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Column 229
Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 11 June 1992
NATIONAL HERITAGE
Heveningham Hall
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what is his policy towards Heveningham hall.
Mr. Key : My right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade, when he was responsible for this matter as the Secretary of State for the Environment, decided on 10 December 1991 not to exercise his right to purchase Heveningham hall. I fully share his view about the outstanding importance of this grade I building and the need to maintain the integrity of the house, its decorative scheme and the grounds, and firmly believe that these objectives should be met, where possible, by responsible private ownership. It is for the official receivers to explore this possibility and I understand that they intend to market the hall later this summer. The hall will remain subject to the full rigour of planning and listed building controls and to advice from English Heritage and the local planning authorities. The costs of restoration work to the house and the grounds which is still outstanding should be well within the financial capacity of a new owner.
Departmental Expenditure
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how much is being spent on sport by his Department, compared with May 1979, in real and cash terms ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Mellor : My Department is responsible for grant in aid to the Sports Council (GB). The table shows that there has been a significant increase in grant in aid to the council in both real and cash terms.
|c|Grant in aid to the Sports Council (
Great Britain)|c|
£ million
Year |Cash |At 1992-93
|prices
--------------------------------------------
1979-80 |15.580 |37.798
1992-93 |48.762 |48.762
In addition to this, a new business sponsorship scheme for sport, which will provide £3 million per annum for sport in England, is to be established this year.
A further £55 million, to be channelled through the Department of the Environment, has been committed to sport in support of the Manchester Olympic bid. Government funding for sport is also provided through unhypothecated revenue support grant to local authorities and the Department of the Environment's inner-city programmes. The three territorial sports councils also receive grant in aid from their respective sponsoring Departments.
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By reducing the rate of pool betting duty, an extra £60 million per annum has been made available to sport through the Foundation for Sport and the Arts and the Football Trust.NATIONAL FINANCE
Manufactured Goods
16. Mrs. Chaplin : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the latest trend in the United Kingdom's share of world trade in manufactured goods.
22. Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the latest trend in the United Kingdom share of world trade in manufactured goods.
Mr. Lamont : I am pleased to report that decades of decline have been halted. The United Kingdom's volume share of world trade in manufactured exports was estimated in the Financial Statement and Budget Report to have risen in 1991 for the third successive year.
Financial Services
17. Mr. French : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what changes he proposes in the regulation of financial services following the transfer of responsibilities to his Department.
Mr. Nelson : No changes are proposed in the way financial services are regulated as a result of the transfer.
Public Spending
18. Dr. Howells : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the public spending planning total for 1993-94.
Mr. Portillo : The public expenditure planning total for 1993-94 has been set at £244.5 billion.
Sir Michael Neubert : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest estimate of the total of Government spending for the current financial year which is statutorily or otherwise determined by reference to the retail prices index.
Mr. Portillo : The principal areas of Government expenditure determined by reference to the retail prices index are certain social security benefits and expenditure on public service pensions. For 1992-93, the total of this expenditure falling within the planning total that can be readily identified is £53.1 billion, 23.4 per cent. of the planning total.
Lloyd's Names
20. Mr. Hain : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the tax position of names in the Lloyd's insurance market.
Mr. Nelson : I have no plans to make such a statement.
Interest Rates
21. Mr. Welsh : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from the small business sector on the effect of interest rates ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Nelson : My right hon. Friend has received a number of such representations.Income Tax
23. Mr. Rooker : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward proposals to diminish allowances against income tax as a means of reducing the basic rate.
Mr. Nelson : Our objective remains to move towards a basic rate of 20p when it is prudent to do so.
Borrowing Requirement
24. Mr. Cann : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the public sector borrowing requirement excluding privatisation receipts in 1991-92.
Mr. Portillo : The public sector borrowing requirement excluding privatisation proceeds in 1991-92 was £21.8 billion.
Manufacturing Trade
25. Ms. Short : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when was the last year in which Britain's manufacturing trade was in surplus.
Mr. Nelson : The United Kingdom's balance of trade in manufactures is published by the Central Statistical Office in the "Monthly Review of External Trade Statistics", May 1992.
Inflation
19. Mr. John Townend : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest assessment of the outlook for inflation.
Mr. Nelson : My right hon. Friend's Budget forecast was for RPI inflation to fall to 3 per cent. by the fourth quarter of 1992 and to 3 per cent. by the second quarter of 1993.
