| Previous Section | Home Page |
Sixth Landward Licensing Round
Mr. Merchant : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the sixth landward licensing round.
Column 145
Mr. Eggar : I have today announced the conditional award of 22 new exploration licences for blocks in England, Wales and Scotland. The licences allow companies to search and drill for petroleum, subject to the requirements of the planning system and the technical approval of my Department.
Details of the awards have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
I am particularly encouraged to see in this round a strong continuing interest in coal-bed methane exploration by a growing number of companies. Most are new to the United Kingdom licensing scene, and bring valuable experience from coal-bed methane operations in the United States. The methods of working are significantly different from those used for conventional oil and gas exploration. The prospects for coal-bed methane have yet to be fully tested here, but it has been successfully developed in the United States and already represents about 17 per cent. of its recoverable gas reserves. If it can be successfully exploited here, it could represent a very valuable addition to our future energy supplies. The opportunities which we are now providing for licensees to test the prospects for coal-bed methane are therefore of especial importance. The new licences allow companies to conduct seismic operations and test drill for oil and gas subject to all necessary planning permission and landowners' or occupiers' consent and, where operations involve the penetration of coal-seams, permission from British Coal. No seismic or drilling operations will be allowed until companies have provided me with evidence that they have received any necessary permission from the mineral planning authority.
Pit Closures
Mr. Hague : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the present position with respect to licensing to the private sector pits which British Coal had planned to close.
Mr. Heseltine : British Coal is statutorily responsible for licensing coal mining and must consider applications from responsible organisations seeking licences. Under present legislation, licensed coal mining is subject to statutory limits of 150 on the numbers employed underground in deep mines and 250,000 tonnes of coal from the areas specified in the licence for opencast sites.
Of the 31 pits which British Coal had intended to close, 10 are the subject of statutory consultations, which the corporation has made clear will be meaningful. I understand that the corporation does not propose entering into negotiations for the licensing of any of these pits before the consultations are complete.
The coal review is considering the prospects of the other 21 pits British Coal has proposed to close and which are not subject to the statutory consultations. I understand that British Coal does not propose to enter into commercial discussions about licensing any of these pits before that review is complete.
Licensing any of these pits while the review is continuing would be difficult in practice against the background of uncertainty about the future prospects for the industry and the market for coal. The review is considering the opportunities for the private sector in the production of coal. Its conclusions on this aspect will be included in the White Paper to be published early in the new year.
Column 146
Decisions on any applications for licences to operate pits will be taken once the review and consultations are complete.Iraq
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what responses have been made by his Department to requests and reports received from the United Nations Special Commission of Inspection in Iraq or its executive chairman, Rolf Ekeus ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Needham [holding answer 26 November 1992] : The Government have made a significant contribution to the work of the United Nations Special Commission on Iraq as it seeks to implement relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions. In response to UNSCOM's requests we have supplied personnel for the UNSCOM inspection teams and some specialised equipment. It is not our practice to comment in detail on the information given to us by UNSCOM.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what provision he has made for the payment of bad debt on exports to Iraq of military and dual-use exports to Iraq in the period 1985 to 1990 covered by (a) short-term and (b) medium-term cover provided by the Export Credits Guarantee Department.
Mr. Needham [holding answer 26 November 1992] : ECGD does not make separate provisions against loss for particular categories of goods. ECGD made total provisions of £695.9 million in relation to Iraq business in its 1990-91 accounts. The 1991-92 accounts are currently being audited and will be laid before Parliament in January next year.
Military Exports
Mr. Morgan : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will specify what proportion of Export Credits Guarantee Department cover provided for military or dual-use exports in the period 1985 to 1990 was (a) short-term and (b) medium-term.
Mr. Needham [holding answer 26 November 1992] : It is not possible to provide figures on the basis requested, because of the way ECGD records have been structured to meet its business needs.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on claims made on (a) NCM as the potential successor company to the Export Credits Guarantee Department and (b) ECGD with respect to short-term cover on military and dual-use trade credit to Iraq in the last five years.
Mr. Needham [holding answer 26 November 1992] : Under the terms of the December 1991 privatisation of the short-term business of ECGD, NCM assumed no responsibility for the administration and payment of claims arising from any export business conducted with Iraq. That responsibility remained with ECGD.
