| Home Page |
Column 161
Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 6 December 1990
TRANSPORT
Train Passengers (Falls)
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to require British Rail to publish the details and results of its investigations into the incidences of passengers falling from moving trains.
Mr. McLoughlin : This is a matter for British Rail to consider. Information on such incidents is contained in the chief inspecting officer of railways' annual report.
Aviation Fuel (Transport)
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which emergency services were involved in the clean-up operation following the derailment and spillage of aviation fuel at the Isle of Grain on 28 November ; what were the costs ; and which body met each area of cost.
Mr. Freeman : Several organisations assisted at the scene of the accident, including the fire, police and ambulance services. I understand that the three emergency services were not directly involved in the clean- up operation and that they expect to meet their own costs. It is too early to know the total costs of the clean-up operation and the apportionment of them.
Defence Planning and Emergencies
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the current responsibilities of the defence planning and emergencies division within his Department ; how many full and part-time staff are employed ; and what was the annual budget for each of the last five years.
Mr. McLoughlin : The current responsibilities of the defence planning and emergencies division are to develop and maintain plans for the use of surface transport, including shipping, in crisis and war ; to maintain departmental civil emergency plans and emergency facilities within the Department of Transport ; and to manage Government-owned wrecks and their cargoes. Thirty-four full-time staff are employed, one of whom is seconded to another Department. The annual budget for the division over the past five years is as follows :
|£000s
--------------------
1985-86 |3,579
1986-87 |3,432
1987-88 |2,071
1988-89 |2,795
1989-90 |2,468
Column 162
Purchasing
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what were the 10 worst purchases made by his Department in the month of October as measured against the Government's supply index.
Mr. McLoughlin : The Department does not keep a central record of prices paid for each item purchased. Sample checks reveal that the prices paid for items on the GSI list were close to or lower than the GSI average prices.
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement about the purchasing policy of his Department.
Mr. McLoughlin : The Department is bound by the Government's policy that purchasers should base all procurement of goods and services on value for money, including quality (or fitness for purpose) and delivery against price. In accordance with that policy, goods and services are acquired by competition unless there are convincing reasons to the contrary. Under EC rules, and the GATT Government procurement agreement (GPA) where appropriate, the Department is obliged to award relevant contracts in accordance with prescribed procedures aimed at avoiding discrimination on grounds of nationality.
Driving Tests (Wales)
Mr. Livsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many driving tests have been completed in each test area in Wales ; and what the success rate has been for 1988, 1989 and 1990 to date.
Mr. Chope : I have asked the chief executive of the Driving Standards Agency to reply to the hon. Member direct.
Rail Freight
Mr. David Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to receive the Rail Freight Distribution United Kingdom Business Review report from the board of British Rail ; and when it will be made public.
Mr. Freeman : I understand that the British Railways Board is currently considering the conclusions of Railfreight Distribution's review. Publication of the report would be a matter for British Rail.
Vessel Modification
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the inspection of the vessel the Cam Spirit in December 1989 revealed about modifications to make her more manoeuvrable since her name was changed from the Silver Pit.
Mr. McLoughlin : The name was changed nine months after the inspection referred to. A survey was not required, nor was one undertaken. I understand, however, that substantial changes have been made to improve the reliability of the manoeuvring system.
London Underground
Mr. Kaufman : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to dismiss the chairman of London Underground unless London
Column 163
Underground escalators at (a) St. John's Wood underground station and (b) elsewhere are in full working order by Saturday 15 December.Mr. Freeman : No. A year ago we set London Underground Ltd. (LUL) a target of improved escalator availability, and LUL has made encouraging progress towards meeting that target. The target my right hon. Friend the then Secretary of State for Transport set LUL in December 1989 was to increase overall escalator availability on the underground from 78 per cent.--1988-89 average--to 86 per cent. by 31 March 1992. Performance figures up to mid-September show LUL has achieved 84 per cent. I suggest the hon. Member discusses the availability of particular escalators with London Underground Ltd.
