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Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 14 February 1992] : One automatic camera has been introduced in Strathclyde region, where it will be used at six traffic-light-controlled junctions. A further six sites have been identified in the region at which an unmanned camera could usefully be installed. It is expected that these sites will come into operation this year.
It is a matter for each chief constable, in consultation with his roads authority, to decide where and to what extent cameras might with advantage be installed in his area.
Police Traffic Operations
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the latest available annual figures of (a) police traffic officers and (b) civilian staff working in police traffic departments, in each year since 1981.
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Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 14 February 1992] : Details are given in the table. Information on civilian staff, other than traffic wardens, in traffic divisions is available only from 1988.As at |Police |Traffic |Other 31 December |wardens |civilians ------------------------------------------------------------ 1981 |1,047 |617 |<1> 1982 |1,040 |573 |<1> 1983 |1,023 |559 |<1> 1984 |900 |531 |<1> 1985 |894 |523 |<1> 1986 |891 |546 |<1> 1987 |899 |536 |<1> 1988 |898 |533 |182 1989 |916 |511 |169 1990 |907 |538 |169 <1> Information is not available for these years.
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Traffic Offences
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many motorists have been (a) charged with and (b) convicted of (i) reckless driving, (ii) illegal use of bus lanes, (iii) failure to accord precedence at zebra and pedestrian crossings, (iv) speeding (v) failure to stop at a red or amber traffic light and (vi) drunken driving, respectively, in each year since 1981.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 14 February 1992] : The available information is set out in the table.
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Persons proceeded against in Scottish courts
|Reckless |Illegal use |Contravention|Speeding |Neglect of |Drunk
|driving |of bus-lanes |of pedestrian |traffic |driving
|crossing |directions
|regulations
|(i) |(ii) |(iii) |(iv) |(v) |(vi)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1981 |492 |N/a |2,492 |27,296 |4,105 |11,460
1982 |474 |N/a |1,493 |20,466 |2,953 |10,666
1983<1> |575 |N/a |1,654 |22,210 |2,959 |11,767
1984 |575 |N/a |514 |5,692 |1,609 |12,500
1985 |537 |N/a |409 |5,519 |935 |12,514
1986 |658 |N/a |434 |6,976 |812 |12,019
1987 |590 |N/a |407 |9,803 |1,011 |11,438
1988 |676 |N/a |648 |11,218 |1,567 |10,664
1989 |722 |N/a |773 |13,957 |1,655 |8,818
1990 |783 |N/a |909 |18,197 |2,227 |8,830
N/a-Not available.
<1>Since mid 1983 many motor vehicle offences have been dealt with by procurator fiscal fixed penalties rather
than by prosecution in the
courts.
Persons with charge proved in Scottish courts
|Reckless |Illegal use |Contravention|Speeding |Neglect of |Drunk
|driving |of bus-lanes |of pedestrian |traffic |driving
|crossing |directions
|regulations
|(i) |(ii) |(iii) |(iv) |(v) |(vi)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1981 |457 |N/a |2,376 |26,467 |3,884 |11,244
1982 |436 |N/a |1,451 |20,305 |2,834 |10,429
1983<1> |540 |N/a |1,620 |22,024 |2,857 |11,556
1984 |528 |N/a |483 |5,570 |1,493 |12,213
1985 |501 |N/a |392 |5,432 |865 |12,269
1986 |609 |N/a |414 |6,882 |732 |11,780
1987 |554 |N/a |390 |9,695 |942 |11,199
1988 |633 |N/a |617 |11,057 |1,444 |10,416
1989 |652 |N/a |743 |13,806 |1,525 |8,650
1990 |694 |N/a |865 |17,945 |2,063 |8,583
N/a-Not available.
<1>Since mid 1983 many motor vehicle offences have been dealt with by procurator fiscal fixed penalties rather
than by prosecution in the
courts.
TRANSPORT
A19, Elwick
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the estimated lane rental cost of the road repairs to the A19 at Elwick, County Durham.
Mr. Chope : The A19 works at Elwick in Cleveland included an improvement scheme and was not considered suitable for lane rental.
