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DEFENCE
Procurement Division (Relocation)
Mr. Terry Davis : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has any plans to relocate the procurement division of his Department from the Avon area to the west midlands.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : It remains my view that collocating the Procurement Executive in Bristol/Bath is the best solution, and I hope that we shall be successful in doing so. However, should this solution prove for any reason to be unachievable, the west midlands would certainly be among the alternative locations reconsidered.
Tanks
Mr. Marlow : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what assessment he has made of the military ability of tanks in conditions where defensive air cover is lacking ;
(2) what assessment he has made as to relative merits of aircraft, helicopters and tanks in confronting and overwhelming Iraqi tanks (a) in the open and (b) dug in during the Gulf conflict.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The Ministry of Defence will be conducting a thorough assessment of all aspects of the conflict in the Gulf.
The Gulf
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he gave on 16-17 February to Kuwaiti organisations in London about the presence of paratroopers in Kuwait city.
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Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has as regards collateral damage caused to archaeological sites in Iraq as a result of allied bombing.Mr. Archie Hamilton : Allied pilots had instructions to attack only military targets and facilities supporting Iraq's occupation of Kuwait. These attacks were carefully planned with the aim of keeping collateral damage to a minimum, and they also took account of the locations of sites of religious and cultural importance. We are not aware that allied bombing caused damage to any archaeological sites.
Departmental Policies (Environmental Implications)
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what actions have been taken since the appointment of a Minister in his Department to consider the environmental implications of his Department's policies ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : My Department has long recognised that its range of activity brings with it particular responsibilities towards the environment. We aim to act in accordance with Government policy set out in the White Paper, "This Common Inheritance". An overview essay on defence and the environment was published in the Statement on the Defence Estimates 1990 (Cm. 1022-I).
I chair a defence environment committee which provides a central focus for the environment and which is charged with the development of an overall environmental policy, the oversight of individual policies with environmental implications and the encouragement of environmental initiatives. We are establishing a structure throughout the Department, with environmental focal points in commands and appropriate lower formations, to ensure that environment issues are considered at all levels and to foster good links with local communities. In support of this we are producing a manual of guidance dealing with a wide range of defence-related environment issues. We are participating in discussions on the environment within NATO. We continue to pursue energy efficiency savings and are committed to the wider Government 15 per cent. target over five years. We have also put into effect many other environmental measures over the past six months, and have planned an active programme to do more.
HMS Ranger and Trumpeter
Mr. Sayeed : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 22 February, Official Report, column 319 , what are the operational peacetime tasks of HMS Ranger and HMS Trumpeter ; and how those tasks will be met after the deployment of those ships to Gibraltar.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Before HM ships Ranger and Trumpeter were deployed to Gibraltar in preparation for assuming the tasks currently fulfilled by HM ships Cormorant and Hart, they were used as training craft by the RNR. They have not been replaced in this role, because there are sufficient other vessels for the RNR to operate.
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TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Trade Marks
Mr. Channon : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what parliamentary steps he proposes to take to implement the European Council first directive to approximate the law of member states relating to trade marks ; and whether it is proposed that this directive should be in force by 28 December.
Mr. Leigh : The White Paper, "Reform of Trade Marks Law", (Cm. 1203) indicates that legislation on trade marks which will include provisions in accordance with the first Council directive will be introduced as soon as the parliamentary timetable permits. If possible, a Bill will be introduced during the next Session of Parliament ; otherwise rules under the European Communities Act 1972 will be necessary to give effect to the directive. It is not yet clear whether the date of entry into force of the directive will be deferred until the end of 1992 to await adoption of the regulation on the Community trade mark.
Mr. Channon : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what replies he has received in response to his White Paper on the reform of trade marks law ; and if he will make a statement about the timing of any proposed new legislation.
Mr. Leigh : Thirty-one representations concerning the proposals in the Department of Trade and Industry's White Paper, "Reform of Trade Marks Law", (Cm. 1203) have been received. The general tenor of the comments has been very favourable. Careful consideration is being given to the points raised.
As indicated in the White Paper new legislation on trade marks will be introduced as soon as the parliamentary timetable permits.
Defence Diversification Agency
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received from (a) industry, (b) trade unions and (c) local authorities concerning the setting up of a defence diversification agency ; and whether he has any plans to set up such an agency.
Mr. Leigh : This Department has received representations from a wide variety of bodies concerning the economic effects of changes in the defence market, some of which have proposed the establishment of a defence diversification agency. There are at present no plans to establish such an agency.
Diversification
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what incentives are currently offered by the Government to encourage companies formerly producing defence industry products to diversify their output.
Mr. Leigh : Companies wishing to diversify may take advantage of existing forms of assistance available to all industrial sectors.