Offshore Installations (Safety)
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what modifications have been made to his Department's code for standby vessels for North sea operations since the Piper Alpha disaster.
Mr. McLoughlin : None. A revised code was submitted to the public inquiry which will be amended in the light of Lord Cullen's recommendations.
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Election Documents
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Attorney-General (1) on how many occasions between 11 June 1987 and 31 August 1988 officers of MI5 were granted access to any parliamentary ballot papers and counterfoils and the marked electoral registers, returns, declarations and other election documents in the custody of the clerk of the Crown ;
(2) on how many occasions between 11 June 1987 and 31 August 1988 civil servants were granted access to any parliamentary ballot papers and counterfoils and the marked electoral registers, returns, declarations and other election documents in the custody of the clerk of the Crown.
The Attorney-General : None, as far as is known. Under parliamentary elections rules set out in schedule 1 to the Representation of the People Act 1983, ballot papers, counterfoils and certificates of employment on duty on the day of the poll are to be produced only on the order of the House of Commons or a competent court. No such orders were received during the period mentioned. All the other election documents specified by the Act are required to be open to public access, and applicants are not required to state their occupations or purposes.
Mr. Archer : To ask the Attorney-General if he will detail the precautions taken to prevent unauthorised access to parliamentary ballot papers, counterfoils, marked electoral registers, returns, declarations and other election documents in the custody of the clerk of the Crown under schedule 1, part V, rule 55 of the Representation of the People Act 1983.
The Attorney-General : Parliamentary election documents are stored in a locked warehouse on a 24-hour
Column 164
patrolled secure Government site in Greater London. Only selected staff of the Lord Chancellor's Department have access to the warehouse and its contents.Mr. Archer : To ask the Attorney-General what was the number of orders made between 11 June 1987 and 31 August 1988 under schedule 1, part V, rule 56 of the Representation of the People Act 1983.
The Attorney-General : No such orders for production of election documents were received during the period stated. The only documents produced were those where public inspection is authorised under schedule 1, rule 57(2), of the 1983 Act.
Mr. Archer : To ask the Attorney-General on how many occasions between 11 June 1987 and 31 August 1988 police officers were given access to any parliamentary ballot papers and counterfoils and the marked electoral registers, returns, declarations and other election documents in the custody of the clerk of the Crown.
The Attorney-General : Under the parliamentary elections rules set out in schedule 1 to the Representation of the People Act 1983, ballot papers, counterfoils and certificates of employment on duty on the day of the poll are to be produced only on the order of the House of Commons or a competent court. No such orders were received during the period mentioned. All the other election documents, including marked election registers, specified by the Act are required to be open to public access, and applicants are not required to state their occupations or purposes. Applicants stating themselves to be police officers were given access to marked election registers on five occasions during the period mentioned.
Court of Appeal
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Attorney-General how many convictions the Director of Public Prosecutions has defended before the Court of Appeal in each of the last five years ; and in how many of these he did not express a view as to the innocence or guilt of the defendant.
The Attorney-General : Records maintained by the Crown prosecution service do not include a total figure for the number of cases proceeding to the Court of Appeal as appeals against conviction. The total number of appeals against conviction heard by the Court of Appeal between 1986 and 1990 is set out in the table ; the vast majority would have been conducted by the Crown prosecution service. It is only where exceptional circumstances prevail that the Crown prosecution service does not seek to resist an appeal against conviction ; the number of such cases arising in each of the last five years could be ascertained only by a disproportionate expense to the taxpayer.
Appeals against
conviction heard by
full court
|Number
---------------------
1985 |528
1986 |534
1987 |343
1988 |420
1989 |500
1990 |<1>569
<1>To 30 November.
