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Angola
Mr. David Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the investigation into the murder of the four British tourists in south-western Angola in January.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The Angolan Government investigation into the killings is still continuing. Our embassy in Luanda is closely monitoring progress.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Economic and Monetary Union
Mr. Leighton : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the state of progress in each of the member states of the EC towards the criteria in the Maastricht treaty for economic and monetary union.
Mr. Nelson : The table shows the state of progress of EC member states with respect to the convergence criteria, as set out in article 109j of the Maastricht treaty, using the most recent and consistent data and forecasts available. Definitions are not, as yet, fully standardised for any of the indicators of convergence, and figures are therefore only indicative at this stage.
It should be emphasized that whether or not a member state is assessed to be eligible for stage 3 of EMU in the final analysis is a matter for ECOFIN judgment, acting on a recommendation from the Commission. The final decision of whether to move to stage 3 rests with Heads of State or Government. There is a presumption that these judgments will be guided by the four formal convergence
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criteria, but there is no requirement that they should be strictly bound by them and other factors will be taken into account.Column 113
|Latest |Government|General |Long Term |ERM
|Inflation |deficit |government|bond yield|narrow
|debt
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Belgium |2.7 |-6.4 |129.4 |8.8 |Yes
Denmark |2.6 |-1.7 |67.2 |8.3 |Yes
France |3.2 |-1.5 |47.2 |8.9 |Yes
West Germany |4.8 |-3.2 |46.2 |8.1 |Yes
Greece |18.3 |-17.9 |96.4 |N/A |No
Ireland |3.7 |-4.1 |102.8 |8.8 |Yes
Italy |5.6 |-9.9 |101.2 |11.5 |Yes
Luxembourg |3.0 |2.0 |6.9 |7.7 |Yes
Netherlands |4.2 |-4.4 |78.4 |8.5 |Yes
Portugal |8.5 |-5.4 |64.7 |13.5 |No
Spain |6.9 |-3.9 |45.6 |11.5 |No
United Kingdom |4.0 |-1.9 |43.8 |9.3 |No
March 1992; percentage change of consumer prices over previous 12 months. Source:
OECD.
1991 forecast for general government financial balance (as a percentage of GDP).
Source: European Commission.
1991 forecast for gross debt of general government (as a percentage of GDP).
Source: European Commission.
January 1992; yield on fixed interest government securities. Source: Eurostat.
Membership of the narrow band of the ERM for at least two years, without
devaluing on own initiative.
Central Bank
Sir Thomas Arnold : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he favours the establishment of an independent central bank.
Mr. Nelson : My right hon. Friend has no plans to establish an independent central bank. If at some future date the United Kingdom decided to move to stage 3 of European economic and monetary union, steps would have to be taken to ensure that the Bank of England, as part of the European system of central banks, would enjoy the degree of independence required by the treaty on European union.
Exchange Rates
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the appreciation in the real exchange rate of (a) the United Kingdom, (b) West Germany and (c) France since (i) May 1979, (ii) May 1986, (iii) the date of United Kingdom entry to the exchange rate mechanism and (iv) January 1991.
Mr. Nelson : Measures of countries' real effective exchange rate indices are published monthly by the International Monetary Fund in "International Finance Statistics".
Interest Rates
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the real interest rates in (a) Germany and (b) Britain month by month since Britain's entry into the exchange rate mechanism.
Mr. Nelson : The following rates were calculated using three-month money market rates. The United Kingdom figures were deflated by the retail prices index excluding mortgage interest payments ; the German rates were deflated by the consumer prices index excluding rent, a more comparable measure than headline CPI. Appropriate figures are only available as far as February 1992.
