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NATIONAL FINANCE
VAT
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received about value added tax on fuel consumed by vessels plying the United Kingdom coast and continental ports.
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Mr. Ryder : The Government have received a few representations about the change in VAT liability of fuel which takes effect on 1 July 1990 and the possibility of VAT stores relief for fishing and other vessels after that date.Civil Service Pensions
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what adjustments were made for each of the years from 1960 onwards to the negotiated pay in the home civil service for pension benefits.
Mr. Major : Civil service pay is determined within what is affordable according to the need to recruit, retain and motivate staff. A number of factors including pensions are taken into account in the pay negotiations.
Public Expenditure
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has had from regional bodies on public expenditure in the current year.
Mr. Norman Lamont : My right hon. Friend receives many representations on a variety of subjects.
Mr. McFall : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest estimate of the public spending planning total for 1990-91.
Mr. Norman Lamont : The public expenditure planning total for 1990- 91 published in the "Financial Statement and Budget Report" is £179 billion.
Retail Prices Index
Mr. Forman : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, 20 December 1989, Official Report, column 242, whether he has now received a report from the Retail Prices Index Advisory Committee.
Mr. Major : I have today received a report from the RPI Advisory Committee. It examines how to incorporate the price of holidays into the RPI and certain other issues in its work programme. On the price of holidays the report recommends that the CSO should collect data and examine a new methodology which will have to be subjected to further scrutiny before it could be incorporated into the RPI. I will present the report to Parliament and announce the Government's decision on the recommendations in due course.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT
Cambodia
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he now has plans for direct British aid to Cambodia.
Mrs. Chalker : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Erdington (Mr. Corbett) on 18 June.
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WALES
Corlan Housing Association
Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the directors of the Corlan housing association,.
Mr. Grist : The present members of the committee of management of Corlan housing association were appointed recently by Housing for Wales under the provisions of section 17 of the Housing Associations Act 1985. They are :
Mr. N. Bacon
(Deputy Chief Executive, National Agriculture Centre Rural Trust) Mr. T. Blanch
(Director, Rhondda Housing Association)
Mr. R. Head
(Director, Family Care Housing Association)
Mr. M. Savage
(Solicitor)
Mr. A. Shewring
(Chartered Accountant)
Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what purchases of land were made by the Corlan housing association and at what price, over the last five years.
Mr. Grist : The information requested is not readily available. The affairs of Corlan housing association are the subject of an investigation instituted by Housing for Wales under the provisions of section 28 of the Housing Associations Act 1985.
Food Safety Bill
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what additional funds his Department is to earmark for local authority implementation of the Food Safety Bill, and additional local authority current costs as a result of the Bill ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Grist : In the annual round of consultations leading to the 1991 -92 local authority revenue settlement, the local authority associations have assessed the costs necessary to implement the food Bill in that year at £1.35 million. This will be taken into account in determining the revenue support grant 1991-92. I expect that Government support for implementation of this Bill will be via unhypothecated grant, which will give councils the flexibility to direct resources in the light of local circumstances and priorities.
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Committee
Mr. Alan W. Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will consider giving financial assistance to the myalgic encephalomyelitis committee in Wales.
Mr. Grist : The association received £5,000 grant aid from the Department in 1988-89 and £7,500 in 1989-90, but returned £2,500 of the latter following the resignation of the officer whose post had been supported. No formal application for further grant has been received, but any future applications would be carefully considered.
Gwynedd Health Authority
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the report by consultants on the financial position and performance of Gwynedd health authority, which has been recently submitted to him ; and what steps his Department intends taking in the light of this report.
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Mr. Grist : My right hon. Friend and I look forward to receiving the authority's procurement and business plan and its related proposals for restoring financial balance.When the proposals have been submitted, we will meet the chairman and other representatives to discuss them. I shall not be in a position to comment on the way ahead until that meeting has taken place.