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Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the duration of road repairs to the A19 at Elwick, County Durham.
Mr. Chope : There were two separate contracts for the A19 improvement and resurfacing works between Elwick and Wolviston, in Cleveland. They were as follows :
Elwick to Sheraton--12 October 1989 to 19 January 1990
Wolviston to Elwick--14 January to 7 September 1991
Both contracts were completed within the contract period.
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Bypasses
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what expenditure is taking place this financial year on the Thornaby and Middleton St. George bypasses.
Mr. Chope : These schemes are the responsibility of the local highway authorities Cleveland county council and Durham county council.
Tees Viaduct
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the estimated cost of repairs to the A19 Tees viaduct carried out during 1991- 92.
Mr. Chope : The estimated cost of work on the A19 Tees viaduct in 1991-92 is £2.6 million.
Air Safety
Sir Michael McNair-Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the chairmen of the Civil Aviation Authority and the airlines about the installation of water sprinklers in the cabins of civil aircraft ; what testing of this equipment has taken place ; and what assessment has been made of the merits of such equipment with respect to the effects of aircraft fires and the avoidance of long-term risks of physical damage to the passenger.
Mr. McLoughlin : My Department has kept in close touch on this matter with the Civil Aviation Authority, which has the statutory responsibility for matters of aviation safety. An extensive international programme of tests on water sprays has taken place with promising results so far. A further series of tests to study the effect of water sprays on passengers evacuating an aircraft will commence shortly ; these will be conducted by the Cranfield Institute of Technology using the Fire Research Station's facility at Cardington and be sponsored by the CAA. The introduction into service of a water spray system would require international agreement and involve extensive consultation with the airline industry.
Sir Michael McNair-Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions are taking place with his European counterparts about introducing common air safety standards on all EC-based airlines ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. McLoughlin : On 16 December 1991 the EC Council of Transport Ministers adopted Regulation (EEC) No. 3922-91 on the harmonisation of technical requirements and administrative procedures in the field of civil aviation. This will ensure common safety and technical standards for EC aviation.
The United Kingdom continues to play a significant part in the work of the European Joint Aviation Authorities which is drawing up further safety standards with a view to their being adopted by the EC under the harmonization regulation.
East London River Crossing
Mr. Cartwright : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many residential properties not physically affected by the east London river crossing have so far been purchased by his Department on compassionate grounds.
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Mr. Chope : Four properties have been purchased by the Department on the ground that conditions would be intolerable during construction of the scheme. The Department has agreed to buy one further property on those grounds, but the purchase has not yet been completed. All these purchases were agreed before the Secretary of State's powers of purchase were extended by the Planning and Compensation Act 1991. I announced the new guidelines which will be applied to such purchases in an answer to my right hon. Friend the Member for Tonbridge and Malling (Sir J. Stanley) on 21 November 1991, Official Report, column 237.
M1/M62 Link
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions his Department have had with Wakefield metropolitan district council and local parish or community councils within the Wakefield metropolitan distrtict with regard to the route of the proposed M1/M62 link road.
Mr. Chope : No formal discussions have been held because the proposed scheme is at an early stage of development. We are about to consult representative bodies and the public about possible alternative routes.
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to announce the proposed route for the M1/M62 motorway link.
Mr. Chope : Public consultation into the options for a proposed link between the M1 south west of Wakefield and the M62 east of Huddersfield will start on 27 February 1992. It is only after the responses from the public and representative bodies are fully assessed that we will be able to make an announcement about a preferred route.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Official Secrets
Mr. Beggs : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland at what level and within which public bodies in Northern Ireland members are required to comply with official secrets regulations.
Dr. Mawhinney : An offence under the Official Secrets Act 1989 may be committed by any person coming into possession of information of a class covered by that Act.
Crime Statistics
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will call for a report from the Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary as to what proportion of the clear-up rate for crime in his area in 1990-91 is accounted for by voluntary admissions by convicted criminals ; how many detectives are employed to obtain these admissions ; and when the practice ceased.
