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tonnes
|1990 |<1>1991
--------------------------------------------------------------
Total imports of chickenmeat into the
United Kingdom |110,651|104,197
<1> January to November.
Source: Her Majesty's Customs and Excise.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
United Nations Agencies
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give a full list of United Nations agencies ; and how much Britain contributed financially to each agency in cash and real terms for each year from 1979 to 1990.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Sri Lanka
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Sri Lankan Government about the security forces preventing food and medical supplies from reaching people living in certain areas ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We have frequently urged the Sri Lankan Government to take all necessary steps to ensure the well-being of all its citizens. Although we have heard of instances of goods being held up at military check points, we believe the Sri Lankan Government are now making serious efforts, in co-operation with relief agencies, to maintain the supply of food and medicines to people affected by fighting. Recently the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have created difficulties for food shipments into areas they control.
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when a senior member of the British High Commission in Sri Lanka last visited Jaffna ; and what report was made, and to whom, following the visit.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The British High Commissioner in Colombo visited Jaffna from 23 to 26 May 1990 and reported on 28 May to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. Such visits have not been practicable since 11 June 1990, when the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam renewed fighting against the Sri Lankan Government.
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Mercenaries
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to sign the 1989 United Nations convention on the use, finance and training of mercenaries for activities which violate principles of international law.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : No. Implementation of the convention would require primary legislation. Following the consideration of the whole question by the Diplock committee, we decided not to introduce legislation on mercenaries. We still do not consider that the need for such legislation has been established.
Overseas Domestic Workers
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many United Kingdom posts abroad have available the IND leaflets containing advice for prospective overseas domestic workers seeking to accompany their employers to the United Kingdom.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Supplies of this leaflet have been sent to all 158 visa-issuing posts.
EC Legislation and Policy
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Newport, West, Official Report , 16 December, column 44 , about closer contacts between the European and national Parliaments, he will now make it his policy to answer substantive questions on reports prepared for committees of the European Parliament on EC legislation and policy.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : I shall be happy to continue to provide replies when it is appropriate to do so.
Kuwait
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the progress made in Kuwait to establish democratic institutions and political processes since its liberation by allied forces in Operation Granby/Desert Storm in 1991.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The Kuwaitis are preparing for a general election, to which his Highness the Amir has said that he is personally committed, planned for October. The establishment of the Kuwait Democratic Forum, effectively the country's first publicly proclaimed political party, was announced in December 1991. The repeal of the 1986 press censorship law was announced this month. We welcome these developments.
East Timor
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Newport, West, Official Report , 13 December, column 596 , the special United Nations rapporteur to East Timor has now visited that country.
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what current plans there are for a delegation by the current Portuguese presidency of the EC to East Timor to investigate human rights.
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Mr. Lennox-Boyd : None to our knowledge.
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has concerning allegations that witnesses to the Santa Cruz massacre in East Timor were summarily shot by Indonesian security forces.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We have no reliable evidence to substantiate these allegations.
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has regarding the Indonesianisation of East Timor with reference to educational and language policies.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd [holding answer 20 January 1992] : The educational policies and curriculum in East Timor are similar to those applied in schools throughout Indonesia. As elsewhere, there are a number of Catholic schools in East Timor. One of these in Dili teaches in Portuguese. The official language of government in East Timor is Indonesian.
Indonesia
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he intends to modify Her Majesty's Government's policy towards Indonesia following the publication of the Indonesian military investigation into the massacre of civilians in November 1991 by Indonesian soldiers ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : No. We will consider Her Majesty's Government policy towards Indonesia when we have received the full reports.
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 20 January, Official Report, column 10, if he will list the Ministers of Her Majesty's Government who met with their Indonesian counterparts ; and where each meeting took place.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : List of Ministers is as follows :
Mr Eggar Jakarta
Lord Caithness Jakarta
Lord Arran Jakarta
Mr. King Jakarta
Mr. Sainsbury Jakarta
Mr. Wakeham Jakarta
Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which of the former states of the Soviet Union (a) have been recognised by Her Majesty's Government as independent nations and (b) have signed or acceded to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
Mr. Hurd : (a) The Government have recognised Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kirgistan, Moldova, Tadikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan as independent sovereign states. We accept the Russian Federation as the continuing state of the Soviet Union. (b) We regard Russia as a party to the non-proliferation treaty as continuing the statehood of the
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former Soviet Union. No other former republics have yet acceded to the NPT. We have urged them all to do so as soon as possible.IAEA
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list all the nuclear facilities currently identified in Iraq and those previously registered with the International Atomic Energy Agency for international inspection.
