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Mr. Renton : Responsibility for funding individual arts organisations or artists in London lies with the Arts Council and the new London Arts Board. One of the main aims of both bodies in funding arts organisation is to promote access for people regardless of age. But a number of music organisations which offer services specifically for the young or for pensioners do receive grants, among them Youth and Music and Live Music Now.
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SOCIAL SECURITY
EC (Visits)
Mr. Forman : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list for himself, and for each of the Ministers at his Department, details of (i) the number of visits made during the past month to destinations outside the United Kingdom but within the European Community on official business related to the European Community, (ii) the number of visits made to Brussels within the past month on official business related to the European Community and (iii) the number of nights spent over the past month away from the United Kingdom on official European Community business.
Mr. Jack : As the Minister responsible for Europe in the Department, I made the following visits between 28 October and 27 November : to Brussels on 6 November ; and to Lisbon on 25-26 November, which involved an overnight stay.
Mr. Forman : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list (i) the number of visits made by officials in his Department during the past month to destinations outside the United Kingdom but within the European Community on official business related to the European Community, (ii) the number of visits made by officials in his Department to Brussels within the past month on official business related to the European Community and (iii) the number of nights spent by officials in his Department over the past month away from the United Kingdom on official European Community business.
Mr. Jack : The latest available information relates to October 1991. The Department arranged 37 visits to European Community countries, of which 19 were to Brussels. Officials spent 58 nights away, although this figure includes additional overnight stays for officials also involved in non- European Community business, such as attending Council of Europe meetings. If the primary purpose of a visit is for European Community business, any additional stay for other business is not recorded separately.
Pension Age Equalisation
Mr. Andrew Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what progress has been made towards publishing a consultation paper on the equalisation of pension ages for men and women.
Miss Widdecombe : Work on the proposed discussion paper is well advanced.
Community Care Grants
Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether any special arrangements exist for consideration for community care grants from the social fund for those recently released from prison.
Miss Widdecombe : People recently released from prison who are in receipt of income support are eligible to apply, in the normal way, for the full range of help available from the social fund, including community care grants.
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Correspondence
Mr. Nellist : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when the hon. Member for Coventry, South-East can expect a reply to his written question of 18 November, concerning the state pension and the Christmas bonus.
Miss Widdecombe : I replied to the hon. Member today.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 18 November, Official Report, column 80, concerning the transfer to local authorities of expenditure which would otherwise have been incurred by his Department on the care element, whether the amount transferred will be based on the number of individuals applying, a block grant on average numbers applying or expected, or some other basis.
Miss Widdecombe : The amount transferred will be based on the estimated number of people who would have claimed the higher income support limits for residential care and nursing homes. It will also reflect trends in average payments.
Pensioners
Sir Ian Gilmour : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will update to 1988 his reply to the right hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham, Official Report, 20 May 1991, column 389, showing the numbers of retirement pensioners with incomes other than state pensions within the given bands of income.
Miss Widdecombe : The information requested is in the table :
Numbers (thousands)
|Married|Single
--------------------------------------
Up to £5 |130 |650
£5-£10 |100 |350
£10-£15 |140 |370
£15-£20 |160 |430
£20-£30 |340 |950
£30-£40 |200 |400
£40-£50 |200 |230
£50-£60 |120 |150
£60-£70 |90 |120
£70-£80 |100 |130
£80-£90 |80 |110
£90-£100 |60 |70
£100-£110 |70 |60
£110-£130 |120 |120
£130-£150 |90 |60
£150-£200 |190 |100
£200 and over |330 |130
|--- |---
Total |2,510 |4,430
Note: The figures show respectively
thousands of pensioner couples and
single pensioners in receipt of gross
incomes other than retirement pension,
supplementary pension and income
support. This definition conforms
with that used in the answer provided
to my right hon. Friend the Member
for Chesham and Amersham (Sir I.
Gilmour) on 20 May 1991 at columns
388-89. The income bands have been
aggregated in some cases to provide a
statistically adequate sample.
Source: 1988 family expenditure
survey.
