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Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 19 July 1990
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
EC Officials (Search Warrants)
Sir Richard Body : To ask the Attorney-General on how many occasions in the current year courts have issued warrants to officials of the European Community to search the offices of companies in the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement.
The Attorney-General : There have been no instances during the current year of United Kingdom courts granting orders in connection with the search of company premises by officials of the European Community under the EC rules on competition.
Legal Aid
Mr. Denis Howell : To ask the Attorney-General if he will list those categories of alleged offence which qualify for international legal aid.
The Attorney-General : International legal aid is available under the provisions of the European agreement on the transmission of legal aid applications for civil, commercial and administrative cases. This agreement provides for the transfer of legal aid applications between signatory states. The treatment of applications is governed by the rules of the legal aid schemes of the recipient states and varies from state to state.
DEFENCE
Low Flying
Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration is being given in his "Options for Change" review to the amount of low flying carried out by RAF fast jets.
Mr. Neubert : The amount of low flying training carried out by the RAF will continue to reflect operational requirements.
Royal Clarence Yard, Gosport
Mr. Viggers : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future of the Royal Clarence yard at Gosport.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : In common with the rest of the naval estate, the cost effectiveness of the Royal Clarence yard is continually monitored.
Data Protection
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many subject access requests under the terms of the Data Protection Act his Department has received ; what
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was his estimate of the number of requests that would be received ; what consideration he is giving to the subject access fee charged by his Department as a result ; and whether he will make a statement.Mr. Alan Clark : A total of 21,985 subject access requests have been received by the major pay and personnel database centres in the Ministry of Defence ; all were from current, past and potential employees. The figures so far are considered to be roughly in line with the forecast of between 0.01 and 0.1 per cent. of the target population per annum. The subject access fee charged is not being reconsidered.
Al Yamamah Agreement
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will state the date of the conclusion of the Al Yamamah agreement with Saudi Arabia and the dates of the conclusion of subsequent modifications of that agreement.
Mr. Alan Clark : The original formal understanding and the memorandum of understanding between Her Majesty's Government and the Saudi Arabian Government concerning Project Al Yamamah were concluded, respectively, in 1985 and 1986. A further formal understanding was concluded in 1988.
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the dates and places of meetings about the Al Yamamah agreement with Saudi Arabia and officials or representatives of his Department.
Mr. Alan Clark : My officials are in constant touch with representatives of the Saudi Arabian Government during which a wide range of issues concerning the Al Yamamah agreement are reviewed and discussed.
Menwith Hill
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current agreement under which Menwith Hill base is occupied and controlled by the National Security Agency of America ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : I have nothing to add to the answer which my right hon. Friend the Member for Hertfordshire, North (Mr. Stewart) gave to the hon. Member on 27 April 1988, Official Report, column 203.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Company Taxation
Mr. Hunter : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will identify the provisions by which, if under the proposed pay and file system no assessment has been made on a company within the normal six-year time limit, the tax already paid by the company under the pay rules of pay and file will be repayable to it ; within what period from the end of such six- year period such tax will have to be repaid ; whether interest will be payable on the repayment by the Revenue ; and by what legal process the tax -paying company will be able to enforce such payment.
Mr. Ryder : As I explained in Standing Committee E on 21 June, Official Report, column 383, it would not necessarily be appropriate for tax paid by a company under pay and file to be repaid where an assessment was
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not made within the normal six-year time limit. But where the company was then able to show that no assessment could be made, it would be entitled to claim repayment of the tax and interest would be due on the tax repaid.Married Woman's Tax Allowance
Mr. Riddick : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the estimated cost to the Treasury in a full year of making the married woman's tax allowance transferable to (a) working husbands and (b) non- working husbands ; and what is his policy on making such a move.
Mr. Ryder : The cost would be a little over £3 billion ; some 95 per cent. would result from married women transferring unused personal allowance to husbands in paid employment. These estimates are based on a projection of the 1987-88 survey of personal incomes and are, therefore, provisional.
An arrangement of this kind would have some similarity to the system of fully transferable allowances for married couples described in the 1986 Green Paper "The Reform of Personal Taxation". In the light of the response to the Green Paper the Government decided not to go ahead with that proposal, but to introduce the present system of independent taxation incorporating the transferable married couple's allowance.
Customs and Excise
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if Customs and Excise officers at ports of entry to the United Kingdom have pay scales designed to reward proficiency in more than one language.
Mr. Ryder : Although pay scales are not designed to reward foreign language proficiency, Customs and Excise officers at ports of entry can be paid allowances in addition to basic salary, normally for a maximum of two languages but exceptionally for three where one language is Finnish, Greek, Arabic, Hungarian, Turkish, or any Asian or Slavonic language.