26. Mr. Colin Shepherd : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the current level of inflation.
Mr. Nelson : In April the headline rate of RPI inflation was 4.3 per cent.
Government Auctions Directory
Mr. Thomason : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received concerning national press advertisements placed by City Trading Ltd. for a publication described as the Official Directory of Government Auctions ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir John Cope : None. Several Government Departments use actions for the occasional disposal of goods and each Department makes its own arrangements. There is no official directory of Government auctions.
Intelligence Data
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has held with the Data Protection Registrar with respect to the integration of the existing system customs enforcement network or customs
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information system within the European Community ; whether the system forms part of the Schengen or Trevi arrangements ; and whether he will make a statement.Sir John Cope : Her Majesty's Customs and Excise have consulted the Data Protection Registrar on several occasions during the development of a Community-wide customs information system, an enhancement of the current system customs enforcement network. The system does not form part of either the Schengen or Trevi arrangements.
Companies (Financial Regulations)
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessments the Government have made of the impact and additional costs on companies after 1993 of the additional requirements for (a) VAT returns, (b) INTRASTAT, (c) appointment of fiscal agents and (d) the United Kingdom's adoption of the maximum limit of £70,000 for fiscal agents.
Sir John Cope : The abolition of routine and systematic formalities at internal frontiers after 1992 means that, overall, United Kingdom industry will benefit from a reduction in business compliance costs incurred currently in intra-EC trade.
Compliance cost assessments--CCA--have not been produced for individual single market requirements owing to difficulties in identifying the different elements of the costs associated with a single administrative document.
Some of the new requirements have only recently been agreed and Customs and Excise are now in the course of preparing a global CCA covering indirect tax, statistical and customs issues.
Drug Imports
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will arrange for (a) Her Majesty's Customs and Excise to carry out sampling of all imports of drugs as a matter of routine and (b) all drug imports to have documentation certifying their manufacture ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir John Cope : Customs and Excise check imports of drugs on behalf of the Department of Health's Medicines Control Agency. Where appropriate these checks include sampling. Routine sampling and extended documentary requirements for all consignments, however, are not considered necessary by the agency. Testing is also carried out to the agency's standards in the country of origin or after importation.
Debtor Countries
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made towards the complete write-off of official debts of lower income countries to the United Kingdom.
Mr. Nelson : To date, five countries have benefited from the Prime Minister's Trinidad terms debt reduction initiative--Benin, Bolivia, Equatorial Guinea, Nicaragua, and Tanzania. A number of other heavily indebted, low-income countries are expected to receive Trinidad terms in the coming months. Under current Trinidad terms agreements, 50 per cent. of eligible debt is written
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off, and creditors commit to consider reducing the whole stock of debt in three to four years' time if the debtor country keeps to its agreements with the International Monetary Fund and the Paris club. The Government also participated in a Paris club agreement in 1991 to write off 50 per cent. of the whole stock of Egypt's official bilateral debt.The Government believe that Trinidad terms should be further developed, along the lines of the Prime Minister's original proposals for the poorest and most heavily indebted countries--all creditors should participate in debt reduction, debt reduction should be increased from 50 per cent. to a benchmark of two thirds, and debt stock reductions should be brought forward. While the Government do not believe that it is necessary, or in the long-term interests of the debtors themselves, to write off their debts completely, the Overseas Development Administration has cancelled most of the debt of the poorest countries arising from aid loans.
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to look at the feasibility of debt-for-nature swaps as a part of the debt retirement process
Mr. Nelson : The Government welcome debt-for-nature swaps as an innovative approach to market-based debt reduction in cases where additional resources are made available for environmental projects. As far as the Government's own programmes are concerned, we have to date judged it more effective to deal with debt relief and assistance for environmental projects overseas separately, through the Paris club and through our aid programme.
Company Writs
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will make a statement as to why writs issued by his Department last December to financial advisers concerning James Ferguson Holdings of Bradford had not been served within the four-month time limit ; (2) how many Yorkshire and Humberside-based companies face being sued by his Department in connection with the Barlow Clowes affair.
Mr. Nelson : I cannot comment on individual cases.
Manufactured Exports
Mr. Cran : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer by how much manufactured exports have changed between 1981 and 1991.
