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Libya
Sir Teddy Taylor : To ask the Prime Minister when he received the proposals from the United Nations for a meeting between representatives of the United Kingdom and Libyan Governments to discuss security issues relating to the supply of arms to the Provisional IRA ; what will be the areas of discussion at the meeting on9 June ; and if he will explain the manner in which these arrangements were made public.
The Prime Minister : The United Nations Secretary-General told us on 14 May that the Libyan Foreign Minister had written to him offering to meet our long-standing request for information on Libya's connections with the Provisional IRA. We have agreed to a meeting under UN auspices in Geneva on 9 June at which this information can be handed over. There will be no discussion at the meeting. In response to press inquiries, the Secretary- General's spokesman in New York confirmed on 1 June that this meeting would take place.
Council of Ministers
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Prime Minister if he will take steps to ensure that the outcome of meetings of the Council of Ministers of the European Communities held between 13 March and 6 May are reported in the usual way, in cases where such action has not yet been taken.
The Prime Minister : I have asked my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to write to the hon. Member and to place a copy of his letter in the Libraries of both Houses.
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Lockerbie Bombing
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Prime Minister what communications Her Majesty's Government have received from the Government of Libya relating to two persons allegedly connected with the Lockerbie bombing of Pan Am 103.
The Prime Minister : We have had various approaches from Libyans and intermediaries over the Lockerbie bombing. None of these amounts to Libyan compliance with UN Security Council resolutions 731 and 748.
Sustainable Development
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Prime Minister what plans he has to establish a sustainable development commission in the United Kingdom in conjunction with the United Nations.
The Prime Minister : I have no such plans.
President Bush
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Prime Minister when he next expects to meet President Bush ; and what matters he proposes to discuss.
The Prime Minister : I shall meet President Bush at Camp David this weekend. I expect to discuss a wide range of subjects with him.
Earth Summit
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Prime Minister what proposals on transfers of military spending to environmental investment will be put forward by the United Kingdom at the United Nations conference on environment and development.
The Prime Minister : There are no plans to put forward any such proposal.
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Prime Minister what attempts have been made to minimise the use of official cars by the United Kingdom delegation to the United Nations conference on environment and development in Rio de Janeiro this month.
The Prime Minister : We have made it a priority to limit the use of official cars at the Earth summit in Rio.
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Prime Minister if he will set out details of the critical representations made to Her Majesty's Government since 31 May on the United Kingdom's policies and proposals for the United Nations conference on environment and development in Rio de Janeiro ; and what response he has made to the respective criticisms.
The Prime Minister : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave the hon. Member for Ceredigion and Pembroke, North (Mr. Dafis) on 2 June 1992 at column 392.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Spending Power
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish figures similar to those in his Department's tax/benefit model table, including the
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various component figures, showing net weekly spending power for a married couple with one child aged 16 years where (a) both parents are unemployed and the child is at school, (b) one parent takes up employment in May 1992 for four hours a day, five days a week at rates of pay of (i) £2 per hour, (ii) £2.50 per hour and (iii) £3 per hour, and the child is at school and (c) the parent remains in employment as at (b) but the child leaves school and is unable to gain a youth training place, after family credit entitlement of 26 weeks has elapsed.Column 658
Mr. Burt : The information requested is in the tables. All assumptions used are as those in the published tax/benefit model tables. Each family is assumed to live in council property appropriate to its size and to pay estimated average rent and community charge.
It should be noted that the results in the tables cannot reflect, except by chance, the actual circumstances of particular people and cannot claim to be representative of the population at large. The tables use illustrative rents and do not, therefore, reflect the full range of housing costs which people may face.
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Earnings and Benefits-Family head in full-time work
as at April 1992
Tax threshold=£99.32 Basic tax rate=25 per cent.
(a) Total net income on income support=£141.01
Net income after rent and community charge on income support=£102.51
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benefit Claims
Ms. Hoey : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the latest annual figures for the London borough of Lambeth for the number of claims for (a) housing benefit, (b) income support and (c) family credit ; and what those figures were one year ago and two years ago.
Mr. Burt : The administration of income support and family credit is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available, and copies will be placed in the Library and the Public Information Office.
Young People (Benefits)
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will reassess the benefit needs of persons aged 16 and 17 years living with parents on benefit ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Burt : Those 16 and 17-year-olds living with parents on benefit, and not in full-time education, employment or training, may in certain circumstances be eligible for income support under the severe hardship provision. When assessing any claim so made, full account is taken of parents' circumstances.
