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Mr. Jackson : The results of the NES 1991 survey will begin to be published on 26 September 1991 and publication will be complete by the end of this year. The estimates called for in the question are, therefore, not yet available.
Company Debts
Mr. Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will introduce legislation to require all registered companies in Britain to meet their debts within six weeks of those debts being invoiced.
Mr. Forth : No. The existing legal framework already provides avenues to pursue commercial debt. Rather than add to the burden of legislation, much can be achieved to speed up payments by the education of both suppliers and providers. To this end, the Government will be launching, later this year, a revision of the booklet for suppliers, "Prompt Payment Please", and a new booklet aimed at larger purchasing organisations.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT
International Tropical Timber Organisation
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to ensure that the United Kingdom Government only approves activities of the International Tropical Timber Organisation which incorporate strict environmental safeguards.
Mrs. Chalker : Following the International Tropical Timber Organisation's bi-annual meeting in Quito--28 May to 7 June 1991-- independent consultants will be appointed to draft a manual on project preparation for the International Tropical Timber Organisation. The consultant's terms of reference will include making proposals to take full account of environmental impacts of projects. The British Government called for and fully support these and other reforms in the International Tropical Timber Organisation's project cycle.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Housing Benefit
Mrs. Roe : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much the capital disregard for housing benefit would be if it had been uprated in real terms since 1988.
Miss Widdecombe : Based on a rise in the retail prices index of 25.8 per cent. between April 1988 and April 1991, the level at or below which capital is disregarded would now be £3,774.
Mrs. Roe : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the cost of restoring to its real term 1988 value the £3,000 capital disregard for housing benefit.
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Miss Widdecombe : The latest available estimates suggest that the cost in 1991-92 would be around £20 million.Source : Modelled using data drawn from the 1986, 1987 and 1988 Family Expenditure Surveys.
Mrs. Roe : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the cost of changing the rules on tariff income on capital disregards for housing benefit to assume £1 of income from every £500 above the lower limit ; and if he has any plans to do so.
Miss Widdecombe : The latest available estimates suggest that the cost in 1991-92 would be around£60 million. We have no plans to change the rules in housing benefit or any of the other income-related benefits.
Source : Modelled using data drawn from the 1986, 1987 and 1988 Family Expenditure Surveys.
Cold Weather Payments
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the dates and areas in the United Kingdom in which the temperature averaged 0 deg C. or below for a period of seven days between 1 November 1990 and 30 April 1991.
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Mr. Scott : Information on weather station seven-day mean temperatures is held in the Library for the period1 November 1990 to 11 April 1991. Information after11 April is not available. Information relating to Northern Ireland is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Community Charge
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Southwark and Bermondsey, Official Report, 1 May 1991, columns 249-50, if he will publish a similar table showing the net income at which community charge benefit runs out taking account of the community charge reduction scheme.
Miss Widdecombe : The information requested is in the table.
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Net income at which entitlement to community charge benefit ceases
|Average |Average |Maximum |Single |Single |Pensioner |Pensioner |Pensioner |Single |Couple
|Community |Weekly |80 per cent.|Under 25 |Over 25 |Couple |Couple |Couple 80 |Parent |2 Children
|Charge |Charge |Benefit |60-74 |75-79 |Child/11 |U11
|£ |£ |£ |£ |£ |£ |£ |£ |£ |£
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
England |214.00 |4.09 |3.27 |57.98 |66.48 |126.81 |129.26 |132.11 |117.83 |150.56
Scotland |241.00 |4.61 |3.69 |60.73 |69.23 |132.32 |134.77 |137.62 |120.58 |156.07
Wales |92.00 |1.76 |1.41 |45.53 |54.03 |101.92 |104.37 |107.22 |105.38 |125.67
Notes:
1. The average community charge figures for England, Scotland and Wales take account of the £140 reduction in charge levels and also of the effect of the
Community Charge Reduction Schemes (CCRS).
2. The effect of the Community Charge Reduction Schemes (CCRS) on the average community charges for England, Scotland and Wales is based on Budget
estimates of projected CCRS spending and not on actual subsidy returns, since these are not yet available.
3. An average community charge figure taking account of CCRS is currently not available for inner London. This is because the Budget estimates of CCRS
spending are "modelled" on an England wide basis. A figure will become available once subsidy returns are analysed.
