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Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the number of mortgage repossessions in 1990.
Mr. John Maples : Figures published by the Council of Mortgage Lenders show that 43,890 properties were repossessed in 1990.
Economic Downturn
23. Mr. Hind : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the effect of the current downturn on the economy in the north-west and south-east.
Mr. Mellor : No regions are immune from the current recession, but falling inflation will provide a firm foundation for economic growth in the north-west and south-east and throughout the United Kingdom.
Earnings
24. Mr. David Martin : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the increase in real take-home pay for a married man with two children on average earnings between 1979 and 1990.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Rugby and Kenilworth (Mr. J. Pawsey).
Civil Service Pay
25. Mr. Nellist : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on the recent Office of Manpower Economics report comparing civil service pay levels with the private sector ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : Each of the civil service long-term pay agreements provides for a survey every four years of the pay and benefit levels in relevant jobs outside the public services sector to inform the pay negotiations. There are no such surveys this year. When my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer met representatives of the National Union of Civil and Public Servants on 11 June, they referred among other things to the survey conducted last year in respect of executive and related staff.
Privatisation
26. Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total revenue from privatisation receipts since 1979 in today's prices.
Mr. Mellor : Total privatisation proceeds since 1979 to 1990-91 are about £41 billion in 1990-91 prices.
Inflation
27. Mr. Andrew MacKay : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the current level of inflation.
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Mr. Maples : The 12-month all-items RPI inflation rate was 5.8 per cent. in May, the lowest rate since August 1988. RPI inflation is now more than 5 percentage points below its peak last autumn and has fallen for seven successive months. We are on track for the Budget forecast of 4 per cent. in the fourth quarter of this year.
Exchange Rate Mechanism
28. Mr. Quentin Davies : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has received any representations from British commerce or industry urging the withdrawal of the £ sterling from the exchange rate mechanism of the EMS.
Mr. Maples : I have received very few such representations.
Inward Investment
29. Mr. Bowis : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of tax revenue from the profits of inward investing companies from overseas (a) for the current year and (b) for 1979.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : Estimates of United Kingdom taxes on profits due abroad, which are published in table 5.1 of the 1990 Blue Book, are given in the table for 1979 and 1989, the latest year for which information is available.
|£ million
------------------------------
1979 |1,047
1989 |5,952
21. Mr. Patrick Thompson : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of United States investment in the EC during 1990 was in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Mellor : Latest available figures from the OECD show that in 1988 and 1989 over 60 per cent. of total United States direct investment in the EC was in the United Kingdom.
Foreign Governments (Rates Bills)
Mr. Ron Brown : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which Governments with official premises in London have not paid their rates bills ; what are the individual amounts concerned ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maples : The Crown Property Unit, formerly the Rating of Government Property Department, collects the beneficial portion of the rates from diplomatic missions.
The following missions have arrears outstanding in respect of claims made before 1 April 1991 on official premises in London.
|Amount outstanding (£)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Afghanistan |12,300
Cote d'Ivoire |14,900
France |10,900
Grenada |5,000
Iran |16,200
Iraq |115,300
Jordan |1,500
Liberia |1,200
Libya |21,300
Morocco |4,000
Pakistan |8,600
Portugal |1,900
Sierra Leone |13,100
Sudan |1,000
Uganda |34,900
Venezuela |26,600
Zambia |6,800
The Crown Property Unit and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office regularly approach countries that are in arrears and urge them to make payment.
Mortgages
Mr. Allen : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 18 June, Official Report, columns 114-16, on mortgage payments, if he will give the information on a monthly basis.
Mr. Maude : Monthly figures may be obtained by multiplying the weekly figures in the previous answer by 52 and divided by 12.
Leased Car Tax
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward proposals to exempt community nurses from leased car tax.
Mr. Maude : Community nurses are treated in the same way as all other employees for the purpose of the car benefit scale charges and there are no plans to change that.
VAT
Mr. Kennedy : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of licensed employment agencies are designated as agent and what proportion as principal for VAT purposes.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : Records of whether licensed employment agencies are designated as agent or as principal for VAT purposes are not held centrally and the information sought could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Kennedy : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was collected in VAT payments from (a) nursing agencies licensed under the Nursing Agencies Act 1957 and (b) licensed employment agencies in the last financial year for which figures are available.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : It is not possible to isolate total VAT payments made by nursing agencies licensed under the Nursing Agencies Act 1957 or licensed employment agents. Nor is sufficiently detailed information available on consumers' expenditure in this area to make an estimate.
