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Banks (Investigations)
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he can give an undertaking that in internal investigations of banks carried out under the Banking Act partners from auditing firms criticised by Department Trade and Industry inspectors will not be used.
Mr. Maples : I am advised that the Bank of England will continue to take into account all relevant factors in deciding who should conduct investigations commissioned under the Banking Act.
Committee on Local Authority Borrowing
Mr. Tim Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the members of the Treasury committee on local authority borrowing ; how often the committee meets ; what are its terms of reference ; when the status of the list of authorised institutions was last discussed ; what advice the representative of the Bank of England gave about the status of the list ; if he will publish the minutes of the meeting ; and what information he has about the subsequent circulation to local authorities by the local authority associations represented at the meeting of the advice given by the Bank of England.
Mr. Maples : The Committee on Local Authority Borrowing is chaired by the Treasury and includes Government and Bank of England officials and representatives from the local authority associations. There is no regular cycle for meetings. The terms of reference are "to consider Local Authority Borrowing".
The status of the list of institutions authorised under the Banking Act 1987 was discussed at the meeting held on 10 May. The issue was raised because some local authorities had deposits with Chancery bank, which had been put into administration. A Bank of England representative advised that :
"it was important to regard the list of authorised institutions as just that : a list of institutions authorised to take deposits at the date of the list. The list did not say anything about the relative creditworthiness of the institutions or that they could not fail. That was an assessment the local authorities, and other depositors, had to make."
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A copy of the minutes of the meeting are being placed in the Library. The minutes are sent to those present. Wider circulation by the representatives of the local authority associations is a matter for them.Butchers
Mr. Robert Banks : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has on the number of independent butchers' shops that have ceased trading in the last 12 months.
Mr. Maples : I have been asked to reply. The number of traders registered for VAT as butchers was 13,641 in April 1991 compared with 14,181 12 months previously.
Income Tax, Scotland
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what is the average income tax payable by each tax unit in Scotland ; (2) how many tax units there are in Scotland paying tax at the (a) basic rate and (b) higher rate.
Mr. Maude : The estimated numbers of single people and married couples resident in Scotland liable to income tax solely at the basic rate is 1.77 million for 1988-89, the latest available year. In addition some 90,000 were liable to tax at the higher rate. The average income tax liability per tax-paying tax unit is estimated to be £1,880 in 1988- 89.
Foundation for Sport and the Arts
Mr. Ken Hargreaves : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether Her Majesty's Government's relationship with the Foundation for Sport and the Arts and the Football Trust will be reviewed in the event of a change of ownership of any member of the Pools Promoters Association.
Mr. Mellor : Whether or not Her Majesty's Government would need to review its relationship with the Foundation for Sport and the Arts or with the Football Trust would depend upon who the new owners were and on their attitude to their company's continued participation in either body.
Mr. Burns : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what will be the channel of communication between Her Majesty's Government and the Foundation for Sport and the Arts, once the foundation has been formally established.
Mr. Mellor : It is important that there should be a single channel of communication between Her Majesty's Government and the Foundation for Sport and the Arts. It will be provided by the Department of Education and Science and, in particular, the Minister for Sport. A representative of the Department will attend meetings of the foundation's trustees. I regret any confusion that may have been caused by my mistaken reference to another Minister in this context during the recent debate on clause 114 of the Finance Bill on 15 July at column 172.
Central Statistical Office
Dr. Bray : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many staff work in the Central Statistical Office ; and what is the distribution of their grades ;
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(2) what is the annual budget of the Central Statistical Office.Mr. Maples : As at 12 July 1991, there were 1,099.5 staff employed by the Central Statistical Office, with a grade distribution as follows :
|Number
--------------------------------------------------------
Grade 1A |1.0
Grade 2 |1.0
Grade 3 |3.0
Grade 4 |1.0
Grade 5 |20.0
Grade 6 |3.0
Grade 7 |67.5
Senior executive officer |34.0
Senior assistant/assistant statistician |25.0
Higher executive officer |142.0
Executive officer |274.0
Administrative officer |384.5
Administrative assistant |65.0
Higher graphics officer |1.0
Graphics officer |4.0
Senior information officer |1.0
Information officer |1.0
Assistant information officer |1.0
Mapping and charting officer |1.0
Librarian |1.0
Typing manager |2.0
Phototypesetter |1.0
Senior personal secretary |3.0
Personal secretary |22.5
Typist |16.0
Support manager 3 |1.0
Support grade band 1 |6.0
Support grade band 2 |17.0
|-------
Total |1,099.5
Note: Part-time staff are counted as 0.5.
Details of the 1991-92 provision for the Central Statistical Office (class XVIII, vote 13) are shown in Supply Estimates 1991-92 (HC 236-XVIII). The net provision for 1991-92 is £31,741,000, comprising gross provision of £32,791,000 and appropriations in aid of £1,050,000.