Mr. Douglas Hurd : Details of the sites visited by IAEA inspection teams under the authority of SCR 687 (1991) are given in the agency's inspection reports. These have been circulated as UN Security Council documents. Copies are available in the House of Commons Library. The following facilities were declared to the IAEA for inspection purposes under Iraq's safeguards agreement with the IAEA of 29 February 1972.
(i) IRT-5000 research reactor : Tuwaitha, Baghdad
(ii) Tamuz 2 research reactor : Tuwaitha, Baghdad
(iii) ERLFF fuel fabrication plant : Tuwaitha, Baghdad
(iv) Separate storage facility : Tuwaitha, Baghdad
Albania
Sir Michael McNair-Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects Britain to re-establish full diplomatic relations with Albania ; when an ambassador will be appointed in Tirana ; and whether an embassy building has been purchased.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Britain re-established diplomatic relations with Albania on 29 May 1991 but a decision has yet to be taken on the form of our representation in Tirana. No embassy building has been purchased.
Defence and Disarmament
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the resolutions on defence and disarmament (a) sponsored and (b) supported by the United Kingdom at the 46th regular session of the United Nations General Assembly ; and if he will make a statement on reasons in each case for the way in which the United Kingdom voted.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : At the forty-sixth regular session of the United Nations General Assembly, the United Kingdom co-sponsored the following resolutions on defence and disarmament matters :-- 46/25--Transparency of Military Expenditures.
46/26--Compliance with Arms Limitation and Disarmament Agreements. 46/35A-- Third Review Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Publication of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction.
46/35B--Chemical and Bacteriological (Biological) Weapons : measure to uphold the authority on the 1925 Geneva Protocol.
46/35C--Chemical and Bacteriological (Biological) Weapons. 46/36F--Regional Disarmament, including Confidence-Building Measures.
46/36G--Confidence and Security-Building Measures and Conventional Disarmament in Europe.
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46/36L--Transparency in Armaments.46/36I--Regional Disarmament.
The United Kingdom supported the following resolutions on defence and disarmament matters :--
46/31--Establishment of a Nuclear-Weapon-Free-Zone in South Asia. 46/33-- Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space.
46/27--Education and Information for Disarmament.
46/30--Establishment of a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in the region of the Middle East.
46/34B--Implementation of the Declaration on the Denuclearisation of Africa.
46/36A--Second Review Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Use of Prohibition on Military or Any Other Hostile Environmental Modification Techniques.
46/36B--Study on charting potential uses of resources allocated to military activities for civilian endeavours to protect the environment.
46/36C--Relationship between Disarmament and Development. 46/36E-- Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Radiological Weapons.
46/36H--International Arms Transfers.
46/36K--Prohibition of the Dumping of Radioactive Wastes. 46/37A--World Disarmament Campaign.
46/37B--Regional Confidence-Building Measures.
46/37E--United Nations Disarmament Fellowship, Training and Advisory Services Programmes.
46/38A--Report of the Disarmament Commission.
46/38D--The Transfer of High Technology with Military Applications. 46/40-- Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of certain Conventional Weapons which may be deemed to be excessively injurious or to have indiscriminate effect.
Space and time do not allow us to explain our voting in each, but details on individual resolutions can of course be provided if required.
Plutonium
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent meetings Ministers or officials of his Department have had with representatives of non-governmental organisations from (a) the United Kingdom and (b) abroad regarding perceived risks of the international commerce in plutonium and other nuclear explosive materials.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : This subject was raised at my meeting with NGOs to discuss non-proliferation on 26 November 1991. More recently, Dr. David Lowry of the European proliferation information centre (EPIC) had a meeting with an official from non-proliferation and defence department at which this issue was discussed.
