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AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Baby Food Products
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make it his policy to bring forward legislation requiring baby food products to bear labels stating their (a) meat content, (b) calorie content and (c) protein content ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : The European Commission has issued a draft directive which lays down compositional and labelling requirements for cereal-based and other processed foods for infants and young children. The proposals set out minimum content levels for meat and certain other characteristic ingredients and require a statement of the available energy and protein content to appear on the label. Negotiations in Brussels are scheduled to commence early in June. The Commission also intends to introduce proposals shortly on quantitative ingredients declaration of foodstuffs.
Sweeteners
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will seek information from Commissioner Bergemann about the nature of the representations he received from the Government of France on 14 April relating to his decision on 15 April to exclude snack foods from the directive on sweeteners.
Mr. Maclean : The next stage of the procedure will involve a detailed examination of all the considerations relevant to the revised proposals that the Commission will be bringing to Council following the first reading in the European Parliament.
Animal Medicine Licence Fees
Mr. Ian Stewart : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects to see representatives of the National Office of Animal Health about animal medicine licence fees.
Mr. Maclean : A meeting has been arranged for 21 May.
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Nephrops
Mr. Beith : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to establish a pressure stock licensing stock scheme for nephrops, or to ban twin-rig trawling for nephrops ; and whether he will make a statement.
Mr. Curry : These and other ideas for the future management of nephrops were discussed at a Sea Fish Industry Authority seminar on nephrops on 10 April. All parties involved are now reflecting on the views expressed.
Mr. Beith : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the current state of the North sea and Irish sea nephrops stock.
Mr. Curry : The advisory committee on fishery management of the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas has undertaken a thorough review of the various EC nephrops fisheries including those in the North and Irish seas and, in its latest report, recommended that each should be subject to its own specific total allowable catch, bearing in mind the fishing effort involved. We have asked the EC Commission to act on this advice and are now awaiting appropriate proposals.
Sea Level (London)
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has carried out of the risk to London from rising sea levels.
Mr. Curry : Sea level rise was one of the factors taken into account in the design of the Thames barrier and associated tidal defences which protect London from flooding. Current best estimates of global sea level rise by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change fall within the range of possibilities considered in the barrier design. This Department sponsors research to monitor sea level trends and is also closely monitoring scientific evidence emerging from other sources.
Surplus Food Scheme
Mr. Mans : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the outcome of the invitation to organisations to participate in the 1991 surplus food scheme in the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Curry : I announced to the House on 13 February that the surplus food scheme would be continued for a further year. Following that announcement, the press coverage that attended it and the individual invitations issued by my Department, we have been able to designate 774 organisations as potential participants in this year's scheme. There are approximately 3,800 tonnes of butter and 3,000 tonnes of beef available to be distributed to the most needy citizens.
Once again I have designated more organisations than in previous years in order to ensure, as far as possible, the availability of food across the country. But as the quantities are limited, it must be understood that the assistance will, necessarily, be spread even more thinly as a result. The produce will be shared as fairly as possible on the basis of an amount proportional to the number of needy people it will reach. I am giving special priority in
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allocating this food to organisations providing prepared meals and to those serving the homeless and destitute. In addition, in order to receive an allocation, the smallest organisations may have to co-operate this year to keep the processing and distribution costs to a minimum.I am placing a list of all the organisations I have designated in the Library of the House and officials will now be writing to all the organisations that applied.
Nutrition
Mr. Gregory : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if the policy concerning recommended amounts of nutrients, as set out in the report by the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy in 1979, paragraphs 13 to 16, remains Her Majesty's Government's policy ; and if he will make it his policy to maintain it by ensuring that such recommended amounts are the minimum necessary to ensure that the majority of the population has adequate nutrition ;
(2) what consideration has been given by his Department to the use of dietary reference values as a means of providing information to the public about the daily intake of nutrients.
Mr. Dorrell : I have been asked to reply.
