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guidance was that some items and services which the previous guidance had indicated would normally attract high priority would now attract medium priority.Social Fund budgets are closely monitored and Newham District received an increase of £49,525 to its loans budget in November. There are no plans to increase the grants budget of this District. I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy of this letter will appear in the Official Report. Copies are also being placed in the Library.
Day Centres
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the reasons why individuals on invalidity and sick benefit are entitled to claim re-imbursement for travel to health service day centres but not to local authority day centres.
Mr. Yeo : I have been asked to reply.
There are statutory arrangements to provide help with the travelling expenses necessarily incurred by National Health Service patients on income support, family credit or low income when they attend a hospital for treatment, including attendance at day hospitals. Local authorities have discretion to charge for the day and domiciliary services they provide, including transport to day centres. In doing so they should have regard to the service user's means and ability to pay.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION
Tropical Timber
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been received at the recent preparatory committee from Governments of tropical countries concerning the expansion of the International Tropical Timber Agreement to encompass timber from all forest types ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : A few tropical timber countries represented at the preparatory committee proposed that the agreement should be extended to include non-tropical timber. No formal proposal for such an extension was put forward by tropical timber countries as a whole.
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what commitments have been made by the United Kingdom in relation to the International Tropical Timber Organisation's targets and guidelines.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : As a member of the International Tropical Timber Organisation we are committed to playing our part in achieving the target of the year 2000 for all internationally traded tropical timber from sustainably managed forests and assisting in the implementation of the International Tropical Timber Organisation's guidelines on sustainable management and biodiversity.
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much funding has been contributed by the United Kingdom Government to the administrative and special accounts of the International Tropical Timber Organisation since 1987 ; and what is the Government's overall budget for matters related to the International Tropical Timber Organisation.
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Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Our contributions to the International Tropical Timber Organisations administrative account which are annually assessed in United States dollars are :
|$
---------------------
1987 |58,466
1988 |59,895
1987 |66,411
1986 |74,601
1985 |98,602
1984 |86,358
The sterling equivalent of the 1992 payment was £49,500. In addition we also make payments on a case by case basis to projects under ITTO's special account. In the United Kingdom financial year ending 31 March 1992 we contributed £213,000.
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the steps taken by the Government (a) to investigate the feasibility of forest monitoring, timber tracing and product labelling of timber from well managed forests and (b) to monitor the level of imports into the United Kingdom of tropical timber from sustainably managed and environmentally benign and socially beneficial sources.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We provided finance to ITTO to carry out an initial study of the feasibility of labelling based originally on a proposal from Friends of the Earth. We are supporting work on incentives which might be introduced at local level in Ghana to ensure sustainable forest management. We are also offering the Soil Association help to finance the preparation of draft standards for tropical forest management as part of its work on timber certification in association with the Forest Stewardship Council. More work needs to be done on the design and establishment of labelling, certification and monitoring systems before it would be practicable to introduce import monitoring of tropical timber as proposed.
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been received by the Government from representatives of the timber industry concerning the renegotiation of the international tropical timber agreement ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Representations have been received from the National Hardwood Association of the Tropical Timber Federation.
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what evidence he has of a relationship between tropical deforestation rates and population growth.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The relationship is complex. To improve our knowledge and understanding of the linkages we have commissioned a programme of research through the University of Bradford.
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the recent preparatory committee to renegotiate the international tropical timber agreement.
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Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The recent Preparatory Committee provided for an initial exchange of views on the possible elements of a renegotiated agreement which will be pursued at a further meeting in Quito, Ecuador next January.
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been received by the Government from non-governmental environmental organisations concerning the inclusion of timber from all forest types under the international tropical timber agreement.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Representations have been received from the World Wide Fund for Nature and Friends of the Earth.
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the agreement reached at UNCED regarding the trade in forest products.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : In the forest principles agreed at UNCED, it was decided that trade in forest products should be based on non-discriminatory and multilaterally agreed rules and procedures consistent with international trade law and practices.
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps have been taken by the Government to review the progress made in implementing the international tropical timber agreement 1983 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : In preparation for the renegotiation of the ITTA, the ODA, in co-operation with other interested Departments and EC member states and in consultation with interested non-governmental organisations and the relevant trade federation, have been assessing progress on the implementation of the agreement to date.
