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Mortgage Arrears
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information he has on the number of people more than one month and up to six months in arrears on their mortgage repayments.
Mr. Ryder : I have nothing to add to the answer I gave to the hon. Member on 27 June at column 216.
Natural Beauty Products, Bridgend
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will provide the hon. Member for Bridgend with a full note of the meeting on 1 February between Customs and Excise and Natural Beauty Products Ltd., Bridgend, including the timing and source of, and participants in, all phone calls made and received during that meeting.
Mr. Ryder [holding answer 29 June 1990] : I refer the hon. Member to the letter that my right hon. and noble Friend the Paymaster General sent to him on 6 July, a copy of which has been placed in the Library.
German State Lottery
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the last date on which lottery tickets from the West German state lottery organisations were seized by Customs and Excise.
Mr. Ryder [holding answer 5 July 1990] : I understand from Customs and Excise that the latest date on which it seized lottery material from the Suddeutsche Klassenlotterien is 2 July 1990 and the latest date on which it seized material from the Nordwestdeutsche Klassenlotterien is 18 May 1990.
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Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government towards seizures of West German state lottery tickets, in the light of the legal proceedings initiated by a West German lottery ticket salesman ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Ryder [holding answer 5 July 1990] : Policy remains that the import prohibition on lottery material should be enforced. Pending the outcome of any legal proceedings taken to challenge the validity of its action, Customs will continue to seize offending material which comes to its notice.
EMPLOYMENT
Radiation Exposure
Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will introduce legislation to reduce levels of exposure to radiation at nuclear plants ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nicholls : The current dose limits are set out in schedule 1 to the Ionising Radiations Regulations 1985 (IRR 85). The regulations comply with an EC directive (80/836 Euratom, as amended by 84/467) which in turn reflects advice from the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). The ICRP is now reviewing its advice. The Health and Safety Commission's working group on ionising radiations will consider the revised ICRP recommendations, when finalised, and make any necessary proposals for further action. Proposals for interim action pending the receipt of the revised ICRP recommendations were set out in an HSC consultative document earlier this year. The response is being considered with a view to issuing an additional part to the existing approved code of practice to IRR 85.
Industrial Tribunals
Ms. Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many cases were registered with industrial tribunals in the United Kingdom and in the calendar year 1989 under section 1 of the Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978 where the applicant claimed that their employer had not provided a written statement of terms and conditions of employment.
Mr. Nicholls : The information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Action for Jobs
Mr. Terry Davis : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what expenditure was incurred on the action for jobs campaign in 1988-89 in addition to printed material, television advertising, press advertising, radio advertising and outdoor advertising.
Mr. Eggar : Expenditure of £10,000 on exhibition materials and £5, 000 on research was incurred on the action for jobs campaign in 1988-99, in addition to expenditure on printed material, television advertising, press advertising, radio advertising and outdoor advertising.
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SCOTLAND
Cleanliness
Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will release additional funding to enable local authorities to upgrade standards of cleanliness in public places.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The matter of any cost implications that may arise for local authorities in upgrading standards of cleanliness in public places and other provisions contained in the Environmental Protection Bill has been raised in the round of discussions with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities on local government finance in 1991-92. They will be taken into account in establishing the level of aggregate external finance for that year.
Public Toilets
Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will introduce legislation compelling Scottish local authorities to upgrade standards of hygiene in public toilets ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Islands and district councils have discretionary powers under section 26 of the Local Government and Planning (Scotland) Act 1982 to provide, equip and maintain fixed or moveable public conveniences in such places as appear to them to be suitable.
My right hon. and learned Friend has no plans to introduce legislation on standards of hygiene in such places.
Sexual Offences
Ms. Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland in each of the years from 1980 to 1989 inclusive how many gay and/or bisexual men in Scotland were convicted of importuning in public places, contrary to section 32 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Section 32 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956 does not extend to Scotland. It is not possible to separately identify broadly similar offences within the Scottish Home and Health Department's classification of crimes and offences.
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many men in Scotland were convicted of the offences of procuring or attempting to procure the commission of acts of buggery and gross indecency in each of the years 1980 to 1989, inclusive.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The information requested is not separately identifiable within the Scottish Home and Health Department's classification of crimes and offences.
