| Previous Section | Home Page |
M8 (Accidents)
Mr. Graham : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many accidents have occurred on the M8 motorway from the St. James intersection at Glasgow airport to Greenock, in each year since the section was opened.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The table provides the number of accidents from the M8 St. James intersection, Glasgow airport to Greenock on the M8, A8 (trunk) and A8 (principal) roads to Greenock, over the last five years 1985 to 1989 and to June 1990. Statistics for the motorway section are available only back to 1979. Statistics for the other sections of the route cannot be made available prior to 1985 except at disproportionate cost. Information prior to 1979 is not available.
Column 617
Number of accidents on the following sections of road
|M8 St. James |A8 (Trunk) West |A8 (Principal)
|Intersection to end|Ferry to Parklea |Parklea to Central
|of the motorway at |(Port Glasgow |Greenock
|West Ferry |Burgh Boundary)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1979 |15 |n/a |n/a
1980 |13 |n/a |n/a
1981 |12 |n/a |n/a
1982 |9 |n/a |n/a
1983 |9 |n/a |n/a
1984 |6 |n/a |n/a
1985 |10 |6 |49
1986 |8 |3 |46
1987 |4 |7 |35
1988 |11 |10 |37
1989 |9 |7 |34
1990<1> |6 |4 |12
<1> To June.
n/a not available.
Sheep and Cattle
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the total amount of support payments paid out in the Highlands and Islands development board area in the most recent year for which there are figures, in respect of (a) sheep and (b) cattle.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Expenditure on relevant agricultural schemes within the Highlands and Islands development board area is as follows.
|Sheep |Cattle
|£'000 |£'000
---------------------------------------------------------------
Hill livestock compensatory allowances<1> |9,471 |8,340
Sheep annual premium<1> |9,484 |n/a
Suckler cow premium<1> |n/a |5,230
Beef special premium<2> |n/a |350
|--- |---
|18,955|13,920
<1> 1989 scheme expenditure.
<2> Financial year 1989-90.
n/a Not available.
The Highlands and Islands development board itself provides some assistance to the livestock sector : in 1989-90 this amounted to £2, 212,000.
The sheep and cattle sectors also benefit from intervention market support and the sheep variable premium. It is not possible to disaggregate this support to specific areas.
Urban Programme
Mr. Graham : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the total urban programme budget for Scotland in the financial years 1989-90 and 1990-91.
Mr. Allan Stewart : The total urban programme budget for 1989-90 was £57 million, and for 1990-91 was £68.989 million. These figures include both the central Government and local authority contributions.
Mr. Graham : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a table showing the total urban programme budgets available in 1989 -90, 1990-91 and 1991-92 in (a) Strathclyde, (b) Lothian, (c) Central, (d) Fife, (e) Grampian and (f) Tayside, together with (i) the actual expenditure for 1989-90, (ii) the actual expenditure so far for 1990-91, (iii) the total project expenditure for 1990-91 in each case.
Column 620
Mr. Allan Stewart : The resources of the urban programme are not allocated in the form of regional budgets. However, the table gives details for the urban programme of approved project expenditure aggregated for each of the six regions in question and including approved expenditure by both regional and district councils for 1989-90 and 1990-91. The table also provides corresponding information on actual expenditure which is available only for 1989-90. No information is provided for 1991-92 as decisions have still to be taken about the distribution of a substantial portion of the resources which will be available in that year.
Urban programme
1989-90 1990-91
Regional council |Approved |Actual |Approved
area |project |expenditure |project
|expenditure |expenditure
|£'000 |£'000 |£'000
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Central |2,671 |2,153 |3,444
Fife |1,465 |1,203 |1,720
Grampian |2,220 |2,120 |1,787
Lothian |5,771 |5,225 |7,158
Strathclyde |43,072 |37,771 |48,212
Tayside |2,859 |2,240 |4,172
Training Agency
Mr. Graham : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will publish a table showing the actual expenditure of Training Agency budgets in the financial year to date, in each Training Agency area in Scotland ;
(2) if he will list the total budgets available to the Training Agency in Scotland in the financial year 1990-91 in each Training Agency area ;
(3) if he will publish a table showing the total projected expenditure of Training Agency budgets in the year to date, in each Training Agency area in Scotland.
Mr. Allan Stewart : The information requested is set out in the table, which shows budgets set, actual expenditure to end December 1990, and the latest estimated outturn of expenditure for each Training Agency area office in Scotland. The figures exclude some expenditure incurred centrally by the Training Agency.
