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Epilepsy
Mr. David Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which hospitals in Scotland possess or are about to possess video telemetry equipment for investigation and possible surgery in cases of epilepsy.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : I am aware of only two hospitals which have this equipment--the royal infirmary, Edinburgh and the royal infirmary, Dundee. It is for health boards to decide on their equipment needs.
Fishery Protection Aircraft
Sir Hector Monro : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he will replace the fishery protection aircraft ; and what type of aircraft he intends to purchase.
Mr. Rifkind : Following the loss of one of the fisheries protection aircraft in May, my Department has leased a Cessna Caravan II to assist in providing aerial surveillance of fishing grounds until a permanent long- term replacement aircraft can be acquired. Consideration of options for permanent replacement is not complete, and therefore no decision has yet been taken.
Taxis
Mr. David Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any plans to amend the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 in respect of applications for tariff increases for the taxi trade where emergency situations affect the price of fuel.
Mr. Lang : The 1982 Act already allows for adjustment of taxi fare scales. As part of the current review of the Act we shall be considering whether, in exceptional circumstances, more accelerated procedures for fare adjustment are needed.
Public Service Vehicles
Mr. David Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the average age of a public service vehicle in 1984 in Scotland ; and what it is at the present time.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : In Scotland the average age of public transport vehicles was 5.7 years in 1984 and 6.8 years in 1988, the latest date for which figures are available centrally.
Mr. David Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many public service vehicles were registered in Scotland in 1984 ; and what is the current total.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : At 31 December 1984, 14,315 public transport vehicles were licensed in Scotland. At 31 December 1988, the latest date for which information is available centrally, the figure was 15,569.
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Passenger Transport
Mr. David Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people were employed in the road passenger transport industry in Scotland in 1984 ; and what is the current total.
Mr. Lang : According to census of employment information, the number employed in the road passenger transport industry in Scotland was 19,432 in September 1984. The latest available figure, for September 1987, is 19,506.
Sheltered Housing
Mr. David Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his estimate of the numbers of males and females living in sheltered housing accommodation, and on the waiting lists for such accommodation in each parliamentary constituency in Scotland.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The Scottish Office does not make such estimates. Information on the public sector provision of sheltered housing is collected annually from district councils and published by the Scottish Development Department ; the 1989 figures are contained in table 12 of Statistical Bulletin HSU No. 11 : "Housing Trends in Scotland, quarter ended 30 June 1989", which was published in January 1990. A copy of this was sent to the hon. Member on publication, and further copies are available in the Library.
AIDS
Mr. David Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his estimate of the number of male and female cases of (a) AIDS and (b) drug users in each health board area in Scotland.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The cumulative total of people diagnosed with AIDS who have been reported to the Communicable Diseases (Scotland) Unit to 30 September 1990 is 178, of whom 157 are males and 21 are females. Of the number of males, Greater Glasgow, Lothian and Tayside health boards have 53, 79 and 10 cases, respectively. The remaining male cases, fewer than 10 in each instance, are in the Argyll and Clyde, Ayrshire and Arran, Fife, Forth Valley, Grampian, Highland and Lanarkshire health board areas. In Lothian 12 female cases have been reported with the remainder in Argyll and Clyde, Fife, Greater Glasgow, and Tayside, respectively. In accordance with established practice, where the number of cases in individual health board areas is under 10, separate figures are not published so as not to jeopardise medical confidentiality.
Because of the illicit nature of drug taking it is very difficult to be precise about the number of drug misusers. Information is not available centrally for each health board area, but current estimates of the number injecting drug misusers in Strathclyde, Lothian and Tayside regions are as follows :
|Number
-------------------------------------------------------------
Strathclyde (mainly Glasgow) |8,000 to 12,000
Lothian (mainly Edinburgh) |2,500 to 4,000
Tayside (mainly Dundee) |1,500 to 2,000
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Wheel Clamping
Mr. David Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any plans to make car wheel clamping illegal in certain situations in Scotland ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : My right hon. and learned Friend has no such plans.
British Rail
Mr. David Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many passenger miles of track were operated by British Rail in Scotland in 1984 ; and what is the current total.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : British Rail operated 1,707 route miles of track for passenger traffic in Scotland in 1984 and currently operates 1,697 route miles.
Kingston Bridge, Glasgow
Mr. David Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any plans to consider repairs to the Kingston bridge in Glasgow as a special case necessitating additional allocation of Government funding ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : It is for the local authority to identify its needs in the production of its transport policies and programme statement and financial plans. These will then be taken fully into account in determining capital allocations.
Independent Schools
Mr. Cartwright : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to make regulations in respect of independent schools which take into account the principles given in consultation document No. 8 to the Children Act 1989 produced by the Department of Health.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Section 87 of the Children Act 1989 on the welfare of children living in independent residential schools does not extend to Scotland. The recently published report of the child care law review (copies of which are in the Library) recommends that similar duties should be placed on proprietors and similar responsibilities on local authorities in Scotland. I have invited views from a wide range of organisations and individuals before deciding what action to take on the recommendations.