Mr. Nellist : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the current value of the state retirement pension had its 1979 value been increased each
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year by either the percentage rise in prices or in average earnings whichever in each year was the higher ; and what would be the current value of the pensioners' Christmas bonus had it been increased since its introduction by (a) the percentage rise in prices, (b) the percentage rise in average earnings or (c) the percentage rise in either prices of average earnings whichever, in each year, had been the higher.Miss Widdecombe [holding answer 18 November 1991] : The basic pension would now be worth £65.85 had it been increased since 1979 by the higher of earnings or prices. The extra cost to the national insurance fund of this increase would require the combined employer and employee National Insurance contributions to rise by £8.70 per week for a male employee on average earnings.
The Christmas bonus would now be worth £57.30 had it been increased since 1972 in line with prices, at an extra cost of £568 million ; £77.40 had it been increased in line with average earnings, at an extra cost of £809 million ; and £88.10 had it been increased in line with the higher of average earnings or prices, at an extra cost of £937 million. As the bonus is paid to all pensioners regardless of income, any increase in its present level would be a poorly targeted use of resources and would also require higher national insurance contributions.
Mobility Allowance
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he has any plans to enable those who are partially sighted to qualify for mobility allowance.
Mr. Scott : Disability living allowance, which will replace mobility allowance in April 1992, will introduce a new rate of benefit for disabled people who, although physically able to walk, are unable to get around on unfamiliar routes without guidance or supervision from another person. We expect that substantial numbers of people with severe visual impairments will benefit from this extension.
Benefit Offices
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) whether he will review staffing levels in local benefit offices ; what steps he proposes to increase the staff available ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) whether he will review the criteria to determine the number of staff required to cope with the workload in local benefit offices ; and what steps he proposes to take to relieve the build-up of work being undertaken by existing staff in local benefit offices.
Miss Widdecombe : The staffing of district offices is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member and copies will be placed in the Library and the Public Information Office.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of the benefit offices staff wage bill has been paid in overtime payments for each of the last five years.
Miss Widdecombe : It is not possible to isolate from general Departmental salaries those costs in respect of staff employed in payment of benefits.
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The overall figures for staff salaries and overtime
are as follows:
Year |Salaries |Overtime |Percentage
|£ million |£ million
-------------------------------------------------------
1986-87 |690.5 |21.4 |3.1
1987-88 |784.2 |25.7 |3.28
1988-89 |838.8 |17.4 |2.07
1989-90<1> |802.6 |31.9 |3.97
1990-91<1> |894.9 |45.9 |5.13
<1> 1989-90 and 1990-91 show the costs for the
Department of Social Security alone. Previous years'
totals include costs for the Department of Health. It
is not possible to separate the information in respect
of what were then the component parts of the
Department of Health and Social Security.
Citizens Charter
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what specific redress will be available to claimants who are in receipt of benefits from local offices as a result of the citizens charter.
Miss Widdecombe : The question of redress for claimants who are in receipt of benefits from local offices is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member and copies will be placed in the Library and the Public Information Office.
Income Support
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what study has been made on the effect on 16 or 17-year-olds of the change in benefit regulations that removed their right to income support.
Mr. Jack : Research from MORI was commissioned in July 1990 about 16 and 17-year-olds who claim income support under the severe hardship provision. The results
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were published on 16 July 1991 in the report, "A Survey of 16 and 17 year Old Applicants for Severe Hardship Payments", a copy of which is available in the Library.Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what loans or benefits are available to enable people on income support to pay deposits and rent in advance to enable them to move into accommodation.
Miss Widdecombe : Budgeting or crisis loans are available from the social fund to help with rent in advance for private accommodation. Help with deposits for securing accommodation is excluded from the social security system.
Cost of Living
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what evidence he has of the comparative cost of living of a 24-year-old and a 25 -year-old.
Miss Widdecombe : The structure of income support is based on the Green Paper which introduced the 1988 social security reforms. This noted that there is no one age dividing line relevant to all claimants and that the clear majority of claimants under 25 were living in someone else's household. Evidence from the most recent family expenditure survey confirms that this remains the position. Sources :
1. The Reform of Social Security (Cmnd 9518, June 1985), Vol. 2, page 23, paragraph 2.73.
2. 1988 family expenditure survey.
