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Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 24 October 1990
HOME DEPARTMENT
Electoral Registration
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has for increasing the level of electoral registration ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Rumbold : I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to his question on 18 October at column 867 .
Liquid Gold
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will investigate the content and availability of a chemical sold under the title Liquid Gold with a view to its registration as a controlled substance ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John Patten : Liquid Gold is the brand name of a type of chemical product sometimes known as a "popper". The active ingredient of these products is amyl nitrite, one of a group of chemicals known as the alkyl nitrites. The misuse of alkyl nitrites was considered by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs in 1987. The council found at that time that, although the substances posed a limited health hazard when misused, they were not dependence-producing and did not give rise to any social problems sufficient to justify their control under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. We are monitoring the situation closely to see if any change in this policy is necessary.
Special Constables
Mr. Lawrence : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which five counties have the most special constables proportionate to the population ; which five counties have the fewest ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Proportionate to the population, the City of London, Devon and Cornwall, Lincolnshire, Staffordshire and Warwickshire police forces have the most special constables ; Greater Manchester, Gwent, Merseyside, the Metropolitan police and South Wales have the fewest.
County Police Forces
Mr. Lawrence : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to improve the management and efficiency of county police forces following the Audit Commission report.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The Audit Commission is producing a series of reports on police issues. These are being considered as they appear. In the main, the recommendations will be followed up locally by police authorities and
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chief constables and in the context of audits carried out by district auditors. They may also be followed up in the course of inspections by Her Majesty's inspectorate of constabulary.Deportation
Ms. Richardson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women are currently held in British prisons awaiting deportation ; what is the average time spent in prison ; and on what grounds the women are being held.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : None. Three women are, however, held solely under Immigration Act powers in the immigration detention accommodation at Harmondsworth awaiting deportation. The length of their detention on 19 October averaged 69 days. They are detained on the ground that they would otherwise fail to maintain contact with the Department.
Police Complaints Authority
Mrs. Maureen Hicks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any new appointment has been made to the Police Complaints Authority.
Mr. Waddington : Mr. Gerald C. Warner, who retired from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in October 1990, has accepted my invitation to serve as a member of the Police Complaints Authority. He will take up his post on 14 November 1990. The appointment is being made to fill a vacancy created by the departure of one of the members from the authority whose term of appointment has expired.
WALES
Valleys Initiative (Roads)
Mr. Rowlands : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) how many road schemes identified in the valleys initiative have been put out to tender ; and whether he will list the successful applicants ; (2) what assessment he has made of the number of local jobs created by the road schemes identified in the valleys initiative ; and which have been completed and which are under construction.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Of the county road schemes shown in "The Valleys": A Programme for the People" the A4067 Glais-Pontardawe improvement, Neath inner urban bypass, A467 Abertillery Brynmawr improvement and A4119 mid- Rhondda access schemes have been completed ; the A473 Talbot Green bypass is under construction. Phase I of the A4060 Pentrebach-Dowlais trunk road scheme has also been completed. Tenders have been invited by the Welsh Office for phase II of the A4060 scheme and West Glamorgan county council has invited tenders for the A4067 Pontardawe-Ynysmeudwy scheme. It is too soon to know who the successful applicants might be. No assessment of jobs created has been undertaken.
Toxic Waste
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he has received any reports from Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution on the plans by Rechem International in Gwent to import toxic waste from Italy.
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Mr. Grist : No. My right hon. Friend receives notification of hazardous waste imports in accordance with the Transfrontier Shipment of Hazardous Waste Regulations 1988.Bus Journeys
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what correspondence he has received concerning (a) the journey time and (b) pricing policy for bus journeys between north-west and south Wales.
Sir Wyn Roberts : I have received no such correspondence. These are commercial matters for the bus company.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Mortgages
Mr. Allen : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information he has on the number or percentage of mortgages which are adjusted (a) monthly, (b) annually and (c) other categories.
Mr. Maples : Only partial information is available. Over 40 per cent. of building society mortgage payments are adjusted annually. No precise information is available on the extent of annual review schemes operated by banks and other mortgage lenders.
Community Charge
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish by valuation office and sub-office the comparable figures for objections to domestic rates and to community charge tribunals.
Mr. Key : I have been asked to reply.
In the table figures for objections to domestic rating proposals include those for both domestic and non-domestic properties. No separate figures are available for domestic properties alone.
