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British Rail
Mr. Gregory : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what performance targets he set British Rail for the number of trains which arrive on time during (a) 1989 and (b) 1990 ; what was the performance against target ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : British Rail's current quality of service objectives were set in December 1989 by my right hon. Friend, the member for Hertsmere, to cover a three-year period from April 1990 to March 1993. BR's quality objectives for InterCity and Network SouthEast were set by the Government in October 1986 and covered the period up to the end of March 1990. Quality objectives for regional railways were first set in July 1989. The performance of each sector against their separate objectives is shown in the attached table :
British Rail performance: Punctuality
InterCity
Punctuality |Objective |1989-90 |1990-91
|Per cent. |Per cent. |Per cent.
---------------------------------------------------------------
+/- 10 minutes |90.0 |84.2 |86.2
Note:
1990-91 figures for InterCity cover period 1 April 1990 to 31
December 1990.
Network SouthEast Punctuality |Objective |1989-90 |1990-91 +/- 5 minutes |Per cent. |Per cent. |Per cent. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- AM peak |88.0 |84.1 |87.5 PM peak |88.0 |81.1 |83.8 All day |92.0 |89.6 |90.5 Notes: (1) Objectives for NSE were revised 1 April 1990 from 87.5 per cent. for AM and PM peaks and 90.0 per cent. for all day. (2) 1990-91 figures for NSE cover period 1 April 1990 to 2 February 1991.
Regional
Punctuality |Objective |1989-90 |1990-91
|Per cent. |Per cent. |Per cent.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Express and
longer rural
+/- 10 minutes |90.0 |91.0 |90.0
Urban and
shorter rural
+/- 5 minutes |90.0 |90.0 |89.5
Note:
1990-91 figures for Regional cover period 1 April 1990 to 2
February 1991.
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he could list the amount spent on research and development by British Rail for each year since 1979.
Mr. McLoughlin : This is a matter for British Rail. The information is not immediately available in my Department.
Coastguard Service
Mr. Harris : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the detailed recommendations of the regional controllers on the implementation of the review of the auxiliary coastguard service.
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Mr. McLoughlin : It is not normal practice to publish the advice of officials to Ministers. However, I would be willing to discuss the outcome of the review with the hon. Member before reaching decisions.
Mr. Harris : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library a full copy of the review of Her Majesty's coastguard sector organisation and auxiliary coastguard service.
Mr. McLoughlin : No. But I have made widely available a summary of those points of the review that are likely to be of interest outside the coastguard service.
Roads
Mr. Cormack : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the next stage in the Government's policy of encouraging
privately-financed roads infrastructure will be.
Mr. Rifkind : The Government are committed to greater use of the private sector in providing transport infrastructure. I have now decided to seek views on the suitability of the western orbital route for a private finance competition.
The scheme has been planned hitherto as a public sector road. But I believe that the private sector should be given the opportunity to play the leading role in designing, planning, building and operating this road and financing it by tolls paid by the motorist. Of course, the Government are concerned to achieve the most cost effective provision of roads, and so will choose the option which offers better value for money. The costs and benefits of private sector proposals for the western orbital route will therefore be compared with those of the public sector alternative.
Private sector involvement can provide the opportunity for more and better transport provision, relieving congestion whilst safeguarding the environment. Market disciplines should lead to greater efficiency and innovation. The private sector costs would not be subtracted from total public sector provision.
There will be full safeguards for the environment and for local people, if a private sector scheme goes ahead. The Department of Transport will be looking for proposals for a privately financed road on broadly the same route as that already announced.
Extensive environmental protection, including sensitive landscaping, would be a dominant feature of the proposed public sector scheme. Any private sector scheme would be required to achieve the same environmental standards, and a full environment assessment carried out.
If the privately-funded scheme goes ahead authorisation will be sought under the new procedures proposed under the New Roads and Street Works Bill. This means that those affected by the road would have the same opportunities to voice their opinions as if the road were a public scheme. And the arrangements for compensation of owners of land or property would be exactly the same as if the scheme were publicly-funded.
I would aim for a private sector road to be completed at approximately the same time as the public sector scheme, that is towards the end of the 1990s.
This is a major new opportunity for the private sector to provide roads, and good news for the west midlands. It shows that the private finance initiative goes from strength
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to strength. I look forward to seeing an imaginative response from industry to get this road built as quickly as possible.The positive benefits of this scheme are enormous. It would reduce congestion on the existing M5 and M6, and improve access to the western side of the west midlands conurbation, and therefore assist in the economic regeneration of the inner city areas, particularly in the black country.
