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|Number of recoveries|Percentage of IS
|August1990 |recipients under 60
|repaying via benefit
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Doncaster East |1,149 |16.3
Doncaster West |1,563 |16.2
Wath on Dearne |1,110 |18.6
Information about the average repayment in terms of a proportion of income is not available.
Column 108
Ms. Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much the social fund budget will be in 1991-92 in (a) gross and (b) net terms ; and what were the comparable figures for each year since the social fund's introduction.
Mr. Scott : We shall make an announcement about the 1991-92 budget nearer the time. Details of the previous years' budgets are in the table.
|Gross |Net
|£ million|£ million
----------------------------------------
1988-89 |203 |125
1989-90 |206 |99
1990-91 |227 |100
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list by office in the London borough of Newham the number of social fund applications (a) submitted and (b) refused since 1 April.
Mr. Scott : Details of applications processed and awards made can be obtained from information placed in the Library.
Mr. Frank Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many and what percentage of recipients and of households claiming income support are repaying social fund loans by deductions from their benefit payments.
Mr. Scott : I refer the hon. Member to the replies that I gave him on 24 October 1990 at column 226 and 1 November 1990 at column 671. The information given in those replies relates to income support recipients who may or may not be householders. Separate information relating to households is not available.
Water Metering
Mr. Evennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the introduction of water metering on families in receipt of income support ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The impact of water metering on families will vary according to a wide range of circumstances, including the rateable value of property which underpins the current system of water charges, and whether or not they pay sewerage charges. It has never been thought practicable or right to make specific provision for metered services such as gas and electricity within social security benefits.
Residential and Nursing Care
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what steps he expects to take consequent on the shortfall shown between resources available for residential and nursing care and its costs for charitable and proprietorial homes as shown in the commissioned report of Price Waterhouse, summarised in the reply of 24 October 1990, Official Report, columns 228-29.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced on 24 October, Official Report columns 351-52, the proposed increases to the income support limits for residential care and nursing homes from April 1991. These increases, which will cost
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£225 million in a full year, were arrived at in the light of the Price Waterhouse survey together with other available evidence.Severe Disablement Allowance
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to upgrade severe disablement allowance to the level of invalidity benefit.
Mr. Scott : Yesterday, regulations were laid before the House, introducing age-related additions to severe disablement allowance with effect from 3 December 1990. We estimate that 245,000 people will have their severe disablement allowance increased at a net cost of £50 million in a full year. We have no current plans to increase the rate of the allowance to that of invalidity benefit.
Family Credit
Ms. Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many families were receiving family credit at the latest available date, breaking these figures down into (a) one-parent and two-parent families and (b) one-earner and two-earner families.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The latest available information relates to the end of August 1990 when the family credit caseload stood at 323, 000. The breakdowns requested are as follows :
Families |Number -------------------------------- One-parent |126,000 Two-parent |197,000 One-earner |308,000 Two-earner |15,000
Ms. Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many families receiving family credit are (a) tenants or (b) homeowners.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : This information is not available.
Ms. Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many children were in families receiving family credit.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : At the end of August 1990, there were 684, 000 children in such families.
HEALTH
Prescribing
Mr. Thornton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the policy of his Department as to the grounds on which hospitals and general practices should make decisions to use particular medicines on clinical grounds and as to the use of preferred treatment lists to promote rational prescribing rather than budget savings.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Both hospital clinicians and general practitioners are free to prescribe the drug which in their clinical judgment best suits the patient and the condition. The Department encourages clinicians to develop formularies of preferred treatments in order to promote rational and cost effective prescribing.
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Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress is being made on the introduction of limited rights of prescribing for nurses.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : We are to commission an independent analysis of the costs and benefits of implementing the proposals of the advisory group on nurse prescribing.
Higham Grange Hospital
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many representations he has received concerning the changes to management circumstances at Higham Grange hospital in Leicestershire ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Dorrell : A number of representations concerning Higham Grange rehabilitation centre in Leicestershire has been received. The proposed venture at Higham Grange will enable a valuable service to continue in the area. It is a fine example of the private and public sector working together to provide a better health service for all.
Congenital Toxoplasmosis
Mr. Fraser : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to provide a general screening of pregnant mothers to discover the risks of congenital toxoplasmosis.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : In any screening programme, the benefits conferred by screening must clearly outweigh any risks. The Department recently sought the opinion of leading experts on the advantages and disadvantages of screening for toxoplasmosis in pregnancy. I am advised that such screening should not be introduced in the United Kingdom at present because the natural history of the disease, the accuracy of the tests and the efficiency of possible treatment are uncertain.
