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ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Maxwell Companies
Mr. Allason : To ask the Attorney-General if he will ask the Serious Fraud Office to extend its current investigations of Mirror Group Newspapers to include the piracy of computer software at Mirror Group Newspaper's headquarters.
The Attorney-General : No. The role of the SFO is to investigate and prosecute serious and complex fraud. Its current investigation into the affairs of Mirror Group Newspapers does not include any allegation of piracy of computer software and no material has been placed before the SFO which would justify extending its scope in the manner suggested by my hon. Friend.
PRIME MINISTER
Blindness
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Prime Minister what action he proposes to undertake as a result of the findings of the Royal National Institute of the Blind survey into provisions for the blind and partially sighted.
The Prime Minister : I welcome the survey as a useful supplement to the information contained in earlier surveys
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of disability. Ministerial colleagues in the Departments of Health, of Social Security and of Employment have met or will shortly be meeting representatives of the Royal National Institute for the Blind to discuss the implications of the survey for their programmes. The survey is also being carefully considered in other departments with an interest.Lamplugh School
Dr. Cunningham : To ask the Prime Minister what representations he has received from Lamplugh school, Frizington, Cumbria ; and if he will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : Three representations were received during 1990.
Ehenside School
Dr. Cunningham : To ask the Prime Minister what representations he has received from Ehenside school, Cleator moor ; and if he will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : As far as I am aware, none.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Falkland Islands (Ultraviolet Light)
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what studies Her Majesty's Government have carried out or commissioned regarding the possible effects of exposure to ultraviolet light on the wildlife and ecosystems in the Falklands and the waters surrounding them ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Garel-Jones : Neither Her Majesty's Government nor the Falkland Islands Government have carried out, or commissioned, such studies.
Iraq (Nuclear Facilities)
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 24 January, Official Report, column 385, if he will identify any of those Iraqi nuclear facilities under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards which were targeted and damaged by Allied bombing in Operation Granby/Desert Storm.
Mr. Garel-Jones : All the nuclear facilities declared to the IAEA for inspection purposes under Iraq's safeguards agreement with the agency were located at Tuwaitha, Baghdad. Tuwaitha has been visited on a number of occasions by the inspection teams, whose reports, which include details of bomb damage to the facilities concerned, are available in the House of Commons Library.
European Year of Elderly People
Mr. Andrew Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans his Department is making for the European year of elderly people and solidarity between the generations in 1993.
Mr. Garel-Jones : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health has the lead responsibility in this area, and I refer my hon. Friend to his reply. In drawing up plans for
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the European year, the Department of Health is consulting a wide range of national voluntary and professional bodies, statutory authorities and other relevant Government Departments.Nuclear Warheads
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will seek a meeting with Dr. Anre Zagorsky of the Non-Proliferation Association of Moscow to discuss the physical and organisational security for nuclear weapons and warheads withdrawn from deployment in the commonwealth of independent states.
Mr. Garel-Jones : We have no plans to do so. However, the United Kingdom technical mission which the Prime Minister announced after his meeting with President Yeltsin will be discussing these matters with the responsible authorities.
Commonwealth of Independent States
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on the strength of sensitive technologies and material export controls in (a) Russia and (b) the other republics of the former Soviet Union, since the establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Mr. Garel-Jones : The ability of Russia and the other republics of the former Soviet Union to maintain effective controls on the export of sensitive technologies and materials is a matter of continuing concern. We have raised this subject in our contacts with some of the states in question, and are in touch with our friends and allies to determine how best we can offer advice and assistance.
Iraq (United Nations Inspection)
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the findings of the ninth special inspection team visit by International Atomic Energy Agency experts under the United Nations special commission to Iraq arrangements.
Mr. Garel-Jones : The final report of the ninth inspection visit by International Atomic Energy Agency experts to Iraq under the terms of Security Council resolution 687 has not yet been published. Once received it will be placed in the House of Commons Library.
Somalia
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the progress achieved by the administration in the northern part of Somalia, known as the Republic of Somaliland, towards regional stability ; and what steps Her Majesty's Government are taking to provide development aid as well as humanitarian aid.