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if Customs and Excise officers at ports of entry to the United Kingdom are required to be able to speak foreign languages.
Mr. Ryder : Customs and Excise officers at ports of entry to the United Kingdom are not so required but some are proficient in foreign languages and receive appropriate allowances.
Eastern Europe
Mr. Allen : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will obtain for his departmental library a copy of the report on eastern European economics entitled "End of the Cycle" by Morgan Stanley ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Ryder : At present the Treasury and Cabinet Office library does not hold a copy of the report entitled "End of the Cycle" by Morgan Stanley. The library is trying to obtain a copy.
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Government Departments (Staff)
Mr. Andy Stewart : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the number of staff in post in central Government Departments at 1 April.
Mr. Norman Lamont : On 1 April 1990 there were 562,388 staff in post in central Government Departments. Of these 495,233 were non-industrials and 67,155 were classified as being in industrial work.
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Schools, Wandsworth
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what consultations he has had with Wandsworth borough council regarding parental choice of secondary schools ;
(2) what representations he has received regarding the closure notices for Chestnut Grove, Walsingham, John Archer and Battersea Park comprehensive schools, issued by Wandsworth borough council ; (3) when he or his colleagues last met (a) the director of education of Wandsworth borough council and (b) the chairman of Wandsworth borough council education committee, regarding the closure of comprehensive schools in Wandsworth and the resulting pattern of school provision in Wandsworth ;
(4) when he next proposes to meet the chairman of the Wandsworth education committee to discuss comprehensive school closures in Wandsworth.
Mrs. Rumbold : As part of a cycle of meetings with the inner London councils to discuss the progress they have made since they took over responsibility for education from ILEA on 1 April, I intend soon to meet representatives of Wandsworth local education authority. That meeting will include discussion of the authority's secondary reorganisation proposals, on which it is to issue a public consultation document. If consultation led to the publication of statutory proposals requiring the determination of the Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend would consider these in due course.
Haberdashers' Aske's CTC
Ms. Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science with what persons he will enter into an agreement under section 105 of the Education Reform Act 1988, for the purposes of establishing and maintaining a Haberdashers' Aske's city technology college.
Mrs. Rumbold : The Secretary of State will enter into an agreement with the Haberdashers' Aske's City Technology College Trust, which has not yet been formed. When it is formed the primary members of the trust will be persons nominated by those organisations including the Haberdashers' Company which intend to sponsor the CTC. Membership will include a nominee of the Secretary of State.
World Literacy Survey
Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will take steps to ensure that the United Kingdom participates in the world literacy survey ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mrs. Rumbold : No proposal on this has been put to the Government, but I understand that the National Foundation for Educational Research--to which it was put--declined to participate on justified grounds. The national curriculum and the equivalent arrangements in Scotland and Northern Ireland, should in due course provide a much sounder platform for international comparisons.City Technology Colleges
Ms. Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science in relation to each city technology college, what amount of earmarked annual grant or related payments were paid by his Department for the school year 1989-90 ; and for what purposes each element of earmarked annual grant was paid.
Mrs. Rumbold : Earmarked grants are the subject of specific bids for the colleges and relate to specific expenditure on :
a. consumables--the purchase, during the start-up period only, of a basic stock of library and text books, courseware, stationery and other consumable materials ;
b. school meals--the provision of free meals for pupils who qualify, a subsidy in respect of those pupils who do not, and supervision costs ;
c. pupil support--to cover the costs of school uniforms and school transport for disadvantaged pupils ;
d. IT development--software and courseware for the incorporation and exploitation of IT throughout the curriculum and in the administration of the college ; and
e. staff development--to provide for in-service training and curriculum development needs arising from the curriculum in CTCs. The total EAG provision for the three colleges in the academic year 1989-90 is as follows :
|£
--------------------------------------------
Kingshurst |143,000
Djanogly, Nottingham |213,000
Macmillan College, Teesside |204,000
Ms. Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science in respect of each city technology college what amount of annual per capita grant or related revenue costs were paid by his Department for the school year 1989-90 ; what unit of cost per pupil was used in calculating the amount of such payments ; how this was determined ; and what enhancement of annual per capita grant was allowed under the terms of paragraph 11 of the model funding agreement.
Mrs. Rumbold : The annual per capita grant--APG--for the academic year 1989-90 for the three CTCs that are open is as follows :
|£
--------------------------------------------
Kingshurst |927,000
Djanogly, Nottingham |871,000
Macmillan College, Teesside |852,000
The APG is determined by taking the unit cost for pupils under school leaving age, which for the academic year 1989-90 works out at £1,929, and for pupils over school leaving age, is £3,086. These are determined by the actual expenditure per secondary pupil in a group of 24 LEAs that maintain schools in similar areas to CTCs with an addition for central administration costs. Furthermore,
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an allowance is made for diseconomies of scale during the start-up period of a CTC while it works up to full pupil capacity. This provides for more teachers in year one than the overall pupil-teacher ratio would justify ; more non-teaching staff in year one than the final target complement would imply pro rata ; and an additional sum to reflect premises-related diseconomies.Management Information Systems
Mr. Dicks : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the criticisms in the report, "Computerised Management Information Systems in Further Education--A Study of Quality Assurance", of the two major suppliers of these systems.