Column 619
Training agency area office |Actual expenditure |Total budget for |Anticipated spend
|until December 1990 |1990-91 |for 1990-91
|£ million |£ million |£ million
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Glasgow City |22.2 |34.1 |32.0
Lanarkshire |14.8 |22.2 |21.7
Renfrew, Dumbarton and Argyll |13.9 |22.0 |20.7
Ayrshire, Dumfries and Galloway |15.1 |23.1 |20.1
Lothian and Borders |21.4 |29.8 |28.8
Central and Fife |16.2 |25.2 |23.9
Grampian and Tayside |16.3 |24.6 |23.0
Highlands and Islands |7.1 |9.9 |10.2
Local Enterprise Companies
Mr. Graham : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will list the total budgets agreed at the present time in respect of each proposed local enterprise company within the former Scottish Development Agency area ;
(2) if he will list the total budgets proposed by each local enterprise company which is being established in Scotland under Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.
Mr. Allan Stewart : These are operational matters for Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise and I have asked the chairmen to write to the hon. Member.
Mr. Graham : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the total budgets agreed at the present time in respect of the eight proposed local enterprise companies under Highland Enterprise.
Mr. Allan Stewart : These are operational matters for Highlands and Islands Enterprise and I have asked the chairman to write to the hon. Member.
Mr. Graham : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a table showing the total urban programme budgets available in 1989 -90, 1990-91 and 1991-92 in the following district authority areas (a) Clydebank, (b) Clydesdale, (c) Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, (d) Cumnock and Doon Valley, (e) Cunninghame, (f) Dumbarton, (g) East Kilbride, (h) City of Glasgow, (i) Hamilton, (j) Inverclyde, (k) Kilmarnock and Loudoun, (l) Kyle and Carrick, (m) Monklands, (n) Motherwell, (o) Renfrew and (p) Strathkelvin, together with (i) the actual expenditure for 1989-90, (ii) the actual expenditure so far for 1990-91 and (iii) the total projected expenditure for 1990-91, in each case.
Mr. Allan Stewart : The resources of the urban programme are not allocated as budgets for district authority areas. However, the table gives details for the urban programme-approved project expenditure for 1989-90 and 1990-91 for the district councils for the areas in question. These figures do not include approved expenditure by relevant regional councils as this cannot be accurately apportioned to district authority areas without disproportionate difficulty. The table also provides corresponding information on actual expenditure which is available only for 1989-90. No information is provided for 1991-92 as decisions have still to be taken about the distribution of a substantial portion of the resources which will be available in that year.
Urban programme
1989-90 1990-91
District Council |Approved |Actual |Approved
Area |project |expenditure |project
|expenditure |expenditure
|£'000 |£'000 |£'000
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
City of Glasgow |8,579 |8,746 |6,681
Clydebank |183 |195 |207
Clydesdale<1> |- |- |-
Cumbernauld and
Kilsyth<1> |- |- |-
Cumnock and
Doon Valley<1> |- |- |-
Cunninghame |531 |528 |921
Dumbarton |211 |174 |354
East Kilbride<1> |- |- |-
Hamilton |546 |504 |664
Inverclyde |172 |230 |191
Kilmarnock and
Loudon |160 |115 |35
Kyle and Carrick |66 |77 |79
Monklands |1,553 |712 |1,917
Motherwell |924 |657 |884
Renfrew |870 |581 |1,786
Strathkelvin |158 |147 |154
<1> Contains no area eligible for assistance under the Urban Programme.
Highlands and Islands Enterprise
Mr. Graham : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish total proposed budget figures for Highlands and Islands Enterprise for 1991-92.
Mr. Allan Stewart : The budget for Highlands and Islands Enterprise will be published in the supply estimates.
Scottish Development Agency
Mr. Graham : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will publish a table showing the actual expenditure of Scottish Development Agency budgets in the financial year to date in each Scottish Development Agency region ;
(2) if he will list the total budgets available to the Scottish Development Agency in the financial year 1990-91 in each Scottish Development Agency region of operation ;
(3) if he will publish a table showing the total projected expenditure of Scottish Development Agency budgets in the financial year to date in Scotland, in each Scottish Development Agency region.
Mr. Allan Stewart : These are operational matters for the Scottish Development Agency and I have asked the chairman to write to the hon. Member.
Edinburgh Ring Road
Sir David Steel : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement concerning the closure of lanes on the Edinburgh ring route ; and whether the cost of repairs will be borne by central Government.
