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Engagements
Sir Peter Tapsell : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 27 October.
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 27 October.
The Prime Minister : This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in this House, I shall be having further meetings later today.
Pit Closures
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Prime Minister in agreeing to the pit closures what account he took of the effect on competitiveness of the changes in exchange rate between the pound and the dollar ; and if he will publish a table showing for each year since 1970 (a) the relative unit value of United Kingdom exports compared with those of the United States of America in each year based on the second half of 1973 equals 100 and the fourth quarter of
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1986 equals 100, (b) the world price of coal in terms of dollars and (c) an index of freight rates from (i) the United States of America, (ii) Australia and (iii) the contract price for United Kingdom coal delivered to power stations.The Prime Minister [holding answer 23 October 1992] : The competitiveness of British-mined coal was considered at a range of pound : dollar exchange rates. The other information requested cannot be supplied in the time available and my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade will write to the hon. Member.
Middle East
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Prime Minister if he will make it his policy during his visit to Egypt on 23 October to raise with President Mubarak Israel's nuclear capability and the danger of nuclear proliferation throughout the middle east.
The Prime Minister [holding answer 26 October 1992] : I discussed a number of middle east security matters with President Mubarak. I did not discuss Israel's nuclear potential.
WALES
Perifra
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what benefits have accrued to Wales from the European Community's Perifra I and II re-training schemes.
Mr. David Hunt : The EC Perifra programme is intended to part- finance small-scale measures in favour of peripheral regions and destabilised activities in the Community. In the case of defence industries, assistance is intended to alleviate the consequences of job losses by promoting the creation of alternative employment opportunities, and eligible activities include vocational training schemes.
The Welsh Office submitted an application under Perifra I last year for the re-development of the Royal Navy armaments depot, Milford Haven. Unfortunately, that application was dependent upon the local authority purchasing the land, and this did not happen ; the bid was therefore withdrawn.
A further bid for £775,000 in grant support under Perifra II was prepared for the west Wales area in close collaboration with the west Wales task force and submitted to the European Commission in June this year. On 3 August, the Commission announced that west Wales would receive a reduced allocation of £140,000 for the training and employment in technology scheme sponsored by the west Wales training and enterprise council in partnership with the Employment Service and Welsh Development Agency. This will, of course, complement my own priority actions in the west Wales area. The size of the allocation is, however, disappointing and is considerably less than we had hoped for. My officials are seeking an urgent meeting with their Commission colleagues to discuss the whole issue.
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Environmentally Sensitive Areas
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what additional resources will be allocated to support the four new environmentally sensitive areas to which reference is made in chapter 18, paragraph 18.6 of "Britain's Environmental Strategy" (Cm 2068).
Mr. David Hunt : The provision for ESAs in future years will be determined in the context of the public expenditure survey now in progress. This year, I am making available £2.5 million to meet the cost of ESA's management agreements in Wales.
Cardiff Bay Barrage
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects to receive a copy of the study into the Caldicot levels impoundment for wading birds being carried out by Mason Pittendrigh with respect to design and management and David Bellamy Associates with respect to the environmental aspects as part of the mitigation works in relation to the proposed Cardiff bay barrage.
Mr. David Hunt : I anticipate receiving the report of the feasibility study into the creation of a bird reserve on the Gwent levels before the end of this year.
Water Quality
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much money has been allocated in the form of loans by the European investment bank to Welsh Water for the improvement of water quality in rivers and beaches, and the upgrading of drinking water supplies in each of the last two years.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : This information is not held centrally.
Languages
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will grant funding to the Mercator project on European lesser-used languages at the University college of Wales, Aberystwyth.
Sir Wyn Roberts : We have no plans to fund the Mercator project in Aberystwyth.
A465
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will bring forward the upgrading of the A465 head of the valleys road to dual carriageway between Witworth and Abergavenny into the medium-term programme under "Roads in Wales".
Sir Wyn Roberts : The need to complete engineering design and statutory procedures means that it is unlikely that the dualling of the A465 head of the valleys road from Abergavenny to Hirwaun will start before April 1998. The position will, however, be kept under review.
Disabled Pupils
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many disabled pupils in (a) mainstream educational establishments and (b) special schools sat (i) GCSE
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O-level examinations and (ii) GCSE A-level examinations in Wales for the latest year for which figures are available ; and if he will indicate the numbers of disabled pupils obtaining (1) 10 or more passes at GCSE O-level, (2) five to 10 passes at O-level, (3) between one and five passes at O-level, (4) the number leaving school without any qualifications and (5) the number obtaining one or more passes at A- level.Sir Wyn Roberts : Information on the examination achievements of pupils with disabilities is not collected centrally.