Mr. Jackson : The Department plans to publish the findings of the project in the early autumn.
Mr. Dicks : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations his Department has received from suppliers mentioned in the report "Computerised Management Information Systems in Further Education--A Study of Quality Assurance" seeking to have the report modified or changed before its publication.
Mr. Jackson : Before accepting the completion of the project, the Department sought the suppliers' views on the factual accuracy of the project team's findings. The suppliers' replies highlighted some inaccuracies and indicated how they proposed to respond to the team's findings. These responses will be taken into account in the report due to be published in the autumn.
Mr. Dicks : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when his Department will publish the report entitled "Computerised Management Information Systems in Further Education--A Study of Quality Assurance", which was presented to his Department in December 1989 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jackson : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Truro (Mr. Taylor) on 10 July 1990, Official Report, column 186.
Grant-maintained Schools
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he expects to be available to him, and what studies have been made and are being undertaken relating to governors of grant- maintained schools and proposed grant-maintained schools.
Mr. MacGregor : The views of the governors of grant-maintained schools are sought on a variety of issues. It is clear that they welcome their new status. In particular, governors welcome their greater independence and the freedom to decide their own priorities and to implement policies for achieving their goals. Many governors believe that their increased responsibilities make for a more satisfying and fulfilling role.
Student Loans
Mr. Hague : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the appointment of an independent person, pursuant to paragraph 3(5) of schedule 2 to the Education (Student Loans) Act 1990.
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Mr. MacGregor : The Student Loans Company will appoint an independent assessor, whose function will be to investigate and report on disputes between the company and borrowers or intending borrowers under the loans scheme. The appointment of the assessor will be subject to my approval. The assessor will operate in accordance with an agreed set of procedures and terms of reference, a copy of which I have placed today in the Library of each House.AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Animal Welfare Inspections
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many animal welfare inspections were made by state veterinary officers in each of 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989.
Mr. Maclean : The number of visits to farms specifically to carry out animal welfare inspections in each of these years was :
Year |Inspections ------------------------------------ 1985 |6,064 1986 |5,804 1987 |5,219 1988 |5,670 1989 |3,902
The reduction in 1989 was due largely to the need to divert the effort of the state veterinary service to tackling the problems of BSE. However, veterinary officers continued to monitor welfare in the course of their visits to farms for other purposes.
Veterinary Investigation Centre, Polwhele
Mr. Mudd : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many tests for listeria were carried out at the veterinary investigation centre, Polwhele, Truro, in 1987, 1989 and to the most convenient date in 1990 ; and what percentage of these tests gave a positive response.
Mr. Maclean : The veterinary investigation service does not routinely carry out tests specifically for listeria. As a disease of animals, listeriosis is considered as a differential diagnosis when pathological material is submitted to a veterinary investigation centre by a practising veterinary surgeon.
In the period 1987 to 9 July 1990 the following diagnoses of listeriosis were made at Truro VIC either by microbiological examination or pathological examination or both :
|1987 |1988 |1989 |<1>1990
------------------------------------------------
Cattle |3 |17 |14 |9
Sheep |7 |6 |8 |10
<1> To 9 July 1990.
Mr. Mudd : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many possible BSE samples were examined at the veterinary investigation centre, Polwhele, Truro, in each of the years 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1990 to date ; and what percentage of these cases proved positive.
Mr. Maclean : There are two stages in the examination of brain material for BSE carried out in veterinary investigation centres.
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(i)The removal of brain material for examination.(ii) The histopathological preparation and miscroscopic
examination of the selected tissues.
In respect of (ii) the VI centre at Polwhele acts as one of 11 designated centres for this purpose and as such the numbers examined do not necessary reflect the situation.
In 1987 to 9 July 1990 the VI centre at Truro carried out the following procedures :
>
|1987 |1988 |1989 |<1>1990
--------------------------------------------------------------
(i) Removal of brain
tissue |44 |364.00 |611.00 |620.00
(ii) Histopathologi-
cal examination |44 |437.00 |537.00 |730.00
Percentage
histopathological
examination +ve |100 |90.16 |89.57 |89.18
<1>To 9 July 1990.
Veterinary Investigation Centres
Mr. Mudd : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many veterinary investigation centres are currently operated by his Department ; and how many of these are currently under review as to their future retention.