Libya (Lockerbie)
Mr. Bernie Grant : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to utilise the procedure outlined in article 14.1 of the 1971 Montreal convention to refer to arbitration the jurisdictional dispute with the Government of Libya concerning the two men named in the warrant issued in relation to the bombing of Pan Am flight 103.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : On 21 January the Security Council adopted unanimously resolution 731. This urged the Libyan Government to provide a full and effective response to the requests addressed to it by the British, French and United States Governments, which include a demand for the surrender of those accused of the bombing of Pan Am flight 103. We await Libya's response.
Column 387
NATIONAL FINANCE
Incomes Statistics
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what would be the estimated income from a 9 per cent. levy on all unearned income over £3,000 ;
(2) what is the estimated number of people who have savings and occupational pensions producing more than £3,000 income per year.
Mr. Maude : A charge at 9 per cent. on the amount of any investment income and occupational pension above £3,000 would yield about £3.3 billion in a full year at 1991-92 levels of income. About 3 million people would be liable to the charge. These estimates take no account of any possible behavioural effects following the introduction of such a charge.
Defence Spending
Mr. Robert B. Jones : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what adjustments to the Government's published plans for defence spending announced in the Autumn Statement will be necessary during the forthcoming financial years.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : I have been asked to reply.
Plans for defence spending will be reviewed in the normal way in the autumn during the Government's annual survey of public expenditure.
Valuation Appeals
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will tabulate the amounts awarded so far under appeals against Inland Revenue assessment of non-domestic rate valuations for local authorities in England and Wales.
Mr. Maude : The information is not readily available at present and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Income Tax
Mr. Carr : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the yield/cost in 1991-92 and 1992-93 on both a first year and a full year basis of (a) raising the basic rate limit to taxable income of £29,000, (b) charging higher rate tax at 33 per cent. on taxable income between £29,000
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and £46,000, (c) charging higher rate tax at 41 per cent. on taxable income above £46,000, (d) restricting all personal tax allowances to the basic rate, (e) restricting relief for pension contributions made by individuals to the basic rate, (f) a combination of (a), (b), (c) and (d) and (g) a combination of (a) , (b) , (c) and (e).Mr. Maude : Estimates of the increase in liability to income tax compared with statutory indexation in 1992-93 are as follows. They do not allow for any behavioural effects that might result from such a change to the tax system and do not include capital gains tax :
£ million
|Cost(-)/yield(+)
|in a full year at
|1992-93 levels of
|income
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tax regime specified in (a), (b) and (c) |-1,530
(d) Restriction of all personal allowances to
the basic rate |+1,460
(e) Restriction of pension contributions to
the basic rate |+400
(f) Combination of (a), (b), (c) and (d) |-820
(g) Combination of (a), (b), (c)
and (e) |-1,250
Approximately one half of the full year yield from such regimes would affect income tax receipts in the first year.
Nuclear Power Industry
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will revise the definition of the public sector borrowing requirement so as to treat equally the financing arrangements of British Nuclear Fuels and Nuclear Electric ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 21 January 1992] : No.
Privatisation Receipts
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list for each year since 1979-80 the total Government receipts from privatisation, including debt repayment, indentifying the industry concerned in each case.
Mr. Maude [holding answer 23 January 1992] : Privatisation proceeds from 1979-80 to 31 March 1991, including the repayment of debt, are shown in the following table by industry.
