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Column 434
1. Permanent transfers of prisoners
from England and Wales to
Northern Ireland
|Number
|Transferred
------------------------------------
1985 |3
1986 |2
1987 |3
1988 |6
1989 |15
1990 |3
<1>1991 |4
|-
Total |36
<1> to 31 October.
2. Temporary transfers of prisoners
from England and Wales to
Northern Ireland
|Number
|Transferred
------------------------------------
1985 |1
1986 |1
1987 |2
1988 |7
1989 |2
1990 |12
<1>1991 |8
|-
Total |33
<1> to 31 October.
Vehicle Security
Sir Anthony Grant : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will report on the progress of his talks with car manufacturers concerning the provision of security systems in cars ; if he will make such provision compulsory in new vehicles ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John Patten : At a seminar on crime prevention chaired by the then Prime Minister in 1986, it was agreed that the British Standards Institution and the motor vehicle manufacturers should produce a performance based standard on car security. A five-part standard--BS AU209- -was subsequently published, covering mechanical locking systems, in-car entertainment equipment, window etching, central power locking and deadlocking.
My right hon. Friend is engaged in a series of meetings with the motor vehicle manufacturers to encourage them to adopt these standards for all new cars. Many manufacturers have already made significant improvements in security, but there is still much more that can be done. My right hon. Friend and I will meet the manufacturers again on 11 December to discuss their progress. It would be a breach of European Community law for the Government to introduce separate national legislation on vehicle security since this would constitute a technical barrier to trade with member states. It was, however, agreed at the seminar on crime prevention in 1986 that the Department of Transport would seek to have the British standard on vehicle security adopted as an EC directive. That Department, with the support of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, is continuing to take this matter forward in the motor vehicles working group of the European Commission ; its efforts have my full support and that of my right hon. Friend.
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Italian Prisoners
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Italian citizens are currently serving sentences in United Kingdom prisons ; how many such citizens have been permitted to return home to serve their sentences in Italian prisons ; how many have applied to do so ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Rumbold : On 30 June 1991, the latest date for which information is readily available, about 45 sentenced prisoners in Prison Service establishments in England and Wales were recorded as Italian citizens. Repatriations of prisoners are possible under the European convention on the transfer of sentenced persons provided the prisoner and both countries concerned consent. The Italian Government ratified the convention in October 1989, since when 26 Italian prisoners have asked to be repatriated. In five cases the application has been withdrawn or the prisoner released. In two cases the request has been refused. The remaining 19 cases are outstanding.
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Primates Register
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to secure the establishment of a European primate register to conserve stocks of non-human primates used in scientific procedures.
Mrs. Rumbold : Effective measures to conserve stocks of non-human primates are clearly desirable. We are aware of an initiative from the Primate Society of Great Britain in this area and of continuing interest in such a scheme within Europe. The United Kingdom will play its full part in giving thorough consideration to any formal proposals which emerge.
Vehicle Theft Statistics
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish a table showing (a) the variety of non-custodial sentences given for the offence of taking a vehicle without consent for the years 1980-88 and (b) a breakdown of custodial and non-custodial sentences for the above offence for 1989 and 1990.
Mr. John Patten : The information requested is given in the tables. 1990 data are not yet available.
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Table A-Number of offenders sentenced at magistrates' courts for offences of
unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle and unauthorised taking of a conveyance
other than a motor vehicle or pedal cycle by type of disposal 1980-89.
England and Wales
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
a motor vehicle or pedal cycle by type of disposal 1980-89.
