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Written Answers to Questions
Monday 18 June 1990
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Lenient Sentences
Mr. Hind : To ask the Attorney-General how many cases involving lenient sentences he has referred to the Court of Appeal for review ; and if he will make a statement.
The Attorney-General : Since 1 February 1989, when this power took effect, I have applied for leave to refer the sentencing in 15 cases to the Court of Appeal. Four cases have not yet been heard, and I have withdrawn two cases in the light of further information. Leave has been granted in eight of the remaining nine cases, and sentences have been increased in seven of the cases. I have referred one case to the Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland ; the sentence in that case was also increased.
Legal Aid
31. Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Attorney-General what was the smallest amount paid in legal aid in the past year ; and if he will make a statement.
The Attorney-General : There is no minimum sum below which a claim for legal aid will not be met. Details of legal aid fund expenditure are contained in the legal aid annual report, a copy of which is placed in the Library each year.
House of Fraser
32. Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Attorney-General if he will discuss with the Director of Public Prosecutions the arrangements for promoting prosecutions on breaches of company law, in the light of the publication of the House of Fraser report.
The Attorney-General : Primary responsibility for the enforcement of company law rests with the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. The Crown prosecution service prosecutes Companies Act offences where they are relevant to other proceedings which they have brought. The relevant principles are clearly established, and I have no present plans to discuss them with the DPP.
Judges (Retirement Age)
33. Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Attorney-General if he has any proposals to lower the retirement age for judges.
Maguire Case
34. Mr. Mullin : To ask the Attorney-General when he last discussed the Maguire case with the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The Attorney-General : I refer the hon. Member to my reply today to the hon. Member for Hackney, South and Shoreditch (Mr. Sedgemore).
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Management Consultants
Mr. Allen : To ask the Attorney-General if he will list the studies conducted inside his Department by management consultants over the last 10 years, naming the consultancy, the cost, the subject and the outcome in each instance.
The Attorney-General : No such studies have been conducted within the legal secretariat to the Law Officers or the Serious Fraud Office. In the case of the Treasury Solicitor's Department the firm of Peat Marwick McLintock advised on the installation of a computerised time recording and billing system. The cost of this consultation was £86,337.63 and the system has now been installed. Since the service was created in 1986, the following studies by management consultants have been carried out in the Crown prosecution service.
Strategic planning and budgeting study by Hay Management Consultants, completed April 1987, cost £37,000, results--strategy set and planning system implemented ;
Telecommunications strategy study by Logica, completed January 1987, cost £20,000, result--strategy set ;
Internal communications study by Charles Barker Communications, completed December 1987, cost £29,000, result--internal communication manager appointed and work on improving internal communications put in hand ;
Information study, assistance from The Mindworks Partnership, cost £37,000, completed December 1988, result--programme of work to develop internal information systems put in hand ;
Staffing model feasibility study by PA Management Consultants, cost £37,000, completed December 1988, result--feasibility established leading to full study ;
Staffing model development by PA Management Consultants, completed January 1990, cost £135,000, result--model produced, currently being tested and refined ;
Evaluation of the use of information technology to present evidence in court by The Human Science and Advanced Technology Research Centre, Loughborough University, completed February 1990, cost £15,000, result --evaluation report produced and supplied to other relevant organisations ;
Review of CPS contract car-hire scheme by Transtech Consultancy Services, completed April 1990, cost £14,000, the report is now being considered.
Licensed Conveyancers
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Attorney-General how many licensed conveyancers are presently registered to practise in England and Wales.
The Attorney-General : There are presently 766 licensed conveyancers holding licenses, of whom 270 are practising on their own account. The remaining 496 are employed as conveyancers.
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Attorney-General what educational requirements and what technical educational qualifications are required before an applicant can be accepted as a licensed conveyancer.
The Attorney-General : To be accepted as a licensed conveyancer a person must have successfully completed or obtained exemption from the Council for Licensed Conveyancers' examinations and the prescribed practical training. Information about the educational requirements and training for licensed conveyancers is available from the Council for Licensed Conveyancers at Golden Cross house, Duncannon street, London WC2N 4JF.
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Leaseholders
Mr. Soley : To ask the Attorney-General when he expects legislation concerning leaseholders to be presented to Parliament.