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|Germany|United
|Kingdom
----------------------------------
1990
October |5.1 |4.1
November |5.7 |4.1
December |6.4 |4.4
1991
January |6.5 |5.0
February |6.4 |4.3
March |6.8 |3.7
April |6.4 |4.8
May |6.1 |4.6
June |5.5 |4.1
July |4.5 |4.0
August |5.1 |4.4
September |5.2 |4.3
October |5.9 |4.7
November |5.1 |4.5
December |5.4 |4.7
1992
January |5.5 |4.8
February |5.3 |4.5
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the level of real interest rates in January 1987, January 1989, January 1990 and every month since January 1991 to date.
Mr. Nelson [holding answer 11 May 1992] : The following figures have been calculated by deflating average three-month inter bank rates for each month by the retail- prices index excluding mortgage interest payments for the same month. Hence no figures are available after March 1992, the last month for which the RPI is available. The figures are percentages.
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Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the level of real interest rates in May 1987, May 1989, May 1991 and May 1992 in Japan, the United States of America and the United Kingdom, respectively.
Mr. Nelson [holding answer 11 May 1992] : The following figures were calculated using three-month market rates for each country. The United Kingdom figures were deflated using the retail prices index excluding mortgage interest payments ; those for the United States and Japan used consumer prices indices with housing costs stripped out, to give a more comparable figure. Figures for May 1992 are not yet available.
|May 1987|May 1989
---------------------------------------------
Japan |4.1 |1.9
USA |2.7 |2.1
United Kingdom4.8 |6.8 |6.5
Master of Business Administration Courses
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward proposals to allow grant tax relief to individuals on master of business administration courses on their fees and expenses on the same basis as that allowed to companies which pay such fees for employees.
Mr. Dorrell : We have no present plans to change the provisions governing tax relief for vocational training which were included in the Finance Act 1991.
Treaty of European Union
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the text of article 228B of the Maastricht treaty of European union referred to in article 73F ; for what reasons it was left out ; and what steps are being taken to publicise its terms before the article is enforced.
Mr. Nelson [holding answer 11 May 1992] : There is no article 228B in the Maastricht treaty on European union. Article 228a is referred to in article 73g of the treaty on European union as presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Cm 1934), and may be found on page 59.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Parole
Mr. Ian Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has any plans to review the criteria determining good conduct for the purposes of parole in Her Majesty's prisons.
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Mr. Peter Lloyd : No. Prisoners' conduct is but one of many factors taken into account when the Parole Board considers the case for parole.
Mr. David Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his policy towards a system of parole for terminally ill prisoners.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Terminally ill prisoners are considered for parole in the same way as others. A prisoner's medical condition is one of the factors which the Parole Board considers in assessing suitability for parole. Under the exercise of the royal prerogative of mercy, terminally ill prisoners can be considered for release on compassionate grounds, prior to their eligibility for release on parole.
Public Houses
Mr. Mackinlay : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from the brewing industry, the trade unions and the Association of Chief Police Officers about the ramifications of the increasing number of so-called revolving door tenancies in public houses.
Overseas Voters
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give the number of overseas voters registered to vote in each constituency in the United Kingdom and the number in each who actually voted.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to a question from the hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field) on 11 May 1992 at column 20 . Information on the number of proxies who voted on behalf of overseas electors is not collected centrally.
Constables (Swearing-in)
Mr. Mackinlay : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has as to how many local authorities have sworn in constables other than under the Police Acts.
Mr. Charles Wardle : This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Prison Statistics
Mr. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list all the undertakings made to the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish about reducing the number of prisoners in police cells since April 1990, in Greater Manchester, indicating which have now been achieved, and if he will publish the number of prisoners in police cells in Greater Manchester for each month from April 1990 to April 1992.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The hon. Member has quite properly raised the problem of the shortage of prison accommodation in the Greater Manchester area on many occasions. In particular, I note that during the Consolidated Fund Bill debate on 14 March 1991, Official Report, column 1307, it was explained to the hon. Member :
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--The new Brinsford young offender institution and remand centre would come on stream in October, contributing 475 places. The establishment began taking inmates at the beginning of December. Unfortunately an inmate disturbance on 4 December damaged the accommodation and at present the establishment is holding only 323 remand prisoners.--Action was in hand to create more space in Hindley remand centre by transferring to Stoke Heath young offenders awaiting trial. This action was then brought into effect and is continuing.
