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Civil Service Relocation
Mr. Speller : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to decentralise civil service offices to the south-west of England.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard [holding answer 11 November 1991] : Since 1988, Departments have decided to relocate or locate around 5,000 civil service posts to the south-west region. These include around 3, 000 Ministry of Defence procurement executive's land, air and sea systems controllerates posts which will move to Bristol and Bath in 1994-95, and 500 Department of Social Security Child Support Agency posts due to move to Plymouth in 1993.
Duty-free Goods
Mr. Frank Field : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the revenue lost in granting duty-free status facilities for people travelling to and from the United Kingdom.
Mr. Adley : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what he calculates will be the loss of revenue to the Treasury of the proposals to extend for a further 15 years the duty-free concession currently available at United Kingdom ports and airports.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard [holding answers 7 and 8 November 1991] : It is very difficult to provide an estimate because there is no information available on the amount of expenditure on duty-free goods purchased abroad by travellers entering the United Kingdom.
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A certain amount of rather dated information is available from independent surveys by the Economist Intelligence Unit and the Netherlands Economic Institute on purchases of duty-free goods by travellers leaving the United Kingdom. Using that data, it is estimated very roughly that the loss of revenue to the United Kingdom from duty-free purchases by travellers entering the United Kingdom from the EC may be between £25 million and £50 million a year.Inland Revenue (Structure Reviews)
Ms. Walley : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will identify the number and designation of jobs which he expects to be lost following the structure reviews within the Inland Revenue department ; what consultation has taken place with the appropriate trade unions ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maude [holding answer 18 November 1991] : The team reviewing the Inland revenue's organisation and structure has yet to report. The review team is consulting a wide range of staff within the Department, has invited representations from the appropriate trade unions and has had discussions with trade union representatives.
Inland Revenue
Ms. Walley : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the details of the timetable he expects to implement in respect of converting Inland Revenue departments to agency status.
Mr. Maude [holding answer 18 November 1991] : My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced on 7 February 1991-- Official Report, c. 205-6--a wide-ranging action plan, prepared by the chairman of the Board of Inland Revenue, to introduce changes by April 1992 which would enable the Department to operate fully on "next steps" lines and improve its service to the public. This action plan is being implemented on schedule.
The valuation offices for England and Wales and for Scotland were launched as a single Valuation Office Agency within the Inland Revenue on 30 September. Copies of the agency's framework document have been placed in the Library. The agency's objectives and targets for 1991-92, as agreed by Ministers for the valuation offices at the start of the year, are reproduced in the table.
For the rest of the department, as already announced 33 executive offices are being set up within the Inland Revenue to deal with the work of assessing and collecting the taxes and duties for which it is responsible, and for support services. The head of each office will have significant delegated responsibilities for managing the people and the resources in the office and will be personally accountable for its performance. All 33 executive offices will be set up by April 1992. Framework documents setting out their responsibilities and delegated authorities, and describing their accounting and financial systems and performance measures, will be published at that time. The action plan also noted that the future organisation of the Inland Revenue's information technology division was under consideration. It has now been decided that the division will also become an Inland Revenue executive office in April 1992. As with the other 33 executive offices, a framework document will set out the authorities to be delegated to the director of technology and the enhanced responsibilities and accountability the director will have
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for providing the best quality of service and value for money. The question of an agency for IT services will be reconsidered in 1994, in the light of the department's IT needs at the time and its experience of operating on "next steps" lines.These changes will mean that over 95 per cent. of the Inland Revenue's staff will be working in the Valuation Office Agency or one of the 34 executive offices by April 1992.
The "next steps" initiative is making good progress in the Inland Revenue and I am confident that it will enable the department to improve its efficiency and quality of service in the interest both of taxpayers and the staff of the department.
Valuation Office Agency : 1991-92 objectives and targets The Valuation Office Agency's objectives and targets for the current year, as agreed by Ministers and published in the Inland Revenue's operating plan, include financial, efficiency, effectiveness and quality elements. They are :
--to clear 834,300 cases relating to rating work, valuations for Inland Revenue taxes and other work.
--to maintain gross expenditure within a ceiling of £125million (excluding superannuation and capital) and to match the forecast of £126.5million receipts from charges.
--to reduce the number of local offices from 124 to 120
--to achieve the improvements in productivity and efficiency targeted below.