Company Vans
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the maximum penalties that can be imposed on companies which fail to register the information detailing the private use of company vans when completing P11D forms for the Inland Revenue.
Mr. Maude : The maximum penalty which an employer can be charged for fraudulently or negligently completing a form P11D is £3,000.
National Savings Office, Durham
Mr. Speller : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many complaints he has received regarding the national savings office in Durham and delays in notification to regional post offices of payments to be made on specific dates ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maples : I have received no complaints of this nature during 1991. If my hon. Friend has a specific case in mind perhaps he would like to write to me or the director of savings so that inquiries can be made.
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Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Nellist : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his reply of 22 July, if he will make it his policy to keep statistics on parliamentary questions for written answers to his Department to show how many answers (a) do not give the information requested because of (i) disproportionate cost or (ii) other reasons, (b) give an undertaking to write to the hon. Member who asked the question and (c) were referred for answer to the chief executive of each next steps agency.
Mr. Mellor : No. Answers to parliamentary questions are published in the Official Report and are therefore open to public scrutiny ; additionally, statistical data may be accessed through POLIS.
Bank of England
Ms. Mowlam : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the dates on which he met the Governor of the Bank of England since June 1987 ; and what was discussed on each occasion.
Mr. Norman Lamont : I have met the Governor from time to time to discuss a wide range of issues.
Duty-free Goods
Sir Barney Hayhoe : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the international treaties or agreements which govern or are relevant to the existence and continuation of the duty-free concession for international travellers.
Mr. Norman Lamont : I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer before the summer recess. I shall therefore write to my right hon. Friend and place a copy of the letter in the Library.
Deposit Takers
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the banking companies on the Bank of England's current list of deposit takers supplied to local authorities.
Mr. Maples : The Department of the Environment wrote to local authorities on 21 June asking them to complete a routine statistical return of their borrowing and lending. Enclosed with their letter was a list of "institutions included within United Kingdom banks (at 31 December 1990)". The list was provided solely to assist completion of the statistical return. It is published annually in the Bank of England's Quarterly Bulletin and I have placed a copy in the Library.
Personal Equity Plans
Mr. Robert G. Hughes : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the latest figures for personal equity plans.
Mr. Maude : Personal equity plans continue to do very well. In 1990- 91 a further half million plans were taken out, with initial investment of £1.6 billion. The average amount invested was a little over £3,000.
The total number of plans taken out, since their introduction in 1987, is now nearly 1.5 million. And the total subscribed--ignoring withdrawals and growth--is almost £4 billion.
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These figures do not yet reflect the changes announced in this year's Budget.Public Service Pensions
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what he estimates would be the cost of increasing the pensions from a current date of those retired public servants whose pensions were permanently depressed as a result of retirement during the 1970s and 1980s when their pay was held down by Government policy but later the subject of special reviews for those remaining in service, in accordance with the arrangements set out in Inland Revenue memorandum No. 12 of February 1974.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer before the summer recess. I shall therefore write to the hon. Member and place a copy of the letter in the Library.
Western Isles Council
Sir Nicholas Fairbairn : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list for each transaction the sums advanced by the Treasury to Western Isles islands council in 1990 and 1991 ; if he will give the reasons for each advance ; and what was the rate of interest charged by the Treasury on each advance.
Mr. Maples [holding answer on 22 July 1991] : The Treasury does not lend money to local authorities. Public sector lending to local authorities is carried out by the Public Works Loan Board. The PWLB does not disclose its transactions with individual authorities.
Interest Rate Swaps
Mr. Meale : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information he has on which local authorities were involved in problems with interest rate swaps, including details of the amounts involved in each case.
Mr. Key : I have asked to reply.
I am not aware of any comprehensive list of authorities which were involved in interest rate swaps and the amounts involved in each case. A list of authorities was published in The Daily Telegraph on 2 January 1991 and was the subject of comment in the Local Government Chronicle on 11 January. I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the list.
Accounting Law
Ms. Mowlam : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will review accounting law and practice concerning banks and their subsidiaries.
Mr. Maples : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has just completed final consultations on draft regulations to implement the EC Bank Accounts Directive. I have no plans to review the area separately.
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Office Costs Allowance
Mr. Page : To ask the Lord President of the Council whether he will refer the office costs allowance to the Top Salaries Review Body.
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Mr. MacGregor : The Top Salaries Review Body last reviewed the office costs allowance in 1987. I have written to the chairman of the Top Salaries Review Body, asking him to conduct a further review, in the following terms :
"As you know, I was very grateful that you were able to deal so quickly with the recent reviews of the Parliamentary Pension Scheme and Resettlement Grants.
