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Iraq (Nuclear Scientists)
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what entry visas his Department issued for Iraqi nuclear scientists for each year from 1979.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The information requested is not available.
Pearl Harbour
Mr. Amos : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department has taken to mark the 50th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl harbour and to commemorate the allied service men and civilians killed in the war by the Japanese ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We have not marked this anniversary. We fully recognise how much the nation owes to all those who fought and died during the second world war. We shall never forget this great debt nor the terrible sufferings of so many in Japanese prison camps.
Lockerbie
Sir Teddy Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he delivered his message to the Libyan Government over the alleged participants of the Lockerbie bombing ; and what reply he has received or been notified of.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The Lord Advocate issued a warrant for the arrest of two Libyan officials on 14
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November. On that day we passed a copy of the warrant and a detailed statement of the facts to the Libyan permanent representative to the United Nations. These documents, together with our demand for the surrender of the two accused, were also conveyed to the Libyan Government by Italy, who act as our protecting power in Libya. On 27 November we issued two statements : one in conjunction with the United States and the other in conjuction with the United States and France. Copies are being place in the Library of the House. Both statements were conveyed to the Libyan Government by the Italians. We have so far received no indication from Libya that it is willing to accede to our demands.Nuclear Tests
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consideration he has given to the Nuclear Testing Moratorium Act (HR 3636) introduced to the United States Congress on 29 October by Representative R. Gephardt and Representative M. Kopetski in regard to the effect it would have on United Kingdom access to the Nevada nuclear test site for the continued testing of British nuclear warheads.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : United Kingdom nuclear tests take place at Nevada under the terms of the agreement between the United Kingdom and United States Governments signed in 1958. The United States Government share our view that, for the foreseeable future, testing will remain essential to maintaining a safe and effective nuclear deterrent.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Government-funded Projects
Mr. Beggs : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what information he has on how many subcontractors suffered financial loss as a result of main contractors on Government-funded projects going into receivership in each of the last five years.
Contract Law
Mr. Beggs : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he will initiate a change in contract law to give greater protection to sub-contractors in the event of main contractors going into receivership.
Dr. Mawhinney : No. The problems faced by sub-contractors in such circumstances do not arise from deficiencies in the law of contract itself but from the contractual relationships into which they have entered.
Catholic Maintained Schools
Mr. Trimble : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) for each of the last 10 years, what percentage of all the costs, capital and recurring, of maintained schools, other than those now associated with the Council of Catholic Maintained Schools, were paid by the trustees of such schools ;
(2) for each of the last 10 years, what percentage of all the costs, capital and recurring, of the maintained schools now associated with the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools, were paid by the trustees of such schools.
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Dr. Mawhinney : The establishment of the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools had no bearing on the recurrent or capital costs borne by the trustees of maintained schools. All recurrent costs in maintained schools in the last 10 years were met by the education and library boards : 15 per cent. of approved capital costs were met by the trustees.Women-only Employment Courses
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action the Department of Education for Northern Ireland has taken in relation to the provision of women-only courses and to the provision of courses on non-traditional skills ; and what support services have been provided to enable women to attend such courses.
Dr. Mawhinney : It is a matter for further education colleges to determine what courses they should provide. However, the Department of Education has encouraged colleges, when making course provision, to consider the particular needs of women who wish to re-enter the work force following absence owing to family and home
responsibilities. A number of colleges provide child care arrangements to facilitate the enrolment of women.
RUC Holding Centres
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to introduce lay visitors to RUC holding centres.
Dr. Mawhinney : There are no plans to introduce lay visitors to the RUC holding centres. However, the Government are currently considering the appointment of an independent commissioner to monitor procedures governing the treatment of terrorist suspects in police custody.
Non-traditional Skills
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many colleges of further education are organising courses in non- traditional skills for women ; and how many such courses are funded by the European social fund.
Dr. Mawhinney : None of the colleges in Northern Ireland organises courses specifically designed to equip women with non-traditional skills. However, over the last four years there has been a 40 per cent. increase in the numbers of women enrolling in courses in a number of subject areas, such as engineering and construction, which have in the past been largely male dominated.
Ms. Pauline Quinn
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the outcome of the internal inquiry held on 2 May 1991 into an incident involving Ms. Pauline Quinn in Her Majesty's prison, Maghaberry, on 26 April 1991.
