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assuming this is introduced at the beginning of 1992-93, with (1) the current system of tax allowances and (2) all tax allowances and reliefs, except the single person's allowance, restricted to the basic rate, giving the numbers in each case who are taken out of tax altogether.Mr. Maude [holding answer 5 December 1991] : Estimates of the direct revenue costs are as follows :
Cost under current system of tax allowances (£ million) Increase in the1991-92al 1992-93 allowance (£) |First year |Full year |First year |Full year ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 100 |500 |650 |500 |650 200 |1,000 |1,300 |1,000 |1,300 300 |1,500 |1,950 |1,500 |1,950
Cost following the restriction of all tax allowances and reliefs (except the personal allowance) to the basic rate (£ million) Increase in the1991-92al 1992-93 allowance (£) |First year |Full year |First year |Full year ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 100 |550 |700 |550 |700 200 |1,050 |1,350 |1,050 |1,350 300 |1,550 |2,050 |1,550 |2,000
The numbers taken out of tax in either year are estimated to be (a) 200,000, (b) 500,000 and (c) 700,000.
SCOTLAND
Hospital Beds
Mr. Maxton : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give (a) the total number of private and voluntary sector hospital beds, (b) the number of private and voluntary sector acute beds, (c) the total number of national health service beds and (d) the number of national health service acute beds in Scottish hospitals in each year since 1979.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The information requested is given in the table :
Number of beds at 31 March (Scotland) ------------------------------------------ 1979 |<1>- |<1>- |58,788|19,005 1980 |<1>- |<1>- |58,334|18,984 1981 |<1>- |<1>- |58,150|18,755 1982 |<1>- |<1>- |57,928|18,649 1983 |<1>- |<1>- |57,119|18,092 1984 |<1>- |<1>- |57,342|18,079 1985 |<1>- |<1>- |56,802|17,753 1986 |<1>- |<1>- |55,955|17,384 1987 |334 |<1>- |55,338|17,223 1988 |355 |<1>- |54,487|17,005 1989 |353 |<1>- |53,448|16,595 1990 |376 |<1>- |52,121|16,270 1991 |376 |<1>- |50,640|15,883 <1> Information not collected centrally.
Capital Expenditure
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the allotted capital expenditure for local authorities on education in cash and constant price terms since 1979.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The information given in the following table records actual capital expenditure in each year, taken from local authority financial returns. The fall in expenditure in real terms during the period reflects a substantial and progressive decline in school pupil numbers which has reduced the requirement for new school building.
Capital expenditure by local authorities on
educational building
£ million
|At out-turn|At 1990-91
|prices |prices
------------------------------------------------
1979-80 |52.926 |115.004
1980-81 |55.799 |102.462
1981-82 |64.283 |107.648
1982-83 |58.159 |90.916
1983-84 |52.825 |78.921
1984-85 |51.429 |73.174
1985-86 |59.374 |80.061
1986-87 |55.262 |72.144
1987-88 |61.832 |76.558
1988-89 |74.102 |85.603
1989-90 |81.593 |88.516
1990-91 |78.284 |78.284
Note:-The figures include expenditure on
schools, further education and, from 1985-86,
community education. Out-turn figures have been
converted to 1990-91 prices using the GDP
deflator.
Pension Power
Sir David Steel : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what response he has made to his recent meeting with representatives of Scottish Pensioner Power ; and what action he intends to take as a result of the meeting.
Mr. Lang : I had a useful and constructive meeting with representatives of Scottish Pensioner Power on 18 October in Glenluce, since when I have corresponded with them twice in connection with specific matters raised by them.
Environmental Protection
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the proposals in the citizens charter, the parents charter and the patients charter which have reference to environmental protection.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 4 December 1991] : There are no proposals in the parents or the patients charters which refer directly to environmental protection, although environmental health aspects are clearly relevant to the patients charter proposals.
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Furniture Moving
Mr. David Evans : To ask the Lord President of the Council what arrangements are made for moving chairs and furniture around the Palace of Westminster ; and if he will list the outside companies and organisations involved and their cost each year for the last five years.
Mr. MacGregor : The Parliamentary Works Office employs porters to carry out this work on the parliamentary estate. Additional supplementary porterage is provided when needed by Swift and French who hold the Buying Agency's call-off contract for removal of goods within the London region. Bishop's Move has also been used this year to provide a storage and removal service for the furnishing and fitting out of the new parliamentary building.
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Departmental Telephone Calls
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Lord President of the Council what information is available on the number of calls made to directory inquiries from House of Commons telephones since 1 April 1991.
Mr. MacGregor [holding answer 27 November 1991] : I regret that this information is not available.
Members' Rooms
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Lord President of the Council how many thefts from hon. Members' rooms have been reported in 1991 to the to the most recent practicable date.
