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Mr. Curry : The Department began a programme to measure tributyltin (TBT) levels in water, fish and shellfish in 1982. Measures to control the use of TBT were introduced in 1986 and 1987. These include a ban on the use of TBT anti-fouling paints on boats less than 25 m in length. Since that time this Department, jointly with the Department of the Environment, has commissioned a more intensive research and monitoring programme to assess the efficacy of these control measures. Reports on this work have been published at regular intervals in the scientific press and brief details were included in the directorate of fisheries research aquatic environment monitoring report No. 22, copies of which are being placed in the Library of the House. Further more comprehensive and updated reports are currently in the process of being published. The results of this work show that TBT levels are declining and affected populations are recovering. Levels in the worst affected areas have declined by between six and ten-fold since 1986, as a direct result of the controls applied. Work is now focused on establishing the most effective means of controlling inputs to harbours and other areas affected by the use of TBT anti-fouling paints on deep water ships.
Building Works
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will publish tables showing (a) the number of new buildings, (b) the amount spent on new buildings, (c) the amount spent on repairs and maintenance and (d) the amount spent on building renovation by his Department in each of the last five years.
Mr. Curry : The Ministry took on responsibility for vote accounting and project sponsorship for major new buildings projects and major improvements to the existing buildings two years ago. Prior to this time the Department of the Environment's Property Services Agency held this responsibility and I have no details of actual expenditure incurred on projects for earlier years. Since 1988 details of proposals for individual projects with a total forecast cost exceeding £2 million have been published in the major projects table annex of this Department's published estimates with lesser projects treated in aggregate. The total expenditure details for the 1988-89 and 1989-90 financial years are :
>
|1988-89|1989-90
--------------------------------------------------------------
Number of new buildings projects on
which expenditure was incurred |11 |12
Expenditure on new buildings projects
(£ million) |8.62 |8.40
Expenditure on improvements to
existing buildings (£ million) |7.35 |1.40
The management of the maintenance of the Ministry's departmental estate was passed on from the DoE Property Services Agency on 1 April 1990. Previously the costs of repairs and maintenance were met by the Property Services Agency from sums recovered from Departments in the accommodation charge. I am therefore unable to publish figures.
Departmental Appointees
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the annual cost of fees and reimbursements to people appointed to (a) public, (b) non-governmental and (c) other bodies by his Department.
Mr. Curry : This Department is responsible for appointments to a number of such bodies many of which attract the payment of fees and/or the reimbursement of expenses.
Because there are wide variations in the circumstances and in the manner in which these bodies are constituted, payments are made from a number of different accounts. Information on the totals is not collected centrally in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Indications of the level of remuneration paid to appointees to public bodies are, however, available in "Public Appointments : A Guide for Women's Organisations" (Women's National Commission, June 1990) and "Public Bodies" published annually by the Cabinet Office. Copies of both publications are available in the Library of the House.
Canthaxanthin
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what studies have been carried out into the possible carcinogenic properties of the pigment canthaxanthin.
Mr. Maclean : The results of carcinogenicity studies carried out on canthaxanthin are summarised in the
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monograph drawn up by the FAO-WHO joint expert committee on food additives. The monograph was recently published and a copy is being placed in the Library of the House.The United Kingdom expert committees do not consider canthaxanthin to be a carcinogen but are concerned that canthaxanthin can form deposits in the human retina.
I summarised the Government's action on canthaxan-thin in my reply to the hon. Member for Caerphilly (Mr. Davies) on 4 November 1990 at column 64.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Benefits
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his written answer to the hon. Member for Derbyshire, North- East of 21 November, if he will give for each of the benefits and superseded benefits that he listed (a) their monetary value or range of monetary values on 1 January of each year since 1961, (b) the current monetary values or range of monetary values and (c) those values in real terms related to the retail prices index, using 1 January 1961 or the nearest available date as the base of 100.0 in each case.