Roads
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimates he has on the proportion of A702 traffic that will be diverted to the M74-M8 within Fastlink.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Following our consultations on the routes south of Edinburgh study,
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management consultants have been appointed to assess the viability of the Fastlink as a privately financed project. Clearly the new road would attract traffic from the A702. It is for potential promoters of the scheme to quantify the volume of traffic which might be diverted to the route, but it could be in excess of one third of the flow on the rural section of the road north of Biggar.Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to enforce restrictions on heavy vehicles using the A702 and A701 routes after the M74-M8 Fastlink is completed.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Subject to the satisfactory conclusion of discussions with Strathclyde, Borders and Lothian regional councils, it is proposed that the A702 would be de-trunked on completion of an M74-M8 Fastlink. The A701 is not a trunk road. It would therefore be for the regional councils as local roads authorities to consider whether any access restrictions were desirable.
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans his Department has to reconsider dualling the A1 to Dunbar.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : I have announced a package of improvement schemes for the A1 which is likely to require the provision of nearly £50 million. We propose to dual the A1 from Bankton to Haddington, and in the longer term to Dunbar, and it is intended to formulate an appropriate package of further measures to improve the level of service over the remaining length. Dual carriageways are considered for roads expected to carry between 11, 000 and 46,000 vehicles per day, and dualling on the A1 is being provided at the threshold level. Although dualling of the whole route is not ruled out in the very long term, current average daily traffic levels on the rural sections through Borders region are only about 5, 000 vehicles per day.
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimates he has on the cost of dualling the A6091 between the A68 and the A7.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The A6091 is not a trunk road, and is the responsibility of Borders regional council as local roads authority.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he next plans to visit the Borders region to discuss the Government's current road plans for the future development of the A7 south of Hawick with the local roads authority ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 5 July 1990] : I received an invitation from Roxburgh district council to attend a meeting to discuss the Government's plans for improving road access to the Borders. I propose to visit Borders regional council, as the authority responsible for trunk roads. I also propose to visit Roxburgh district council, on housing matters in the course of which I shall listen to its representations. Neither the date nor format of the meetings has yet been arranged.
Health Boards
Mr. Bill Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has any plans to review the levels of remuneration for health board chairmen.
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Mr. Michael Forsyth : My right hon. and learned Friend accepts that the remuneration of health board chairmen should be revised to reflect the additional workload which chairmen are experiencing in preparing for implementation of NHS reforms and in recognition of the new responsibilities which they will take on when the new health boards are established in 1991. He has therefore decided on the following levels of remuneration for chairmen with effect from 1 April 1990 :
F
Health board |Remuneration
|£ per annum
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Greater Glasgow |22,730
Lothian |20,490
Grampian; Tayside |18,250
Lanarkshire; Argyll and Clyde |16,005
Ayr and Arran; Fife; Forth Valley; Highland |13,415
Borders; Dumfries and Galloway |10,810
Orkney; Shetland; Western Isles |6,510
In addition, my right hon. and learned Friend has decided that remuneration should be introduced for non-executive members of the new health boards. This will apply from 1 April 1991 and the levels will be £5,000 per annum for mainland health boards and £2,000 per annum for island health boards.
Illiteracy
Mr. Norman Hogg : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many children have left school in each of the past five years unable to read or write in each education authority area.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 5 July 1990] : This information is not available.
New Towns
Mr. Norman Hogg : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he next expects to meet the chairmen of the new town development corporations.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 5 July 1990] : My right hon. and learned Friend has no immediate plans to meet the chairmen of the new town development corporations. I shall be meeting them on Friday 6 July.
Primary Schools, Glasgow
Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the current teacher to pupil ratio in Glasgow primary schools ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 5 July 1990] : The pupil : teacher ratio in primary schools in the Glasgow division of Strathclyde in 1989-90 was 19.4 : 1, compared with 20.9 : 1 in 1988-89. This information may be found in SED statistical bulletin No. 9/B1/1990, a copy of which is in the Library.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Dental Health
Mr. Hume : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what information is available to indicate the average cost per estimate for completed dental treatment for patients under 16 years in Northern Ireland.
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Mr. Needham : At present the average cost per course of dental treatment for children under 16 years is £25.78.Mr. Hume : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what statistical information is available on child dental health under 18 years in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Needham : A survey of the dental health of children aged five, eight, 12 and 15 years was carried out in 1989. Preliminary results show that on average caries levels in these age groups have fallen by some 38 per cent. since 1983.
Extradition
Mr. Kilfedder : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he has received any indications from the Government of the Republic of Eire about removal of articles 2 and 3 of their 1937 constitution or appropriate amendment of the Extradition Act 1965 in order to deal with terrorists more effectively.
