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Claimants in receipt of rent rebate and
also in receipt of income support |105,000|(24)
Claimants in receipt of rent rebate and
not in receipt of income support |156,000|(35)
|-------|-------
Total |261,000|(59)
<1>LA tenants are men aged 65 and over; and women aged 60 and
over.
Source:
(a) Housing Benefit Management Information System annual
statistical enquiry, and
(b) Department of Employment Labour Force Survey April 1989.
Information concerning the number of housing benefit recipients aged 60 and over in Greenock and Port Glasgow and Strathclyde is not available.
Benefits (Monitoring)
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many of his Department's staff have been trained to deal with the requirements of 16 and 17-year-olds under the procedures announced on 13 March 1989, Official Report, columns 27-28 ; what was the training involved ; and if he will make a statement.
Miss Widdecombe : No records are held of the number of staff who have been trained. All appropriate staff receive technical training in the income support benefit provisions for 16 and 17-year-olds. Specialised training is provided for staff who interview young people under the severe hardship provisions, to enable them to recognise the needs of this vulnerable group.
Pensions
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the state earnings-related pension payable in each year since 1978 ; and if he will give a projection for each year to 1999 based on earnings rising by 1.5 per cent. above prices each year for (a) a full-time worker consistently earning half the average wage, using average gross weekly earnings for all full-time workers on adult rates in all industries and services excluding those whose pay was affected by absence, (b) a full-time worker consistently earning the average wage, as above and (c) the maximum addition payable.
Miss Widdecombe [holding answer 6 December 1990] : The information requested is set out in the table.
The weekly amounts of additional pension payable on retirement on 6th April in the stated year are as follows, for: Year of |(a) |(b) |(c) Retirement ------------------------------------------------------- 1978 |0.00 |0.00 |0.00 1979 |0.30 |0.85 |1.30 1980 |0.75 |1.95 |2.90 1981 |1.35 |3.35 |5.25 1982 |2.10 |5.55 |8.45 1983 |2.85 |7.55 |11.70 1984 |3.60 |9.80 |15.10 1985 |4.55 |12.05 |19.10 1986 |5.55 |14.70 |23.25 1987 |6.85 |18.00 |28.50 1988 |8.40 |21.70 |34.00 1989 |10.25 |26.10 |40.45 1990 |12.70 |31.85 |48.65 1991 |14.70 |36.90 |56.00 1992 |16.85 |42.45 |63.65 1993 |19.20 |48.15 |72.05 1994 |22.05 |54.85 |81.35 1995 |25.00 |62.10 |91.40 1996 |28.30 |70.10 |102.35 1997 |32.00 |78.95 |114.30 1998 |36.10 |88.65 |127.35 (a) A person on one-half of average earnings. (b) A person on average earnings. (c) A person earning at or above the Upper Earnings Limit. Notes: From 1990 onwards 5 per cent. prices and 6.5 per cent. earnings growth is assumed. Average earnings are those for all full-time workers on adult rates in all industries and services, excluding those affected by absence.
Glasgow East End Community Conference
Mr. David Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the total cost to public funds of the Glasgow east end community conference in 1988, 1989 and 1990.
Mr. Allan Stewart : I have been asked to reply.
The east end management unit has estimated the direct cost to public funds of the Glasgow east end community conference for the years in question to have been as follows :
|£
---------------------
1988 |6,400
1989 |12,700
1990 |14,825
HEALTH
General Practitioners
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has on patients being required to change general practitioners because of their failure to agree to have such tests as cervical smears.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : There have been a number of allegations, but no hard evidence to suggest that patients are being forced to change GP for such reasons. Such behaviour would be highly unprofessional.
Nuclear Industry Workers
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will commission a study of the incidence of retinoblastoma in the offspring of nuclear industry workers.
Mr. Dorrell : The Department and the Health and Safety Executive are finalising the contractual arrangements for detailed epidemiological studies into the health of offspring of individuals who are occupationally exposed to radiation. These studies will include data on the incidence of all cancers in the offspring of radiation workers where relevant.
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Sexual Behaviour
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has any plans to establish a national survey of sexual behaviour.
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Stationery
Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Lord President of the Council what quantity of office and correspondence paper is used annually by hon. Members and staff in the House ; and how much it costs.
