke alarms on a voluntary basis. Since 1987, the proportion of homes with smoke alarms installed has increased from about 9 to 38 per cent.
Sex Offenders
Mr. Roy Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what consultations took place with interested parties in the county of Gwent before a decision was taken to move prisoners into the county who have been convicted of sex offences ; (2) what additional security precautions, including recruitment of additional staff, have been taken following the decision to move into Gwent certain prisoners who have been convicted of sex offences.
Mr. Mellor : The role of Usk has recently been changed to that of an adult training prison. I have written to my hon. Friend the Member for Monmouth (Sir J. Stradling Thomas) explaining the position and officials have written in similar terms to local authorities and other interested parties.
In its former role, Usk held those convicted of a wide range of offences, including sex offences. A prisoner's present and past offences are among the factors taken into account in assessing his security requirements and, therefore, the establishment to which he will be allocated.
Some work to upgrade physical security at Usk has already been completed. Other measures have been identified and work will be completed as soon as possible. The number and type of prisoners held there are within the capacity of existing staffing levels and appropriate to the general security standard of the establishment.
Birmingham Pub Bombings
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 14 May, if a copy of the Devon and Cornwall report will be made available to solicitors for the men convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings.
Mr. Waddington : No. The report will be confidential. Its purpose will be to assist me in reaching a decision on whether to take any action to intervene in the safety of the convictions in the light of the representations I have received.
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 14 May, whether the West Midlands chief constable will comment on the findings of the Devon and Cornwall inquiry when he submits the report to the Home Secretary.
Mr. Waddington : This will be a matter for the chief constable of the West Midlands police once he has had an opportunity to consider the report of the Devon and Cornwall police's inquiry.
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Mrs. Khadija Bi
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when a decision is going to be taken on the application of Mrs. Khadija Bi, whose date of birth is 1 January 1936, and family to join Mr. Sadiq Hussain (Ref : H 155772/HUL 30/90) who was interviewed in Hull on 20 February last.
Mr. Mellor : The application is currently being considered by the immigration department and a decision will be reached shortly.
Security Vetting
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list by year for the last 10 years the number of people for which his Department is responsible who have been negatively vetted ;
(2) if he will list by year for the last 10 years the number of posts for which his Department is responsible that required negative vetting.
Mr. Waddington : It is not our practice to give detailed information about security vetting procedures.
Strangeways Prison
Mr. Litherland : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the future of Strangeways prison, Manchester.
Mr. Mellor [pursuant to the reply, 8 May 1990, c. 28] : After reviewing a range of options, my right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary has concluded that the redevelopment of Her Majesty's prison Manchester should be based on a major refurbishment of the inmate accommodation--including the installation of integral sanitation--and the provision of a range of new and improved supporting facilities. This approach offers, we believe, the best prospect of bringing the accommodation at Her Majesty's prison Mancheser back into use as quickly as possible, so as to end the use of police cells and ease pressures on other parts of the prison system in the north, while at the same time seizing this opportunity to make much-needed improvements in conditions and facilities at Manchester.
About 970 places should be available within three years. Of these, over 300 places--in the remand wings--should all be available after about a year. The need for remand places in the north-west is, however, so great that the main part of the remand centre--K wing, the least damaged of the wings-- will be repaired and brought back into use within 4 or 5 months, albeit without installing integral sanitation at this stage. It will be used with the places in the undamaged hospital to provide accommodation for up to 200 inmates who would otherwise be in police cells. Additional security will be provided, as will opportunities for education, religion, and physical education.
The programme of work is estimated in all to cost over £60 million at outturn prices. It will be undertaken to stringent timings and management contracting will be used to assist in this.
Discussions will now commence with all the interested parties including the board of visitors, Her Majesty's prison Manchester and the trade unions on the detailed arrangements to be made within the framework which I
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have set out, including their operational consequences and arrangements for dealing with commitments to courts in the Manchester area.Other measures will, however, be needed at other establishments in the north, and we shall be discussing these with boards of visitors and trade unions at the establishments concerned.