Mr. Jack : The information requested is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Industrial Injuries (Benefit)
Mr. Wareing : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people in the Merseyside region of his Department have made claims for industrial injuries disablement benefit during the current year to date ; how many have had their claims accepted ; and what has been the total amount paid out in benefits.
Mr. Scott : In the period from 1 January to 31 October 1990, a total of 16,495 new claims have been received in all local offices covered by the Department's north western region. The table gives the number of claims received in each of the offices identified by the Department as being in Merseyside. Information about the number of successful claims and total amount of benefit paid is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
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Office |January |February |March |April |May |June |July |August |September|October |Total
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
North West Region |1,495 |2,193 |1,744 |1,503 |1,788 |1,530 |1,484 |1,461 |1,527 |1,770 |16,495
Belle Vale |17 |22 |20 |15 |31 |19 |25 |10 |12 |16 |187
Bootle |25 |37 |30 |30 |51 |29 |30 |21 |21 |18 |292
Breckfield |54 |38 |23 |16 |7 |18 |19 |20 |38 |27 |260
City |5 |15 |9 |13 |13 |17 |9 |8 |5 |5 |99
Crosby |13 |35 |30 |20 |38 |17 |17 |19 |25 |18 |232
Edgehill |23 |33 |13 |17 |30 |16 |19 |17 |11 |16 |195
Garston |17 |6 |16 |11 |25 |11 |15 |18 |15 |9 |143
Huyton |21 |42 |30 |16 |43 |22 |26 |25 |30 |21 |276
Kirkby |31 |63 |24 |21 |38 |23 |22 |20 |20 |19 |281
St. Helens |83 |84 |118 |79 |99 |86 |86 |109 |68 |96 |908
Toxteth |9 |21 |6 |12 |13 |21 |18 |9 |14 |7 |130
West Derby |16 |14 |14 |12 |16 |17 |4 |4 |4 |20 |121
Southport |8 |11 |11 |8 |20 |5 |11 |4 |14 |21 |113
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Community Care
Mr. Pendry : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he will respond to the Social Services, Committee's ninth report, "Community Care : Social Security for Disabled People" ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Scott : We are in the process of examining and considering the contents of the report and we will be publishing our response in due course.
Building Works
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether he will publish tables showing (a) the number of new buildings, (b) the amount spent on new buildings, (c) the amount spent on repairs and maintenance and (d) the amount spent on building renovation by his Department in each of the last five years.
Mr. Jack : Responsibility for new buildings, renovation and repairs is shared by the Department of the Environment and the Department of Social Security, and the division of this responsibility has changed over the period in question. It would not be possible to provide the information in the form requested except at disproportionate cost. However, new buildings for sole occupation by the Department have been completed as follows since April 1988, when the Department acquired responsibility for major works expenditure :
Year |Number of |Total cost
|new builds |(£ million)
------------------------------------------------
1988-89 |2 |2.689
1989-90 |4 |23.573
1990-91 |3 |15.770
The total cost includes expenditure incurred by the Department of the Environment prior to April 1988.
The total expenditure on new works and maintenance within the Department's delegated responsibility is given in the table. For the period prior to April 1989 the information covers the combined Department of Health and Social Security, and certain capital projects in which both the Department of Social Security and the Department of Health have an interest continue to be funded by the Department of Social Security.
Year (£ million) (£ million) ---------------------------------------------------- <2>1986-87 |0.123 |4.824 <3>1987-88 |10.314 |7.132 1988-89 |<4>42.561 |7.002 1989-90 |89.001 |7.735 <5>1990-91 |91.181 |<6>18.284 <1> New works expenditure encompasses all capital projects including new builds, renovations and adaptations as a result of changed operational requirements. <2> For 1986-87, the Department was responsible only for certain new works and maintenance projects up to the value of £1,000. <3> From 1987-88, the Department became responsible for certain new works up to a value of £150,000 and for maintenance projects up to a value of £5,000. <4> From 1988-89, expenditure included all new works projects irrespective of value. <5> The figures for this year are forecasts. <6> From 1990-91, the Department became responsible for all maintenance projects on a proportion of the estate.