Mr. Portillo : The value of UK exports of manufactures was £86 billion in 1991, £51 billion more than in 1981.
Overseas Postings (Housing)
Mr. Trimble : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assistance with regard to housing costs is provided for civil servants posted overseas.
Mr. Dorrell : Civil servants posted overseas are provided with rent- free accommodation appropriate to their grade or status.
Auditing
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list those non-departmental public bodies which are annually and comprehensively audited (a) by the
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National Audit Office and (b) by private firms of accountants ; if he will list the criteria on which such accountants are selected and for what length of time they are appointed ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Portillo : The Treasury does not maintain a central list of the auditors of non-departmental public bodies. The publication "Public Bodies 1991" prepared by the Cabinet Office lists the
non-departmental public bodies by sponsoring department and indicates those executive bodies which are subject to audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General. The legislation governing the individual bodies will normally determine whether the Comptroller and Auditor General is the statutory auditor or whether a firm of accountants is to be appointed. In the latter case, the appointment is normally the responsibility of the sponsoring Department.
Tax Statistics
Dr. Wright : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what amount, in cash, the bottom quintile of households, ranked by unadjusted disposable income, paid out in income tax ; and what they paid out in value added tax in 1989.
Sir John Cope : In 1989, the average payments for households in the bottom quintile ranked by unadjusted disposable income were about £95 in income tax, and £270 in VAT.
Greyhound Racing
Mr. Page : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what agreement has been reached with the British Greyhound Racing Board and the off-course betting industry on how the allocation of greyhound racing's proportion of the 0.25 per cent. reduction in general betting duty will be administered ;
(2) what is his estimate of the proportion of the £15 million resulting from the reduction in general betting duty in 1992-93 which would be returned to greyhound racing.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I have been asked to reply.
The size and administration of any voluntary payments by bookmakers to greyhound racing following the reduction in general betting duty are matters for negotiation between the two industries. We understand that those negotiations are under way and have asked to be informed of the outcome in due course.
GDP Growth
Mr. Ingram : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest forecast for gross domestic product growth in 1992.
Mr. Portillo : At Budget time the Chancellor forecast that GDP would grow by 1 per cent. in 1992.
TRANSPORT
Rail Electrification
Mr. Waller : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement about funding arrangements relating to the acquisition of rolling stock for the Leeds-Bradford rail electrification project.
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Mr. Freeman : I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Bradford, West (Mr. Madden) on 9 June, at column 116 .Data Protection
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department's arrangements for consulting the Data Protection Registrar during the planning stage of any initiative involving the collection, use or disclosure of personal data ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Norris : The Department's officials are aware of the need to consult the registrar at the appropriate stage of any initiative involving personal data, to establish whether there will be a need for registration. It is the practice to remind directorates from time to time of their responsibilities under the Act. I am satisfied that these arrangements are effective.
Road Closures, Blackheath
Mrs. Bridget Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he is likely to come to a decision with regard to the minor road closures in and around Blackheath.
Mr. Norris : The Secretary of State for Transport has received an application from the London borough of Lewisham to stop up lengths of London Pond road, Whitfield road and Duke Humphrey road. The borough council has been asked to provide further information relating to the application. The Secretary of State is unable to decide upon the application until this information has been received.
Greater Manchester Buses
Sir Fergus Montgomery : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has received the consultants' report into the possible splitting of Greater Manchester Buses Ltd. ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : We have received the consultants' report into the possible splitting of Greater Manchester Buses Ltd. It is now being carefully considered. I propose to discuss the report with the Greater Manchester passenger transport authority.
British Rail (Finance)
Mr. Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the level of Government investment in British Rail provided in (a) million pounds, (b) the amount needed to equal the 1979 allocation in real terms and (c) the percentage excess or shortfall compared to the 1979 allocation in real terms ; and if he will provide a breakdown by the following (i) investment ceiling, (ii) total investment by BR and subsidiaries and (iii) railways for each year since 1979.
Mr. Freeman [holding answer 8 June 1992] : British Rail's investment ceiling for 1992-93 is currently set at £983 million for the existing railway and at £755 million for the new railway. The combined ceiling for both existing and new railways therefore stands at £1,738 million. Rail investment by BR in 1979 was £620 million in 1992-93 prices. The ceiling for 1992-93 therefore represents an increase of 180 per cent. on the figure for 1979.