Dr. Mawhinney : The inquiry into the enforced full search of Ms. Pauline Quinn in Her Majesty's prison, Maghaberry on 26 April 1991 found, inter alia, that :
(i) the incident and its unfortunate aftermath would have been avoided if Ms. Quinn had co-operated as she had
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done on other occasions before and after this particular incident ;(ii) in carrying out the search, the officers concerned acted properly on the basis of orders which they were given ; and (iii) no internal search had taken place.
The inquiry also recommended some local procedural changes and these have now been implemented.
Information Service
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will place in the Library a copy of the review of the information service, conducted by his Department.
Dr. Mawhinney : No. The review of the information services, which was completed in 1988, is an internal management document.
Right of Silence
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what research has been done in Northern Ireland comparing the exercise of the right of silence by suspects detained under the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order and those detained under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act ; and if he will publish the findings.
Dr. Mawhinney : A modest research programme is being undertaken in relation to the operation of the Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order. The results of this research are not yet available.
Schoolchildren (Statistics)
Mr. Norman Hogg : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many children are on the school roll in Northern Ireland ; and how many of those receive free school meals in primary, secondary and special schools, respectively.
Dr. Mawhinney : The figures for January 1991 were as follows :
Schools |Enrolments |Pupils receiving
|free meals
Primary |189,548 |47,302
Secondary |141,146 |25,237
Special |3,987 |3,518
|---- |----
Total |334,681 |76,057
Northern Ireland Block
Mr. Knapman : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the management of the Northern Ireland block in the current financial year.
Mr. Brooke : Expenditure across a wide range of programmes within the Northern Ireland block has been running ahead of plans in this financial year. I have, therefore, initiated a pause in spending on new capital contracts and on some maintenance works for the remainder of the financial year. However, the public expenditure position will be kept under close review.
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SERPS
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will estimate (a) the first year and (b) the full year total cost to the national insurance fund in (i) 1991-92 and (ii) 1992-93, of allowing people to contract out of the state earnings-related pension scheme
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into money purchase personal pension schemes giving figures separately for (1) people contracting out of the stateearnings-related pension scheme in 1991-92 and (2) all schemes.
Mr. Hanley : The information is not available in precisely the form requested. However, such information as is available is shown below :
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Analysis of contribution income in 1992-93<1> by class of contribution
Northern Ireland (£ millions)
Class 1 Class 2 Class 3 Class 4 Total
|Primary |Secondary |Total
|(Employees)|(Employers)|Class 1
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
National insurance fund
Gross contributions before
contracted-out reductions |336.4 |521.1 |857.5 |10.1 |0.7 |12.8 |881.1
Less contracted-out contributions
reductions<2> |75.8 |113.5 |189.3 |- |- |- |189.3
Net contributions<3> |260.6 |407.6 |668.2 |10.1 |0.7 |12.8 |691.8
National health service |40.8 |51.7 |92.5 |1.9 |0.1 |2.9 |97.4
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total contributions<3> |301.4 |459.3 |760.7 |12.0 |0.8 |15.7 |789.2
<1> The contributions are partly in respect of 1992-93 and partly in respect of earlier years.
<2> Including rebates and incentives in respect of personal pensions and incentives in respect of occupational pension schemes.
<3> Before deducting recoveries including abatements in respect of statutory sick pay and statutory maternity pay estimated at
£14.94 million and £7.7 million respectively.
Contracted-out rebate and 2 per cent. incentives in respect of personal pensions and 2 per cent. incentives for contracted-out schemes
Northern Ireland (£ million)
Rebates personal pensions Incentives
Paid in year |In respect |Employee |Employer |Total |Personal |New |Total |Grand total
|of year |pensions |schemes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1991-92 |1990-91 |12.2 |23.1 |35.3 |10.9 |2.4 |13.3 |48.6
|1989-90 and earlier|0.2 |0.5 |0.7 |0.2 |0.1 |0.3 |1.0
|--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |---
|Total |12.4 |23.6 |36.0 |11.1 |2.5 |13.6 |49.6
1992-93 |1991-92 |14.1 |26.7 |40.8 |13.6 |3.1 |16.7 |57.5
|1990-91 and earlier|0.3 |0.6 |0.9 |0.3 |0.1 |0.4 |1.3
|--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |---
|Total |14.4 |27.3 |41.7 |13.9 |3.2 |17.1 |58.8
Social Fund
Mr. McGrady : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people received (a) crisis loans, (b) budgeting loans and (c) community care grants in each year since 1 April 1988 to 31 March 1991 and 1 April 1991 to 31 October 1991 ; what amounts were paid out at each social security office in South Down ; and how many were refused and for what amount.