Mr. MacGregor [holding answer 2 December 1991] : Forty thefts have been reported from Members' rooms in 1991 to date 1 December. I am pleased to be able to let the hon. Member know that, following police investigations, a man is at present on bail, having been arrested in connection with a number of thefts from the House.
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Lord President of the Council if he is satisfied with the locking procedures for hon. Members' rooms at the conclusion of parliamentary business each day ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. MacGregor [holding answer 2 December 1991] : Yes, I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Nottingham, North (Mr. Allen) on 11 November at columns 365-66.
ENERGY
Home Energy Efficiency Scheme
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what plans the Government have to review the level of funds allocated to the home energy efficiency scheme.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : There is some £26 million available for the home energy efficiency scheme (HEES) during the current financial year. In 1992-93 some £40 million will be available in my Department's budget for the promotion of energy efficiency in low income households of which the major part will be funding for HEES, representing an increase of about 50 per cent.
Mr. Andrew Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what plans the Government have to publicise the help available under the home energy efficiency scheme.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : Leaflets about the home energy efficiency scheme (HEES) have already been distributed to local authority housing offices, local offices of the Department of Social Security, citizens advice bureaux, Help the Aged offices and various other organisations. HEES is also promoted via the "Keep Warm Keep Well" campaign. In addition, my Department is exploring with the Department of Social Security other methods by which potential clients may be made aware of the scheme.
Carbon Dioxide Emissions
Mr. Burns : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what further developments have taken place on future carbon dioxide emission scenarios.
Mr. Wakeham : The Government made a commitment last year to return United Kingdom CO emissions to 1990
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levels by 2005 if other countries play their part. It also made clear that it would monitor progress towards achieving this challenging target, and if possible improve on it. There have been several significant and helpful developments since projections of CO emissions were made available in 1989. These include a number of new proposals for more efficient gas fired electricity generation, following the introduction of competition into the electricity industry, which will reduce CO emissions. In the light of these and other changes my Department has prepared some new scenarios for United Kingdom CO emissions taking into account recent trends, including improvements in energy efficiency.The latest scenarios suggest emissions in millions of tonnes of carbon (mtc) could be within the following ranges :
Year ------------------------ 1985 |158 2000 |174-206 2005 |178-225 2020 |188-316
These figures are produced on the same basis as those in the Digest of Environmental Protection and Water Statistics.
Previous ranges (in mtc) based on data submitted in 1989 to the IPCC and subsequently published in Energy Paper 58 were :
Year ------------------------ 1985 |158 2000 |174-206 2005 |178-225 2020 |188-316
Details of the new scenarios and the assumptions underlying them are being prepared for publication next year.
While it is welcome that these new developments indicate progress towards reducing growth in CO emissions there remains substantial uncertainty about the future path of United Kingdom emissions. It remains our view that the Government's target is a demanding but realistic one. There can be no question of making commitments that we cannot be sure of achieving.
Discussions on further measures to limit CO emissions at national and Community level will continue at the Joint Energy and Environment Council due to take place in Brussels on 13 December. The Government will play a full and active part in these discussions.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Insurance Companies
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what powers he has under the Insurance Companies Act 1982 to preserve the independence of insurance companies and societies from merger with banks and building societies ; and how those powers have been used.
Mr. Redwood : The Insurance Companies Act 1982 contains no general restrictions on mergers between insurance companies and banks and building societies.
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However, there are limitations on the extent to which insurance companies may carry on non-insurance business. More specifically, the Act gives the Secretary of State a range of intervention powers which are exercisable when the interests of policyholders are at risk. Further, in approving changes of control of insurance companies and in authorising companies to carry on insurance business in the United Kingdom the Secretary of State is required (under sections 61 and 7 of the Act respectively) to be satisfied that a proposed controller, whether a company or an individual, is fit and proper to hold that position.In exercising these powers the Secretary of State looks at each case individually.
Fraud Investigation
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many cases of fraud in pension schemes his Department is currently investigating ; and how many staff are employed on the investigations.
Mr. Lilley : There are currently no cases where inspectors have been appointed under the Companies Act to investigate fraud in pension schemes. However, inspectors are appointed to investigate all the affairs of a company.
Investment Services Directive
Ms. Mowlam : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if the proposed directive on investment services will be under negotiation at the Maastricht summit ; and if it remains Her Majesty's Government's policy to press for its adoption.
Mr. Redwood : The Investment Services Directive is not on the agenda for the Maastricht summit. The Government wish to see a directive which genuinely liberalises the single market in investment services and which does not impose unnecessary restrictions on member states' markets.