--We were working to bring into use 200 new places in Full Sutton prison. One of the wings was brought into use in the latter part of 1991. There is an industrial dispute on the staffing of the remand wing.
--A further 140 refurbished places in Manchester prison wold be handed over in May 1991 and would be brought on stream as quickly as possible. The accommodation was opened in November.
--Moorland young offender institution and remand centre was due to come on stream in July 1991. It opened in August 1991.
In a written answer on 26 April 1991 at columns 559-60, my right hon. Friend the Member for Mitcham and Morden (Mrs. Rumbold) explained :
"apart from new accommodation in Full Sutton, (see above) a further 152 places would be available in Acklington. Because of an industrial dispute Acklington did not begin to increase its population until March 1992. It will shortly reach its full capacity of 676." In addition to these changes, new prisons at Whitemoor, Belmarsh and Elmley opened in 1991-92. Changes of use were also effected in the Mount, Preston, Brockhill, Everthorpe and Hewell Grange in order to make a more effective response to population pressures. In June 1990, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Putney (Mr. Mellor) explained to the hon. Member that it was then thought that the police cells situation ought to be resolved by the end of that year. In written answers on 26 April and 3 June, my right hon. Friend the Member for Mitcham and Morden also explained that prison service assessments indicated that young men on remand should be cleared from police cells during May, and that there should be substantial inroads into the general problem in July onwards. As the hon. Member is aware, during the summer and autumn of 1991 there was an unexpected increase in the prison population. In fact, by the end of that year the population was nearly 3,000 above the short-term projections for that period. This had the effect of filling all the new and refurbished accommodation which had been intended to provide relief to the Greater Manchester police cells prisoners and causing prisoners to be held in police cells throughout England and Wales. The population has remained at this high level and, as a result, the situation remains very serious. The need to deal with the problems of prisoners in police cells remains a matter of the highest priority.
The monthly figures for prisoners in Greater Manchester police cells who should be in prison are as follows :
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Mr. Kurt Klebeck
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any proposals to institute proceedings against Mr. Kurt Klebeck arising from his service in the German armed forces of occupation in Alderney during the 1939-45 war ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jack : I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. and learned Friend the Attorney-General on 11 May 1992.
War Criminals
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if extradition arrangements currently in effect between the United Kingdom and Germany can be used to facilitate extradition of German nationals from Germany to be tried for crimes committed in the Channel Islands during the 1939-45 war ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jack : The terms of the extradition arrangement between the United Kingdom and Germany are contained in the European Convention on Extradition Order 1990, which extends to the Channel Islands. The application of the arrangements in Germany is a matter for the German authorities. I understand that Germany cannot extradite its own nationals because of prohibitions to that effect in their own constitutions.
Electoral Registers
Mr. Michael Spicer : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will amend the legislation regarding the compilation of electoral registers to allow errors made by council employees during the preparation of the lists to be corrected.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Provision is made in the Representation of the People Regulations 1986 for errors made during the compilation of the electors lists by the electoral registration officer to be corrected either before or after publication of the electoral register on 15 February.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent by his
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Department in the last financial year on campaigns to secure greater electoral registration in (a) the United Kingdom and (b) overseas.Mr. Peter Lloyd : A total of £627,000 was spent in England and Wales in 1991-92 on the annual advertising campaign to encourage people to register to vote. There was no advertising campaign in 1991-92 to encourage overseas electors to register, but £1,210 was spent on updating posters.
Expenditure on publicity in Scotland and Northern Ireland is the responsibility of my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and for Northern Ireland respectively.
