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Mr. Nelson : Under existing legislation the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry may appoint inspectors to investigate suspected insider dealing. Prosecutions may be brought by or with the consent of the Secretary of State or the Director of Public Prosecutions. These arrangements are carried forward in the Criminal Justice Bill, currently in another place, which seeks to amend the law on insider dealing.
EC Budget
Sir Teddy Taylor : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement explaining the differences in the basis of calculation of the latest estimate of the United Kingdom's net Budget contribution to the EC in the pamphlet "Britain in Europe" and his statement to the House of 27 October, Official Report, column 572.
Sir John Cope : The estimate of £2,599 million given on 27 October was, as stated, that published in the "Statement on the 1992 Community Budget", Cm 1948, June 1992. This took account of the United Kingdom's gross contribution, public sector receipts and abatement received in 1992 in respect of 1991. The estimate of the United Kingdom's net contribution in 1992 of £1.7 billion given in the pamphlet "Britain in Europe" takes account of the latest information on the United Kingdom's gross contribution, receipts to both the public and private sector and abatement in respect of contributions and payments made in 1992. This gives a better indication of the underlying level of the budgetary implications of Community membership for the UK as a whole.
Parcelforce
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state the legal basis on which the activities of Parcelforce are exempt from VAT.
Sir John Cope : Supplies of postal services by Parcelforce are exempt under group 3 of schedule 6 to the VAT Act 1983.
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Industrial Subsidies
Mr. Betts : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish details of subsidies in both monetary and real terms given to (a) agriculture and (b) mining for each year since 1979-80, including the latest forecast for 1992-93 and the estimates for 1993-94, for both industries in total and also for both industries on the basis of the amount of subsidy per worker.
Mr. Portillo [holding answer 18 November 1992] : The tables provide figures only for central Government subsidies to agriculture from 1979-80 to 1991-92, and grant aid to the coal industry from 1979-80 to 1992 -93. It is not possible to forecast the level of agricultural subsidies in 1992-93 and 1993-94, as expenditure depends to a considerable degree on unpredictable conditions. On mining, it is not possible to provide figures for the element
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of the external financing limit for 1993-94 published in the autumn statement which will be grant aid until decisions have been taken in the light of the coal review.However, it should be made clear that a direct comparison of levels of subsidy to both industries cannot be inferred from the tables below. This is because both receive subsidies in addition to those funded from Government expenditure. In the case of agriculture, additional subsidies are provided by consumers, who pay higher food prices due to the guaranteed price support system of the common agricultural policy, though these cannot be quantified with any accuracy. In the case of the coal industry, additional support has been provided for British Coal through the high margins, over and above world market prices, that the electricity generators pay for their coal supplies from the corporation. Under present contracts, which have been operating since April 1990, this assistance has amounted to about £1 billion a year.
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|c|Table 1. Agricultural subsidies 1979-80 to 1992-93|c|
Year |Subsidy monetary £ |<1>Subsidy real £ |<2>Total workers |Monetary subsidy |Real subsidy worker
|million |million |'000 |worker £ |£
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1979-80 |677 |1,568 |740 |915 |2,219
1980-81 |1,012 |1,982 |726 |1,395 |2,730
1981-82 |972 |1,736 |710 |1,370 |2,445
1982-83 |1,433 |2,388 |706 |2,030 |3,382
1983-84 |1,717 |2,734 |700 |2,453 |3,906
1984-85 |1,710 |2,591 |693 |2,467 |3,739
1985-86 |2,162 |3,108 |693 |3,120 |4,485
1986-87 |1,444 |2,010 |684 |2,110 |2,939
1987-88 |1,630 |2,151 |665 |2,451 |3,235
1988-89 |1,380 |1,698 |657 |2,100 |2,584
1989-90 |1,258 |1,452 |644 |1,953 |2,255
1990-91 |1,910 |2,042 |642 |2,975 |3,180
1991-92<3> |2,086 |2,086 |628 |3,322 |3,104
1992-93<4> |n/a |<5>n/a |621 |n/a |n/a
<1> Real subsidies are shown in 1991-92 prices.