We would ensure that the positive benefits of this route for the west midlands are protected by seeking from bidders a road which achieves the objective of relieving the present M5 and M6 within the conurbation and provides better connections to the national motorway system for Dudley and Wolverhampton.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Equal Opportunities
Mr. Janner : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what percentage of officers in each grade (1-7) and overall in the Treasury are (a) women and (b) from ethnic minorities respectively.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The information requested in respect of grades 1 to 7 is shown in the table. The proportion of Treasury staff who are women is 43 per cent. Ethnic origin data is held for 84 per cent. of Treasury staff and of this total just over 7 per cent. are from ethnic minorities. All figures reflect the position as at 28 February 1991.
<
Women Ethnic minorities
Grade |Number |Per cent.|Number |Per cent.
------------------------------------------------------------
1A |- |- |- |-
2 |1 |11 |- |-
3 |4 |13 |- |-
4 |- |- |- |-
5 |11 |14 |- |-
6 |- |- |- |-
7 |50 |18 |3 |1
Income Tax
Mr. Beith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 18 December, Official Report, column 111, whether he has completed his consideration
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of the tax liability of hostages and refugees from Iraq and Kuwait who have been obliged to return home before the end of the tax year ; and whether he will make a statement.Mr. Maude : I am still considering the matter.
Mr. Nellist : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tax units in the United Kingdom had (a) earnings, (b) total incomes per annum and (c) total assets exceeding (i) £70,000, (ii) £100,000, (iii) £250,000, (iv) £500,000 and (v) £1,000,000 in 1990-91 ; what was the percentage of the total in each category ; and what were the comparable figures in 1978-79, adjusted for inflation.
Mr. Maude : The available information is given in the table :
|Number of |Percentage of
|individuals |taxpayers
|(thousands)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1990-91
Earnings over £ 70,000 |115 |0.4
Total income for income tax
purposes over £ 70,000 |170 |0.6
1978-79
Earnings over £ 27,700 |20 |0.1
Total income for income tax
purposes over £ 27,700 |30 |0.1
Estimates of the value of assets of the United Kingdom population in 1990- 91 are not yet available. Information for 1988 and earlier years is published in Economic Trends October 1990.
Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the cost in 1991-92 and a full year of increasing all personal allowances by (a) the current increase in average earnings, (b) the inflation rate in December 1990, (c) 8 per cent. and (d) 5.5 per cent. ; what would be the impact in each case on the number of people paying tax ; and what would be the average gain per person in each case for people on annual incomes of £5,000, £10,000, £15,000, £20,000, £30,000, £40,000 and £50,000 and over.
Mr. Maude [holding answer 25 February 1991] : The latest estimates are given in the tables.
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Effects of changes for 1991-92 compared with 1990-91 income tax allowances and thresholds
Direct revenue cost
On receipts in 1991-92 In a full year at 1991-92 Reduction in number
income levels of taxpayers
Increase in allowances<1> by |Compared |Statutory |Compared |Statutory |Compared |Statutory
|with 1990-91 |indexation |with 1990-91 |indexation |with 1990-91 |indexation
|allowances |(£ billion) |allowances |(£ billion) |allowances |(millions)
|(£ billion) |(£ billion) |(millions)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(a) Increase in average
earnings<2> |2.1 |-0.3 |2.9 |-0.3 |0.9 |-0.1
(b) Change in RPI in year
to December 1990 |2.4 |- |3.2 |- |1.0 |-
(c) 8 per cent. |2.0 |-0.4 |2.7 |-0.5 |0.9 |-0.1
(d) 5.5 per cent. |1.4 |-1.0 |1.9 |-1.3 |0.6 |-0.3
<1> And basic rate limit.
<2> The working assumption used in the autumn statement of 8.5 per cent.
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Average cash gains compared with 1990-91 allowances and thresholds £ per year ---------------------------------- 5,000-10,000 |80 |90 |80 |50 10,000-15,000 |90 |100|80 |60 15,000-20,000 |90 |100|80 |60 20,000-30,000 |120|130|110|80 30,000-40,000 |390|440|370|260 40,000-50,000 |420|470|400|280 Over 50,000 |420|470|400|280
Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the cost of enabling married couples who wish to share the benefits of married couple's allowance equally between them to do so.