Water Rates
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people in England and Wales are paying their water rates via deduction from social security.
Mr. Burt : At the end of February 1992 there were 116,890 income support recipients with deductions for
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water charges. This figure is based on statistics collected by the Benefits Agency's management information system at the end of February 1992. The figure is provisional and may be subject to amendment.Mortgage Debt
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what steps he has taken in the past 12 months to find out to what extent income support claimants were in arrears with their mortgage payments, and what information has become available to his Department, centrally or locally, as a result.
Mr. Burt : All income support claimants with mortgages have been sent a form, which they were required to have completed and returned by their lenders, giving information about their mortgage account. If the account is in arrears, the total arrears and details of payments made in the last three months are entered on the form. The completed forms are kept with the claimant's case papers for use in calculating and paying the mortgage interest element of income support. The information on the forms is not collated centrally or locally.
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many and what percentage of income support claimants in the South Gwent and Islwyn district with mortgage liabilities were in arrears with their mortgage payments, in total and by ranges of amounts of arrears and numbers of monthly instalments unpaid, at the latest date for which figures are available.
Mr. Burt : I understand from Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency that the information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
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Taxation
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people face a marginal tax/benefit withdrawal rate of 70 per cent. or more ; and how many of them are in receipt of family credit.
Mr. Burt : In 1992-93, it is projected that 490,000 heads of benefit units receiving income-related benefits, where at least one partner works 16 hours a week or more, face marginal deduction rates of 70 per cent. or over. It is estimated that 375,000 of them would receive family credit.
Projections are based on three years pooled family expenditure survey data uprated to 1992-93 prices, taxes and benefit levels. They do not take into account disability working allowance, or transitional protection associated with the change in the family credit/income support hours rule.
Cash Limits
Mr. Evennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether there has been any change in the cash limited expenditure of his Department for 1992-93.
Mr. Scott : Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for class XIV vote 3 (housing benefit administration and community charge benefit administration, payments into the social fund in respect of discretionary expenditure and other grants) will be increased by £13,981,000 from £351,991,000 to £365,972,000. This revision takes account of an increase in the grant-in-aid to the Independent Living Fund (£13,981,000) to enable it to continue to help severely disabled persons to live independently. The increase will be charged to the reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.
WALES
Queensferry Roundabout
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will erect warning signs near Queensferry roundabout warning lorry drivers of the low railway bridge at Shotton ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. David Hunt : This is a county road matter and one for Clwyd county council to consider as the local highway authority.
Industrial Output
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of overall industrial output in Wales is accounted for by the defence industry.
Mr. David Hunt : The information required is not available centrally.
Teachers
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the total number of (a) male and (b) female primary and secondary school teachers ; and how many(i) male and (ii) female headteachers there are in each sector in Wales.
Sir Wyn Roberts : The information requested is contained in the publication entitled "Statistics of
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Education in Wales : Schools--No. 5 1991", section 5, tables 5.06 5.08, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.Equal Opportunities
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his policy to ensure that all lists of candidates for public appointments in Wales contain equal numbers of men and women.
Mr. David Hunt : All public appointments are made on the basis of aptitude and merit. In addition to those overriding criteria, other factors are taken into account.
I have agreed an action plan designed to increase the proportion of public appointments held by women. As part of this, officials are required to include at least two women in the shortlist of candidates.
Managers
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the total number of managers in Wales ; and how many of them are women.
Mr. David Hunt : It is estimated from the 1991 labour force survey that there were 162,000 managers and administrators in Wales ; of these 43,000 were women.
Bilingual Health Promotion Material
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement concerning the provision of bilingual health promotion material by his Department to district health authorities in Wales.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : Most of the health promotion materials used in Wales are produced by the Health Promotion Authority for Wales. Wherever possible, the authority published this material in Welsh or bilingual form.
When the Department arranges the publication of its own posters it always ensures that they are either in bilingual format or are available in English and Welsh.
This Department does distribute English-only posters which are produced by the Department of Health. We are currently examining means by which these can be translated, printed and made available in the Welsh language.
Further and Higher Education
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the total number of (a) men and (b) women amongst the ranks of (i) senior lecturers and (ii) professors in further and higher education in Wales.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Information about the number of full-time staff in higher education, voluntary colleges and in higher and further education institutions maintained by local education authorities in 1990-91 is given in the following table together with information for the University of Wales which has been shown separately. Lecturers are categorised differently in the two groups, all categories of teaching staff are thus shown in the table.