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are being taken to ensure that commitments made at the UNCED concerning the conservation of the world's forests are promoted through the United Kingdom Government's contribution to the renegotiation of the international tropical timber agreement.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : In the renegotiation of the ITTA, we are pressing for the inclusion of the relevant elements of forests principles agreed at UNCED to be incorporated into the agreement.
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to expand the mandate of the work of the International Tropical Timber Organisation to deal with timber trade from all forests.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We have no such plans but we are prepared to consider proposals put forward formally by the ITTO tropical timber producing countries.
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on the prices received by developing countries for their exports of mahogany, iroko, meranti, ramin, sapele and kertuing timbers and timber products since 1985.
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Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The prices received by developing countries fluctuate with market conditions and variations in quality and the specification of the timber product. They are quoted in a range of currencies. In recent years the trend has been for trade in value added goods--eg moulding, and window frames to increase.
The following indicative figures have been supplied by the Timber Trade Federation.
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O
|c|Prices FoB per year|c|
|1985 |1986 |1987 |1988 |1989 |1990 |1991 |1992
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
African Mahogany (£) |209 |229 |247 |212 |256 |275 |260 |280
Iroko (£) |170 |161 |162 |155 |233 |290 |233 |252
Sapele (£) |250 |270 |274 |256 |275 |327 |302 |306
Brazilian Mahogany ($US) |450 |610 |625 |560 |795 |810 |720 |655
Meranti (Malaysian $) |706 |735 |862 |870 |1,350|1,195|1,395|1,391
Kertuing (Malaysian $) |285 |328 |466 |640 |580 |600 |760 |686
Ramin (Malaysian $) |904 |1,112|1,412|1,034|1,327|1,600|1,632|1,303
Cameroon
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what overseas development aid is given to Cameroon by either Britain or the EC ; and what plans he has to reduce it because of the Cameroon Government's policies.
Mr. Lennox Boyd : Britain's aid programme to Cameroon in the current United Kingdom financial year is £3.2 million, focused on forestry and education. EC aid for 1992 is 49.5 mecu (£37.5 million), devoted to rural development, the environment and roads, of which the United Kingdom share is 8.1 mecu (£6.14 million). We are keeping the situation under review in consultation with other major donors.
Leningrad Model Farm
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 19 June, Official Report, column 695 , if he will make a further statement on progress on setting up a model farm in the Leningrad Oblast.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd [holding answer 3 December 1992] : Following a visit to Russia from 23 July to 2 August 1992, the Agricultural Development and Advisory Service (ADAS), in close consultation wih the St. Petersburg Agrarian university, has drawn up a business plan for the establishment of a privatised model farm in the Leningrad Oblast. The plan has been submitted to the mayor of St. Petersburg. We await his reactions.
Russia
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to provide specialist advice from the know-how fund on the establishment of co-ownership housing schemes in the Russian federation.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd [holding answer 3 December 1992] : Know-how fund (KHF) assistance to Russia concen-trates on four priority sectors : energy, small business development, food distribution and production, and financial services. The establishment of co-ownership housing schemes falls outside these sectors. We have no plans to change this policy.
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All-Russia Fund
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what financial and technical assistance he has made available to the all-Russia fund for the promotion of individual flats ; and if he will make it his policy to provide the all-Russia fund with expert legal, financial and policy advice from appropriate agencies and companies in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd [holding answer 3 December 1992] : We have provided no financial and technical assistance to the all-Russia fund for the promotion of individual flats and we have no plans to do so.
Humanitarian Needs Assessments
Sir David Steel : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessments of humanitarian needs have been conducted by his Department, the European Community and the United Nations in respect of Albania, Bosnia and Croatia for the next six months ; what were the results of those assessments ; and what funding his Department will provide to meet estimated needs.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd [holding answer 20 November 1992] : In Albania an assessment of food needs was made by the European Community in June 1992. As a result the EC agreed further food aid of £28 million, bringing total EC food aid in Albania to £84 million. The United Kingdom contribution to this is £12 million. It is estimated that the latest grant, together with assistance pledged by other donors, should be sufficient to satisfy food requirements up to spring 1993. In addition bilaterally we have contributed £1.5 million to needs identified by various NGOs between September 1991 and November 1992. The EC, United Nations and United Kingdom are also monitoring the situation in northern Albania where there are reports of extensive loss of life following recent floods.