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The annual breakdown by investment ceiling, total investment and rail investment appears in the table.
|c|British Rail Investment 1979 to 1991-92|c|
£ million in 1992-93 prices
|Investment|Group |Rail
|Ceiling |Investment|Investment
-------------------------------------------------------
1979 |n/a |n/a |620
1980 |730 |693 |635
1981 |744 |576 |519
1982 |750 |469 |423
1983 |n/a |465 |417
1984-85 |n/a |511 |438
1985-86 |n/a |605 |590
1986-87 |n/a |625 |572
1987-88 |n/a |751 |715
1988-89 |n/a |762 |692
1989-90 |n/a |868 |831
1990-91 |n/a |932 |959
1991-92 |1,202 |n/a |1,045
Notes:
1. Rail investment excludes non-rail business such as
BR Property Board, ships and hotels.
2. 1984-85 was a 15-month period. The figure given is
a 12-month equivalent.
3. The figure for rail investment for 1991-92 is a DTp
estimate.
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how reports of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration are disseminated within his Department.
Mr. John M. Taylor : Reports prepared by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration are always shown to the permanent secretary and seen by the Department's senior managers. Where necessary, local managers are asked to comment on the matters raised by the Parliamentary Commissioner.
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many investigations have been initiated by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration in connection with the work of his Department for each year since 1986 ; and how many complaints have been upheld in whole or in part in each of those years.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The jurisdiction of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration was extended on 1 January 1991 by section 110 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 to include administrative duties carried out by staff of courts and tribunals appointed by the Lord Chancellor.
Three cases had been referred to the Parliamentary Commissioner in 1986 ; one in 1987 ; seven in 1988 ; eight in 1989, and three in 1990 of which it was decided 14 fell outside his jurisdiction. The remaining seven did not result in recommendations. In 1991, nine cases were investigated of which five resulted in findings against the Department. During 1992 three cases have been referred to the Parliamentary Commissioner, but none of those investigations has yet been completed.
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what disciplinary action
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has been taken by his Department in relation to matters referred to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration in each year since 1986.Mr. John M. Taylor : No disciplinary action has been found necessary as the result of a case being referred to the Parliamentary Commission for Administration during the period from 1986.
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list for each year since 1986 in respect of the reports of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration where financial payment or payments will or should be made by his Department as directed or indicated, (a) aggregate amount for all investigations, (b) the highest amounts for any one investigation, (c) the length of time taken between his Department indicating that a payment will be made or informing that a payment should be made and such payments being made and (d) how many such payments were not made within seven days and what reasons there are for such delays.
Mr. John M. Taylor : No payments were recommended by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration in the years 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990 and 1992. In 1989 one payment of £75 was made and in 1991 payments totalling £1,467.61 were made. The largest of these payments was £1,009.42.
The time taken between acknowledging the Parliamentary Commissioner's recommendation and making payment is kept to a minimum.
Northern Circuit
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary Lord Chancellor's Department what costs were incurred in (a) court fees, (b) counsel fees, (c) agents, (d) expense rates, (e) charging rate, (f) additional costs and (g) total claimed by any solicitor or the Treasury Solicitor, in relation to matters involving the administration of the courts on the northern circuit, the northern circuit administrator or members of his staff in each year since 1986.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The information in the form requested could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department on how many occasions solicitors or the Treasury Solicitor have been instructed to advise or act for his Department, and by whom, in respect of matters relating to the northern circuit administrator, his staff or any matter involving the administration of the courts on the northern circuit, in each year since 1986.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The information is not collected in the form requested and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Vehicle Clamping
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis on the number
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of vehicles clamped by private companies operating under the jurisdiction of the police in each of the last three years for which complete figures are available ; and what payments were made to the companies.Mr. Charles Wardle : I understand from the commissioner that the information requested is as follows :
Financial |Clamps |Total
year |applied |payment
|£
----------------------------------------
1989-90 |157,401 |1,680,289
1990-91 |149,766 |1,512,093
1991-92 |128,079 |1,322,155
Prisons Reports
Mr. Frank Field : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for each of the last five years the date on which he received each report from his inspector of prisons and the date on which each report was published.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Details covering the last five years can be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The dates of all reports delivered to the Secretary of State from January 1991 are given in the tables.