Mr. Hanley : Social security operational matters are the responsibility of Mr. Alec Wylie, chief executive of the Social Security Agency. He will write to the hon. Gentleman and copies of his reply will be placed in the Library and the Public Information Office.
English Teaching
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what sums are available and projected for the current financial year and the next two financial years for the training enterprise and education directorate ; when it is proposed to release finance to fund students' course fees and expenses for the current term for English for speakers of other languages ; how many ESOL students there are in Northern Ireland for the current year ; what
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are his projections for the following two years ; what were the sums available and expended in the last two years ; and how many students were assisted in each of those years.Mr. Needham : The training enterprise and education directorate is an arm of the Department of Employment and its remit does not extend to Northern Ireland.
Children at Risk
Mr. McGrady : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many children are registered at risk in each social services department in the constituency of South Down in each year since 1985.
Mr. Hanley : The constituency of South Down includes the Down unit of management of the Eastern health and social services board and part of the Craigavon and Banbridge and the Newry and Mourne units of management of the Southern health and social services board. Information is not available below unit of management level. Health and social services boards are at present redesignating their child abuse registers, which did not contain an "at risk" category, as child protection registers.
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The latter will record the names of children who have been abused or are at risk of abuse and who are the subject of a child protection plan.Separate statistics on children at risk are not yet available for all areas. The total numbers of children known to have been, or suspected of being abused, on the registers for the three units of management in the period 1985 to 1991 are as follows :
Number on register at |Down |Craigavon |Newry and
|and |Mourne
|Banbridge
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
31 December 1985 |50 |97 |50
31 December 1986 |<2>n/a |94 |47
31 December 1987 |133 |109 |45
31 December 1988 |155 |95 |55
31 March 1989<1> |170 |108 |61
31 March 1990 |166 |77 |55
31 March 1991 |153 |84 |38
<1> From 1989 the maintenance of child abuse registers changed from a calendar to a financial year basis.
<2> In 1986 the Eastern health board did not provide statistics for individual units of management.
Travellers
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the percentage of travellers in Northern Ireland accommodated on serviced sites.
Mr. Needham : A total of 30 per cent. of travellers in Northern Ireland are presently accommodated on serviced sites. That figure will rise to 54 per cent. when sites currently under construction are completed and to 82 per cent. when sites for which district councils have already been given approval for grant purposes are also brought into use.
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many serviced sites for travellers there are in Greater Belfast.
Mr. Needham : Belfast city council has two sites currently under construction which are due to be completed in April and August 1992 respectively. Two further sites have been given approval for grant. When complete these four serviced sites will provide 80 permanent pitches and cater for about 95 per cent. of the travellers in Greater Belfast.
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he has any plans to ensure that sufficient accommodation is available for all travellers in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Needham : Yes. While responsibility for the provision of serviced sites for travellers lies with district councils such provision is actively encouraged with 100 per cent. grants available for land acquisition and construction costs.
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he is taking to improve conditions in roadside camps for travellers in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Needham : The Department of the Environment encourages district councils which have not yet provided serviced sites to alleviate conditions on unapproved
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encampments through the provision of temporary amenities. The Advisory Committee on Travellers, with the active co-operation of health and social services boards, attempts to ensure that adequate medical and social services are available.Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to amend the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 to ensure that serviced sites for travellers are provided by local authorities.
Mr. Needham : There are no plans at present to do so. The possibility of introducing a statutory obligation on district councils to provide serviced sites is, however, kept under review in the light of the progress being made in site provision.
Housing (Security Improvements)
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what payments for security improvements to houses of persons considered to be at risk from paramilitary groups are taken from the social fund ; how much has been spent in this way ; what steps are being taken to retrieve these payments from the security budget ; and if he will make a statment.
Mr. Hanley : Under the social fund scheme, help in the form of a loan or a grant, generally only to those on income support, may be considered towards the cost of locks, bolts, chains and viewers for outside doors and windows where there is a need for such items. Information about the total amount paid is not available. Loans are recovered direct from applicants in the usual way. Grants are not recouped from any source and there are no plans to change existing policy.
