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Jordanian Defence Package
Mr. Rogers : To ask the Prime Minister whether her office approved the mix of moneys from Midland Montagu bank and the Ministry of Defence budget to service the Jordanian defence package.
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The Prime Minister : The financial arrangements governing defence sales of this kind are a matter of commercial confidence.
THE ARTS
Painters and Sculptors
75. Dr. Kim Howells : To ask the Minister for the Arts if he has any plans to introduce a scheme by which painters and sculptors may benefit financially from the proceeds of sales of their work subsequently to the initial sales of individual pieces of work.
Mr. Luce : No. The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry announced in the 1986 White Paper "Intellectual Property and Innovation" that he did not intend to introduce such a scheme because it would be complex to administer and the disadvantages would outweigh any benefit to the artist.
DEFENCE
Nuclear Materials (Transport)
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if his Department has conducted any independent assessments or tests assessing the safety of transport containers used by his Department to move nuclear materials.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Yes. All containers used by the Ministry of Defence to transport nuclear materials undergo testing to standards laid down in the regulations of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
US Warships
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list United States naval warship visits to British ports from 23 May 1989 to the present date ; the time at which they visited ; and the type of vessel involved.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The information requested is as follows :
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Ship |Type |Port |Arrive |Depart
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Iowa |Battleship |Portsmouth | 3 July 1989 | 8 July 1989
Preble |Destroyer |Loch Ewe | 4 July 1989 | 4 July 1989
Providence |Submarine |Portsmouth |14 July 1989 |20 July 1989
John Hall |Frigate |Greenock |17 July 1989 |23 July 1989
Spruance |Destroyer |Greenock |17 July 1989 |23 July 1989
Pawcatuck |Oiler |Greenock |17 July 1989 |23 July 1989
Aubrey Fitch |Frigate |London |22 September 1989| 4 October 1989
William V. Pratt |Destroyer |Portsmouth |22 September 1989|26 September 1989
Mahan |Destroyer |Devonport |23 September 1989|15 October 1989
|Rosyth | 9 November 1989 |14 November 1989
|Rosyth |24 November 1989 |28 November 1989
Philadelphia |Submarine |Portsmouth |16 October 1989 |20 October 1989
L. Mendal Rivers |Submarine |Portsmouth |15 November 1989 |20 November 1989
Pargo |Submarine |Portsmouth |12 March 1990 |19 March 1990
Equipment (Environmental Impact)
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Ynys Mo n (Mr. Jones), Official Report, 3 May, column 646, he will publish in the Official Report a full list of the publications on environmental impact of equipment produced for his Department to which he refers.
Mr. Neubert : It would require disproportionate cost to identify and list all the publications by the Department which refer to the environmental impact of defence equipment. These range from the Statement on the Defence Estimates 1990 to, where appropriate, environmental impact assessments of individual projects.
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Ynys Mo n (Mr. Jones), Official Report, 3 May, column 646, on the ordering of equipment for his Department, he will now make it his policy to make it a condition of purchase for his departmental suppliers that they conduct an environmental audit of their corporate operations.
Mr. Neubert : No, it is the responsibility of the individual companies concerned to make sure that their corporate operations meet the appropriate environmental legislation and regulations.
Soldiers (Germany)
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many soldiers serving in Germany in each of the last four years have been remanded for trial by district court martial ; and how long was the period between each incident which led to the trial and the start of the court martial proceedings.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The number of soldiers serving in Germany who were remanded for trial by district court martial in each of the last four years was :
|Number
---------------------
1986 |404
1987 |387
1988 |417
1989 |359
Each case varies depending on its complexity, the degree of investigation required, the plea, availability of witness etc ; a straightforward case might take three months, a complex case around 18 months. It would not be possible to give the further information requested without disproportionate cost.
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many soldiers serving in Germany in each of the last four years have been involved in incidents which have been the subject of Royal Military Police investigations ; and how long it has taken in each case (a) for an initial report to be made, (b) for initial legal advice to be given, (c) for final legal advice to be received
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for a commanding officer to decide on disciplinary action and (d) where relevant, for district court martial proceedings to begin.Mr. Archie Hamilton : The number of soldiers serving in Germany who were involved in incidents which were the subject of Royal Military Police investigations was :
1986 |1987 |1988 |1989 --------------------------------- <1>2,997 |3,175|2,947|4,757 <1> Estimate.