The Attorney-General : The Lord Chancellor announced in June 1988 that the Government had arranged for draft legislation to be prepared at the Law Commission to give effect to the proposals contained in the report of the working group on commonhold (Cm. 179) under the chairmanship of Mr. T. M. Aldridge. That work is taking longer to complete than was originally expected and a number of important issues remain to be resolved. No final decision has yet been taken about the implementation of the report, nor can I give any indication of when legislation on commonhold may be introduced.
Mr. Kevin Taylor
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Attorney-General, pursuant to his answer of 13 June to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe, whether the Director of Public Prosecutions has yet received a reply to his letter of 19 January to the chief constable of Greater Manchester.
The Attorney-General : Yes. The terms of the reply are confidential between the chief constable and the DPP. The right hon. Member will, however, be aware of the announcement by the chief constable of Greater Manchester that he has decided to ask a senior officer from another police force to investigate the issues raised by the DPP.
Social Security Commissioners
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Attorney-General what steps have been taken to reduce delays in deciding appeals to the social security commissioners and in notifying claimants of commissioners' decisions and what effect those steps have had or are expected to have on the average length of such delays.
The Attorney-General : The following steps have been taken within the last month by the Lord Chancellor's Department and local management of the office of social security commissioners (OSSC) : (
(a) The Department is recruiting an additional legally qualified Nominated Officer to assist the Commissioners ;
(b) A fast-stream' system has been introduced to expedite appeals where both parties agree the lower tribunal erred in law. At present up to 20 cases a week of this sort are being dealt with out of the usual chronological order ;
(c) Agency typists and word processor operators are now used to cover for sick and annual leave by full-time staff ;
(d) Two new word processors have been installed. A new photocopier will be installed shortly which will significantly reduce the time taken to photocopy case papers and Commissioners' decisions ; (
(e) Tighter targets have been set for the typing of work, including Commissioners' decisions, to reduce delays ; and (
(f) Office systems at OSSC's London headquarters have been reviewed and simplified to increase effectiveness and management control. Some sections have been amalgamated.
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The Department believes that these measures will start to reduce the average length of delays over the next three months, but it is too early to predict the scale of that reduction.Divorce
Mr. Anthony Coombs : To ask the Attorney-General how much legal aid for divorce cases cost in the latest year for which figures are available ; and how much this cost in 1985.
The Attorney-General : The latest year for which figures are available is 1988-89. The cost of full civil legal aid in all matrimonial cases was £116.91 million in 1988-89 and £74.88 million in 1984- 85.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT
Aid Recipients (Growth Rate)
39. Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what studies have been made of the impact of British aid on the growth rate of recipient countries.
Mrs. Chalker : The ODA's own evaluation studies examine the specific impact of our aid projects and programmes. There have been many other studies of the impact of global aid flows on the economies of aid-recipient countries, but I am not aware of any which focused on the relationship between British aid and the growth rate of recipients.
EC Ministers
41. Mr. Jim Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the last meeting of European Community Development Ministers.
Mrs. Chalker : European Community Development Ministers last met on 29 May. We discussed the direction of the Community's aid to Asia and Latin America. I emphasised the importance of focusing on poor countries and poorest sectors of the population. We agreed on a resolution stressing the importance of environmental aspects of development. I gained the support of all partners to my call for reform of the tropical forestry action plan and for further discussion on completion of the review. We also discussed food aid policy ; the role of women in development ; and evaluation of projects.
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the European Community Council of Development Ministers meeting of 29 May.
Mrs. Chalker : At the European Community Development Ministers meeting on 29 May we discussed the direction of the Community's aid to Asia and Latin America. I emphasised the importance of focusing on poor countries and poorest sectors of the population. We agreed on a resolution stressing the importance of environmental aspects of development, and I repeated my call for reform of the tropical forestry action plan. We also discussed food aid policy ; the role of women in development ; and evaluation.
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Bergen Declaration
42. Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he plans to take as a result of the Bergen ministerial declaration ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Chalker : The Bergen ministerial declaration will be helpful in informing the Government's views on the global aspects of implementing sustainable development. Where appropriate we shall be following up in the relevant fora, especially in the preparations for the UN conference on environment and development in Brazil in 1992.