<2> Total number of workers, farmers, partners, directors and working spouses.
<3> 1991-92 expenditure figures are provisional.
<4> No comparable figures available until the publication of Agriculture in the United Kingdom by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries
and Food in January 1993.
<5> 1992-93 work force figure provisional.
Sources: 1979-80 to 1986-87: Annual Review of Agriculture 1984-88.
1987-88 to 1991-92: Agriculture in the United Kingdom 1989-1991.
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|c|Table 2. Grant aid to the coal industry 1979-80 to 1992-93|c|
Grant per worker
Year |Grant £ million|Real<1> |Total workers |Monetary £ |Real £
|Monetary |('000)<2>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1979-80 |266 |616 |295 |902 |2,088
1980-81 |269 |526 |294 |915 |1,789
1981-82 |623 |1,112 |279 |2,233 |3,985
1982-83 |600 |998 |266 |2,256 |3,751
1983-84 |1,335 |2,126 |246 |5,427 |8,642
1984-85 |2,614 |3,962 |222 |11,775 |17,847
1985-86 |1,126 |1,618 |180 |6,256 |8,988
1986-87 |1,492 |2,078 |142 |10,507 |14,633
1987-88 |972 |1,283 |117 |8,308 |10,966
1988-89 |468 |576 |105 |4,457 |5,485
1989-90 |7,371 |8,509 |85 |86,717 |100,105
1990-91 |234 |250 |74 |3,162 |3,378
1991-92 |526 |526 |58 |9,069 |9,069
1992-93 |127 |<3>122 |n/a |n/a |n/a
<1> Real grants are shown in 1991-92 prices.
<2> Total employees of British Coal and subsidiaries in September for 1979-80 to 1983-84 and in March for
1984-85 onwards.
<3> 1992-93 work force numbers not yet known.
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Taxation
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will update his answer of 17 December 1991 to the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, East (Mr. Brown), Official Report, column 121, to provide similar estimates of the burden of direct and indirect taxes for the years 1991-92 and 1992- 93 ; and if he will publish any revisions for earlier years.
Mr. Dorrell [holding answer 20 November 1992] : Although the 1991 family expenditure survey has now been published, estimation of the effects of the community charge on tax burdens requires further analysis of the data. I will write to the hon. Member with updated estimates as soon as this extra work has been carried out.
Company Car Tax
Mr. Mills : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what date he plans to announce his conclusions on the reform of company car tax ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Dorrell [holding answer 20 November 1992] : It is normal to announce details of major income tax changes in the Budget statement.
Premium Bonds
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the total net receipt to Her Majesty's Treasury arising from premium bonds since the inception of the scheme.
Mr. Nelson [holding answer 20 November 1992] : The balance outstanding as at end-October 1992 was £2.549 billion.
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consideration he has given to increasing the top prize in premium bonds to £1 million.
Mr. Nelson [holding answer 23 November 1992] : The prize structure is kept under review. I have no present plans to make any changes.
Unemployment
Mr. Hain : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the sensitivity of his public sector borrowing requirement forecast for 1993-94 to an increase of unemployment of (a) 0.3 million, (b) 0.5 million and (c) 0.7 million.
Mr. Portillo [holding answer 23 November 1992] : The effect of an increase in unemployment on the public sector borrowing requirement depends on a large number of factors and assumptions, and cannot be reliably estimated. Estimates of the direct effect on expenditure on unemployment benefit, income support, housing benefit and community charge benefit are set out in figure 25 of DSS departmental report, Cm 1914.