Primary Schools, Central Region
Mr. Canavan : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects to respond to the proposals by the Central regional council for the reorganisation of primary school education in the Denny and Dunipace area, including provision of a replacement school for Dunipace primary school ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : No proposals for the reorganisation of primary school education in the Denny and Dunipace area have been referred to my right hon. and learned Friend. Central regional council has, however, lodged an appeal with him against a condition of a planning permission granted by Falkirk district council for
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the construction of a new primary school at Tygetshaugh, Denny. Arrangements will shortly be made for a public local inquiry into that appeal and objections to a related compulsory purchase order.Community Projects
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the community projects, using central Government funds, which currently exist in (a) Glasgow and (b) Strathclyde, the authority, agency or associations involved, the number of those gainfully employed in each and the total cost of each scheme.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Multiple Sclerosis
Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will intervene in the matter of the refusal of grant funding to the multiple sclerosis therapy centre in Glasgow by Greater Glasgow health board ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 15 October 1990] : This is a matter for the health board. I understand that the grant paid by Greater Glasgow health board to the multiple sclerosis therapy centre was explicitly for one year only.
Breathalysers
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what advice his Department will be offering to publicans and hoteliers considering installing do-it-yourself breathalyser kits in their establishments ;
(2) what record the Scottish Home and Health Department has of licensed establishments which have installed any form of do-it-yourself breathalyser kits ;
(3) whether the Scottish Home and Health Department has received any representatives for the Licensed Trade Association about the possible installation of do-it-yourself breathalyser kits in licensed premises.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 18 October 1990] : The Department has not received any representations from the Scottish Licensed Trade Association about the installation of do-it-yourself breathalyser kits and has no record of licensed premises which have installed such kits.
The Government have campaigned vigorously against drinking and driving and are strongly opposed to any arrangements which might encourage drivers to drink up to the legal limit in the assumption that it will still be safe for them to drive. The safe course for any driver is not to drink at all. My advice to anyone considering acquiring such kits would therefore be that they will do nothing to contribute to road safety and may simply mislead individuals into thinking that they are fit to drive.
School Boards
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the amount of money spent by the Scottish Office separate from that used by regional and islands' councils, on publicising school boards since their creation.
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Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 18 October 1990] : The total expenditure on public information about school boards since the first boards were established in October 1989 is £107,300. This relates to expenditure on publicity for school board by-elections held in late 1989 and early 1990.
Dounreay Research
108. Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give details of research (a) under way and (b) planned at Dounreay into the safe destruction of PCBs, pesticides and solvents ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 19 October 1990] : I understand that the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority at Dounreay has a research project into the electrochemical incineration of certain substances including PCBs and pesticides. Should the project be developed on a commercial basis it will become subject to control by the relevant regulatory authority.
Further information about the project may be obtained by the hon. Member if he writes to AEA Technology at Dounreay.
ENVIRONMENT
Local Government Finance
Mr. Barry Fields : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many applications have been lodged with the valuation and community charge tribunals about the community charge ; and what were the comparable figures for objections to domestic rates.
Mr. Portillo : Some 4,230 community charge appeals have so far been lodged this year with valuation and community charge tribunals. Figures for appeals against the rateable values of domestic properties were not separately recorded, but the volume of appeals against all types of rating proposals in the past five years are set out in the table :
|Number
------------------------
1985 |152,362
1986 |172,528
1987 |182,335
1988 |150,647
1989 |178,078
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if local authorities facing major losses of business rate income in their area in the course of a year will be required to make good the shortfall of increased poll tax in the following financial year.
Mr. Portillo [holding answer 22 October 1990] : The cost of any non-domestic rates which are written off by charging authorities as irrecoverable will, subject to audit, be borne by the national non-domestic rate pool. The cost of failure by an authority to collect rates efficiently will fall on the authority. Conversely, if the authority collects more than the amount assumed when its contributions to the pool were fixed, its cash flow will benefit.
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Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assumptions on poll tax collection rates he intends to use in setting central Government grant levels for 1991-92 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Portillo [holding answer 22 October 1990] : No assumptions about community charge collection rates are needed when setting central Government grant levels.
Barkby Thorpe Landfill Site
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will indicate the reasons for the postponement of the public inquiry into the Barkby Thorpe, Leicester, site, stating (a) who applied for the deferral and (b) how long the deferral will be.
Mr. Atkins : The inquiry was postponed at the request of the appellants, supported by the local planning authority, to allow gas generation from the appeal site to be monitored and the results to be analysed. It is not yet clear how long this will take.
Coastline Review
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has any plans to instigate a comprehensive review of the coastline of England and Wales.
Mr. Trippier : We have no plans at present to instigate a review of the coastline.
Atmospheric Pollution
Sir Trevor Skeet : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has received any recent representations seeking wider controls on atmospheric pollution.