One-Parent Families
Mr. McGrady : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many one-parent families were registered for benefit at each of the social security offices in South Down in each year since 1985.
Mr. Hanley : Social security operational matters are the responsibility of Mr. Alex Wylie, chief executive of the Social Security Agency. He will write to the hon. Gentleman and copies of his reply will be placed in the Library and the Public Information Office.
HEALTH
NHS Charges (Exemptions)
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the percentage by each sub-division shown in his answer of 22 October 1991, Official Report, column 597, of people in the United Kingdom exempt from paying for (a) eye tests, (b) dental examinations and (c) prescription charges.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The information requested is as follows :
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(A) Sight Tests
The percentage of the population in England estimated to be eligible
for free NHS sight tests in 1990-91 is as follows:
Categories |Percentage
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Children under 16 |20
Income support and family credit recipients and
adult dependants |11
Others (breakdown not available) |<1>7
|--
Total |38
<1>Approximate.
(B) Dental Charges
Percentage exempt from dental charges in England and Wales
1989-90
Categories |Percentage
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Children under 16 |27
Young people over 16 and under 18 |3
Young people aged 18 and over in full-time
education |<1>1
Income support, family credit and people on low
income |8
War disablement pensioner |n.a.
Pregnant women and women with babies under 12
months |3
|--
Total |42
<1>Less than.
Source: DPB Digest of Statistics.
(C) Prescription Charges
The proportion of people in England estimated to be eligible for free
prescriptions is as follows:
Categories |Percentage
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Children under 16 |20
Students under 19 in full time education |1
Men over 65/women over 60 |18
Income support and family credit recipients and
people receiving help under the NHS low income
scheme and their dependants |8
Pregnant/nursing mothers |2
Medical exemptions |2
People receiving war disablement pensions |<1>1
|--
Total |51
<1>Less than.
Adoption
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to issue his discussion paper on inter-country adoption as part of his review of adoption laws.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : We intend to issue the discussion paper by Christmas.
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the recent visit by officials to meet the Romanian Adoption Committee.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Officials from the Department of Health and Home Office visited Romania in November at the request of the Romanian authorities in connection with the adoption of Romanian children by citizens of the United Kingdom.
Visits were made to children's homes in Bucharest and a children's hospital in Alexandria. Meetings took place with the chairman and executive secretary of the Romanian Adoption Committee as well as officials from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Labour and Social Protection and the Ministry of Education.
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Officials were also able to learn about the work being done by British and other voluntary agencies in the field of adoption and child care and had the opportunity to see at first hand some of the work carried out by the Romanian Orphanage Trust.One of the successful outcomes of the visit was establishing strong links with the Romanian Adoption Committee and assisting it to set up effective procedures for processing applications from people in the United Kingdom who wish to adopt Romanian children.
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has yet finalised the format for presenting the case of prospective adopters of children from overseas to foreign Governments ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The Department has no plans to prepare a format for presenting cases to foreign Governments when United Kingdom citizens apply to adopt children from overseas. Cases are handled on a discrete basis and vary according to the country concerned.
Cot Death
Mr. John Browne : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will obtain a copy of the report, "Must Babies Still Die?" published by Mr. Barry Richardson in November for his departmental library.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : A copy of the report has been received and been very carefully studied by professional staff. The data it contains were available to and considered by the independent expert working group whose report on sudden infant death syndrome was published in June, a copy of which is available in the Library.
Mr. John Browne : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether there is a significant risk of poisonous gases being given off from previously soiled cot mattresses ; and what plans he has to warn parents of this risk to second babies.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The independent expert working group which considered the hypothesis that poisonous gases given off from mattresses were a cause of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) found no link between the mattresses, microbial contamination and the generation of toxic volatile gases. The factors associated with SIDS are listed in its report, a copy of which is in the Library, and have been publicised by the Chief Medical Officer. Nursing a baby on a mattress that has been used by another baby is not one of these.
Quest Cancer Test
Mr. Corbett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Erdington, of 4 December, Official Report, column 159, when he now expects to reach a conclusion on the application by Quest Cancer Test for a re-assessment of its application for funding.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : We have no current formal request for research funding for projects from Quest Cancer Test.
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NHS Trusts
Mr. Robin Cook : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the proportion of originating debt covered by public dividend capital for each of the first wave national health service trusts.