Valuation and Community |Community charge |Objections to rating
Charge Tribunal Offices | appeals to |proposals from
|30 September 1990 |1 January 1989 to
|31 December 1989
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avon and Gloucestershire |94 |4,853
Bedfordshire and
Hertfordshire |166 |6,647
Berkshire |43 |1,779
Birmingham |4 |5,532
Buckinghamshire |6 |1,929
Cambridgeshire |27 |1,457
Cheshire |107 |3,997
Cleveland and Durham |300 |4,187
Coventry, Solihull and
Warwickshire |29 |3,379
Cumbria |73 |1,249
Derbyshire |57 |1,856
Devon, Cornwall and
Isles of Scilly |168 |4,823
Dorset and Somerset |153 |2,833
Essex |201 |3,956
Hampshire North and
Wiltshire |62 |2,757
Hampshire South and
Isle of Wight |71 |2,367
Hereford and Worcester |36 |1,956
Humberside |677 |3,183
Kent |188 |3,715
Lancashire |169 |3,966
Leicestershire,
Nottinghamshire
and Northamptonshire |81 |4,699
Lincolnshire |90 |1,257
Central London |11 |18,073
London North East |54 |6,707
London North West |27 |7,453
London South East |30 |5,085
London South West |64 |5,460
Manchester North |102 |5,379
Manchester South |18 |7,227
Merseyside |133 |5,776
Norfolk |81 |1,203
Northumberland, Tyne and
Wear |248 |8,802
North Yorkshire |195 |2,185
Oxfordshire |60 |3,971
South Yorkshire |57 |4,041
Staffordshire and Shropshire |24 |3,971
Suffolk |75 |1,498
Surrey |48 |3,711
East Sussex |56 |3,312
West Sussex |21 |2,096
West Midlands |26 |5,318
West Yorkshire |98 |4,433
|------- |-------
Total |4,230 |178,078
TRANSPORT
Port of London Authority
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement concerning the future organisation and functioning of the Port of London Authority, listing those activities, responsibilities and properties which will remain its public statutory responsibility and those which he envisages will cease to remain in public ownership.
Mr. McLoughlin : My right hon. Friend has decided to build on the benefits which have already appeared from the abolition of the dock labour scheme by bringing forward legislation as soon as he can to enable the Port of London Authority to sell the docks and commercial undertaking of Tilbury into private ownership. The Port of London Authority would retain its existing conservancy responsibilities. It is too early to be more precise about the eventual division of activities, responsibilities and properties.
Motorway Driving
Mr. Fraser : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will initiate a campaign of "left is right" in relation to motorway driving, along the lines of the German "right is right" campaign.
Mr. Chope : The Department continues to emphasise the importance of keeping to the left except when overtaking and this will be reflected in future motorway and trunk road safety campaigns.
Road Accidents
Mr. Hanley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road accidents there were, both fatal and non-fatal, in each of the years 1984 to 1989 inclusive ; and how many involved drivers aged under 24 years.
Mr. Chope : The Department collects only information on accidents involving personal injury.
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A fatal accident is defined as one in which at least one person was fatally injured.
Accidents and accidents involving drivers aged under 24: 1984-89
All accidents Accidents involving at least
one driver or rider aged
under 24 years
|Fatal |Non-fatal|Total |Fatal |Non-fatal|Total
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1984 |5,138 |248,045 |253,183 |2,094 |100,034 |102,128
1985 |4,768 |240,877 |245,645 |1,915 |93,929 |95,844
1986 |4,895 |242,959 |247,854 |1,930 |94,608 |96,538
1987 |4,694 |234,369 |239,063 |1,816 |89,798 |91,614
1988 |4,643 |242,351 |246,994 |1,796 |92,572 |94,368
1989 |4,907 |255,852 |260,759 |1,831 |96,769 |98,600
Mr. Hanley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether there has been an analysis carried out of the incidents of specific makes of vehicle in road accidents in relation to their general prevalence in the vehicle population as a whole ; and if statistics exist for the seriousness of injuries sustained in those specific makes of vehicle.
Mr. Chope : The Department of Transport began collecting information about the registration marks of all vehicles involved in injury accidents from 1 January 1989. This will facilitate analyses of the type my hon. Friend seeks. I hope that a report will be published in the form of a statistical bulletin before the end of the year and a copy will be placed in the Library.
A45-B4029 Junction
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when work will commence on the grade separation at the junction of the A45 and the B4029.
Mr. Chope : Provided the scheme continues to show positive economic benefits, we hope to be in a position to publish orders in June 1991.
M40
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the full length of the M40 will be open to traffic in both directions.
Mr. Chope : There is still much to be done to complete the M40, with several major contracts still running. The construction industry, with the encouragement of the Government, has set itself exacting targets for the completion of this vital road and is determined to meet them. The project should, therefore, be completed earlier than expected and fully opened early next year.
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what he anticipates will be the reduction of traffic, both north and south bound, on the M1 when the M40 is opened.
Mr. Chope : It is currently estimated that there will be a reduction of between 7,500 and 8,500 vehicles per day in each direction on the M1 between London and the M6 junction in the first year after the M40 extension is opened.