Mr. MacGregor : The approximate total cost of stationery items supplied to the House by HMSO during the year from 1 october 1989 to 31 September 1990 was £333,000. The individual quantities of each of these items could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Information Technology
Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Lord President of the Council what proposals he has to make the Official Report and other parliamentary documents available to hon. Members and the public on compact disc.
Mr. MacGregor : HMSO and Chadwyck-Healey Limited plan to launch the Official Report on compact disc (CD-ROM) during 1991. This is a joint venture and the discs will be made available commercially, although the pricing structure has yet to be finalised. The intention is to include initially at least the previous Session plus the current Session, with cumulatively updated discs being issued following each recess. Users with an IBM-compatible personal computer equipped with a CD-ROM drive will be able rapidly to search and access the text by keying in a significant word or combination of words.
A separate joint venture involving HMSO and Context Limited should also see the appearance in 1991 of statutory instruments on CD-ROM.
Energy Efficiency
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Lord President of the Council if, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Southwark and Bermondsey (Mr. Hughes) of 19 November, Official Report, column 24, he will set out details of the specific energy conservation projects, better housekeeping and energy- conscious design of facilities in the House.
Mr. MacGregor : I will write to the hon. Member.
DEFENCE
The Gulf
Mr. Mills : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the level of pay and allowances, and the standard of equipment, including clothing, provided to British troops in the Gulf.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : My right hon. Friend has already made it clear that no member of the armed forces will suffer financially as a result of being posted to the Gulf.
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Sufficient desert pattern combat clothing has been delivered to meet the needs of the personnel in theatre. More is on order for the additional troops that will deploy with 4 Brigade and 1 Armoured Division. Equipment provided to British troops in the Gulf has been trialled and tested extensively, much of it in hot, dry climates. The equipment in the Gulf is performing well.Contracts
Mr. Grylls : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of defence contracts in the calendar year 1989 was awarded directly to small and medium-sized enterprises.
Mr. Alan Clark : I regret that this information is not readily available at the present time.
Ministry of Defence Police
Mr. Beith : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to reduce the numbers of Ministry of Defence police based at Brizlee Wood, Northumberland ; and if he has anything to add to his answer of 23 November, Official Report, column 234.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Epsom and Ewell (Mr. Hamilton) to the hon. Member for Walsall, South (Mr. George) on 3 December 1990, Official Report, column 51. Brizlee Wood is one of the sites concerned.
United States Nuclear Laboratories
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Bradford, South of 21 November, Official Report, column 135, he will set out (a) the number of officials who have visited, respectively, Los Alamos, Lawrence Livermore and Sandia research laboratories, (b) the purpose for each visit, (c) the cost of each visit, (d) the dates of each visit and (e) the benefits of the visits to which he made reference.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : It has been the policy of successive British Governments not to disclose such detailed information on visits made under the terms of the 1958 US-UK agreement for co-operation on the uses of atomic energy for mutual defence purposes.
Dartmouth Naval College
Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the future of the Dartmouth naval college ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Following my right hon. Friend's statement on 25 July on "Options for Change", the future of the whole of the naval estate and support services is under consideration. Any announcements of changes will be made at the appropriate time.
Iraq
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his current assessment of Iraq's capability of constructing a nuclear explosive device.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : We assess that Iraq is not currently capable of constructing a nuclear explosive device.
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Atomic Weapons Establishments
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if there have been any visits to the atomic weapons establishments at (a) Aldermaston, (b) Burghfield and (c) Llanishen by scientific experts from (i) the United States and (ii) the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in the current year.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : In the current year United States officials have visited all three of these establishments under the terms of the 1958 United States/United Kingdom agreement for co-operation on the uses of atomic energy for mutual defence purposes. There have been no visits by Soviet officials.
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what funds were allocated to the atomic weapons establishment in 1990 ; and what will be the level of funding in 1991.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : It is not our practice to disclose information of this kind on funding of the nuclear programme.
SCOTLAND
Cleveland Fuels (Pollution)
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received from the chairman of Clydeside against Pollution opposing Cleveland Fuels proposals to install an incinerator at Clyde street, Renfrew ; and what reply he has sent.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : A letter from the group Clydeside against Pollution was received on 4 December 1990 and was acknowledged by Her Majesty's industrial pollution inspectorate on 7 December 1990. In that it makes further representation about the application by Cleveland Fuels Ltd. for registration of an incinerator works in Renfrew under section 9(1) of the Alkali etc. Works Regulation Act 1906, Her Majesty's industrial pollution inspectorate will take account of its contents during their consideration of the application.