Mr. Dorrell : The proportion will be determined individually for each trust on the basis of their opening valuations. It is likely that in almost every case it will be 50 per cent.--which is the figure trusts have used in their financial assumptions.
GPs (Computers)
Mr. John Browne : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he intends to refund the costs incurred by general practitioners in Hampshire who have computerised their operations.
Mr. Dorrell : This is a matter for health authorities. My hon. Friend may wish to contact Sir Robin Buchanan, the chairman of Wessex regional health authority, for details.
Expenditure Statistics
Mr. Turner : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what allowance in cash terms has been made for the additional costs in 1992-93 of implementing Government legislation for (a) additional residential and day care facilities, (b) improvements to standards in line with social services inspectorate reports and Audit Commission reviews, (c) funding the care element of hostel dwellers' fees and secure accommodation for alleged young offenders on remand under proposals contained in the Criminal Justice Bill and (d) the need for mentally disordered offenders to be kept out of prison ;
(2) what allowance in cash terms has been made for additional costs in 1992 -93 to reflect the (a) forecast increase in the numbers of elderly people and children, (b) increasing rate of dependency among elderly people, (c) child protection and preventative work, (d) unaccompanied child refugees and asylum seekers, (e) joint finance-tapering and time-expired projects, (f) inner city time-expired projects, (g) the impact of section 11 of the Local Government Act 1966, (h) commitments on capital projects and running costs and (i) incentive allowances ;
(3) what allowance in cash terms has been made for the additional costs in 1992-93 of implementing Government legislation for (a) the Children Act 1989, (b) development of home care management under the White Paper "Caring for People", (c) advocacy service for people with special needs, (d) provision for new cohorts of disabled people leaving special education under sections 5 and 6 of the Disabled Persons Act 1986, (e) AIDS and HIV and (f) staff training in respect of community care, the Children Act 1989, child care and non-vocational qualifications ;
(4) whether the 1992-93 standard spending assessment figures recognise the full-year effects of last year's pay settlement to social workers and other staff employed in social services ; and what assumption has been made by the Government regarding the level of next year's pay award settlements and inflation.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Earlier this year the local authority associations were invited to take part in discussions with central Government in order to inform the Government's decision on total standard spending for
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the purposes of the 1992-93 revenue support grant settlement. These questions were considered in the discussions. The scope for increased efficiency in existing services and for other expenditure savings was also discussed. The Government's decisions, in detail, were announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment on 26 November at columns 779-95.Central Government do not specify in detail how local authorities should allocate the overall resources available to them but rather indicate their view of appropriate spending through standard spending control totals. Personal social services standard spending for 1992-93 has been set at £4,850 million, a cash increase of £347 million over 1991-92. Within this total, to improve the distribution of the revenue support grant, separate standard spending totals exist for the broad client groups : of services for elderly people at £2, 225 million, a cash increase of £165 million ; for children at £1,654 million, a cash increase of £113 million ; and for other clients at £971 million, a cash increase of £69 million. Also within these totals are the new and increased specific grants for personal social services. These are for social services training £29 million, a cash increase of £4.2 million ; for AIDS and HIV £15.3 million, a cash increase of £5.1 million ; for mental illness £31.4 million, a cash increase of £10.4 million ; for services for alcohol and drug misusers £2.1 million, a cash increase of £0.7 million ; a new grant for guardians ad litem of £5.7 million ; for services in connection with Commonwealth immigrants £8.5 million, a cash increase of £3.5 million ; and for the urban programme £23.4 million, a cash increase of £0.6 million.
Meat and Bonemeal
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, further to his answer of 28 November, Official Report, column 593, if he will now issue guidelines to ensure that any vehicle having transported meat and bonemeal is regarded as insanitary for the purpose of the Food Hygiene (Market Stalls and Delivery Vehicles) Regulations 1966, as amended.
Mr. Dorrell : The Food Hygiene (Market Stalls and Delivery Vehicles) Regulations 1966 (as amended) require food businesses to keep delivery vehicles clean and to protect food in order to prevent the risk of contamination. A vehicle used to transport meat and bonemeal would not be insanitary if it were effectively kept clean and foods were placed so as to be protected from any risk of contamination.
ENERGY
Oil Industry
3. Mr. Mans : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what efforts he has made to assist the United Kingdom oil industry in securing business overseas.
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