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Overseas Assets
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, on the same basis as for the figures recorded in paragraph 3.47 of the Red Book, he will give the United Kingdom's estimated net overseas asset holdings in constant prices for each of the last six years ; and what assessment he has made of the reasons for any fluctuations in their net value.
Mr. Nelson : The table shows the level of the United Kingdom's identified net external assets at recorded values
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and adjusted by the implied GDP deflator. The recorded values, as in column (a), are those quoted in the Red Book, paragraph 3.47, which updated the latest full estimates in the 1991 CSO Pink Book, and reflect market values for many assets and book values for direct investment. The recorded values of net assets can change for a number of reasons, including United Kingdom residents' investment overseas and overseas residents' investment in the United Kingdom, variations in asset prices both in the United Kingdom and abroad, exchange rate movements, and other valuation changes, eg write-offs.
|c|Table 1 - Net
overseas assets (£
billion)|c|
Level of ident
assets (at yea
Year |(a) |(b)
--------------------
1986 |104 |101
1987 |67 |62
1988 |81 |70
1989 |84 |69
1990 |20 |15
1991 |37 |27
(a) Recorded
values.
(b) Recorded values
adjusted by changes
in implied GDP
deflator since
1985.
Sources: CSO, Pink
Book 1991, FSBR,
Economic Trends.
International Agreements
Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list all the bilateral and multilateral agreements directly or indirectly negotiated by his Department or a body acting on behalf of his Department with (a) Switzerland and (b) Liechtenstein.
Mr. Nelson : The information requested on agreements with Switzerland and Liechtenstein is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has responsibility for all international treaties. I refer the hon. Member to the reply of 24 June to his question to the Foreign Secretary on the same subject.
Cigarette Imports
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the loss to the Exchequer of increased imports of cheap cigarettes arising from his agreement to a 57 per cent. minimum excise level at the ECOFIN Council on 24 June 1991.
Sir John Cope : I do not expect the 24 June 1991 ECOFIN Council agreement on a 57 per cent. minimum excise level on cigarettes to lead to loss to the Exchequer since it does not require the UK to change the level or structure of its excise duties on cigarettes.
Equal Opportunities
Mr. Janner : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what percentage of officers in grades 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, respectively, and overall in his Department are women.
Mr. Nelson : The information requested in respect of grades 1 to 7 is shown in the table. The proportion of Treasury staff who are women is 43 per cent. Figures reflect the staff in post position as at 23 June 1992.
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( |c|Women|c| Grade |Number |Per cent. ---------------------------------------- 1A 2 |1 |17 3 |1 |4 4 5 |8 |11 6 |1 |3 7 |51 |20
Securities and Investments Board
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received, and from whom, on whether the Securities and Investments Board should remain a direct regulator under the Financial Services Act 1986.
Mr. Nelson : Responsibility for the regulation of financial services passed to me on 7 June 1992. I have received a number of representations on this subject.
Government Contracts
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what guidance has been given to Government Departments to ensure that all government contracts require suppliers to pay their sub-contractors promptly.
Mr. Nelson : Guidance was issued on 14 April to all Government Departments and executive agencies. For all contract award procedures initiated after that date, all Government contracts are to contain a clause requiring the supplier or contractor to pay subcontractors promptly. In the absence of normal practice to the contrary for that type of contract, or other special circumstances, the commitment should be to pay the subcontractor within 30 days of receipt of a valid invoice or similar demand for payment as defined by the contract.
Stamp Duty
Mr. Robert Banks : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received since 2 June about extending the moratorium on stamp duty.
Mr. Nelson : Since I confirmed on 2 June that the temporary increase in the stamp duty threshold would not be extended beyond 19 August, we have received a number of representations for the duration of the moratorium to be reconsidered. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor made it clear at the outset that this was a temporary measure for eight months only, and we have no plans to reopen the matter.
Income Tax
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will expand the figures in his answer to the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire (Mr. Kirkwood) of 22 June, Official Report , col 4, for those with incomes (a) £50,000 to £70,000 per year, (b) £70,000 to £80,000 per year and (c) over £80,000 per year.