WALES
Mental Illness
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) how many patients there are currently in mental handicap hospitals in Wales ; how many he expects there to be on 1 January 1993, 1994 and 1995, respectively ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) if he will make a statement on the progress of the transfer of patients in mental handicap hospitals in Wales to care in the community.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : On 31 March 1991 (the last available census report) there were 1,332 people with a mental handicap resident in specialist mental handicap hospitals and units in Wales. This compares with 2,089 residents on 5 April 1983, the year the all-Wales mental handicap strategy was launched. This represents a fall of over 36 per cent.
This has been made possible by the growth in new patterns of community based services, supported by earmarked payments from the Welsh Office. These total £41.5 million in 1992-93, an increase of over 20 per cent. on 1991-92. Of this record total, an additional £2 million has been earmarked to enable over 100 more people to be resettled into homes of their own.
The Secretary of State announced on 9 March his intention to relaunch the strategy from April 1993 for a further period of development. Resettlement from hospital care is one of a number of key priorities for development he highlighted in the "Framework for Development" document, a copy of which was sent to hon. Members representing Welsh constituencies and which is in the Library of the House. Actual numbers to be resettled will depend on the satisfactory development of new patterns of services to meet the assessed needs of individuals.
Local Government
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if it is his policy to replace the current structure of local government in Wales with unitary authorities ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. David Hunt : I refer the hon. Gentleman to my statement to the House on 3 March 1992, Official Report, columns 171-72.
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Village Halls
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list by district council area the communities which have benefited from the capital grants programme for village halls in each of the last 10 years.
Sir Wyn Roberts : The information is not available in this form. I shall write to the hon. Gentleman and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
Welsh Development Agency
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many contracts for minor building works have been agreed by the Welsh Development Agency in each of the last three years ; and on how many occasions (a) the contractors have failed to complete works in the agreed time and (b) the Welsh Development Agency has failed to pay the contractors in the agreed time.
Mr. David Hunt : This is an operational matter for the Welsh Development Agency, and I have arranged for the chief executive to write to the hon. Gentleman.
Environmental Impact Assessments
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many environmental impact assessments have been presented with the planning applications in each of the last three years ; and what assessment has been made of their compliance with the European Community directive on environmental impact assessment.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The number of environmental statements accompanying planning applications in Wales notified to the Department in the three years since directive 85/337/EEC came into effect in July 1988 is :
|Number
---------------------------------
July 1988July 1989 |4
July 1989July 1990 |14
July 1990July 1991 |27
It is the responsibility of the planning authority to which an environmental statement is submitted to consider its adequacy and whether it complies with the requirements of the Town and Country Planning (Assessment of Environmental Effects) Regulations 1988 which implement directive 85/337/EEC in respect of projects requiring planning permission. Where an application is the subject of an appeal or is called in, the responsibility transfers to the inspector or the Secretary of State. The regulations empower an authority, an inspector or the Secretary of State to require the applicant to provide further information as necessary.
Estuaries
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the damage to estuaries over the last decade, its implications for estuarial flora and fauna, as well as adherence to international wildlife conventions ; and whether he has any proposals for the protection and improvement of estuaries.
Sir Wyn Roberts : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment today.
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Coastal Protection
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proposals he has to improve the protection of the coastline and offshore waters ; and when he expects to implement them.
Sir Wyn Roberts : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment today.
Llwyncelyn Centre, Swansea
Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what meetings have been arranged to discuss the future of the Llwyncelyn centre in Cockett, Swansea.
Orimulsion
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his policy towards environmental pollution in Wales caused by the burning of orimulsion ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : Only one application has been made in Wales to use orimulsion fuel on a large-scale commercial basis. This relates to National Power's proposals to use the fuel at its Pembroke power station.
As required, National Power has made separate applications to the Department of Trade and Industry and Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution under the Electricity Act 1989 and the Environmental Protection Act 1990, respectively. These applications are now under consideration.