Mr. Maude [holding answer 25 February 1991] : About £5 million in a full year at 1990-91 levels.
Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue would be obtained if (a) personal tax allowances, (b) age allowance, (c) mortgage interest tax relief and (d) tax relief for occupational and private pensions were restricted to the basic rate in 1991 -92 and in a full year.
Mr. Maude [holding answer 25 February 1991] : Estimates for 1991-92 are not yet available.
The latest estimates of the direct revenue yields in a full year at 1990-91 levels of income from restricting the income tax reliefs and allowances to the basic rate are as follows :
|£ million
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Personal tax allowances |1,270
Age allowance<1> |nil
Mortgage interest relief |470
Relief on contributions to personal pensions<2> |<3>130
Relief on employee's contributions to occupational
pension schemes |220
<1> The extra component of the personal allowance given solely to aged
taxpayers.
<2> Including relief for retirement annuity premia and free standing
additional voluntary contributions.
<3> This estimate is subject to a wide margin of error.
The direct revenue yield from restricting all reliefs and allowances to the basic rate is likely to be in the order of £3 billion, somewhat more than the sums of the yields from restricting the reliefs and allowances separately ; this is due to the cumulative effect of bringing more people into higher rate tax. About two-thirds of those who would pay more tax as a result of this change are currently liable only at the basic rate. No account is taken of possible behavioural changes or the effect on receipts of capital gains tax.
Business Expansion Scheme
Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many new lettings from investments under the business expansion scheme in 1989- 90 there were in (a) south-east England and (b) the United Kingdom ; and what percentage these figures represent of (i) all privately rented property and (ii) all rented property.
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Mr. Maude [holding answer 25 February 1991] : Provisional estimates for new lettings from investments under the business expansion scheme in 1989-90 are as follows :
New lettings
As a percentage of:
|Total |All privately |All rented
|number |rented property|property
|per cent. |per cent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
South-east England |1,000 |0.18 |0.05
United Kingdom |3,000 |0.18 |0.04
Mortgage Tax Relief
Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many individuals are currently receiving mortgage interest tax relief ; how many of these are men ; and how many of the total are receiving relief at the top rate of tax.
Mr. Maude [holding answer 25 February 1991] : There are an estimated 9.4 million single people and married couples with mortgages in 1990-91, of whom about one million receive interest relief at a rate in excess of the basic rate of income tax. A breakdown of the total number of mortgagors is given in the table.
Mortgagors |Million
--------------------------------------
Single men |1.3
Single women |1.0
Married couples |7.1
|-------
Total |9.4
THE ARTS
Equal Opportunities
Mr. Janner : To ask the Minister for the Arts how many and what percentage of officers in each grade (1-7) and overall in the Department are (a) women and (b) from ethnic minorities, respectively.
Mr. Renton : The number and percentage, of women in grades 2, 5, 6 and 7, and overall in the Office of Arts and Libraries, is as follows. The Department does not employ anyone in grades 1, 3 and 4.
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|Number in |Number of |Percentage
|grade |women in
|grade
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Grade 2 |1 |0 |0
Grade 5 |4 |1 |25
Grade 6 |1 |1 |100
Grade 7 (and equivalent) |9 |2 |22
Departmental total |59 |26 |44
When responding to the ethnic origin questionnaire none of the staff in the Office of Arts and Libraries indicated that they were of ethnic minority origin.
Mr. Janner : To ask the Minister for the Arts what steps he has taken to recruit members of ethnic minorities in top grades of employment at the Office of Arts and Libraries.
Mr. Renton : The top grades in my Department are normally filled by promotion from within, or by loans from other Departments. The Cabinet Office records the ethnic origin of all new entrants to the Department, and promotion is solely on merit.
Mr. Janner : To ask the Minister for the Arts when his Department last conducted a survey of the ethnic origins of its employees ; when it next plans to do so ; and whether he will make a statement.
Mr. Renton : The last survey of staff was conducted in 1986. This is kept up to date by information on the ethnic origins of new staff and leavers.
EMPLOYMENT
Equal Opportunities
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when his Department last conducted a survey of the ethnic origins of its employees ; when it next plans to do so ; and whether he will make a statement.
Mr. Jackson : The first survey of ethnic origin of staff took place in 1986 and was undertaken on the basis of voluntary self classification. A reminder was sent to all staff for whom the information was not held in November 1988. As a result we now know the ethnic origin of 92.1 per cent. of ED group staff. My Department is now considering whether further action is required.