Value Added Tax
Mr. Hardy : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will reconsider the arrangements which lead to the imposition of VAT upon charges incurred in the care of
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the dependent elderly ; and if he will seek to ensure that the United Kingdom is permitted such fiscal relief through derogation from the EC sixth VAT directive.Sir John Cope [holding answer 23 November 1992] : The United Kingdom has always exempted from VAT the supply of services by a person registered or enrolled in any of the medical or paramedical registers. The provision of care by a local authority or charity otherwise than for profit is also exempt from VAT. Domiciliary care and domestic help supplied on a commercial basis is in principle liable to VAT at the standard rate subject to the turnover of the supplier exceeding the small trader registration threshold. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has no plans to seek any amendment of the law. The EC sixth VAT directive contains no provision for derogations of the type suggested by the hon. Member.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Aujeszky's Disease
Mr. Morley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has consulted pig breeders' associations on the use of remaining funds raised through the Aujeszky's disease levy.
Mr. Soames : Pig industry representatives have explored various possibilities in discussion with my officials. But, as I informed industry organisations last week, it has been decided to use the remaining funds to support the continuing input necessary to maintain freedom from disease.
Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the current situation with respect to Aujeszky's disease.
Mr. Soames : The last outbreak of Aujeszky's disease in Great Britain was in October 1989 and freedom from the disease was announced in May 1991. New animal health trade rules, designed to protect Great Britain's freedom from Aujeszky's disease, have now been agreed by the Community. We are satisfied that these will continue to protect our disease -free status.
Fisheries Council
Mr. Booth : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the outcome of the Fisheries Council held in Brussels on 23 November ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Curry : I chaired this meeting of the Council. The Under- Secretary of State for Scotland, my hon. Friend the Member for Dumfries (Sir Hector Monro), represented the United Kingdom. The Council reached agreement on the general guidelines for the multi-annual guidance programmes to be set for 1993-96. These envisage cuts of up to 20 per cent. in demersal fleets, cuts of up to 15 per cent. for beam trawlers and a freeze in the size of pelagic fleets. Forty to 45 per cent. of the necessary cuts can be made by effort reductions. The detailed arrangements are to be agreed by the EC structures committee.
The Council agreed the arrangements for tariff quotas and suspensions for 1993. The 1993 support prices had already been agreed in principle prior to the Council.
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The Council also discussed some of the main elements in the Commission's proposal for a replacement to the basic regulation for the common fisheries policy. There was general endorsement of the principle of relative stability and the need to continue the special access arrangements agreed in 1983, including the Shetland box. There are to be further expert discussions with a view to reaching final agreement on a new regulation at the December Council.Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
Mr. Ralph Howell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make it his policy for a total figure for the number of confirmed BSE cases to be deposited in the House and updated regularly.
Mr. Gummer : I have arranged for the cumulative total of confirmed BSE cases for each county or region in Great Britain to be placed in the Library of the House on a regular basis.
Set-aside Land
Sir Patrick McNair-Wilson : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish details of the amount of agricultural land currently being taken out of cultivation under the EC set-aside policy in each of the member countries.
Mr. Curry : The latest information available to this Department on the amount of land currently set aside in EC countries is set out. This covers only the voluntary five-year set-aside scheme which was introduced in 1988 and which is now closed to new entrants. New set-aside arrangements come into effect on 15 December, but it is not possible at this stage to say how much land will be set aside in 1992-93.
|c|Estimated area of land in five year set-aside
scheme|c|
|Hectares
---------------------------------------------------
United Kingdom |150,854
Germany (excluding former GDR) |367,977
Netherlands |29,606
Belgium |873
France |266,575
Ireland |1,766
Spain |84,087
Greece |250
Italy |608,705
Luxembourg |90
Denmark |5,520
|-------
Total |1,516,303
Notes: Includes 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1991 intakes
into the five year set-aside scheme except for
Greece-1989 only-Denmark-1990 only-and Spain and
Italy-1991 not available. United Kingdom figures
exclude 1991 withdrawals from 1988 intake. Former
GDR land entered in the scheme in 1990 and 1991
estimated at 704,083 hectares.