Mr. Trippier : I regularly receive representations regarding atmospheric pollution and its control.
YT Trainees
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has had on behalf of YT trainees with special needs who have to pay the poll tax out of their youth training wage ; what reply he has sent ; if he will now reconsider the imposition of the tax in these cases ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Portillo : We have received a number of letters suggesting that YT trainees with special training needs endorsements should be made exempt from the community charge. It is a fundamental principle of the community charge that almost all adults should make some level of contribution. Many YT trainees, including those with special needs, are eligible for substantial reductions through the community charge benefit scheme as are others with low incomes. There is no justification for an exemption in this case.
Local Authority Superannuation Funds
Mr. Summerson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will clarify the position of local authorities who delegate superannuation fund investment decisions to external fund managers.
Mr. Portillo : Government officials have had discussions with local government representatives, regulatory bodies
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and those representing fund managers. I intend to propose amendments to the Local Government Superannuation Regulations expressly to authorise authorities to delegate superannuation fund investment decisions to outside managers subject to certain conditions. I am circulating proposals to local authorities in England and Wales and other interested parties for their comments. Subject to the necessary statutory and parliamentary procedures I would intend the amended regulations to come into force before the end of the year.Environmental Conference
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he, or officials of his Department, have been invited to participate in the conference on environmental assessment : theory and practice, to be held in London on 8-9 November, organised by International Business Communications.
Mr. Trippier [holding answer 22 October 1990] : A member of Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution has been invited to address the conference.
Disabled Facilities Grant
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received regarding the operation of the test of financial resources for a mandatory disabled facilities grant, under the provisions of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.
Mr. Key [holding answer 22 October 1990] : Since the test of financial resources for the new disabled facilities grants came into effect on 1 July, my Department has received five representations from hon. Members and six representations from local authorities and others.
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has on families choosing to discontinue the domiciliary care of an elderly or disabled member because of an inability to meet the financial contribution required as a result of the test of financial resources necessary for the provision of a mandatory or discretionary disabled facilities grant.
Mr. Key [holding answer 22 October 1990] : None.
Humberside
Mr. Michael Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to receive the final report from the Local Government Boundary Commission regarding the future of the county of Humberside.
Mr. Key [holding answer 22 October 1990] : The commission's programme of work is for it to determine with the resources at its disposal. I understand that the review is taking rather longer that was hoped. Although the commission is making good progress in dealing with the representations it has received, this review is not expected to be completed before the end of the year. I regret that I cannot give a firmer forecast.
Advertising (Complaints)
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many complaints have been received by his Department and by the Advertising Standards
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Authority and Independent Broadcasting Authority regarding environment-friendly claims by product manufacturers in both 1989 and 1990.Mr. Redwood : I have been asked to reply.
My Department has not directly received any complaints about specific environment friendly claims by product manufacturers. I am informed that the Independent Broadcasting Authority does not keep complaints in this form, but the figures for the Advertising Standards Authority are as follows :
|Number
---------------------
1989 |194
1990 |<1>100
<1>January to
October.
Rents into Mortgages Scheme
Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what action his Department is taking to promote the trial rents into mortgages scheme for Basildon new town tenants ;
(2) what is the length of the experimental period of the trial Basildon new town corporation rents into mortgages scheme.
Mr. Michael Spicer : I have invited the Commission for the New Towns to operate an experimental rents-into-mortgages scheme for its tenants at Basildon. This is an important and exciting experiment which marks a new stage in our commitment to extending opportunities for home ownership.
It will be aimed at tenants who would like to buy their home and can pay their full rent, but cannot afford the right to buy. The Commission will offer tenants the opportunity to buy their home for an initial payment
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which much be at least the amount which they could borrow on a mortgage, with repayments equivalent to their rent. This initial payment will attract discount in accordance with the right-to-buy rules ; tenants paying half the right-to-buy price will get half their right-to-buy discount.The Commission will retain a charge over that part of the value of the property not covered by the tenant's payment and discount. The charge must be redeemed on the resale of the property or the death of the purchaser, but the purchaser will be free to make further payments to redeem or reduce the charge at any time. The amount needed to redeem the charge will be the appropriate proportion of the property's value at the time of redemption, less a discount of 20 per cent.
There is no set end-date for the scheme. Its progress will be monitored regularly.
Rents into Mortgages Scheme
180. Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what monitoring he is undertaking of the response of Basildon district council following the announcement of the trial rents into mortgages scheme for Basildon new town tenants ; (2) what powers he has to prevent local authorities from campaigning against rents into mortgages schemes.
Mr. Michael Spicer : My right hon. Friend has no powers to prevent local authorities from campaigning on any question. Local authorities must, however, have regard to the code of recommended practice on local authority publicity, which says that publicity material should be
"objective, balanced, informative and accurate".
I understand that Basildon district council has passed a resolution which gives a guarded welcome to the scheme.
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