Vietnam
43. Ms. Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has recently had with representatives of the Vietnamese Government on the subject of aid relief to Vietnam.
Mrs. Chalker : During the visit of my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office to Hanoi from 18 to 21 February the possibility of British aid was discussed in the context of a satisfactory overall settlement to the problem of returning all non-refugees from Hong Kong to their country of origin.
44. Mr. Orme : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has any plans to visit Vietnam to discuss with the Government of Vietnam future aid programmes to that country.
Mrs. Chalker : I have no current plans to visit Vietnam.
50. Mr. Bradley : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to establish a
government-to-government bilateral aid programme with Vietnam.
65. Mr. Boyes : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consideration he is giving to establishing a government-to-government bilateral aid programme in Vietnam.
Mrs. Chalker : I refer the hon. Members to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe (Mr. Lester) on 17 May. The Government have made it clear that the provision of direct bilateral aid would depend on the co-operation of the Vietnamese Government in reaching a satisfactory solution to the Hong Kong boat people and on a continuing commitment to economic reform.
Southern Africa
45. Mr. Canavan : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with non- governmental organisations about aid for people in southern Africa ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Chalker : I have regular meetings with representatives of non- governmental organisations, and aid to southern Africa is often discussed.
AIDS
46. Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what resources have now been committed by the Overseas Development Administration to help developing countries to combat the spread of AIDS.
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Mrs. Chalker : To date we have provided £16.83 million as our contribution to the global programme on AIDS being run by WHO. We have also committed £6.58 million to help finance a number of individual country AIDS control programmes in Africa and the Caribbean ; these have been formulated under the umbrella of the WHO global programme.
In addition, we have contributed £2.98 million over six years to the International Planned Parenthood Federation's AIDS programme ; and £3 million for AIDS-related research studies in developing countries in a number of key fields by a range of British institutions and experts.
Namibia
47. Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he is taking to help relieve the debts incurred by Namibia before independence.
Mr. Waldegrave : I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office to the hon. Member for Makerfield (Mr. McCartney) on 14 May.
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the application of African, Caribbean and Pacific trade preferences to Namibia was discussed at the meeting of the European Community Development Council on 29 May ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Chalker : Namibia's application for accession to the Lome convention was not discussed at the Development Council. The Commission is in contact with the Namibian Government and will be making proposals for accession arrangements which will cover trade preferences. The United Kingdom Government have told the Namibian Government that we will view their application sympathetically, and we hope their accession will be formalised as soon as possible.
Global Warming
48. Mr. Sean Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on how his Department is monitoring the impact of Britain's bilateral aid programme on global warming.
Mrs. Chalker : It is not possible to monitor specifically the overall impact of the bilateral aid programme on global warming. The ODA's manual of environmental appraisal guides managers in assessing environmental issues in all bilateral projects and programmes. Our programmes in forestry and energy efficiency are designed to help developing countries pursue their development objectives while limiting their contribution to global warming.
54. Mr. Beith : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much of the current Overseas Development Administration budget is directed towards chlorofluorocarbon and carbon dioxide reductions in developing countries.
Mrs. Chalker : We have so far committed over £340,000 to assist developing countries to phase out substances that
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deplete the ozone layer. This support covered a study of the options open to India for phasing out these substances ; funding for an international conference on tropical ozone and atmospheric change which was held in Penang, Malaysia in February ; and help to enable developing countries take an active part in international meetings of the Montreal protocol.It is not possible to monitor specifically how much of the current aid budget is directed towards carbon dioxide reductions in developing countries. However, key programme activities like our tropical forestry initiative and our energy efficiency initiative are designed to help developing countries pursue their development objectives, while limiting their contribution to global warming through reductions in carbon dioxide emissions. During my visit to India last month I announced a new aid package under the energy efficiency initiative which will provide £50 million to improve energy efficiency in India.
Caribbean Bananas
49. Mr. Ronnie Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action the Government are taking to protect the livelihoods of Caribbean banana workers when the European single market comes into effect.
55. Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what effect he expects the European single market to have on the economies of the main banana-producing Caribbean states.
