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Mr. Douglas Hogg [holding answer 23 July 1990] : The number of projects receiving structural fund assistance and the value of European social fund and EAGGF guidance fund commitments by region are not readily available. A regional breakdown of European regional development fund commitments over the last five years is in the table.
ERDF Commitments
£ million
|1985|1986|1987|1988|1989
-------------------------------------------------------
North |27 |41 |63 |71 |58
Yorkshire and Humberside |24 |47 |32 |25 |30
East Midlands |18 |2 |3 |3 |0
East Anglia |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
South East |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
South West |10 |22 |28 |16 |5
West Midlands |46 |40 |67 |25 |20
North West |77 |55 |40 |41 |80
Wales |58 |47 |56 |64 |63
Scotland |71 |57 |117 |97 |21
Northern Ireland |26 |43 |41 |44 |66
Multi-regional |0 |13 |3 |1 |0
|--- |--- |--- |--- |---
Total United Kingdom |358 |368 |449 |387 |343
Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what funding has been received from European Community structural funds in the Yorkshire and Humberside steel area programme in each year since 1988 ; and what funding is expected in 1990-91 and 1991-92 in this area.
Mr. Douglas Hogg [holding answer 23 July 1990] : Commitments from the European regional development fund and the European social fund to the Yorkshire and Humberside steel area programme were £7.1 million in the calendar year 1988 and £20.8 million in 1989. Commitments for 1990, 1991 and 1992 are expected to be £28.9 million, £37.3 million and £31.4 million respectively. Commitments by financial year are not readily available.
Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the sum available from the structural funds of the European Community between 1987 and 1990 ; and what proportion of that sum was devoted to South Yorkshire.
Mr. Douglas Hogg [holding answer 23 July 1990] : In the period 1987 to 1990 commitments from the European regional development fund, European social fund, and the EAGGF guidance fund for the whole of the European Community are estimated at £12 billion, £9.6 billion and £3.6 billion respectively, giving a total of £25.2 billion for all three structural funds. Figures for ESF and EAGGF guidance commitments for South Yorkshire are not readily available. ERDF commitments for South Yorkshire in the period 1987 to 1990 are estimated at £59.1 million, some 0.5 per cent. of total EC and ERDF commitments.
Financial Services
Ms. Mowlam : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how often those offences under the Financial Services Act concerning (i) inducing another person to enter an investment by knowingly making a false or misleading statement, (ii) knowingly engaging in any act or course of conduct which creates a false or misleading impression of the market and (iii) inducing another person to enter an insurance contract by knowingly making false or misleading statements have been used.
Mr. John Patten : I have been asked to reply.
Records available to my Department show that no persons had been prosecuted under the Financial Services Act 1986 up to the end of 1988.
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FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Vietnamese Boat People
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a statement regarding overcrowding in the detention centres for Vietnamese boat people in Hong Kong.
Mr. Waldegrave : The 10 detention centres in Hong Kong have a combined design capacity of 45,000 places. Their current population is 44,200. A new purpose-built detention centre at Tai a Chau will be completed later this year, making available an additional 10,000 places. This will enable the Hong Kong Government to close some of the smaller existing centres, further reduce the populations in the main detention centres, and make more accommodation available to UNHCR and the voluntary agencies to enable them to expand their programme of services.
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a statement regarding the treatment of communicable diseases in the detention centres for Vietnamese boat people in Hong Kong.
Mr. Waldegrave : The majority of patients suffering from communicable diseases are admitted to the infectious disease unit of the Princess Margaret hospital. In 1988 there were 1,491 cases, the majority of which were chicken pox. In 1989 there were 2,583 cases, 20 per cent. of the total number of notifiable diseases reported in Hong Kong. This increase is explained by the arrival of over 34,000 boat people in Hong Kong during that year. Of these cases, 1,271 were chicken pox, 149 dysentery, 685 malaria, 83 measles, 226 tuberculosis, 120 viral hepatitis and 23 cholera.
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a statement regarding current living conditions in each of the detention centres for Vietnamese boat people in Hong Kong.
Mr. Waldegrave : Living conditions in the detention centres have steadily improved as new purpose-built accommodation has become available.
Considerable progress has been made in expanding the voluntary agency programmes which cover education, medical care, family planning and excursions for children.
Water supplies are more than adequate, per capita consumption being well above the average for Hong Kong. Food is prepared in central kitchens in each centre by Vietnamese workers, using dietary scales drawn up in conjunction with the UNHCR. Sanitary conditions are satisfactory and have improved with the reduction in overcrowding and as boat people become more familiar with the facilities.
Visas
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list, for each of the last 12 months for which figures are available, the numbers of (a) applications received for visas for visits to the United Kingdom, and (b) such visas granted at the embassy of Her Majesty's Government in Moscow.