England and Wales
Sentence disposals
Year |Total for |Absolute |Conditional|Fine |Probation |Supervision|Community |Attendance |Care |Fully |Immediate |Otherwise
|sentence |discharge |discharge |order |order |service |centre |order |suspended |custody |dealt with
|order |order |sentence
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle
1980 |7,394 |7 |276 |619 |534 |62 |703 |- |22 |586 |4,535 |50
1981 |6,911 |13 |262 |465 |535 |44 |737 |- |25 |569 |4,219 |42
1982 |6,512 |5 |310 |370 |505 |44 |773 |- |17 |489 |3,959 |40
1983 |4,938 |10 |223 |384 |472 |32 |705 |- |9 |361 |2.667 |75
1984 |3,421 |3 |209 |297 |478 |16 |577 |- |5 |233 |1,554 |49
1985 |3,939 |5 |226 |331 |633 |36 |654 |23 |7 |259 |1,748 |17
1986 |3,921 |5 |252 |332 |618 |43 |611 |18 |4 |251 |1,764 |23
1987 |4,195 |3 |259 |377 |669 |35 |749 |30 |4 |300 |1,747 |22
1988<1> |4,130 |7 |274 |356 |801 |32 |677 |24 |4 |365 |1,652 |38
1989 |1,668 |1 |94 |131 |398 |22 |249 |12 |2 |117 |604 |38
Unauthorised taking of a conveyance other than a motor vehicle or pedal cycle
1980 |6 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |2 |4 |-
1981 |8 |- |- |5 |1 |- |1 |- |- |- |1 |-
1982 |2 |- |- |2 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |-
1983 |3 |- |1 |- |- |- |1 |- |- |- |1 |-
1984 |3 |- |- |- |1 |- |1 |- |- |- |1 |-
1985 |5 |- |1 |- |- |- |- |- |- |1 |3 |-
1986 |8 |- |- |- |1 |- |1 |- |- |- |6 |-
1987 |14 |- |2 |2 |1 |1 |2 |- |- |3 |3 |-
1988<1> |2 |- |- |1 |- |- |- |- |- |1 |- |-
1989 |15 |- |1 |2 |3 |- |3 |- |- |- |5 |1
<1> These two triable-either-way offences were reclassified as summary offences under the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (12 October 1988)
Table C. Number of persons sentenced to immediate custody at all courts for offences of unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle and
unauthorised taking of a conveyance other than motor vehicle or pedal cycle by type of disposal and sentence length 1989.
England and Wales
Offence Total Custodial sentence disposal Sentence length
|immediate |Young |Partly |Unsuspend- |6 months |Over 6 |Over 1 |Over |Over 2 |Over
|custody |offender |suspended |ed sentence|and under |months and |year and |18 months |years and |3 years
|institution|sentence |up to |up to |and up to |up to
|1 year |18 months |2 years |3 years
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unauthorised |2,515 |1,617 |12 |886 |2,459 |41 |11 |3 |1 |-
taking of a
motor
vehicle
Unauthorised |10 |3 |1 |6 |9 |1 |- |- |- |-
taking of a
conveyance
other than a
motor
vehicle or
pedal cycle
Television (Sponsorship)
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage and type of television programmes will be allowed sponsorship by commercial companies ; and what safeguards exist to prevent sponsors from influencing the quality and control of programmes.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Under the Independent Televison Commission code of programme sponsorship, any television programme may be sponsored, except news and current affairs. No sponsor is permitted any influence on either the content or the scheduling of a programme.
Animals (Scientific Procedures)
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the numbers of primates used in scientific procedures in Great Britain and in Northern Ireland which were wild-caught and captive bred, respectively, in each year from 1981 to the current year.
Mrs. Rumbold : Statistics about the origin of primates held or used are not kept centrally. The number of scientific procedures performed on primates in Great Britain for the years 1981 to 1990 is given in table 18 of "Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals, Great Britain 1990", Cm. 1574, a copy of which is in the Library. In Northern Ireland only two scientific procedures were performed on primates over the period 1981 to 1990.
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Departmental Telephone Calls
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information is available on the number of calls made to directory inquiries from his Department since 1 April 1991.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : This information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Crossbows
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many adults and children have been (a) killed and (b) injured in each of the last five years in incidents arising from the firing of crossbows in (i) public and (ii) private places.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The number of currently recorded homicide offences where the death resulted from the firing of a crossbow for the years 1986 to 1990 are as follows : 1986 nil, 1987 one, 1988 one, 1989 nil, 1990 three --two in one incident. All the victims were adults. It is not known whether the incidents occurred in public or private places. No information is available on the number of accidental deaths involving crossbows nor on incidents involving injuries whether criminal or accidental.