I am afraid that the detailed information requested could not be produced without disproportionate cost.
Norton Manor Camp
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what inquiries he has made into the circumstances in which, on 15 May, a hole was cut in the perimeter fence of Norton Manor camp, near Taunton ; if he is satisfied with the security arrangements at the camp ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : On 15 May a security patrol at Norton Manor camp noticed an irregularity in the perimeter fence which suggested that an unauthorised entry might have occurred. As a precautionary measure, a full search of the camp was carried out, but no evidence of entry by unauthorised persons was found. It now appears that the irregularity discovered by the patrol was a section of fence which had been repaired, although the repair had not been recorded in the usual way. I am satisfied that appropriate security arrangements are in place at Norton Manor camp, although these are kept under constant review.
Low Flying
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he plans to publish accident rates for individual types of Royal Air Force aircraft ;
(2) if he plans to publish the results of the skyguard monitoring in the United Kingdom of low-flying aircraft on an annual basis ; (3) if he plans to introduce an address and telephone number which people can contact if they wish to complain about low flying ; (4) if he will publish the list of approved targets for Royal Air Force low-flying aircraft in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Neubert : The points raised are recommendations by the House of Commons Defence Committee, whose report on low flying (HC 120) is currently being considered very carefully. There will be a response to all of the report's recommendations in the Government's reply to the Committee.
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NATIONAL FINANCE
Home Ownership
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proposals he has to assist home owners.
Mr. Ryder : Interest rates will continue to be kept as high as needed to reduce inflation. Everyone has far more to fear from a resurgence of inflation than from a period of higher interest rates.
Interest Rates
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the effect of the current level of interest rates on manufacturing industry.
Mr. Ryder : Inflation is the greatest threat to the prosperity of all manufacturing firms. The Government will therefore keep interest rates as high as necessary for as long as necessary as part of their firm anti- inflationary policy.
Mr. Battle : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will next meet the Governor of the Bank of England to discuss interest rate policy.
Mr. Parry : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will next meet the Governor of the Bank of England to discuss interest rate policy.
Mr. Ryder : My right hon. Friend the Chancellor meets the Governor of the Bank of England from time to time to discuss a variety of matters.
European Monetary Union
Mr. Frank Cook : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what contribution his Department will be making to the conference on monetary union in Europe, organised by the Federal Trust for Education and Research, to be held in London on 24 May.
Mr. Lilley : I will be addressing this conference.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his reply of 9 May, if he will make a statement on the anticipated effect upon the rate of inflation of the 30 per cent. by which 1989's domestic rate revenue would have had to be increased to meet the current anticipated local authority revenue from the community charge.
Mr. Ryder [holding answer 16 May 1990] : Local authorities' spending decisions have added 1 percentage point to the inflation rate in April. The effect would have been very similar had that spending been financed by domestic rates.
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his reply of 9 May, if he will make a statement on the anticipated effect upon the rate of inflation of the £2.5 billion real terms increase in local authority revenues in the current financial year over 1989.
Mr. Ryder [holding answer 16 May 1990] : The average personal community charge in Great Britain is estimated
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to be 34 per cent. higher than the analogous rates per head figure in 1989-90 for households covered by the RPI. This increase has added about 1 percentage point to the annual inflation rate.ENVIRONMENT
Local Government Finance
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what percentage of the total standard spending assessment for England for 1990-91 was designated to be raised from (a) business rate income, (b) community charge income at standard spending and (c) the revenue support grant ; and what are the estimates for England for 1990-91 of actual sums raised from(i) business rate income, (ii) community charge income and (iii) the revenue support grant.
Mr. Chope : The information requested is as follows :
(a) 35 per cent. ; (b) 33 per cent. ; (c) 32 per cent. ; and (i) £10.4 billion ; (ii) £12.7 billion ; (iii) £9.4 billion. Local authority revenue expenditure is also funded by means of special grants and the use of balances or reserves.
Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment by what percentage net current spending by local authorities has risen in real terms since (a) 1978-79 and (b) 1984-85.
Mr. Chope : Local authority net current spending in England has increased in real terms by 20 per cent. and 10 per cent. between 1978-79-- 1989-90 and 1984-85--1989-90 respectively.
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will add to the list of exemptions from poll tax women who have been made homeless because of domestic violence.