Mr. Dorrell : The additional information is as follows :
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|c|Average reduction in income tax per individual<1>|c| |c|in 1992-93 compared with the 1978-79 regime|c| Range of |Total |Average individuals |reduction |Reduction income in 1992-93 £ |£ million |£ per annum ---------------------------------------------------- 50,000 - 70,000 |2,300 |8,200 70,000 - 80,000 |800 |14,000 Over £80,000 |7,200 |46,000 <1>Individuals liable to income tax under the 1978-79 indexed regime.
Financial Regulation
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will now use his powers under section 115 of the Financial Services Act 1986 to take financial regulatory responsibility back into the Government's hands.
Works of Art
Mr. Martlew : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the cost to the Exchequer of the tax relief scheme whereby inheritors of works of art are given exemption from inheritance tax and capital transfer tax provided that public access is given.
Mr. Dorrell : The annual cost of conditional exemption from inheritance tax and capital transfer tax of works of art is estimated to have averaged about £70 million over the period 1983-84 to 1991-92. There are sometimes significant fluctuations in the estimated cost from year to year.
Landowners (Tax Exemption)
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Carlisle (Mr. Martlew) of 22 June, Official Report, column
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2, if he will list for each county in England, Scotland or Wales the number of landowners and estates that have benefited under the tax procedures by which tax liability is reduced on condition that there is an undertaking to manage and protect the land from development and allow reasonable public access.Mr. Dorrell [holding answer 26 June 1992] : There have been 117 designations of land for conditional exemption from inheritance tax or capital transfer tax in England and Wales. In addition, there have been 107 designations of historic buildings in England and Wales, some of which will have extended to surrounding land. Some designations of historic buildings have been for the purposes of the tax exemptions for maintenance funds rather than for exemption of the buildings themselves.
A detailed breakdown by county is not readily available. In addition, the normal rules of taxpayer confidentiality would prevent the disclosure of figures for counties with a very small number of designations.
Details of the number of designations for land and buildings in Scotland were given in my reply to the hon. Member on 22 June at column 2.
Gross Domestic Product
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will set out for (a) the United Kingdom, (b) each standard region and (c) each Welsh county, the industrial distribution of gross domestic product in percentage terms for each category for the years (a) 1984, (b) 1989, (c) 1990 and (d) 1991, respectively.
Mr. Nelson [holding answer 29 June 1992] : The table gives the available information on GDP by industry division. Data for 1991 are not yet available and there is no breakdown of GDP for counties.
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|c|Gross domestic product by industry group:|c|
|c|Percentages of regions' totals|c|
|c|By 1989|c|
|North |Yorkshire and |East |East |Greater |Rest of |South |West |North |Wales |Scotland |Northern |United
|and Humberside|Midlands |Anglia |London |South East |West |Midlands |West |Ireland |Kingdom
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Agriculture, forestry and fishing |2 |2 |3 |5 |0 |1 |2 |1 |1 |2 |3 |5 |2
Energy and water supply |6 |6 |6 |3 |2 |2 |3 |3 |4 |6 |5 |3 |4
Manufacturing |29 |27 |30 |23 |14 |20 |21 |32 |30 |28 |22 |18 |23
Minerals, metals and chemicals |10 |7 |5 |3 |2 |4 |3 |5 |6 |11 |4 |3 |5
Metal goods, engineering and vehicles |9 |9 |11 |9 |5 |10 |10 |18 |13 |9 |9 |4 |10
Other manufacturing |9 |11 |14 |11 |7 |7 |8 |9 |11 |8 |10 |11 |9
Construction |8 |8 |8 |9 |5 |9 |9 |7 |7 |7 |8 |7 |6
Distribution, hotels and catering:
repairs |13 |16 |15 |15 |15 |15 |17 |15 |14 |14 |14 |13 |15
Transport, communication |6 |7 |6 |8 |10 |8 |6 |6 |7 |6 |8 |5 |7
Financial and business services less
adjustment for financial services |7 |8 |8 |10 |23 |17 |11 |9 |9 |7 |9 |8 |13
Ownership of dwellings |5 |5 |6 |6 |7 |6 |6 |6 |6 |5 |4 |5 |6
Public administration and defence |6 |6 |6 |6 |6 |7 |9 |5 |6 |8 |8 |14 |7
Education and health |11 |11 |9 |9 |9 |8 |9 |9 |10 |11 |13 |14 |10
Other services |6 |6 |5 |6 |9 |7 |6 |6 |6 |6 |7 |8 |7
Total |100 |100 |100 |100 |100 |100 |100 |100 |100 |100 |100 |100 |100
|c|Gross domestic product by industry group:|c|
|c|Percentages of regions totals|c|
|c|in 1990|c|
[TITRE
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Agriculture, forestry and fishing |1 |2 |2 |4 |0 |1 |2 |1 |1 |2 |3 |4 |2
Energy and water supply |6 |6 |6 |3 |2 |3 |4 |3 |4 |5 |5 |4 |4
Manufacturing |28 |26 |29 |22 |13 |20 |20 |31 |29 |27 |22 |18 |23
Minerals, metals and chemicals |n.a.|n.a.|n.a.|n.a.|n.a.|n.a.|n.a.|n.a.|n.a.|n.a.|n.a.|n.a.|n.a.