Visual Impairment
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many visually impaired children attend mainstream schools in each local education authority areas of Wales ; and how many such children have received formal mobility training during their education.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Information on mobility training for children with visual impairments is not collected centrally.
The numbers of children in maintained primary and secondary schools who were blind or partially sighted and for whom the local education authority was maintaining a statement of special educational needs, in January 1991, are given in the table :
|Number
--------------------------------
Clwyd |78
Dyfed |23
Gwent |19
Gwynedd |14
Mid Glamorgan |13
Powys |3
South Glamorgan |24
West Glamorgan |63
|-------
Wales |237
These figures include children in bith mainstream classes and special classes units, in maintained primary and secondary schools. The figure for Powys includes one pupil educated outside of that authority. There may be a number of children with visual impairments for whom the LEA does not maintain a statement of special educational needs.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many children between the ages of five and 16 years are estimated to have visual impairment ; and if he will publish the official local education authority estimates for totals of blind and partially sighted children.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Local education authority estimates of children with visual impairments are not held centrally. Information on the total numbers of children with visual impairments for whom LEAs maintain statements of special educational needs, by local education authority, is published in table 10.04, "Pupils with disabilities, by authority, 1990- 91", of the Welsh Office publication "Statistics of Education in Wales : Schools, No. 5 1991", a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.
Computer Projects
Mr. Pendry : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a table setting out for the period since 9 April (a) each tender issued by his Department for
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projects requiring the supply of (i) computer hardware and (ii) computer software, (b) a description of the services required, (c) the number of companies which were invited to tender, (d) the number of companies which submitted a bid without prior invitation by his Department, (e) which company was awarded the contract, (f) the value of each contract and (g) the length of period over which the contract will run.Mr. David Hunt : Since 9 April, my Department has conducted only one relevant tender exercise. Three companies were invited to tender for the design and programming of a software application. No bids were submitted without prior invitation. The contract was awarded to Softa and Company Ltd. for a period of four months. Information relating to the value of the contract is commercial-in-confidence.
Quangos
Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will update the information given in "Public Bodies 1991" (HMSO) on quangos in Wales.
Mr. David Hunt : "Public Bodies 1992" is expected to be published by HMSO in January 1993 and the relevant information is now being updated.
Health Costs
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what source of information is available to Welsh health authorities as purchasers on comparative prices for standard orthopaedic operations ; what guidelines are given to health authorities in relation to baseload and marginal prices in quotation and final accounting procedures both between health authorities and within health authorities ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : Providers routinely inform their purchasers of proposed prices to inform contract negotiations. On request, they also make in-year information on prices available to purchasers. Where the service is provided, tariffs include separately identified prices for orthopaedic procedures.
Guidance on setting prices was issued to health authorities in October 1990. This emphasised that providers must price their services on the basis of full costs. Marginal costs should be used only when providers are able to offer additional services, in-year, making use of unplanned spare capacity. Activity purchased in this way should be reflected in a future year's contract on a full and not marginal cost basis.
The detailed accounting requirements which health authorities should follow in completing their annual accounts and financial returns are given in the "Health Authority Manual for Accounts".
Health Promotion Authority
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the relocation of the Health Promotion Authority for Wales from Brunel house, Fitzalan place, Cardiff ; and what (a) financial and (b) policy considerations played a part in the decision on the site for relocation.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The Health Promotion Authority for Wales moved to Brunel house in 1988 as a temporary
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measure while the authority's long-term accommodation needs were properly established. At that time the authority had between 50 and 60 staff. The authority's activities have expanded since that time and it is apparent that larger accommodation is now required. The authority has undertaken a comprehensive option appraisal of alternative premises to meet its long-term accommodation requirements. The lowest cost was selected from a short list of properties meeting the authority's requirements.AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Livestock Auctioneers
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make it his policy to prohibit the practice of livestock auctioneers keeping money for farmers from livestock sales at market on trust in bank accounts which are already overdrawn prior to the transaction.
Mr. Curry : This is not a matter for Government intervention.
Pesticides
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make it his policy to call for a world-wide ban on the use of organochlorine pesticides.
Mr. Soames : Given the diverse range of crops, pests and climatic conditions it is for each country to decide whether pesticides best meet its particular pest control and environmental needs. The use of persistent organochlorine pesticides is already prohibited throughout the European Community. The United Kingdom also protects the third world countries from the importation of hazardous pesticides by participating in the United Nations Environment Programme/Food and Agriculture Organisation's prior informed consent scheme.
Genetically Engineered Food
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the foodstuffs that have been genetically engineered which are currently on sale to the public ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Soames : The following products, produced by or containing genetically modified organisms, have been examined by the relevant expert committees advising the Government in this area and cleared for use in foodstuffs--a yeast for use in baking and three different preparations of the enzyme, chymosin, which is used in cheese manufacture. Once cleared for use, the sale of the products is a matter for the manufacturers concerned and their customers.