Mrs. Chalker : Northern Somalia has been more stable than the south since the fall of Siad Barre, although there are reports of some violent incidents in recent weeks. Our development aid programme to Somalia was closed in 1991. We have no present plans to reinstate it. We continue to provide aid in the north for projects which address both immediate humanitarian and rehabilitation needs.
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NATIONAL FINANCE
Labour Costs
Mr. Leighton : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of the prices of output is represented by the cost of labour.
Mr. Mellor : Labour costs in the forms of wages and salaries, income in kind and employers' contributions to social security and other social benefit arrangements averaged some 65 per cent. of the value at current factor cost of gross domestic product during the 10 years up to 1990. During the first three quarters of 1991 the figure was around 67 per cent.
Value Added Tax
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the highest rate of VAT ; what goods or services carried this rate ; and between what dates it was in force.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The highest rate of VAT applied to goods and services was 25 per cent. It was introduced on 18 November 1974 when it applied only to petrol. On 1 May 1975 its scope was extended to cover domestic electrical appliances, radios, televisions, hi-fi equipment, pleasure boats and aircraft, towing caravans, photographic equipment, furs, jewellery and services associated with these goods. The higher rate was reduced to 12 per cent. on 12 April 1976 and abolished on 18 June 1979.
Mr. Beith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the revenue cost in 1992-93 and 1993-94 of raising the registration threshold for VAT to (a) £50,000 and (b) £52,000.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard [holding answer 31 January 1992] : The revenue cost of raising the VAT threshold to either £50,000 or £52, 000 is estimated to be of the order of £150 million in a full year.
Royal Mint Advisory Committee
Sir John Wheeler : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer who are the members of the Royal Mint Advisory Committee ; when they were appointed ; and what is their function.
Mr. Maples : The members of the Royal Mint Advisory Committee on the design of coins, medals, seals and decorations, and their dates of appointment are :
|Date
-------------------------------------------------------------------
HRH The Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh (President) |1952
Mr. A. D. Garrett (Deputy Master of the Mint) (Chairman) |1989
The Most Honourable the Marchioness of Anglesey |1991
Professor E. Arthur Bell |1992
Mr. N. D. Cadbury |1985
Sir Hugh Casson |1971
Dr. C. E. Challis |1991
Sir Colin Cole |1985
Mr. Vincent Duggleby |1985
Sir John Hale |1979
Mr. Michael A. Harvey |1991
Mr. Bryan Kneale |1992
Mr. John Porteous |1968
Miss Marina Warner |1985
The function of the Committee is to advise the Master of the Mint--the Chancellor of the Exchequer--on the selection of new designs, for coins, medals, seals and decorations.
Revenue Total
Mrs. Beckett : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the cumulative amount of revenue received by the Exchequer since 1979, in 1991- 92 prices, from (a) North sea oil, (b) privatisation and (c) council house sales.
Mr. Maples : The information on North sea revenues was given in reply to the hon. Member for Wentworth (Mr. Hardy) on 18 December 1991, Official Report, column 165, and the figures for privatisation proceeds can be found in table 1A.1 of the 1991 "Autumn Statement." Central Government have received no revenue from the sale of local authority housing.
Income Tax
Mr. Wallace : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many self- employed people paid income tax in 1990-91 and 1991-92 ; and how many he estimates will pay income tax in 1992-93.
Mr. Maude : The number of taxpaying individuals whose main source of income is from self employment is estimated at about 2.8 million for each of these years assuming statutory indexation of allowances in 1992-93.
Nuclear Power Industry
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, pursuant to his answer of 24 January, Official Report, column 388, he will outline the reasons underlying the decision to treat differently the financing arrangements of British Nuclear Fuels and Nuclear Electric.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 31 January 1992] : Nuclear Electric is classified to the public sector. Its requirement for external finance thus counts toward the public sector borrowing requirement. British Nuclear Fuels is classified to the company sector. Its requirement for finance will only count to the public sector borrowing requirement to the extent that it is met by lending or other forms of financial support from the public sector.
