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Agriculture
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will introduce a scheme to provide tax relief for companies and businesses providing services to agriculture to enable them to retain employees who would otherwise be made redundant.
Mr. Dorrell : My right hon. Friend has no plans for new tax relief for agricultural service businesses.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will introduce a scheme to provide increased tax relief on capital assets held by companies and businesses providing services to agriculture to enable them to retain employees who would otherwise be made redundant.
Mr. Dorrell : I have no plans to do so.
Bloodstock Industry
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assistance will be provided under the distance selling scheme and the flat rate scheme to vendors of horses selling for less than £15,000.
Sir John Cope : Bloodstock industry representatives have indicated that both schemes could be of some assistance when selling horses with a value of £15,000 or less. It is for individual vendors to assess the advantages of the new arrangements which will be able from 1 January 1993.
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Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will introduce regulations to enable race horse owners to be registered for VAT.
Sir John Cope : Eligibility for VAT registration is governed by both European Community law and United Kingdom law. Under the present rules of racing, race horse owners in the United Kingdom do not qualify for VAT registration because it is not a business activity making taxable supplies. This opinion has been upheld in individual cases by the independent VAT tribunals.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate has been made of the financial effect on the domestic bloodstock industry of the new VAT required to be imposed as part of the EC single market changes on 1 January 1993.
Sir John Cope : It is not possible to make any reliable estimate of the financial effects future changes to the VAT regime will have on the United Kingdom bloodstock industry. VAT is only one of several factors which determine its finances, but, as long as the industry ensures that its members fully understand the new rules for the single market, they should not be significantly disadvantaged by them.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement outlining the ways in which the changes to be introduced on 1 January 1993 to the VAT regime affecting the bloodstock industry achieves parity of treatment between British breeders and their overseas counterparts.
Sir John Cope : The present VAT arrangements will in large part remain after 1992, although in some cases in a different form. British breeders should therefore maintain broadly the same position in relation to their overseas counterparts as now. The introduction of an agricultural flat-rate scheme in the United Kingdom in 1993 will be an extra scheme, not currently available, which will allow those breeders who opt to become flat -rate farmers to sell horses and nominations free of VAT, in exactly the same way as their European counterparts.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will reconsider introducing regulations to enable a low VAT rate to be applied to the United Kingdom bloodstock industry ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir John Cope : The Government's policy is to maintain a simple VAT structure with a single positive rate. Any concession for racehorses would inevitably bring pressure for a similar concession on a wide range of goods and services, where it was felt that the case was just as strong as that for bloodstock.
Public Expenditure
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the level of public expenditure by region in each year since 1979-80 (a) in overall terms and (b) in per capita terms at current and 1979-80 prices.
Mr. Portillo: Information on the level of general Government expenditure by region in England was published in the "Statistical Supplement to the 1990 Autumn Statement", Cm 1520, for 1987-88 and in the "Statistical Supplement to the 1991 Autumn Statement",
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Cm 1920, for years 1988-89 and 1989-90. Information on the level of public expenditure by region in England on a consistent basis is not available prior to 1987-88.Mr. Milburn : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to conduct an annual regional analysis of general Government expenditure within England.
Mr. Portillo : In response to a request from the Treasury and Civil Service Committee--fifth report for 1991, HC 290--a regional analysis of general Government expenditure within England is conducted annually. The results of the 1990 exercise were published in the "Statistical Supplement to the 1990 Autumn Statement", Cm 1520, and the results of the 1991 exercise were published in the "Statistical Supplement to the 1991 Autumn Statement", Cm 1521. The results of the 1992 exercise will be published in the "Statistical Supplement to the 1992 Autumn Statement".
Financial Statistics
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list, for each of the years 1974-75 to 1992-93 (planned), (a) in market price and (b) in constant prices (i) gross domestic product and (ii) public sector borrowing requirement, (1) including privatisation receipts and (2) excluding privatisation receipts, (iii) general Government expenditure, as defined in United Kingdom accounts, (iv) general Government receipts, as defined in United Kingdom accounts, (v) general Government expenditure, as defined in the European system of integrated accounts, (vi) general Government receipts, as defined in the European system of integrated accounts, (vii) borrowing as defined in the European system of integrated accounts, (viii) (ii) (1) and (2) as a percentage of (i) and (ix) (vii) as a percentage of (i).