Young Persons (Benefits)
Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many pregnant women aged 16 and 17 years, respectively, received any kind of benefit in 1988-89 and 1990-91 ; and which benefits they received.
Mr. Jack [holding answer 21 November 1991] : Such information as is available is set out in the tables.
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Year |Age |Expectant mothers|Expectant mothers|Total
|in receipt of |in receipt of
|income support |income support
|as a claimant |as the partner
|of a claimant
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1988 |16 |600 |200 |800
|17 |1,400 |200 |1,600
1989 |16 |600 |200 |800
|17 |1,100 |400 |1,500
1990 |16 |400 |100 |500
|17 |1,700 |100 |1,800
Notes:
1. Figures on income support relate to the date of enquiry not over the whole year.
2. Figures are not yet available for income support for May 1991.
3. All figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred.
4. As the figures are based on a 1 per cent. sample, small figures may be unreliable.
Source: Annual Statistical Enquiry, May 1988, May 1989 and May 1990.
Year |Age |Maternity|Sickness
|allowance|benefit
--------------------------------------------------
1989 |16 |Nil |Nil
|17 |600 |500
Notes:
1. Figures relate to the number of awards in the
12 months ended 2 April 1989. Figures are not yet
available for 1990-91.
2. All figures are based on a 1:100 sample. As
the number of sample cases is so small, in
relation to the total population they cannot be
considered reliable.
3. Additionally, 1,400 16-year-old women and 1,
500 17-year-old
women were awarded national insurance credits
although no benefit was payable.
Source: Annual Enquiry, April 1989.
DEFENCE
Challenger II Tanks
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration was given to the use of a global positioning system in Challenger II tanks in the
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evaluation of alternative specifications between 1988 and 1990 ; and why it was decided not to use the system at that time.Mr. Alan Clark : None. During the period in question, the specification for the Chieftain replacement included an inertial, rather than a satellite-based, navigation system. Subsequent experience in operating Challenger I in the Gulf demonstrated that a global positioning system would be adequate to meet our operational needs.
Mr. Home Roberston : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the global positioning system proposed for Challenger II tanks can be used to transfer tactical information to other units as part of a battlefield control system.
Mr. Alan Clark : Yes, when linked with the necessary interfaces and communication facilities.
Royal Naval Reserve
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will set out the necessary technical qualifications of Royal Navy reservists serving in (a) the port divers branch and (b) the degaussing branch ; in what other branches of the Royal Naval Reserve they will be able to use those qualifications ; and whether those other branches will be funded to provide for higher strengths than at present.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under- Secretary of State for the Armed Forces will write to the hon. Member.
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Royal Naval Reserve personnel he estimates will have to leave the Royal Naval Reserve as a result of the disbandment of 11 branches and four communications training centres.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : We expect the establishment of the Royal Naval Reserve to reduce by some 1,200. The number of personnel who have to leave will depend on the level of natural turnover.
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the principal peacetime and wartime roles of (a) the port divers and (b) the degaussing branches of the Royal Naval Reserve ; who will carry out these roles when the branches are disbanded ; and what considerations have led to the proposed closure of these branches.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The principal peacetime role of the port divers and degaussers is to train in preparation for their war role, which includes underwater first aid ship repair and ship husbandry and the monitoring and reduction of surface ships magnetic signatures. Longer warning times and the changing international situation mean that adequate arrangements can be made for these tasks during the longer period of force regeneration.
Tanks
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information is available to him about the type of inertial navigation system and/or global position system which is in service or planned for tanks in the armies of NATO member states and France.
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Mr. Alan Clark : Our NATO allies provide information on a confidential basis on a wide range of systems, in-service or planned for service with their forces.
EC (Visits)
Mr. Forman : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will list for himself, and for each of the Ministers at his Department, details of (a) the number of visits made in the past month to destinations outside the United Kingdom but within the European Community on official business related to the European Community, (b) the number of visits made to Brussels within the past month on official business related to the European Community and (c) the number of nights spent over the past month away from the United Kingdom on official European Community business ;
(2) if he will list the number of visits made by officials in his Department during the past month to destinations outside the United Kingdom but within the European Community on official business related to the European Community, the number of visits made by officials in his Department to Brussels within the past month on official business related to the European Community and the number of nights spent by officials in his Department over the past month away from the United Kingdom official European Community business.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Neither Ministers nor officials in this Department have made visits to Brussels or any other locations on European Community business in the last month.