Data Centre for Beef
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to provide funding for the data centre for beef.
Mr. Soames : This important industry initiative has attracted considerable support. As a commercial venture with potential benefits for all producers, the board of the animal data centre should continue to look to the users for funds.
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Veterinary Investigation Centres
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the number of veterinary investigation centres, by county, in the United Kingdom in each year since 1979.
Mr. Gummer : In 1979 in England and Wales veterinary investigation centres were operating in Aberystwyth (Dyfed), Bangor (Gwynedd), Bristol (Somerset), Cambridge (Cambridgeshire), Cardiff (south Glamorgan), Carmarthen (Dyfed), Chester (Cheshire), Gloucester (Gloucestershire), Leeds (West Yorkshire), Lincoln (Lincolnshire), Liverpool (Lancashire), Newcastle (Tyne and Wear, Northampton (Northamptonshire), Norwich (Norfolk), Penrith (Cumbria), Reading (Berkshire), Shrewsbury (Shropshire), Starcross (Devon), Sutton Bonington (Nottinghamshire), Thirsk (North Yorkshire), Truro (Cornwall), Weybridge (Surrey), Winchester (Hampshire), Worcester (Worcestershire) and Wye (Kent).
In 1980, the centre at Weybridge was closed and the area it covered was divided between the Reading and Wye centres. In 1985, the centre at Liverpool was relocated to Preston (Lancashire).
In 1986, the centres at Cardiff and Northampton were closed. The areas they covered were taken over by Carmarthen and by Sutton Bonington respectively. The centres at Gloucester and Leeds were closed and the areas they covered were divided respectively between Worcester and Bristol and between Thirsk and Northallerton. In 1991, the centres at Bangor and Lincoln were closed. The areas they covered were divided respectively between Shrewsbury and Aberystwyth and between Sutton Bonington and Thirsk. The centre at Wye was closed and its area was taken over by Winchester.
This rationalisation of the service has allowed the centres to be continuously upgraded to meet the changing needs of the industry. Veterinary investigation centres in Scotland are attached to Scottish agricultural colleges and are not listed.
Milk Marketing Board
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will ensure that copies of each of the replies to the consultation paper on the future of the Milk Marketing Board are placed in the Library.
Mr. Gummer : The consultation was carried out on the basis that the consultees' views confidential. Any who wish to make their views public can do so, or will have already done so.
Computer Projects
Mr. Pendry : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish a table setting out for the period since 9 April (a) each tender issued by his Department for projects requiring the supply of (i) computer hardware and (ii) computer software, (b) a description of the services required, (c) the number of companies which were invited to tender, (d) the number of companies which submitted a bid without prior invitation by his Department, (e) which company was awarded the contract, (f) the value of each contract and (g) the length of period over which the contract will run.
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Mr. Curry : This Department has issued one invitation to tender for the supply of computer hardware and software in the period since 9 April 1992. The details are as follows : description of services--geographical information system ; number of companies invited to tender--26 ; number of companies submitting an uninvited bid--nil ; company awarded contract--ESRI (UK) Ltd.; period of contract--10 years.
The value of the contract cannot be provided as the information is confidential.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Sherry
Mr. Turner : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy at the European Council of Finance Ministers to press for a reduction in the difference in excise duties between British sherry and Spanish sherry.
Sir John Cope : At the Council meeting on 19 October the United Kingdom and Spain reached an agreement on the duties to be charged on British and Spanish sherry. The agreement provides for duty differential between the two products, to be reduced to 25 per cent. by 1 January 1996, the name "British Sherry" being discontinued by the same date.
Inheritance Tax
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the total amount of land, in hectares, affected by transfers under the conditional exemption system in each year since the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 in Wales.
Mr. Dorrell : The total area of land of outstanding scenic interest in Wales which has been conditionally exempted from inheritance tax or capital transfer tax since 1976 is estimated at 1,500 hectares. As there are only five cases benefiting from conditional exemption, the normal rules of taxpayer confidentiality prevent any further breakdown being made available.
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to require the owner of land granted inheritance tax exemptions under the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 to make public the rights of access to the general public which have been granted as a result of the inheritance tax exemptions.
Mr. Dorrell : The owner of land that has been conditionally exempted from inheritance tax or capital transfer tax is required to publicise the agreed public access arrangements. In addition, the appropriate heritage advisory agency is able to supply information about public access to heritage land including conditionally exempt land, although land will not be identified as conditionally exempt.
Mortgage Interest Tax Relief
Mr. Hendry : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the revenue forgone to income tax if MIRAS were available at a basic rate of 20 per cent. instead of the present 25 per cent., and the consequent saving.