Cars (Employers' Payments)
Sir Trevor Skeet : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what information he has on the total paid by employers to employees for car use both in the public and private sectors and the part thereof which is liable for tax ;
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(2) what information he has on the funds made available by employers to employees for the purchase of cars in any recent year for which figures are available.Mr. Maude [holding answer 31 January 1992] : Precise estimates are not available. Very approximate estimates based on survey information are that some £1 billion was paid in 1989-90 towards purchase, hire or running costs of cars used by about 2 million employees for business mileage. The taxable components of these payments cannot be separated from other taxable expense payments but are believed to be no more than £200 million.
Small Businesses
Mr. Steen : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received from representatives of small businesses concerning the recent codes of practice issues by the four clearing banks.
Mr. Maples : None, although a number have commented publicly.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT
Zimbabwe
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to assist Zimbabwe in response to the prolonged drought in parts of the country ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Chalker : We have offered to help Zimbabwe draw up a national water sector plan and to help Bulawayo, one of the areas hit hardest by the present drought, to manage its water supplies to maximum effect. We also have commitments of some £3 million in support, both directly and through non-governmental organisations, of work which addresses needs in drought-prone areas of the country. Projects include research into dryland cropping and small-scale irrigation techniques and funding of village-level water supply and improvement schemes. Other proposals are being considered.
Kenya
Sir David Steel : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the current aid programme to Kenya.
Mrs. Chalker : In 1990, the last year for which figures are available, our gross bilateral aid programme, including Commonwealth Development Corporation disbursements of £2.2 million to Kenya, was £44 million.
Africa (Education Aid)
Mr. Speller : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what aid in the field of education he will provide in 1992 for Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone and The Gambia.
Mrs. Chalker : During 1992 we will continue our substantial educational and training programmes for these four countries, concentrating on in-service training for teachers, adult literacy, technical training and curriculum development. We are also maintaining our United Kingdom training programme for all four countries.
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Know-how Fund
Mr. Dover : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what funds have been allocated to the know-how fund for eastern European countries ; and if he will give details of the relevant countries and activities.
Mrs. Chalker : The know-how fund currently covers Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and Romania--as well as the countries of the former Soviet Union. The total allocation up to the end of this financial year is some £48 million, for activities designed to promote the transition to a market economy and a plural democracy. Details of individual projects were placed in the Libraries of the House on 13 January 1992.
Russian Bankers and Financiers
Mr. Dover : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much money has been allocated to the know-how fund for training of Russian bankers and financiers.
Mrs. Chalker : The know-how fund has already committed £158,000 to support training for bankers and financiers in Moscow and St Petersburg. Further projects are in preparation.
In addition, up to 1,000 Russians are to be given training in the banking and finance sector in Britain under an initiative which my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer recently announced would be worth £8 million.
WALES
Part-ownership Schemes
Mr. Soley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what has been the total cost to date of setting up, publicising and administering the flexi-ownership or rents into mortgage schemes in Wales ; and how many tenants have so far acquired part-ownership of their homes under this scheme.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : The Development Board for Rural Wales--(DBRW) --has dealt with 299 inquiries. To date, there have been 52 completed sales. About £10,000 was incurred by the Department and the DBRW in setting up the scheme and £14,000 on publicity. The DBRW has spent some £40,000 on administration costs.
Inmos Ltd
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the sums of public money given in grants or loans to Inmos Ltd or SGS Thomson during the past five years.
Mr. David Hunt : My Department has made regional development grant payments in respect of the Newport plants of Inmos Ltd, as follows :
|£
---------------------------------
25 March 1987 |48,761
1 June 1988 |78,469
15 June 1988 |142,097
19 May 1988 |24,007
25 November 1988 |54,792
9 January 1989 |27,174
27 January 1989 |65,147
16 February 1989 |32,354
17 February 1989 |29,759
10 May 1989 |38,314
6 July 1989 |44,108
17 October 1990 |447,838
In addition, while there were no offers of regional selective assistance during this period, an instalment of £874,000 was paid on 21 December 1987 under the terms of an offer made in 1984.
Grant-maintained Schools
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what has been the cost of ballots of parents held under section 61 of the Education Act 1988 ; for which schools he has required a fresh ballot to be held as a result of his guidance not being followed ; and in each case what was the reason and who paid the cost of each ballot.
Sir Wyn Roberts : The total cost of ballots of parents held under the Education Reform Act is £8,720.47. No fresh ballots have been necessary.