Column 165
Birmingham Pub Bombings
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Attorney-General when the Director of Public Prosecutions is proposing to make available to solicitors for the six men convicted of the Birmingham pub bomings all the material relevant to the preparations of grounds for appeal.
The Attorney-General : The Director of Public Prosecutions has disclosed a substantial amount of material to the solicitors representing the appellants. Arrangements are being made for the disclosure of outstanding material in his possession, insofar as this is appropriate in accordance with the Attorney-General's guidelines on disclosure. This has been explained to those representing the appellants. Any further material provided to the Director of Public Prosecutions will be considered and disclosed, if this is appropriate in accordance with the guidelines.
PRIME MINISTER
The Gulf (Ecological Consequences)
Q9. Mr. Tam Dalyell : To ask the Prime Minister what assessment has been made of the ecological consequences of a military option in the Gulf.
The Prime Minister : On any realistic estimate, the main effect would be to increase annual world CO emissions by a small amount. Any environmental damage is undesirable, but the international community believes that the issues at stake are overriding. The way to avoid any of the consequences to which the hon. Member draws attention is for Saddam Hussein to comply with the resolutions of the United Nations and to withdraw from Kuwait.
Staff
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the names, duties and grading of those now employed in his office.
The Prime Minister : The senior staff currently employed in my office and paid from public funds are :
Name |Grade |Position
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. A. Turnbull |Grade 2 |Principal Private Secretary
Mr. C. D. Powell |Grade 3 |Private Secretary-Overseas
| Affairs
Mr. D. C. B. Morris |Grade 5 |Private Secretary-
| Parliamentary Affairs
Mr. B. Potter |Grade 5 |Private Secretary-Economic
| Affairs
Miss C. A. Slocock |Grade 7 |Private Secretary-Home
| Affairs
Mr. J. R. Catford |Grade 5 |Secretary for Appointments
Mr. A. T. O'Donnell |Grade 3 |Chief Press Secretary
Mr. T. J. Perks |Grade 5 |Deputy Chief Press Secretary
Mr. C. Fountain |Grade 7 |Security Co-ordinator
Mrs. S. Hogg |Grade 1A |Head of Policy Unit
Mr. J. Mills |Grade 5 |Policy Adviser
Miss C. Sinclair |Grade 5 |Policy Adviser
In addition, there are currently 56 employed on administrative and support duties. I am considering further appointments to my policy unit.
Column 166
Downing Street (Gates)
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Prime Minister if he has any plans to remove the gates to the entrance to Downing street.
Ministerial Responsibilities
Mr. Maxwell-Hyslop : To ask the Prime Minister when the Cabinet Office will issue an up-to-date edition of the document intituled "List of Ministerial Responsibilities."
The Prime Minister : An up-to-date edition will be deposited in the Library as soon as possible after ministerial responsibilities in Departments have been determined.
Department of Energy
Mr. Arbuthnot : To ask the Prime Minister whether it is his intention to retain the Department of Energy as a separate Department.
The Prime Minister : My present expectation is that work in the energy area will justify the retention of a separate department at least until the end of this Parliament.
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Schools, Wandsworth
Miss Hoey : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much central Government resourcing will be used to facilitate the setting up of (a) the Battersea Park city technology college (b) the ADT city technology college in Wandsworth and (c) a new Church of England voluntary aided school in Sutherland grove in terms of(i) money and (ii) lost value by virtue of releasing sites at less than market value.
Mr. Eggar : In respect of (a) and (c), I would refer the hon. Member to the replies I gave on 3 December, at columns 14 and 15 respectively. No lease or sale of property for the purposes of establishing the institutions referred to by the hon. Member has taken place in either case. On (b), the total capital cost of the ADT college, Wandsworth CTC will be £11 million of which the Department's 80 per cent. contribution will be£8.8 million. The site for the college was made available at relevant market value.
ENVIRONMENT
Trees
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he proposes to take in respect of the interim summary of the scientific review group on tree health in the United Kingdom ; and when he expects the final report to be published.
