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Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 5 November 1991
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Public Opinion Surveys
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Attorney-General if he will list the public opinion surveys carried out by, for, or on behalf of the Lord Chancellor's Department or the Law Officers since 11 July 1991.
The Attorney-General : One such survey has been carried out by the Lord Chancellor's Department since 11 July. This was an exit survey conducted in a sample of courts on the northern circuit by the north west legal services committee. It was commissioned in May 1991, and it was undertaken on various dates during the summer. In the survey the public were asked to answer a number of questions on the quality of the service and facilities that had been provided for them in the court.
No national public opinion survey has been conducted by any of the departments for which I am responsible since 11 July 1991. No records are held centrally of any local surveys that may have been conducted by area staff of the Crown prosecution service, and such information could be acquired only at disproportionate cost.
Publicity
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Attorney-General if he will provide an up-to -date list of each television advertising campaign carried out, or to be carried out, by the Lord Chancellor's Department during 1991-92, and of each other publicity campaign costing more than £100, 000, giving for each (a) the topic, (b) the commencement date, (c) the duration and (d) the advertising, promotional and public relations companies involved.
The Attorney-General : The Lord Chancellor's Department has no plans to carry out any television advertising campaigns during 1991-92, nor any individual publicity campaigns costing more than £100,000.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Attorney-General if he will give separate figures for spending by the Lord Chancellor's Department on (a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotional material in 1979-80 and in each following year ; and what are his latest estimates for 1991-92 and budgets for 1992-93.
The Attorney-General : The figures for the Lord Chancellor's Department, excluding staff costs, are as follows :
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|1988-89|1989-90|1990-91|1991-92
|£ |£ |£ <1>
----------------------------------------------------------
Television
advertising |Nil |Nil |Nil |Nil
Radio advertising |Nil |Nil |Nil |Nil
Newspaper
advertising |15,000 |3,967 |50,242 |4,900
Other promotional
material |32,500 |31,208 |77,968 |69,550
<1> Estimated.
Figures for the budget for 1992-93 will not be available until after the autumn statement and after budgets have been finalised. The breakdown of the amounts spent on respective areas and the amounts spent for the previous years can be obtained only at disproportionate cost, but the total expenditure, including staff costs, was :
|£
------------------------
1984-85 |135,730
1985-86 |176,613
1986-87 |148,020
1987-88 |137,001
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Attorney-General whether the Lord Chancellor's Department has sent unsolicited direct mail as part of the distribution of publicity material.
The Attorney-General : The Lord Chancellor's Department has not sent unsolicited direct mail as part of the distribution of publicity material.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Attorney-General what was the total expenditure by the Lord Chancellor's Department on press and public relations in 1979-80 and in each following year ; and what is his estimate for 1991-92 and budget for 1992-93.
The Attorney-General : Total expenditure on press and public relations excluding staff costs is as follows :
-
|£
------------------------------
1984-85 |5,180
1985-86 |13,253
1986-87 |23,282
1987-88 |34,500
1988-89 |34,159
1989-90 |33,616
1990-91 |<1>36,960
<1> As revised
The revised 1990-91 figure was lower than anticipated because the Lord Chancellor's Department was not required to contribute to the Children Act publicity to the extent originally envisaged. The amounts spent between 1979 and 1984 can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
The estimate for 1991-92 is £63,450. This includes the Lord Chancellor's Department press office's additional responsibility for departmental leaflets, the increased cost of publicity to explain the role of the courts and the judiciary, to expand public understanding in areas where new legislation is proposed or implemented, or law reforms considered.
Figures for the budget for 1992-93 will not be available until after the autumn statement and after budgets have been finalised.
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ENVIRONMENT
Public Opinion Surveys
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the public opinion surveys carried out by his Department since 11 July.
Mr. Heseltine : The following surveys, carried out by my Department since 11 July 1991, include questions to individuals about their opinions :
Evaluation of the DOE "Wake-Up" leaflet.
Monitoring Housing Management Performance in Housing Associations and Local Authorities.
Survey of Household Budgets and Housing Costs.
Evaluation of Block Action.
Development Work for 1991 English House Condition Survey : (a) Dairy System (b) Pre-pilot.
National Survey on attitudes towards Environmental Noise (fieldwork in progress).
Energy Efficiency Campaign--Creative Development Research [Stage 1 and Stage 2] (jointly sponsored with the Department of Energy). Evaluation of Energy Efficiency Campaign (jointly sponsored with the Department of Energy).
Publicity
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what was the total expenditure by the Nature Conservancy Council on press and public relations in 1979-80 and in each following year ; and what is his estimate for 1991-92 and budget for 1992-93 ; (2) if he will give separate figures for spending by the Nature Conservancy Council on (a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotional material in 1979-80 and in each following year ; and what are his latest estimates for 1991-92 and budgets for 1992-93.