Metal goods, engineering and vehicles |n.a.|n.a.|n.a.|n.a.|n.a.|n.a.|n.a.|n.a.|n.a.|n.a.|n.a.|n.a.|n.a.
Other manufacturing |n.a.|n.a.|n.a.|n.a.|n.a.|n.a.|n.a.|n.a.|n.a.|n.a.|n.a.|n.a.|n.a.
Construction |8 |8 |8 |9 |6 |9 |9 |7 |7 |7 |8 |7 |8
Distribution, hotels and catering:
repairs |13 |16 |15 |16 |15 |15 |16 |15 |15 |14 |14 |13 |15
Transport, communication |7 |7 |6 |8 |10 |8 |6 |6 |7 |6 |7 |5 |7
Financial and business services less
adjustment for financial services |7 |8 |9 |9 |23 |17 |11 |9 |10 |7 |9 |8 |13
Ownership of dwellings |6 |5 |6 |7 |8 |7 |7 |7 |6 |6 |4 |5 |7
Public administration and defence |6 |6 |6 |6 |6 |7 |9 |5 |5 |8 |8 |14 |7
Education and health |11 |11 |9 |9 |9 |7 |10 |10 |10 |11 |13 |14 |10
Other services |6 |6 |5 |6 |9 |7 |6 |6 |6 |6 |7 |8 |7
Total |100 |100 |100 |100 |100 |100 |100 |100 |100 |100 |100 |100 |100
Notes:
1.The 1990 results are provisional, and the breakdown is not yet available within manufacturing.
2.The total excludes the gross domestic product for the Continental shelf and the statistical discrepancy.
|c|Gross domestic product by industry group:|c|
|c|Percentages of regions totals|c|
|c|At 1984|c|
|North |Yorkshire and |East |East |Greater |Rest of |South |West |North |Wales |Scotland |Northern |United
|and Humberside|Midlands |Anglia |London |South East |West |Midlands |West |Ireland |Kingdom
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Agriculture, forestry and fishing |2 |3 |5 |9 |0 |2 |3 |2 |1 |3 |4 |6 |2
Energy and water supply |7 |7 |6 |2 |3 |3 |3 |4 |4 |7 |5 |3 |4
Manufacturing |31 |28 |32 |26 |16 |24 |24 |35 |32 |26 |24 |20 |26
Minerals, metals and chemicals |11 |7 |5 |5 |2 |4 |3 |6 |8 |9 |3 |3 |5
Metal goods, engineering and vehicles |11 |9 |11 |9 |7 |13 |12 |20 |12 |9 |10 |6 |11
Other manufacturing |8 |12 |15 |12 |8 |8 |9 |9 |12 |8 |11 |11 |10
Construction |6 |7 |6 |7 |5 |7 |7 |6 |6 |6 |8 |7 |7
Distribution, hotels and catering:
repairs |12 |15 |14 |13 |15 |14 |15 |13 |14 |13 |14 |13 |14
Transport, communication |6 |8 |6 |8 |11 |8 |6 |6 |8 |6 |8 |5 |8
Financial and business services less
adjustment for financial services |6 |6 |6 |7 |15 |13 |8 |7 |7 |6 |7 |6 |9
Ownership of dwellings |5 |5 |6 |6 |8 |7 |7 |7 |6 |6 |5 |5 |6
Public administration and defence |6 |6 |7 |7 |7 |8 |10 |6 |6 |9 |8 |15 |8
Education and health |11 |10 |8 |8 |10 |8 |9 |9 |10 |11 |11 |15 |9
Other services |6 |6 |5 |5 |10 |6 |6 |5 |6 |6 |7 |6 |6
Total |100 |100 |100 |100 |100 |100 |100 |100 |100 |100 |100 |100 |100
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list for each English and Welsh county and Scottish region the estimated gross domestic product per head of population as a percentage of the United Kingdom average.