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Mr. Dorrell : The cost of mortgage interest tax relief in 1992-93 is provisionally estimated to be £5.3 billion. If relief were available at 20 per cent. the cost would be about £4.2 billion, a reduction of £1.1 billion.
Recession
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when is his estimate of the beginning of the recession in the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement on the relative timing of the onset of the recession in the United Kingdom and other OECD countries.
Mr. Nelson : A recession is usually defined as a period of two or more successive quarters of falling output. Taking the first quarter in which output falls to be the onset of recession, following are the dates for the onset of the recessions in the United Kingdom and other OECD countries over the past two years.
Country |Date of onset of
|recession
---------------------------------------------------
United Kingdom |1990 Q3
United States |1990 Q3
Canada |1990 Q2
Australia |1990 Q2
Denmark |1990 Q4
Finland |1990 Q2
Germany |1991 Q2
Greece |1990 Q2
Sweden |1990 Q2
Switzerland |1991 Q1
Source: OECD, CSO.
Housing
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a table showing the market value and the replacement value of the private housing stock as a percentage of money gross domestic product, for each year since 1962.
Mr. Portillo : The most appropriate measure of the market value of the private housing stock for which data are available is the value of residential buildings, published in the personal sector balance sheet. The concept of replacement value of the housing stock is not clear. However, one indirect measure which might be considered is the personal sector net capital stock in dwellings at current replacement cost. Land is included in the balance sheet measure, but not in the capital stock measure. Latest estimates of these series are available on the CSO database which may be accessed through the House of Commons Library. The relevant database identifiers are :
Market value ALLN
Net capital stock EXGV
"Money GDP" CAOB
EC Budget
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the United Kingdom net contribution to the EC budget.
Sir John Cope : The latest estimate of the United Kingdom's net contribution to the European Community budget in 1992 is £2,599 million. This was published in the "Statement on the 1992 Community Budget" (Cm 1948).
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Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of EC agricultural support budget is spent in (a) Germany, (b) France and (c) Italy, respectively.
Sir John Cope : The European Commission's financial report for 1991 on the guarantee section of the European agricultural guidance and guarantee fund shows the shares of agricultural market support receipts for (a) Germany, (b) France and (c) Italy to be 16.3 per cent., 19.8 per cent. and 16.2 per cent. respectively.
Invalidity Benefit
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the savings to his Department of taxing invalidity benefit and the numbers of people who would be worse off expressed as a percentage of the total numbers of people on invalidity benefit.
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer(1) what estimate can be made of the number of people who would have an income tax liability whose sole income was invalidity benefit if invalidity benefit were liable to tax ;
(2) what would be the yield in a full year from making invalidity benefit liable to tax.
Mr. Dorrell : Provisional estimates are that the yield, at 1992-93 levels, from making invalidity benefit taxable would be about £450 million.
Some 650,000 people or almost half of those receiving invalidity benefit would have an income tax liability. Of these about 70,000 would have invalidity benefit as their sole source of taxable income.
Customs and Excise
Mr. Burns : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the reports for 1991-92 published by the executive units in Her Majesty's Customs and Excise.
Sir John Cope : The framework document "Next Steps : A Framework for Her Majesty's Customs and Excise" requires the heads of the Department's 30 executive units to provide the chairman of Customs and Excise with a report on its unit's performance annually, including against key targets, and to publish it in a suitable form. Reports for the year 1991-92 have now been published, and copies have been placed in the Library of the House.
Disabled Passengers Scheme
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to lay the appointed day order repealing the disabled passengers scheme ; what assessment he has made of the effects of its abolition on disabled people ; and if he will provide details of consultation between his Department and organisations representing disabled people prior to announcing these plans.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : I have been asked to reply.
We shall make and lay the appointed day order repealing the disabled passengers scheme shortly.
The order will ensure that current beneficiaries under the disabled passengers scheme will not lose their entitlement to exemption from vehicle excise duty as a result of the repeal.
The repeal of the scheme was announced by my right hon. Friend the Paymaster General on 7 May, in an
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answer to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Chelmsford (Mr. Burns) shortly before the publication of the Finance Bill 1992. The decision to repeal the disabled passenger scheme was taken because, as a result of new social security benefits introduced on 6 April this year, it was no longer possible to administer the scheme.HOME DEPARTMENT
London Parks (Policing)
Mr. Mackinlay : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the sums paid for the past 10 years by the Departments of the Environment and of National Heritage to the Metropolitan police for the policing of each of London's parks ; what are the sums proposed for the next financial year ; and if he will show the percentage increase, in real terms, for each year.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Hyde park is the only London park policed by the Metropolitan police service for which a charge is made to the Department of the Environment and in 1992 the Department of National Heritage. Charges are set out in the table.
From 1 April 1993 the Royal parks police will assume responsibility for policing Hyde park.
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