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what applications have been received from grant-maintained schools for special purpose grant-restructuring ; and in each case (a) how many posts have been affected and (b) what grant has been paid.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Grant-maintained schools have been invited to apply for special purpose grant for restructuring. No claims have been received to date.
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many copies have been distributed and, in each case, at what cost of all the editions of the booklets (a) "School Governors, How to Become a Grant- maintained School," (b) "Grant-maintained Schools, Questions Parents Ask" and (c) "Grant-maintained Schools, What it Means for Staff."
Sir Wyn Roberts : The information is as follows :
(a) 7,000 costing £4,770.35 ;
(b) 250 produced at minimal cost by the Department ; and (c) copies of the staff booklet will be distributed shortly. Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales for each of the financial years 1989-90 and 1990-91, what have been the individual levels of (a) relief from liability for rates, (b) special purpose grant (VAT) and (c) annual maintenance grant for each grant-maintained school.
Sir Wyn Roberts : There were no grant-maintained schools in Wales for the years in question.
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what applications have been received from grant-maintained schools for capital grant and what has been the level of grant approved in each case ; and what has been the average capital allocation per pupil in the grant-maintained sector and the average capital expenditure per pupil in the local education authority-maintained sector.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Grant-maintained schools in Wales have been invited to apply for capital grant. No applications have been received to date. In 1989-90, the latest date for which the information is available, the average capital expenditure per pupil in the local education authority maintained sector was £87.
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Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what has been (a) the maximum possible and (b) the actual level of transitional grant in respect of each grant-maintained school ; and for what purposes the approved expenditure was incurred.
Sir Wyn Roberts : The maximum amount available under the transitional grant arrangements is £60,000. Cwmcarn grant-maintained school and Bishop Vaughan Catholic comprehensive school are eligible to claim up to £39,900 and £57,300 respectively.
The grant is available to cover costs incurred by prospective governing bodies in preparing for grant-maintained status, such as advertising, office equipment, computers and administration.
Alcohol Officers
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many county development officer posts have been (a) approved and (b) appointed in Wales, to date ; and if he will list the counties or district health authority areas where a county development officer for alcohol services has been appointed and the date of first appointment in each case.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : The provision of county development officer posts has been approved in every county in Wales. To date the only counties to make an appointment are Clwyd and Gwynedd, who made a joint appointment on 2 September 1991.
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he decided to create or support the creation of county development officers for the co-ordination of alcohol services in Welsh counties.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : The decision to create county development officer posts was taken following the submission for bids for financial support in 1991-92.
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much has been (a) allocated and (b) granted by his Department to each county in Wales to fund county development officers for alcohol services in 1990-91, 1991-92 and 1992-93, respectively.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : Funding for county development officers was first provided in 1991-92 financial year. No fixed amount has been allocated to each county as they are pursuing differing arrangements, to meet specific local needs. A total of £28,813 has been allocated for the joint Clwyd/Gwynedd development officer appointment. Provisional allocation of £21,421, £24,700 and £11,452 have been made for development officers in Dyfed, Gwent and South Glamorgan respectively. Details of the other appointments have yet to be finalised. The funding is recurring for future years.
Agriculture Grants
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what sums were paid out by each of his divisional offices for each (a) agricultural subsidy and (b) grant scheme to farmers in (i) 1990 and (ii) 1991 ; and how many agreements were entered into for each grant scheme.