Mr. Nelson [holding answer 29 June 1992] : These data have been published in the article "Regional Accounts 1990, Part 1" in the November 1991 issue of Economic Trends, copies of which are available in the Library.
Bank of Credit and Commerce International
Mr. Sedgemore : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the Ministers and former Ministers who have given evidence to the Bingham inquiry on BCCI.
Mr. Nelson [holding answer 29 June 1992] : The Prime Minister assured the House on 22 July 1991 Official Report, at column 759 that all Ministers and officials would co-operate fully with Lord Justice Bingham's inquiry, and we have done so. A number of Ministers and former Ministers have given evidence. The inquiry has taken evidence in private, and it has not been the inquiry's practice to announce who has given evidence.
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DUCHY OF LANCASTER
Charter Mark
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the advertising and administrative costs of the Charter Mark trophy design competition.
Mr. Waldegrave : The final costs are not yet available, but are likely to be in the region of £170,000 (including VAT).
Private-sector Contractors
Dr. Marek : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether private-sector contractors who undertake civil service work will remain under the scrutiny presently exercisable by Parliament ; and whether the public will have recourse to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration in cases of maladministration by private sector contractors carrying out work done previously by Government Departments.
Mr. Waldegrave : Where civil service work is contracted out following a market testing exercise, the accountability of Ministers to Parliament remains unchanged. The jurisdiction of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration is unaffected.
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Dr. Marek : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether private-sector contractors undertaking civil service work will have to conform to established civil service practice regarding the confidentiality of information that may come into their possession ; whether employees of private firms employed on such contracts will have to sign the Official Secrets Acts 1989 ; and what will be the position of foreign national employees of such firms employed on such contracts.
Mr. Waldegrave : Contractors working for government departments are, as appropriate, subject to contract conditions which require the protection of classified information to a standard equivalent to that which applies within departments generally. Contractors' employees, including any who are foreign nationals, who may have access to classified information, are security cleared to the level appropriate to the information concerned. Such employees who have access to information to which the Official Secrets Act 1989 applies receive notice that the Act applies to them, and are normally required to sign declarations acknowledging their obligations under it.
Dr. Marek : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what degree of openness there will be regarding any future contracting out to the private sector of civil service work ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Waldegrave : It has been this Government's established practice to ensure non-discrimination and fair competition in public procurement, as set out in administrative circulars issued by the central unit on purchasing in HM Treasury. From December last year, EC rules, which in large part replicate United Kingdom best practice, were written into the United Kingdom legislation which will implement a further EC Directive to ensure compliance throughout the EC.
HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION
Telephone Directories
Mr. Trotter : To ask the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed, as representing the House of Commons Commission, for what reasons the House of Commons telephone directories have not yet been updated to show the names and numbers of the Ministers currently in office ; and when he expects the information to be updated.
Mr. Beith : Responsibility for the production of the House of Commons telephone directory lies with the Serjeant at Arms. After a general election it is necessary to formulate completely new sections of the directory covering hon. Members and their staff and including ministerial appointments. In the interests of accuracy, it is not possible to produce new sections of the directory until the allocation of accommodation and telephone lines has been virtually completed. The information is now being printed and completed directories will be issued by 13 July.
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LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Water Charges (Summonses)
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will review the level of the bulk issue fee for summonses for water charges ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John M. Taylor : No fee is charged specifically for the bulk issue of summonses through the summons production centre. The fees for issuing a summons are prescribed in the County Court Fees Order 1982, as amended. All fees, including those charged in the county courts, are reviewed on a regular basis.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Cardiac Surgery
Rev. Martin Smyth : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment has been made of the impact of the proposed acute bed closures in the Eastern health board area on reducing the waiting list for cardiac surgery which is a regional speciality.
Mr. Hanley : The Eastern health and social services board's proposals for acute bed closures, set out in its recently published consultative document, are framed on the premise that the same or even greater numbers of patients can be treated in fewer beds by taking advantage of the latest developments in medical technology, securing greater efficiency in the use of beds and making greater use of day and out -patient procedures. The board's proposals are not therefore expected to impact adversely on the provision of cardiac surgery.