Detailed targets :
|1991-92|1990-91
|target |actual
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Valuer productivity (weighted work outputs
per valuer) |324 |312
Overall local office productivity (weighted
outputs per staff year) |121 |119
Unit costs (full cost, constant 1990-91 prices)
-Rating work £ |185 |229
-Revenue work £ |154 |153
-Other work £ |138 |137
Clearance of rating work on 1990 rating
list: pre-October 1990 appeals
outstanding at year end |362,000|623,000
Timeliness (per cent. of work completed to
external and internal time limits) |82 |80
Valuations accurancy (per cent. valuations
settled within 10 per cent. of initial
valuation when facts settled) |80 |78.8
Targets for work in connection with the proposed council tax will
be set in due course.
Ms. Walley : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give details of the organisation and structure reviews within the Inland Revenue department.
Mr. Maude : [holding answer 18 November 1991] : A review of the Inland Revenue's organisation and structure was commissioned in April 1991 as part of the department's response to the "next steps" programme.
The review is being undertaken by a team of Inland Revenue officials and consultants from Andersen Consulting and Kinsley Lord with experience of other large organisations in the public and private sectors. They will be reporting to the board by the end of December.
Schools Inspectorate
Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the inquiry led by his Department into Her Majesty's inspectorate of schools.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 18 November 1991] : There has been no Treasury-led inquiry into the inspectorate.
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NORTHERN IRELAND
Terrorist Murders
Mr. Trimble : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the number of persons convicted of terrorist murder in each of the last five years indicating how many were actual triggermen or bombers and how many were lookouts, drivers or other accessories to the persons who directly executed the murder.
Dr. Mawhinney : The number of persons convicted of the scheduled offence of murder in each of the last five years is as follows :
|Number
---------------------
1986 |24
1987 |10
1988 |12
1989 |11
1990 |8
I regret that information on the extent of each individual's involvement in the murder for which he-she was convicted is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Drinking Water
Mr. Kilfedder : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many drinking water supplies in Northern Ireland do not meet the EC water directive 1980.
Mr. Needham : In Northern Ireland all persons supplied receive water which complies with the overwhelming majority of the EC drinking water directive--80/778/EEC--standards. There is the potential for non-compliance with the aluminium standard in 39 of the Province's 123 supply zones and a general potential for non-compliance with the iron standard and related turbidity standard in all zones, because of the number of iron mains still in service. A programme of works to ensure full compliance with the directive standards is underway.
Cannabis and Crack
Mr. Kilfedder : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give the latest quantities of cannabis and crack seized in Northern Ireland.
Dr. Mawhinney : I am informed by the Chief Constable that the latest significant seizure of cannabis in Northern Ireland was in Belfast on 9 November 1991, when 1.5 kg was seized by the Royal Ulster Constabulary. There has been no seizure of crack.
Overseas Visits
Mr. Kilfedder : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which overseas countries he visited or were visited by the Northern Ireland Minister for Economic Development during the past 12 months for the purpose of seeking investment in Northern Ireland and the creation of more jobs ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Needham : Since 1 November 1990, the Secretary of State has visited Belgium, the Netherlands, the United States--twice--Canada, the Republic of Korea, France and Germany. I have visited the United States-- twice--Canada, the Republic of Korea, Japan--twice--Indonesia and Germany.
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Drink-drive Offences
Mr. Kilfedder : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people have been convicted of drink-drive offences in Northern Ireland in each of the past five years ; and if he will make a statement.
Dr. Mawhinney : The information requested is :
Persons convicted of
drink-driving
offences in Northern
Ireland<1>
|Number
---------------------
1986 |2,985
1987 |2,990
1988 |2,750
1989 |2,432
1990 |2,711
<1> These figures
refer to convictions
where the
drink-drive offence
was the primary
offence.
The Government are fully committed to continuing their campaign against drinking and driving.
Handicapped People
Mr. Kilfedder : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what additional resources he is making available to health boards in Northern Ireland to ensure that the needs of handicapped people are provided for in the community.
Mr. Hanley : Health and social services boards in Northern Ireland have resources of £837 million available to them in 1991-92, an increase of almost £71 million over 1990-91. Within these additional resources, the following sums of money have been earmarked for a number of initiatives which will directly benefit people with a handicap living in the community :
(i) £2.6 million towards part implementation of the Disabled Persons (Northern Ireland) Act 1989, to meet the costs of additional assessments and services ;
(ii) £2.847 million to provide community support for long-stay patients discharged from psychiatric and mental handicap hospitals ; (iii) £2.95 million for implementation of "People First" particularly to enable boards to establish inspection units and a complaints procedure and to improve social work training.
Alcohol Abuse
Mr. Kilfedder : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to deal with alcohol abuse by youngsters under the age of 18 years.