Road Planning
Mr. Galbraith : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list for the 18 schemes in England and Wales, identified by the National Audit Office as having a
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negative cost-benefit analysis, in its report of 27 October 1988, "Department of Transport, Scottish Development Department and Welsh Office : Road Planning" (a) location and name of each individual project, (b) length of road, (c) date of decision to build and date of completion, (d) capital cost, both estimated and outturn, (e) number of vehicles per day estimated, each way, (f) number of vehicles per day from recent census data and (g) the details of the negative economic appraisal or net present value.Mr. Chope : The schemes concerned in England were as follows : A40 Ross-on-Wye Relief Road
A483/A5 Oswestry Bypass and A5 Improvement (3 Schemes)
M65 Whitebirk-Hyndburn
A61 Chesterfield Relief Road North
A61 Chesterfield Relief Road South
A6 Chapel-en-le-Firth Bypass
A1079 Beverley Bypass
A63 South Docks Road (Easterly) Hull
A564 Blythe Bridge--Uttoxeter Bypass
A56 Accrington Bypass South
A66 Bowes Bypass
The detailed information requested will take some time to collect and I will write to the hon. Gentleman in due course. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales is responsible for roads in Wales.
Bridges
Mr. Hanley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what requirements must be followed by central or local government before a bridge forming part of (a) a trunk road or (b) a local road may be turned into a toll bridge.
Mr. Chope : Authority to toll any part of a public highway must be obtained by Act of Parliament or by grant from the Crown.
Wheel Clamping
Sir Dudley Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what persons have authority to clamp vehicles allegedly parked illegally, apart from the police or their express agents.
Mr. Chope : There are no express powers that enable vehicles to be immobilised by wheelclamps other than those contained in sections 104 and 105 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act, which refers to highways and other roads to which the public has access. In such cases, only the police have power to use clamps or authorise other persons to do so. The position on private land, including car parks, is not expressly provided for at law. Only the courts are in a position to interpret the law and thereby judge the legality of clamping vehicles on private land.
Mobile Canteens
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress his Department has made towards regulating mobile canteen trading in trunk road laybys under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982.
Mr. Chope : Paragraph 2 of schedule 4 to the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 enables district councils to regulate street trading. That schedule confers no powers on the Secretary of State. The application and operation of the schedule in any district is a matter for the relevant district council.
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Continental Rail Travel
Mr. Trotter : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he now expects to receive British Rail's proposals to acquire the trains needed for through passenger services from the north to the Continent ; and whether he still expects these trains to be available in time for the services to start from the opening of the channel tunnel.
Mr. Freeman : I am now considering BR's proposals for trains to operate daytime services to the continent from north of London. There are discussions in progress between BR and its suppliers on the detailed technical specifications, the price and the timetable for deliveries. I still await BR's proposals for night services, which it is discussing with its continental partners.
Spanish Lorry Drivers
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received concerning the blockade by Spanish lorry drivers at the frontier with France ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Chope [holding answer 19 October 1990] : We received representations from the trade associations and from individual hauliers.
The strike by Spanish road hauliers who were protesting about Government- controlled haulage rates, fuel prices and working conditions ended on the evening of 19 October.
The French-Spanish border is now open and lorries are crossing in both directions.
HEALTH
Electric Hand Dryers
Mr. Dickens : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking in conjunction with the chief medical officer of health to ascertain the extent of any health dangers associated with the use of warm air electric hand dryers in public conveniences.
Mr. Dorrell : The Department of Health has supported research at Papworth hospital into airborne bacteria from hand drying with hot air electric hand dryers compared with paper towels. The results showed that hot air hand dryers produced no more aerosol and sometimes significantly fewer aerosolised bacteria than paper hand towels. These results have been confirmed by studies in Singapore.
Video Screens
Sir Trevor Skeet : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research has been undertaken into the debilitating effect of video screens on eyesight ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Dorrell : I am advised that home television sets, larger commercial sets, amusement arcade game machines and visual display units are not known to have any debilitating effect on eyesight, although their prolonged use may draw attention to a pre-existing refractory problem. There are no known hazards from radiation from these screens in normal use.
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Research into possible health effects from VDU use at work is the responsibility of my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Employment.National Health Service Trusts, Leeds
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many expressions of support he has received for the opt-out proposals of St. James and the Leeds general infirmary in Leeds ; and from whom.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Neither St. James hospital nor Leeds general infirmary has put forward proposals to opt out of the National Health Service. However, both have applied to become National Health Service trusts and we have received a number of letters from members of the public supporting their applications. These comments have been passed to Yorkshire regional health authority which is responsible for arranging consultation on these applications. At the end of the consultation period, all comments made will be forwarded to my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State to consider alongside the applications before my right hon. and learned Friend decides whether to establish the units as National Health Service trusts.
Health Authority Accounts
Mr. John Garrett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list in the Official Report those district health authorities which are audited by private accountancy practices and the name of each audit practice concerned.