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the latest estimate of the number of crossbows within the United Kingdom ; what existing laws cover the purchase and use of crossbows ; and what representations he has received from the police and others about new laws covering the use of crossbows, including licensing the ownership of crossbows.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Information about the number of crossbows in the United Kingdom is not recorded
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centrally, but I understand from Barnett International, the largest manufacturer of crossbows in the United Kingdom, that its latest estimate of the number of crossbows in circulation is between 250,000 and 300,000.The Crossbows Act 1987 prohibits the sale of crossbows to, and their purchase by, persons under the age of 17. The Act also makes it an offence for a person under 17 to have a crossbow in his possession, unless under the supervision of someone aged 21 or over. There are a number of other measures that bear upon crossbow misuse against people, property or animals. These include the Prevention of Crime Act 1953, Offences Against the Person Act 1861, the Criminal Damage Act 1971, the Protection of Animals Act 1911, the Wildlife and Countryside act 1981 and the Deer Act 1963.
We have received no representations from the police on crossbow controls since the passage of the Crossbows Act 1987.
In the last 12 months there has been one parliamentary question on crossbow controls. We have also received 21 items of correspondence on this issue from Members of Parliament and six letters from the public broadly favouring some form of further control.
Greyhound Racing
Mr. Meale : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will ask the Office of Fair Trading to consider the competitive aspects of bookmaker-owned greyhound tracks supplying races to the bookmaker afternoon greyhound service.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : No. Anyone who believes that they have evidence of anti-competitive behaviour should report the matter to the Office of Fair Trading.
Mr. Meale : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will bring forward proposals for legislation to put greyhound racing on a par with horse racing ; and what plans he has to treat the two industries equally, with regard to off-course betting.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The Government's views on the need for legislation to amend the law on betting on greyhound racing were set out in our recent reply--Cm 1757--to the Home Affairs Committee's report "Financing of Greyhound Racing"--HC 463.
Mr. Meale : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the statutes which control the staging of greyhound racing, greyhound totalisators and on-course betting on greyhound tracks.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The statutory controls on betting at greyhound tracks are contained in the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act 1963, as amended. Further regulations governing the operation of totalisators at greyhound tracks are contained in two statutory instruments made under the 1963 Act. These are the Dog Racecourse Totalisator Regulations 1967, as amended, and the Dog Racecourse Totalisator (Percentage) Order 1980. The Dog Racecourse Totalisator (Percentage) Order 1991 was published on 22 November, and comes into force on 20 December.
Mr. Meale : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Office of Fair Trading considered the competitive aspects of bookmaker-owned greyhound
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tracks supplying racing to the bookmaker afternoon greyhound service ; how long the inquiry took ; and who supplied information to the inquiry.Mr. Peter Lloyd : I understand that the Office of Fair Trading's informal inquiries are made under section 2(2) of the Fair Trading Act 1973, which imposes on the Director-General of Fair Trading a duty to keep commercial activities under review and to collect information with a view to his becoming aware of monopoly situations or uncompetitive practices. The OFT has considered whether the ownership of greyhound tracks by off- course bookmakers raises concerns under the competition legislation, but to date no evidence has been received to suggest formal action is warranted. Details of information collected by the OFT are subject to confidentiality requirements, particularly section 133 of the Fair Trading Act 1973, and cannot therefore be disclosed.
