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Mr. David Hunt : My Department made no direct contribution ; but the Welsh Development Agency provided some £750,000 to Llanelli borough council under the derelict land programme for the reclamation of the former Royal Ordnance factory site at Pembrey.
Cancer
Mr. Mallon : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what were the average cancer mortality rates in each of the past 10 years.
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Mr. Gwilym Jones : The information given in the following table to death rates per million population from malignant cancer (ICD140-208) :
|c|Cancer Death Rate per Million Population<1>|c| Year |Males |Females|Persons ---------------------------------------- 1981 |2,850.5|2,401.8|2,619.5 1982 |2,882.8|2,459.2|2,664.4 1983 |2,978.3|2,495.0|2,729.2 1984 |3,066.9|2,588.9|2,820.6 1985 |3,094.0|2,706.8|2,894.6 1986 |3,170.0|2,609.0|2,881.3 1987 |3,147.9|2,684.4|2,909.5 1988 |3,189.4|2,810.5|2,994.4 1989 |3,197.0|2,769.0|2,976.6 1990 |3,199.5|2,673.8|2,928.7 <1> Death rates unadjusted for changes in the age-sex structure of the population.
Dredging
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his policy for the material dredged from south Wales ports and their fairways to be used in place of the sand and gravel dredged off the south Wales coast for use in the building industry, instead of being dumped at sea.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The majority of material dredged from harbours and ports is not suitable for use in the building industry and it would not, therefore be appropriate for Government policy to require it to be used in place of sand and gravel dredged off the coast.
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his policy for the material dredged from south Wales's ports and fairways to be used for combating coastal erosion on certain beaches and mudflats.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : My right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, issues licences under the Food and Environment Act 1985 for the disposal of dredged material at sea around the Welsh and English coastlines. I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given today by my right hon. Friend, the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. For my part, I am encouraging bodies with coastal defence responsibilities to liaise with port authorities to see whether acceptable arrangements can be made to use such dredged material for combating coastal erosion.
Water Rates
Ms. Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a table showing average water rates in Wales in each year since 1979 in cash and constant prices.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The most comprehensive information on water prices historically, including those in Wales, is contained in the Water Services Association's publication, "Water Facts", copies of which are available for inspection in the Library of the House.
NHS Trusts
Mr. Roger Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many applications have been submitted by health service units in Wales to become NHS trusts in April 1993 ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Gwilym Jones : To date, formal applications have been received from 13 health service units seeking NHS trust status in 1993. In addition, a proposal to establish the South and East Wales Ambulance NHS Trust will be made formally within the next few days. Details on the applications, together with the date of commencement of three months public consultation are for each health authority : 12 June 1992Clwyd--
Acute Unit North (Ysbyty Glan Clwyd)
Acute Unit South (Wrexham Maelor hospital, Wrexham)
Community and mental health unit
Gwent--
South Gwent acute unit (Royal Gwent hospital, Newport)
West Glamorgan--
West unit (Singleton hospital, Swansea)
19 June 1992
East Dyfed--
Carmarthen/Dinefwr health unit
(West Wales general hospital, Carmarthen)
Ceredigion health unit
(Bronglais hospital, Aberystwyth)
Llanelli/Dinefwr health unit
(Prince Philip hospital, Llanelli)
Mid Glamorgan--
Ogwr health unit
(Princess of Wales hospital, Bridgend)
West Glamorgan--
East Unit (Neath and Port Talbot hospitals)
26 June 1992
South Glamorgan--
Llandough health unit (Llandough hospital)
Powys--
Powys health unit
Gwent--
Community and mental health unit
Gwent, Powys and South Glamorgan ambulance services
No views have been reached on any of the applications. The purpose of the consultative exercise is to provide the fullest opportunity for local people and community interests, including staff at the hospitals and services concerned, to put forward their views on the specific proposals contained in the applications. Copies of the applications will be placed in the Library of the House in accordance with the consultative timetable.
I expect decisions on the application to be announced in the autumn. The outcome will reflect the representations received, taken alongside the individual merits of the applications themselves. Ministers are already on record with their commitment that no application will be approved unless they are personally convinced of the benefits to patients which will be derived from NHS trust status. This remains the position.
SCOTLAND
Saw-billed Ducks
Mr. Onslow : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what licences to control the numbers of saw-billed ducks have been issued in Scotland this year ; and for what reasons.
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Sir Hector Monro : Thirty four licences have been issued this year for the purpose of preventing serious damage to fisheries.