Mr. Heseltine : I have asked the chairman of the Nature Conservancy Council to write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) whether his Department has sent unsolicited direct mail as part of the distribution of publicity material ;
(2) if he will give separate figures for spending by the Ordnance Survey on (a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotional material in 1979-80 and in each following year ; and what are his latest estimates for 1991-92 and budgets for 1992-93 ;
(3) what was the total expenditure by the Ordnance Survey on press and public relations in 1979-80 and in each following year ; and what is his estimate for 1991-92 and budget for 1992-93.
Mr. Heseltine : I will ask the Director General of Ordnance Survey to reply to the hon. Member on behalf of his organisation.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will provide an up-to-date list of each television advertising campaign carried out, or to be carried out, by (a) the Department of the Environment, (b) Ordnance Survey, (c) the Nature Conservancy Council and (d) the Countryside Commission during 1991-92, and of each other publicity campaign costing more than £100, 000, giving for each (i) the topic, (ii) the
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commencement date, (iii) the duration and (iv) the advertising, promotional and public relations companies involved.Mr. Heseltine : My Department has carried out no television advertising during 1991-92 and has no plans to do so.
I gave the hon. Member information regarding my Department's expenditure on publicity campaigns costing more than £100,000 on 1 July 1991. The advertising company Collett, Dickenson, Pearce and Partners has been selected to undertake strategic and creative work for the joint campaign with the Department of Energy to promote home energy efficiency. The public relations firm Maxima has been selected to carry out promotional work for the campaign. The campaign begins today and is intended to run for at least three years.
I will ask the Director General of Ordnance Survey and the chairmen of the Nature Conservancy Council and the Countryside Commission to write to the hon. Member replying for their organisations.
Mr. Frank Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether his Department has sent unsolicited direct mail as part of the distribution of publicity material.
Mr. Heseltine : In May 1989, deliveries of a leaflet explaining the community charge were made to 19 million households in England. In January 1990, my Department sent leaflets to 1.6 million businesses giving details of the new business rate. In February 1991, a leaflet explaining the dangers of radon in houses and inviting householders to take advantage of free radon testing was delivered to 660,000 households in Devon and Cornwall.
From time to time, samples of the Department's publications are sent directly to interested bodies for information.
Local Authority Pension Scheme
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to equalise female contribution survivor benefits within the local authority superannuation pension scheme.
Mr. Heseltine : Regulations are being prepared to amend the local government superannuation scheme to provide equal survivor benefits. Subject to the necessary parliamentary procedures, the regulations will come into force as soon as possible.
Standard Spending Assessments
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give the standard spending assessments for each education and social services authority for (a) education and (b) social services functions for the years 1989-90, 1990-91 and 1991-92, together with a description of how those standard spending assessments were constructed.
Mr. Key : Standard spending assessments--SSAs--replaced grant- related expenditure assessments--GREs--in 1990-91. The education and social services SSAs for each relevant local authority in England are given in tables 2A, in £s million, and 2B, £s per adult, of the "Standard Spending Assessment Handbook 1990/91" and the "Standard Spending Assessment Handbook 1991/92".
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The method used to calculate these SSAs is set out in "The Revenue Support Grant Distribution Report (England)" and "The Revenue Support Grant Distribution (Amendment) Report (England)". The 1989-90 GREs for education and social services are shown in table C.3.1 of "The Technical Handbook of Grant-Related Expenditure 1989-90" and the method of calculation is described in "The Rate Support Grant Report (England) 1989/90". All these documents are in the Library.Press and Publicity Staff
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether any member of his Department's press and publicity staff accompanied him in Blackpool during the Conservative party conference.
Thames House, Millbank
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether planning consent was sought by his Department from Westminster council prior to building the eight-storey block between the arches of Thames House, Millbank.
Mr. Yeo : Planning consultation under DOE circular 18/84 took place between the Property Services Agency and Westminster city council between September 1989 and November 1989. On 9 November 1989, Westminster city council confirmed that it had decided to raise no objections to the proposals put forward, in respect of both listed building consent and planning consent.
Sports Clubs (Rates)
Mr. Pendry : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many non-profit making sports clubs in England applied for rate relief for each of the financial years 1979-80 to 1991-92 and as a total over the same period ; and how many of these clubs were granted rate relief of (a) 25 per cent. or under, (b) 25 to 50 per cent., (c) 50 to 65 per cent., (d) 65 to 90 per cent. and (e) 90 to 100 per cent.
Mr. Key : The information requested is not available. However, the results of a recent departmental survey, based on returns received from 81 per cent. of local authorities, reveal that more non-profit making recreational clubs received more relief in 1990-91 than in 1989-90, the last year of general rates. The table shows the number of properties occupied by non-profit making recreational clubs receiving relief in the two years and the percentage amounts of relief given.