Mr. Hanley : Alcohol misuse is covered in health education programmes in many schools, and seminars on this topic are organised regularly by the youth service. Coverage in schools will increase when health education becomes a compulsory cross-curricular theme next year. In addition, the licensing laws prohibit the sale or supply of alcohol to persons under 18 and its consumption by such persons in any place other than a private residence.
Owen and James Carragher
Mr. Mallon : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on what date the firm of Robins AHW Ltd., loss adjusters, was appointed to deal with compensation claim ASC 24337/45 submitted on behalf of Owen and James Carragher.
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Dr. Mawhinney : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave on 15 November 1991, Official Report, column 673.
Paramilitary Organisations
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the total number of terrorist incidents there have been since 1970 ; and which paramilitary organisations have either claimed responsibility for them or have been attributed responsibility.
Dr. Mawhinney [holding answer 7 November 1991] : It is not known precisely how many terrorist incidents there have been since 1970, nor is it always known which paramilitary organisation was responsible. I refer the hon. Member to the Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary's annual reports, which gave details of some of the information requested.
Terrorism Risks
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what facilities and resources are made available to both elected representatives and other public figures at risk from terrorist organisations ; and if he will make a statement.
Dr. Mawhinney [holding answer 7 November 1991] : I do not consider it appropriate to disclose information about security arrangements for individuals.
Scheduled Offences
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people have been convicted of scheduled offences since 1970 ; and what were their paramilitary affiliations at the time of conviction.
Dr. Mawhinney [holding answer 7 November 1991] : Statistics on convictions for scheduled offences were not recorded prior to 1975. From that year until the end of September 1991, a total of 11,095 people were convicted of scheduled offences. Information on their paramilitary affiliations is not available.
Terrorism
Sir Michael McNair-Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many members of the security forces have been killed by terrorists since 1969 ; how many were members of the armed forces including the Ulster Defence Regiment ; how many members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and Royal Ulster Constabulary Reserve ; and if will give figures for those in the two categories who have been wounded.
Dr. Mawhinney [holding answer 14 November 1991] : The following table details the number of members of the security forces who have died or who have been injured as a result of the security situation in Northern Ireland since 1969 :
(
1969 to 31 October 1991
|Deaths |Injuries
----------------------------------------
Regular Army |432 |4,669
UDR |195 |439
RUC |187 |<1>6,855
RUC Reserve |97 |-
<1> Statistics on injuries of RUC and
RUC Reserve officers are not recorded
separately.
DEFENCE
Soviet Union (Military Threat)
5. Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the Government's current assessment of the military threat from the Soviet Union.
Mr. Tom King : It is clear that the Soviet Union as we have known it no longer exists. Much of the old Soviet system has effectively collapsed and power is increasingly transferring to the republics. The most recent decision, if sustained, by Russia, the Ukraine, Byelorussia and Kazakhstan, that the Soviet Union is no longer authorised to represent their economic interests, will have the most profound economic effects and will further complicate the question of paying for their armed forces. At the same time, if the present forces are split up between the republics, Russia alone would still have conventional forces larger than any other European state, and would remain a nulcear superpower. NATO's new strategic concept agreed at the Rome summit two weeks ago takes prudent account of these continuing capabilities.
Territorial Army
12. Mr. Thorne : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what role he has in mind for the Territorial Army of the future.
21. Rev. Martin Smyth : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement setting forth the rationale for the proposed reduction of the Territorial Army units in Northern Ireland, particularly the RAYC and artillery units.
23. Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he is in a position to announce the future shape of the Territorial Army.
Mr. Tom King : As I have made clear on several occasions the reserves, of which the Territorial Army is an integral part, will continue to make a vital contribution to our defence effort. In the future, the TA will provide a wide range of capabilities, including participation in the ACE rapid reaction corps and in military home defence. I hope to make further announcements on the way ahead for the TA before the end of the year.
27. Mr. Trotter : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will make a statement on the future role, strength and composition of the Territorial Army.
Mr. Tom King : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave today to my hon. Friend the Member for Ilford, South (Mr. Thorne). I envisage that the long-term future strength of the Territorial Army will settle at between 60,000 and 65,000.
European Fighter Aircraft
16. Mr. Hind : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the progress of his plans for Tornado updates and the European fighter aircraft.
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Mr. Alan Clark : On Tornado, work is currently proceeding on the development and production planning phases of a mid-life update for the IDS aircraft, with a planned deployment date of the mid-1990s. On European fighter aircraft, I have nothing to add to the answer I gave the hon. Member on 15 October.