Mr. Lang : The Edinburgh city bypass is a local road. Responsibility for the maintenance of the bypass is consequently a matter for Lothian regional council as the local roads authority.
Column 623
Natural Heritage
Mrs. Ray Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give further details of the advice sought by management consultants due to report on the location, staffing and organisation options for Scottish Natural Heritage ; who the management consultants are ; the expected date of the report's publication ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The management consultants, Ernst and Young, consulted a wide range of interests including relevant public bodies, voluntary organisations and the management and trade union sides of the predecessor bodies. The Scottish Office Environment Department has now received the report. The management and trade union sides of the Nature Conservancy Council for Scotland and the Countryside Commission for Scotland are being asked for their views.
Baby Units
Mrs. Ray Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how much funding was provided for special care baby units in Scotland for each year since 1979 ; and if he will make a statement ; (2) if he will list the location of each special care baby unit in Scotland ; how many places are available in each unit ; and how many patients are redirected from Glasgow special care baby units when places are full.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Health boards meet the capital and revenue costs of special care baby units from within their normal allocations. The table lists the average number of available staffed special care baby unit beds in Scotland at 31 March 1990. Information on the number of redirected patients is not held centrally.
|Average
|available
|staffed beds
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scotland |520
Argyll and Clyde |53
Vale of Leven District General Hospital, Alexandria |18
Ranking Memorial Hospital, Greenock |14
Paisley Maternity Hospital |21
Ayrshire and Arran |28
Ayrshire Central Hospital, Irvine |28
Borders |10
Borders General Hospital, Melrose |10
Dumfries and Galloway |14
Cresswell Maternity Hospital, Dumfries |14
Fife |37
Forth Park Maternity Hospital, Kirkcaldy |25
Dunfermline Maternity Hospital |12
Forth Valley |24
Falkirk and District Royal Infirmary |12
Stirling Royal Infirmary |12
Grampian |40
Aberdeen Maternity Hospital |40
Greater Glasgow |126
Glasgow Royal Maternity Hospital |28
Stobhill Hospital, Glasgow |19
Rutherglen Maternity Hospital |25
Southern General Hospital, Glasgow |24
The Queen Mother's Hospital, Glasgow |30
Highland |20
Raigmore Hospital, Inverness |20
Lanarkshire |52
Bellshill Maternity Hospital |38
William Smellie Maternity Hospital, Lanark |14
Lothian |72
Eastern General Hospital, Edinburgh |14
Western General Hospital, Edinburgh |15
Simpson Memorial Maternity Pavilion, Edinburgh |29
Bangour General Hospital, by Broxburn |8
St. John's Hospital at Howden, Livingston |6
Tayside |44
Ninewells Hospital, Dundee |30
Perth Royal Infirmary |14
Schools (Advertising)
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will specify in respect of the current advertising programme on behalf of the SED and independent schools information service (a) how many adverts are appearing and are scheduled to appear and in which newspapers, (b) whether any television advertising is envisaged, (c) the cost of the campaign and (d) if he will list the statutory provisions which relate to the incurring of expenditure on, or promotion of, such a non-governmental body.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : There is no advertising programme on behalf of the Scottish Office Education Department and the Independent Schools Information Service.
Nature Conservancy Council
Mrs. Ray Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the relevant bodies which were consulted before the appointment of 11 members to the board of the newly formed Nature Conservancy Council for Scotland announced on 13 December 1990 ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : No formal consultation was undertaken before the appointment of 11 members to the board of the Nature Conservancy Council for Scotland. A number of individuals and bodies submitted nominations. These were considered along with other candidates.
Fish Farming Advisory Committee
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on how many occasions the fish farming advisory committee has met ; how many cases have been referred to it ; and how many opinions on cases it has delivered.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : I understand from the Crown Estate Commissioners that the inaugural meeting of the advisory committee was held in March 1990. One case has been referred to the committee and it determined its opinion at the second meeting in August 1990.
Column 625
Homelessness
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what new and additional finance is being made available to assist (a) local authorities and (b) voluntary agencies to tackle the problem of homelessness in (i) Strathclyde and (ii) Scotland as a whole.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Particular attention is given to homelessness needs in distributing provisional housing capital allocations among local authorities. In 1991-92, in addition to the main allocation, totalling over £414 million on the housing revenue account--HRA--and over £105 million on the non-HRA, my right hon. Friend has made available an extra allocation of £2 million specifically to tackle homelessness in the four Scottish cities, including Glasgow. I shall be announcing the distribution of that total among the cities shortly. In addition to the grants already paid to voluntary organisations concerned with homelessness under section 39 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 and section 10 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968, we are currently considering making funds available to voluntary agencies under section 10(1) of the 1968 Act to enable them to provide support to young people at risk of becoming roofless and to make it easier for them to move into settled accommodation in their own area.