Mr. Portillo : Most of the figures requested are available from the CSO database, which can be accessed through the House of Commons Library. The identifiers are as follows :
Identifier (a) GDP at current prices CAOB
(b) GDP at constant market prices CAOO
(c) PSBR including privatisation receipts ABEN
(d) PSBR excluding privatisation receipts ABII
(e) General government expenditure UnitedKingdom definition ABAB (f) General government expenditure, ESAdefinition see table (g) General government receipts, ESAdefinition see table (h) General government borrowing, ESAdefinition CSNK
Items (c) to (h) are not available at constant prices. Items (f), (g) and (h) are available only for calendar years. General Government total receipts and expenditure on ESA definitions are not available on the database and are shown in the table.
Forecasts for 1992-93 for gross domestic product, the public sector borrowing requirement, and general Government expenditure as defined in United Kingdom accounts were published in the 1992-93 Financial Statement and Budget Report in March. A revised forecast will be published in the autumn statement. There are no forecasts made on ESA definitions.
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On ESA
definitions:
General
government
|Receipts (f)|Payments (g)
----------------------------------------------------
1974 |56,702 |53,524
1975 |76,442 |71,438
1976 |89,524 |83,355
1977 |97,516 |92,554
1978 |110,410 |102,999
1979 |127,123 |120,674
1980 |156,531 |148,431
1981 |181,710 |171,493
1982 |194,156 |186,214
1983 |211,558 |201,373
1984 |226,991 |214,156
1985 |240,509 |230,250
1986 |255,840 |245,137
1987 |269,908 |264,257
1988 |288,880 |289,750
1989 |310,317 |310,041
1990 |350,391 |341,582
1991 |383,220 |367,150
These series are only calculated for calendar years. Forecasts are not available.
Debt in Africa
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions on alleviating debt in Africa were held at the annual International Monetary Fund and World bank meetings in Washington in September.
Mr. Nelson : Discussions at the annual International Monetary Fund and World bank meetings in September covered the international debt strategy. Ministers welcomed the enhanced debt relief extended to the poorest and most heavily indebted countries by the Paris club, including to date the African countries of Benin, Equatorial Guinea, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zambia, and urged the Paris club to recognise the special situation of some highly indebted lower-middle income countries on a case by case basis. The Paris club was also invited to maintain its continuing review of the debt strategy.
Correspondence
Mr. Burns : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the target times within which Treasury Ministers aim to reply to letters sent to them by hon. Members on behalf of their constituents.
Sir John Cope : My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has set the following targets for replies to ministerial correspondence :
Letters for ministerial reply on matters concerning Her Majesty's Treasury : Reply to be posted within 15 working days.
Letters for ministerial reply on matters concerning other Chancellor's Departments, including Inland Revenue and Her Majesty's Customs and Excise : Reply to be posted within 18 working days. Letters for ministerial reply on matters requiring a report from a local Inland Revenue tax office : Reply to be posted within 23 working days.
These targets come into operation from Monday, 2 November. The targets will be kept under review. Details of the extent to which they have been met will be published in the Chancellor's Department's departmental report.
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BCCI
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total number of claims made to the deposit protection board by former depositors of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International by (a) number and (b) value ; and how many are still to be processed.
Mr. Nelson [holding answer 22 October 1992] : I understand that at 19 October 1992 some 16,500 claims had been lodged with the board. Of these some 5,500 claims are with the liquidators awaiting proof of debt forms to be lodged, and some 1,500 claims are in course of payment or awaiting responses to inquiries. No details are maintained of the total value of claims.
WALES
Dentists
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many Danish dentists he proposes to allow to complete their training in Wales.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : This is not a matter in which the Secretary of State has any specific remit. The General Dental Council is responsible for determining the eligibility of EC qualified dental practitioners for employment in the United Kingdom, whether in training grades or as independent practitioners.
Promotional World Tour
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list each private or voluntary body or association or private individual from Wales or elsewhere in the United Kingdom associated by arrangement with either his Department, the Welsh Development Agency or the Wales tourist board with the current Wales promotional world tour ; and if he will specify to which event on which leg of the tour the arrangement has been made.
Mr. David Hunt : My recent inward investment mission involved representatives of the Welsh Office, the Welsh Development Agency and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, as well as many individuals in the companies concerned.
Radioactive Substances
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has regarding the breaches of the Radioactive Substances Act 1960 by Xidex (UK) Ltd. of Brynmawr, Gwent.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : Under the provisions of the Radioactive Substances Act 1960, the chief inspector of Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution--HMIP--is responsible for deciding in which cases prosecution action may be appropriate. My right hon. Friend and I were informed of legal action planned by the inspectorate against Xidex (UK) Ltd. and the reasons for it.
Think Globally, Act Locally"
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many copies of the Government booklet "Think Globally, Act Locally" issued in September, have been distributed in Wales ; and what criteria have been adopted in drawing up the distribution list.