Mr. Maclean : There are 19 veterinary investigation centres in England and Wales. The review of the veterinary investigation service was commissioned by the Minister with a view to improving the quality, efficiency and the cost effectiveness of the services provided by VI centres. As such the review considered the service as a whole. The report of this review has been submitted to Ministers but as yet no decision has been reached on any of the recommendations within the report.
North-East Salmon Review
Mr. Morley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether the north-east salmon review has been completed ; and when he expects to publish the report.
Mr. Curry : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to my right hon. Friend the Member for Woking (Mr. Onslow) on 29 June, Official Report, column 388.
Fishery Protection
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has any plans to change the arrangements for fishery protection at sea.
Mr. Curry : Yes. In order to maintain the patrol capability at the level I consider necessary to achieve effective deterrence and proper compliance with United Kingdom and Economic Community fisheries regulations, the Department has arranged to charter the Southella to carry out fishery enforcement duties within British fishery limits. The charter will run from the middle of this month. The ship is already converted for this work, having previously carried out similar duties for the Falkland Islands Government and the Commission of the European Communities. It will supplement the forces of the Royal Navy's fishery protection squadron.
Like the ships of the fishery protection squadron, Southella will operate under the direction of the Ministry's sea fisheries inspectorate. She will carry a team of
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experienced inspectors who will carry out enforcement checks on both British and foreign fishing boats, mainly though not exclusively in the south-west approaches.This civilian addition to the fishery enforcement capability is necessary because of a current shortfall in the availability of suitable naval ships this year. The requirements for next year will be reviewed in the light of the availability of Royal Navy vessels. I commend the fishery protection squadron for the invaluable service it has given and continues to give in carrying out the fishery enforcement duties for the protection of fisheries and the ultimate benefit of all fishermen.
WALES
Polychlorinated Biphenyls
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 11 July to the hon. Member for Newport, West, Official Report, column 199, what was (a) the percentage of polychlorinated biphenyl contaminated material, and (b) the tonnage of other toxic materials that were imported into Newport via the River Usk during the period 1 April 1989 to 31 March.
Mr. Grist : Of the 1,314 tonnes of hazardous waste recorded as imported into Newport via facilities on the River Usk, 479 tonnes or 36.45 per cent. was polychlorinated biphenyl contaminated material, and 835 tonnes was other material.
Hospitals (Salmonella)
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) when he anticipates receiving a report on the cause of the salmonella outbreak at Ely hospital, Cardiff ;
(2) when he next expects to meet the chairman of the South Glamorgan health authority to discuss the salmonella outbreak at the Ely hospital, Cardiff.
Mr. Grist : Officials at the Welsh Office have already received a preliminary report from the health authority concerning the investigation and control of the salmonella outbreak at Ely hospital and further progress reports are awaited. At the present time my right hon. Friend has no plans to meet the chairman of South Glamorgan health authority to discuss this matter.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proposals he has to institute better anti-salmonella preventive measures in hospitals and other institutions in Wales.
Mr. Grist : The Food Safety Bill, which applies to hospitals and other institutions in Wales, will require higher standards in relation to the preparation and handling of food including the requirement for food handlers to receive a minimum level of training.
NHS Drugs
Mr. Gregory : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the value of national health service drugs administered in Wales (a) in total and (b) in hospitals in the latest year for which figures are available ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Grist : The net ingredient cost of all drugs and dressing administered by the NHS in Wales during
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1988-89 was £160,154,164 of which the cost of drugs and dressing administered by district health authorities was £22,618,505 and £3, 556,682 respectively.Young Offenders
Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received for the provision of a secure unit for young offenders below the age normally committed to prison ; over what time span these representations have been made ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Grist : We have not received any representations which call for the provision of a secure unit for young offenders. However, we have received representations which draw attention to the availability of secure accommodation in Wales.
Housing Grants
Mr. Gwilym Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement about the arrangements for paying new housing capital grants.
Mr. Grist : New housing capital grants were introduced by part VIII of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. The approval of Parliament for expenditure on these new grants is being sought in the main supply estimates for class XVI, vote 6--housing, other environmental services and welfare food, Wales. Pending that approval urgent expenditure, estimated at £22,733 million, will be met by repayable advances from the Contingencies Fund.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Gwilym Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will announce his proposals arising out of the Government's recent review of the operation of the new system of local government finance in Wales.
Mr. David Hunt : I have today placed in the Library of the House a copy of a consultation paper which has been produced as a result of the review. The paper, which I shall be distributing shortly to interested bodies and individuals, sets out proposals with respect to the standard community charge, and certain other matters. Views are being sought on a number of changes which we are proposing to make in Wales. Similar consultations will also take place in England and Scotland. Comments on the proposals are invited by 28 September.
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