Sunday Trading
Sir Michael Neubert : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will refer the action of the supermarket chains in opening on Sundays to the Director-General of Fair Trading on the ground that it represents an unfair trading practice.
Mr. Redwood : No. Competition legislation is not designed to apply to the opening of supermarket chains on Sunday.
ECGD Insurance Services Group
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the vested and non-vested markets in the sale of the Insurance Services Group of the Export Credits Guarantee Department to NCM of Amsterdam.
Mr. Lilley [holding answer 5 December 1991] : The non-vested markets are :
Angola
Egypt
Gambia
Guyana
Iran
Iraq
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JordanKuwait
Liberia
Libya
Nigeria
Sierra Leone
Somalia
Soviet Union (all the republics which formed part of the USSR as at 1 January 1990) and the Baltic States
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Tanzania
Yugoslavia (deemed to comprise all of the Republics which formed part of Yugoslavia as at 30 June 1991)
Zambia
The vested markets are all the remaining countries for which ECGD short- term cover was available immediately prior to the sale. Non-vesting means that neither the risk nor the benefit of business underwritten under ECGD policies on the relevant country has been transferred to NCM credit insurance as part of the sale arrangements. The risk on future business insured under NCM credit insurance policies with those non-vested markets for which ECGD cover was available immediately prior to vesting will in certain cases be assumed by NCM under wholly private sector arrangements and in others under the national interest reinsurance facility provided to it by ECGD.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Diplomatic Missions
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the current establishment at each of United Kingdom's diplomatic missions overseas ; what were the comparable figures in 1979 ; what posts have been closed since 1979 ; which new ones opened ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : I refer the hon. Member to the current edition of Her Majesty's diplomatic service overseas reference list and the edition for 1979, copies of which are in the Library of the House. This publication provides details of staff at each overseas post. Posts opened since 1979 include : Kiribati, Belmopan, Brazzaville (November 1983), Managua, San Salvador (July 1984), Shanghai, Windhoek, Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius. British Diplomats are now also based in Kiev and St. Petersburg working to establish missions in those cities.
The following posts have been closed since 1979 : Bergen, Cadiz, Ostend, Malmo, Winnipeg, San Salvador (February 1980), Adelaide, Palermo, Philadelphia, Saint Louis, Basle, Calais, Ibadan, Innsbruck, Strasbourg, Tangier, Trieste, Rotterdam, Detroit, Hanover, Blantyre, Cagliari, Gothenburg, Halifax, Salonika, Santo Domingo, Vientianne, Vigo, Zagreb, Monrovia, Libreville, Brazzaville (August 1991) and Edmonton.
India (Human Rights)
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations Her Majesty's Government have made to the Government of India in the current year relating to human rights violations in the Punjab and Kashmir ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We are deeply concerned about human rights violations in Punjab and Kashmir and have
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raised this issue regularly with the Indian Government this year. The Indian Government have assured us that action is being taken to improve the situation. They have told us that more than 200 members of the security forces have been punished for violations in Punjab and Kashmir. We have urged the Indian Government to allow Amnesty International to visit Kashmir to make an assessment of the situation.Cyprus
Mr. Kaufman : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will specify the contacts, diplomatic and social, the United Kingdom high commission in Cyprus has with the purported Turkish Cypriot breakaway entity in northern Cyprus ; and what economic and other aid, including scholarships, is provided for that entity.
Mr. Garel-Jones : The British Government do not recognise the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus". The British High Commission in Nicosia is accredited to the Government of the Republic of Cyprus. Since the United Kingdom is a guarantor power, and as part of our active support for the United Nations Secretary-General's mission of good offices, the British High Commission maintains contact with the leaders of the Turkish Cypriot community.
In 1990-91 under the ODA's bilateral aid programme we provided £181,000 to the Turkish Cypriot community, which is channelled through the British Council in Nicosia or the Commonwealth scholarship programme. Similarly, under the EC association agreement the third financial protocol for 1989-93 provides 62 mecu for the whole of Cyprus.
Mr. Kaufman : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what help he is providing to the Government of Cyprus in seeking to trace Cypriot citizens missing following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus.
Mr. Garel-Jones : The issue is being investigated by the United Nations committee on missing persons, which was established in 1981 to trace and account for all persons reported missing by each side. We fully support the work of this committee, which relies upon the full co-operation of both sides to the intercommunal dispute.
Foreign Affairs Council
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish a statement on the outcome of the Foreign Affairs Council on 2 December.
Mr. Hurd : My hon. Friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and I represented the United Kingdom at the Foreign Affairs Council on 2 December. The Council agreed a package of positive measures towards the Yugoslav republics of Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia- Herzgovina and Macedonia. These restored to those republics the preferential trade access arrangements previously available to Yugoslavia as a whole under the trade and co-operation agreement on the ground that they are co-operating with the EC's efforts to restore peace. The Council also invited the Commission to reinstate the EC's PHARE technical assistance programme and disbursement of funds under the EC's second financial protocol with respect to the four republics.