Community Health Councils
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will arrange a conference of community health council and area health authority chairmen to discuss his plans for community health councils in Wales.
Mr. Grist : My right hon. Friend has no plans to do so. A wide- ranging consultation exercise has been completed, with both community health councils and district health authorities, among many others, commenting fully on the proposals.
My right hon. Friend hopes to announce a decision on the future structure of the community health councils in Wales shortly.
Clwyd Health Councils
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will visit (a) Clwyd South community health council and (b) Clwyd North community health council to discuss his plans to merge community health councils.
Mr. Grist : A wide-ranging consultation exercise has been completed on the review of community health councils in Wales. Clwyd South and Clwyd North community health councils have taken the opportunity to comment fully on the proposals and my right hon. Friend and I are well acquainted with their views.
My right hon. Friend hopes to announce a decision on the future structure of the community health councils in Wales shortly.
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many community health councils he has visited in Wales ; and which community health councils he plans to meet before October.
War Memorial Hospital, Wrexham
Dr. Marek : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the previous cases in Wales heard by that inspector who decided application number WRR 16029 relating to the decision to allow demolition of the War Memorial hospital at Wrexham.
Mr. Grist : I shall write to the hon. Gentleman and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Flat Ownership
Mr. Fraser : To ask the Attorney-General when the Lord Chancellor intends to make a statement on changes in the law of the ownership of flats.
The Attorney-General : I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Hammersmith (Mr. Soley) on 18 June 1990 at column 389 .
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Plastic Bullets
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Attorney-General how many cases in 1989 involving persons injured by plastic bullets in Northern Ireland have been considered by the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland ; and what action was taken in each case.
The Attorney-General : Figures for cases considered during 1989 by the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland involving persons killed or injured by the alleged use of baton rounds are as follows :
|Number
--------------------------------------
Cases |12
Persons injured |14
Persons killed |1
Prosecutions directed |0
No prosecution directed |12
Legal Aid
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Attorney-General if interest accruing when the statutory charge is postponed by virtue of regulation 97 of the Civil Legal Aid (General) Regulations 1989 is chargeable before the Legal Aid Board has paid the assisted person's legal advisers ; if the board has the discretion to waive or postpone such interest until the time for payment to the legal advisers ; and if he will make a statement.
The Attorney-General : The position set out in regulation 97 of the Civil Legal Aid (General) Regulations 1989 is that interest is payable from the date the charge is registered. The Legal Aid Board does not have a discretion to waive or postpone the interest due from that date.
Offences, Northern Ireland
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Attorney-General how many cases concerning scheduled offences were referred to the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal in 1989 ; and in how many of these referred cases the original conviction has been (a) quashed and (b) upheld.
The Attorney-General : In 1989 a total of 103 cases concerning scheduled offences were referred to the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal. Of these 103 cases, convictions were quashed in three : the sentence was varied in six ; 55 appeals were dismissed and 39 appeals abandoned.
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Attorney-General how many applications for bail by those held on remand for scheduled, non-scheduled offences, and both together, were refused bail in 1989.
The Attorney-General : In 1989 the number of High Court bail applications by those held on remand for scheduled offence cases were refused was 560.
The number of High Court bail applications by those on remand for non- scheduled offence cases, which were refused, was 197. Information is not available in relation to unsuccessful applications in this category in the magistrates courts.
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PRIME MINISTER
Fission Products
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to her answer to the right hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Ashdown), Official Report, 28 June, columns 484-85, if she will give a full breakdown of the costs for the disposal of the fission products of nuclear power ; and if she will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : The costs of disposing of the products of nuclear generation can be expressed in purely monetary terms since the technology of waste disposal is sufficiently developed. These have been quantified, for example, in the 1988-89 accounts of the CEGB by provisions for reprocessing of spent fuel and associated waste management, and disposal costs amount to £6.4 billion at 31 March 1989. The costs of dealing with the effects of global warming as the result of the emission of greenhouse gases are not known, but could be extremely large.