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Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Information is available as follows :
|Visa |Visas issued
|applications
|received
----------------------------------------------------
1989 |27,918 |27,838
<1>1990 |15,643 |15,612
<1> January to May.
European Community Directives
Mr. Onslow : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what response he has received to his letter to the President of the European Commission proposing regular six-monthly reviews of national compliance with EEC directives ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Waldegrave : In his reply of 15 June, M. Delors agreed that the Community should redouble efforts to ensure full and correct national implementation of European Community decisions, and referred to Commission consideration of new ways of presenting reports on implementation of Community law.
At its Dublin meeting the European Council asked the Commission to strengthen its supervisory procedures and agreed to review the matter in December.
Ilois People
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what are his responsibilities in relation to the Ilois people from the British Indian Ocean Territories who are currently in Mauritius.
Mr. Waldegrave : None. All are Mauritian citizens, although some may also be British dependent territories citizens.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT
Agriculture Specialists
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the answer of8 March, Official Report, columns 787-88, concerning the number of Overseas Development Administration agricultural specialists who are women, whether there have been any changes in the figures since that date.
Mrs. Chalker : The number of the ODA's own specialists overseas remains at eight, none of whom are women. We still have one woman natural resources adviser on secondment to a technical co-operation assignment in Bangladesh.
Rihand Power Station
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the answer of19 July, when an appraisal of the Rihand power station project will begin ; when it will be completed ; and who is carrying out the assessment.
Mrs. Chalker : The appraisal of the power station will be taken forward in a series of studies : an initial assessment of issues was conducted in October 1989 ; if a contract is awarded to a British contractor and British aid
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funding is requested, a further appraisal will be carried out to assess the economic, financial and engineering aspects of the proposed contract and, in the light of the World bank's study of the Singrauli area, of the environmental aspects of the project. As the contract has yet to be awarded, it is not possible to say when these further studies will be completed. The appraisal studies will be led by staff from the Overseas Development Administration and may call on expertise from outside the administration.Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 3 July, Official Report, column 489 , what is the value of the provisional offer of aid for the second stage of Rihand power station ; what is the total value of the contract for the second stage ; which British company has been nominated as the main contractor ; and what is the exact megawattage of the second phase.
Mrs. Chalker : No commitment has been given to a specific amount of aid. Before making any such commitment, the Overseas Development Administration will need to be satisfied that the proposed contract price and the project as a whole represent a cost-effective and environmentally sound approach to power generation in India. Following international tendering, discussions are in progress between the client, the National Thermal Power Corporation, and contractors, and the value of any contract has therefore yet to be determined. GEC was nominated as the main British contractor in 1987. The proposed second phase of the power station will be for 1,000 MW.
Contracts (Value-for-money Inquiries)
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he has taken to ensure that no contractual relationship exists between Messrs Biwaters and any firms of consultants Her Majesty's Government have employed on value-for-money inquiries, checks or audits on contracts assisted by the Overseas Development Administration.
Mrs. Chalker [pursuant to her reply, 18 July 1990, c. 600] : Not only were there no contractual relationships between Biwater and either the firms or the individual specialist carrying out the value-for-money checks at the time the checks were commissioned, as I have already informed the hon. Gentleman, but there were no such relationships at any time during the execution of the checks.
PRIME MINISTER
EC Intergovernmental Conference
Q49. Mr. Dykes : To ask the Prime Minister is she will make a statement on the progress of ministerial interdepartmental co-ordination in preparation for the European Community intergovernmental conference meetings in December.
The Prime Minister : Interdepartmental preparations for both intergovernmental conferences continue in the usual way.
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Community Care
Q173. Mr. Tom Clarke : To ask the Prime Minister what representations she has received on community care aspects of the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990.
The Prime Minister : I receive many representations in correspondence, and Health Ministers receive further representations at regular meetings with organisations about our plans for community care.
Court Proceedings (Children's Evidence)
Q190. Dr. Godman : To ask the Prime Minister if Her Majesty's Government have any proposals to introduce changes to the rules governing the giving of evidence by children in court proceedings involving allegations of physical abuse or sexual abuse ; and if she will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 19 July at column 674.
ECGD
Mr. Allen : To ask the Prime Minister, further to her reply of 19 July, when the review of Export Credits Guarantee Department medium-term credit will be completed ; who is undertaking it ; and if she will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : The availability of Export Credits Guarantee Department medium-term cover is kept under close and continuing review. The reviews are undertaken by ECGD and then in consultation with all the interested Government Departments.
Engagements
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 24 July.
Mr. Rathbone : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 24 July.
Mr. John Evans : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 24 July.
Mr. Pike : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 24 July.
Mr. Stern : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 24 July.
The Prime Minister : This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall be having further meetings later today. This evening I hope to have an audience of Her Majesty the Queen.