4. The average community charge figure for England takes account of charge substitution.
Local Authority Housing (Transfers)
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether residents of former local authority part III homes, which are transferred to the private or voluntary sectors, are eligible for the higher levels of income support ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Newton : Local authorities in England and Wales have a duty under the National Assistance Act 1948 to arrange for the provision of residential accommodation for those in need. They can exercise this by providing accommodation in their own homes or by arranging accommodation in an independent home. In either case, the local authority meets the full cost of the accommodation and care. Similar arrangements apply in Scotland.
My right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Health, for Scotland and for Wales, and I are fully committed to the principles of community care as outlined in the White Paper "Caring for People" (Cm. 849) and the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990. These include encouraging local authorities to act as enablers rather than providers and to promote and stimulate the development of the independent and voluntary sectors in the provision of care.
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We are aware, however, that some local authorities may have sought to dispose of some or all of their residential homes to the private or voluntary sector in order to enable the residents to qualify under present regulations for the higher level of income support and so to reduce financial support by the local authority. While the Government favour a mixed economy in the provision of care, the balance between voluntary, private and public ownership should be determined by the long-term needs of those needing care rather than by short-term financial considerations.We therefore intend to introduce as soon as possible amending regulations regarding entitlement to income support in such cases. They will make it clear that the benefit position for existing residents who continue to receive residential care under arrangements made by their local authority remains unchanged by a transfer of ownership.
I understand that at the same time as these regulations come into force, my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Health, for Scotland and for Wales also intend to issue directions to local authorities to make clear the status of residents in a home which is transferred to private ownership by a local authority.
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The draft regulations that I have outlined will shortly be considered by the Social Security Advisory Committee. It is our intention that they will take effect at the earliest possible date.NATIONAL FINANCE
Value Added Tax
Mr. Lord : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the goods and services which he assesses correspond with the European Community's social or cultural objectives so as to make them eligible for a reduced or zero rate of VAT should the Council of Ministers' proposals to approximate rates of VAT applied by members of the Community be adopted.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : On Friday 21 June I placed in the Library my letter of 19 June to the honourable Member for Newham, South (Mr. Spearing) to which was attached a note summarising the previous proposals for the approximation of indirect taxes and the compromise proposals to be presented by the Luxembourg Presidency to ECOFIN on 24 June and an annex giving full details of the Presidency proposals.
These attachments include the list of essential products and goods and services "which correspond to social or cultural policy objectives" which was agreed as a basis for discussion at ECOFIN on 18 March.
However, the list itself is to be defined more closely, and it is not therefore possible to give a list of the items which might fall under it.
Value Added Tax
Mr. Cartwright : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proposals he has received from European Community Finance Ministers for the closer approximation of VAT rates and excise duties from January 1993 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard [holding answer 14 June 1991] : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Newham, South (Mr. Spearing) on 24 June, at column 374.
Tax-exempt Special Savings Accounts
Mr. Arbuthnot : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the take-up of TESSAs so far.
Mr. Maude : TESSA has made a highly successful start. In its first three months, to 31 March this year, over 2 million people invested more than £5 billion in TESSAs.
Business Rate
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list, with regard to the uniform business rate, for each local authority in England and Wales for the financial year 1990-91, (a) the number of appeals that were lodged against its level, (b) the number of appeals that have been heard, separately distinguishing the successful and unsuccessful, (c) the number of appeals that have not yet been heard, (d) the shortest time in days that elapsed between the lodging of an appeal and the decision, (e) the longest time in days that elapsed between
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the lodging of an appeal and the decision and (f) the longest time in days to date between the lodging of an appeal and the actual hearing which is yet to take place.Mr. Maples : The information required could not be provided in the format requested without a disproportionate expenditure of time and resources.
Nationally some 705,000 appeals had been received by 31 May 1991. About 45,000 of these have been settled--256 at hearings. The arrangements and timing of appeal hearings are the responsibility of the valuation and community tribunal, part of the Lord Chancellor's Department.
Takeovers
Mr. Butler : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the value of takeovers by overseas companies in the United Kingdom for the latest convenient period : and what was the corresponding figure for overseas takeovers by United Kingdom companies.
Mr. Maples : The latest information was published in CSO Business Bulletin 23/91, "Cross-border Acquisitions and Mergers" (Fourth Quarter 1990). Information up to the first quarter 1991 will be published on 28 June.
Monetary Policy
Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to relax monetary policy ; and what representations he has had to the effect that it is currently over-tight.