Since 1987, the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy to which the Government look for expert advice on diet and nutrition has been engaged in a review of the recommended daily amounts--RDAs--for food energy and nutrients set in 1979. Until its conclusions are published the 1979 RDAs remain current. Its report is currently being finalised, and we hope that it will be ready for publication in May or June. Once the report is published I shall arrange for copies to be placed in the Library.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Benefits
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he will list for each of his Department's offices covering the Doncaster area, the average length of time taken to process applications for each of the benefits administered by his Department ; and what are the national averages ;
(2) what are the latest figures for the Doncaster area for the number of people claiming (a) income support, (b) housing benefit and (c) family credit ; and what were the figures for the last 12 months.
Miss Widdecombe : The administration of social security benefits is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member and copies will be placed in the Library and the Public Information Office.
Social Fund
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many social fund loan applications were refused by each of his Department's offices covering the Doncaster area in (a) 1990-91 and (b) the current year to date, due to perceived inability to repay.
Mr. Scott : The administration of the social fund is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the
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Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available and copies will be placed in the Library and the Public Information Office.Mr. Caborn : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many applications for social fund loans from the York local office were refused on the grounds of inability to pay ; and if he will show this figure as a percentage of all applications for loans from the York local office in 1988-89, 1989-90 and 1990-91 to date ; (2) if he will indicate the factors used by the York local office to determine high, medium and low priority groups and priority circumstances for community care grant applications (a) before 6 September 1990, (b) between 6 September and 21 October 1990 and (c) since 22 October 1990, and the reasons why the criteria were changed at these dates.
Mr. Scott : The administration of the social fund is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member and copies will be placed in the Library and the Public Information office.
Housing Benefit
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many housing benefit review boards have sat in each year since 1984 ; and what was the number of successful appellant reviews during each of these years.
Miss Widdecombe : Data on review boards are not available for years prior to 1988-89. Based on information, which has not been validated, from 362 out of a total of 483 local authorities, the number of housing benefit cases submitted to a review board in 1988-89 was 2, 213, of which 481 resulted in revised determinations. For 1989-90, on the basis of 320 returns, the figures were 2,336 and 530 respectively, but determinations in favour of the appellant are not separately recorded.
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether he will place in the Library an amendment or an addendum to the housing benefits guidance manual to incorporate the provisions for a period in which persons who it is alleged have received an overpayment of housing benefit may make offers for repayment or appeals in respect of overpayment decisions prior to recovery action, as incorporated in the overpayment recovery guide for his Department.
Miss Widdecombe : Departmental officials are currently working on a number of amendments to the housing benefits guidance manual. Among them will be enhanced guidance on overpayments which will reflect the overpayments recovery guide as regards the action to be taken prior to the commencement of a recovery. The amended guidance will be placed in the Library.
Benefit Eligibility
Miss Lestor : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many 16 and 17-year-olds were ineligible for benefits despite being unemployed in (1) 1989 and (2) 1990 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jack : Any unemployed 16 or 17-year-old who is seeking a youth training placement is eligible for income support if severe hardship would otherwise result.
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Seventy-one per cent. of applications for severe hardship payments were successful in 1990 against 29 per cent unsuccessful. In 1989, the figures were 66 per cent. successful and 34 per cent. unsuccessful. Sixteen or 17-year-olds are not eligible for unemployment benefit because they are unable to satisfy the national insurance contribution conditions.Footnote : 19,280 applications for severe hardship payments were successful in 1990 against 7,767 unsuccessful. In 1989 there were 11, 965 successful and 6,164 unsuccessful applications.
Care Homes
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people were claiming income support or supplementary benefit in respect of (i) residential care and (ii) nursing homes for each year since 1979 at each of the Newcastle upon Tyne benefit offices.
Miss Widdecombe : I understand from Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency, that the information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Rent and Community Charge Benefits
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the marginal tax benefit withdrawal rate on additional gross income for a person paying standard rate income tax and national insurance and receiving both a rent rebate and community charge benefit as from April 1991 ; and what is the tax benefit withdrawal rate for each element.