ECGD does not maintain details of short-term claims paid or under examination categorised by type of goods. In the last five years, ECGD has paid a total of £23.2 million in respect of insured short-term export trade with Iraq. In addition, approximately £6 million of claims received are currently under examination. At this stage, it is difficult to forecast the extent to which claims paid will eventually be recovered.
Column 147
Matrix Churchill
Mr. Mackinlay : To ask the President of the Board of Trade on what date he signed public interest immunity certificates in the Matrix Churchill case.
Mr. Heseltine [holding answer 26 November 1992] : On 11 and 26 September.
Sales Promotions
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will draw up guidelines on free-flight offers to cover (a) availability, (b) hidden costs and (c) the financial collapse of any party involved in the supply of the free flight.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 2 December 1992] : No. The British code of sales promotion practice, administered by the Advertising Standards Authority, already contains guidelines covering both availability and hidden costs.
Trade associations, such as the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), require that their members have protection in place for the consumer in the event of insolvency.
Charter flight passengers are protected against financial loss by the existing air travel operators licensing (ATOL) scheme. In March 1992 the DTp announced that it would be setting up a statutory financial protection scheme to reimburse scheduled passengers in the event of an airline collapsing. The Government asked the CAA to work up details of a scheme and are currently considering its proposal.
Parcelforce
Mr. Hain : To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 2 December, Official Report, column 282, whether the uniform tariff he will maintain for Parcelforce after privatisation is inclusive of value added tax.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 11 December 1992] : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer that I gave to him on 29 October 1992, Official Report, column 784.
Coal Imports
Mr. Hain : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what information he has on the price of coal imported into the United Kingdom in (a) August, (b) September and (c) October.
Mr. Eggar [holding answer 14 December 1992] : The information requested is :
Average price of
imported coal<1>
August to October
1992
|£
----------------------
August<2> |31.93
September |33.91
October |35.12
<1> The average price
is for all grades of
coal and includes the
cost of insurance and
freight.
<2> The figure for
August 1992 has been
revised since my
previous answer of 29
October (Official
Report, column 784).
Source: Central
Statistical Office.
Column 148
Terrorism
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to the answer of 8 December from the Secretary of State for the Home Department, Official Report , column 558 , to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe, if he will be meeting the Manchester chamber of commerce and industry to discuss the problems facing owners of commercial property for whom insurance cover against terrorist attacks is becoming unavailable ; if he will list the other interested parties to which his right hon. Friend referred in his reply ; and if he will make a statement on the progress of his consideration of the representations he has received.
Mr. Neil Hamilton [holding answer 11 December 1992] : No. I have received a number of representations from industry, commerce and the insurance industry which are under consideration, but none as yet from the Manchester chamber of commerce.
Government Stock
Mr. Cousins : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the occasions instalment payments were allowed in sales of Government stock held under the control of his Department ; and if he will list the occasions when full payment of such stock was demanded.
Mr. Eggar [holding answer 14 December 1992] : For privatisation by flotation and secondary share offers held under the control of my Department or its predecessors, the occasions on which payment for shares was by instalments and those on which full payment was asked for are listed at 1 and 2 respectively of the table.
Privatisation by flotation and secondary share offers under the control of DTI or predecessor departments.
1--Payment by instalments
Britoil (1982)
British Aerospace (1985)
British Gas
British Steel
British Telecom (1984)
Eastern Electricity
East Midlands Electricity
Enterprise Oil
London Electricity
Manweb
Midlands Electricity
National Power
Northern Electricity
Norweb
PowerGen
Rolls-Royce
Seeboard
Southern Electricity
South Wales Electricity
South Western Electricity
Yorkshire Electricity Group
2--Payment in full
Amersham International
British Aerospace (1981)
Cable and Wireless
Jaguar
Sellafield
Mr. Hoyle : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what factors not considered at the public inquiry are causing the delay in starting the thermal oxide reprocessing plant at Sellafield.
Mr. Maclean : I have been asked to reply. The thermal oxide reprocessing plant cannot start the commercial
Column 149
reprocessing of oxide fuel until the Health and Safety Executive's nuclear installations inspectorate is satisfied with the safety of the plant and the regulatory authorities have no objections on waste management grounds.SOCIAL SECURITY
Social Fund
Mr. Bradley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the total administrative cost of social fund payments for the last 12- month period for which figures are available, for (a) community care grants, (b) budgeting loans and (c) crisis loans ; and if he will provide separate figures for each district office.
Mr. Scott [ pursuant to his reply, 16 November 1992, c. 75] : The latest information on social fund administration costs is for the year 1990-91 and is in the Library.