Mr. Maples : My right hon. Friend has received a number of representations on monetary policy. Interest rates will continue to be set at the level needed to keep sterling within its ERM bands and to bear down on inflation.
Family Expenditure Survey
Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects that the results of the family expenditure survey for 1990 will be available.
Mr. Maples : It is expected that the report on the 1990 Family Expenditure Survey will be published in November 1991.
Building Industry
Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received from the construction and building industry regarding the recession and high interest rates.
Mr. Maples : My right hon. Friend has received a number of such representations.
ECOFIN
Mr. Andrew Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the outcome of the latest meeting of the European Community's Economic and Finance Council.
Mr. Norman Lamont : The Economic and Finance Council of the European Community met in Luxembourg on 24 June. I represented the United Kingdom.
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Following the meetings on 3 June and 10 June, the Council again discussed the presidency's proposals for the future of VAT and excise duties in the single market. Agreement was reached, subject to Parliament's views, on a set of Council conclusions. The main points are as follows.On VAT, all member states declared that they will apply a standard VAT rate of 15 per cent. or more from 1 January 1993. The other member states said that this political declaration should be translated into a directive. I made it clear that the United Kingdom does not believe that a directive is necessary. Statements were made in the minutes of the Council, reflecting these points of view. I also reiterated that the Government have no present intention of making any change to the current United Kingdom rate of 17.5 per cent.
Agreement was also reached on the key aspects of the VAT regime which will enable fiscal frontiers to be abolished after 1992. There was acceptance in principle of a move at the end of 1996 to the origin system, under which the VAT rate applied to goods and services is that of the country in which they are produced, rather than where they are sold ; but this would require a unanimous decision by the Council.
The agreement provides for the retention of all United Kingdom zero rates during the period before any move to the origin system, without prejudice to what happens thereafter.
It was also agreed that member states should have the option of applying one or two reduced rates, not lower than 5 per cent. The United Kindom Government have no present intention of introducing reduced rates.
On excises, agreement was reached on specific minimum rates for petrol, derv, heavy fuel oil, beer and cigarettes. It was agreed that these would be reflected in a directive in due course. The rates agreed are shown in the table.
Excise Duties: Minimum rates in ECUS
|Minimum rate
|agreed
|(ecus)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leaded petrol (1,000 litres) |337
Unleaded petrol (1,000 litres) |287
Diesel (1,000 litres) |245
Heavy fuel oil (1,000 kg) |13
Cigarettes (specific plus ad valorem duties, but excluding VAT) |57 per cent. of retail price (including tax) of cigarettes in the most popular price category<1>
Beer (hl of end product) |<2>1.87
<1> Specific duty element to be between 5 and 55 per cent. of total duty.
<2> Per degree of alcohol.
None of these requires any change in United Kingdom rates of excise duty.
A provisional agreement was reached on a zero rate for wine, heating kerosene and heating gas oil, pending a further report from the Commission on whether a satisfactory control system could be operated in the absence of a positive rate for these products. Agreement was also reached that rules will be devised to distinguish between commercial and private alcohol and tobacco transactions, which will include minimum indicative levels above which the transactions will be taken
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to mean, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, that they are of a commercial nature. A directive to cover these will be brought forward to accompany the directive on minimum rates of excise duties.There was no agreement on a minimum rate for spirits. With a nil rate proposed for wine, the proposed rate for spirits would have worsened the current discrimination against, for example, Scotch whisky exports. I argued strongly that this was not acceptable, and secured agreement that the Commission's report should be extended to cover possible distortions in the drinks market. The minimum rate for spirits was therefore left to be decided later on the basis of that report.
I believe that this is a very good agreement for both the United Kingdom and the Community. For the United Kingdom it fully safeguards our zero rates ; it will not require us to change any of our tax rates ; it will not prevent future Governments and Parliaments from taking a different view about VAT if they want to ; and it shows quite clearly that our Community partners have recognised our concerns. For the Community it provides Governments and businesses with the assurances needed to plan for the abolition of all fiscal frontiers from 1 January 1993.
Full details of the Council conclusions will be deposited in the Library of the House as soon as they are received.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Farmers (Advice)
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list his Department's scale of charges to farmers seeking advice or assistance.
Mr. Curry : Advice to farmers and growers from the Department is provided principally by the Agricultural Development and Advisory Service. There is no generalised scale of charges. Contracts and services are largely tailored to the needs of individual clients and priced accordingly. A published price list would not be appropriate.