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is his forecast of changes in employment by industry for the period 1991 to 2000 for Leeds, West for men, women, young persons and ethnic minorities.
Mr. Jackson : The Department does not make forecasts of employment.
Taylorplan Services Ltd.
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether the wages inspectorate has examined rates of pay advertised or paid by Taylorplan Services Ltd. for contract employees in the public or private sector ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : The wages inspectorate has no record of Taylorplan Services Ltd. However, in 1986, the wages inspectorate examined rates of pay at Taylorplan Catering Ltd.
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Efficiency Scrutinies
Mr. Lee : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans he has to undertake new efficiency scrutinies.
Mr. Forth : I have decided to set up an efficiency scrutiny to examine the industrial tribunal system.
ENVIRONMENT
Water Companies
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment at the time of privatisation, what guidance he gave to water companies with regard to the companies offering consumers alternatives to water metering ; and what discussions took place with local authorities on plans to provide alternative systems of valuation in new premises.
Mr. Trippier : We have not given any guidance to water companies or held discussions with local authorities about methods of charging for water services. Each company has had to decide how to charge customers in new or converted properties, in the light of the abolition of domestic rates from 1 April 1990, and I understand that most companies have decided to meter such properties. The Director General of Water Services is responsible for protecting customers' interests and for ensuring that companies do not show undue preference or discrimination in their charging policies. Dredging
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he has taken to satisfy himself that British Waterways is carrying out all its statutory obligations under section 105 of the Transport Act 1968 with respect to dredging.
Mr. Trippier : Responsibility for day-to-day waterway operation and maintenance rests with the British Waterways Board. It is for the board to satisfy itself that it is fulfilling its statutory obligations for dredging.
Housing
Mr. O'Hara : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many additional units of accommodation each local authority originally estimated would result from the extra housing investment allocation announced on 27 March 1990 ; and how many units have been provided to date comprising (a) local authority empty dwellings refurbished, (b) housing association empty dwellings refurbished, (c) hostel places provided by local authorities, (d) hostel spaces provided by housing associations, (e) mobile homes provided by local authorities, (f) homes becoming available through cash incentive payments and (g) other.
Sir George Young : The cost of compiling the information in the form requested would be disproportionate. I will write to the hon. Member with the material we already have available.
Homelessness
Mr. O'Hara : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment which local authorities have received extra housing investment allocation in 1990 -91 to provide
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additional accommodation for the homeless under its £112 million initiative announced on 27 March 1990 ; and what additional housing investment allocation each local authority has received.Sir George Young : My Department's news release No. 198 dated 27 March 1990, a copy of which was placed in the Library of the House, sets out the information requested by the hon. Member.
Lead-free Petrol
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will place in the Library a copy of the results of his Department's survey into motorists' attitudes to the use of lead-free petrol ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Trippier : Yes. We expect to have the results of the survey in April.
Households, Hackney
Mr. Norris : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has of the number of households in the London borough of Hackney which are occupied by (a) two or (b) more than two adults.
Mr. Yeo : Information is not available in precisely the form requested. However, projections of married couple, lone parent, one person and other households for 1991 are published in the Department's "1985 based estimates of numbers of households in England, the regions, counties, metropolitan districts and London boroughs 1985-2001", which is in the Library.
Council Homes, Exeter
Mr. Hannam : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the latest figure for the number of unoccupied council houses and flats in Exeter.
Mr. Yeo : The latest available information on empty council dwellings relates to 1 April 1990 and was provided by Exeter city council in its April 1990 housing investment programme return (HIP1), a copy of which is in the Library.
Gulf Casualties
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans have been made to provide adapted housing for service personnel permanently disabled in the Gulf ; and how these will be financed.
Sir George Young : British casualties in the Gulf have, mercifully, been light and no difficulty is expected in providing adapted housing for any of them who may have been permanently disabled. Disabled people may obtain assistance for house adaptations under the house renovation grant system introduced by the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.
Community Charge
Mr. Andrew Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what is his estimate of the total amounts of money to be made available under the community charge reduction scheme to residents in Gedling borough ;
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(2) if he will set out the calculation of the community charge reduction scheme applying to the borough of Gedling.Mr. Key : No information is yet available on the amount of reduction scheme grant payable to each charging authority. However, if Gedling borough council sets its community charge for 1991-92 at or above £364, a couple who have not moved since 31 March 1990 living in a property of average rateable value could look forward to a reduction of £120 between them ; a couple living in a property of half average rateable value could get a reduction of £371 between them.