Fishing
Mr. McGrady : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps have been taken to review the one-net rule in respect of the fishing industry which was introduced on 1 June.
Mr. Hanley : The one-net rule forms part of a package of measures to improve conservation of fish stocks. The matter is being kept under review.
Harbour Police
Mr. Mackinlay : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what statutory protection exists for constables of the Larne harbour police from unfair dismissal ; what statutory police federation exists to represent them ; and what statutory restrictions exist on their entitlement to join a trade union.
Mr. Atkins : Persons employed in police service, or in any other capacity by virtue of which they have the powers or privilege of a constable, are excluded from the unfair dismissal legislation. Accordingly, constables of the Larne harbour police have no statutory protection from unfair dismissal. They are not represented by a statutory police federation. There are however no statutory restrictions on their entitlement to join a trade union and most the Larne Harbour police are members of the General Municipal Boilermakers and Allied Trade Union.
Mr. Mackinlay : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what statutory protection exists for
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constables of Belfast harbour police from unfair dismissal ; what statutory police federation exists to represent them ; and what statutory restrictions exist on their entitlement to join a trade union.Mr. Atkins : Persons employed in police service, or in any other capacity by virtue of which they have the powers or privileges of a constable, are excluded from the unfair dismissal legislation. Accordingly, constables of the Belfast harbour police have no statutory protection from unfair dismissal. There are no statutory restrictions on their entitlement to join a trade union and they are represented by the Belfast harbour police representative body rather than by a statutory police federation.
Maghaberry Prison
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the number of strip searches made on female prisoners at Her Majesty's prison
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Maghaberry monthly since July 1991 ; what was the number of persons involved and the number of times each person was searched ; what prison contraband smuggled items or illegal correspondence was discovered in any search ; in how many cases prisoners refused to be searched and had to be restrained while the search was being conducted ; and what were the reasons for each search.Mr. Mates : Details of the number of, and reasons for, searches of female prisoners in Her Majesty's prison, Maghaberry from July 1991 to May 1992 are set out below.
No prohibited articles were found during these searches. On 2 March 1992, 22 prisoners refused to co-operate with a full search. Of these prisoners, 21 had to be restrained while the search was being conducted.
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Number of searches |July |August |September |October |November |December |January |February |March |April |May
|1991 |1991 |1991 |1991 |1991 |1991 |1992 |1992 |1992 |1992 |1992
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total number of searches carried
out |34 |32 |37 |36 |31 |41 |19 |18 |66 |31 |31
Total number of inmates searched |24 |21 |29 |26 |19 |30 |14 |17 |51 |23 |24
Number of prisoners searched once |17 |11 |22 |16 |12 |21 |9 |16 |42 |15 |17
Number of prisoners searched twice |6 |9 |6 |10 |6 |8 |5 |1 |3 |8 |7
Number of prisoners searched more
than twice |1 |1 |1 |nil |1 |1 |nil |nil |6 |nil |nil
Reason for search
First admission on remand/
awaiting trial |11 |7 |12 |8 |7 |10 |5 |9 |13 |7 |8
First admission on sentence/
final discharge |8 |12 |9 |20 |9 |16 |9 |7 |4 |13 |16
Attending remand court |nil |nil |nil |nil |1 |nil |nil |nil |4 |nil |nil
Attending trial |nil |nil |nil |nil |1 |1 |nil |nil |nil |nil |nil
Inter prison visit |4 |4 |10 |4 |2 |3 |1 |2 |6 |2 |2
Prison visit |nil |nil |nil |nil |nil |nil |nil |nil |nil |nil |nil
Pre-release home leave |6 |8 |6 |2 |9 |7 |2 |nil |4 |8 |5
Compassionate home leave |4 |nil |nil |nil |nil |1 |nil |nil |nil |nil |nil
Visits to outside hospital |nil |nil |nil |nil |nil |nil |nil |nil |nil |nil |nil
Returning from bail application |nil |nil |nil |nil |nil |nil |2 |nil |nil |nil |nil
Attendance at court for bail |nil |nil |nil |nil |nil |nil |nil |nil |nil |nil |nil
Fines paid |nil |nil |nil |2 |nil |nil |nil |nil |nil |1 |nil
Working out scheme |nil |nil |nil |nil |nil |nil |nil |nil |nil |nil |nil
Bail granted |1 |1 |nil |nil |2 |3 |nil |nil |1 |nil |nil
Suspected security compromise |nil |nil |nil |nil |nil |nil |nil |nil |34 |nil |nil
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many prisoners were charged with disciplinary offences, and which offences, following disturbances at Her Majesty's prison Maghaberry on 2 March.