Mr. Cope : The situation in relation to our arrangements for dealing with fugitive offenders is currently being reviewed by British and Irish officials, as agreed between the respective Ministers on 19 April. I would prefer not to comment on the details of the review.
Community Care Grants
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many claims there have been for community care grants in each DHSS office in Londonderry city, Limavady, Coleraine and Magherafelt during the last 12 months for which figures are available ; and how many in each office were (a) granted, (b) refused and (c) how many of the applicants refused were advised on the refusal form to (i) apply for a budgeting loan, (ii) were offered a budgeting loan and (iii) how many offered a loan sought and received such a loan, or as much of such information as is available to him.
Mr. Needham [holding answer 3 July 1990] : Information about the number of community care grants processed each month, the number awarded and the amount paid by each social security office is available in the Library. The number of refusals can be derived from these figures.
Applicants who are refused community care grants do not need to apply for budgeting loans as social fund officers automatically consider the possibility of a loan in all such cases. No information is available about the number of loans subsequently offered or made to people whose applications for grants have been turned down.
Remand Prisoners
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of prisoners on custodial remand for (i) scheduled and (ii) non-scheduled offences were (a) given a non-custodial sentence, (b) given a custodial sentence and (c) found not guilty or not proceeded against in 1989.
Mr. Cope [holding answer 4 July 1990] : The information requested is as follows :
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Per cent. 1989 |(i) Scheduled |(ii) Non-scheduled ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- (a) Non-custodial |14.3 |17.5 (b) Custodial |75.4 |72.2 (c) not guilty etc. |10.3 |10.3
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many prisoners were remanded in custody prior to trial for (a) scheduled and (b) non-scheduled offences in 1989.
Mr. Cope [holding answer 4 July 1990] : In 1989, 928 individuals were remanded in custody for scheduled offences and 697 individuals were remanded in custody for non-scheduled offences.
Royal Ulster Constabulary
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many attacks on RUC personnel took place in 1989, showing whether the attack was on (i) a foot patrol and (ii) a mobile patrol, the total attacked while on duty each month together with details of the type of attack, namely (a) physical assault, (b) stone throwing, (c) petrol bomb, (d) explosion or (e) shooting and the number of persons made amenable.
Mr. Cope [holding answer 4 July 1990] : The information is not available in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, in 1989 there were over 500 incidents in which the police were attacked either on duty or at home. Of these, 67 incidents involved the use of firearms and 83 the use of explosives.
TRANSPORT
Roads
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much money has been spent on road schemes, not including maintenance, since 1960 ; and whether he will express this in terms of the current value of the pound.
Mr. Atkins : Total capital expenditure by central Government on national roads in the United Kingdom 1960-61 to 1989-90 amounts to about £15 billion, or £35 billion when expressed in 1989-90 prices. These figures should be treated as approximations, since there have been definitional changes.
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what information he has on the number of (a) properties and (b) homes that have been demolished as a result of road schemes since 1960 ; (2) what information he has on the acreage of (a) agricultural land and (b) other land taken out of use (i) permanently and (ii) temporarily as a result of road schemes since 1960.
Mr. Atkins : Information is not held in the form requested, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
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Collision (River Usk)
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has on the cargoes carried on the vessels Marius AS and Belle Roger which were involved in a collision on the River Usk at Newport on 24 April.
Mr. McLoughlin : The collision on 24 April was between the Greek bulk carrier Morias and the Irish container vessel Bell Ranger. The Morias was carrying a cargo of steel products, and the Bell Ranger a cargo of containers. The containers, none of which appears to have been damaged, were loaded with general cargo, except one, which contained drums of chemical waste.
Air Fares
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he last met his colleagues in the Council of Ministers for Transport to discuss deregulation of air fares.
Mr. Parkinson : I attended a meeting of the EC Transport Council on 18 June 1990. A formal commitment was made to complete a single market in aviation by the end of 1992, and agreement was reached on a second package of EC air transport liberalisation measures for the interim. Regulations on fares, market access and capacity sharing, and on the application of the competition rules to air transport were adopted. The agreement reached will allow airlines greater freedom to exercise their own commercial judgment.
Railway Investment Criteria
Mr. Adley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will seek an early meeting with his West German counterpart to discuss railway investment criteria.
Mr. Freeman : My right hon. Friend has no plans to do so.