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Lecturers
a. Voluntary colleges, and higher and
further education institutions
maintained by local education authorities (
as at 31 March 1990)
|Males |Females
--------------------------------------------
Principals |40 |3
Vice-principals |38 |5
Heads of Department |184 |23
Reader |3 |-
Principal lecturers |242 |16
Senior lecturers |1,044 |228
Lecturer grade |1,560 |945
|--- |---
Total |3,111 |1,220
Source: Database of Teacher Records (DFE).
b. University of Wales<1> (as at 31 December
1990)
|Males |Females
-------------------------------------------------
Professors |270 |4
Readers/senior lecturers |539 |23
Lecturers |1,297 |331
Others<2> |182 |118
|--- |---
Total |2,288 |476
<1>Staff totals includes staff whose salary is
not wholly financed by the university.
<2>Includes certain clinical academic staff and
research and analogous staff whose starting
salary is below that of lecturer grades.
Source: University Statistical Record.
Pupil Statistics
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what were the total numbers of (a) male and (b) female pupils studying (i) computer science, (ii) physics,(iii) maths, (iv) biology, (v) music and (vi) drama up to(1) GCSE level or (2) A-Level in Wales in the last year for which figures are available.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Information on the number of pupils studying particular subjects is available from the 1989 secondary school staffing survey and is shown in the following table.
Information for males and females separately is not available.
Number of pupils studying subjects to
GCSE and A-level in Wales
1989<1>
|GCSE |A-level
-----------------------------------------
Computer studies |16,100 |1,700
Physics |24,800 |5,400
Maths |70,400 |11,100
Biology |33,600 |8,000
Music |5,900 |1,200
Drama |3,800 |500
<1> Source: Secondary school staffing
survey 1989. All data rounded to the
nearest 100.
Official Visits
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish, for each day between 16 March and 9 April, all the official visits he undertook, indicating for each day the places he visited, the times he visited, the mode of transport he used and the total cost of all these visits.
Mr. David Hunt : During the recent general election campaign, the three Welsh Office Ministers retained all of their Welsh Office responsibilities. In a political capacity, I visited every constituency in Wales between 19 March
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and 9 April 1992. I also undertook three official engagements, listed in the table, travelling by car at no expense to the Welsh Office.Official Engagements--
Wednesday 25 March, 11.00 am to 12.00 noon
Official opening of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit, Glangwili Hospital ; and visit to Cam Cyntaf sheltered employment unit, Cillefwr Industrial Estate, Carmarthen.
Friday 3 April, 10.40 am to 11.15 am
Official opening of new pilot line, Pilkington Micronics, Deeside. Tuesday 7 April, 11.00 am to 12.00 noon
Official opening of Paediatric Unit, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff.
County Council Elections
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether it is his intention that the county council elections, due to be held in Wales in 1993, shall proceed as planned.
Mr. David Hunt : I have been approached by both local authority associations in Wales to consider the cancellation of the county council elections due in 1993. No decision on this has yet been taken.
ENVIRONMENT
Dog Whelks
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the findings of the Marine Conservation Society's survey of the dog whelk population.
Mr. Maclean : This survey is funded by the Department of the Environment and four annual reports have been received to date. The latest indicates that the effects of tributyl tin are still widespread around the United Kingdom coast, but suggests that there are indications that some populations are beginning to recover.
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to publish his findings on the connection between tributyl tin and the decline of the dog whelk.
Mr. Maclean : Government-funded research on the effects of TBT on dog whelks has been carried out by the Plymouth marine laboratory, the Scottish Office Agriculture and Fisheries Department and the Marine Conservation Society. Contractors are encouraged to publish their results in the open scientific literature ; so far more than 30 such reports have been produced.
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those areas where the dog whelk colonies are (a) on the increase and (b) in decline.
Mr. Maclean : The dog whelk is the species showing the greatest sensitivity to TBT in United Kingdom waters. Despite gradual improvements in water quality since TBT-based paints were banned for use on small boats and fish farming equipment in 1987, dog whelks have not yet shown significant increases in population density. However, there is some evidence of limited improvement of breeding capacity at sites in Scotland (monitored by the Scottish Office Agriculture and Fisheries Department), on
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the south coast, including the Isle of Wight (monitored by Plymouth marine laboratory) and more generally around the United Kingdom coast (at sites surveyed by the Marine Conservation Society).Benzene Discharges
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate his Department has made of the likely effect on the level of benzene discharges as a result of increased use of recyclable plastic in vehicle production.