The TSRB has also periodically reviewed aspects of the structure of Parliamentary allowances. The Office Costs Allowance was last reviewed in 1987. The Government does not consider that a fundamental review of Parliamentary allowances is necessary at present, but would be grateful if the TSRB would conduct a further review of the operation of the Office Costs Allowance in the House of Commons dealing as before with structure, level and uprating.
It would be very helpful if the TSRB could report on the Office Costs Allowance by the end of the year."
Parliamentary Sittings
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Lord President of the Council what information he has on the average number of sitting days per year over the past five years for the lower house of the legislature for each of the EC countries, together with the United States of America and Canada ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. MacGregor [holding answer 8 July 1991] : No detailed information is kept by my office, but I understand that some of the data requested are published in the latest edition (1986) of the Inter- Parliamentary Union's "Parliaments of the World", a copy of which is in the Library of the House.
New Members (Induction Book)
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Lord President of the Council what progress has been made in preparing an induction book for new hon. Members, based on codifying all the existing materials issued to new hon. Members by the various Departments and originators in the House of Commons.
Mr. MacGregor [holding answer 19 July 1991] : Arrangements are now well advanced for the production at the beginning of the next Parliament of a looseleaf A4 size binder containing information about the services provided for Members and their staff by the six Departments of the House and other public agencies. Space will be available in the binder for information for new Members from other services, including the political parties. A final mock-up of this publication will be submitted to the Accommodation and Administration Sub-Committee for approval before the end of the Session.
Terrace Dining Rooms
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Lord President of the Council (1) if he will list the total number of bookings in the past 12 months for which details are available for the Terrace Dining Rooms made by (a) Conservative Members and (b) Members of all other parties ; (2) if he will list the bookings made for the Terrace Dining Rooms in the first full week of June, listing organisations and Members who make the bookings ;
(3) what is the allocation system for Members to book the Terrace Dining Rooms.
Mr. MacGregor [holding answer 23 July 1991] : In accordance with regulations agreed by the Services
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Committee for banqueting services, Members may book Terrace Dining Rooms A, B, C and D, the Terrace Pavilion, the Members' Dining Room, the Harcourt Grill Room, and the Westminster Hall Cafeteria for functions sponsored by themselves. Members may have no more than three bookings outstanding at any one time in their name. It is not the practice to disclose details of bookings made by Members.Mr. Flynn : To ask the Lord President of the Council whether he has considered alternative uses for Terrace Dining Rooms as (a) creches for the children of hon. Members and staff, (b) study rooms for Members and (c) cafeteria facilities for children's parties visiting the House.
Mr. MacGregor [holding answer 23 July 1991] : Suggestions similar to those made by the hon. Member have been made in the past, but were considered to be inappropriate. The Terrace Dining Rooms form part of a useful facility for Members to entertain their guests.
The Services Committee is nevertheless giving serious consideration in different contexts to each of the matters raised in the question.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
South Africa
Mr. Robert Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what meetings he had during his recent visit to South Africa in which he discussed or made representations on the causes of violence in Natal and the Transvaal.
Mrs. Chalker : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs discussed the issue of violence with many of those he met in South Africa including President de Klerk, Mr. Mandela and Chief Buthelezi.
Mr. Robert Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what conditions apply to grant payments by Her Majesty's Government to the Inkatha organisation in South Africa.
Mrs. Chalker : We do not give direct financial support to any party in South Africa. We have given material help to organisations in South Africa previously excluded from the national political process. So far we have given to the ANC £71,500 worth of assistance, to Inkatha £43,783 and to the PAC £2,784. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs outlined the conditions applying to this assistance in his reply to the hon. Member for Sheffield, Central (Mr. Caborn) on 13June 1990 at column 255.
Mr. Robert Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he made to President de Klerk on his recent visit to South Africa, on the need for the South African Government to maintain law and order in an impartial manner ; and what representations have been made by the European Community.
Mrs. Chalker : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs stressed to President de Klerk and his ministers the need to ensure
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that the security forces act impartially and effectively. The European Community made a demarche to the South African Government on 28 May, urging them to do everything in their power to put an end to violence, effectively and impartially.Mr. Robert Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the South African Government concerning the covert activities of South Africa's security services.
Mrs. Chalker : We discuss a wide range of issues with the South African Government regularly. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs spoke to Mr. Pik Botha, the South African Foreign Minister, on 24 July.
Mr. Robert Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish the sums of money paid to Her Majesty's Government either directly or by the British ambassador to South Africa's special fund to Inkatha in each year since 1988.
Mrs. Chalker : We have made no payments to any fund for Inkatha. We have made available material help to them and others previously excluded from the national political process as explained in answer to an earlier question.
Mr. Robert Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what meetings during his recent visit to South Africa he had with Chief Buthelezi ; and if he raised the involvement of members of the Kwa Zulu Assembly in violence in Natal.