PRIME MINISTER
European Political Union
Q12. Mr. Allen : To ask the Prime Minister what discussions she has had with other Heads of Government on the name of a politically unified Europe ; and what has been the result.
The Prime Minister : I have had no such discussions.
Hungary
Q29. Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Prime Minister what action Her Majesty's Government are taking on the recommendations of Professor Paul Hare, of Heriot-Watt university, in relation to encouraging British financial institutions to counteract Hungarian
over-dependence on financial institutions in Dusseldorf and Frankfurt, by British participation in the Hungarian economy and by linguistic, scientific and marketing practice assistance ; and if she will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : British financial institutions' involvement in the development of the Hungarian economy is a matter for their commercial judgment. The Government's know-how fund is available for projects in Hungary including linguistic and marketing training. The Export Credits Guarantee Department is now considering applications for investment insurance in eastern Europe.
Cyprus
Q55. Mr. Cox : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list the issues concerning Cyprus that she discussed with the Prime Minister of Turkey during her recent visit to that country.
The Prime Minister : I discussed with President Ozal prospects for the future of the Cyprus intercommunal talks. Mr. Ozal reaffirmed his Government's support for the United Nations Secretary-General's good offices mission and said that Turkey accepted the common objective of a bizonal and bicommunal state in Cyprus.
Scottish Constitutional Convention
Q138. Mr. Harry Ewing : To ask the Prime Minister if she will accept an invitation from the hon. Member for Falkirk, East in his capacity as joint chairman of the Scottish constitutional convention to address the convention at its July or September meetings.
Image Building
Mr. Allen : To ask the Prime Minister whether she will review the official guidance for the Government information service that image building, whether explicit or implied, is not acceptable.
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The Prime Minister : There is no need to do so.Government Employees
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Prime Minister what are the rules governing the procedures under which personnel employed by Her Majesty's Government speak to hon. Members.
The Prime Minister : Ministers are accountable to Parliament for the policies and actions of their Departments, and will usually wish to be present at briefings of Members when policy issues are involved. Briefings of Members by civil servants on factual matters may be undertaken at the discretion of Ministers. On next steps agencies, I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Newport, West (Mr. Flynn) on 15 May, Official Report, column 374-75.
Security Vetting
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Prime Minister if she will make a statement as to the difference between (a) positive and (b) negative vetting.
The Prime Minister : It is not the normal practice to give detailed information about vetting procedures.
Jordan (Arms Purchases)
Mr. Rogers : To ask the Prime Minister what undertakings were given by Jordan during her negotiations with King Hussein on the Jordan defence package about the forwarding of arms, ammunition and equipment to Iraq.
The Prime Minister : It is customary to include provisions restricting transfer in any major arms sales agreement.
Mr. Rogers : To ask the Prime Minister (1) what financial agreements were considered during her negotiations with King Hussein on the Jordanian defence package ;
(2) whether her office authorised the preferential interest rates accorded to Jordan in the financing of the purchase of arms and ammunition under the Jordon defence package.
The Prime Minister : The financial arrangements governing defence sales of this kind are a matter of commercial confidence.
Engagements
Mr Lewis : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 17 May.
Mr. Meale : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 17 May.
Mr. Eastham : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 17 May.
Mr. Stern : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 17 May.
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 17 May.
The Prime Minister : This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial
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colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House I shall be having further meetings later today, including one with President Mubarak of Egypt.HEALTH
Syringes
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Health why he has decided to exclude one third millilitre syringes from the list of items available on prescription.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : One third millilitre syringes have recently been introduced into the market in this country. Our view is that there is insufficient clinical demand for this product to be included in the list of appliances GPs may prescribe. We are keeping the matter under review.
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) one third millilitre syringes, (b) one half millilitre syringes and (c) one millilitre syringes were issued on prescription for 1989, 1988, 1987 and 1986.
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