| Home Page |
Column 559
Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 31 January 1991
HOME DEPARTMENT
Solvent Abuse
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what action he will take further to restrict the sales of substances such as butane which can lead to addiction through abuse ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) what action he has taken and intends to take in the future in order to combat lighter fuel sniffing ; and if he will make a statement ;
(3) if he can provide figures for the number of persons who undertake solvent abuse and lighter fuel sniffing ; and what resources he has committed to fighting this.
Mr. John Patten : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health has the lead in co-ordinating Government policies in this area, which are directed primarily towards education and prevention. It is not possible to estimate the extent of volatile substance misuse with any accuracy as this is essentially a clandestine activity : the numbers are thought to vary greatly over time and place.
My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary's main responsibility so far as the inhalation of lighter fuel is concerned is for the application and enforcement of the criminal law. We supported the passage through Parliament of the Intoxicating Substances (Supply) Act 1985 which penalises anyone who supplies, or offers to supply, a substance while knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that it is likely to be inhaled by someone under 18 for the purposes of causing intoxication. Figures for the cost of enforcing this law, and of police action in dealing with misusers, are not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
In view of the very wide range of everyday substances which can be misused, we believe there is little to be gained from further restricting sales. But we shall continue to encourage the voluntary co-operation of retailers in controlling the supply of volatile substances to young people.
Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act
Dame Janet Fookes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many project licence applications were referred to an external assessor by the inspectorate under section 9(1) of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, in the years 1988, 1989 and 1990.
Mrs. Rumbold : Statistics on the referral of project licence applications to external assessors are not collected centrally. Applications are referred for formal external assessment on a case-by-case basis where advice is required on specialised aspects of projects, although the number of such referrals is unlikely to be large. In addition, referrals under section 9(1) are made to the Animal Procedures Committee.
Column 560
Iraqi Service Personnel
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Iraqi army, air or navy officers are known to be present to date in the United Kingdom ; how many such personnel have been admitted to the United Kingdom in each of the past five years for courses of study ; and how many such officers (a) have left the United Kingdom voluntarily, (b) have been deported, (c) are in detention, (d) are subject to restriction on their movements and (e) are resident without restriction.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : No information is recorded on the number of Iraqis admitted to the United Kingdom who were serving members of the Iraqi armed forces. Thirty-six Iraqis, whom we now have reason to believe are serving members of the forces, entered the United Kingdom as students to study at various colleges. Thirty-five of these did so without declaring their military status. One was allowed to make a voluntary departure before confirmation of his status was received and 35 are in military custody. We have no knowledge of the presence in the United Kingdom of any other serving member of the armed forces.
Braille
Mr. Rooker : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what would be the cost of producing form RPF 7B for application to vote by post or proxy in respect of physical disability in braille.
Mrs. Rumbold : I shall write to the hon. Member.
Refugees
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people with refugee status currently reside in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Around 37,000 people, including sough-east Asian refugees, have been allowed to stay in the United Kingdom as refugees since 1979. Corresponding information for earlier years is not available. Comprehensive records are not kept of those who leave the country, die, obtain British citizenship or otherwise cease to hold refugee status here.
Prostitutes
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from police authorities regarding the practice of introducing women in court as known prostitutes.
Mr. John Patten : We have received a letter from the West Yorkshire police authority, forwarded by several hon. and right hon. Members. I have sent the hon. Member a copy of our reply.
Iraqi Detainees
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what comments the International Red Cross has made on the conditions in which Iraqi detainees were held at Her Majesty's prison Pentonville ; and what changes the Government are introducing as a result of representations made by the Red Cross.
Mrs. Angela Rumbold : The detainees initially located in Pentonville are now held in Full Sutton prison in
Column 561
Yorkshire in appropriate living conditions with integral sanitation. This accommodation had been identified before the representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross made their visit. Communications between the ICRC and Her Majesty's Government are conducted in confidence and it is not the practice to disclose details.Local Government Finance
Mr. Nellist : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, further to his answer, Official Report , 18 December 1990, column 104 , if he will list the dates in 1991 on which information relating to poll tax liability orders will be collected and the dates on which it will be published.