Concessionary Travel
Mr. Patchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many local authorities (a) issue free bus passes, (b) issue some form of assisted bus passes and (c) do not provide free or assisted travel for their pensioners.
Mr. Freeman : According to a survey of local authorities done by the Department of Transport in 1986, there were concessionary fares schemes for pensioners in 92 per cent. of districts in England and Wales, some operated by district councils and some by county councils or passenger transport executives. Of the 285 schemes for the elderly, 19 provided for free fares. There were no concessionary fares schemes in 29 districts. In London, a free fare scheme is funded by the boroughs.
Mr. Patchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to make it mandatory for every local authority to provide a free bus pass to their pensioners ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : Local authorities always have discretionary powers to provide for reduced fares or free travel for people of state pensionable ago on local public transport services, and we have no plans to change these arrangements.
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Passenger Transport Authorities (Funding)
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has made for monitoring and acting upon the effects of the change in funding of passenger transport authorities in those areas affected by (a) poll tax capping and (b) loss of safety net grant in 1991-92.
Mr. Freeman [holding answer 5 July 1990] : The passenger transport authorities discuss transport and financing issues with my Department on an on-going basis. Spending priorities within the level of community charge caps are a matter for the local authorities concerned.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on proposals for amending the use of weighted ward densities in the allocation of funding for public transport authorities in the coming financial years.
Mr. Freeman [holding answer 5 July 1990] : Representations made by the local authority associations will be considered by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, who will make his proposals known in the autumn.
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Serious Fraud Trials
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Attorney-General when he last met the director of the Serious Fraud Office to discuss the conduct of serious fraud trials.
The Attorney-General : I last met the Director of the Serious Fraud Office for this purpose on 3 June 1990.
Wreck Commissioners
Mr. Loyden : To ask the Attorney-General (1) what steps were taken to avoid any possible conflict of interests when assessors were appointed to sit on the Wreck Commissioners inquiry into the loss of the MV Derbyshire ;
(2) what criteria govern the appointment of members of Lloyd's Register to sit on a Wreck Commissioners inquiry when the ship under scrutiny had been granted a certificate by Lloyd's Register.
The Attorney-General : Those under consideration for appointment as assessors are asked to confirm that they have no connection with any known parties to the formal investigation which might give rise to a conflict of interest.
Any assessor for a formal investigation, including members of Lloyd's Register, must fulfil the criteria set out in the schedule to the Merchant Shipping (Formal Investigations) Regulations 1985 (SI 1985/No. 1001), and any other appropriate criteria relating to special skills or knowledge which the Lord Chancellor might set having regard to the nature of the casualty which is to be the subject of that inquiry.
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PRIME MINISTER
Gifts
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Prime Minister what guidelines exist in respect of the receipt, recording and disposal or otherwise of gifts received by Ministers acting in their official capacity.
The Prime Minister : It is a well-established rule that no Minister should accept gifts, hospitality or services from anyone which would, or might appear to, place him or her under an obligation. The recording and, where appropriate, disposal of gifts received is a matter for Departments.
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Prime Minister (1) where the synthetic sapphire presented to her in her official capacity by the British Scientific and Technical Trust is held ;
(2) if she will make it her policy to refuse any gift offered to her in her official capacity which contains (a) ivory, (b) fur, (c) tropical hardwoods or (d) chlorofluorocarbons ;
(3) what gift she presented to President de Klerk on the occasion of his recent visit to the United Kingdom ;
(4) what gift she presented to President Gorbachev on the occasion of her recent visit to the USSR in June ;
(5) what gift she presented to President Bush on the occasion of her visit to the United States of America in November 1989.
The Prime Minister : It is not my normal practice to provide information of this kind concerning gifts given or received.
1991 Census
Mr. Trimble : To ask the Prime Minister whether the level of resources and funding for the Northern Ireland 1991 census will be on the same basis as for the census in the rest of the United Kingdom.
Calcutt Inquiry
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Prime Minister whether she expects to revise any more of her previous parliamentary answers in the light of the findings of the Calcutt inquiry into the handling of papers relating to Mr. Colin Wallace ; and if she will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : Mr. Calcutt's inquiry into the handling of Mr. Colin Wallace's disciplinary case is still in progress.
A copy of the conclusions of the Ministry of Defence's internal inquiry into the handling of documents relating to Mr. Wallace's case has been placed in the Library of the House. Nothing in these conclusions makes it necessary to revise my previous parliamentary answers.
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