Mr. Jack : The 1988 social security reforms and subsequent tax and national insurance changes eliminated the highest marginal deduction rates and it is now virtually impossible to find oneself worse off as a result of an increase in gross pay.
Someone in work will normally have standard deduction rates of 25 per cent. for income tax and 9 per cent. for national insurance. The marginal deduction rate for such a person paying standard rate income tax, national insurance and receiving both a rent rebate and community charge benefit as from April 1991 is 87 per cent. The marginal deduction rate on total gross pay for each element is :
|Per cent.
---------------------------------------------
Tax |25
National insurance |9
Housing benefit |43
Community charge benefit |10
Community Care
Mr. Caborn : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish a table indicating (a) the number of applications for community care grants received, (b) the number of community care grants paid, and (c) the cash value of community care grants paid by the York local office in each month in 1990 for each of elderly, mentally ill/handicapped, disabled/chronically sick, young persons leaving local authority care, persons who have misused drugs/alcohol, ex-offenders, persons without a settled way of life and families under exceptional pressure.
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Mr. Scott : Information is not available in the client groups requested, but details of the total number of community care grants received and paid and the cash value of those paid are in the Library.DEFENCE
NAAFI
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement in respect of the future of the NAAFI.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : NAAFI fulfils an important support and welfare role for the services. The effects on NAAFI of changes in the structure of our armed forces are being studied.
Armed Forces
Mr. Douglas : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give details of the size of the armed forces, broken down by army, navy and air force and by civilian and military personnel in each of the member states of the European Community, United States of America, Sweden, Norway and the USSR.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Details of the size of the United Kingdom armed forces are shown in volume 2 of the "Statement on the Defence Estimates 1990"--Cm 1022-11. Information on the size of foreign armed forces is contained in "The Military Balance" published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, copies of which are held by the Library of the House.
RAF Leeming (Noise)
Sir John Stanley : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in respect of how many houses in the vicinity of Royal Air Force Leeming has statutory injurious affection compensation, or non-statutory equivalent compensation, has been paid on account of serious noise disturbance created by the deployment of Tornado aircraft to that air station.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The Ministry of Defence complies administratively with the provision of part I of the Land Compensation Act 1973. The Act confers a right to injurious affection compensation--IAC--for depreciation in the value of dwellings and certain small business properties caused by the physical effects, for example, noise, of the bringing into use of new public works. Considerable works were undertaken at RAF Leeming to enable the deployment of Tornado aircraft to take place. To date, 374 IAC claims have been received and 40 of these have been settled.
Sir John Stanley : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many houses in the vicinity of Royal Air Force Leeming have been acquired with the agreement of their owners on account of serious noise disturbance created by the deployment of Tornado aircraft to that air station ; and under what statutory or administrative provisions were such acquisitions carried out and payments made to the home owners concerned.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The Ministry of Defence's policy, which is non -statutory, is limited to the areas around
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military airfields where we offer to purchase homes subject to average noise levels of 83DB(A) and above. This allows an opportunity for those most affected by noise to move away. At RAF Leeming 19 offers were made which resulted in the purchase of 12 homes.Armed Forces (Pay)
Mr. Douglas : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give details of the levels of pay for all ranks of the armed services stationed in the United Kingdom and overseas.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The Government agreed to implement in full, from 1 April, the recommendations made by the Armed Forces Pay Review Body. The current rates of military salary for all ranks up to and including brigadier and equivalent are shown in tables 1, 2 and 3 of the 20th report of the review body--Cm 1414, January 1991. Pay levels for senior officers are recommended by the Top Salaries Review Body. Following the Government's decision to stage the implementation of the TSRB award, salary levels for 1991-92 will be as follows :
|From |From
|1 April 1991 |1 December 1991
|£ |£
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Major General |52,100 |53,000
Lieutenant General |59,450 |60,000
General |82,800 |84,250
Field Marshal |102,950 |104,750
Army ranks are shown ; the pay rates apply equally to equivalent ranks in the other services.