Mr. John Patten [holding answer 29 January 1991] : During 1991 information on community charge enforcement proceedings in the magistrates courts will be collected on 31 March, 30 June, 30 September and 31 December. The information should be available in the Library within six weeks of the end of each quarter.
ENVIRONMENT
Local Government Finance
Mr. Bellotti : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to require local authorities to apply a multiplier of zero to those public houses occupied by persons as tenants who are also registered to pay poll tax at a separate address.
Mr. Key : Under the new standard charge classes which take effect from 1 April 1991, the multiplier may not exceed one times the personal community charge where unoccupied domestic property shares the same building as a business and as a result would be difficult to let separately. In addition we have now prescribed a new standard community charge class of property whereby the multiplier may not exceed one half if the person subject to that charge is also living in job-related accommodation. Charging authorities will have the discretion to apply either a standard charge multiplier of 0 or one half.
Mrs. Maureen Hicks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information is available to establish the percentage of payments of community charge and uniform business rates which are still outstanding for each local authority for 1990-91.
Mr. Key : I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Don Valley (Mr. Redmond) on 23 January 1991, Official Report, column 190.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish his best estimate of the cost of administering his proposed community charge reduction scheme.
Mr. Portillo : I hope to be in a position to publish an estimate following further discussions between my Department and the local authority associations.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish his estimates of the numbers entitled to relief under the community charge
Column 562
reduction scheme using the tax/benefit model based upon the latest family expenditure survey data, breaking the numbers down by size of household and distinguishing between those receiving automatic relief and pensioners or disabled persons who qualify for special relief.Mr. Portillo : The figures requested are in the table. They are for England only and are based on the family expenditure surveys for 1987, 1988 and 1989. They incorporate a 10 per cent. per annum allowance for depletion of entitlement for charge payers who have moved or died.
Effect of Community Charge Reduction Scheme in 1991-92, by
household type
|Number of |Number of |CC reduc-
|households |adults |tions
|(000's) |(000's) |(£ million)
------------------------------------------------------------------
All households |8,950 |18,530 |1,700
One-adult
households |1,150 |1,150 |190
Two-adult
households |6,340 |12,700 |1,220
Larger households |1,470 |4,680 |290
Of which extra help to:
Pensioners |350 |430 |70
Disabled |100 |100 |20
Landfill Sites
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many landfill sites containing methane have subsequently been the subject of developments.
Mr. Baldry : Government advice since 1978 has been that building development is inadvisable on former landfill sites known to be emitting methane. Figures for developments on former landfills are not collected centrally. However, since 1988 local planning authorities have been required to consult waste disposal authorities on applications for development within 250 m of landfills.
Maps
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to ensure that Ordnance Survey continues to show the location of Forestry Commission land on its Landranger and Pathfinder maps.
Mr. Baldry : The chief executive will write to the hon. Member.
Refuse-derived Fuel
Mr. Janman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution has executive power to conclude regulations governing the burning of refuse-derived fuel without reference of final decisions to him.
Mr. Trippier : Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution does not have power to make regulations. Regulations governing the burning of refuse- derived fuel are being prepared by the Department as part of the regulations to implement the EC directive on municipal waste incineration. They will be subject to parliamentary approval in the usual way.
Mr. Janman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Members
Column 563
for Thurrock and for Romsey and Waterside (Mr. Colvin), Official Report, column 87, 21 January, whether Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution will consider the effects of disproportionate costs on small-scale users of refuse-derived fuel when drafting integrated pollution control regulations.Mr. Trippier : Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution is not drafting regulations. When drafting the guidance to cover the burning of refuse-derived fuel Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution will consult widely the relevant sectors of industry and will take into account the costs to users.
First-time Buyers
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of schemes to assist first-time buyers with below-market value homes (a) in the European Community and (b) in the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Yeo : The Department is aware of several schemes for assisting house purchase deployed in European Community countries. Most involve assistance towards loan repayments ; we are not aware of any schemes in which property can be purchased at less than full market
Column 564
value. By contrast, in the United Kingdom the Government have offered wider forms of assistance of which right to buy, shared ownership, homesteading and licensed development schemes involve substantial discounts to first-time buyers.Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the number of the people who bought homes for the first time in 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1990. Mr. Yeo : The number of first-time buyers in Great Britain is estimated at 630,000 in 1987, 770,000 in 1988 and 640,000 in 1989. Figures for the whole of 1990 are not yet available, but in the first three quarters of 1990 it is estimated that there were some 450,000 first- time buyers.