Govan Initiative
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if Govan Initiative has used public funds to purchase or lease the premises at 6 Harmony Row, Govan.
University Students
Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what research he has commissioned on the reasons for the reduction in numbers of students in the Scottish universities since 1979.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : There was no reduction in the numbers of students in Scottish universities between 1979-80 and 1988-89. The number of full-time undergraduate students at Scottish universities rose over the period from 38,570 to 42,870, an increase of more than 10 per cent.
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Council Houses
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many council houses he expects will be completed during 1990-91.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : In their housing plan checklists which were submitted to the Scottish Development Department in November, local authorities estimate that they will complete approximately 1,181 houses in the financial year 1990-91.
Homelessness
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people are classed as homeless in (a) Inverclyde, (b) Strathclyde and (c) Scotland as a whole.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Over the 12 months to 31 March 1990, the numbers of households which applied under the homeless persons legislation and were assessed by local authorities as homeless, as recorded in the returns submitted to the Scottish Development Department, were as follows :
|Number
------------------------------------
Inverclyde district |142
Strathclyde region<1> |4,812
Scotland<1> |10,962
<1> provisional.
Residential Homes
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if police forces give information to directors of social work departments on any criminal records of persons who apply for registration of ownership of homes which care for persons who are severely mentally handicapped ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Yes. Information of this kind is provided by the Scottish criminal records office on request to designated senior officers in social work departments.
Local Government Finance
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many suggestions he has received concerning alternatives to the poll tax ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Allan Stewart : My right hon. Friend regularly receives correspondence proposing improvements to the community charge and possible alternatives to it. These views will be taken into account during the Government's review of the community charge.
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many merchant seamen have been granted exemption from poll tax obligations by way of decisions taken by (a) community charge registration officers and (b) sheriffs upon appeals made by merchant seamen against decisions made by community charge registration officers.
Mr. Allan Stewart : Information on decisions as to where individuals are solely or mainly resident is not held centrally.
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the progress of his latest review of the poll tax ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Allan Stewart : The Government have made it clear that the review is to be conducted on a Great Britain basis and will involve the Secretaries of State for the Environment, for Scotland and for Wales. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland will of course, be paying particular attention to Scottish aspects of the review.Forestry Grants
Sir Hector Monro : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the Government have any plans to review the rates of grant for forestry planting.
Mr. Lang : The Government considered the rates of grant for broadleaved planting as part of their recent review of broadleaves policy, the outcome of which was announced by my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Edinburgh, Pentlands (Mr. Rifkind) in reply to a question from my hon. Friend on 23 July, Official Report, columns 6-11.
We concluded that against the background of the considerable expansion in broadleaved planting that had taken place since we introduced our new broadleaves policy in 1985, and given the substantial rise in grant rates which accompanied the introduction of the woodland grant scheme in 1988, there was no evidence that the planting grants on offer were inadequate. At the same time, however, we were able to announce that woodland management grants would be introduced under the woodland grant scheme for both broadleaved and conifer woodlands from 1 April 1992, with enhanced rates of grant for woodlands of special environmental value. This move has been widely welcomed.
We have also received the rates of grant for conifer planting and, as with broadleaves, we have concluded that there is no convincing case at present for general increases under the Forestry Commission's grant schemes. There has been a drop in conifer planting, but it is our view that this has been due not to any inadequacy in grant rates as such but to a combination of factors, including the price and availability of suitable land and the general economic situation. Nevertheless, it remains an important part of our forestry policy that a higher proportion of planting should take place on low ground of better quality than hitherto. We have therefore decided to increase the better land supplement of £200 per hectare, which is available as a top-up grant under the woodland grant scheme for planting on arable land or grassland which has been cultivated and improved within the previous ten years. The new rates will be £400 per hectare for conifer planting and £600 per hectare for planting with broadleaves, and will apply to any eligible planting done under the scheme on or after 1 October 1990. The supplement is not available under the farm woodland scheme, for which special annual payments are made by the agriculture departments.
The cost of the higher supplements will be in the region of £1 million per annum ; this will be met from within existing resources.
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I am sure that these increases in the better land supplement will lead to considerably more planting on better land "down the hill" and that they will be welcomed by landowning and environmental interests alike.Higher Education
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of the adult population is now in higher education ; what was the figure in 1978-79 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 11 December 1990] : The number of adults in full-time higher education in Scotland in 1988-89, expressed as a percentage of the Scottish population aged 21 to 34 was 3.5 per cent. The equivalent figure for 1985-86 was 3 per cent. Information on the numbers of adults in higher education in years before 1985-86 could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The provisional figure for the proportion of young Scots entering higher education in 1989-90 has risen to over 24 per cent. compared with 21 per cent. in 1988-89.