Group Marketing Grants
Mr. Tyler : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what sums have been awarded, and to what groups, under his Department's Ministry's group marketing grant scheme since 1 April.
Mr. Curry : The Ministry is responsible for administering the group marketing grant in England. Since the
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scheme began in April we have approved nine applications--to a total value of £170,482. The majority of these have been for first phase feasibility studies which may well lead in due course to further awards. It is not our practice to give details of individual groups without their agreement.Common Agricultural Policy Reform
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he proposes to make a statement on the package of positive payments to encourage environmentally friendly activities included within common agricultural policy reform.
Mr. Curry : We propose to develop a new nitrate reduction programme especially where this is necessary to protect drinking water sources, a new scheme to encourage organic farming, a new scheme to reduce livestock numbers where this will be environmentally beneficial, measures to increase the environmental benefits of set-aside and payments to manage land for public access and recreation. Details of these proposals will be issued for consultation this winter. They are in addition to plans to introduce a series of new environmentally sensitive areas.
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he plans to announce the detailed implications and administrative arrangements resulting from common agricultural policy reform.
Mr. Curry : We have been providing information to farmers as quickly as possible as the detailed arrangements for implementing CAP reform have been agreed. All registered arable farmers were sent a booklet in September which set out detailed guidance on the operation of the reformed arable regime. Agreement has just been reached on the implementing regulation in the sheepmeat sector. Agreement has been reached on the integrated administration and control system regulations, but the detailed implementing rules have yet to be finalised.
Sand Dredging
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will place in the Library copies of reports held in his Department of the effects on the marine ecology of offshore sand dredging.
Mr. Curry : Progress reports on an investigation by the Ministry's directorate of fisheries research into the effects of aggregate dredging on the marine ecology are included in aquatic environment monitoring reports Nos. 26 and 30, copies of which are in the Library. Studies currently under way, funded in part by the Crown Estates Commissioners, are investigating the rates at which marine life re-colonises a dredged area. A copy of the report will be placed in the Library once this work is completed.
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information his Department holds on the impact of offshore sand dredging on coastal erosion and deposition.
Mr. Curry : Applications to dredge marine aggregates, including sand, are subject to a process known as the Government view procedure which is operated in England by the Department of the Environment. The process includes the commissioning of studies to ascertain the
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effects that the proposed dredging would have on the coastline. Consultations take place with all interested Government Departments--including the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food--coast protection authorities and other interests. An application will not proceed unless there is a favourable Government view overall. The individual studies carried out are based on the best scientific and research information available, and should provide an adequate safeguard in relation to the potential impact of offshore dredging on coastal erosion and deposition.Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the locations where his Department has been consulted in relation to offshore sand dredging in each of the last 10 years ; for which sites he has given a positive response ; for which sites he has given a negative response ; and what estimates he has of the annual tonnage of sand that has been extracted from each working site.
Mr. Curry : The table shows the areas in respect of which applications were made to the Crown Estates for marine aggregate extraction licences in the period 1982-91, and the response finally given by this Department in each case. Some of these applications are still subject to consideration under the procedure. Information on quantities extracted each year are not made public by the Crown Estates for reasons of commercial confidentiality.