Correspondence
Mr. Onslow : To ask the Prime Minister what progress has so far been made by the Cabinet Office efficiency unit inquiry into departmental handling of hon. Members' correspondence with Ministers ; and if she will make a statement.
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The Prime Minister : The scrutiny is now under way. The scrutiny team rightly attaches great importance to seeking Members' views and sent a questionnaire to all hon. Members and is arranging to see a number of Members to discuss their views on this subject. The team is expected to produce its report by the end of November.Security Vetting
Sir John Wheeler : To ask the Prime Minister whether she will make a statement about the procedures for security vetting within the Government.
The Prime Minister : The security vetting system continues to form a key part of the protective arrangements for safeguarding national security and countering terrorism. The system that has been used to investigate the reliability of those who are expected to have regular access to highly classified information is known as positive vetting (PV) ; it has now been in operation for nearly 40 years. A more rigorous form of PV--known as enhanced positive vetting (EPV)--has been applied to all employees of the security and intelligence agencies and to a small number of people on closely associated work in other Government Departments since the implementation of the
recommendations of the Security Commission in its report on the Prime case published in 1983--Cmnd. 8876. In addition, it has been the long-standing practice of successive Governments to carry out a more limited range of background checks, including criminal record checks, for access to less sensitive information and, increasingly, for the purposes of countering terrorism : this system has been known within the Government as normal vetting (NV).
As indicated in the Government's response, published today, to the Home Affairs Select Committee report on criminal records which commented on the use of criminal record checks for the purpose of security vetting, the Government have decided, following a comprehensive review, that the security vetting system should be restructured and operated on the basis of defined and published criteria. From 1 October 1990 all candidates for security vetting will be asked to complete a security questionaire which will explain the purpose of the procedure and invite them to provide the personal details required for the necessary checks to be carried out. Vetting will then be carried out on the basis of the following revised statement of policy.
The aim is to ensure that checks are carried out only to the extent necessary to safeguard national security and for the purposes of countering terrorism in the light of the current assessment of the threats to security. The changes will not affect the position of any individuals who have been vetted under the current arrangements. When the reliability of a public servant is thought to be in doubt on security grounds, there is a right of appeal to the three advisers--the tribunal appointed by the Government to advise Ministers in such cases--where security considerations are involved and to the permanent head of the Department in cases involving aspects of conduct and character alone. These arrangements will remain in force. Copies of a statement of the existing procedure, which will be amended as necessary to reflect the following policy, and the current terms of reference of the three advisers are available in the Library of the House.
Statement of Vetting Policy : with effect from 1 October 1990.
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In the interests of national security and of safeguarding Parliamentary democracy, it is the policy of HMG that no one should be employed in connection with work the nature of which is vital to the security of the state who :(a) is, or has been, involved in, or associated with any of the following activities threatening national security :
(i) espionage,
(ii) terrorism,
(iii) sabotage,
(iv) actions intended to overthrow or undermine Parliamentary democracy by political, indus-trial or violent means ; or (
(b) is, or has recently been, a member of any organisation which has advocated such activities ; or
(c) is, or has recently been, associated with any such organisation, or any of its members, in such a way as to raise reasonable doubts about his or her reliability ; or
(d) is susceptible to pressure from any such organisation or from a foreign intelligence service or a hostile power ; or
(e) suffers from defects of character which may expose him or her to blackmail or other influence by any such organisation or by a foreign intelligence service or which may otherwise indicate unreliability.
2. In accordance with that policy Government Departments will in future submit all candidates for posts involving access to highly classified information to one of the following levels of vetting clearance, depending on the circumstances :
(a) PV(S) : this level of clearance is required before regular access to SECRET information can be authorised. In some circumstances, where it would not be possible for an individual to make reasonable progress in their career without clearance to SECRET level, it may be applied to candidates for employment whose duties may not, initially, involve regular access to SECRET information. A PV(S) clearance will normally consist of a full record check, that is a check against any relevant Departmental personnel records, a check against the National Collection of Criminal Records, and other necessary security checks, including a check against the records of the Security Service and police forces. In some cases further enquiries, including an interview with the subject, may be carried out.
(b) PV(TS) : this level of clearance is required before regular and constant access to TOP SECRET information can be authorised and for certain other posts involving access to highly sensitive classified information or material. It may also be applied in the following circumstances :
(i) at the discretion of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office before employment overseas in posts connected with British diplomatic or consular missions :
(ii) at the discretion of Home Office, the Northern Ireland Office and the Scottish Office, in a post in the police service involving regular and constant access to SECRET information held or generated by a Special Branch which relates to espionage, sabotage or terrorism, or to actions intended to overthrow or undermine Parliamentary democracy by political, industrial or violent means ;
(iii) at departmental discretion before employment in a departmental security post ;
(iv) at the discretion of the security and intelligence agencies to members of their ancillary staff.
