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Mr. Freeman : I have received representations from the National Joint Utilities Group that the regulations are unfair to the utilities in their treatment of major transport works, particularly with regard to tramways. It may be that the regulations are not satisfactory as they stand. I am arranging for the Department to undertake public consultations as soon as possible, as a basis for a further decision.
Route Guidance Systems
Mr. Jessel : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has for licensing route guidance systems in the London area ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Norris : We have received an application from GEC for a pilot licence to operate a system called TIGER--traffic information and guidance on European roads. TIGER will provide a route guidance system for London which responds to changing traffic conditions. I now
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propose to hold discussions on this proposal with the London Boroughs Associations, the traffic director and the police. The pilot Autoguide system proposed in 1989, based on the use of roadside beacons, had similar objectives. However, the technology is developing very quickly. GEC now takes the view that cellular radio is more appropriate in this case. I have therefore decided to close the 1989 competition. It is accordingly open to other potential operators to come forward with proposals for other systems based on any technology they consider appropriate.During the Second Reading of the 1989 Road Traffic Act the then Minister for Roads and Traffic assured the House that representatives of interested parties such as the local authorities and the police would be involved in the monitoring of the Autoguide pilot. I shall arrange for the establishment of an assessment group to implement this undertaking for the TIGER project if a licence is granted.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Debt Interest Payments
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the level of debt interest payments and other remittances paid to the United Kingdom by (a) African countries, (b) all developing countries and (c) other countries in each of the last 10 years.
Mr. Nelson : Receipts are paid to the Overseas Development Administration, to the Commonwealth Development Corporation, and under bilateral debt rescheduling agreements to the Export Credits Guarantee Department. The following data relate to receipts received by each agency (a) in total and (b) from African countries. There is no definitive definition between developing and other countries. Figures for ECGD and ODA are for financial years, while those for CDC are for calendar years. For 1992-93, the data for ECGD are to the end of November 1992, while the ODA has supplied an estimate of the receipts it expects for the entire year. These are the most comparable latest figures available. Producing data for earlier years would entail a disproportionate cost.
£ million |1990-91 |1991-92 |1992-93
---------------------------------------------------------
ECGD Total |371 |406 |250
of which African |292 |279 |132
ODA Total |53 |61 |42
of which African |5 |5 |1
|1990 |1991
CDC Total |134 |158
of which African |72 |55
Council Tax
Mr. Ralph Howell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the rate of VAT needed in 1993-94 to raise an equivalent amount of money to the amount raised by the council tax after taking into account expenditure savings on the costs of introducing and administering the council tax.
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Sir John Cope : The amount to be raised in council tax for 1993-94 will depend on decisions, which local authorities have not yet taken, about council tax levels. Accordingly, the calculation requested is not yet possible.
Tobacco
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the losses to the Exchequer arising from the introduction of the European single market (a) through the increased allowances on importation of EC-produced cigarettes and tobacco products and (b) through increased smuggling of cigarettes and tobacco products.
Sir John Cope : The "Financial Statement and Budget Report" published on 10 March 1992 estimated a full-year loss of £250 million from increased cross-border shopping. The bulk of this is expected to concern cigarettes and other tobacco products. It is very difficult to estimate the likely extent of smuggling.
Nuclear Power Station Closures
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect of the closure of the seven Magnox nuclear power stations on the public sector borrowing requirement.
Mr. Portillo : It is not possible to provide reliable estimates of the net effects.
Twyford Down
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what correspondence, conversations or meetings officials of his Department have held with representatives of Winchester college relating to the compulsory purchase of the college-owned area of Twyford Down ; and if he will make a statement.
Overseas Life Companies
Mr. Burns : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make an announcement about the outcome of the consultations between the life assurance industry and his officials about the taxation of United Kingdom branches of overseas life companeis authorised in his 1991 Budget.
Mr. Dorrell : Insurance industry representatives and Inland Revenue officials have held a series of meetings and significant progress was made. I am grateful to the Association of British Insurers for its constructive approach in these discussions.