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Mr. David Hunt : This Department of the Environment booklet is being given a wide circulation throughout the United Kingdom. It is expected to be of general interest and DOE's initial circulation has included some 300 copies to local government, libraries, environmental groups, Members of Parliament and others in Wales.
Environmental Research
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects to publish his Department's study of environmental research priorities in Wales.
Mr. David Hunt : As is made clear in the Welsh chapter of "This Common Inheritance--The Second Year Report", this is an internal review of the Welsh Office's environmental research programme. I will be considering whether and in what form the review, when completed, might be published.
Panteg
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much his Department has spent to date funding the survey of
polychlorinated biphenol contamination in Panteg, to which reference is made in chapter 18, paragraph 13.21 of Britain's Environmental Strategy, Cm 2068.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : A total of £159,000.
Nuclear Plants
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will invite European Commission safety inspectors to evaluate the radiation protection arrangements in place at the Wylfa and Trawsfyndd nuclear plants under the provisions of article 35 of the Euratom treaty.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The United Kingdom Government have agreed with the European Commission the procedures to be followed in carrying out, under article 35 of the Euratom treaty, verifications of the operation and efficiency of environmental monitoring facilities in the United Kingdom. It is for the Commission in the first instance to indicate which monitoring facilities it would wish to visit under these arrangements ; it has not yet made any formal requests to so so.
RECHAR
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what progress has been made in resolving the dispute over the allocation of EC RECHAR funds in Wales.
Mr. David Hunt : There is no dispute. The RECHAR programme for south Wales was adopted by the European Commission in February. A package of projects to take up most of the available funds has been agreed in principle by the programme co-ordinating committee. Full applications are now being assessed, and I anticipate that the first formal approvals will take place well before the end of the year.
Electricity Interconnector
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if plans by the National Grid Company and the Irish Electricity Supply Board to develop an interconnector link between Ynys Mo n and north Dublin are subject to European environmental impact directives.
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Mr. Gwilym Jones : Proposals for the transmission of electrical energy, other than by overhead cable, are not subject to directive 85/337/EEC which covers the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment.
Environmental Education
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what progress has been made to date with his departmental commitment to promote environmental education in Wales.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Environmental education has been given a place in the curriculum of all primary and secondary schools as a result of the introduction of the national curriculum. It is an integral element in a number of subjects including science, geography, history and technology. The Curriculum Council for Wales is currently producing guidance for schools on environmental education as a cross-curricular theme and this will be circulated to schools shortly.
The Curriculum Council for Wales and the Countryside Council for Wales have held a joint conference on practical ways of teaching environmental education in schools and a successful environmental competition has been held for schools in Wales.
An expert committee on environmental education in further and higher education has been set up to look at the provision of environmental education and will be reporting to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and my right hon. Friend shortly.
Coal
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what calculations he has made of the effect upon the Welsh economy and communities of coal mine closures since 1984.
Mr. David Hunt : While I appreciate the immediate difficulties for individuals and communities that the closure of coal mines presents, over the past decade we have been able to diversify the Welsh economy to a point where it is much stronger and more resilient rather than being over- dependent on a small number of sectors as was the case in the past.
Contaminated Land Register
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the impact on land values of the implementation of the contaminated land register in Wales under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : In drawing up its revised proposals for contaminated land registers, the Government have sought to take account of the possible consequences for land values in England and Wales. This aspect will be considered further however, along with other relevant issues, in the light of the responses to the recent consultation exercise.
NHS Trust Unit
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many civil servants of which grade work (a) full-time and (b) part of their time within the NHS trust unit within
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his Department, and what is its estimated total establishment cost in the current financial year and next financial year.Mr. David Hunt : The complement of the Department's NHS trust unit consists of four full-time civil servants :
|Number
---------------------------------------
Grade 7 |1
Higher Executive Officer |1
Executive Officer |1
Administrative Officer |1
Estimated total establishment cost for the current financial year amounts to £127,191. Figures for the next financial year are not yet available.
Household Waste
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales(1) what tonnage of household waste is produced in each local authority area in Wales ;
(2) how many household waste landfill sites there are in each local authority area in Wales.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The information requested is available only from district councils which have responsibilities for investigations of controlled waste arising in their areas and for the licensing of disposal sites.