Spending Assessments
Mr. Cartwright : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out the standard spending assessments for (a) 1990-91 and (b) 1991-92 for each of the boroughs in Greater London in respect of (i) education and (ii) social services.
Mr. Key : The figures requested are shown in the table.
Column 563
The 1990-91 and 1991-92 Standard Spending Assessments for Education and Social Services
and for each borough in Greater London in £ million.
£ million
|1990-91 |1991-92 |1990-91 |1991-92
Authority |Education SSA|Education SSA|Social |Social
|Services SSA |Services SSA
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
City of London |0.824 |0.814 |0.396 |0.500
Camden |52.762 |61.062 |33.809 |41.584
Greenwich |82.257 |98.038 |25.451 |32.165
Hackney |91.828 |106.800 |45.074 |55.504
Hammersmith and Fulham |45.602 |51.587 |32.215 |38.937
Islington |64.211 |76.597 |34.146 |43.015
Kensington and Chelsea |29.783 |34.857 |23.497 |30.155
Lambeth |105.484 |124.829 |57.262 |71.209
Lewisham |86.010 |102.429 |35.035 |43.806
Southwark |85.168 |102.708 |40.813 |51.017
Tower Hamlets |91.292 |112.110 |32.414 |41.015
Wandsworth |84.149 |97.374 |43.829 |54.869
Westminster |44.456 |50.044 |34.161 |43.073
Barking and Dagenham |48.338 |56.906 |14.943 |18.288
Barnet |88.054 |104.134 |23.237 |29.204
Bexley |67.800 |80.499 |13.412 |16.715
Brent |108.138 |124.847 |35.191 |42.506
Bromley |79.378 |92.214 |20.353 |25.580
Croydon |102.781 |120.350 |27.523 |34.025
Ealing |100.586 |119.871 |30.872 |37.725
Enfield |88.524 |105.597 |21.500 |26.679
Haringey |79.308 |93.711 |32.528 |40.378
Harrow |65.387 |75.400 |13.080 |15.983
Havering |71.015 |84.563 |13.710 |17.183
Hillingdon |69.110 |82.574 |16.047 |20.284
Hounslow |68.774 |82.443 |18.643 |23.032
Kingston-upon-Thames |36.275 |43.282 |10.989 |13.011
Merton |47.164 |54.705 |15.345 |18.567
Newham |98.510 |118.059 |31.636 |38.858
Redbridge |71.225 |85.178 |17.082 |21.655
Richmond-upon-Thames |35.997 |41.859 |13.677 |17.113
Sutton |47.633 |56.689 |12.233 |15.251
Waltham Forest |81.744 |96.671 |27.274 |33.156
Column 565
Pollution Control (Appeals)
Mr. Bellingham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in the Official Report the appeals under section 10 of the Control of Pollution Act 1974 currently under consideration, showing the dates when they were first lodged ; how many decisions have been issued since 30 August 1990 ; and whether he has any proposals for speeding the process.
Mr. Trippier : The table lists the appeals currently under consideration showing the dates they were first lodged. Three decisions have been issued since 30 August 1990. Following internal reorganisation of staff to allow greater priority to be given to these appeals in future, we are now in the process of hiring consultants to provide additional technical support.
Waste Regulation (South Yorkshire)
Mr. Bellingham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he received the report from Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution on the arrangements for waste regulation in South Yorkshire ; what action he has taken on the report ; and when he intends to publish it.
Mr. Trippier : Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution submitted its report to the Secretary of State on 12 December 1990. Copies have been placed in the Library, and are available from Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution on request. I have concluded on the basis of this report that unless the four district councils in South
Column 567
Yorkshire are able to agree improved joint arrangements which meet Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution's concerns, my right hon. Friend will have no alternative but to set up a statutory waste regulation authority for the area. Officials have written to the councils concerned informing them of these views, and the action we propose to take.Titnore Lane Landfill Site
Mr. Higgins : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when any parties to the planning appeal regarding the Titnore lane landfill site were informed of the proposed date for the appeal to be heard ; on what date the county council was informed ; and what representations he has received about the time necessary for all parties to prepare their case adequately.