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Ministers discussed the bombing of flights Pan Am 103 and UTA 772. They issued a statement affirming that they took a most serious view of the accusation against Libyan officials, endorsing the demands of the British, French and United States Governments and calling upon the Libyan authorities to comply promptly and in full with these demands.Ministers also issued a statement welcoming the democratic manner in which the Ukrainian people had declared their wish for independence and calling upon the Ukraine to pursue with the Soviet Union and the other republics an open and constructive dialogue intended to ensure that all the Soviet Union's existing international obligations and commitments were carried out.
In a statement on East Timor, Ministers reiterated their condemnation of the unjustifiable actions by the Indonesian armed forces in Dili. They called for a thorough investigation by independent experts and decided to review EC co-operation with Indonesia in the light of the Indonesian response.
The Council had a brief discussion about preparation for the Maastricht European Council. The Council decided to ask the Commission to make proposals for a Community trade embargo against Haiti.
An EC/Egypt Co-operation Council was held in the margins of the Foreign Affairs Council, followed by a lunch at which Ministers discussed with Foreign Minister Moussa the middle east peace process.
Political Union
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish a statement on the outcome of the ministerial meeting of the intergovernmental conference on political union on 2 and 3 December.
Mr. Hurd : My hon. Friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and I attended a two-day ministerial meeting of the intergovernmental conference on political union on 2 and 3 December.
The aim of the meeting was to narrow the areas of disagreement between member states in preparation for the Maastricht European Council on 9 and 10 December.
Some progress was made in a number of areas, including the provisions on the common foreign and security policy. Agreement was reached in principle to conference declarations in most of the areas we had proposed, including on the role of national parliaments and animal welfare. In other areas of the negotiation, a number of difficult issues remain to be resolved. Those must now be addressed by Heads of State and Government meeting in the European Council of Maastricht.
I made clear where our principle difficulties lie, but reiterated our commitment to working for an agreement at Maastricht which is satisfactory to all, and to this House.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Child Benefit
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what would be (a) the first year and (b) the full year costs of raising child benefit to £9.95 (i) in
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1991-92 and (ii) 1992-93, including increases in linked, means-tested and national insurance benefits for Northern Ireland ; (2) what would be (a) the first year and (b) the full year costs of raising child benefit to £10 (i) in 1991-92 and (ii) 1992-93, including increases in linked, means-tested and national insurance benefits for Northern Ireland.Mr. Hanley : The rates of child benefit from April 1991 were £8.25 for the eldest eligible child and £7.25 for each other child and were increased to £9.25 and £7.50, respectively, from October 1991. The estimated gross cost of increasing child benefit from those rates to £9.95 for each child throughout 1991-92 would be about £46 million. If the October 1991 rates had applied throughout 1991-92, the cost would be around £39 million. The gross full year cost in 1992 -93 of paying £9.95, instead of the rates of £9.65 and £7.80 payable from April 1992, would be about £31 million.
Raising child benefit on the same basis to £10 instead of £9.95 would increase the above costs by about £1 million to around £47 million, £40 million and £32 million, respectively.
National Insurance
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the latest information on the number of people who pay national insurance contributions at the contracted-out rate in Northern Ireland ; and of these how many earn above (a) £15,000, (b) £20,000, (c) £25,000, (d) £30,000 and (e) £40,000 respectively.
Mr. Hanley : The information is not available in the precise form requested. However, figures for the number of employed earners who paid national insurance at the contracted-out standard rate in 1989-90, the latest year for which provisional information is available, and for the number of them who earned above that year's upper earnings limit for national insurance purposes are given in the table.
M
|Total |With earnings
|above the UEL
|(£16,900)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paying at the standard contracted-
out rate |219,000 |24,600
Paying a mixture of contracted out
and not contracted-out rates |30,100 |1,600
Total with some contracted-out
contributions |249,100 |26,200
Disability
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many disabled people are currently employed in his Department ; and if he will make a statement.
Dr. Mawhinney : At 29 November 1991 the Northern Ireland civil service employed 1,284 staff who self-reported a disability, of whom 431 were, or had been, registered as disabled.
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DEFENCE
Low Flying
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what reduction is planned in the amount of low flying at less than 250 ft over the United Kingdom ; and what consideration has been given to closing one or more of the tactical training areas.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley (Mr. Foulkes) on 18 October 1991 at column 303.
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the one- way flow control system for low flying military aircraft in the Bwlch Llyn Bach valley is marked on the military low flying chart covering the area.
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