Baglon Hospital Site, Port Talbot
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what effects have been undertaken by his Department to (a) research the quality of soil for heavy metal contamination, (b) consider the level of legal waste disposal and illegal tipping in the vicinity and (c) research the effect of toxic deposits in water-courses and emission levels into the air prior to the development of the Baglon hospital site in Port Talbot.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The interdepartmental committee on the redevelopment of contaminated land has published guidance on the assessment and remedial measures for these types of site. West Glamorgan health authority which has full responsibility for the new hospital scheme, are expected to follow these guidelines. There is also a statutory responsibility on the local planning authority under the planning and building regulation procedures to satisfy itself before approval to proceed is given that the proposal takes proper account of any contamination that may exist.
Development of Contaminated Land
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps are taken by his Department prior to the building of new hospitals in Wales, to (a) research the quality of the soil for possible contamination, (b) monitor the level of toxic emissions into the locality, (c) measure toxic deposits into the watercourse of the locality and (d) research the level of risk from localised waste disposal and tipping, both illegal and legal.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : Welsh Office circular 22/87 provides guidance about the development of contaminated land. Responsibility for assessing whether land is suitable for hospital building, including whether it is contaminated,
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rests primarily with the health authority concerned. The local planning authority also has a statutory duty under the planning and building regulations to satisfy itself before approval to proceed with any scheme is given that the proposal takes proper account of any contamination that may exist.Acid Rain
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many sites of special scientific interest in Wales have been damaged by (a) acid rain and (b) other agricultural damage in 1991 ; what are the names and locations of these sites and the total number of hectares ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Wyn Roberts : There are now 845 sites of special scientific interest in Wales. In 1991, 42 sites were subject to some damage from agricultural practices. Between 1988 and 1992, 41 freshwater sites were subject to some damage from acidification. Of these 83 sites, six have been subject to some damage from agriculture and acidification. Data on acidification to dry land sites should be available next year. I have placed copies containing details of these sites in the Library of the House.
Exam papers (Welsh Language)
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the number of students who submitted exam papers in Welsh in 1991 ; what was the cost of having these papers translated into English ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Wyn Roberts : The latest available statistics from the Welsh Joint Education Committee show that in 1991 a total of 1,093 candidates submitted Welsh medium papers for A/AS level and 9,679 for GCSE examinations. There are no costs to students associated with translation as schools choose to enter candidates through either the medium of Welsh or English.
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he has any plans to review the system whereby students submitting certain exam papers in Welsh in the coming school year will have to pay to have them translated into English ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Wyn Roberts : The principal examining body for GCSE and A-level examinations in Wales is the Welsh Joint Education Committee--WJEC. There are no translation costs, as examination papers submitted by pupils in the medium of Welsh are marked by the WJEC's Welsh-speaking examiners and are not translated into English.
Urbanised Land
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many hectares of land in Wales have become urbanised so far this year ; if he will give comparable figures for 1989, 1990 and 1991 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. David Hunt : A limited amount of information on land-use change is provided by statistics derived from records compiled by Ordnance Survey during the course of its map revision work. A large proportion of changes of use are not collected until some time after the year of
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change, resulting in substantial time lags before there are adequate data to estimate total change occurring during a particular year. The latest available data suggest that between 1985-87, the average recorded net change of land from rural to urban use in Wales was 560 hectares per year. Information for later years is not available.Fishguard
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many representations he has received to his consultative paper on assisted areas advocating the creation of development area status for the Fishguard travel -to-work area.
Japanese
Mr. Colin Shepherd : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many teachers qualified to teach the Japanese language are currently employed by local education authorities and teaching in (a) secondary schools to GCSE level and (b) in sixth forms to A-level ; and if he will make a statement on the teaching of Japanese in Welsh schools.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Information on teachers qualified to teach Japanese is not available.
We have continued to promote the teaching of Japanese in schools in Wales through the Japanese in schools initiative launched in 1989. The initiative has established a sixth-form course of study and assessment scheme accredited by the Welsh Joint Education Committee and has supported teaching of Japanese in 14 schools participating in the initiative.
Assisted Areas
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many representations he has received in total to his consultation paper on assisted areas ; and how many of these representations advocated (a) the creation of further development areas, (b) the creation of further intermediate areas, (c) the maintenance of the status quo, (d) the reduction of development areas and (e) the reduction of intermediate areas.
Mr. David Hunt : I have received 76 representations. Of these, 35 argue for the creation of further development areas ; four advocate creation of further intermediate areas ; and 37 are in favour of the status quo. I have received no requests for a reduction in assisted areas of either status.
The division of representations does not correspond to the overall number received because a proportion of the submissions make a case for more than one travel-to-work area ; others do not argue for or against any particular area, but confine their comments to the review itself.
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales in his review of assisted area status, how many submissions from within each Welsh constituency he has received ; if he will extend the period for receiving submissions in relation to the current review of assisted area status ; and if he will make a statement.
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