Mr. Douglas : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give details of the levels of pay for civilian armed services personnel stationed in the United Kingdom and overseas.
Mr. Alan Clark : The expression "civilian armed services personnel" is a contradiction in terms.
DUCHY OF LANCASTER
Quangos
Mr. Grocott : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the individual appointments excluding casual vacancies he is scheduled to make to quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations in (a) 1991 and (b) 1992 indicating in each case the title of the post, the salary if any and the duration of the appointment.
ENERGY
Renewable Energy Programmes
Mr. Wallace : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will state the sources of separate expenditure on renewable energy programmes in or for Scotland in each year since 1979.
Mr. Moynihan : My Department supports an extensive programme of research, development and demonstration
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of sources of renewable energy where those sources show the potential for economic viability and are environmentally acceptable. For expenditure on that programme, by individual technology since 1979, I refer the hon. Member to the answer my hon. Friend the Member for Eastwood (Mr. Stewart) gave him on 26 April at columns 613-16 . In 1990 -91 total expenditure was over £20 million. Expenditure is distributed throughout the United Kingdom. There is no specific allocation for Scotland.Combined Heat and Power
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the information he has on the number of combined heat and power schemes currently operational in (a) London and (b) each of the other European Community capital cities.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : I am not aware of a source for such detailed information. However, as my answer to the hon. Member on 22 February at columns 278-79 points out, the Office of Electricity Regulation is in the process of gathering information on combined heat and power--CHP-- utilisation in the United Kingdom. My Department does not hold detailed information on the extent of combined heat and power utilisation in European Community capital cities.
Privatisation
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what were the expenses included in the £12,439,000 gross expenditure on privatisation of the electricity supply industry in 1989-90, apart from the £12.1 million paid to outside organisations.
Mr. Wakeham : The additional expenses are mainly those associated with the establishment of the successor companies to the Central Electricity Generating Board.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will give for each relevant year his Department's total gross expenditure on the privatisation of (a) British Gas and (b) the electricity supply industry.
Mr. Wakeham : The total gross external costs incurred by the Department of Energy in connection with the privatisation of British Gas and the electricity supply industry in England and Wales were as follows :
£ million
|British Gas|Electricity
|Supply
|Industry
------------------------------------------------
1985-86 |1.4 |-
1986-87 |196.6 |-
1987-88 |53.3 |0.8
1988-89 |22.5 |5.5
1989-90 |4.0 |12.4
1990-91<1> |3.5 |303.1
<1> The figure for 1990-91 is the gross
provision Voted by Parliament. The final
outturn figure will be published in the
Appropriation Account for 1990-91 later this
year.
Source: Department of Energy Annual
Appropriation Accounts 1985-86 to 1989-90 and
Supply Estimates 1991-92, Class V Energy.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what were the £4,024,000 residual expenses in 1989-90 from the sale of shares in British Gas.
Mr. Wakeham : The residual expenses in 1989-90 consisted of : £1, 707,000 in connection with the gas bill
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voucher scheme ; £2,303,500 in connection with the bonus share issue ; and £13,500 in connection with the administration of the British Gas share offer companies.Natural Gas
Mr. Doran : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is the current level of imports of natural gas into the United Kingdom, what proposals there are to increase this level ; and what criteria he will adopt in considering these proposals.
Mr. Moynihan : In 1990, imports of natural gas from Norway accounted for 13.5 per cent. of total supplies. A small amount--less than 0.1 per cent. of total supplies--of liquefied natural gas was imported from Algeria. I am aware of a number of proposals that might increase this level. In considering any import proposals, the Government will weigh carefully the availability of competitive supplies from the United Kingdom continental shelf and the market opportunities open.
ENVIRONMENT
Contracting Out
14. Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment to what extent it is the policy of his Department to contract work out to the private sector.
Mr. Heseltine : It has been the Government's policy since 1980 to transfer work from Government Departments to the private sector whenever this is commensurate with sound management and represents good value for money. My Department supports that policy.