Goods and Services
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will publish tables showing the amount spent on (a) acquiring and (b) commissioning goods and services by his Department in each of the last five years.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 11 December 1990] : Scottish Office purchasing information systems do not differentiate between acquiring and commissioning goods and services. Information on the Scottish Office total purchasing expenditure, from 1986-87, is, however, reproduced in the annual report of the Treasury's central unit on purchasing, copies of which are available in the Library.
ENVIRONMENT
Local Government Finance
9. Mr. Ron Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many people have been prosecuted for non-payment of the community charge ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key : The Department does not have this information, but I understand that most authorities in England have now started their enforcement procedures.
Mr. Nellist : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Coventry, South-East, Official Report, 26 November, column 259 , he will give further information for those local authorities for which information is missing in the material deposited in the Library.
Mr. Key : Five local authorities have sent in returns to my Department since the previous answer I gave to the hon. Member.
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Authority
|Birmingham |Purbeck |Three Rivers|Warwick
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of people who have made |474,409 |32,379 |53,554 |89,750
a payment in respect of a
personal community charge by
30 September 1990
Number of people liable who have |187,704 |1,309 |6,360 |11,750
not made a payment in respect
of a personal community
charge by 30 September 1990
Proportion of charge payers |71.7 |96.1 |89.4 |88.4
making a payment
Per cent.
36. Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the projected shortfall in collection of the poll tax in Liverpool for the current financial year.
Mr. Key : The Department does not have this information, but I understand that in the current financial year Liverpool has budgeted for £7,500,000 for community charge debts.
28. Mr. Jacques Arnold : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the personal community charges set in the current year in the boroughs of Gravesham and Thurrock.
Mr. Key : The figures are as follows : Gravesham £294 ; Thurrock £417.
29. Mr. James Lamond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to transfer the educational component of local authority spending to the Exchequer ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Portillo : I have announced that we shall be undertaking a fundamental review of local government finance and structure.
21. Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he has for changes to the community charge ; and if he will make a statement.
24. Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received seeking the repeal of the community charge.
26. Mr. Canavan : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make a statement about his policy on a review of the poll tax.
30. Mr. Alan W. Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on further proposals he is now considering for reform of the community charge.
34. Mr. Boyes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will undertake a fundamental review of the poll tax ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Heseltine : I refer the hon. Members to the answer I gave earlier today.
Home Improvement Grants
17. Ms. Short : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has had any discussions with the local authorities associations about the operation of the home improvement grant system.
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Mr. Yeo : Officials from my Department have done so regularly, most recently on 30 November.
National Rivers Authority
19. Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has on the number of prosecutions undertaken by the National Rivers Authority.
Mr. Heseltine : I understand that the National Rivers Authority brought 3,997 successful prosecutions for all types of offences during its first year of operation. Of these, 3,549 were for fisheries offences, 370 for water pollution offences, 59 for navigational offences and 19 for water resources offences. I shall be reviewing progress with Lord Crickhowell in the near future. I attach great importance to securing improvements in environmental standards wherever they are needed. We have established an environmental and economic framework within which decisions will be taken.
Council Housing
20. Mr. Litherland : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many additional council houses he anticipates being completed during 1990-91.
Mr. Yeo : Local authorities are expecting to complete about 13,000 houses during 1990-91. The Government see housing associations as the main providers of additional subsidised housing for rent. Public funding for associations through the Housing Corporation will increase from £1.1 billion this year to over £2 billion by 1993-94. Together with their increased ability to draw in private funds, this will permit a sustained increase in output of subsidised housing by associations over the next few years.
Homelessness
22. Miss Lestor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many children are currently housed by local authorities in bed-and- breakfast accommodation.
Sir George Young : This information is not available centrally.
25. Mr. John P. Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the number of people who will be homeless this Christmas.
Sir George Young : I refer the hon. Member to the answer that was given by my hon. Friend the then Minister of Housing and Planning on Tuesday 27 November 1990 to the hon. Member for Knowsley, North (Mr. Howarth).
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Housing Associations
23. Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions he has had with tenants of housing associations in London on the subject of home ownership.
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