|c|Summary of Government views of marine aggregate licence|c|
|c|applications 1982-91|c|
Location of |MAFF View
Application to
Crown Estate
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1982
Mersey |Favourable
Conwy |Favourable
1983
Southwold |(Withdrawn)
South Goodwins |Favourable
Hilbre Swash (Bristol Channel) |Favourable
East of Isle of Wight |Favourable
Off Great Yarmouth |Favourable
Bristol Channel |Favourable
1984
South Goodwins |Favourable
1985
North Goodwins |Favourable
Brighton |Favourable
The Knoll (Clacton) |Unfavourable
1986
Owers Bank (Seaford) |Favourable
Off North Wales |(Withdrawn)
South Goodwins |Favourable
1987
Great Yarmouth |Favourable
1988
Southern North Sea |Discussions continuing
Nash Bank (Bristol Channel) |Favourable
Holme Sand (Bristol Channel) |Favourable
North Goodwins |Favourable
South East of Isle of Wight |Discussions continuing
1989
North Goodwins |Favourable
Cross Sands (Lowestoft) |Discussions continuing
Long Sand (Thames Estuary |Discussions continuing
Barley Picle (Great Yarmouth) |Discussions continuing
Black Deep (Thames Estuary) |Discussions continuing
Southwold |Discussions continuing
1990
Helwick Bank |Favourable
Southwold |(Withdrawn)
Shoreham |Discussions continuing
Off Selsey |Discussions continuing
North Goodwins |(Withdrawn)
Maplin |Discussions continuing
Outer Bristol Channel |Discussions continuing
East Nab (Isle of Wight) |Discussions continuing
1991
Owers (Shoreham) |Discussions continuing
Off Southwold |Discussions continuing
East Nab (Isle of Wight) |Discussions continuing
Off Great Yarmouth |Discussions continuing
North Dowsing (Humber) |Discussions continuing
Baggy Point (Bristol Channel) |Discussions continuing
Suckler Cow Premium
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make it his policy to pay the maximum permitted levels of national supplements to the suckler cow premium.
Mr. Curry : No. As a result of common agricultural policy reform, premium rates for both suckler cows and male beef animals will rise significantly between now and 1995. In view of this, we have decided that for 1993 onwards, we should pay the EC-funded rate.
Food Promotion
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the food promotion budget level allocated by his Department in each of the last five years ; and if he will publish the equivalent figures for France and Germany.
Mr. Curry : The Government grant to Food From Britain in the last five financial years was :
|£ million
------------------------------
1987-88 |4.1
1988-89 |4.2
1989-90 |4.5
1990-91 |4.5
1991-92 |4.5
The expected level for 1992-93 is £4.8 million.
The equivalent body in Germany, CMA, has over this period been funded entirely by levies on the food and agricultural industries, with no Government grant. The equivalent body in France, SOPEXA, has been partly funded by the French Government. The amount of grant was 250 million francs in 1991 : information on other years is not readily available.
Ethyl Alcohol and Oilseed Rape
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress has been made in the United Kingdom in cultivating ethyl alcohol or oilseed rape for use as fuel ; and what support such cultivation obtains from his Department.
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Mr. Curry : The processes to produce ethanol from wheat, for use as a petrol substitute, and to produce biodiesel from rape seed are known and proven. Wheat production is supported through the intervention price, while rape seed producers receive area-based payments. From 1993 harvest, both crops will receive area-based support through the new arable crops support scheme whether grown for food or non-food use and will also be eligible for the set-aside payment when grown under contract on set-aside land for industrial use, including fuel production.
Cod Fishing
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will reverse his ban on allowing Lowestoft fishing boats, over 10 m, to catch cod for the rest of the year ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) if he will make a statement about the newly announced North sea cod fishing ban ; if this represents a change of policy ; and what has been the influence on his decision of the take-up of the Scottish cod fisheries quota ;
(3) if he will make a statement on the impact, scope and enforcement of his ban on North sea cod fishing on the fishing fleet of Lowestoft.
Mr. Curry : United Kingdom quotas are divided between various industry groups in accordance with a methodology agreed with the industry. This closure applies to the non-sector vessels--that is, to all vessels over 10 m overall length not in membership of a producer organisation which manages its own sectoral quota for North sea cod. It is necessary because the latest landing statistics indicate that the non-sector vessels allocation of North sea cod has now been exhausted, and for no other reason. The fishery cannot be re-opened to non-sector vessels, as to do so would result in other groups, which still have fish to catch, being prejudiced. The closure will be enforced in the normal manner by British sea fishery officers.
Bacteria
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what commission his Department paid to NCIMB Ltd., in respect of the national collections of industrial and marine bacteria.