Japanese Fishing
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Prime Minister if she will make representations to the Japanese Government in respect of (a) their policy of scientific whaling, (b) their overfishing of smaller cetaceans and (c) their use of monofilament nets.
The Prime Minister : We have already made known to the Japanese, through the International Whaling Commission, our firm view that whaling for research should not be conducted unless the research can be fully justified scientifically. The research would have to provide vital information which could not be obtained by non-lethal means, and would not endanger the relevant whale stocks. We shall be following this policy at the meeting of the IWC currently taking place in the Netherlands.
We have already raised the matter of the killing of small cetaceans with the Japanese Government. In 1989 the Japanese Government introduced new regulations which will reduce the number of Dall's porpoises caught.
We fully share the concern about large-scale indiscriminate drift net fishing practised by the Japanese in the South Pacific. The nations concerned were able to agree last year to a United Nations resolution which calls for an end to large-scale drift net fishing in the South Pacific by 30 June 1991 and, unless scientifically proved unnecessary, a global moratorium by 30 June 1992. The United Kingdom with its EC partners was able to play a major and constructive role in these discussions.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Association of Chief Police Officers
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his Department has received any correspondence from the Association of Chief Police Officers.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The Home Department receives correspondence from the Association of Chief Police Officers on a variety of subjects on a regular basis.
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AIDS (Prisons)
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice in the form of booklets or medical instruction is given to prison officers who, in the course of their duties, may come into contact with inmates who have AIDS.
Mr. Mellor : The staff training package "AIDS Inside", which has been in use since August 1987, includes a video film and a leaflet prepared by a committee of medical and other experts for the information of all prison service staff. For health care staff the most recent source of advice on safe practice is "Guidance for Clinical Health Care Workers : Protection Against Infection with HIV and Hepatitis Viruses" issued by the United Kingdom health departments in January this year. Such staff also receive training, where appropriate, in the clinical management and care of patients with AIDS and AIDS-related illness.
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what were the known numbers of AIDS inmates held in prisons in England and Wales on 25 June.
Mr. Mellor : On the date mentioned the prison population of England and Wales included 56 prisoners reported by medical officers as having been identified as HIV antibody positive. AIDS had been diagnosed in two of these cases.
Prison Officers, London
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for each of the London prisons the amount of prison officer accommodation that is available for officers serving at London prisons to occupy and the present number of quarters that are empty.
Mr. Mellor : The latest available information, as at 1 April 1990, is as follows :
Total number of quarters available Prison |Number|Empty ------------------------------------- Brixton |221 |(3) Holloway |152 |(3) Pentonville |111 |(1) Wandsworth |187 |(5) Wormwood Scrubs |212 |(None)
Trevi Group
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what discussions the Trevi group of Ministers has had about arranging exchanges with officials from EEC states in order to obtain information on law enforcement, legal systems and innovations in technology ;
(2) what discussions the Trevi group of Ministers has had about introducing uniform legal provisions in the relevant parts of domestic law in each member state of the EEC ;
(3) what discussions the Trevi group of Ministers has had about EEC co- operation at frontiers and borders in relation to (a) problems of illegal immigration, (b) crossing common land when following suspects of serious crime and (c) the possibility of a new treaty to deal with these problems.
Mr. Waddington : The position reached by Trevi in discussing matters of police co-operation among
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European Community member states is recorded in the programme of action approved in Dublin on 15 June, a copy of which is in the Library. Problems of illegal immigration are primarily a matter for the EC ad hoc immigration working group, which is currently considering a draft convention on the crossing of external frontiers of the Community.Police (Ethnic Minorities)
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis as to how many black and ethnic minority employees the Metropolitan police employs in its civilian staff above the grade of executive officer.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The Commissioner has told me that in August 1989, the latest date for which the information is available, there were 36 civilian staff from ethnic minority communities of higher executive officer grade and above in the Metropolitan police service as well as 127 executive officers. This does not include traffic wardens and industrial grades.