Competitive Tendering
Mr. Cash : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he proposes to take in regard to Redditch borough council under part I of the Local Government Act 1988.
Mr. Key : My right hon. Friend has today issued a direction under section 14 of the Local Government Act 1988 requiring Redditch borough council to expose refuse collection work to competitive tendering again by 1 February 1992. He has taken this action because he was not satisfied with the response which Redditch borough council made to the notice served on 18 January 1991 under section 13 of the Act.
That notice set out the Secretary of State's view that Redditch borough council had acted contrary to the requirement of section 7(7) of the Act, which is that, in awarding a contract, an authority must not act in a manner having the effect or intended or likely to have the effect of restricting, distorting or preventing competition, in that, in assigning this work to its direct service organisation, it rejected a lower tender from a private contractor without sufficient reasons.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he intends to take in relation to those authorities which have now set budgets above the limits implied by the intended capping criteria ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Portillo : We will not hesitate to use our capping powers to curb those authorities' budgets which we consider excessive or represent an excessive increase over the previous year.
As we have made clear on a number of occasions our present intention is to apply the criteria which my right hon. Friend the then Secretary of State announced on 31 October 1990. These intended criteria are, however, necessarily provisional since we cannot take our capping decisions until authorities generally have set their budgets. When we do so, we shall take into account all appropriate considerations. But it is clearly a matter of concern that a few authorities have decided to budget at levels which under the intended criteria are excessive or represent an excessive increase : it remains open to such authorities to adopt substitute lower budgets if they so wish.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment at what stage in their posting local authorities are able to exempt (a) married and (b) single Gulf service personnel from the poll tax.
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Mr. Portillo [holding answer 4 March 1991] : There is no exemption for people serving in the Gulf. It is for community charge registration officers to decide when the law requires a person to be removed from the register, thus ending liability to the charge. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced on 19 February that it is our intention that those serving in the Gulf should not have to pay the charge during that period. We are currently considering what steps need to be taken to realise this objective.Acid Rain
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will now place in the Library detailed maps of those parts of the country vulnerable to acid rain pollution from sulphur dioxide emissions from electricity generating stations.
Mr. Baldry : I have placed in the Library copies of two reports to my Department by the United Kingdom critical loads advisory group. These include maps of the United Kingdom in respect of soils, and of Scotland in respect of freshwaters, showing "critical loads" for sulphur--the levels of deposition in excess of which damage may be caused to ecosystems--and the places in which those loads are currently exceeded as a result of emissions of sulphur dioxide from all sources, not merely from electricity generating stations. The maps have been produced to inform discussions in the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe which are intended to lead to agreement of a new protocol on the abatement of sulphur dioxide emissions. They represent the latest available scientific assessment of the current position, and are not indications of policy. The United Kingdom is already committed, under the EC large combustion plants directive, to secure reductions of 60 per cent. in sulphur dioxide emissions from existing large combustion plant by 2003, compared with 1980 levels.
Departmental Policies (Environmental Implications)
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment 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. Heseltine [holding answer 1 March 1991] : My Department has been active in implementing the commitments made in the Environment White Paper, "This Common Inheritance", since its publication in September. Our departmental report, published on 13 February, recorded progress with a wide range of initiatives, reflecting the White Paper's comprehensive review of policy affecting the environment. These included a 20 per cent. increase in funding for environmental research over the next three years, increased staffing for Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution and a £60 million pilot energy efficiency programme for local authority housing.
Snow Clearing
Miss Hoey : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will issue a circular to local authorities on clearing snow from pavements in built-up areas.
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Mr. Chope : I have been asked to reply.
I have no plans to issue a circular, but I shall be happy to consider any specific representations which the hon. Member has about snow clearing by local authorities.
ENERGY
Energy Conservation
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make it his Department's policy to adopt specific annual targets for energy conservation and efficiency.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : Decisions on investment in energy efficiency measures are a matter for individual consumers and it would be inappropriate for the Government to set specific national targets for annual improvements.
However, my energy efficiency office offers a range of programmes and other initiatives designed to encourage the adoption of cost effective energy efficiency measures. Measures of performance for each of these programmes are published annually, most recently in February 1991 in "The Government's Expenditure Plans Within the Energy Sector 1991-92 to 1993-94" (Cm 1505), copies of which are available in the Library.
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