Year Number of Number of properties granted relief of:
|properties
|receiving |less than |21-50 per |51-80 per |more
|relief |20 per |cent. |cent. |than 80
|cent. |per cent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1989-90 |8,500 |300 |5,200 |1,100 |1,900
1990-91 |10,200 |700 |3,900 |2,800 |2,900
Figures may not sum due to rounding.
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Right to Buy
Sir William Shelton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he intends to take on the performance of Lambeth in processing right-to-buy applications.
Mr. Yeo : Lambeth is one of several London authorities where large numbers of tenants have experienced delays in the processing of their right -to-buy applications and who have thus been denied their statutory rights. The performance of all London authorities is monitored annually, and the poorest performers are required to submit monthly reports. In March 1989 the Government introduced procedures which enabled tenants to have rent counted as advance payments towards purchase of their home if sale was delayed. Through this measure, the tenant gains some recompense and the authority loses part of the receipt on sale.
Following these measures the number of delays in monitored authorities has fallen dramatically, from 15,457 in March 1989 to 3, 712 in September 1990. Most London authorities now have only a handful of cases, if any, where tenants are being delayed in the exercise of their statutory right. Only two authorities are still subject to monthly monitoring--Lambeth and Hackney.
Lambeth accounted for 40 per cent. of the total cases delayed in London in September 1990. On the basis of the most recent return, Lambeth still has 843 cases out of time, which is three times as many as the next worst authority. Not only are right-to-buy applicants continuing to suffer, but Lambeth tenants and residents as a whole pay for this inefficiency through the receipts forgone on delayed sales. This is clearly unacceptable. On 29 October I therefore invited the leader of Lambeth council and his senior relevant officials to meet me to discuss this situation and what needs to be done to bring Lambeth's right-to-buy performance to an acceptable level.
Local Government (Competitive Tendering)
Mr. Ken Hargreaves : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will publish his proposals for extending the requirement for compulsory competitive tendering for local authority services.
Mr. Portillo : I am today publishing "Competing for
Quality--Competition in the Provision of Local Services", in order to start the process of consulting widely on the Government's proposals for clarifying and extending the requirement for compulsory competitive tendering for local authority services. The citizens charter underlines our belief that the widest possible application of competition will bring benefits to the local taxpayer and the consumer. The consultation paper, therefore, seeks to tighten up on anti-competitive behaviour so that private firms have a fair chance to compete for local authority contracts, and explains how we propose to extend compulsory competitive tendering to a wide range of professional and technical activities. Copies are being placed in the Library.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the total expenditure by the Countryside Commission on press and public relations in 1979-80 and in each following year ; and what is his estimate for 1991-92 and budget for 1992-93.
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Mr. Heseltine : I have asked the chairman of the Countryside Commission to write to the hon. Member with the information requested.TRANSPORT
Transpennine Road Crossing
Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he now proposes to publish the report on the consultation on a possible transpennine road crossing.
Mr. Chope : As soon as possible.
Publicity
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give separate figures for the spending by his Department on (a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotional material in 1979-80 and in each following year ; and what are his latest estimates for 1991-92 and budgets for 1992-93.
Mr. McLoughlin : The spending by my Department on (a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotional material in 1979-80 and in each following year and the estimated spending in 1991-92 is as follows :
|Television|Radio |Newspaper |Other
|£ ,000 |£ ,000 |£ ,000 |£ ,000
------------------------------------------------------------------
1979-80 |4,141 |62 |105 |1,532
1980-81 |3,502 |336 |129 |1,737
1981-82 |3,615 |6 |410 |1,457
1982-83 |2,319 |98 |816 |1,415
1983-84 |4,655 |22 |334 |1,488
1984-85 |1,723 |207 |476 |2,873
1985-86 |70 |858 |834 |4,026
1986-87 |72 |520 |738 |4,489
1987-88 |2,310 |50 |140 |3,010
1988-89 |1,867 |110 |365 |3,367
1989-90 |1,930 |233 |982 |3,289
1990-91 |3,122 |145 |833 |3,962
1991-92 |3,414 |306 |794 |5,053
Detailed decisions have not yet been taken on expenditure by media for 1992 -93, but the overall figure is expected to be approximately £9.5 million.
The increase in expenditure this year is largely due to the child road safety campaign ; other major areas of expenditure include campaigns on drink driving and rear seat belts.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will provide an up-to-date list of each television advertising campaign carried out, or to be carried out, by his Department during 1991-92, and of each other publicity campaign costing more than £100, 000, giving for each (a) the topic, (b) the commencement date, (c) the duration and (d) the advertising, promotional and public relations companies involved.