In Bosnia and Croatia, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has taken the lead in assessing needs and co-ordinating the international community's response to the crisis. In September they estimated that total requirements for humanitarian relief for all of the former Yugoslavia from September 1992 until April 1993 were approximately $1 billion ; and they appealed for $434 million (£287 million) to meet the highest priority needs. We have responded by providing more than £70 million of which £41 million has been channelled through the EC and over £29 million bilaterally. Virtually all of this has been
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used in Bosnia and Croatia but specific figures by country are not available. The UNHCR continues to keep assessments under review.NATIONAL FINANCE
Self-regulatory Organisations
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the self-regulatory bodies overseeing the banking, insurance and pensions institutions and the number of organisations affiliated to each.
Mr. Nelson : The investment business activities of banks, insurance and pensions institutions are regulated under the Financial Services Act by the Securities and Investments Board, the Life Assurance and Unit Trust Regulatory Organisation, the Investment Management Regulatory Organisation and the Securities and Futures Authority. Latest available information on the total number of firms regulated by each body and the numbers falling within the specified categories are as follows :
|Total |Banks |Life offices |Pensions scheme
|members
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SIB |79 |12 |6 |-
LAUTRO |640 |- |226 |-
IMRO |1,248 |52 |8 |162
SFA |1,342 |203 |- |-
Note: Firms can be regulated by more than one body.
Financial Services
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward proposals to establish a statutory body to monitor the financial services industry.
Mr. Nelson : No. Many of the statutory functions under the Financial Services Act are exercisable by the Securities and Investments Board.
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proposals he has to amend the Financial Services Act 1986 to increase protection for savers.
Mr. Nelson : I have no plans to do so.
EC Membership
Sir Thomas Arnold : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will set out in real terms United Kingdom receipts and expenditure arising from EC membership in each year since 1972.
Sir John Cope : The United Kingdom's gross expenditures (after abatement and negotiated refunds) to, and public sector receipts from, the European Community budget in constant 1991 prices for the years 1973 to 1991 are given in the table.
£ million 1991 prices
Year |Gross contributions|Public sector
|after abatement and|receipts
|refunds
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1973 |1,055 |460
1974 |908 |761
1975 |1,364 |1,587
1976 |1,603 |1,025
1977 |2,240 |1,118
1978 |3,679 |1,435
1979 |3,832 |1,572
1980 |3,332 |1,923
1981 |2,654 |1,943
1982 |3,071 |2,062
1983 |3,432 |2,408
1984 |4,047 |3,055
1985 |5,313 |2,726
1986 |3,862 |3,070
1987 |5,334 |3,067
1988 |4,380 |2,697
1989 |5,111 |2,441
1990 |4,991 |2,339
1991 |3,309 |2,765
Note: Figures are taken from relevant statements on the Community budget,
converted to constant 1991 prices using the GDP deflator at market prices.
Drugs
Mr. Richards : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total value of drugs seized in the United Kingdom for the year 1991-92.
Sir John Cope : In the year 1991-92, the value of drugs seized by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise was £354.87 million.
Drugs Seizures
Mr. Richards : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total value of drugs seized at Welsh ports by customs officers in 1991-92.
Sir John Cope : In the year 1991-92 the value of drugs seized at Welsh ports by customs officers was £3.6 million.
Sundry Payments Account
Mr. D. N. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what costs relating to hon. Members have been paid out of account HMT 121655999P since 1979 ; and for what purpose the account is held.
Mr. Nelson : Account HMT 121655999P is a sundry payments account. It is not possible to check records as far back as 1979. However, a check has been made of all records back to 1989. Apart from a payment of £4,700, to Peter Carter-Ruck and Partners, the only payments from this account which relate to hon. Members are for the purchase of minor items of stationery for Ministers' offices, which over the three years from 1989-90 to 1991-92 amounted to some £289. Payments in the current year to date amount to £54.
Inland Revenue
Mr. Onslow : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action he has taken to ensure that the Inland Revenue "Investigations Interview Manual", filed in the Library under reference 8177, is sufficiently widely available to all those who need professional access to it.
Mr. Lamont : The version currently issued to trainee inspectors is available from the Inland Revenue at Room 3, New Wing, Somerset House, London WC2R 1LB. I have today placed a copy of this version in the Library.
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Inheritance Tax
Mr. Burns : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what inheritance tax changes are proposed for the new London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange.