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what new initiatives he is taking to tackle the problem of homelessness in (a) Strathclyde and (b) Scotland as a whole.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Problems associated with homelessness play a large part in determining the Government's housing policies, in particular the distribution of capital allocations to local authorities. The statutory responsibility for advising and housing homeless applicants rests with local authorities. Other housing agencies, including Scottish Homes, also give high priority to homelessness.
Besides developing existing policies, the Government have taken a number of specific initiatives against homelessness which will benefit Strathclyde and the rest of Scotland. These include : From April 1991 any deficit incurred by a local authority in operating a homelessness hostel will be met by housing support grant, whether or not the authority would otherwise receive grant.An additional capital allocation of £2 million is being made for specific projects to tackle homelessness and rooflessness in the four Scottish cities.We expect to issue soon a new version of the code of guidance for local authorities on the homelessness legislation, on which consultations took place late last year.Costs which local authorities incur in providing a homelessness service using resources other than council- owned housing will in future be charged to the general fund, rather than to the housing revenue account.Glasgow university's centre for housing research have been awarded a contract for a study of the role of social work in the management and prevention of homelessness.
We are continuing to encourage local authorities to establish cash incentive schemes as an effective means of releasing council housing for the homeless. I am pleased that several local authorities are now pursuing this option.
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list, for each of the last 10 years, (a) the number
Column 626
of local authority dwellings built, (b) the number sold, (c) the number built by housing associations, (d) the number of homeless persons and (e) his estimate of the number sleeping on the streets.Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The numbers of dwellings completed by local authorities and housing associations from 1979 onwards are published quarterly in table 5 of the Scottish Office statistical bulletins on housing trends in Scotland. Copies of these bulletins are sent to all Members representing Scottish constituencies and are available in the House Library. The numbers of dwellings sold by local authorities to sitting tenants are given in table 7 of these publications.
The information held centrally does not enable an estimate of the number of homeless persons and the number sleeping on the streets to be made. Information based on the number of applications received by local authorities under the homelessness legislation was given in a reply to the hon. Member for Glasgow, Cathcart (Mr. Maxton) on 1 November 1990, at columns 714-15.
Sandeels
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will outline the criteria which will be used to determine whether the proposed closure of the Shetland sandeel fishery will enable sandeel stocks to reach adequate and sustainable levels ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The proposal to keep the Shetland sandeel fishery closed in 1991 is based on the latest scientific advice that the level of spawning stock has continued to decline and that the fishery should be closed until the stock recovers. While the decline in stocks has not been caused by fishing, and is related to natural factors affecting recruitment of young fish to the stock, closure of the fishery would represent the maximum protection available for the stock in its current poor condition. The recovery of the stocks will depend principally on future recruitment levels which cannot be predicted.
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will provide capital grants to existing sandeel fishermen to assist them in adapting to the fishing of alternative stocks during the period of closure of the Shetland sandeel fishery ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : No. Those fishing vessels normally involved in the Shetland sandeel fishery already fish for other species.
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will maintain the proposed closure of the Shetland sandeel fishery for a period which allows the population of Arctic terns to reach a sustainable level ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : While a final decision on the management arrangements for the Shetland sandeel fishery in 1991 is subject to consultation with interested parties, a consultation paper issued in December 1990 proposes that the fishery be closed until sandeel spawning stock levels recover. The future availability of juvenile sandeels to Arctic terns is primarily dependent on recruitment to the stock, which is affected by natural factors outwith our control and not by fishing effort.
Column 627
Assisted Places Scheme Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which private schools receive support from public funds for the assisted places scheme ; and how much each received in the financial year 1989-90.
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 25 January 1991] : The Government do not give direct financial assistance to independent schools. The assisted places scheme provides financial help for parents to send their children to independent schools. It concentrates assistance on low- income families. In the 1989-90 school sesssion 48 per cent. of those benefiting came from families whose total income was less than £8,500.
Operations (Postponements)
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many operations due to take place within hospitals under the Lothian health board have been postponed in each month from October 1990 to the most recent available date.