Mr. McLoughlin : The following television advertising campaigns have been carried out or are planned by my Department in 1991-92 :
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Topic |Commencement|Duration |Company
|date
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New rear seat belt legislation |1 June |4 weeks |Miller and
|Leeves WAHT
Drinking and Driving |1 July |4 weeks |Miller and
|Leeves WAHT
Coastal safety |- |Ongoing |None
Transport and the environment |6 July |Ongoing |None
Safety on the Move exhibition programme |- |Ongoing |None
Road Traffic Act |15 August |Ongoing |None
The following publicity campaigns costing more than £100,000 have been or are being carried out in 1991-92 :
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Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the total expenditure by his Department on press and public relations in 1979-80 and in each following year ; and what is his estimate for 1991-92 and budget for 1992-93.
Mr. McLoughlin : The total expenditure on the Department's press and public relations office since 1984-85 is as follows :
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|£
---------------------------
1984-85 |339,426
1985-86 |354,393
1986-87 |363,446
1987-88 |389,473
1988-89 |437,950
1989-90 |451,214
1990-91 |517,905
<1>1991-92 |565,336
<2>1992-93 |590,776
<1>Estimate.
<2>Budget.
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These figures cover the overall costs of running the press office, calculated using the ready reckoner for staff- related costs. Before 1984-85 the information division was a common service of the Departments of Transport and the Environment and the Property Services Agency.Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department has sent unsolicited direct mail as part of the distribution of publicity material.
A12
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement detailing his plans for the future of the A12 trunk road in Suffolk in respect of dualling and bypasses ; and the latest timetable for each section.
Mr. Chope : The proposals to upgrade the A12 in Suffolk north of Ipswich to a two-lane dual carriageway have been split into five schemes. The latest timetables for each section are as follows. The whole programme of improvements should be completed by the end of the decade.
(1) Martlesham to Wickham Market :--Preferred route decision Autumn 1992.
(2) Wickham Market to Saxmundham Bypass :--Publication of draft orders Summer 1992.
(3) Saxmundham Bypass dualling :--Publication of draft orders Spring 1993.
(4) Saxmundham Bypass--South of Wrentham :--Preferred route decision late 1993.
(5) South of Wrentham-Kessingland :--Preferred route decision late 1992.
Barrow Crossings
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has had over the Health and Safety Executive decision to take away barrow crossings at stations.
Mr. Freeman : The Health and Safety Executive's railway inspectorate supports British Rail's decision to remove barrow crossings from locations where they are no longer needed because of the risk of unauthorised use which presents a safety hazard, particularly at unmanned stations and at those where there is third rail electrification. A few letters have been received from people who formerly used them.
Public Expenditure
Mrs. Beckett : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish an updated version of table 7.18 of chapter 7 of the 1990-91 to 1992-93 public expenditure White Paper, Cm. 1007, extending the series there up to date.
Mr. Chope : The figures are published in table 1 of "National road maintenance condition survey. Report on the 1990 survey". A copy is in the Library. Figures previously published in Cm. 1007 have been revised following a review of the way the index is calculated, carried out in particular to ensure that the cost weightings used take account of current maintenance practices.
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Bypasses (Compensation)
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give the number of claims for compensation for noise and disturbance arising from the construction of (a) the A696 Woolsington bypass and (b) the A1 Newcastle western bypass ; and how many of those claims had been settled by 1 October.
Mr. Chope : The number of claims under part I of the Land Compensation Act 1973 received in respect of the A696 Woolsington bypass and A1 Newcastle western bypass are 104 and 550 respectively. None of these claims had been settled by 1 October.
Public Opinion Surveys
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the public opinion surveys carried out by his Department since 11 July 1991.
Mr. McLoughlin : My Department regularly commissions surveys. A list of all surveys is maintained, but it is not possible to identify easily from this list those surveys which include questions of opinion. The answer on 11 July 1991 to the hon. Member referred to 101 surveys of all types reported to the Department's survey control unit in 1990. A further 69 have been reported since and I am sending a list of these to the hon. Member.
Press and Publicity Staff
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether any member of his Department's press and publicity staff accompanied him in Blackpool during the Conservative party conference.
Mr. McLoughlin : No. Some officials came to Blackpool to discuss departmental business and then left.
Channel Tunnel
Ms. Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the estimated number of (a) private cars and (b) lorries entering and leaving the channel tunnel portal at Folkestone from the Eurotunnel shuttle service in (i) 1993, (ii) 1998 and (iii) 2003.
Mr. Freeman : The latest available figures are contained in a report published in August 1990 by the cross-channel traffic group. The report provides estimates of the total number of cars and goods vehicles using the tunnel on an average annual day. The table shows the figures multiplied by 365 :
|Cars |Goods
|vehicles
----------------------------------------
1993 |3,176,595|547,500
2003 |4,352,990|888,045
No estimate was made for 1998.
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