Young Offenders
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) in what circumstances teenagers are placed in young offender institutions for non-violent offences ; and whether he has any plans to end this practice ;
(2) under what circumstances it is his policy for persons aged 15 years to be locked up in prisons or young offenders' institutions ; and whether he has any plans to end this policy ;
(3) from what age young people who have committed offences can be dealt with through the prison system ;
(4) if he will bring forward proposals to remove persons under the age of 21 years from the prison system ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John Patten : From the age of 10, juveniles convicted of murder or manslaughter may be detained under section 53 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933. Section 53 detention is available from the age of 14 for juveniles convicted of other offences carrying a maximum penalty for an adult of imprisonment for 14 years or more. Juveniles aged under sixteen and a half years who are detained under section 53 are normally held in the child care system rather than Prison Service establishments. Detention in a young offender institution is available for males from the age of 14 and females from the age of 15 for any offence for which an adult may be sentenced to imprisonment. Male defendants aged 15 and 16 may be remanded in prison. The Criminal Justice Act 1991 provides for the abolition of courts' power to sentence 14-year-old boys to detention in a young offender institution ; for the ending of prison remands for 15 and 16-year-old males : and tightens the restrictions on the use of custodial sentences for young offenders.
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what steps he intends to take to prevent suicides at Feltham and other young offenders' institutes ;
(2) what plans he has for a public inquiry into the suicide rate at young offenders' institutions.
Mrs. Rumbold : Her Majesty's chief inspector of prisons, Judge Tumim, prepared at my right hon. Friend's predecessor's request last year a report on suicide and self-harm in Prison Service establishments. My right hon. Friend responded to that report in the White Paper
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"Custody, Care and Justice", Cm 1647. We have also received, and circulated to all governors, the summary report of research carried out by Dr. Alison Liebling of the Cambridge university institute of criminology into self-injury among young offenders. A wide- ranging programme of work is in hand to try to reduce the incidence of suicide and self-harm in young offender institutions and other penal establishments. In work with young offenders, the emphasis is on the development of personal officer schemes, the provision of useful activity and measures to address problems of vulnerability and peer group pressure. A recent initiative at Feltham, which I welcome, has been the introduction of weekly case conferences to review the care of the most vulnerable prisoners.I do not think that a public inquiry into the suicide rate at young offender institutions would materially advance the substantial efforts already being made at Feltham and elsewhere to provide care for a particularly vulnerable section of the prison population.
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for how many hours a day he advises that teenagers should be kept in solitary confinement in prisons or young offenders' institutions.
Mrs. Rumbold : There is no such thing as solitary confinement in prisons or young offenders' institutions. However, an inmate may be removed from association with other inmates where this appears desirable either for the maintenance of good order or discipline, or in his own interests, under young offender institution rule 46 or prison rule 43. The length of time for which an inmate is removed from association will depend on the circumstances of each case. No inmate should be segregated for longer than is absolutely necessary. Each case must be kept under continuous review.
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to provide alternatives to custodial sentences for young offenders.
Mr. John Patten : A wide range of community sentences already exists for young offenders. The emphasis is on dealing with young offenders in the community wherever possible. The Criminal Justice Act 1991 establishes a new sentencing framework providing courts with a wider range of strengthened community penalties. The Act creates two new community sentences--the curfew order backed by electronic monitoring and the combined probation and community service order--which will be available from the age of 16.
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what investigation he has made into the psychological effect on persons under the age of 16 years of being held in young offender institutions and being held for long periods in solitary confinement in cells ; and whether he has any plans to make further investigations.
Mrs. Rumbold : An assessment of how young offenders adjust to a custodial environment was the subject of one of the studies in "Applying Psychology to Imprisonment", published in 1987. A further research study was completed this year, which compares regimes in young offender institutions and local authority community homes for juveniles sentenced under section 53(2) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 for serious offences.
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Research has also recently been undertaken by Dr. Alison Liebling of the Cambridge university institute of criminology, into self-injury among young offenders. The need for further research in this area is kept under regular review.Visas
Mr. Corbett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average length of time now being taken between the receipt of interview notes from the United Kingdom high commission in New Delhi by his Department concerning an application for leave to enter by the fiance of a British citizen and the calling of the fiance for interview here.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The current average response time for all interview cases referred from India is 75 days ; the period is from the receipt of the papers in this country until the dispatch of a report to the post. Separate information on particular categories of cases is not available centrally.