Mr. Dorrell : The only market makers who qualify for inheritance tax business relief and the option to pay inheritance tax on business assets by interest free instalments at present are those on the stock exchange. New regulations will be made to extend these reliefs with effect from 23 March 1992 to traders performing similar functions in relation to financial futures and options on the London international financial futures and options exchange.
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the average value of inheritances in (i) Pendle, (ii) Lancashire and (iii) England for each year since 1985.
Mr. Baldry : I have been asked to reply.
The average value of inheritances other than of surviving spouses and excluding all inheritances of under £1,000 in England in the years 1985 to 1989 is estimated at £14,700. Figures for individual years are subject to too large a margin of uncertainty to be meaningful. Information about inheritances in Pendle and Lancashire is not available.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Fisheries Pollution
Ms. Walley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he will take to apply the income from fines imposed on those who pollute water to the restoration of polluted fisheries.
Mr. Maclean : I have been asked to reply.
Revenue from fines imposed by the courts is not available to the National Rivers Authority. The authority is however already able to recoup from those responsible the cost of dealing with polluted incidents and, where appropriate, to apply the costs to the restoration of affected fisheries.
HEALTH
Subfertility
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the availability of treatments for subfertility through the NHS ; and what action she is taking to ensure the provision of a comprehensive service.
Mr. Sackville : The national health service provides a wide range of treatments for subfertility. Decisions about the resources to be made available for these services must be left to individual health authorities as they are in the best position to determine priorities in the light of local needs and circumstances.
Advice is available to health authorities and clinicians in two recent publications :
(a) The "Effective Health Care Bulletin" on management of subfertility, published for the NHS
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Management Executive by a consortium of Leeds and York Universities and the Research Unit of the Royal College of Physicians. ((b) The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists publication "Infertility--Guidelines for Practice".
Copies are available in the Library.
Hospital Waiting Lists
Mr. Cann : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the accuracy of the waiting list information on the numbers waiting for hospital treatment.
Mr. Sackville : Individual hospitals are responsible for the accuracy of waiting lists. To assist in this, last year, the Royal College of Surgeons issued good practice guidance on waiting list management to clinicians and the Department of Health issued complementary guidance to managers.
Community Care
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons she had decided not to exemplify a distribution based on the present standard spending assessment with the elderly residential component fully calculated and the resulting population redirected to originating authority using the national health service central register origination data as a basis for assumptions regarding the distribution of community care funding after April 1993.
Mr. Yeo : It was not considered appropriate to do so.
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 30 November, Official Report, column 77, if she will indicate what proportion of the further additional funding for community care support and other service costs for 1993-94 is expected to meet each of the identified elements.
Mr. Yeo : Authorities have differing priorities for their allocation of the community care special transitional grant and it would not be appropriate to give a break down of the allocation of the additional £140 million.
Home Helps
Mr. Nigel Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the percentage increase in the number of home helps in England from 1979 to 1992.
Mr. Yeo : The latest available information shows that the number of home helps (whole time equivalents) rose from 44,600 in September 1979 to 53,450 at 30 September 1991. This represents an increase of 20 per cent.
Private Ambulance Services
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to introduce regulations to govern the operation of private ambulance services ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : I have no such plans.
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Wessex RHA (Dr. Cox)
Mrs. Ann Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will require the Wessex regional health authority to publish the full text of the statement made by the authority on Friday 20 November in connection with its employment of Dr. Cox.
(2) what conditions were imposed by the Wessex regional health authority on Friday 20 November, in deciding to allow Dr. Cox to return to work at the Royal Hampshire county hospital.
Dr. Mawhinney : The conditions imposed by the Wessex regional health authority in deciding to allow Dr. Cox to return to work at the Royal Hampshire county hospital were set out in the authority's statement issued on 20 November 1992.
Homeless Mentally Ill
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in the implementation of the initiative announced in July 1990 for tackling the problem of the homeless mentally ill in London ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Yeo : Considerable progress has been made. Four short term hostels have been opened and two more will open during 1993, providing 73 places in all. A further 77 hostel places are planned for the next phase of the initiative.
Five community psychiatric teams have been established. The work of the teams and client outcomes are being evaluated independently. The indications are that the teams have been effective in making contact with severely damaged individuals who have had little or no previous contact with psychiatric services. Numbers of contacts to date are estimated at 1,700.
The Housing Corporation has undertaken to secure up to 750 move on places for mentally ill people in re-lets of existing housing association stock and new-build, ranging from independent single units to more supported shared accommodation.
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