Mr. Mates : On 2 March 1992 a full search of the female section of Her Majesty's prison, Maghaberry was carried out.
As a consequence of their refusal to co-operate in full searching, 22 prisoners were charged with disobeying a lawful order. Ten of these prisoners were also charged with offending against security and good order of the prison ; of these, five were further charged with commiting an assault.
ENVIRONMENT
Endangered Species
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to design national recovery plans for all threatened species within the United Kingdom.
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Mr. Maclean : The "Recovery" scheme to assist specific native plants and animals in danger of extinction was launched by English Nature in April 1991 and forms an integral part of my Department's Action for the Countryside initiative. Fourteen species were included in the scheme in 1991-92 and English Nature plans to increase this to 21 in 1992-93.
Habitat Conservation
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what steps are being taken by his Department to conserve the habitats of crop pollinators and the natural enemies of pests ;
(2) what progress is being made by his Department in (a) promoting remaining natural ecosystems, (b) the restoration of degraded ecosystems and (c) the maintenance of as large an area as possible of modified ecosystems to support a diversity of sustainable uses.
Mr. Maclean : We remain committed to the conservation of wildlife habitats. In partnership with the country conservation bodies and other Government Departments we have introduced a series of measures designed to ensure the good management of important habitats. These
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include countryside stewardship, the wildlife enhancement scheme, environmentally sensitive areas and agreements with MOD, Forestry Commission and the National Trust.Inner City Task Forces
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will provide a table of expenditure showing the cost of running each inner city task force for each year from 1987-88 (a) at current prices and (b) at 1987-88 prices ;
(2) if he will provide a table of expenditure on each inner city task force from his Department for each year from 1987-88 (a) at current prices and (b) at 1987-88 prices.
Mr. Robin Squire : The costs of running the inner city task forces and the overall expenditure of each for the period from 1989-90 to 1991-92 is set out in the following tables :
|c|Table A: Running Costs|c| Task Force |1989-90 |1990-91 |1991-92 ------------------------------------------------------------ Birmingham East |86,480 |106,227 |129,724 Handsworth |2,423 |622 Bradford |49,839 |132,629 |131,947 Bristol |134,122 |111,646 |94,396 Coventry |71,293 |82,747 |89,800 Derby |49,123 |122,345 Doncaster |124,007 |50,497 Hartlepool |102,446 |94,419 |60,733 Hull |31,362 Leeds |111,469 |143,977 |90,225 Leicester |37,286 |2,435 Liverpool |68,348 |113,275 |126,871 London Deptford |39,317 |109,227 |102,470 Hackney |12,685 North Peckham |122,762 |177,092 |185,166 Spitalfields |137,476 |150,046 |133,400 West London |131,310 |144,690 |153,189 Manchester |117,124 |134,939 |143,844 Middlesbrough |76,021 |79,141 |110,586 Nottingham |122,484 |133,138 |130,645 Preston |57,917 |29 Rochdale |92,272 |48,533 South Tyneside |16,302 Wirral |46,720 |126,858 Wolverhampton |39,381 All figures inclusive of capital costs of office machinery, furniture and supplies. 1991-92 figures include hard charges for DTI services.
|c|Table B: Expenditure|c| Task force |1989-90 |1990-91 |1991-92 ------------------------------------------------------------ Birmingham East |1,469,374 |1,131,041 |1,193,486 Handsworth |190,528 |622 Bradford |449,808 |2,069,998 |1,170,249 Bristol |754,583 |2,120,795 |1,127,725 Coventry |1,540,512 |1,015,544 |1,785,869 Derby |302,461 |1,268,963 Doncaster |1,460,333 |628,601 Hartlepool |1,211,223 |1,415,387 |891,289 Hull |291,932 Leeds |1,389,818 |1,106,183 |651,933 Leicester |1,037,353 |32,068 Liverpool |659,046 |1,628,721 |1,942,868 London Deptford |245,025 |1,780,225 |1,509,634 Hackney |785,125 North Peckham |1,006,905 |1,435,620 |2,151,671 Spitalfields |883,210 |974,605 |2,000,499 West London |594,236 |1,439,378 |1,759,726 Manchester |2,440,593 |2,206,220 |1,467,424 Middlesbrough |787,335 |1,255,331 |1,745,020 Nottingham |920,225 |1,176,292 |1,412,042 Preston |554,449 |28,606 Rochdale |842,665 |715,362 |52,745 South Tyneside |94,003 Wirral |597,061 |1,059,078 Wolverhampton |1,082,064 |57,291
Running costs apportioned to individual task forces before the financial year 1989-90 are not readily available. Figures are not available on a 1987 -88 price basis. To provide this would incur disproportionate costs.