Taxation
Mr. Sedgemore : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what proportion of taxpayers pay a smaller percentage of their earnings in direct and indirect taxes in 1991-92 than in 1978-79 :
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(2) what proportion of taxpayers pay a smaller percentage of their earnings in income tax and national insurance contributions in 1991-92 than in 1978-79.Mr. Maude : There are no data available which match up the tax payments of particular taxpayers in 1991-92 with payments by the same taxpayers in 1978-79.
Mr. Sedgemore : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of earnings was paid in income tax and national insurance contributions, less child benefit where appropriate, by a single person, and by a married couple with two children, on an income of up to half average male earnings, between half and average male earnings, and above average male earnings, in 1978-79 ; what is the comparable information for 1991-92 ; and how many taxpayers, in total, were within each of those three earning groups in each case.
Mr. Maude : Figures for a single person, and a married man with two children, on an income of half, average, and one-and-a-half times average male earnings are set out in the table. These figures are calculated on the assumption that the households receive no tax reliefs other than the standard allowances ; have income only from employment ; and pay class 1 national insurance contributions at the contracted-in rate. For other taxpayers, tax payments will vary according to the level and sources of their income, their family circumstances, their entitlement to other tax reliefs and so on. Liability to tax depends on total income rather than on earnings ; taxpayers may or may not be earners, and earners may or may not be taxpayers. Information on the number of earners in different earnings groups may be found in the New Earnings Survey.
Percentage of earnings paid in income tax and NICs
Multiples of averag
earnings
|" |1 |1"
-----------------------------------------------------
1978-79
Single |23.6|31.5|33.3
Married man with two children<1> |2.5 |20.9|26.2
1991-92
Single |22.3|28.2|28.1
Married man with two children<1> |7.7 |20.8|23.2
<1> Including child tax allowances and less child
benefit.
Mr. Sedgemore : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of earnings was paid in direct and indirect taxation by a single person, and a married couple with two children, on an income of up to half average male earnings, between half and average male earnings, and above average male earnings, in 1978-79 ; and if he will give the comparable figure for 1991-92.
Mr. Maude : Figures for a single person, and a married couple with two children, on average male earnings are set out in the table. These figures are calculated on the assumption that the households receive no tax reliefs other than the standard allowances ; have income only from employment ; and pay class 1 national insurance contributions at the contracted-in rate.
The estimates of indirect taxes are based on equations derived from the Family Expenditure Survey, making the illustrative assumption that 10 per cent. of disposable income is saved. Reliable estimates cannot be made outside the range of three quarters to one-and-a-half times average male earnings.
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For other taxpayers, tax payments will vary according to the level and sources of their income, their family circumstances, their entitlement to other tax reliefs, the level and pattern of their expenditure and so on.
Table: Percentage of earnings paid in direct and indirect
taxes<1>
At average male earnings
|1978-79|1992-93
-----------------------------------------------------------
Single |42.5 |40.6
One earner married couple with two
children |32.2 |33.4
<1> Excluding local taxes.
Sport Governing Bodies
Mr. Pendry : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to exempt the national governing bodies of sport from corporation tax.
Charitable Giving
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the estimated level of charitable giving in 1990.
Mr. Maude : There are no comprehensive data on donations to charities, but there is evidence of a substantial increase in real terms in recent years. For example, the Charities Aid Foundation's estimates show that donations to the top 200 fund-raising charities amounted to £1,058 million in 1988-89 which, in real terms, is more than double the corresponding figure for 1978-79.
Manufacturing Exports
Mr. Simon Coombs : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average annual rate of growth in manufacturing exports was between 1974 and 1979 ; and what is the equivalent figure for the years 1979 to 1990.
Mr. Maples : On a balance of payments basis the United Kingdom volume of exports of manufactures is estimated to have risen by an average of 2 per cent. a year between 1974 and 1979. The equivalent figure for the period 1979 to 1990 is 4 per cent. a year.
SITC (Rev. 3) Sections 5 to 8.
Economic and Monetary Union
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what studies have been made by Her Majesty's Government of the benefit for the United Kingdom of economic and monetary union and a common currency, respectively.
Mr. Maude [holding answer 26 June 1991] : I refer the hon. Member to my answer given to him on 7 December 1990 at column 216. In addition, Her Majesty's Government published in January this year draft proposals for a hard ecu, to be managed by a European monetary fund ; these were tabled at the intergovernmental conference. In his speech to the House on 24 January, Official Report, column 470, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer set out the Government's assessment both of a single currency and of our proposals for a hard ecu.
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Unincorporated Businesses
Mr. Quentin Davies : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the effect on Treasury revenues of extending to unincorporated business the loss carry-back provisions for incorporated businesses proposed by the Government in new clause 46 of the Finance Bill.