In advance of decisions by the relevant authorities, it would not be appropriate for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to comment on the proposals, especially in view of his statutory appellate role under the Environmental Protection Act. However, the hon. Gentleman can be assured that all the environmental implications of National Power's plans will be fully taken into account before final decisions are taken.
Hazardous Substances
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the implementation in Wales of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1998.
Mr. McLoughlin : I have been asked to reply.
The responsibility for the implementation of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1988 (COSHH) rests with industry.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has committed substantial resources to promoting awareness and understanding of the regulations throughout Great Britain. It has produced a wide range of guidance material, given lectures, held seminars and made site visits to promote COSHH. HSE surveys show that over 80 per cent. of people in Great Britain work for companies aware of the regulations. Where it has been necessary, enforcement action for breaches of the COSHH regulations in Wales has been initiated by the HSE.
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An evaluation report on the effectiveness of the COSHH regulations in Great Britain will be considered by the Health and Safety Commission later in the year, with a view to its publication.NATIONAL HERITAGE
Orchestras
Sir Thomas Arnold : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what plans he has to discuss with the chairman of the Arts Council a further review of the funding of the four London symphony orchestras.
My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for National Heritage meets the chairman of the Arts Council of Great Britain frequently to discuss matters of common interest.
Sir Thomas Arnold : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what steps he has taken to ensure that the Arts Council consults in a timely manner the boards of the four London symphony orchestras about their funding arrangements.
Mr. Key : The funding of the London symphony orchestras is a matter for the Arts Council of Great Britain and is kept under regular review. Grant levels are announced by the council some four months before the start of the year to which they relate.
Buxton Museum
Mr. Hendry : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if his Department will investigate proposals by Derbyshire county council to mothball Buxton museum ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key : Buxton museum and art gallery is funded by Derbyshire county council. I understand from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment that the education committee of the county council has agreed to discuss with High Peak council the future of Buxton museum and art gallery. I understand that the East Midlands museums service has offered advice and guidance to the county council.
National Heritage Memorial Fund
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what was the level of funding made from the National Heritage memorial fund for the purposes of safeguarding landscape features and wildlife habitats in each of the last six years ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key : Grants made available by the trustees of the National Heritage memorial fund to assist in the acquisition, maintenance or preservation of land of scenic and/or scientific interest over the last six financial years were as follows :
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AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Tobacco
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will show the cost to (a) the EC and (b) Britain of subsidising tobacco growing within the EC in the most recent year for which figures are available.
Mr. Curry : The EC spent 1,330 mecu (about £927 million) on the CAP tobacco regime in 1991. As member states contribute to the EC budget as a whole, no meaningful breakdown can be made for their contributions to individual sectors of the budget.
Whaling
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress he is making in preparations for the humane killing workshop preceding the International Whaling Commission meeting in June ; what initiatives he has taken and plans to take to ensure the protection of small cetaceans ; what measures he is taking to prevent the resumption of commercial whaling ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Curry : Prior to the next meeting of the International Whaling Commission and at the request of the United Kingdom, a special workshop of experts will be held on 20 to 22 June under the independent chairmanship of Professor Sir Richard Harrison FRS to review all aspects of the methods used to take and kill whales. The agenda for the next IWC meeting will be a full one and the Government will continue to work hard for the conservation and protection of whales and other cetaceans. The need to ensure that there is clear scientific advice that whale stock can be maintained at healthy levels, that there is a revised and effective procedure in place for managing stocks and that the methods used to take whales are humane will remain paramount.
Ethnic Minorities
Mr. Janner : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many and what percentage of officers in grades 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, respectively, and overall in his Ministry are members of ethnic minorities.
Mr. Curry : The information requested is set out below. Ethnic origin figures as at 1 April 1991 derive from a voluntary questionnaire completed by 92.2 per cent. of staff.
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Figures relate to non-industrial staff in post in the Ministry, including its agencies, as at 1 April 1991.
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