Mr. Dorrell : From 1 October 1990, responsibility for the external audit of health authorities moved from the Department of Health to the Audit Commission. The commission has appointed auditors for each authority, who may be their own staff or private firms, and will be happy to supply details if required.
NHS Trusts
Mr. Robin Cook : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will outline the timetable to be used for units in the second wave of national health service trust applications, giving the date by which (a) units should apply and (b) decisions on suitability will be made at regional level ; and if he will outline the consultation procedure which will be used by regions for second wave applicants.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : A unit can apply at any time to be an NHS trust. The NHS management executive has produced an indicative timetable for units wishing to become trusts in April 1992. Under this timetable, units would submit applications in late April 1991. Regions may comment on proposals and on applications, but decisions on suitability are for my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State. Regions will determine the arrangements for consultation on applications subject to the requirements of the NHS and Community Care Act.
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EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Truancy
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what are the rates of truancy (a) currently, (b) five years ago and (c) 10 years ago.
Mr. Fallon : This information is not collected centrally. My right hon. Friend is considering what scope there might be for reviewing the collection and presentation of such statistics at local level.
Telford CTC
Mr. Turner : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many people applied for the post of head and deputy head of Telford city technology college ; and whether he will give details of their present positions and previous career experience.
Mr. Eggar : There were 43 applications for the post of head at the Telford city technology college, and a total of 120 for the three posts of deputy head which were advertised. All of the applicants were suitably qualified being at present in posts at least equivalent to head of department. For the position of head, approximately one third of those applying were at present either deputy heads or heads.
School Closures
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the average time taken between the first submission to his Department of an application by a local education authority relating to a school closure or reorganisation and final decision by Ministers, for the latest available period, and for such of the years from and including 1980 for which information is available.
Mr. MacGregor : Data are available only for the average time taken between the publication--as opposed to submission to the Department--of statutory proposals under sections 12, 13 and 15 of the Education Act 1980 and a final decision by the Secretary of State in each of the calendar years from 1986 to 1989, as follows :
Year |Average
|time taken
|(months)
---------------------------------
1986 |7.30
1987 |7.35
1988 |7.97
1989 |6.64
These figures exclude proposals which fell to be determined by a local education authority.
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will update the table relating to school closures in the answer to the hon. Member for Blackburn, Official Report, 12 July, column 314, to give the latest available information in respect of 1990.
Mr. MacGregor : The information is in the following updated table :
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Calendar |Number of |Number of |Number of |Number of
Year | proposals |places to be |proposals |surplus
|decided |taken out |in column 2 |places to be
|of use by | approved |taken out
|proposals |of use as a
|in column 2 |result of
|approved proposals
(1) |(2) |(3) |(4) |(5)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1983 |366 |104,174 |330 |85,606
1984 |292 |85,862 |270 |77,590
1985 |205 |101,097 |185 |88,218
1986 |172 |81,663 |147 |62,828
1987 |159 |55,116 |134 |45,326
1988 |145 |64,256 |116 |27,170
1989 |140 |59,527 |114 |41,831
<1>1990 |107 |28,558 |94 |28,043
<1> 1 January to 30 September 1990.
Assisted Places
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what records of the name, address and other details of pupils in receipt of awards made under the assisted places scheme, or their parents, are held by his Department or are otherwise available to it.
Mr. MacGregor : Details of individual pupils in receipt of awards under the assisted places scheme are not held by my Department. Such records as there are, including addresses of parents, and so on, are held by the schools which participate in the scheme.
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what measures he has taken to ensure that records of personal details of award holders and their parents under the assisted places scheme are used only for the purposes for which the information was originally given.
Mr. MacGregor : The participating schools are wholly responsible for the records they keep of individual pupils in receipt of awards under the assisted places scheme.
ENERGY
Overseas Visits
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the overseas visits made by Ministers in his Department during July, and the nature of any agreements concluded.
Mr. Wakeham : I visited France on 16 and 17 July this year. My hon. Friend the Member for Banbury (Mr. Baldry) visited Bonn on 6 July and attended the informal Energy Council in Rome on 16 July. No agreements were concluded.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT
Eastern Europe
59. Mrs. Currie : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much of the know-how funds for eastern European countries has now been spent or committed.
Mrs. Chalker : The know-how fund--KHF--for eastern Europe commenced in July 1989. A total of £2.3
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million was spent on the KHF for Poland in 1989-90. In this financial year £15 million will be disbursed. The allocation of resources for next financial year and beyond has not yet been finalised.Malaysian Minister for Energy
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth affairs whether representatives of the Overseas Development Administration met the Malaysian Minister for Energy, Mr. Samy Vellu, during his visit to London earlier in the current year ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Chalker : No representatives of the Overseas Development Administration met the Malaysian Minister for Energy during his visit to London earlier this year.
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