Dr. Mawhinney : Crimes in Northern Ireland are considered statistically cleared only when a charge has been preferred or a summons issued in relation to a specific offence.
Voluntary admissions by convicted criminals do not by themselves affect the clear up rate for crime. However, they are often received by detectives in the normal course of their investigations. No detectives are deployed solely to obtain such admissions.
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Electoral Registers
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons were on the electoral registers published (a) in February 1983 and (b) February 1992 for each parliamentary constituency in Northern Ireland.
Dr. Mawhinney : The information is as follows :
Register published in February 1983
Parliamentary constituency |Number
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Belfast East |74,031
Belfast North |61,826
Belfast South |66,326
Belfast West |57,145
North Antrim |106,131
South Antrim |133,544
Armagh |96,550
North Down |105,942
South Down |95,220
Londonderry |102,635
Mid Ulster |86,104
Fermanagh and South Tyrone 75,731
|----
Total 1,061,185
Register published in February 1992
Constituency |Number
-----------------------------------------------------
Belfast East |53,375
Belfast North |55,587
Belfast South |52,556
Belfast West |55,280
East Antrim |63,739
East Londonderry |76,912
Fermanagh and South Tyrone |71,472
Foyle |75,970
Lagan Valley |73,688
Mid Ulster |70,410
Newry and Armagh |68,716
North Antrim |70,217
North Down |69,604
Strangford |69,855
South Antrim |68,292
South Down |77,371
Upper Bann |68,422
|-------
Total |1,141,466
Note: The parliamentary constituencies (Northern
Ireland) Order,
1982, altered the number, names and boundaries of
Parliamentary
Constituencies in Northern Ireland, and came into
effect at the 1983
general election (June).
WALES
Inward Investment
10. Mr. Hind : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the current level of inward investment to date in 1991- 92.
Mr. David Hunt : 1991 was a record year with 183 projects promising over 17,000 new or safeguarded jobs and £860 million capital investment.
Receivership
14. Mr. Rowlands : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has made of the number of companies that went into receivership in Wales between 1979 and 1983, between 1983 and 1989 and in 1990 and 1991.
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Mr. David Hunt : None. There are no such records.
Mortgage Repossessions
15. Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has concerning the number of mortgage repossessions in Wales during 1991.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : There was a significant and very welcome reduction in the number of repossession actions initiated in the last quarter of 1991. As the impact of the package of measures agreed with mortgage lenders in December begins to take effect, the level of repossessions will continue to fall.
Tourism
16. Mr. Simon Coombs : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on tourism in Wales in 1991.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Although complete figures are not yet available the Wales tourist board expect that, despite a difficult year, tourism in Wales in 1991 will have maintained the impressive levels reached in 1990. Well-targeted investment in the Welsh tourist industry has taken place through a variety of schemes and very careful attention has been give to good quality customer care. My right hon. Friend was very pleased to launch the welcome host training initiative being run by the Wales Tourist board in conjunction with the Welsh training and enterprise councils. I am confident that the tourist industry in Wales will go from strength to strength and in particular I look forward to the national garden festival which will be held at Ebbw Vale this year.
Health Service Staff
17. Mr. Grist : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the number of (a) physiotherapists, (b) occupational therapists, (c) speech therapists and (d) community psychiatric nurses in Wales in 1979 and at the latest available date.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : The information is as follows :
!
Staff in post as at 30 September
Whole-time equivalents
---------------------------------
(a) Physiotherapists
(b) Occupational therapists
(c) Speech therapists
(d) Community psychiatric nurses:
held centrally
EC Regional Policies
18. Mr. Denzil Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he next intends to meet EC Commissioner Millan to discuss the impact of EC regional policies on the economy of Wales.
Mr. David Hunt : I hope to meet Commissioner Millan on 20 February when I visit Brussels to open the Wales European centre.
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Local Government Finance
19. Mr. Murphy : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he last met leaders of local authorities in Wales to discuss local government finance.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : My right hon. Friend chaired a meeting of the Welsh Consultative Council for Local Government Finance on 13 January to discuss the local government revenue settlement for 1992-93.