Mr. Chope : A person is subject to the personal community charge in respect of his or her sole or main residence. A period of residence within a women's refuge does not confer exemption from the community charge unless it is a night shelter or hostel. In general, women will not be registered at refuges for the community charge unless, exceptionally, they are solely or mainly resident there. In almost all cases women stay in refuges for short periods, during which they will be registered for the personal community charge at their previous address.
Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he last met representatives of the local authority associations to discuss changes to the poll tax ; and if he will list other organisations he proposes to consult on the subject.
Mr. Chope : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment has not met with representatives of the local authority associations specifically to discuss changes to the community charge. He has no plans to change the principle of the charge. He did have a wide- ranging discussion when he met the leaders of the Association of County Councils, the Association of Metropolitan Authorities and the Association of District Councils on 27 March.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimates he has made of the cost of
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collection under the old rates system in England for 1990-91 ; and what is the estimated cost of collecting poll tax for the year 1991-92.Mr. Chope : The estimated cost of collecting rates in 1989-90 was £200 million. Our estimate of the total cost of collecting and administering the community charge in 1990-91 is £400 million. No estimate has yet been made of the costs of collecting the community charge in 1991-92, but they will be taken into account in the revenue support grant settlement.
Mr. David Martin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the estimated cost in a full year of excluding non-earning spouses from liability to the community charge.
Mr. Chope : It is estimated that there are about 5 million spouses of taxpayers who do not themselves pay income tax. Assuming an average personal community charge of £363 the revenue lost from exempting them would be about £1.8 billion.
Mr. Rooker : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will take steps to ensure that residents of sheltered housing cannot be required to fund the community charge of a warden's spouse who plays no part in the management of the development.
Mr. Chope : The spouse of the warden of a sheltered housing scheme is liable for his or her own community charge and receives a separate bill. The charges to residents of such schemes are a contractual matter for agreement between residents and operators.
Mr. Ralph Howell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what were (a) the numbers of ratepayers and the average payment for each ratepayer in 1989-90 and (b) the numbers of community charge payers and the average payment for each community charge payer in 1990-91.
Mr. Chope : In 1989-90 there were 18 million domestic ratepayers paying an average of £516. In 1990-91 there are 36 million charge payers and the average charge bill in England at 1 April is £363.
Mr. Beith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will publish a list in the Official Report of the amount of the poll tax adjustment in respect of forecast non-payment for each of the authorities in the northern region ; and whether he will give the average national figure for such adjustments.
Mr. Chope : This information is not available.
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the average level of community charge in London in boroughs that were (a) Conservative controlled and (b) Labour controlled before 3 May.
Mr. Chope : The level for Conservative controlled is £285 and for Labour controlled £445. The figures are based on charges at 1 April 1990.
Endangered Species
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he has for improving the implementation of CITES controls ; and whether, in view
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of the letter from the head of the endangered species branch of his Department (WLF/2050/411) to the International Council for Bird Preservation, of 25 April, he will adopt a system of the reverse listing of birds.Mr. Trippier : Since 1 January 1984 CITES controls have been applied in the United Kingdom and in the rest of the European Community by EC regulation 3626/82. The implementation of regulation 3626 is kept under constant review by the EC CITES committee, which is comprised of representatives of the CITES authorities of member states. A new regulation to replace regulation 3626/82 is to be prepared and will take account, inter alia, of decisions resulting from an independent study of the implementation of regulation 3626/82. It will be for the EC CITES committee to consider if the reverse listing of birds and other species is to be incorporated in the new regulation.
The reverse listing of birds in the Endangered Species (Import and Export) Act 1976 remains extant in the United Kingdom for species not covered by EC regulation 3626/82.