Gambling
Mr. Meale : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effect the evening opening of betting shops will have on the level of gambling in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : No such assessment has yet been made. The effect of evening opening of licensed betting offices on levels of gambling is one of the matters on which the recent Home Office consultation document invited views from interested parties. Evidence received about the effect on levels of gambling will be one of the factors taken into account in the Government's further consideration of whether to allow evening opening.
Mr. Meale : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's policy on gambling as it relates to horse racing and greyhound racing.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : It is Government policy on gambling, including betting on horseracing and greyhound racing, that it should be subject to statutory control to ensure that it is conducted honestly and fairly, and that gambling should not be positively encouraged.
Mr. Meale : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Home Office began its review of section 19 of the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act 1963 ; and how long he expects the review to take.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The review has not yet begun. It will be undertaken as quickly as possible, but the issues are complex and it is not clear at this stage how long it will take to complete.
Football (Policing)
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce a pricing policy for the policing of football matches based upon club attendance levels and past records of incidents.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Charges made by police authorities for the policing of football matches under section 15 of the Police Act 1964 reflect the number of officers deployed.
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Home Office circular 36/1991 encouraged chief officers to discuss deployment with football clubs, taking account of all relevant factors, but ultimately it must be for the chief officer to decide how many officers need to be deployed on each occasion.Small Shops
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has any proposals to remove the threat of prosecution from small local shops which have traditionally opened late in the evening and on Sundays to sell their full product range ; and what representations he has had from the Greek Cypriot and other ethnic minority communities on this subject.
Mrs. Rumbold : The institution of proceedings for breaches of the Shops Act 1950 is a matter for local authorities. Proposals for extended evening shop trading hours, and for small local shops to trade fully on Sundays, are among those which have been put to me in my discussions with numerous interest groups about reform of the Act. Records of our correspondents on these proposals are not classified by ethnic community.
Urban Crime
Sir John Wheeler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he intends to take to deal with urban crime.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : I am launching today a new initiative : the urban crime fund. This will provide targeted additional funds to selected forces on an experimental basis. Merseyside, Northumbria and West Yorkshire will each be eligible for additional funding in 1992-93 of up to some £3.6 million.
The additional funding--made available direct to police authorities through the Government's urban programme--will be targeted on the inner cities, including city challenge areas. This demonstrates the Government's commitment to a co-ordinated attack on inner city problems in partnership with local authorities, the private sector and local communities.
The three police authorities will be invited to put proposals to me on how they would use the extra resources. I will be looking particularly for effective and innovative measures, including the mobilisation of local communities, in the fight against urban crime.
Racial Hatred
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his evaluation of the effectiveness of the law making it a criminal offence to incite racial hatred.
Mrs. Rumbold [holding answer 21 November 1991] : The Government deplore any act likely or intended to stir up racial hatred. We believe that part III of the Public Order Act 1986 has played an important part in deterring such acts. We shall continue to keep the legislation and its operation under review.
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NATIONAL FINANCE
Off-Balance Sheet Financing
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has any plans to introduce legislation under which banks will be prevented from selling off-balance sheet financing schemes.
Mr. Maples : I have no such plans.
British Telecom
Ms. Mowlam : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if any institution which provided a presentation for becoming a retail outlet in the BT share sale was rejected.
Mr. Maude : The Government selected eight organisations to act as share shops in the sale of shares in BT plc from among the various proposals received.
Ms. Mowlam : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list those institutions which made presentations with regard to the second BT share offer, in response to his invitation.
Mr. Maude : It is for the organisations concerned to disclose whether they made a submission in response to the Chancellor's invitation in his Budget speech for proposals from private sector organisations for a high street share dealing network.
Ms. Mowlam : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what criteria were used to evaluate the eight retail institutions' ability to undertake at relatively short notice the sale of BT shares, referred to in his answer of 22 October 1991, Official Report, column 505 .
Mr. Maude : The Government's objective was a network of share shops which, together, could respond to the high volumes of a public share sale while giving the public a choice of institutions. This was achieved with the selection of the eight firms who are participating in the BT share sale. The Government intend to build on these arrangements in future public share sales.