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Privatisation proceeds 1979-80 to 1990-91 (outturn)
|1979-80 |1980-81 |1981-82 |1982-83 |1983-84 |1984-85 |1985-86 |1986-87 |1987-88 |1988-89 |1989-90 |1990-91
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enterprise Oil |- |- |- |- |- |384 |- |- |- |- |- |-
Forestry Commission |- |- |- |14 |21 |28 |15 |16 |13 |12 |15 |11
General Practice
Finance Corporation |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |67 |- |-
Harland and Wolff |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |8 |-
Land Settlement |- |- |- |- |2 |12 |5 |2 |- |- |- |-
Motorway Service Area
Leases |- |- |- |4 |1 |- |- |2 |1 |- |2 |7
National Enterprise
Board Holdings |37 |83 |2 |- |- |168 |30 |34 |- |- |- |-
National Freight
Consortium |- |- |<1>5 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |-
Professional and
Executive Recruitment |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |5 |- |-
Plant Breeding Institute |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |<2>65 |- |- |-
Rolls-Royce |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |1,029 |3 |- |-
Rover Group |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |<3>150 |-
Royal Ordnance |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |186 |- |- |-
Short Brothers |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |30 |-
Water Holding
Companies |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |423 |1,485
Wytch Farm |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |18 |- |- |- |130
Miscellaneous<4> |64 |84 |189 |57 |15 |4 |-2 |-4 |-2 |-13 |-21 |1
Amersham International |- |- |64 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |-
Associated British Ports |- |- |- |46 |- |51 |- |- |- |- |- |-
BAA |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |534 |689 |- |-
British Aerospace |- |43 |- |- |- |- |347 |- |- |- |- |-
British Airways |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |435 |419 |- |- |-
British Gas |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |2,570 |1,758 |1,805 |804 |500
British Petroleum |276 |- |8 |- |543 |- |- |- |863 |3,030 |1,363 |-
British Steel |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |1,138 |1,289 |-
British Sugar |- |- |44 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |-
BT |- |- |- |- |- |1,402 |1,307 |1,384 |273 |335 |92 |100
Britoil |- |- |- |334 |293 |- |426 |- |- |- |- |-
Cable and Wireless |- |- |181 |- |263 |- |577 |- |- |- |- |-
Electricity
(England and Wales) |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |<6>3,358
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total |<5>377 |<5>210 |<5>493 |455 |1,139 |2,050 |2,706 |4,458 |5,140 |7,069 |4,155 |5,592
<1> £49 million of the £54 million proceeds paid into the pension fund to cover a deficit.
<2> The Central Government sector received £65 million but only £27 million was paid into the Consolidated Fund.
<3> Does not take into account the cost of deferring payments of consideration.
<4> Includes expenses which could not be netted off the associated sale because they arose in a financial year in which there were no
proceeds from that sale.
<5> Excludes certain advance oil payments which net out to zero.
<6> Gross proceeds (costs yet to be reported to Parliament).
Privatisation Receipts
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list for each year from 1992-93 the total receipts for privatisations which have been carried out, including debt repayments, identifying the industry concerned in each case.
Mr. Maude [holding answer 23 January 1992] : The equity proceeds expected to be received from 1992-93 for sales which have been carried out are shown in the following table. In addition, proceeds will be received in respect of BT loan stock, British Gas debt and the electricity companies' debt, although the precise timing of repayments depends on future decisions.
Privatisation proceeds
(£ million)
|1992-93|1993-94
--------------------------------------------
Electricity
England and Wales |2,124 |-
Scotland |835 |835
BT |3,707 |-
HEALTH
Consultancy Services
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the cost of management and accountancy consultancy services incurred by each health authority in England and Wales in 1988-89, 1989-90 and 1990-91 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Dorrell : This information is not collected centrally. In England decisions to employ management and accountancy consultants are a matter for individual health authorities.
Information relating to Wales is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.
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Trust Funds
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what were the trust fund balances held by each health authority in England and Wales on 31 March 1989, 1990 and 1991 in respect of capital reserves for (a) funds held in perpetuity and (b) other funds, distinguishing in each case between (i) general purposes and (ii) special purposes ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) what was (a) the total trust fund income and (b) total trust fund expenditure of each individual health authority in England and Wales in 1988-89, 1989-90 and 1990-91 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Dorrell : Tables showing the information requested and derived from the annual trust fund accounts of health authorities and special trustees in England have been placed in the Library.
Health authorities are empowered under section 90 of the National Health Service Act 1977 to accept, hold and administer any property on trust for all or any purposes relating to the health service. Income and expenditure arising and balances accruing from the activities of third parties such as League of Friends and independently registered charitable trusts are not identifiable within the trust fund accounts of health authorities and are often accounted for separately.
The information relating to Wales is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.
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