On 1 June 1992 financial responsibility for the task forces was transferred to my Department from the Department of Trade and Industry.
Mr. Mike O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the Government will reach a decision on allocating RECHAR funds to North Warwickshire borough ; and how that will affect the standard spending assessment of the borough council.
Mr. Robin Squire : The northern Warwickshire RECHAR integrated development programme was approved by the European Commission on 26 February 1992. The decision on the allocation of RECHAR funds to north Warwickshire borough will not affect the council's SSA for 1992-93 or 1993- 94.
Mr. Mike O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many RECHAR projects have been agreed by the Government since 17 February 1991.
Mr. Mike O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what decisions were reached by the RECHAR European regional development fund co-ordinating committee in respect of North Warwickshire and Nuneaton and Bedford borough projects on 11 June.
Mr. Robin Squire : There were no applications for ERDF grant for consideration at the meeting.
Commonhold
Mr. Soley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to introduce commonhold legislation before 16 July.
Sir George Young : No. We propose to introduce legislation after the recess to give effect to leasehold enfranchisement of flats and higher rateable value houses. Commonhold tenure is a matter for my right hon. and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor : it will not be the subject of legislation in the present session.
Urban Programme
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to make reductions in levels of urban programme funding for 1993-94 and 1994-95 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood : Decisions on future funding levels for the urban programme will be taken in November, following the outcome of the current public expenditure round.
Column 479
Equal Opportunities
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many and what percentage of officers in grades 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 respectively and overall in his Department are women.
Mr. Howard : The latest available information on numbers of women in my Department is as follows :
Grade |Numbers |Percentage
--------------------------------------------
1 |0 |0
2 |3 |43
3 |5 |14
4 |0 |0
5 |24 |15
6 |20 |7
7 |133 |16
Total |186 |14
All grades |2,809 |42
These figures relate to staff in post in DOE and its agencies.
Mersey Estuary
Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment for what species of wildfowl and wading birds the Mersey estuary is (a) nationally important and (b) internationally important.
Mr. Maclean : The Mersey estuary is internationally important for its wintering population of Teal, Pintail, Shelduck, Redshank and Dunlin, and nationally important for its wintering populations of Grey Plover, Wigeon and Curlew.
Proportions of relevant international and national populations of waterfowl are as follows (figures are for the five year peak mean, for the period 1986-87 to 1990-91) :
Species |Winter peak |Percentage of|Percentage of
|mean |international|British
|population
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Teal |10,679 |2.6 |10.6
Grey Plover |710 |0.4 |3.3
Wigeon |6,644 |0.8 |2.6
Pintail |5,907 |8.4 |23.6
Curlew |1,443 |0.4 |1.5
Redshank |3,824 |3.5 |5.0
Shelduck |3,392 |1.3 |4.5
Dunlin |23,928 |1.7 |5.5
Water Metering
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what proposals he has to mitigate the effect of the introduction of a metering system of water on those people with health problems who require a greater intake of water ;
(2) what assessment he has made of how a switch from calculation by rateable value to a metering system for water will affect families of lower than average income in comparison with other domestic users.
Mr. Maclean : These issues have been addressed in a survey of the impact of water metering commissioned jointly with the Office of Water Services. The final report from the contractor is expected shortly and a copy will be placed in the Library. We shall consider what action is appropriate in the light of the report.
Column 480
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what pilot schemes have been used to evaluate the efficiency of water meters ; how long did they run ; and how many homes were involved.
Mr. Maclean : The performance of water meters has been monitored over a three-year period in the national water metering trials. The trials involved around 57,000 domestic properties. Randomly selected meters have been periodically removed in all the trials in order to analyse their performance and accuracy.
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