Trident
19. Mr. Colin Shepherd : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the first Trident missile submarine to be effectively in service.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : It is not our practice to make public the exact date upon which Royal Navy warships become operational, but I can tell my hon. Friend that Trident remains on course to enter service from the mid-1990s onwards.
NATO
20. Mr. Dunn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he has any further plans to initiate changes to the remit of NATO ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Tom King : I refer my hon. Friend to the statement which my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister made to the House on 12 November. The NATO summit meeting in Rome on 7 and 8 November completed the fundamental review of NATO strategy put in hand at the London summit in July 1990. The Government welcome the success of this review which has adapted NATO's role to the changed political circumstances in the new Europe.
European Defence Co-operation
22. Mr. Ian Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he next plans to meet the Secretary-General of the Western European Union to discuss the joint British-Italian proposals for European defence co- operation.
Mr. Tom King : I attended a meeting of the WEU Ministerial Council in Bonn yesterday, at which a range of issues concerning the future role of the WEU were discussed.
Submarines
24. Sir Patrick Duffy : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what approaches have been made to potential overseas buyers with a view to the disposal of the conventional submarine fleet.
Mr. Alan Clark : Whenever naval vessels are to be disposed of, an investigation is made of possible overseas interest in purchase. Details of approaches to particular countries are matters of confidence between Governments.
Experimental Ranges
25. Mr. Tom Clarke : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department intends to take to ensure that proof and experimental ranges are more environmentally aware.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : In line with our policy to increase environmental awareness within the Ministry of Defence, focal points have been established at the headquarters of
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the proof and experimental establishments and at all ranges under is control, to ensure that such issues are accorded due attention.South-east Asia (Personnel Training)
26. Mr. Wareing : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which countries in south-east Asia have in the past 12 months sent personnel to the United Kingdom for training at MoD establishments.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : In the 12 months to 1 November 1991 the following countries in south-east Asia have sent personnel to the United Kingdom for training at MoD establishments :
Brunei
Hong Kong
Indonesia
Malaysia
Philippines
Singapore
Thailand
Options for Change"
28. Mr. Ian Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the "Options for Change" implications for MoD and related employment in south Dorset.
Mr. Alan Clark : Decisions taken to date on "Options for Change" are likely to involve relatively little change to defence-related employment in south Dorset. Other decisions remain to be taken and full consideration will be given to employment aspects where appropriate. Employment in the Defence industry is a matter for the companies concerned.
Nuclear Test Veterans
29. Mr. McFall : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has recently received from the British Nuclear Test Veterans Association on compensation.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : I have received no recent representations from the British Nuclear Test Veterans Association on compensation.
Senior Officers (Newspaper Interviews)
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, further to his answers of 14 November, Official Report, columns 667-68, relating to HMS Vanguard and Admiral Sir Julian Oswald's interview with The Times of 29 October 1991, if he will make it his practice to give in reply to parliamentary questions any information which may properly be given by senior serving officers and officials in interviews with newspapers.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : It is the practice of the Ministry of Defence to give appropriate information in response to questions asked by hon. Members, taking account of security and confidentiality constraints.
Musgrove Park Hospital (Bombing)
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether there was a breach of Army security at the military wing of the Musgrove Park hospital on
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Saturday 2 November ; and if he will make a statement on security at hospitals in Northern Ireland for army personnel.Mr. Archie Hamilton : The military wing of Musgrove Park hospital is not a military base but part of a national health service hospital. The terrorists who perpetrated this disgusting attack deliberately chose to carry a bomb through a civilian wing of the hospital and place it adjacent to the military wing. Appropriate security arrangements are taken to protect service personnel but, regrettably, total security cannot be achieved.
Guards Regiments
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many horses and troops will be available compared to the current position if his proposals to amalgamate the Blues and Royals and Life Guards are implemented ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The Household Cavalry mounted regiment will consist, as at present, of two mounted squadrons, one from the Life Guards and one from the Blues and Royals, as well as a joint headquarters squadron. Each regiment will also contribute two squadrons to the Household Cavalry reconnaissance regiment. This regiment, which will be one of the two regular reconnaissance regiments, will also have a joint headquarters squadron.
Training Exercises (Deaths)
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what are the criteria for establishing a board of inquiry for accidents to service personnel during training ; and if such inquiries are set up in every case of death or serious disablement ;
(2) if he will appoint a military ombudsman with responsibility for investigating complaints of Ministry of Defence secrecy from families of service personnel who die on training exercises.
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