Sir George Young : The parties, including West Sussex county council, were notified formally on 18 January that this inquiry will open on 16 April--the first date on which a suitably qualified inspector is available to take it. An informal indication of an April inquiry was given, inadvertently, to the appellants' agents during a telephone conversation in December. The county council wanted more time in which to prepare its case. However, the council's initial written statement on the appeal proposal was lodged on 19 December, and three months' notice of the inquiry is considered reasonable. Under the inquiries procedure rules this inquiry should have opened not later than 14 March, but that was not practicable.
Radioactive Waste
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what provisions have been made for the long-term management or disposal of radioactive wastes arising from the decommissioning of the Windscale piles Nos. 1 and 2, B6 and B16, at Sellafield ; and if the costs are rechargeable to any Government Department.
Mr. Trippier : Low-level waste arising from decommissioning of the Windscale piles is likely to be disposed of at the Drigg disposal site. Intermediate-level waste will be disposed of in United Kingdom Nirex deep repository. I understand that the costs of this work will be met by the Ministry of Defence and the Atomic Energy Authority.
Local Authority Housing
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he last met the leaders of local authorities to discuss the housing sector.
Mr. Yeo : My hon. Friend the Member for Worcestershire, South (Mr. Spicer), the then Minister for Housing and Construction, met representatives of the local authority associations at the Housing Consultative Council on 19 November. The council normally meets twice a year.
Security
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) whether he has issued guidance to local authorities in England and Wales about increased security in public buildings such as libraries ;
(2) whether he has issued guidance to local authorities concerning security of local authority employees with regard to possible terrorist action.
Column 568
Mr. Heseltine : It is the duty of everybody in the country today to be vigilant. Local authorities are well aware of their
responsibilities in this matter and of the precautions which they should be taking.
Urban Development
Mr. O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will undertake a policy and quantitative evaluation of the work of each urban development corporation covering the period of their existence.
Mr. Portillo : Arrangements are in hand for an exercise in 1991-92 to establish baseline data for future evaluation of UDCs and Birmingham Heartlands.
Mr. O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the urban development corporations which have areas of land in their charge which have yet to show some development taking place on land acquired.
Mr. Key : The UDCs acquire, reclaim and dispose of land for development as one means of securing the regeneration of their areas. All UDCs currently hold some land which is awaiting development.
The Gulf
Sir David Steel : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what studies he has conducted into the possibility of smoke pollution from the Gulf reaching the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Trippier : A note by the Meteorological Office on possible environmental consequences of burning oil wells in Kuwait was placed in the Library of the House on 17 January by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence. It contains no suggestion that smoke from Gulf oil fires would reach the United Kingdom. The Meteorological Office is continuing to refine its assessment, in consultation with the Department.
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what preparations were made before 28 January by his Department to deal with any major environmental consequences of the conflict in the Gulf ; on which dates each of these preparations was made ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Heseltine : I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him earlier today by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister.
Job Creation
Mr. O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the projected number of jobs to be created by (a) the London Docklands development corporation and (b) the Merseyside development corporation.
Mr. Portillo : No numbers were projected when these development corporations were set up. To March 1990, there had been a net gain of 29,000 permanent jobs in the London Docklands area and 4,200 in Merseyside's area.
Mr. O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many local people have secured jobs in
Column 569
the area of (a) London Docklands development area and (b) Merseyside development corporation since their introduction.Mr. Portillo : This information is not collected by Merseyside nor on a regular basis by London Docklands. However, a London Docklands survey in 1987 indicated that out of 42,000 then employed in the urban development area about a third were residents of the three dockland boroughs.
Regional Offices
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will provide a table of expenditure on the regional offices of Government Ministries in 1989-90, broken down by Ministry and separating out the cost of running the regional office from the funding programmes it discharges and showing the expenditure on, and of, each regional office separately.