Unoccupied Homes
Mr. Viggers : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 19 November, Official Report, column 152 to the hon. Member for Newport, West (Mr. Flynn) about the number of Ministry of Defence residential properties that are currently standing empty, what intentions the Department has for their future use.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The Ministry of Defence housing task force, under the chairmanship of my noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces, is currently considering ways in which surplus dwellings could be utilised to help those service personnel leaving the services over the next few years on redundancy terms who may experience housing difficulties. Not all Ministry of Defence empty properties are surplus to our requirements. We will always need to retain an appropriate management margin of vacant properties because of the frequent moves undertaken by service families. In addition, any properties undergoing or awaiting major maintenance work or modernisation will be brought back into use as the work is completed. Surplus properties are normally disposed of at the earliest opportunity.
Operation Granby
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if there were any occasions during Operation Granby when global positioning systems in United Kingdom fighting vehicles did not function either because of equipment failure, environmental or physical obstruction, or because of any risk of location by the enemy ; and if he will make a statement on the performance of this equipment.
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Mr. Archie Hamilton : The detailed assessment of equipment performance in the Gulf is not yet complete. As the statement on the defence estimates 1991 makes clear, satellite global positioning equipment was crucial to accurate navigation over the desert and in Gulf waters.Near Misses
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his practice to keep central records of near misses involving military jet aircraft and shipping ; and if he will make a statement.
TRANSPORT
West Yorkshire Electrification
Mr. Waller : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement about the west Yorkshire electrification project.
Mr. Freeman : I am happy to say that I have informed the West Yorkshire passenger transport authority that the Government are willing to provide credit approvals for the infrastructure, and have opened the way for the PTA to take an operating lease on the rolling stock on terms previously proposed.
Radioactive Material (Transport)
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list by year for the last four years, and for the current year to date, the number of vehicle journeys on (a) the A1(M), (b) the M18, (c) the M180, (d) the M1 and (e) the M62 involving the transport of (i) medium and (ii) high- level radioactive material.
Mr. Chope : My Department does not collect data of the kind requested.
Lifejackets
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will set out the European Commission proposals for (a) inflatable and (b) non-inflatable lifejackets.
Mr. McLoughlin : The European Commission's proposals for inflatable and non-inflatable lifejackets are set out in the European Council directive 89/086/EEC, a copy of which is available in the Library.
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will set out the United Kingdom proposals for lifejackets.
Mr. McLoughlin : The United Kingdom requirements for lifejackets are contained in the International Maritime Organisation's safety of life at sea--SOLAS--convention 1974, as amended, and the Merchant Shipping (Life Saving Appliances) Regulations 1986. For non-SOLAS ships the British standard for lifejackets--BS 3595 : 1981 may, under specific circumstances, be accepted as an equivalent. Copies of each of these documents have been placed in the Library.
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the representations he has received and made about the European Commission's lifejackets proposals.
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Mr. McLoughlin : Responsibility for the European Commission's directive on lifejackets lies with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. My Department, along with other organisations within the United Kingdom, provides input to the relevant British standards technical committee, which represent the United Kingdom's interest in the appropriate European Commission's Comite Europe en de Normalisation-- European Committee for Standardisation--technical committee 162.
Merchant Navy
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the names of Merchant Navy training establishments and the number of places in each ; and if he will give details of establishments and places which have been closed since 1980.
Mr. McLoughlin : The Department of Transport is responsible for the approval of seafarer training programmes and for setting monitoring standards for the issue of certificates. It is not responsible for the provision of Merchant Navy training establishments and does not maintain records of the number of places in each ; nor does it have a complete record of establishments and places which have been closed since 1980.
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the number of (a) officer cadets and (b) ratings who entered Merchant Navy training establishments for each year since 1980, including the number who commenced training and completed training for each of those years.