22. Mr. Livsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received from Powys county council concerning the rate support grant settlement for 1992-93.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : My right hon. Friend has not yet received any representations directly from Powys county council on the settlement for the coming year.
Labour Statistics
20. Mr. Ray Powell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what number of persons are now registered unemployed in Wales ; and what was the number registered as unemployed in Wales in February 1979.
Mr. David Hunt : In January 1992, the seasonally adjusted unemployment figure for Wales was 123,600. The comparable figure for February 1979 was 70,500.
25. Mr. Roy Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will state the number of male unemployed in Newport, Gwent and Wales at the latest available date.
Mr. David Hunt : In January 1992, there were 5,712, 16,063 and 101, 149 unemployed male claimants in the Newport district, Gwent and Wales respectively.
Standard Spending Assessments
21. Mr. Martyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he has any plans to alter the standard spending assessment criteria for counties in Wales.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : The distribution formulae on which county authority's SSAs for 1992-93 are based have been agreed with the Assembly of Welsh Counties and ratified by the Welsh Consultative Council on Local Government Finance. The formulae for 1993-94 will be determined in the same way.
Hospitals (South Glamorgan)
23. Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he proposes to meet the chairman of South Glamorgan health authority concerning hospital provision within the county.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : My right hon. Friend has no plans to do so at present.
Recession
24. Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he last met local authority leaders in Wales to discuss the impact of the recession and job losses on their communities.
Mr. David Hunt : I regularly meet local authority leaders and discuss a wide range of issues with them.
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Water Charges
26. Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will arrange to meet the chairman of Welsh Water plc to discuss the basis of water charging in Wales after the introduction of a new house value system for the purposes of the proposed council tax ; and if he will consider in that context the need for changes in legislation to enable the water company to make rebates to single person households or those on low incomes.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : No. Under section 142 of the Water Industry Act 1991 it is for the water undertaker to determine how charges are calculated. Water charges pay for the provision of a service. It is for the social security system to provide allowances for general living expenses to those in need.
Music Targets
Mr. Batiste : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales why he decided to adopt three attainment targets for music in the national curriculum for Wales as published on 3 February ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Wyn Roberts : The proposals for music in the national curriculum, including the proposals for three attainment targets, were issued for consultation in August last year. The consultation period ended on 1 November. The Curriculum Council for Wales, which has statutory responsibility for advising the Secretary of State on curriculum matters, and the majority of respondents in Wales endorsed a structure which included three attainments targets. The order will also provide opportunities for pupils in Wales to benefit from the Welsh musical heritage as well as other sources.
Deprivation
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will state the basis on which resources of the rural capital projects initiative will be distributed within Wales ; whether it will be geared to the indices of the Welsh deprivation table ; and what consideration he will give in this allocation of these funds to those areas, identified as qualifying in terms of deprivation, which have, over recent years, not attracted significant investment under the urban aid programme.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : The main objective of the rural initiative competition is to identify those projects likely to be of most benefit to rural communities. Each application is considered on its individual merits and careful account is taken of the views of local authorities and the relevant agencies. The allocation of funds is not based on the ward index of deprivation, which was constructed for a different purpose.
This is a new initiative which, assuming that good quality projects are submitted, will benefit rural communities throughout the Principality.
Animal Carcases
Mr. Edwards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received concerning the disposal of farm animal carcases ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. David Hunt : Occasional correspondence on the subject of the disposal of farm animal carcases has been received.Intensive Poultry Units
Mr. Edwards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what guidelines are issued to local authority planning departments regarding the development of intensive poultry units ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. David Hunt : Advice on planning controls over livestock units its given in planning policy guidance note No. 7 "The Countryside and the Rural Economy"--annex B, paragraphs B 3-1 to B 3-6--issued in January this year.
Agriculture
Mr. Geraint Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what effect his Department estimates the present proposals for a GATT settlement will have upon the agricultural industry in Wales ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. David Hunt : The Council of the European Communities has instructed the Commission to negotiate improvements in the draft text prepared by the GATT director general, Mr. Dunkel. It has noted that a final assessment will be possible only after such negotiations have taken place.