Mrs. Chalker : Chief Buthelezi called on my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in Durban on 9 July. They discussed ways in which to bring about an end to violence in Natal. They agreed that all political leaders have a responsibility to use their influence to reduce tension and promote political tolerance.
Western Sahara
Sir David Steel : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether Her Majesty's Government intend to sponsor the sending of a parliamentary monitoring team to the referendum in the western Sahara.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : We understand that in due course the United Nations Secretariat will approach member states of the United Nations Security Council to ask whether they intend to send unofficial observers to monitor the referendum campaign and the referendum, due to take place in early 1992. We shall inform the House when we have further information.
Sir David Steel : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether Her Majesty's Government intend to contribute (a) forces, (b) police and (c) civilian personnel to the United Nations operations conducting the referendum in the western Sahara.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : We are contributing to the cost of the operation. In addition we are providing the peace-keeping force with 15 military observers.
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Soviet Union
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics about the failure to grant exit visas to Olga Mariya and Yakov Bekker of Doshanbe, Yefim and Yevglariya Gelman of Chelyabinsk, and the Gurevich family and Vladimir Idelson of Leningrad, to enable them to rejoin family in Israel.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : We are prepared to consider raising these cases with the Soviet authorities, but to make representations effectively we would need further information from either the families or concerned organisations.
Vienna Talks
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the content of recent NATO proposals for reducing military manpower in Europe at the Vienna talks.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Further negotiations are taking place in Vienna, in accordance with the CFE treaty, focusing primarily on measures to limit national military manpower in Europe. Under NATO proposals tabled on 4 July, a broad definition of manpower would be agreed including all full- time military personnel of land, air and air defence forces together with personnel in all other land-based units holding equipment limited by the CFE treaty. NATO's proposals would require each participant to limit and where necessary reduce its military personnel through an international commitment, in order to achieve a stable and secure balance of forces at a lower overall manpower level. Limitations should be implemented within 40 months of the CFE treaty entry into force.
Nuclear Arms
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his policy for reducing the overall remaining Soviet nuclear threat to Britain through negotiation ; and what proposals he has for negotiations to reduce the threat (a) from non-strategic naval nuclear missiles and (b) from Soviet nuclear-capable aircraft.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : We welcome the prospect of signature of a START agreement, which will be a milestone towards a safer and more stable world ; this agreement will benefit the broader security of the allies. Follow-on talks on strategic arms limitation will be held between the United States and Soviet Union. Proposals concerning coverage of further systems are a matter for the two sides. Soviet aircraft in Europe are already limited by the CFE treaty.
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects the short-range nuclear force talks to begin.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : NATO is committed under the London declaration to talks aimed at reducing US and Soviet short-range nuclear forces in Europe. Preparations for these talks are continuing within the alliance. No date has been set for such talks to begin.
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Chemical Weapons
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether it remains Her Majesty's Government's policy to support the principle of challenge inspections, anytime, anywhere, without right of refusal, for verification of the proposed chemical weapons convention.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : We continue to believe that a system of intrusive challenge inspections will represent an essential element of an effective verification regime for the future chemical weapons convention.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been received by Her Majesty's Government from other members of the western group of nations since the proposal on challenge inspections was made to the negotiations on the chemical weapons convention at the conference on disarmament on 15 July by Her Majesty's Government, together with Australia, Japan and the United States of America.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : We have received no formal representations from other members of the western group of nations since proposals for a challenge inspection regime for a future chemical weapons convention were tabled in the conference on disarmament on 15 July. We have been, and shall remain, in close and regular contact with the other members of the western group on this and the remaining outstanding issues in the negotiations.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place in the Library a copy of the proposal on challenge inspections made to the negotiations on the chemical weapons convention at the conference on disarmament on the 15 July, by Her Majesty's Government, together with Australia, Japan and the United States of America.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : I am making arrangements to place in the Library a copy of CD/CW/WP 352 of 15 July, the conference on disarmament document which sets out the US proposals for a challenge inspection regime which were co-sponsored by the United Kingdom, Japan and Australia.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consultations took place between Her Majesty's Government and the other members of the western group of nations at the conference on disarmament before the proposal on challenge inspections was made to the negotiations on the chemical weapons convention at the conference on disarmament on the 15 July, by her Majesty's Government, together with Australia, Japan and the United States of America.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : There was close and regular consultation between all members of the western group of nations at the conference on disarmament (CD) before the tabling by the United States of the text of a proposed challenge inspection regime under the co-sponsorship of the United Kingdom, Japan and Australia.
Biological Weapons
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's policy on the biological weapons convention.
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Mr. Douglas Hogg : We fully support the 1972 biological and toxin weapons convention and believe it represents an important international norm against the development, acquisition and retention of biological and toxin weapons. We hope that measures to strengthen the treaty regime will be agreed at the third review conference in September this year.Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals Her Majesty's Government will be making to the biological weapons convention review conference to be held in September.
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