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Software Directive
Miss Emma Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if he will make it his policy to seek amendment to the EC software directive to ensure that major vendors of computer software are not able to impose substantial charges on software users to allow them to alter or copy this software for legitimate maintenance purposes ;
(2) if he will make it his policy to seek amendment to the EC draft software directive to ensure that providers of software programs do not become legally entitled to prohibit their customers from correcting errors in such software ;
(3) what assessment his Department has made of the implications of the EC draft software directive upon reproduction, adaptation or alteration to update application programs to (a) conform to new operating systems, (b) correct virus problems, (c) solve problems in a multi-vendor environment, (d) adjust their systems to incorporate into a network and (e) alter their software to incorporate new devices.
Mr. Leigh : A common position has been reached on the directive, which is currently awaiting a Second Reading in the European Parliament. It is not open to member states to propose amendments at this stage. The directive in its present form will not result in any substantial changes to United Kingdom law and so will have little impact on the legal environment in which software is supplied and used. Under existing law, it is open to the suppliers of software to prohibit error correction by the user, to charge for maintenance, and to control reproduction, adaptation and alteration of the program by appropriate contractual terms. Insofar as the directive has any impact, the supplier's freedom to control use of the program in this way will be reduced by the terms of articles 5 and 6 of the directive.
Middle East
Mr. Walden : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the value was of the British, German and Japanese exports to the middle east in 1990.
Mr. Lilley : Data are currently not available for the year 1990. The table shows the value of exports to the middle east from the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany and Japan for the latest 12-month period for which complete information is available. The middle east is defined as Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
6
Exports of goods to the Middle East
in the 12 months to the end of June 1990
Exports from |US. dollars
|millions
------------------------------------------------------
United Kingdom |8,666
Federal Republic of Germany |9,145
Japan |8,090
Source:
OECD Monthly Statistics of Foreign Trade.
Departmental Policies (Environmental Implications)
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what actions have been taken since the appointment of a Minister in his Department to consider the environmental implications of his Department's policies ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lilley : DTI's departmental report published last month recorded a number of our initiatives on environmental issues including schemes to assist and encourage environmental improvement by business.
As the appointed Minister in DTI I have also initiated a thorough review of all the Department's policies, programmes and activities to identify existing and prospective environmental implications and action required. This is in addition to the work of my environment unit, especially in following up last September's environment White Paper "This Common Inheritance".
British Technology Group
Dr. Bray : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list any statutory operating restrictions that exist on the work of the British Technology Group relating to (a) borrowing, (b) overseas operations and (c) payments to inventors.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 26 February 1991] : Section 6(1) of the Development of Inventions Act 1967 provides that the National Research Development Corporation may borrow up to £250,000 with Treasury consent.
Paragraph 1 of schedule 2 to part 1 of the Industry Act 1975 provides that the National Enterprise Board may borrow for current or capital purposes. Section 8(2) of that Act limits general external borrowings of NEB, aggregated with loan guarantees and public dividend capital, to £750 million.
There are no specific statutory restrictions relating to overseas operations or payments to inventors.
Dr. Bray : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what directives or other written operational guidance his Department has issued since 1 July 1981 to the British Technology Group ; and if he will deposit such material in the Library.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 26 February 1991] : Since1 July 1981 the following directions have been issued to the British Technology Group's constituent bodies ;
National Research Development Corporation :
Accounts Direction 1981, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, and National Enterprise Board :
Publication of Measurement of Performance against Financial Duty Direction- -25 November 1981.
Financial Duties determined by Secretary of State for Industry Direction-- 25 November 1981.
Accounts Direction 1982, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88. The above directions have been published in the NRDC and NEB annual reports and accounts and previously laid before Parliament.
Since 1984 the NRDC has been directed annually to remit surplus revenue to the Exchequer. Revenue surplus directions are reproduced in the relevant annual accounts of the corporation previously laid before Parliament.
The NEB was directed to pay a dividend to the Exchequer, in respect of retained public dividend capital,
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in 1988 and 1989. These directions are noted in the relevant annual accounts of the board previously laid before Parliament.Manufacturing Industry
Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is his estimate of the effect on employment in manufacturing industry and on the level of liquidations of manufacturing businesses of the rate of exchange which currently applies to sterling within the ERM.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 27 February 1991] : The United Kingdom's membership of the ERM reinforces anti-inflationary policy. It will therefore have a favourable effect on the economy, including employment prospects in the manufacturing sector, in the long run.
Non-ferrous Materials (Smelting)
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what provision there will be in the United Kingdom for the smelting of low- grade non-ferrous metals following the decision of Rio Tinto Zinc to close Capper Pass, north Humberside.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 28 February 1991] : That will be a matter for the private sector to decide.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Attendance Allowance
Mr. Terry Fields : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what guidance his Department issues over narcolepsy and catalepsy concerning attendance allowance guidelines.