Council Housing
15. Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many council houses there are ; how many council (a) houses and (b) flats have been sold since May 1979 ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir George Young : English local authorities owned some 2.4 million houses and 1.6 million flats in April 1990. About 1.1 million houses and 120,000 flats have been sold into owner-occupation between April 1979 and December 1990. Sales of flats picked up markedly in 1987 when higher discounts came into operation, and flats now represent a fifth of all sales.
35. Mr. Skinner : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the latest figures for public sector home-building ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir George Young : In the first quarter of 1991, 2,000 new dwellings were completed by the public sector, mainly local authorities, in England. Housing associations are becoming the major providers of new subsidised rented housing and their output is forecast to increase by nearly half over the next three years. Full details of housebuilding by sector are published monthly by the Department in an information bulletin.
36. Mr. Watson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any new proposals which would enable local authorities to use accrued capital receipts to build more homes for rent.
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Mr. Yeo : Local authorities are required to set aside part of their capital receipts that have accrued from the sale of assets to meet outstanding loan debt and other liabilities. The remainder they may spend in new capital investment. We have no plans to reconsider these underlying principles, although the application in practice is something we keep under review.Vacant Land
16. Mr. Summerson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress has been made in bringing the vacant public land register up to date.
Mr. Yeo : The measures announced yesterday in response to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for South Hams (Mr. Steen) are designed to improve the information available from owners' registers.
Community Charge
17. Mr. Jacques Arnold : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment which councils have the lowest rate of collection of the community charge.
Mr. Portillo : Collection of charges for 1990-91 continues, but the average collection rate of the 250 authorities for which we have information was already over 90 per cent. at the end of March. Only Islington and Lambeth had collected less than 70 per cent. and even they had achieved two thirds of their budgeted figure.
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the estimated cost to the Exchequer of the community charge reduction scheme for 1991-92 announced in November ; what was the estimated cost to the Exchequer of the further revised scheme in 1991-92 ; and what is the estimated cost to the Exchequer of the revised scheme in 1991-92 in the light of the Community Charge (General Reduction) Act 1991.
Mr. Key [holding answer 3 May 1991] : When the community charge reduction scheme was announced in January 1991, the estimated cost of the scheme in 1991-92 was £1.7 billion. Following the £140 general reduction and the changes to the reduction scheme which followed the Budget, it is estimated that the cost of the scheme in 1991-92 will be just over £1.2 billion.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the level of the fund to cover local authorities' additional administrative expenses arising as a consequence of the Community Charge (General Reduction) Act ; and what are the criteria by which it will be allocated to authorities.
Mr. Key : We have undertaken to meet all reasonable additional costs incurred as a result of the Community Charge (General Reduction) Act 1991 and the associated changes in the community charge reduction scheme.
26. Mr. Lofthouse : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will take action to abolish the 20 per cent. payment of poll tax in the current year for people on low incomes ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key : We have not proposed any change for the remaining period of the community charge.
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Council Tax
18. Mr. Buckley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if there is to be a special rebate for disabled people who have incurred alterations to their home which falls into band A ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key : Necessary alterations to the home of a disabled person will be disregarded in assessing the council tax band into which a property will fall. A disabled person's home which, without the alterations, would fall in band A will thus attract council tax at the lowest rate. Rebates of up to 100 per cent. will be available to help disabled people with low incomes.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has of the number and proportion of properties in London which fall within each band of his proposed council tax.
Mr. Key [holding answer 7 May 1991] : The tables published on 23 April showing illustrative council tax bills included the estimated proportion of properties falling in each band in each local authority area.
Mr. Robert B. Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out (a) the level of rate support grant assumed to be paid to Dacorum borough council for 1991-92 under the community charge and (b) the level of grant assumed in the indicative tables of council tax paid by his Department.
Mr. Key [holding answer 30 April 1991] : With the community charge, the revenue support grant paid to Dacorum supports spending by both the borough and county council. Under our proposal for the council tax, grant will be paid directly to county councils. Any comparison of the level of grant paid to Dacorum would be misleading.
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