Mr. Curry : Under two five-year agreements which expire at the end of this financial year, this Department will have made a contribution of £1,591,183 towards the work of the National Collections of Industrial and Marine Bacteria (NCIMB) Ltd.
Destructive (Imported) Animals Act
Mr. Morley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what use his Department has made of the Destructive (Imported) Animals Act 1932 to ban the keeping of non-indigenous species ; and if he will list the species concerned.
Mr. Soames : The provisions of the Destructive (Imported) Animals Act 1932 have been used by Agriculture Ministers to prohibit the importation and keeping of musk rats, grey squirrels and non-indigenous rabbits and to prohibit the keeping of coypu. The keeping of mink on offshore islands, with some exemptions, and part of the Scottish mainland is also banned.
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Flags of Convenience
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many Dutch fishing vessels sailing under flags of convenience have (a) area VII beam trawl pressure stock licenses and (b) area IV beam trawl licenses.
Mr. Curry [pursuant to his reply, 19 October 1992, c. 93] : As at 9 October four Dutch-owned or largely Dutch-owned United Kingdom- registered fishing vessels hold area VII beam trawl pressure stock licences. Two of these also hold area IV beam trawl licences and a further 13 have area IV beam trawl licences only.
Abattoirs
Mr. Morley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many people are employed in abattoirs in England, Scotland and Wales.
Mr. McLoughlin : I have been asked to reply.
The latest available information on regional employment for abattoirs is from the 1989 census of employment and is given in the table.
|c|Estimated number of
employers in
employment in
abattoirs<1> at|c|
|c|September 1989.|c|
|Number
-----------------------
England |9,000
Scotland |1,200
Wales |300
<1>Activity heading
4121 of the standard
industrial
classification 1980.
PRIME MINISTER
Engagements
Sir Peter Tapsell : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 24 November.
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 24 November.
Mr. Newton : I have been asked to reply.
My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister is attending a lunch, given by the Lord Mayor and the Corporation of the City of London to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Her Majesty the Queen's accession to the throne.
Former Prime Ministers
Mr. McMaster : To ask the Prime Minister what has been the extent of the special financial allowance available in the past 10 years to former Prime Ministers ; what measures are in place to ensure that these allowances are not used for political or personal purposes ; and if he will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : The special financial allowance to assist former Prime Ministers to meet the additional office costs they incur because of their special position in public life was not available before 1 April 1991. Payments totalling £88,956 were made from the allowance for 1991-92 and payments in the first seven months of 1992-93 total £67,840.
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Payments from the allowance are subject to the same scrutiny and controls as other payments from voted moneys.Nuclear Test Veterans
Mr. McMaster : To ask the Prime Minister when the study by the National Radiological Protection Board into the effects of radiation on veterans of British nuclear tests will be published ; and if he will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : The study is being undertaken by the National Radiological Protection Board in conjunction with the Imperial Cancer Research Fund. Both are independent organisations and it would be inappropriate for the Government to interfere with the conduct of the study. A report will be published as soon as practically possible.
Mr. McMaster : To ask the Prime Minister what are the terms of reference of the study by the National Radiological Protection Board into the effects of radiation on veterans of British nuclear tests ; and if he will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : A copy of the first report by the National Radiological Protection Board, including its terms of reference, is in the Library of the House. The updated study includes, I understand, the following changes in scope and methodology : follow-up work on all test participants to 1 January 1992, an increase of two years ; a sample emigration check ; examination in detail of a sample of about 200 participants to see whether a pattern emerges between incidence of disease and the tasks performed, trades and professions and location at time of detonation.
Parliamentary Private Secretaries
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Prime Minister if he will publish the current list of parliamentary private secretaries and the Minister to whom each is attached.