The hon. Member will be aware of the new works project at the Stoke North local social security office completed this year. The project involved adaptation and improvement of the reception and waiting areas at a cost of £360,000. This amount is included in the table.
SCOTLAND
Firearms
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has received any representations concerning the implications for recreational shooters in Scotland of the implementation of article (5A) of European Community draft directive Com. 89 446 final, on the possession of firearms.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Seven representations have been received in connection with this draft directive.
Military Casualties
Mr. Galbraith : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what hospitals have been designed for the treatment of military casualties in the event of conflict in the Gulf.
Crossroads (Scotland)
Mrs. Ray Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what funding will be made available for the Scottish charity Crossroads (Scotland) care attendant schemes.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Local authorities and health boards are the main sources of funding to local Crossroads schemes. According to Crossroads' own statistics £669,000 was made available from these authorities in the financial year 1989-90. My Department is paying a grant of £23,865 in the current year. This meets approximately 30 per cent. of the costs of the headquarters organisation of Crossroads (Scotland) which provides direction and support to local Crossroads projects.
Action on Phobias Association
Mrs. Ray Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what funding will be made available for the Scottish charity Action on Phobias Association, to pay for a development officer.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The organisation's request for grant, one of many worthwhile applications competing for finite resources, is being considered at present. It is too early to offer any assessment of its likely chance of success but I hope that a decision will be reached early next year.
Alcohol Misuse
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what initiatives he has taken in respect of research into alcohol misuse and the social effects of alcohol misuse in Scotland ; and how much money he has made available for this purpose in the current financial year.
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Mr. Michael Forsyth : Alcohol misuse and alcohol-related problems have been identified as a priority area for research supported by the Scottish Office for many years.Estimated expenditure on external alcohol-related research in the 1990-91 financial year is £15,000. Additional funds are available and applications for soundly based research projects will be sympathetically considered. In addition, an evaluation of experimental byelaws to prohibit the consumption of alcohol in designated public places is being conducted internally by the Scottish Office.
Departmental Appointees
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the annual cost of fees and reimbursements to people appointed to (a) public, (b) non-governmental and (c) other bodies by his Department.
Mr. Lang : The annual remuneration paid to those appointed to non- departmental public bodies within my responsibilities as at 1 July 1989 is set out in pages 60 to 68 and 85 of the Cabinet Office publication "Public Bodies 1989", a copy of which is available in the Library. The 1990 edition is due to be published later this month. Information on the annual cost of reimbursement of expenses is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mature Students
Mr. Maclennan : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has received about the number of mature students who have been obliged to withdraw from courses in colleges of further education in the current academic year due to financial difficulties.
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 22 November 1990] : Apart from the cases raised in correspondence by the hon. Member himself, we have no evidence that there have been significant withdrawals by mature students in general.
In the current academic session only 10 mature students have withdrawn from those courses at Scottish colleges of further education which are supported under the students' allowances scheme. There is nothing to suggest that any of these students withdrew due to financial difficulties. Indeed, with the introduction of student loans, we have increased student support by 25 per cent. this session. We have also allocated some £1.06 million in access funds to Scottish further education colleges to distribute to students experiencing financial hardship.
Teachers
Mr. Bill Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to ensure regional councils have consultative machinery with teachers which reflects the constitution of the Scottish Joint Negotiating Committee.
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 3 December 1990] : Consultative machinery at local level is a matter for regional and islands councils in consultation with the bodies representing teachers. It clearly makes sense to take into account the composition of national negotiating machinery for teachers when determining the local arrangements.
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WALES
Local Government Finance
Mr. Raffan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will estimate the level at which domestic rates in Wales would have to be fixed in 1990-91 in order to raise the same amount as under the community charge.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : The estimated average rate bill per ratepayer for Wales in 1990-91 is £430 or 3 per cent. over 1989-90. For a detailed breakdown for each local authority I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff, North (Mr. Jones) on 11 May 1990.