Mr. Maclean : No estimation has been made. The most significant sources of benzene are car exhausts and fuel evaporation.
Krypton
Mr. McGrady : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he will take to ensure that the current discharge of krypton to the atmosphere by the British Nuclear Fuels Limited reprocessing plant at Sellafield is stopped ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : Aerial discharges, including krypton, are subject to strict limits and conditions in the certificate of authorisation under the Radioactive Substances Act 1960. The limits are set to ensure no member of the public receives a radiation dose as a result of these discharges in excess of the recommended safety levels. Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution,. in conjunction with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food are currently considering an application made by BNFL for the revision of this authorisation, I would not wish to pre-empt their deliberations nor the statutory public consultative process at this time.
Water Supplies
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment under what circumstances it is permissible for mains water supplies to be used for agricultural or horticultural purposes (a) under glass, (b) for market gardening and (c) for conventional agriculture, respectively ; and under what statutory rule or guidance water authorities may issue licences for use of ground and surface water, respectively, for purposes (b) and (c).
Mr. Maclean : The supply of mains water to customers is entirely a matter for water undertakers. Under section 55 of the Water Industry Act 1991 they must supply water to any non-domestic premises unless doing so would be unreasonbly expensive or would affect their duty to supply water to domestic premises. A mains supply to non-domestic premises may be used for any purpose unless specifically prohibited by the provisions of a drought order.
Licences for the abstraction of ground or surface water are issued by the National Rivers Authority, using the Water Resources (Licences) Regulations 1965 in conjunction with section 38 of the Water Resources Act 1991.
Burial Regulations
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a list of all those regulations that an individual has to comply with in order to arrange to be buried on land owned by that individual.
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Mr. Robin Squire : No such regulations are necessary, but any individual considering such action should consult his local authority about a possible risk to public health. He should also comply with the Registration of Burials Act 1864.
Zoo Animals
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he intends to take, during the United Kingdom presidency of the European Community, to ensure that the best possible safeguards for the welfare of animals kept in zoos are included in the EC proposal for a directive laying down the minimum standards for such animals.
Mr. Maclean : The Government will continue to play an active and constructive role in the negotiations on the draft Zoos Directive with the intention of maintaining the high standards of care and accommodation already being set by zoos in this country under the Zoo Licensing Act 1981, and encouraging similar standards throughout the Community.
Mortgage Debt
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he has to meet the Council of Mortgage Lenders regarding assistance for householders whose outstanding mortgage debt exceeds the value of their houses ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Baldry : My right hon. Friends the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Secretary of State for the Environment, the Secretary of State for Social Security and the Secretary of State for Wales met mortgage lenders on 2 June to review progress on the package of measures agreed between the Government and the Council of Mortgage Lenders in December to reduce the number of repossessions. It was agreed that lenders should continue to look at the whole range of options available for addressing this problem, including formal mortgage to rent schemes, shared equity arrangements and more generous repayment terms. These measures will help those householders who are in arrears with their mortgage repayments.
For their part, the Government have enacted legislation for the direct payment to lenders of the mortgage interest element of income support, and has suspended until 19 August this year the requirement for stamp duty on transactions up to £250,000.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders estimates that the measures taken since December will save some 55,000 repossessions this year : 40,000 as a result of new procedures for dealing with arrears cases ; and 15,000 as a result of the direct payment to lenders of the mortgage interest element of income support.
The combined effect of the measures taken by the Government and lenders will be to reduce the number of repossessions in 1992 and restore confidence to the housing market. Householders whose outstanding mortgage debt exceeds the value of their house will benefit from these measures, and from a revival of the housing market.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what statistics he has on the number of households in each region where the mortgage debt outstanding exceeds the value of the house.
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Mr. Baldry : The only information readily available relates to house purchases by first-time buyers. This has been published by the Council of Mortgage Lenders in the June issue of its newsletter, "Mortgage Monthly", which is held in the House of Commons Library.Earth Summit
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the proposals put forward by the United Kingdom on (a) reducing fossil fuel use, (b) nuclear power, (c) minimising and management of hazardous wastes and (d) protecting biodiversity at the United Nations conference on environment and development.
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