Neonatal Hearing Screening
Mrs. Rosie Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the level of availability on the national health service of neonatal hearing screening by use of the auditory brainstem evoked potential apparatus, to those women who may be at risk.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : This information is not collected centrally.
NHS Agency Staff
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list by year for the last five years to date the annual cost of the national health service in the Doncaster district health authority for staff who have been employed through agencies as (a) nurses, (b) operating department assistants and (c) ancillary and other staff.
Mr. Dorrell : The information requested is not held centrally, and is not easily obtainable. The hon. Member may wish to write to Mr. J. G. S. Smith, chairman of Doncaster health authority, for the information that he requires.
Dentists
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has on the number of dentists who have left the national health service in the past 12 months ; and how many were in practice in the south-east.
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Mr. Dorrell : Provisional data available show that 893 dentists ceased to provide general dental services in England during the year ended 30 September 1990 ; 1,084 dentists provided general dental services for the first time during that year, a net increase of 191. In the same period, the total number of dentists providing general dental services in the south-east (the four Thames regions and the Oxford region) reduced by 34 (0.6 per cent.).International Adoption
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received about the refusal by Hertfordshire county council to carry out a home assessment for couples wishing to adopt a Romanian child ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Hertfordshire county council has confirmed to the Department that it does carry out home study assessments for couples who wish to adopt a Romanian child ; the social services department is engaging additional social workers to provide services in accordance with recent Department of Health guidance CI(90)17, a copy of which is available in the Library.
Cancer Mortality, Newham
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the increases registered in cancer mortality rates in the London borough of Newham since 1985.
Mr. Dorrell : The number of deaths from major forms of cancer to residents of the London borough of Newham have fluctuated over the years since 1985. The data does not show evidence of an overall upward trend in cancer mortality rates in the borough over these years.
Disabled People
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received concerning full implementation of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986.
Mr. Dorrell : I refer the right hon. Member to the reply that my hon. Friend the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State gave the hon. Member for Caernarfon (Mr. Wigley) on 20 March 1990 at columns 563-65. Since then, we have answered four parliamentary questions and six letters from hon. Members on this issue. The Association of Metropolitan Authorities, the Association of County Councils and representatives of Cleveland social services department have also, on separate occasions, indicated support for full implementation.
Halifax District General Hospital
Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the reason for his decision to postpone the building of the new Halifax district general hospital for four years ; and if he will now take steps to ensure the reopening of the wards closed to accommodate the new hospital and the re-building of the laundry.
Mr. Dorrell : Decisions on the relative priority of schemes within Yorkshire regional health authority's capital programme are for the regional health authority.
Column 112
THE ARTS
Business Sponsorship
Mr. Allan Stewart : To ask the Minister for the Arts how much expenditure has been incurred under the business sponsorship incentive scheme in Scotland in respect of 1989 and 1990 to the latest available figures.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 12 November 1990] : Arts organisations in Scotland have been highly successful in winning awards under my business sponsorship incentive scheme. In 1989-90, 38 awards totalling £288,003 were made to match £707,380 in new sponsorship. In the first half of this year alone there have been 53 awards amounting to £525,141 to match just over £1 million in new sponsorship money.
Mr. Allan Stewart : To ask the Minister for the Arts how much expenditure has been incurred under the business sponsorship incentive scheme in respect of projects under Glasgow's year as European City of Culture.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 12 November 1990] : I am delighted that under my business sponsorship incentive scheme, awards totalling £364,041 have been made to arts organisations in Glasgow to match £800,000 in new sponsorship money.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Mortgage Arrears, Newham
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information he has of the number of people (a) up to three months, (b) up to six months and (c) over 12 months in arrears on their mortgage repayments in the London borough of Newham.
Mr. Maples : That information is not available.
Privatisation
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether the Treasury has advised against the use of any company as an adviser on privatisation ;
(2) if he will make it his policy to advise Departments not to use as advisers on privatisation, companies which have been criticised by Department of Trade and Industry inspectors.
Mr. Maude : It is for Departments to decide on the appointment of their advisers, following consultation as appropriate, in the light of all the relevant circumstances.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Treasury maintains a list of approved advisers on privatisation.
Mr. Maude : No. The Treasury does, however, maintain a list, which it makes available to departments, setting out the appointments which various advisers have held in past privatisations.
EC Gross Domestic Products
Mr. Biffen : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the gross domestic products of the countries comprising the European Community, showing also the estimated respective size of the undeclared or black economies.