Mr. Scott : The Department does not issue guidelines on medical conditions and the attendance allowance. The responsibility for issuing such guidance rests with the independent attendance allowance board. I understand that the board does not find it practicable to give guidance on every medical condition and that there are no specific guidelines on these two particular diseases. However, the board's general guidance on deciding claims still applies and if people suffering from them require sufficient attention or supervision from another person, they can qualify for the allowance in the same way as someone suffering from any other disease.
Transitional Relief
Mr. Terry Fields : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what considerations underly the limitation on the gap of up to eight weeks in signing on for payment of transitional relief on benefit ; what discretion is available for officers to continue paying transitional relief over a gap of eight weeks ; and whether there are any provisions for people held in custody on remand.
Miss Widdecombe : Most social security benefits protect short breaks in entitlement by the provision of a linking rule which bridges the gap between claims. Eight weeks is the normal period for such bridges. The Income Support (Transitional) Regulations 1987 do not provide adjudication officers with discretion to extend this period, and there are no special provisions for preserving the right to transitional protection for people held in custody on remand.
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Cold Weather Payments
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 22 February, Official Report, column 292, what was the additional cost of the cold weather payments for the period 7 to 14 February arising from the Prime Minister's announcement.
Mr. Scott : Information regarding the number of claims submitted since 7 February is not available. It will be placed in the Library as soon as it is available.
Community Charge Benefit
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security on what date he expects the 1991 family expenditure survey data on community charge benefit take-up to become available.
Miss Widdecombe : Estimates of the take-up of community charge benefit cannot be produced until some time after the receipt of the relevant data from the 1991 family expenditure survey. These estimates will not become available until 1993.
Social Fund
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the changes in priority categories used for allocating grants from the social fund since its introduction for each of the Nottingham offices, along with the dates and duration of the changes.
Mr. Scott : The information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Housing Benefit
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he will estimate the number of people who will be affected by the removal of entitlement to housing benefit of certain classes of people living in residential and nursing homes ;
(2) if he will estimate the total savings from removing the entitlement to housing benefit of certain people living in residential and nursing homes.
Miss Widdecombe : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Oldham, West (Mr. Meacher) on 26 November 1990 at col. 306 .
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what representations he has received on the removal of entitlement to housing benefit from people living in residential and nursing homes.
Miss Widdecombe : The draft regulations giving effect to these changes were subject to statutory consultation with the Social Security Advisory Committee and the local authority associations. A number of representations have also been received from hon. Members and others.
Transitional Additions
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many individuals have been in receipt of transitional additions because their income support entitlement was lower than their supplementary benefit for each quarter from April 1988 onwards.
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Miss Widdecombe : The information is not available in the form requested. The annual figures for May of each year are as follows :
|Persons
------------------------------
1988 |1,585,000
1989 |497,000
1990 |110,000
Nursing Homes
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will initiate a research project into the relationship between (a) the raising of fees of residential and nursing homes and (b) the rise in income support levels.
Miss Widdecombe : As part of the Department's annual review of income support limits for people in residential care and nursing homes, many interested organisations and individuals submit evidence on charges in such homes which is taken into consideration together with other information from the Department's own sources. The Department has, in the past, commissioned a number of studies in this area, in particular the Ernst and Whinney study published in 1986 and revised in 1987, a copy of which is available in the Library. There are no plans to initiate further research on this issue.
Benefit Uprating
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 25 February, Official Report, column 406, if he will itemise the administrative complexities involved in changing the level of payment for benefit beneficiaries.
Miss Widdecombe : For example, most retirement pensioners are paid by order books which last for 20 weeks. This is for the convenience of pensioners and to reduce costs of administration. It follows that the production of many order books containing payment at the new rate in April has to start that much in advance. Other benefits are also paid by order book and require a similar period to recalculate their entitlement and prepare the books.
Departmental Policies (Environmental Implications)
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what actions have been taken since the appointment of a Minister in his Department to consider the environmental implications of his Department's policies ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Scott : The Department is committed to making the fullest possible contribution to achieving the aims of the Environment White Paper, "This Common Inheritance", as set out in the departmental report (Cm. 1514) published on 1 February.
My noble Friend Lord Henley, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, was appointed the Department's environmental Minister in September last year, and has established an environment steering group within the Department to undertake a comprehensive review of the environmental implications of all areas of departmental business and administration. The group has commissioned
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work to assess the scope for initiatives in the areas of building construction, maintenance and purchasing, and has embarked on a review to determine whether we can extend our use of recycled paper. The Department is participating in the Government's campaign to reduce its energy consumption by 15 per cent. over the next five years. Performance measures have recently been introduced, and resources have been allocated to setting and monitoring targets and identifying opportunities for investment in energy efficiency measures. We are seeking to raise energy awareness among departmental staff, and an article planned for the April edition of the staff newspaper will suggest ways in which individuals can make a contribution. The Neighbourhood Energy Action (NEA) group is administering a scheme of grants to assist people on low incomes to insulate their homes. The people targeted to receive this help are those on income support, family credit, housing benefit or community charge benefit. The Department is assisting NEA by issuing leaflets and displaying posters at local offices, and is considering what further help could be given.Nursing Homes
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make it his policy to collect data on the average cost of providing residential and nursing home care in advance of the implementation of community care.