Ms. Mowlam : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list those institutions which wrote to his Department stating an interest with regard to the second BT share offer but did not make a presentation.
Mr. Maude : The proposals received from organisations in response to the Government's share shops initiative ranged widely in the extent of detail in which they were made.
Life Assurance and Pension Payments
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of expenditure of total disposable household income was accounted for by life assurance and pension fund payments in 1990 ; and what is the estimated percentage level for the current year.
Mr. Maples : Household disposable income, and hence expenditure of that income, excludes amounts paid as pension contributions, whether to the state scheme or to occupational schemes. Contributions to the latter type of scheme, together with life assurance premiums paid by individuals, are estimated to have amounted in 1990 to 7.6
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per cent. of households' current expenditure. The latter aggregate has been adjusted to include the occupational scheme contributions. There is no official estimate of this percentage in 1991. Contributions to the state scheme are intended to fund social security benefits of all types and no estimate is made of the proportion which notionally finances state pensions.EC Membership
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish the effect of EC membership to date on the United Kingdom balance of payments in terms of 1990 prices and on the United Kingdom rate of economic growth forecast by Her Majesty's Treasury in Cmnd. 4289 together with (a) the actual average per capita rate of growth from 1973 to 1990 and comparable data for the decade ending in 1973 and (b) the average non-oil balance of payments surplus or deficit with the EEC Six and with other countries in each period in terms of 1990 prices ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maples : It is not possible to produce reliable estimates of the effects of EC membership on the United Kingdom balance of payments or on the rate of economic growth. Data requested on the growth of GDP per capita can be derived from statistics published by the Central Statistical Office in "Economic Trends Annual Supplement", 1990 edition, and on trade balances with the EC Six and other countries from the CSO's "Monthly Review of External Trade Statistics Annual Supplement 1991".
Town and Country Building Society
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will make a statement on the affairs of the Town and Country building society.
Mr. Maples : The Woolwich building society issued a press release on 19 November stating that the board of the Town and Country building society had agreed to recommend to its members a transfer of the society's engagements to the Woolwich building society and that arrangements for the transfer, subject to audit and to regulatory and other relevant requirements, were accordingly proceeding.
TESSAs
Mr. French : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to remind banks and building societies of the specification of section 4 of S.I. 2361/1990 that tax-exempt special savings accounts must be transferable from one society or institution to another society or institution.
Mr. Maude : There is no need, since there is no evidence to suggest that institutions are not allowing savers to transfer their TESSAs elsewhere.
Mr. French : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Gloucester, 13 November, Official Report, column 526, if he will review the extent to which TESSA issuers are departing from the aims of TESSAs, as stated in the 1990 Budget, by levying penalties for withdrawing interest.
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Mr. Maude : The TESSA rules specify the maximum amount of interest which may be withdrawn without loss of tax exemption. Within those limits, the terms under which withdrawals may be made are a matter for agreement between investors and operators.
EC (Government Debt)
Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will list the unfunded maintenance backlog liability on public sector capital assets by member state of the EC and the effect such unfunding has on the calculation of each member state's Government debt as set out in the draft treaty on economic and monetary union ; (2) if he will list the unfunded nuclear reactor decommissioning liability by member state of the EC and the effect such unfunding has on the calculation of each member state's Government debt as set out in the draft treaty on economic and monetary union ;
(3) if he will list the notionally funded and unfunded public sector employees pensions liability by member states of the EC and the effect such unfunding has on the calculation of each member state's Government debt as set out in the draft treaty on economic and monetary union.
Mr. Maude : Standard definitions of Government debt measure the cumulative liability incurred on past borrowing, which accords with the common usage of the term "debt". They do not include any measure of unfunded liabilities. The requested data on unfunded liabilities are not readily available.
Single Currency
Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state the present and future implications for the United Kingdom Budget of proposals for a single currency in the draft treaty on economic and monetary union as a result of different methods of accounting for liabilities in each member state's national accounts.
Mr. Maude : National accounting conventions in other EC member states have no obvious implications, either now or in the future, for United Kingdom budgetary policy.
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