Nuclear Emergency Centres
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many nuclear emergency centres there are in the United Kingdom ; how many are currently inoperative ; and for what reasons.
Mr. John Patten : Information on the most recently reported position in respect of local authority emergency centres, including the most common shortcomings found in those which were not operational, was given in "A Report on Implementation of the Civil Defence (General Local Authority Functions) Regulations 1983 in England and Wales at 30 September 1989". The report was published in May and a copy is in the Library.
Prison Staff
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of staff in each prison establishment in each of the last 10 years with less than two years total experience in the prison service.
Mr. Mellor : The information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Remand Prisoners
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of (a) men and (b) women being held on remand in prisons in England and Wales on Monday 25 June.
Mr. Mellor : At the end of May, the latest date for which the information is available, 9,495 male and 347 female untried and convicted unsentenced prisoners were held in prison service establishments or in police cells.
Criminal Verdicts
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total number of criminal verdicts of manslaughter or murder and the relevant verdict at the inquest for each of the years 1974 to 1989, inclusive.
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Mr. Waddington : The number of criminal verdicts is given in table 4.2 of the Command Paper "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales", and the number of inquest verdicts is given in table 5 of the Home Office statistical bulletin "Statistics of Deaths reported to Coroners, England and Wales". Copies of both these publications are in the Library.
The inquest verdicts exclude cases where court proceedings have been instituted. In these cases a coroner will not resume an inquest which he has adjourned, to avoid the need for two tribunals to consider the same evidence.
Deaths (Records)
Mr. Loyden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will establish a national register of persons who have died and whose next of kin cannot be ascertained to enable next of kin to identify their relatives ; and whether he will make the register open to the public.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : No. All deaths are registered locally by the registrar of births and deaths and subsequently notified to the Registrar- General who maintains a central record. We are currently considering the establishment of a national "missing persons" register which would assist in identifying bodies which are found without any form of identification and relatives could make inquiries of the register via the police.
Mr. Loyden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what records are kept on the number of persons found dead each year where no relatives can be traced by the responsible authorities ; and how many there are for the latest year available ;
(2) after what period of time those responsible for ascertaining and informing the next of kin terminate their inquiries ; (3) what procedures are followed in order to ascertain the next of kin of a person found dead ;
(4) who is responsible for locating and contacting next of kin once death has been confirmed.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : There are no central records of persons found dead where no relations can be traced, nor is there any statutory requirement for an individual or authority to report a death to the next of kin. In practice, responsibility for notification is normally assumed by whoever has the duty of care at the time of death ; there are no time limits on their inquiries. There are no set procedures to follow, but the identification of the dead person must be known before relatives can be traced. If the person's identity is known or can be established, the amount of time needed to trace the next of kin depends on the circumstances of each case, for example the available documentation on the body. Where identity cannot be established, the police will arrange for details to be circulated to other forces and to New Scotland Yard to check against their missing persons records. There is no predetermined time limit for each case.
Television Company Franchises
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received concerning negative bidding for television company franchises ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received concerning negative bidding for television company franchises ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Mellor : A few responses to the broadcasting White Paper suggested the possibility of negative bidding for regional Channel 3 licences.
Prisoners
Mr. Stern : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his policy on the accommodation of prisoners as close as possible to their families, taking into account considerations of security and accommodation.
Mr. Mellor : Four main principles govern the allocation of sentenced prisoners to training establishments : the needs of security, the needs of control, the needs of the individual prisoners and the need to make the best use of accommodation.
In applying these considerations, we of course recognise that it is in the interests of most prisoners to be located as near to their home area as is practicable, to ease visiting arrangements for families and friends and to help prisoners in the last part of their sentence in preparation for release.
Prisoners held in prison service custody on remand are generally held in those establishments which are nearest to their courts of remand or trial.
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