Community Care
Mr. Raffan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the level of funding for community care services in Wales in (a) 1979 and (b) 1990.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : The information is not available in precisely the form requested, but I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to the hon. Member for Caernarfon (Mr. Wigley) on Thursday 5 July 1990. Expenditure on community health services in 1989-90 was £108.5 million.
Community Psychiatric Nurses
Mr. Raffan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the number of community psychiatric nurses in Wales at the present time ; and how many there were in 1979.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : Information is available only on the total staff in post for all nursing and midwifery staff. Between September 1979 and 1989 the whole-time equivalents of these had risen by 22 per cent. to 28,037 (this does not take into account the reduction in nurses' hours in 1980).
The Department is working closely with district health authorities to enable accurate breakdowns of these staff into areas of work to be made in future.
Rents to Mortgages
Mr. Raffan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the current position regarding the
rents-to-mortgages scheme in Wales.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : In the first 12 months of the scheme 17 per cent. of eligible tenants have expressed an interest. More than 60 (nearly 8 per cent.) have applied to become flexi-owners. Fourteen sales (nearly 2 per cent.) have been completed.
Unadopted Streets
Mr. Anderson : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what is his latest estimate of the number of unadopted streets in Wales and the cost of making up such streets ;
(2) how many unadopted streets were adopted by each of the Welsh local authorities in each of the last 10 years.
Sir Wyn Roberts : The information is not held centrally.
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Employment Training
Mr. Murphy : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people in Wales on the latest available figures went into full-time jobs after completing a course of employment training.
Sir Wyn Roberts : The latest results from the follow-up survey of employment training leavers show that 35 per cent. of respondents were in full-time employment three months after leaving the scheme. A further 10 per cent. were in part-time employment, voluntary work or further education.
Mr. Murphy : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people in Wales on the latest available figures are still unemployed having completed a course of employment training.
Sir Wyn Roberts : The latest results from the follow-up survey of employment training leavers show that 50 per cent. of respondents were unemployed three months after leaving the scheme.
Coal Exports
Mr. Geraint Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the current level of coal exports from Wales ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. David Hunt : The latest available figures show that, in the six months to the end of June 1990, 178,048 tonnes of coal were exported from Welsh ports.
Registered Second Homes
Mr. Geraint Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give the number of registered second homes by district area as at (a) 1 April 1980, (b) 1 April 1985 and (c) 1 April 1990 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : The information is not available in the form requested. Some information on the proportion of second or holiday homes identified in each district during the 1986 Welsh inter-censal survey is published in table A1.2 of the report, a copy of which is in the Library of the House.
Roads, Dyfed
Mr. Geraint Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the rate of progress of regrading Dyfed roads.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Cardigan bypass is to be completed this month, ahead of schedule. Plans for other improvements to trunk roads are set out in "Roads in Wales : Progress and Plans for the 1990s". A supplement updating this information is to be published in the new year. Improvements to local roads are a matter for Dyfed county council.
Mr. Geraint Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he has any plans to build the eastern approach road in Aberystwyth during the next three years ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Wyn Roberts : A feasibility study on the A44/A487 Aberystwyth approach roads, commissioned by the Department, has recently been completed. It is too soon to say what proposals might emerge from it.
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Coal Imports
Mr. Geraint Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the present level of coal imports into Wales ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. David Hunt : The latest available figures show that, to the end of June 1990, 1,829,552 tonnes of coal were imported into Welsh ports.
Development Board for Rural Wales
Mr. Geraint Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he has any plans to extend the boundaries of the Development Board for Rural Wales to include parts of north Pembrokeshire, including Fishguard and Goodwick ; and if he will make a statement.
Pembrokeshire Health Authority
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will place in the Library a copy of the further information referred to in his reply on Tuesday 27 November regarding Pembrokeshire health authority's national health service trust bid.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given to him on Tuesday 4 December 1990.