Mr. Maude : The loss relief provisions contained in new clause 46 of the Finance Bill apply to losses for accounting periods ending on or after 1 April 1991. The effect of extending the provisions to unincorporated businesses would depend on the amount of any losses made in those and later accounting periods, but it might reduce tax receipts by £50 million in 1991-92, £35 million in 1992-93 and £15 million annually thereafter.
HEALTH
Junior Doctors
Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to ensure that health authorities implement the new arrangements for junior doctors' hours as quickly as possible.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Task forces have been set up throughout the country to assist regional, district and special health authorities and NHS trusts in ensuring that the contracted hours of duty of doctors in training are reduced to the agreed limits as soon as is practicable.
Task forces will be responsible for ensuring that every training post is identified, for ascertaining the current working practice of each training post and for identifying those in which the doctors are contracted for duty for hours in excess of the agreed limits. They will be expected to advise on ways of reducing contracted hours of duty, for monitoring progress in achieving the required reductions in hours and for reporting on progress at six-monthly intervals to the ministerial and technical groups.
Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to maintain downward pressure on junior doctors' hours.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The ministerial group on junior doctors' hours, which I chair, and its supporting technical group, will be monitoring progress on reducing the hours of duty of hospital doctors and dentists in training, through the implementation of the guidance issued on 12 June. A copy of the guidance has been placed in the Library.
Nurses
Mr. Kennedy : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has issued any guidance to employment agencies which supply unqualified nursing staff for private clients, on the assessment of client needs and general good practice.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The licensing and control of employment agencies that supply unqualified nursing staff is a matter for my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Employment.
Mr. Kennedy : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has any plans to amend the Nursing Agencies Act 1957 to bring the provision of unqualified nursing staff under the terms of the Act.
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Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : No.Sickle-cell Disease
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list by regional health authority, and by district health authority, for the last 10 years, the amount of funding at current prices which has been provided for sickle-cell treatment.
Mr. Dorrell : This information is not available centrally.
Local Authority Homes (Transfer)
Mr. Burns : 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 : I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Wanstead and Woodford (Mr. Arbuthnot) on 25 June at column 428.
Women's Health
Mr. Burns : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on his Department's new booklet on women's health.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : "Your Health--A Guide to Services for Women", published on Monday 24 June, is part of the wider Government initiative to improve and promote health. It draws together, in a single publication, brief details of the main health services which are available to women, encourages full use of them and gives tips on how to get the best out of those services.
The booklet highlights the many preventive services, such as breast and cervical cancer screening, which are available to protect and promote women's health. It also shows where more information can be obtained on a range of issues in the form of leaflets, advice lines or organisations to contact.
There will be a wide distribution of the booklet, including in hospital waiting rooms, GP surgeries, pharmacies, public libraries and citizens advice bureaux. It will also be advertised in women's magazines and national newspapers with copies available to those requesting them by Freepost or Freephone.
Copies are available in the Library.
Appointments
Mr. Paice : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will be reviewing the appointments of chairmen of district health authorities ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The terms of office of 108 chairmen of district health authorities come up for review on 31 March 1992. Appointments and reappointments will be announced in due course. If hon. Members wish to nominate any individuals for appointment they are invited to write to me by the end of July.
Blood Transfusions (HIV)
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how blood given by donors is screened to ensure that it is free of the HIV virus ; whether the screening process
Column 556
guarantees that all blood used for transfusions is free of the virus ; and when the current screening process started being used.Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Since September 1983 potential donors who have engaged in high-risk activities have been asked not to give blood. From October 1985, all blood donations have been tested for the presence of the HIV antibody using evaluated methods. Any positive samples undergo confirmatory tests at a reference laboratory. As a further safeguard, blood products such as factor VIII are heat-treated to inactivate any trace of the virus that may be present. Also, doctors are advised by the profession not to give blood to patients unnecessarily.
All reasonable steps are taken to exclude HIV infection from the blood supply in this country.
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what evidence he has supplied, in response to representations from
non-haemophiliacs infected with HIV virus from NHS blood transfusions, in respect of the effects of pre-existing haemophilia on the employment, mortgage and insurance prospects of HIV-infected haemophiliacs.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : We have not considered it necessary to supply evidence in response to representations.
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many of the haemophiliacs infected with the HIV virus who have received payments from his Department were related.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Among the haemophiliacs infected with HIV, we understand that there are 65 pairs and six trios of brothers who are infected. We believe there may be a significant number of other cases where HIV-infected haemophiliacs are related, for example, grandfathers, grandsons, uncles and nephews, but these cannot be readily identified from the available information. In addition, there are a number of cases where the haemophiliac's spouse or partner has become infected.