Column 113
Mr. Major : Following is the information requested :
GDP at purchasing power parities 1989
|(United States
|dollars billions)
------------------------------------------------------
United Kingdom |818.4
Germany |941.7
France |820.0
Italy |798.6
Belgium |135.2
Denmark |73.8
Greece |73.2
Ireland |31.2
Luxembourg |6.3
Netherlands |205.1
Portugal |71.9
Spain |399.3
Source: OECD.
Some of these figures may include an allowance for activity in the undeclared, or black, economy, but no comprehensive statement is available on the size and extent of these allowances.
Civil Servants (Retirement Age)
Mr. Andrew Bowden : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to enable some civil servants to remain in employment until the age of 70 years ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Ryder : My Department will shortly be implementing one of the recommendations of an interdepartmental working group set up to consider ways of alleviating the effect of the forecast demographic changes to the work force in the 1990s. The decision to raise the maximum age at which civil servants retire from 65 to 70 will give Departments greater flexibility in meeting their staffing needs through the employment of older workers. My Department has also recently removed the upper age limits on recruitment for all service wide grades.
Welsh Language
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many cases there are in Wales where those registered for value-added tax either registered in Welsh or have subsequently requested for their value-added tax administration to be undertaken through the medium of the Welsh language.
Mr. Ryder : About 40 to 50 traders a year complete their applications for VAT registration in Welsh. Overall, approximately 470 traders are issued with VAT returns in Welsh by Customs and Excise.
Exchange Rates
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list, for a set point in each quarter, the value of the £ sterling against the deutschmark, from May 1979 to the present.
Mr. Maples : The exchange rate for sterling against the deutschmark published on an average monthly basis is to be found in the Central Statistical Office publication, "Financial Statistics". Current and back copies are available for reference in the Library of the House.
Column 114
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Iran
Mr. Anthony Coombs : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the United Kingdom representative at the United Nations will make concerning the recent visit by the United Nations special representative, Galindo Pohl, to Iran.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The UN special representative has yet to publish the report of his second visit. We shall study it carefully when it issues. In the meantime we remain in regular contact with the centre for human rights in Geneva, where he is based.
Palestine Liberation Organisation
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) when he next plans to meet officials of the Palestine Liberation Organisation's London office to discuss the Gulf crisis and the question of occupied territories in Israel ; (2) what is his Department's current assessment of the position of the Palestine Liberation Organisation on the Gulf crisis ; (3) when he last met officials of the Palestine Liberation Organisation's London office ; and what was discussed.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has not himself held discussions with officials of the PLO's London office and has no plans to do so. Ministers are not at present meeting PLO representatives because of the PLO's equivocation over the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait. This was a great mistake which has seriously damaged their cause.
But the PLO cannot be ignored and we remain in regular contact with it at official level on middle eastern issues.
Fiji
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when next he will be meeting the the Ambassador of Fiji ; and what will be discussed.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has no plans to meet the Ambassador of Fiji.
Ethnic and Linguistic Communities
Mr. Kilfedder : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made within the European Community to ensure cultural protection for the older and long-established ethnic and linguistic communities living within national boundaries.
Mr. Garel-Jones : The Community has a small budget (1.1 mecu in 1990) for educational measures for minority languages and cultures. Additionally, the Commission has launched a pilot scheme to provide financial aid for translations of contemporary literary works. Priority is being given to works in minority languages.
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Anirudh Singh
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received concerning the arrest and detention of Anirudh Singh, of Leicester, in Fiji ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We have received no other representations apart from a letter from the hon. Member.
We were disturbed to hear of the abduction and beating of Dr. Singh. We are pleased he has been released and that those thought to be responsible for his abduction are being prosecuted.
Middle East Oil
Mr. Galbraith : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information his Department has on the number of oil refineries in the middle east ; and how much oil they contain.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Refineries in each of the middle eastern countries are listed in the table below, with their total refining capacity in barrels per calendar day. No information is available on storage capacity or on levels of stocks at refineries.