The Prime Minister : The information is as follows :
Department |Minister |Parliamentary
|Private Secretary
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Agriculture |Minister for |James Paice
| Agriculture
|Minister of State |Douglas French
Defence |Secretary of State |Henry Bellingham
|Minister of State for |Roger Gale
| Armed Forces
|Minister of State for Defence|Stephen Milligan
Education |Secretary of State |Matthew Carrington
|Minister of State |David Evennett
Employment |Secretary of State |Julian Brazier
|Minister of State |Derek Conway
Environment |Secretary of State |Peter Thurnham
|Minister for Housing |Dr. Charles Goodson-Wickes
| and Planning
|Minister for Local |David Evans
| Government and
| Inner Cities
|Minister for the |Jacques Arnold
| Environment and
| Countryside
Foreign and |Foreign Secretary |David Martin
Commonwealth |Minister of State |Hartley Booth
|Minister of State |Malcolm Moss
|Minister of State |George Kynoch
Overseas Development |Parliamentary |Mark Robinson
| Under-Secretary
Health |Secretary of State |Keith Mans
|Minister of State |Patrick Thompson
Heritage |Secretary of State |Anthony Steen
Home Office |Home Secretary |Phillip Oppenheim
|Minister of State |Emma Nicholson
|Minister of State |David Wilshire
Chancellor of the |Chancellor |Ian Taylor
Duchy of Lancaster
/OPSS
Law Officers |Attorney General |Tim Devlin
Northern Ireland |Secretary of State |Michael Brown
|Minister of State |Jerry Hayes
|Minister of State |Jonathan Evans
Prime Minister's Office |Prime Minister |Graham Bright
Privy Council Office |Lord Privy Seal |Andrew Mitchell
|Lord President |John Marshall
Scotland |Secretary of State |Simon Coombs
Social Security |Secretary of State |Piers Merchant
|Minister for Social |Michael Bates
| Security and the
| Disabled
|Three Parliamentary |Ian Bruce
| Under-Secretaries
Trade and Industry |President of the Board of |Richard Ottaway
| Trade
|Minister for Energy |Simon Burns
|Minister for Industry |Dudley Fishburn
|Minister for Trade |Andrew Rowe
Transport |Secretary of State |Graham Riddick
|Minister of State |Bowen Wells
Treasury |Chancellor of the |William Hague
| Exchequer
|Chief Secretary |David Amess
|Paymaster General |Dr. Ian Twinn
Wales |Secretary of State |John Bowis
|Minister of State |David Tredinnick
Libya
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Prime Minister if he will now consider advising the relevant bodies of the United Nations to lift sanctions against Libya.
The Prime Minister : There can be no lifting of sanctions until Libya has complied in full with United Nations Security Council resolutions 731 and 748.
Bacteria Collections
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on Government support for the National Collections of Industrial and Marine Bacteria.
The Prime Minister : The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has, since 1983, provided financial support for the National Collections of Industrial and Marine Bacteria. This support, provided under an agreement with the company, ends in March 1993. The possibility of providing further support for an additional year is currently under consideration.
Column 583
Tobacco
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Prime Minister what arrangements are in place to co-ordinate the policies of the Department of Health and the Department of Trade relating to tobacco and tobacco imports ; and if he will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : There are links at both ministerial and official levels.
Alcohol and Drug Abuse
Mr. Michael : To ask the Prime Minister what arrangements have been made by Government Departments, individually or jointly, for funding existing residential projects for alcohol and drug misusers from April 1993.
The Prime Minister : If eligible, people entering such projects from April 1993 will be entitled to income support from the Department of Social Security, including a residential allowance. People will have their charges met by the relevant local authority if they are assessed as needing residential care. A total of £635 million will be made available in 1993-94 to local authorities in Great Britain in recognition of their new community care responsibilities. We have announced that guidance to local authorities will reflect the particular circumstances of projects for alcohol and drug misusers.
Funding for special needs housing schemes sponsored by housing associations, including those relating to the provision of accommodation for people with alcohol and drug-related problems, will continue to be provided by the Department of the Environment through the Housing Corporation.
The Home Office will maintain its contribution to the running costs of those residential projects that reserve bed spaces for offenders with alcohol and drug problems.
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