Twin Towns (USSR)
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the towns and cities in the United Kingdom which are currenty twinned with towns and cities in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ; and if he will make a statement on his proposals for promoting such arrangements and increasing their effectiveness in developing people-to- people contact especially between young people.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : The information requested is as follows :
Overseas community |British community ------------------------------------------------------------ Chimkent |Stevenage Crimean Region |Derbyshire Donetsk |Sheffield Gatchina |Monklands Gorlovka |Barnsley Kiev |Edinburgh Kostroma |Durham Krasnya Presnya |Hackney Kustany |Kirklees Kutaisi |Newport Leningrad |Manchester Leningradsky District |Hounslow Minsk |Nottingham Moskvoretsky |Lambeth Novgorod |Watford Novorossiysk |Plymouth October District |Newham Odessa |Liverpool Rostov-on-Don |Glasgow Sochi |Cheltenham Sukhumi |Kilmarnock Tbilisi |Bristol Vinnitsa |Peterborough Vladimir |Canterbury Volgograd |Coventry Voroshilovgrad |Cardiff Yalta |Margate Yaroslavl |Exeter Zaporozhye |Birmingham
The Government believe that twinning links can play an important role in breaking down barriers and developing mutual trust. To that end local authorities are encouraged through the local government international bureau to
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develop twinning links with their east European counterparts, particularly where fully democratic local government is being established.Housing
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will make a statement on the future expansion of social housing, in terms of Government grant, private funding, local authorities funding and housing associations in (a) the United Kingdom as a whole and (b) Suffolk and Norfolk ; (2) if he will make a statement on the future of social housing funding and grant aid to housing associations from 1991-92 onwards.
Mr. Chope : Housing associations are to be the main providers of new subsidised housing for the future ; local authority expenditure on housing will increasingly be focused on renovation of their own stock. Gross expenditure by the Housing Corporation on grants and loans to housing associations in England is planned to rise from £938 million in 1989- 90 to £1,736 million in 1992-93. In addition, associations can expect some continuing support from local authorities. By 1992-93, 90 per cent. of the housing association schemes for rent which the corporation approves for grant are expected to be on a "mixed funding" basis : that is, the proportion of scheme cost not met through grant will be financed by borrowing from the private sector ; the programme of low-cost home ownership schemes is already wholly mixed-funded. Housing associations' output, in England and in Suffolk and Norfolk, should therefore increase greatly as a result of increased public expenditure provision and growing use of private finance. My Department is not responsible for housing in other parts of the United Kingdom.
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on affordable rents in social housing ; and what definition of affordability his Department uses in its policy.
Mr. Chope : I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 25 April 1990 to the hon. Member for Bristol, South (Ms. Primarolo), at column 326.
Inland Waters
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many United Kingdom inland river, broad and lake waters used extensively for bathing and water recreation passed the European Community mandatory and guideline parameters in the last year for which figures are available ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : Information is held centrally only for those waters identified for the purposes of directive 76/160/EEC. No inland water has been found to meet the criteria for identification.
Bathing Waters
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many United Kingdom coastal bathing waters passed the European Economic Community requirements for all mandatory parameters for the last year in which figures are available ; and what percentage this number was of the total.
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Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : I refer my hon. Friend to the report on the quality of United Kingdom bathing waters for the 1989 bathing season which my hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment and Countryside placed in the Library on 25 January 1990 ( Official Report, column 785 ).
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many United Kingdom bathing waters passed the European Economic Community 76/160 recommended guideline values in the last year for which figures are available.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : The directive's very demanding guide value standards were met in 1989 for the coliform parameters by 179 (41 per cent.) of the 440 identified bathing waters ; 76 per cent. of these waters complied with the mandatory values.
Private Rented Accommodation
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many private rented sector units of accommodation there were in 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1990 to date.
Mr. Michael Spicer : Information about the numbers of dwellings rented privately, or with a job or business and about the numbers of dwellings rented from housing associations, is shown in table 2.22 of "Housing and Construction Statistics Part 2", No. 39. These figures show numbers at December 1988 and September 1989 ; figures for later periods are not yet available. A copy of this publication is available in the Library.
Assured Shorthold Tenancies
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the change in market rents since the introduction of assured shorthold tenancies.
Mr. Michael Spicer : Detailed information is not yet available. However, my Department will shortly be setting in hand studies to evaluate the effects of deregulation, including the impact on rent levels.
Uniform Business Rate
Mr. Morley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he intends to exempt from the uniform business rate premises used by commercial fishermen, which are not used for processing, wholesaling or retailing, but simply for storing of equipment required for the work of providing fish for food consumption.
Mr. Chope : I have no plans to do so. Premises of this sort are liable to pay rates under the new business rate arrangements which came into force on 1 April, as they were under the previous rating system.