Mr. Baldry : The terrestrial effects sub group report, "Air Pollution and Tree Health In the United Kingdom", will be published in March 1991. No interim summary will be published before that time. Copies of the final report will be deposited in the Library of the House.
Column 167
Purchasing
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what were his Department's (a) best and (b) worst purchases made in the current month as measured against the Government's supply index ;
(2) what were the 10 worst purchases made by his Department in the month of October as measured against the Government's supply index.
Mr. Heseltine : My Department devotes considerable attention to its purchasing policy. It purchases a wide range of goods and services, which is only partly covered by the Government supply index. Where possible, note is taken of the prices obtained by other Departments, but potential suppliers are assessed against a number of other factors also, in order to obtain best value for money and take full account of environmental considerations. In the case of large or long-term contracts formal tendering procedures are followed. A great many current purchases are made at advantageous rates under long-term or call-off contracts negotiated some time ago. It is therefore not possible to make a meaningful comparison of present prices within the GSI against those obtained by the Department's purchasing procedures.
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement about the purchasing policy of his Department.
Mr. Heseltine : The Government's policy is that purchasers should base all procurement of goods and services on value for money, including quality, fitness for purpose and delivery against price. In accordance with that policy, goods and services are acquired by competition unless there are convincing reasons to the contrary. Under EC rules, and the GATT Government procurement agreement where appropriate, my Department is obliged to award relevant contracts in accordance with prescribed procedures aimed at avoiding discrimination on grounds of nationality.
Administrative Costs
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the administrative costs of his Department rose by more or less than the retail price index in the last financial year.
Mr. Heseltine : The outturn for my Department was only 6 per cent. higher in 1989-90 than in 1988-89--less than the increase in the retail prices index between those two years.
Birds Directive
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will consider contesting the legal action pending against the United Kingdom for non-compliance with the 1979 birds directive. Mr. Baldry : We recently learnt that the European Commission may bring forward a proposal for amending the relevant provisions of the directive. We shall consider what action may be required when the Commission has clarified its intentions, but we hope the matter can be settled without referral to the court.
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will urge his colleagues in the Council
Column 168
of Ministers to recommend to the European Commission the reinstatement of the pests annex to the 1979 birds directive ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Baldry : We intend to raise the question of pest control under the directive at the next meeting of the Environment Council.
Connection Charges
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what information he has about the rate of increase in connection charges for new house building by each utility company since privatisation ;
(2) what discussions he has had with utility companies regarding the future level of increase of connection charges for new house building.
Mr. Baldry : Under section 79 of the Water Act 1989, a new system of infrastructure charges was introduced from 1 April 1990 for new connections to domestic water or sewerage services. The initial limits on these charges set by my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for the Environment and for Wales are increased each year in line with the retail prices index.
Increases in other charges made by companies, including any other charges related to connections, are restricted to the increase in the retail prices index plus the K factors set by my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for the next 10 years and laid down in companies' instruments of appointment, copies of which are available in the Library.
Both the K factors and the limits on infrastructure charges are now subject to review and amendment by the Director General of Water Services.
Urban Programme
Mr. Terry Davis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to receive a report from Victor Hausner and Associates on its research into the use of the urban programme in creating employment opportunities for black and ethnic minority communities in the inner cities.
Mr. Key : My right hon. Friend expects to receive the final report of this research project early in 1991.
Local Authority Accounts
Sir Hugh Rossi : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what sanctions exist against local authorities in breach of their statutory duty to produce accounts for audit ; and what action he proposes to take against those in serious breach.
Mr. Portillo : Any person failing without reasonable excuse to comply with the statutory requirements is liable to prosecution. The auditor is best placed to judge whether such legal action is warranted or likely to succeed.
Sir Hugh Rossi : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the local authorities which are currently in breach of their statutory obligations to produce their annual audit accounts, setting against each the number of years of default.