Mrs. Chalker : The European Commission has not yet come forward with a proposal for the arrangements to apply for bananas post-1992. It is not possible at present to say what impact the creation of the single European market will have on Caribbean banana-producing countries. However, we are encouraging the Commission and other member states to ensure that any new arrangements fulfil our commitments to our Commonwealth Caribbean suppliers, and that they take account of consumer interests and the competition and efficiency objectives of the single market initiative.
Climate Change
51. Mr. Buckley : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much the British Government are contributing to the fund to help developing countries participate in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Mrs. Chalker : The Overseas Development Administration and the Department of the Environment have each contributed £25,000, and the Overseas Development Administration has offered a further £25,000.
Refugees
52. Mr. Robert G. Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last met the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to discuss the position of refugees ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Chalker : I met the new High Commissioner for Refugees, Mr. Stoltenberg, in Geneva on 5 June. We had
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a most useful and wide-ranging discussion, focusing particularly on Mr. Stoltenberg's plans for reorganising UNHCR and improving its operational effectiveness. I also announced new British contributions totalling £5 million which will help UNHCR over its current financial difficulties.Cambodia
53. Mr. Corbett : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to establish a bilateral aid programme with Cambodia.
Mrs. Chalker : Britain has no relations with the Hun Sen regime. This rules out the provision of normal bilateral aid. We are, however, committed to providing humanitarian assistance inside Cambodia through British non-governmental organisations and UN agencies.
Eastern Europe
56. Mr. Eadie : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the effect of developments in eastern Europe on the global availability of funds from multilateral institutions.
Mrs. Chalker : OECD member Governments are agreed that assistance to eastern Europe must not detract from the high priority placed on international co-operation with the developing countries ; and this was reaffirmed in the declaration by the UN special session on international economic co-operation held from 23 April to 1 May. European Community aid to eastern Europe has not been at the expense of any other development assistance. Any increase in World Bank lending would be funded from borrowings in the financial markets. Additional funds will be made available for eastern Europe through the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Ethiopia
57. Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the latest information he has on the famine situation in Ethiopia.
Mrs. Chalker : Although the situation remains critical, it has so far been possible to avert mass starvation and mass migration of people in search of food. There are some grounds for hope that the threat can be contained, provided that relief operations are not further disrupted by the civil conflict and that there is good rainfall over the coming months.
68. Mr. Frank Cook : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he is taking to ensure that food supplies reach northern Tigray and Eritrea.
Mrs. Chalker : We are providing both food and logistical support for the southern line operation which, by the end of May, had delivered more than 15,000 tonnes of food to the famine-affected areas of northern Wollo and Tigray. We are also providing support for deliveries of relief supplies from Sudan into Eritrea and Tigray, and for the United Nations-organised airlift of supplies for vulnerable groups in Asmara, the besieged capital city of Eritrea. We have also been pressing for the reopening of
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the port of Massawa and welcome recent reports of the Ethiopian Government's willingness in principle to agree to this.Romania (HIV-infected Babies)
58. Mr. John Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further plans he has to make funds available to help HIV-infected babies in Romania.
Mrs. Chalker : The Government have already given 1 million disposable syringes and a quantity of HIV testing equipment to Romania ; and we have paid for the transport to Romania of disposable gloves, syringes and other supplies generously donated by British companies. We have also asked the World Health Organisation to use for AIDS work a substantial part of the £500,000 we recently gave to the World Health Organisation's programme of aid to the Romanian health services. We have no plans for further aid at present.
Third World Debt
59. Mr. Boateng : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs by how much he estimates developing countries have benefited from the Brady plan for third world debt.
Mrs. Chalker : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Erdington (Mr. Corbett) on 14 May at column 340.
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what he estimates the benefit to have been to developing countries of the Toronto plan for the poorest indebted countries.
Mrs. Chalker : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave to the hon. Members for Manchester, Blackley (Mr. Eastham) and for Glasgow, Pollok (Mr. Dunnachie) on 14 May at column 340.
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what proposals the Government have made to the World Bank about the cancellation of debt owed by the poorest developing countries.
Mrs. Chalker : Britain has taken the lead in international efforts to assist the poorest debtors. We have cancelled over £1 billion-worth of old aid loans. On other official debt, we proposed concessions which were agreed at the 1988 Toronto economic summit. We regularly review the debt strategy with the management and other members of the IMF and World Bank.
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