PRIME MINISTER
Ministerial Advisers
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 8 June, Official Report, column 10, to which Minister each adviser is attached.
The Prime Minister : The information is as follows :
!Name!Minister(s) served!
!K. Adams!Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food!
!E. Bickham!Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs!
!T. Burke!Secretary of State for the Environment!
!J. Caine!Secretary of State for Northern Ireland!
!D. W. D. Cameron!Financial Secretary!
!Dr. E. Cottrell!Secretary of State for Employment!
!Sir P. Cradock!Prime Minister!
!M. Fraser!Minister of State for Overseas Development!
!Sir C. Foster!Secretary of State for Transport!
!C. M. Grantham!Secretary of State for Education!
!J. Gray!Jointly to the Ministers for
Local Government and Inner Cities;
Environment and Countryside; and
Housing and Planning!
!D. Green!Prime Minister!
!Ms. S. Hole!Chief Whip!
!Mrs. S. Hogg!Prime Minister!
!C. Hopson!Secretary of State for National Heritage!
!A. Kemp!President of the Board of Trade!
!Mrs. T. Keswick!Home Secretary!
!Mrs. E. Laing!Secretary of State for Transport!
!G. Mackay!Secretary of State for Scotland!
!R. Marsh!Secretary of State for Health!
!J. Mayhew!Secretary of State for Social Security!
!M. McManus!Secretary of State for Wales!
!P. J. E. Miller!Secretary of State for Defence!
!D. Poole!Prime Minister!
!Mrs. K. Ramsey!Prime Minister!
!Dr. W. Robinson!Chancellor of the Exchequer!
!P. Rock!Secretary of State for the Environment!
!A. Rosling!Prime Minister!
!D. Ruffley!Jointly to the three Ministers of State and the Under Secretary of State in the Home Office!
!I. Stewart!Lord President!
!Lady Strathnaver!President of the Board of Trade!
!N. True!Prime Minister!
!I. R. Wilton!Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster!
!A. Young!Secretary of State for Scotland!
Notes:
Mr. J. Bercow was included in error in the answer for 8 June. He has not been appointed as a special adviser in this Parliament. Mr. Gray has since been appointed as a special adviser.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Disability Living Allowance
Mr. Cummings : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many applications for disability living allowance have been made by people covered by the Seaham and Peterlee DSS offices ; how many have been (a) allowed and (b) disallowed ; and how many are yet to be determined.
Mr. Scott : 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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Tax
Mr. Quentin Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessment he has made of the cost to public funds of merging the social security and tax systems ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Burt : There are many different options for merging the social security and tax systems ; for example through a basic income guarantee, tax/credits and negative income tax schemes.
We have made no assessment of the cost of detailed options, but it is clear that such schemes could be very expensive. For example, a basic income guarantee around the level of retirement pension, could easily cost in the region of £200 billion per annum and yet still be unlikely to eliminate all need for income-related benefits.
Occupational Pension Funds
Mr. Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what requirement there is on occupational pension funds to include pensioners of such funds on the board of trustees ; and in what proportion.
Miss Widdecombe : There is no requirement in trust law that occupational pension schemes include pensioners on the board of trustees. The trust deed or scheme rules lays down who is eligible to be a trustee. The Occupational Pension Board considered the inclusion of pensioners in their 1989 report, "Protecting Pensions". They concluded that although this would be desirable, the statutory requirement of a pensioner from a scheme would not provide the most simple or effective means of ensuring that the interests of pensioners are considered.
The committee to review pension law, announced on 8 June, includes in its terms of reference the consideration of the role of trustees and will be taking into account the rights and interests of pensioners, as well as scheme members and employers.
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish the latest information available on the number of people in occupational pension schemes whose pensions are threatened because the assets of these schemes are not able to meet the pension payments and future commitments ; how many schemes are involved ; and what examination has been made of how far problems have arisen because of ineffective management, improper management or some other reason.
Miss Widdecombe : There are more than 17 million current members and pensioners of occupational pension schemes. We are satisfied that the vast majority of pensioners belong to schemes which are properly and securely operated. We are currently in close touch with the trustees of Maxwell pension schemes. At present, 240 Maxwell pensioners have not received payments for May and June, and a further 4,000 may face a reduction in their pensions in July. As part of an investigation of Maxwell companies, the Serious Fraud Office is looking into the reasons for the shortfall in their pension funds. However, it is too early to say exactly what happened.
Attendance Allowance
Mr. Cummings : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many recipients of attendance allowance there are from the Seaham and Peterlee offices at the present time and for the years since 1988-89.
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