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to ensure that people who have been infected with the HIV virus from an NHS blood transfusion and are taking legal action are provided with the information they require about the blood they were given and the donor who provided it.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Disclosure of information and discovery of documents in litigation are governed by court procedures, which include scope for claiming public interest immunity in appropriate cases.
Royal National Institute for Rheumatic Fevers
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what powers of restraint or other controls he has over the employment and dismissal of employees including nurses, auxiliaries, ancillary workers and consultants, the procurement of supplies, the letting of contracts, the provision of ear, nose and throat services, casualty departments and maternity services and outpatient clinics, the range of operations provided, the sale of property, and the maintenance of buildings, in the case of the Royal National Institute for Rheumatic Fevers in Bath.
Column 557
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases NHS trust, like all other NHS trusts, is operationally independent and can exercise the powers given to NHS trusts in the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 to employ staff on conditions they consider appropriate, to buy and sell property and to enter into NHS and other contracts. The trust board is responsible for determining the overall policies of the trust. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has a range of reserve powers to intervene in trusts' affairs as defined at paragraph 6 of schedule 2 to the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990.Column 558
Tobacco Advertising
Mr. Crowther : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has on trends in tobacco consumption in those European countries where tobacco advertising has been banned.
Mr. Dorrell : A report published by the New Zealand Toxic Substances Board in May 1989 summarised tobacco consumption trends in 33 developed countries.
A table in the report contains the following information on those European countries with complete tobacco advertising bans :
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Country and Years Consumption Average Cha
Year of Ban Gms/Adult Percentage
annum
|From |To
---------------------------------------------
Total ban on tobacco promotion for health rea
Iceland 1972 |72-86|3,426|3,326|-0.2
Finland 1978 |78-86|2,087|2,017|-0.4
Norway 1975 |75-86|2,017|1,927|-0.8
Portugal 1983 |83-86|2,068|1,750|-5.1
Advertising never permitted for political rea
Albania |80-86|1,254|1,183|-0.9
Bulgaria |80-86|2,330|2,282|-0.3
Czechoslovakia |80-86|2,612|2,374|-1.8
East Germany |80-86|2,403|2,408|0.0
Hungary |80-86|3,420|3,246|-0.8
Poland |80-86|3,529|3,558|+0.1
Rumania |80-86|2,027|2,071|+0.4
Soviet Union |80-86|2,106|2,149|+0.3
Yugoslavia |80-86|3,269|3,102|-0.9
These figures compare with an average change in the United Kingdom of minus 2 per cent. during the period 1970-86.
National Health Service Trusts
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the location of the five regional monitoring centres established to monitor NHS trusts ; when the centres will start their monitoring ; what matters will be monitored ; how many staff each centre will employ ; what accommodation each centre will occupy ; what budget will be allocated to each centre over each of the next three years ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Waldegrave : We are intending to appoint as soon as possible one person in each of five regions--North West Thames, North East Thames, South Western, Trent and Mersey--to assist in the NHS management executive monitoring of NHS trusts' performance of their financial duties. The five host regional health authorities have each been asked to provide accommodation for the monitoring officer. The Department has allocated £50,000 for 1991-92 as a contribution to the costs of each of the five centres and this sum will be kept under review in future years.
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what status the five regional monitoring centres of NHS trusts will enjoy ; whether staff will be employed on NHS pay and conditions of employment ; to whom the centres will report ; with what frequency they will report ; whether such reports will be made public ; what sanctions centres possess if any trust refuses to provide information ; and if he will make a statement.
Column 558
Mr. Waldegrave : The five local monitoring officers will be employed on NHS terms and conditions and they will report directly to the NHS management executive--NHSME--which will direct their day-to-day work. They will not be required to produce formal reports : they will simply be part of the financial monitoring arrangements for trusts set up by the NHSME. Under paragraph 8 of schedule 2 to the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 all NHS trusts are required to furnish such information as I may require.
Fluoridation
Ms. Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when a decision will be made on the fluoridation of the water supply to Greater Manchester and Lancashire.
Mr. Dorrell : North West Water commissioned a study into the design and costings for a standard fluoridation plant. The report is expected by the end of September 1991. The local health authorities believe that North West Water will then have all the technical information it requires to decide whether it is technically able to accede to the health authorities' requests to supply fluoridated water to the region.
Ms. Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health which district health authorities have made applications to their local water authorities for fluoridation of the water supply in each year since 1985.
Mr. Dorrell : The following district health authorities asked water undertakers to supply fluoridated water :
Stockport
Bolton
Wigan
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