Miss Widdecombe : The Department receives representations from interested organisations and individuals, including information on costs. In addition, last year the Department commissioned Price Waterhouse Management Consultants to undertake a survey into the costs of running residential care and nursing homes and a copy of that report is available in the Library. We have no current plans to undertake a similar exercise.
Housing Benefit
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) in what circumstances may pensioners living in (i) private and voluntary residential homes, (ii) private and voluntary nursing homes, or (iii) sheltered accommodation claim housing benefit ; and in each case what was the position before 14 January ;
(2) in what circumstances pensioners with savings between £8,000 and £16,000 are entitled to housing benefit ; and what was the position before 14 January.
Miss Widdecombe : From 14 January 1991, people living in registered residential care and nursing homes do not generally have access to housing benefit. However, people in registered homes who were already entitled to housing benefit when details of this change were announced on 29 October 1990 retain entitlement to that benefit under former rules, as do those who had submitted a claim on or before that date which was subsequently determined in their favour. People in registered homes who are not entitled to claim income support to help towards the home's fees, namely those in full-time work and those who pay rent to a close relative, continue to be able to claim housing benefit, as do those in unregistered homes. People living in rented sheltered accommodation also continue to be eligible for housing benefit unless the accommodation is registered as a residential care or nursing home.
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Where people in registered homes or other accommodation are entitled to claim housing benefit, the amount of benefit payable depends on the level of their appropriate personal allowances and premiums, their eligible rent, and the amount of their income and capital, provided that capital does not exceed £16,000.Cold Weather Payments
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claim forms for cold weather payments have been issued to his Department's offices.
Mr. Scott : It is not possible to estimate the total number of claim forms issued, but every opportunity is provided to enable customers to claim cold weather payments. A claim can be made by letter, by completion of a locally produced newspaper advertisement, or on a claim form attached to leaflet CWP 1. All the Department's local offices currently hold stocks of the leaflet and those low on supplies are reproducing the application form locally.
Nursing Homes
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what provision exists for those who have to leave residential or nursing homes because their income, including income support, is inadequate to meet the fees charged.
Miss Widdecombe : Local authorities have a responsibility to make arrangements for providing residential accommodation for persons who by reason of age, infirmity or any other circumstances are in need of care and attention which is not otherwise available to them. District health authorities are empowered to enter into contractual arrangements with private healthcare estab-lishments, such as nursing homes, for the treatment of NHS patients.
Children (Benefits)
Mr. Patchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many children in Yorkshire were dependent on supplementary benefit or income support in (a) 1979 and (b) 1990.
Miss Widdecombe : Information is not available in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Housing Benefit
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people living in residential and nursing homes currently receive housing benefit ; and how many received housing benefit in each year from 1987 to 1990.
Miss Widdecombe : The information requested is not available.
National Finance
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security by what route national insurance contributions, collected by local inland revenue offices, reach the national insurance fund ; and when this was last reviewed.
Mr. Scott : Amounts collected are cleared daily through the banking system for the credit of the national insurance fund in accordance with standing arrangements.
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Pensioners (Income)
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 21 February, Official Report , column 264 , if he will break down the benefits listed under (a) into (i) state pension and (ii) other state benefits, by category.
Miss Widdecombe : It is not possible to distinguish separately from the family expenditure survey the exact amount of retirement pension paid from the amount of income-related benefits. It is possible to separate out other benefits, mostly for disability, and these are presented in the following table.
Percentage of Real
gross incomes terms
increase
Per cent.
Type of pensioners' income |1979 |1987 |1979-87
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Retirement pension and
income-related benefits |58 |49 |15
Other social security benefits |3 |4 |58
Source: Family expenditure survey.
National Insurance Fund
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what sums have been paid for each of the years since 1986 from general taxation into the national insurance fund ; and for what reasons in each case.
Mr. Scott : Payments by way of the Treasury supplement, which was abolished from 1989, are in the table. These payments were historically a general contribution by the taxpayer to the finances of the national insurance fund and were not designated to any particular aspect of fund expenditure.
The Social Security Act 1990 provided for the national insurance fund to be reimbursed from the Consolidated Fund for the costs of statutory sick pay and statutory maternity pay, these benefits being non-contributory. The relevant amounts paid into the national insurance fund from the Consolidated Fund for the 1990-91 tax year up to date are £848.6 million in respect of statutory sick pay and £313.9 million in respect of statutory maternity pay, making a total of £1,162.5 million.
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