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 29 January 1991] : The number of operations postponed by hospitals in Lothian during the period October-December 1990 was as follows :
|Number
-------------------------
October |16
November |133
December |263
|-------
Total |512
The corresponding total for the same period in the previous year was 590.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Attendance Allowance
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what arrangements are available for the payment of attendance allowance to persons who normally reside in local authority homes but who spend periods away from such homes, staying with relatives or friends, for and during holidays and other periods.
Mr. Scott : If the usual qualifying conditons are met, attendance allowance is payable for daily periods (which must include an overnight absence) spent away from a local authority home. The claimant or his representative should inform the Department of any such periods and the allowance is paid in arrears by payable order.
Poor People
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessment he has made of the impact of Government policies on the economic well-being of the poorest decile of the income distribution.
Mr. Jack : Information on the living standards of people living in the lower half of the income distribution is presented in the series of tables "Households Below Average Income 1981-87", copies of which are available in
Column 628
the Library. The tables show that the incomes of those in the lower income groups--including the lowest decile-- rose in real terms during that period.National Insurance
Mr. Soley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) whether he will announce the outcome of his Department's review of the procedure for allocating national insurance numbers ; (2) whether his Department intends to consult the Commission for Racial Equality and organisations working with refugees in its review of the procedure for allocating national insurance numbers.
Mr. Jack : Following an internal review of procedures, it was decided that when foreign nationals are restricted from seeking work in this country we would no longer inform the Home Office when a national insurance number is issued for benefit purposes only. The Department now accepts a wider range of documents as evidence of identity.
The review took careful account of views expressed by organisations working with refugees.
Poverty
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give his Department's latest official figures for the number of people living in poverty in Scotland.
Mr. Jack : I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Leeds, West (Mr. Battle) on 30 January 1991.
Backdated Claims
Mr. Hannam : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the benefits for which claimants may backdate claims for proven good cause within a prescribed time.
Mr. Scott : The benefits for which claims may be backdated for proven good cause are as follows :
Unemployment Benefit
Sickness Benefit
Invalidity Benefit
Severe Disablement Allowance
Disablement Benefit (including increases of Disablement Benefit) Reduced Earnings Allowance
Income Support
Housing Benefit
Community Charge Benefit
Family Credit
Social Fund Payments in respect of maternity expenses, funeral expenses and expenses for heating incurred in a period of cold weather.
Concessionary Fuel
Mr. Barron : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether the lump sum payment offered by British Coal to retired concessionaires entitled to cash in lieu of concessionary fuel will be classified as capital ; and if it will affect future payments of means- tested benefits.
Miss Widdecombe : Lump sum payments are normally treated as capital in the income-related benefits, and do not affect entitlement to benefit unless they take a person's total capital to over £3,000. However, where the
Column 629
adjudicating authority decides that a person has deprived himself of regular payments of cash in lieu of concessionary coal in exchange for a lump sum payment for the purpose of obtaining benefit, or an increase in benefit, the person will be treated as if he is still receiving that income. We are asking British Coal to advise benefit claimants to seek advice before making a decision.Severe Disability Premium
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether he has any plans to change the definition of non-dependants in relation to the qualification for severe disability premium.
Miss Widdecombe : There are no current plans to do so.
Family Credit Office (Blackpool)
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list in the Official Report the performance targets for the family credit office at Blackpool indicating which are not yet being achieved.
Mr. Jack : The information is in the table :
B
Performance target Achievement
|1988-89 |1989-90 |<1>1990-91
------------------------------------------------------------------
Clearance rate
Average of 18 working
days |21 |19 |21
Error rate
7.0 per cent. |8.6 |8.4 |7.9
<1> April-December 1990
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the average time taken to process a family credit claim by the DSS office at Blackpool.
Mr. Jack : I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Oldham, West (Mr. Meacher) on 16 January at col. 531.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what facilities are made available for telephone contact to be made by members of the public wishing to expedite family credit claims at Blackpool.
Mr. Jack : All claims for family credit are acknowledged by a letter which provides the number of a dedicated telephone inquiry section. This service provides direct contact via 40 telephone lines to a section staffed by experienced assessment clerks with on-line access to the family credit computer system. Claimants are provided with answers to their inquiries from information held on the database. Urgent messages are relayed to the operational sections to expedite claims and call-back arrangements operate to callers who require more detailed information from the assessment officers. Additional facilities operate for members of the public who visit the local offices of the Department by way of a local office helpdesk service which provides direct contact to an urgent information facility in cases of financial hardship.
Column 630
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the official staff complement necessary for undertaking family credit work at Blackpool ; and how many employees are currently employed.
| Next Section
| Home Page |