Alcohol Misuse
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what sum of money he calculates would be adequate to provide a high-standard service in each county in Wales to tackle the problem of alcohol abuse ; and on what he has based his calculation.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : It is for local and health authorities to determine and respond to local needs for alcohol misuse services as part of their normal development of services. Central Government support is being made available to encourage local initiatives, but should not be regarded as a substitute for local funding. A total of £150,000 has been earmarked this year to combat alcohol misuse in Wales.
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish the criteria on which organisations in Wales are being selected to receive part of the £150,000 funding for projects to help combat alcohol misuse announced by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary at his Department on Drinkwise Day in June.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : Guidance for organisations wishing to bid for a share of these resources is being issued this week and I shall be placing a copy in the Library of the House.
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what initiatives he has taken in respect of research into alcohol misuse and the social effects of alcohol misuse in Wales ; and how much money he has made available for this purpose in the current financial year.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given earlier today by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department.
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District Health Authorities
Mr. Livsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the number of formal training days being given, since their inception, to the new district health authority members in Wales, by district health authority and in total.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : The Department does not keep records of training that may be provided at the local level by district health authorities (DHAs).
At the all-Wales level, a one-and-a-half day briefing event was held for all new DHA members in October this year, to provide general briefing on the organisation and finance of the NHS in Wales. A one-and-a-half day induction course was also provided in November. A further five-day programme covering such issues as strategic planning, care in the community, purchaser-provider roles, finance, contracts, resource management and medical audit is planned for the period January to May 1991.
NHS Reform
Mr. Livsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the administrative cost of introducing the reforms affecting the national health service in Wales as itemised in the National Health Service and Community Care Act.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : The estimated recurrent administrative cost of introducing the NHS reforms in Wales, as itemised in the financial and explanatory memorandum to the National Health Service and Community Care Bill is £8.650 million per annum.
Building Works
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will publish tables showing (a) the number of new buildings, (b) the amount spent on new buildings, (c) the amount spent on repairs and maintenance and (d) the amount spent on building renovation by his Department in each of the last five years.
Mr. David Hunt : My Department has not financed any new buildings for its own use during the last five years. Expenditure incurred by my Department during that period on repairs, maintenance and improvements (renovation work is not separately identifiable) was as follows :
Financial |Expenditure year |£ ------------------------------------ 1985-86 |217,017 1986-87 |225,195 1987-88 |219,014 1988-89 |299,405 1989-90 |686,144
Expenditure incurred by the Property Services Agency on my Department's behalf is not included in these figures.
Departmental Appointees
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the annual cost of fees and reimbursements to people appointed to (a) public, (b) non-governmental and (c) other bodies by his Department.
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Mr. David Hunt : Salaries of members of non-departmental public bodies are set out in "Public Bodies 1989", a copy of which is in the Library of the House.
Private Streets
Mr. Anderson : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what detailed amendments to the law on the adoption of private streets he is considering ; and when he intends to bring forward legislation ; (2) whether he intends to review and simplify the working of the private street works code to reflect experience of the Highways Act 1980 and subsequent Scottish law.
Mr. Chope : I have been asked to reply.
After a review in 1983 of private street works law for England and Wales, it was decided to maintain both the principle of frontager liability and the arrangements for the adoption of private streets. Some minor amendments may be necessary in the future. Private street works law in Scotland is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland.
EMPLOYMENT
European Social Fund
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the reason for the delay in announcing ESF funding allocation.
Mr. Forth : There have been a number of difficulties with the implementation of the new requirements under the reformed ESF this year. A major cause of the delays was the late approval by the Commission of the operational programmes for 1990 onwards in August this year. It was only then that work on the individual applications for ESF support could start. Some 2,500 applications have been submitted, of which over 1,500 were received by my Department at the end of September. The vast majority had to be returned for revision because of errors. My Department is doing everything possible to expedite the process and to authorise payments to applicants.
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the average length of time schemes have been operating without funding whilst awaiting the outcome of the ESF bids.
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