Establishment |Date report |Date report
|submitted to |published
|Secretary of State
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Short Inspections<1>
Swinfen Hall |24 January 1991 |20 June 1991
Castington |15 February 1991 |25 July 1991
Liverpool |8 March 1991 |6 August 1991
Pentonville |11 March 1991 |6 August 1991
Downview |25 March 1991 |15 October 1991
Ford |26 March 1991 |27 August 1991
Drake Hall |25 April 1991 |27 August 1991
Send |3 May 1991 |8 October 1991
Shrewsbury |8 May 1991 |9 January 1992
Northeye |20 May 1991 |9 January 1992
Deerbolt |8 July 1991 |31 March 1992
Parkhurst |11 July 1991 |6 February 1992
Hull |15 July 1991 |11 February 1992
Camp Hill |6 September 1991 |2 June 1992
Huntercombe |23 September 1991 |-
Risley |23 October 1991 |2 June 1992
Rudgate |8 November 1991 |2 April 1992
Werrington House |8 November 1991 |2 April 1992
Stanford Hill |13 January 1992 |-
Feltham |11 February 1992 |28 May 1992
Leyhill |11 February 1992 |-
Stoke Heath |14 February 1992 |-
Styal |26 February 1992 |-
Birmingham |5 March 1992 |-
Latchmere House |24 March 1992 |-
Stafford |15 April 1992 |-
Manchester |15 April 1992 |-
Wymott |30 April 1992 |-
Full Inspections<1>
Stafford |17 January 1991 |9 July 1991
Thorp Arch |11 February 1991 |6 August 1991
The Verne |14 February 1991 |25 July 1991
Hollesley Bay Colony |28 February 1991 |24 September 1991
North Sea Camp |14 March 1991 |24 September 1991
Littlehey |25 March 1991 |5 September 1991
Full Sutton |17 April 1991 |17 December 1991
Swaleside |30 April 1991 |6 February 1992
Wormwood Scrubs |14 May 1991 |19 December 1991
Lindholme |30 May 1991 |30 January 1992
New Hall |10 June 1991 |20 February 1992
Canterbury |10 September 1991 |9 January 1992
Garth |26 September 1991 |11 February 1992
Haverigg |18 September 1991 |27 February 1992
Aylesbury |30 September 1991 |<2>-
Bedford |11 October 1991 |31 March 1992
Dartmoor |31 October 1991 |2 June 1992
Holloway |31 October 1991 |11 March 1992
Frankland |25 November 1991 |2 April 1992
Glen Parva |29 November 1991 |-
Wakefield |31 January 1992 |-
Grendon |13 February 1992 |-
Leicester |12 March 1992 |-
Sudbury |31 March 1992 |-
Lewes |30 April 1992 |-
Long Lartin |29 May 1992 |-
Other Reports
HMCIP's Annual Report |7 November 1991 |11 December 1991
Report by HMCIP into the escape by two category A inmates from HMP Brixton |31 July 1991 |5 August 1991
<1> Once publication has been approved it normally takes a month to arrange.
<2> To be published on 25 June 1992.
Prevention of Terrorism
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what were (a) the number and length of detentions in Britain under the Prevention of Terrorism Acts since 1 January and (b) the number and length of detentions in Greater Manchester since 1 January.
Mr. Jack : Statistics on the number of people detained under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989 in Great Britain during the first quarter of 1992 are published in "Home Office Statistical Bulletin 9/92". A copy of this bulletin is in the Library. Details of the length of detentions for all detainees from 1 January to 9 June are given in the table :
|c|Persons detained under the Prevention of Terrorism|c|
|c|legislation by length of detention|c|
Great Britain, 1 January-9 June 1992 |Number of persons
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Less than 2 hours |2
2 hours and less than 4 |4
4 hours and less than 8 |20
8 hours and less than 12 |7
12 hours and less than 24 |18
24 hours and less than 36 |9
36 hours and less than 48 |7
|--
Total under 48 hours |67
2 days and less than 3 |3
3 days and less than 4 |5
4 days and less than 5 |-
5 days and less than 6 |-
6 days and less than 7 |-
7 days |-
|--
Total 48 hours or more |8
Total detained |75
One person has been detained in Greater Manchester under the Act since 1 January. The detention in this case was for nine hours.
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