Income Support
Mr. Leighton : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will change the rules to allow income support to be backdated to the date of entitlement of disability living allowance or attendance allowance for claimants and their carers in cases where a delay of more than 12 months occurs.
Mr. Burt : Time limits form an accepted and necessary part of the social security system. It is not envisaged that claims will take more than 52 weeks to decide.
Income support may be backdated for up to 52 weeks in appropriate circumstances. We have no plans to change the current rules.
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the total cost of uprating the level of income support received by people aged 18 to 24 years to the level enjoyed by those aged 25 and over.
Mr. Burt : I refer the hon. Member to my reply to him on 9 December at column 684.
Mr. Knox : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 24 November, Official Report, column 595, if he will now show how many (a) women and (b) men were dependent upon income support in May 1991, either as claimants or as the spouses or partners of claimants ; of these totals how many (a) women and (b) men were above pension age ; and how many were below pension age.
Mr. Burt : The information is in the table.
|Numbers
----------------------------------------------------
Females dependent on income support
Total of claimants and partners |3,248
of which: under age 60 |1,909
over age 60 |1,339
Males dependent on income support
Total of claimants and partners |2,001
of which: under age 65 |1,723
over age 65 |278
Note: All figures are thousands, rounded to the
nearest thousand.
Source: Income Support Statistics Annual Inquiry
May 1991.
Column 150
Income Statistics
Mr. Knox : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish figures for the latest date available showing for people above state pension ages, the number of (a) husbands, (b) wives, (c) single men and (d) single women, with weekly incomes excluding national insurance benefit, income support, family credit, housing benefit and community charge benefit as appropriate, in the following income bands (a) under £5, (b) £5 to £10, (c) £10 to £15, (d) £15 to £20, (e) £20 to £30, (f) £30 to £40, (g) £40 to £50, (h) £50 to £60, (i) £60 to £70, (j) £70 to £80, (k) £80 to £90, (l) £90 to £100, (m) £100 to £150, (n) £150 to £200, (o) £200 to £300, (p) £300 to £400, (q) £400 to £500 and (r) over £500 respectively.
Miss Widdecombe : Information is not available in the form requested. The requested distribution was in some cases too detailed to give a reliable number of sample cases to be taken into account. Certain ranges have therefore been merged in order to ensure estimates are based on at least 20 sample cases. In addition, the nature of the survey techniques used in the family expenditure survey means that the separate incomes of husbands and wives within a couple cannot be identified reliably. The answer therefore categorises single people (male and female) and couples only. The available information is in the table.
Couples (husband over pension age) Income (£) |Thousands --------------------------------- 0-5 |422 5-10 |165 10-15 |191 15-20 |132 20-30 |198 30-40 |126 40-50 |138 50-60 |104 60-70 |78 70-80 |84 80-90 |69 90-100 |66 100-150 |246 150-200 |162 200-300 |126 300-400 |99 400+ |105 Source: Family Expenditure Survey 1988.
Couples (husband over pension age) Income (£) |Thousands --------------------------------- 0-5 |422 5-10 |165 10-15 |191 15-20 |132 20-30 |198 30-40 |126 40-50 |138 50-60 |104 60-70 |78 70-80 |84 80-90 |69 90-100 |66 100-150 |246 150-200 |162 200-300 |126 300-400 |99 400+ |105 Source: Family Expenditure Survey 1988.
Couples (husband over pension age) Income (£) |Thousands --------------------------------- 0-5 |422 5-10 |165 10-15 |191 15-20 |132 20-30 |198 30-40 |126 40-50 |138 50-60 |104 60-70 |78 70-80 |84 80-90 |69 90-100 |66 100-150 |246 150-200 |162 200-300 |126 300-400 |99 400+ |105 Source: Family Expenditure Survey 1988.
Overseas Pensioners
Mr. Shersby : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish a table showing those countries in which British state retirement pensioners are entitled to have their pensions uprated annually in the same way as if they were still residing in the United Kingdom together with the date upon which each country was added to the list of those so entitled and the cost to the taxpayer of pensions payable in those countries, for the most recent 12 month period.
Miss Widdecombe : The information is in the table. The cost of these pensions is met from the national insurance fund.