Mr. McLoughlin : The total numbers of officer cadets and ratings who entered Merchant Navy training establishments each year are given in the table. The number of ratings recruited is taken from the annual report of the National Sea Training college, Gravesend, which goes back to 1984.
Year |Officer cadets|Ratings ------------------------------------------------------------ 1980 |1,274 |- 1981 |656 |- 1982 |296 |- 1983 |152 |- 1984 |183 |193 1985 |182 |373 1986 |177 |217 1987 |162 |230 1988 |227 |240 1989 |413 |229 1990 |521 |212
For officer cadets there is a wastage factor of 25 per cent. over the period of training, but for ratings the wastage factor has been just over 5 per cent. for the considerably shorter training periods.
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give the yearly cost to his Department of the Government scheme of assistance for training for the Merchant Navy since its introduction.
Mr. McLoughlin : The Merchant Shipping Act 1988 makes provision for building on existing training arrangements and the Department of Transport is providing financial assistance for training for the Merchant Navy. The yearly cost to this Department since the scheme was introduced in 1988 is as follows :
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Financial |Cost year£ ------------------------------ 1988-89 |843,844 1989-90 |1,757,518 1990-91 |2,341,540
Citizens Charter
Mr. Gill : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the British Rail Board about its plans for complying with the requirements of the citizens charter ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : Ministers and officials have had a number of discussions with British Rail about the implementation of the citizens charter. British Rail is currently working up its proposals and hopes to publish its passengers charter early in the new year.
Training
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish a projection of (a) the number of officer cadets and (b) ratings whom he expects to commence training in each year up to the year 2000.
Mr. McLoughlin : There are some indications that the number of officer cadets commencing training each year is stabilising, but it is too early to predict what the level of recruitment will be each year up to the year 2000. However, the Department welcomes the commitment given by industry in the joint working party report "British Shipping : Challenges and Opportunities" to recruit at least the minimum number of trainees needed to fill its projected requirements for United Kingdom nationals, and will keep the numbers recruited under review.
Car Security
Mr. Amos : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will meet motor manufacturers to discuss the installation of security devices on all cars as a matter of standard practice ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Chope : Immobilisers are already fitted as standard practice on all cars. Possible improvements to installed car security devices are the subject of discussion between my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary and motor manufacturers. The last discussions were held on 23 September 1991 and further meetings are planned.
Large Goods Vehicle Licence
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secetary of State for Transport what financial assistance is available to assist drivers who are unemployed and in receipt of benefit, to pay for medical examinations required for drivers of LGVs once they reach 46 years of age or to renew their licence.
Mr. Chope : The Department of Transport has no power to provide financial assistance towards the cost of the medical examination required by any driver who applies to renew a large goods vehicle driving licence at age 45.
Driving Licences
Mr. Terry Davis : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many short-period driving licences were issued or renewed in 1990-91.
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Mr. Chope [holding answer Friday 29 November 1991] : A total of 6,228,634 licences were issued during 1990-91. Of these, 748,955 were short-period licences issued to and renewed by drivers of 70-plus years and 130,720 were short-period licences renewed by drivers with medical conditions.
HEALTH
EC (Visits)
Mr. Forman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list (i) the number of visits made by officials in his Department during the past month to destinations outside the United Kingdom but within the European Community on official business related to the European Community, (ii) the number of visits made by officials in his Department to Brussels within the past month on official business related to the European Community and (iii) the number of nights spent by officials in his Department over the past month away from the United Kingdom on official European Community business.
Mr. Dorrell : There were two meetings excluding visits to Brussels and seven meetings of the Health Council and council working groups involving nine officials. Officials spent a total of 14 nights away from the United Kingdom.
Information on the number of other visits to EC countries by officials which may have involved discussions relating to EC business is not readily available.
Mr. Forman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for himself, and for each of the Ministers at his Department, details of (a) the number of visits made in the past month to destinations outside the United Kingdom but within the European Community on official business related to the European Community, (b) the number of visits made to Brussels within the past month on official business related to the European Community and (c) the number of nights spent over the past month away from the United Kingdom on official European Community business.
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