Set-aside Scheme
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has completed his review of the set-aside scheme ; and if he will make a statement on his proposals for one-year set-aside.
Mr. Curry : A review of the EC five-year set-aside scheme is due to be carried out by the Commission before 1993. I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Leicestershire, North-West (Mr. Ashby) for details of the one-year set-aside scheme-- Official Report, 18 June 1991, c. 125.
Chernobyl
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the time period it will take before the radioactive products from the accident at Chernobyl will be reduced to a level to permit the return of normal hill farming in the areas affected.
Mr. Curry : We were able to reduce the size of the Cumbria post- Chernobyl restricted area at the beginning of this year. Monitoring and research continue with a view
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to making further reductions just as soon as it is possible to do so without compromising the safety of the food chain.It is not possible to say when the last of the restrictions will be lifted. However, the "mark and release" and associated compensation arrangements are designed to impose the minimum possible disruption of normal farming practices.
HEALTH
Psychiatry
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list by regional health authority (a) the increase or (b) the decrease in hospital bed provision for old age psychiatry for the 12 months ended 31 March.
Mr. Dorrell : The information requested in respect of NHS hospitals is given in the table. Health authorities and other statutory agencies also support substantial numbers of elderly mentally ill people in private nursing and residential homes. Further details about NHS bed availability are contained in the Department's annual publication "Summary of Bed Availability", copies of which are available in the Library. March 1990 is the latest date for which this information is held centrally. Details of the number of patients in private nursing and residential homes who are receiving support from the public sector are not collected centrally.
Average number of beds available daily in mental illness
wards
designated for elderly patients
Year ending March
Region |1988-89 |1989-90 |Percentage
|change<1>
--------------------------------------------------------------
Northern |2,057 |2,105 |+2
Yorkshire |2,051 |1,802 |-12
Trent |2,631 |2,523 |-4
East Anglian |1,048 |992 |-5
North West Thames |2,454 |2,304 |-6
North East Thames |1,963 |1,962 |-
South East Thames |2,113 |1,959 |-7
South West Thames |1,091 |1,087 |-
Wessex |1,337 |1,336 |-
Oxford |754 |761 |+1
South Western |1,544 |1,528 |-1
West Midlands |2,357 |2,348 |-0.4
Mersey |1,693 |1,448 |-14
North Western |2,162 |2,126 |-2
Special Health
Authorities |31 |32 |-
|--- |--- |---
England |25,287 |24,313 |-4
Source: KHO3/SM12.
<1> No change.
Long-stay Patients
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has on the current balance of moneys held by hospitals on behalf of long-stay patients ; what advice he intends to give to health authorities to ensure that current practice in handling these moneys will be adopted by directly managed units and by national health service trusts ; and if he will outline the reasons for the changes in accumulated balances over recent years.
Mr. Dorrell : The balance at 31 March 1991 was estimated at £63.4 million, this being the first significant
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decrease in balances which had previously risen from £66.1 million in 1988 to £67.8 million in 1990. The Department proposes to write to health authorities and NHS trusts to ensure that both directly managed units and NHS trusts observe good practice and take steps to secure further reduction in the level of the balances. The recent reduction in the level of accumulated balances is attributed to action taken by the NHS management executive in October 1990.Core Services
Mr. Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will treat the provision of obstetric services and emergency casualty services as core services to be provided by NHS trust hospitals ; (2) if he will list those core services to be provided by NHS trust hospitals.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : It is not the Government's policy to designate such services centrally. District health authorities are responsible for assessing the health needs of their local population and contracting for health services. NHS trusts largely depend on these contracts for their income. Thus it is unlikely that an NHS trust would refuse to provide a service for which there was a local demand. If such a situation did arise, involving a service which needed to be provided locally, and which could not be provided elsewhere, that trust would be directed to provide the designated service.
Severely Disabled People
Mr. Rowe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many letters and other representations he has received regarding direct payments by local authorities to severely disabled people to make their own personal assistance arrangements.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : We have received a small number of representations regarding direct payments by local authorities.
Polyscythaemia
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether there is any evidence of connections between the disease polyscythaemia and the nuclear industry.
Mr. Dorrell : The Department is not aware of any epidemiological studies which suggest a link between Polycythaemia rubra vera and the nuclear industry.
Children's Care
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children were in care in each Inner London borough in 1981 and at the latest date for which figures are available.