Table of overseas countries where annual pension increases are paid, the dates from which annual upratings were first applied and the total amount of pensions paid in the year ending 5 April 1992 Country |Date |Amount £ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Austria |1 October 1972 |2,647,768.71 Barbados<1> |1 April 1992 |2,126,484.85 Belgium |1 June 1958 |3,709,010.90 Bermuda |1 November 1969 |410,045.35 Cyprus |18 May 1957 |6,259,499.84 Denmark |1 January 1973 |625,728.68 Finland |1 February 1984 |127,592.06 France |5 July 1948 |9,921,921.89 Germany |1 August 1961 |17,321,235.12 Gibraltar |1 January 1973 |1,185,360.36 Greece |1 January 1981 |1,410,625.74 Guernsey<2> |4 April 1966 |-<3> Iceland |1 August 1985 |32,035.23 Irish Republic |4 April 1966 |97,353,314.10 Israel |1 November 1957 |3,328,735.96 Italy |1 May 1953 |20,613,710.35 Jamaica |1 October 1972 |28,065,731.19 Jersey |4 April 1966 |-<3> Luxembourg |1 April 1955 |93,973.05 Malta |29 October 1956 |2,367,062.26 Mauritius |1 November 1981 |246,001.42 Netherlands |1 June 1955 |3,623,387.99 Norway |1 April 1991 |351,415.42 Philippines |1 December 1989 |111,751.74 Portugal |1 October 1979 |2,599,342.84 Spain |1 April 1975 |30,553,505.04 Sweden |1 May 1988 |286,694.70 Switzerland |1 June 1954 |2,749,002.66 Turkey |1 June 1961 |321,214.32 United States of America |25 September 1969|81,974,078.39 Yugoslavia (including the newly independent former republics) |1 September 1958 |1,980,710.99 <1> Increases payable from April 1992-approval to negotiate an agreement with Barbados providing for payment of pension increases was given in 1974. <2> Including Alderney, Herm and Jethou. <3> here is no ready way of identifying the amounts paid in the Channel Islands separately from the amounts paid to pensioners in the United Kingdom.
Column 152
Housing Benefit
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the annual cost of reducing the housing benefit taper to 20 per cent. for all claimants.
Mr. Burt : We estimate that the cost of reducing the housing benefit taper to 20 per cent. for all claimants would be approximately £2 billion. Estimate based on data obtained from the 1987, 1988 and 1989 family expenditure surveys modelled at 1992-93 prices and benefit levels.
This does not include any estimate of the behaviourial effects of a 20 per cent. taper.
Mr. Simon Coombs : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what consideration has been given to paying housing benefit in respect of interest on building society top-up loans for house improvements ;
(2) what is his estimate of the annual cost of allowing claims for housing benefit in respect of interest on building society top-up loans for house improvements.
Mr. Burt : Housing benefit is payable only to meet a commercial rent liability. In income support, assistance can be given with the interest on loans that are taken out for improvements to the home's fitness for occupation providing they are reasonable in the family's circumstances. This help is available to tenants as well as owner occupiers, provided they qualify for income support.
The total amount included in income support for help with housing costs in 1991--(the latest year for which figures are available--was £949 million. No information is available separately on top-up loans for house improvements.
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many non-dependant deductions for housing benefit have been made since April 1992 ; and of these what proportion have been at (a) £4, (b) £8, (c) £12, and (d) £18.
Mr. Burt : The information requested is not yet available. Information on non-dependants since April 1992 was first collected in May 1992 and is unlikely to be available until later in 1993.
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the cost of paying housing benefit to people aged under 25 years at the full rate currently paid to people aged 25 years and over ; and what proportion this figure is of total housing benefit expenditure.
Mr. Burt : The estimated cost of paying housing benefit to people aged 18-24 at the full rate currently paid to people aged 25 years and over would be approximately £360 million .
This represents approximately 5 per cent. of the planned 1992-93 housing benefit expenditure of £7.05 billion announced by the Department in February 1992.
Note :
This estimate is based on data drawn from the 1987, 1988 and 1989 family expenditure surveys and the 1991 annual statistical inquiry modelled at 1992-93 prices and benefit levels.
Independent Living Fund
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his Department's estimate of the cost of extending the successor fund to the independent living fund to cover people over retirement age.
Column 153
Mr. Scott : The estimated cost of extending the successor fund for new cases to cover people over retirement age is £2 million in 1993- 94, £6 million in 1994-95 and £9 million in 1995-96.
Source : based upon the level of applications to the existing independent living fund.
| Next Section
| Home Page |