A PV(TS) clearance will consist of a record check on similar lines to that carried out for PV(S) clearances, supplemented by a formal check on the credit worthiness of the individual and by interviews with the subject and persons familiar with their character in both the home and the work environment.
(c) EPV : this is the most rigorous form of PV clearance now applied to members of the security and intelligence agencies and to a small number of staff employed on closely associated work in
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Government Departments. It consists of the same sort of enquiries as those made for a PV(TS) background investigation, but to a greater depth.3. In addition security checks may also be carried out in the following circumstances :
(a) for the protection of classified information. Basic security checks, known as Reliability Checks, may be carried out in the interestes of national security before :
(i) individuals are granted unescorted access to premises or areas where highly classified information or material is held and where there is a risk of accidental access to that information or material ; and
(ii) individuals are authorised to have access to certain categories of information classified CONFIDENTIAL, mostly in the fields of defence and foreign affairs.
The aim of such checks is primarily to ensure that the character of the individual concerned is such that they can be trusted in circumstances where they may gain access to information of importance to national security
(b) for the protection of public figures and military and civil establishments at particular risk of attack by terrorist organisations. Irrespective of the degree of access to classified information security checks, known as Counter Terrorist Checks, may be carried out in the interest of national security before : (
(i) individuals take up posts which involve proximity to public figures at particular risk of attack by terrorist organisations, or which give access to information or material assessed to be of value to terrorists ;
(ii) individuals are granted unescorted access to certain military and civil establishments assessed to be at particular risk of attack by terrorist organisations.
The aim of such checks is to prevent individuals who have connections with terrorist organisations, or who may be vulnerable to pressure from such organisations, from gaining access to certain posts and, in some circumstances, premises where there is a risk that they could exploit that position to further the aims of a terrorist organisation.
4. A check against the National Collection of Criminal Records is an invariable feature of a Reliability Check clearance ; and criminal record information may also be taken into account in a Counter Terrorist Check clearance. Other security checks may be carried out as necessary.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Firearms
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many requests for (a) renewals and (b) variations of firearms certificates have been refused in each of the Royal Ulster Constabulary divisions in Belfast in each of the last three years for which figures are available ;
(2) how many applications for a firearms certificate for (a) shotguns, (b) rifles, (c) handguns and (d) other firearms have been refused in each Royal Ulster Constabulary division in Belfast in each of the last three years for which figures are available, or as much of such information as is available to him ;
(3) if he will publish a table to show by reference to Royal Ulster Constabulary division how many firearms certificates have been withdrawn in each of the last three years ; and if he will specify, by type and number of firearms, the firearms to which such certificates related and indicate how many of the certificates were withdrawn because the holder had been convicted of (a) terrorist
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activity and (b) other illegal actions for which he was sentenced in a court of law, or as much of such information as is available to him.Mr. Cope : The Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary has informed me that the information is not held in a manner which makes the statistics asked for readily available and they could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) shotguns, (b) rifles, (c) handguns and (d) other firearms have been stolen from the legal owners in each Royal Ulster Constabulary division in Belfast in each of the last three years for which figures are available, or as much of such information as is available to him.
Mr. Cope : The Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary has informed me that the information is not recorded in the format sought. The following information is available however for the past two years :
|Bullet firing |Shotguns |Other weapons
|weapons |(including air
|weapons)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Division
1988 |1 |2 |1
1989 |6 |2 |0
B Division
1988 |2 |2 |1
1989 |4 |0 |0
D Division
1988 |8 |16 |2
1989 |2 |2 |1
E Division
1988 |2 |4 |0
1989 |4 |3 |1
Education Board Tribunals
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on what date did each of the appeals tribunals of the five education area boards commence their work in connection with the new transfer procedure ; how many appeals have been received in each of the five education areas ; and when he expects all appeal hearings to be completed.
Dr. Mawhinney : The information is as follows :
Education area |Date appeals tribunals |Number of
board |commenced work | appeals
|received
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Belfast |19 July 1990 |105
Western |16 July 1990 |121
North-Eastern |16 July 1990 |116
South-Eastern |Expected to be 26 July 1990 |91
Southern |Expected to be 7 August 1990|77
I expect appeal hearings to be completed by the end of August.
Grammar Schools
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many grade 2 pupils were refused places in grammar schools ; and how many grade 3 and 4 pupils, including those already attending the preparatory
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departments of grammar schools, were accepted into grammar schools arising from the new transfer procedure this year.Dr. Mawhinney : Information in the form requested is not readily available. In this year's transfer procedure tests 2,789 pupils were awarded grade 2 of whom 1,872 have been admitted to grammar schools. In addition 399 pupils awarded grade 3 and 80 pupils awarded grade 4 have been admitted to grammar schools.
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