Mr. Portillo : The Audit Commission issued in February a list of 29 local authorities in England and
Column 169
Wales which had failed to publish their 1988 -89 statements of accounts before the statutory deadline of 31 December 1989. I am arranging for a copy of the list to be placed in the Library of the House. The commission's annual report for 1989-90 stated that nine of these authorities had still not published 1988-89 accounts by June 1990.Building Works
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment 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.
Column 170
Mr. Heseltine [holding answer 5 December 1990] : The following tables show the information requested in respect of :
(1) the building work funded up to March 1990 by the Property Services Agency, and thereafter by Property Holdings, as part of their responsibilities for the management of the Civil and Parliamentary Estates ;
(2) the Department of the Environment's own accommodation. The figures reflect the gradual transfer of responsibility for new building and maintenance services to occupying departments throughout the period. Information on the number of new building projects prior to 1 April 1988 is available only at disproportionate cost.
Column 169
(1) Civil and Parliamentary Estates
|1986-87 |1987-88 |1988-89 |1989-90 |1990-91
|(iii) |(Forecast)
|(iv)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
a. Number of new building
projects, including renovations
and acquisitions (i) (ii) |39 |37 |32
b. Amount spent on new buildings,
including renovation (£ million) |211 |301 |194 |102 |102
c. Amount spent on repairs and
maintenance (£ million) |147 |134 |169 |187 |166
|1986-87 |1987-88 |1988-89 |1989-90 |1990-91
|(Forecast)
a. Number of new building projects |2 |1 |3
b. Amount spent on new buildings,
including renovation (£ million) |4 |3 |2
c. Amount spent on repairs and
maintenance (£ million) |20 |23 |27 |28 |29
Notes:
(i) a new building "project" is any construction costing more than £150,000 which is not wholly
maintenance;
(ii) number of projects in construction at 30 September each year; most projects span several years
and therefore appear more than once;
(iii) in 1988 occupying departments became responsible for funding new building projects in
specialised buildings and single occupations;
(iv) in 1990 occupying departments took on substantial responsibility for funding maintenance work.
1990-91 figures include fees in addition to works costs;
(v) excludes PSA's own occupation but includes Property Holdings, Building Research Establishment
and the occupied and unoccupied royal palaces.
(2) Department of Environment (v)
1986-87 1987-88 1988-89 1989-90 1990-91 (Forecast)
a. Number of new building projects 2 1 3
b. Amount spent on new buildings including renovation (£ million) 4 3 2
c. Amount spent on repairs and maintenance (£ million) 20 23 27 28 29
Notes :
(i) a new building "project" is any construction costing more than £150,000 which is not wholly maintenance ;
(ii) number of projects in construction at 30 September each year ; most projects span several years and therefore appear more than once ;
(iii) in 1988 occupying departments became responsible for funding new building projects in specialised buildings and single occupations ;
(iv) in 1990 occupying departments took on substantial responsibility for funding maintenance work. 1990-91 figures include fees in addition to works costs ;
(v) excludes PSA's own occupation but includes Property Holdings, Building Research Establishment and the occupied and unoccupied royal palaces.
WALES
Private Streets
Mr. Anderson : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will consider means by which assistance from public funds could be provided for those people no longer benefiting from a related rate reduction to contribute to the frontagers' costs of making up private streets to a satisfactory standard.
Sir Wyn Roberts : No. The apportionment of costs incurred in making up private streets to a satisfactory standard is a matter for the individuals and local authority concerned.
Pembrokeshire Health Authority
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his policy that consultations with the public and with national health service staff in Pembrokeshire
Column 170
regarding the proposed national health service trust shall be carried out objectively and independently of the health authority.Mr. David Hunt : A decision on whether to approve a formal application for NHS trust status is subject to a statutory three-month public consultation period. In Wales this will be undertaken by the Welsh Office.
| Next Section
| Home Page |