Mr. Heseltine [holding answer 22 January 1991] : The estimated costs of running each regional office of the
Column 570
Department of the Environment in 1989-90 are shown in table 1. Information on the Department's programme expenditure is collected by standard economic planning region ; the breakdown for 1989-90 is shown in table 2. Both tables exclude the Property Services Agency. Information on other Departments' regional offices is not held by my Department.
Table 1
Regional office |1989-90
|administration
|expenditure
|£ million
---------------------------------------------------------
London |5.2
South East |3.8
Eastern |3.1
South West |2.7
West Midlands |4.4
East Midlands |3.9
North West |6.8
Merseyside Task Force |2.2
Yorkshire and Humberside |4.7
Northern |4.2
Column 569
Table 2
Department of the Environment/spending in England by standard economic planning regions in 1989-90 (£M)
Standard economic |Rate support |Other service |Community |Urban |Urban |Housing |Housing
planning regions |grant |basic capital |charge |development |programme |subsidy paid |investment
|allocations to |preparation |corporations |to local |programme
|LAs |allocations to |authorities |allocations to
|LAs |local
|authorities
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
South east |2,849 |60.9 |51.5 |255.8 |50.7 |516.7 |452.2
South West |785 |17.6 |13.1 |5.0 |2.5 |2.9 |62.3
East Anglia |285 |8.4 |5.7 |- |- |0.3 |26.4
West Midlands |1,053 |17.1 |13.9 |3.8 |41.0 |8.8 |127.8
East Midlands |762 |12.9 |11.1 |- |11.4 |10.0 |60.7
North West |1,695 |20.4 |17.2 |47.3 |73.5 |29.7 |186.6
Yorkshire and
Humberside |1,306 |19.5 |13.3 |18.3 |27.2 |-0.2 |106.3
Northern Region |843 |11.2 |8.6 |17.8 |41.7 |16.2 |72.5
The expenditure on urban programme includes previously with DES, DH and DTp. The totals also include LAs contribution (25 per cent.).
NATIONAL FINANCE
Interest Rates
12. Mr. Cryer : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the current level of interest rates.
Mr. Norman Lamont : Bank base rates are 14 per cent.
Imports
13. Mr. Norris : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how imports have performed over the latest three months for which figures are available.
16. Mr. Barry Porter : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how imports have performed over the latest three months for which figures are available.
Mr. Mellor : In the fourth quarter of 1990 the volume of imports-- less oil and erratics--fell by 1 per cent. on the previous quarter. Volumes in the year as a whole rose by only 1 per cent. compared with export growth of 7 per cent.
Column 570
Income Tax
14. Mr. Wilshire : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his assessment of the impact on income from income tax of the reduction of the higher rates of that tax.
Mr. Maude : Since 1979, the top rate of income tax has been reduced from 83 to 40 per cent., and nine separate higher rate bands have been reduced to a single rate. Over that period, receipts from higher rate tax have increased two and a half times in real terms.
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has any plans to reduce the standard rate of tax ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maude : I cannot anticipate my right hon. Friend's Budget statement.
Manufacturing Exports
15. Mr. Hunter : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a further statement on the export performance of United Kingdom manufacturers during 1990.
Column 571
Mr. Mellor : The volume of manufactured exports rose by 8 per cent. in 1990 after a 10 per cent. rise in 1989. The United Kingdom share of world trade in manufactures rose for the second successive year.Taxation
17. Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on his current estimate of the percentage of central Government revenue raised from income tax in each of the main OECD countries.
Mr. Maude : The latest estimates by the OECD show that in the United Kingdom the share of taxes on personal income in total tax and social security revenues in 1988 was equal to the EC average.
24. Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimates he has of the changing impact of taxes, including income tax, indirect taxes, insurance and local taxes and charges, on 18-year-olds and 21-year-olds between 1 January 1979 and 1 January 1991 on average earnings and incomes for those age groups.
Mr. Maude : A young person in employment aged between 18 and 20 paid on average 25 per cent. of gross earnings in income tax and national insurance contributions in 1978-79 ; and will pay 22 per cent. in 1990-91. Information on the effects of other taxes is not available.
Public Expenditure
19. Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from the Trades Union Congress about the public spending planning total for 1991-92.
| Next Section
| Home Page |