Mr. Dorrell : The table shows numbers of children in care in 1981 and in 1990, the latest date for which figures are generally available. Where figures are not available for these years, the most recent year's return has been quoted and the year of the return shown in brackets.
Data for 1990 are provisional.
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Numbers of Children in care at 31 March-Inner London
boroughs
1981 1990
Inner London Numbers in carNumbers in care
-------------------------------------------------------
Camden |379 |338 |(1988)
Greenwich |567 |387 |(1989)
Hackney |1,008 |759 |(1987)
Hammersmith and Fulham 596 237
Islington |769 |(1979)|769 |(1979)
Royal Borough of
Kensington and
Chelsea |454 |199
Lambeth |1,337 |670
Lewisham |877 |587 |(1985)
Southwark |1,148 |654 |(1988)
Tower Hamlets |915 |(1980)|390
Wandsworth |997 |421
City of Westminster |537 |261
City of London |8 |4
Research Ethics Committees
Mrs. Wise : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will issue guidance on the membership and duties of research ethics committees.
Mr. Dorrell : We hope to issue this guidance shortly.
Census
Mr. Brazier : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the enumeration of the population of Great Britain in the 1991 census.
Mr. Dorrell : The Registrar General for England and Wales and the Registrar General for Scotland have reported to me and to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland that, thanks to a good response from the public and good work by census field staff, the enumeration has gone well over the country as a whole. Initially, census staff were not able to contact around 410,000 households, mainly in city areas ; but by the end of May many households had responded to a request to post in their forms to the local census manager and only some 160,000 cases remained unresolved, representing about 0.8 per cent. of all households. Action to reduce this number is continuing, including sending a further request to around 10,000 relevant households in those census districts with the highest proportions of households from whom a form has not yet been received.
A preliminary count of the population present on census day, 21 April, in each local authority district will be published in July in preliminary reports for England and Wales and for Scotland.
RHA Chairmen
Mr. Jacques Arnold : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he will make a statement about the appointment of regional health authority chairmen from 1 August.
Mr. Waldegrave : The terms of office of two of the 14 regional health authority chairmen expire on 31 July 1991. I have made one new appointment and one reappointment. The new chairman of the South East Thames regional health authority is Mr. Peter Barker presently chairman of the Lewisham and North Southwark health authority. He has been appointed for three years and succeeds Sir Peter Baldwin who has served with distinction since 1983.
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Sir Colin Walker, chairman of the East Anglian regional health authority, has accepted my invitation to serve for a further term of four years.Local Authority Homes (Transfers)
Mr. Arbuthnot : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the local authorities' continuing responsibilities for residents of former local authority part III homes which are transferred to the private or voluntary sectors ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Waldegrave : As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security has announced today, the Government, while wishing to encourage a mixed economy in the provision of care, are taking steps to clarify the status of residents in homes transferred to the private or voluntary sector by local authorities. Residents in a home at the time of transfer will continue to be the responsibility of the local authority, as long as they remain in the home.
After consulting local authority interests I intend to issue directions under section 21(1) of the National Assistance Act 1948 and under paragraph 2 of schedule 8 to the National Health Service Act 1977 to make it clear that the status of residents in a home which is transferred to private ownership by a local authority will remain unchanged by the transfer, in that the full cost of the accommodation and care will continue to be the responsibility of the local authority which placed them there subject to the relevant charging provisions. My right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Wales and for Scotland intend to issue similar directions. It is our intention that the directions will take effect at the same time as the regulations announced today by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security.
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much money has been spent by his Department in funding research on myalgic encephalomyelitis since 15 October 1990 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Dorrell : The Department is not directly funding any research on myalgic encephalomyelitis at present, but the Medical Research Council is funding a study at the Institute of Psychiatry which is to investigate chronic fatigue, another term used for ME, in general practitioners' attenders. The MRC and the Department are always willing to consider sympathetically soundly based research proposals in competition with other applications.
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if treatment of myalgic encephalomyelitis by way of special dietary supplement is available on the national health service ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Dorrell : Treatment in individual cases is a matter for the clinician who is treating the patient. Dietary supplements are not normally prescribed under the national health service, but certain nutritional products can be prescribed where necessary for the treatment of a condition.
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Oil Seed Rape
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance is issued by the chief medical officers to individuals living in close proximity to flowering crops of oil seed rape.
Mr. Dorrell : No such guidance is issued, and there are no plans to do so. Treatment for allergy is a matter for discussion between the patient and his or her clinician.
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