Country |Refinery |Capacity
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Abu Dhabi, UAE |Ruwais |163,000
2 refineries |Ajman |174,000
|-----
|Total |337,000
Bahrain |Bahrain |350,000
1 refinery
Iran |Abadan |155,000
6 refineries |Tabriz |120,000
|Shiraz |56,000
|Tehran |325,000
|Isfahan |335,000
|Bakhtran |18,000
|-----
|Total |1,009,000
Iraq |Basrah |87,650
8 refineries |Daurah |70,000
|Al Haditha |7,000
|Kirkuk |30,000
|Mufthiah |4,500
|Baiull |215,000
|Qaiyera |2,000
|Khanaquin |12,000
|-----
|Total |418,000
Kuwait |Shuaiba |314,000
3 refineries |Mina-Al-Ahmad |372,000
|Mina Abdulla
|-----
|Total |1,003,000
Oman |Mina-Al-Fahal
1 refinery
Qatar |UMM Said |62,000
1 refinery
Saudi Arabia |Ras Tanura |643,000
7 refineries |Jeddah (1) |107,600
|Riyadh |`20,000
|Yanbu (1) |170,000
|Yanbu (2)
|Al Jubail |362,000
|Jeddah (2) |21,700
|-----
|Total |1,829,800
Neutral Zone |Ras-Al-Khafji |30,000
(Kuwait, Saudi)
1 refinery
Egypt |Mex-Alexandria |126,615
6 refineries |Amaria-Alexandria |78.440
|Suez (1) |91,520
|Suez (2) |83,790
|Musturud |134,140
|Tanta |22,020
|-----
| Total |536,525
Israel |Haifa |200,000
2 refineries |Ashdod |115,000
|-----
|Total |315,000
Jordan |Zerka |113,500
1 refinery
Lebanon |Tripoli |30,000
\c\2 refineries |Sidon |17,000
|-----
|Total |47,000
Syria |Banias |120,600
2 refineries |Homs |102,440
|-----
|Total |223,040
Yemen (South) |Aden |178,000
1 refinery |
The Gulf
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions are being held with the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on their proposals for a diplomatic solution to the Gulf crisis.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : We are in close touch with the Soviet Union on all aspects of the Gulf crises, based on our shared commitment to the full implementation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether any further trips are planned to Iraq in an effort to secure the release of British hostages.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The declaration issued by the European Council in Rome on 28 October made clear the determination of the Twelve not to send representatives to Baghdad to negotiate with Saddam Hussein over the release of foreign hostages in Iraq and Kuwait. The United Nations Security Council is engaged in this matter and the Twelve have agreed to encourage the United Nations Secretary-General to send a personal representative to Iraq to achieve the immediate departure of all hostages.
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions are being held with the French Government on their proposals for a diplomatic solution to the Gulf crisis.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : We are in close touch with the French Government on all aspects of the Gulf crisis. The basis of our discussions, including those on 27 October
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between my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and President Mitterrand, is our shared commitment to the full implementation of the United Nations Security Council resolutions.Mr. Corbyn To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions have been held with France about the methods that it used to achieve the release of French nationals in Kuwait and Iraq.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The French Government have affirmed that the release of the French hostages took placed entirely at Iraqi initiative. The delaration issued by the European Council in Rome on 28 October made clear the determination of the Twelve not to send representatives to Baghdad to negotiate with the Iraqis over the release of foreign hostages in Iraq and Kuwait.
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the hon. Member for Linlithgow may expect a substantive answer to his letter to the Foreign Secretary relating to a document supposedly found in Kuwait by Iraqi troops concerning the destabilisation of Iraq by fluctuations in oil prices, and subsequent translation from Arabic to English by the Office of the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The hon. Member wrote to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs about this on 9 November. My right hon. Friend replied on 13 November.
Temple Mount Killings
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been made by the British Government to the Government of Israel about their refusal to admit a United Nations investigation into the killing of Palestinians at Temple Mount.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs urged members of the Israeli Government to reconsider their decision not to receive the United Nations Secretary- General's mission during his talks with them on 16 and 17 October. We voted for SCR 673 regretting Israel's failure to respond positively.
UN Military Staff Committee
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether there are any plans permanently to revitalise the United Nations military staff committee ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The Military Staff Committee has met formally and briefly at United Nations headquarters approximately twice a month since 1945. Separately there have been five ad hoc meetings of members of the military staff committee since the Gulf crisis began. These have proved a useful forum for the exchange of information.
Sri Lanka
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Sri Lankan Government concerning the abuse of human rights of the Tamil population.
Column 118
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We have regularly raised our concerns about human rights issues with the Sri Lankan Government, both in London and Colombo. Both bilaterally and with our European partners we have urged the Sri Lankan Government to observe their international obligations in this field and have made clear that future decisions on development aid will be affected by the Government's performance on human rights.
Filipino Security Guard
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has concerning human rights abuses and executions carried out by the presidential security guard in the Philippines.
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