Mr. David Hunt : The information is as follows :
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Financial Year 1989-90 Financial Year 1990-91
|Caernarfon |Carmarthen |Llandrindod |Caernarfon |Carmarthen |Llandrindod
|Divisional Office|Divisional Office|Divisional Office|Divisional Office|Divisional Office|Divisional Office
|£ |£ |£ |£ |£ |£
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hill Livestock Compensatory
Allowances |9,741,413 |5,681,752 |15,635,915 |10,049,045 |6,062,728 |16,070,947
Sheep Annual Premium
Scheme |9,567,200 |5,466,245 |12,688,167 |16,443,162 |10,052,007 |21,251,066
Suckler Cow Premium
Scheme |1,972,637 |1,267,745 |4,459,017 |2,707,881 |2,263,051 |4,811,092
Farm Capital Grants |2,510,000 |3,427,000 |3,487,000 |2,671,000 |3,782,000 |4,329,000
Farm Woodland Scheme |3,890 |nil |3,336 |10,582 |4,997 |7,006
Milk (Community Outgoers
Scheme) |23,262 |41,298 |2,220 |23,262 |41,298 |2,220
Farm Diversification Grant
Scheme |51,671 |138,508 |122,837 |75,736 |133,074 |194,986
Farm Diversification
Marketing and Feasibility
Grant Scheme |nil |1,100 |1,340 |2,129 |3,298 |5,081
Set-Aside Scheme |11,251 |67,613 |49,699 |25,461 |103,437 |102,579
The Cambrian Mountains environmentally sensitive area straddles the Carmarthen and Llandrindod divisional office boundaries. The Lleyn ESA falls entirely within the Caernarfon divisional office area. The information is as follows :
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|Financial year|Financial year
|1989-90 |1990-91
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Carmarthen/Llandrindod |477,827 |597,605
Divisional Offices
Caernarfon |227,661 |284,102
Divisional Office
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Agreement were entered into as follows:
Financial Year 1989-90 Financial Year 1990-91
|Caernarfon |Carmarthen |Llandrindod|Caernarfon |Carmarthen |Llandrindod
|Divisional |Divisional |Divisional |Divisional |Divisional |Divisional
|Office |Office |Office |Office |Office |Office
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Farm Capital Grant Plans |74 |88 |276 |110 |97 |240
Environmentally Sensitive Areas Scheme |154 |32 |72 |39 |25 |45
Farm Diversification Grant Scheme Plans
including Marketing and Feasibility Plans |23 |55 |40 |23 |72 |39
Set-Aside Scheme |3 |7 |4 |1 |10 |4
Art and Music
Mr. Gwilym Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he has considered the representations on the proposals for art and music in the national curriculum ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Wyn Roberts : My right hon. Friend issued for consultation last August proposals for music and art in the national curriculum. The consultation period ended on 1 November last year. He has considered very carefully the representations which he has received and, in particular, the views of the Curriculum Council for Wales which has a statutory duty to advise him on matters relating to the national curriculum in Wales.
In the light of the council's advice and the representations he has received, he has published today for consultation draft orders with associated documents setting out attainment targets and programme of study for art and music in the nation curriculum for pupils aged five to 14, as he is required to do by section 21(3) of the Education Reform Act 1988. Copies will be placed in the Library of the House. The period for consultation on the draft orders will end on 9 March. My right hon. Friend intends to make the final orders in April 1992 in good time for schools to begin teaching national curriculum art and music to pupils aged
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five, seven and 11 from the following autumn. The draft orders apply to Wales. My right hon. Friend has already published draft orders for England on 27 January.Infant Deaths
Ms. Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 5 November, Official Report, columns 51-52, what pilot studies his Department is doing to test the feasibility of the proposals for the confidential inquiries into stillbirths and deaths in infancy set out in the report published on 2 July 1991 ; and whether the results of the pilot studies will be ready in time to be taken into account in finalising plans for the inquiries themselves.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett [holding answer 20 December 1991] : The working group on confidential inquiry into stillbirths and deaths in infancy, set up by the Chief Medical Officer of the Department of Health, gave advice about how the inquiry should proceed. That advice was based on experience gained from locally based enquiries and did not recommend pilot studies.
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THE ARTS
London Theatres
33. Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Minister for the Arts when he next expects to pay an official visit to a London theatre ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Renton : As Arts Minister, I am in the thoroughly enviable business of being able to combine business and pleasure, and regularly visit London theatres. I can assure my hon. Friend that I have every intention of continuing to enjoy this pleasurable state of affairs. In the last two weeks I have visited the King's Head theatre and the Almeida theatre in Islington.
Northern Theatres
34. Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Minister for the Arts which theatres he has visited in the north of England in the last 12 months.
Mr. Renton : I visited the northern region twice last year, when I saw some of the excellent arts organisations that are based in the northern region, including the Cleveland Arts Project, the Beamish Open Air museum and the Lang art gallery. I should be pleased to visit theatres when I am next in the region.
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