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Dairy Producers
Mr. Geraint Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many dairy producers have left the industry in Wales during the last 10 years ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. David Hunt : Information is not available in the form requested. However, the number of milk producers in Wales in 1981 and 1991 was as follows :
Milk Producers (a)
|Number
-----------------------
(b) 1981 |7,566
(c) 1991 |5,539
(a) From the register
maintained under the
Milk and Dairies
(General) Regulations
1959
(b) Figures at
December
(c) Figures at
September
This takes account of both new entrants and producers leaving the dairy industry.
Trunk Roads
Mr. Geraint Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much was spent per mile on trunk roads in each of the Welsh counties during the last year for which figures are available ; what were the corresponding figures for the previous 10 years ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Wyn Roberts : The information is as follows :
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Central Government capital and current expenditure on trunk roads and motorways
£ '000 per mile
Year |Clwyd |Dyfed |Gwent |Gwynedd |Mid |Powys |South |West
|Glamorgan |Glamorgan|Glamorgan
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1981-82 |199 |85 |262 |38 |125 |28 |168 |139
1982-83 |363 |63 |58 |113 |170 |21 |139 |175
1983-84 |434 |86 |46 |111 |402 |21 |226 |136
1984-85 |268 |56 |52 |71 |343 |20 |194 |71
1985-86 |217 |54 |131 |76 |203 |22 |97 |93
1986-87 |222 |86 |95 |129 |168 |20 |146 |73
1987-88 |156 |72 |63 |303 |151 |17 |177 |123
1988-89 |237 |36 |63 |386 |139 |20 |211 |260
1989-90 |191 |73 |80 |306 |104 |35 |57 |132
1990-91 |172 |97 |96 |349 |80 |52 |385 |659
Note: 1981-82 is the earliest year and 1990-91 the latest year for which information is available.
Road Improvements, Fishguard
Mr. Geraint Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will hold a public inquiry into the proposed road improvement schemes to be carried out in Fishguard ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Wyn Roberts : I have yet to publish my proposals in the form of draft orders for the diversion at Lower Town and a route 6 western bypass of Fishguard. A decision to hold a public inquiry for either will be taken in the light of any objections received following publication of my proposals.
Business Rates
Mr. Beith : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimates he has for the cost of allowing businesses in Wales to remain eligible for transitional relief from the uniform business rate although they move premises in 1992-93 ; and what would be the additional cost of
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returning eligibility for transitional relief in 1992-93 to those businesses who moved premises in 1990-91 and 1991-92.Mr. David Hunt : Transitional relief does not attach to businesses but to the premises they occupy. The additional cost of returning transitional protection to properties where there was a change of occupier in 1990-91 or 1991-92 would be around £1 million. No estimate is possible for 1992-93.
Mr. Beith : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the cost of increasing the thresholds at which Welsh businesses are eligible for the small business category of uniform business rate transitional relief, from a rateable value of £10,000 to £15,000 in the financial year 1992-93.
Mr. David Hunt : I estimate that the cost of increasing the small property threshold for uniform business rate transitional relief to £15,000 would be about £5 million in 1992-93.
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Mr. Beith : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has of the cost of cancelling the announced increase in the national non-domestic rate poundage for Wales in 1992-93 ; and what would be the cost of reducing that increase to (a) 3 per cent., (b) 2 per cent., and (c) 1 per cent.Mr. David Hunt : I estimate the cost of underindexing the national non-domestic rate poundage for Wales in 1992-93 would be approximately £5 million for each one percentage point. Cancelling the increase of just over 4 per cent. on the 1991-92 multiplier would cost approximately £20 million.
Mr. Beith : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will estimate the cost in 1992-93 of extending the transitional relief scheme for the uniform business rate in Wales so that all losses are suspended in the coming financial year, while all gains continue to be phased in according to the transitional arrangements.
Mr. David Hunt : I estimate that the cost of reducing the real terms transitional limits to 0 per cent. in 1992-93 would be around £15 million.
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