Homelessness
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what grant was made by his Department in respect of homelessness to (a) the Bayswater Hotel Homelessness project, (b) the British Refugee Council, (c) the Central London Housing Advisory Service (d) CHAR, (e) Community House Information Centre, (f) Empty Property Unit, (g) Homes for Homeless People,
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(h) Housing Debtline, (i) National Association of Voluntary Hostels, (j) National Council for One Parent Families, (k) Specialist Information and Training Resource Agency and (l) Resource Information Service for Work on Homelessness, in each of the last three years ; and what grant he is giving for the 1990-91 financial year.Mr. Michael Spicer : This year we have trebled the funds available under section 73 of the Housing Act 1985 to £2 million. Comparing grants for individual bodies between this year and last is likely to be misleading because the nature of the programme has changed. In previous years, the emphasis was on providing core funding for voluntary bodies. This year, half the funds will go to a new national advice service based on citizens advice bureaux with specialist assistance from Shelter and SHAC ; and half to specific projects providing direct assistance and practical help to single homeless people.
Of the organisations funded under section 73 in previous years, substantial increases in the level of grant have been made to Shelter and SHAC. Shelter will receive a 400 per cent. increase from £144,490 in 1989-90 to £454,554 in 1990-91. SHAC will receive a 200 per cent. increase from £199,439 in 1989-90 to £407,236 in 1990-91. Increased grants are also being offered to Housing Advice Switchboard, the London Diocesan Fund and the Bristol Cyrenians but final details have yet to be agreed. Organisations receiving section 73 grant for the first time are : WECVS, Centrepoint, Riverpoint Single Homeless Ltd., the Hillingdon project, Portsmouth Housing Trust, St. Basil's centre, Birmingham, Newark (Nottingham) Young Single Homeless Trust, Leicester night shelter, Brighton Housing Trust, Housing Aid for Youth, National Foster Care Association, Lodgers, Chester lodging support project, Key House, The Passage, St. Martins-in-the-Fields social care unit, Thames Reach, Threshold, St. Vincent's hostel, North Lambeth day centre, London Connection, Coventry Day Centre for the Homeless Ltd., Reading emergency accommodation project and Resource Information Service. Detailed offers will shortly be agreed with these bodies.
Grant in each of the last three years to the organisations listed by the hon. Member was :
|1987-88|1988-89|1989-90
|£ |£ |£
-------------------------------------------------------------
Bayswater Hotel Homelessness
Project |12,000 |13,840 |15,390
British Refugee Council |10,590 |21,400 |21,230
Central London Housing
Advisory Service |12,760 |17,000 |16,865
CHAR |34,630 |36,200 |35,920
Community House Information
Centre |11,870 |14,000 |13,890
Empty Property Unit |18,430 |27,300 |27,080
Homes for Homeless People |29,680 |31,000 |30,750
Housing Debtline |30,414 |32,500 |32,250
National Association of
Voluntary Hostels |21,630 |22,600 |22,435
National Council for One
Parent Families |21,990 |22,970 |23,010
Specialist Information and
Training Resource Agency |- |25,000 |24,780
Resource Information Service |26,700 |34,000 |33,545
Of these bodies, only Resource Information Service has been offered grant this year ; details are yet to be agreed.
Nature Conservancy Council
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment by what amount funding to the Nature Conservancy Council has increased since 1979.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : Grant in aid to the Nature Conservancy Council has risen from £7.9 million in 1979-80 to £44.069 million in 1990 -91. This is an increase in real terms of 159 per cent. The council has also been allocated an additional £750,000 this year to meet its costs arising from the proposed reorganisation of the conservation agencies.
Toxic Waste
Mr. Frank Cook : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what effects the European Council decision on waste management and reduction will have upon his present toxic waste policy.
Mr. Trippier : The European Council resolution of April 11 on waste policy sets a framework for the future development of Community policy in this area. It supports waste minimisation through the use of clean technology and clean products and the maximum possible use of recycling. For unavoidable waste arisings, it calls for pre-treatment and high environmental standards for final disposal. The resolution also refers to the desirability of members states aiming for self-sufficiency in waste disposal and calls for an adequate network of disposal facilities across the Community. As such, the resolution is generally consistent with the Government's policies on waste and consequently was strongly supported by the United Kingdom.
Pollution
Mr. Frank Cook : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when and where he expects the joint European Environment Council--eastern European COMECON Environment Ministers meeting on atmospheric pollution, nuclear safety and environmental protection to take place.
Mr. Trippier : The Irish Government, as President of the European Council, will be hosting a meeting of Community Environment Ministers with their counterparts in eastern and central European countries in Dublin on 16 June.
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