Legislation in recent years has made major changes to the taxation of life insurance companies. Overseas life offices operating in the United Kingdom through branches need adaptations of the recent reforms to meet their special circumstances. But there are other equally important reasons for reforming the rules under which these United Kindom branch operations are taxed. First, many such branch operations presently have the major part of their taxable investment income determined by reference to apportionment rules which have changed little since the first world war. For a number of reasons, these have become increasingly inappropriate as a basis for measuring United Kingdom branch income. Second, in a
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number of respects, the current rules under which they are taxed lead to disparities of treatment as against the United Kingdom resident life offices. Some of these presently work to the advantage of the United Kingdom branches ; others do not. Our goal is to ensure that, as far as possible, United Kingdom life offices and the United Kingdom branch operations of foreign life offices are able to compete for United Kingdom business on terms which are not distorted by tax considerations.The main proposals are as follows :
the present apportionment rules in section 445 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 will be repealed. The branch income, gains and expenses will instead be ascertained as a matter of fact. The normal rules for measuring the taxable profits of a United Kingdom branch operation in section 11 of the ICTA 1988 will apply to all categories of life insurance business, but with two modifications to reflect the unique characteristics of life and other long term insurance business ;
where the assets held by the branch to back the life insurance policies it administers are less than the assets which a United Kingdom resident company with the same portfolio of policies would be expected to hold, income from, and gains on, assets which are held outside the branch will enter into the computation of branch profits. For the purposes of this comparison the United Kingdom branch will be treated as though it were a distinct and separate enterprise dealing at arm's length with the other parts of the company. The assets to be attributed will be those which have a particular connection with the United Kingdom branch activities. If the value of any such assets is insufficient to support a fair comparison between the United Kingdom branch and a United Kingdom life office writing the same business, a proportion of the worldwide income and gains of the overseas company will also be brought into charge to United Kingdom tax ;
the scope of Section 11 of the ICTA 1988 will be extended so that gains on assets situated outside the United Kingdom and used or held for United Kingdom branch purposes will become chargeable gains ; distributions from shareholdings in United Kingdom companies which are held as part of the branch activities will carry an entitlemenbt to tax credit. The overseas company will be able to treat distributions as though they were profits chargeable to corporation tax, against which management expenses and various other deductions can be set ;
new rules will enable the necessary figures to be established direct from the company's records where a regulatory return of the United Kingdom branch activities does not provide the information required ;
double tax relief will be available for foreign tax paid on the United Kingdom branch income of the company's long term business fund assets.
The new rules will apply for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 1993. I am today depositing a copy of the draft clauses in the House of Commons Library. Copies are also being sent to each of the companies known to be affected by the new proposals, and to the Association of British Insurers. Further copies are available on request from the Inland Revenue to whom representations on the clauses should be sent by 28 February 1993.
Civil Servants (Travel Expenses)
Mr. Burns : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what changes have been made in the rules on travel expenses for civil servants.
Mr. Dorrell : As part of our ongoing programme for delegating to departments and agencies greater responsibility for managing personnel management policies, Departments and agencies have been given the freedom to
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determine the conditions on which advances of salary to assist civil servants in the purchase of bicycles for home-to- office travel are made.European Community
Mr. Marlow : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what is his estimate of the increase in the United Kingdom's net contribution if the EC budget is increased under the Delors proposals by each multiple of £1,000 million up to £25,000 million ;
(2) what is his estimate of the net cost to the United Kingdom of the cohesion fund as proposed by the Commission for each of the years 1993 to 1997 ; and if he will make a statement on the expected benefits to the United Kingdom of agreeing to such a proposal.
Sir John Cope [holding answer 11 December 1992] : The European Council at Edinburgh on 11 and 12 December agreed a financing package for the Community for the next seven years, including the cohesion fund : this would allow an EC budget at a level of £62 billion in 1999, at 1992 prices. A copy of the conclusions of the European Council, including the details of the package, has been placed in the Library. The forecast annual addition to the United Kingdom's net public sector contribution arising from this package would be some £200 million, in 1999, above the underlying cost of Community spending given the present ceiling on own resources, estimated at £2, 800 million in 1999, all at 1992 prices. The agreement on the Community's finances at Edinburgh made possible agreements on other important issues such as subsidiarity, openness, resolution of Danish difficulties with the Maastricht treaty, a package of measures to promote European economic growth, and the enlargement of the Community.
Coin Sizes
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received recently about the size of coins now in circulation ; what weight he gives to the views of pensioners and disabled groups who may be concerned about small coins ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nelson [holding answer 14 December 1992] : A small number of representations have been received. The new, smaller 5p and 10p coins were introduced in response to public demand for a lighter coinage and followed extensive research and consultation. The views of pensioners and disabled groups were taken fully into account. The coins were given a coarse milled edge specifically to help the visually handicapped.
Inward Investment
Mr. Peter Shore : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the official estimate of United States and Japanese direct investment in the United Kingdom as a percentage of direct investment in all EC countries in each year from 1979 to the latest available date.
Mr. Lamont [holding answer 14 December 1992] : Fully comparable information on direct inward investment in the European Community from outside the EC is not available. However, the following estimates for the years 1985 to 1991 have been prepared based on the most readily available sources.
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Value of stock of direct investment in United Kingdom
as a
percentage of that in all EC countries
|United States|Japan
--------------------------------------------------------
1985 |39.4 |31.7
1986 |35.9 |31.2
1987 |35.9 |33.9
1988 |37.7 |38.0
1989 |41.0 |37.7
1990 |38.4 |40.5
1991 |36.2 |40.9
Sources:
1. United States Department of Commerce: "Survey of
Current Business".
2. Japanese Ministry of Finance: "MITI News".
High Street Banks
Mr. French : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action he intends to take as a result of his meeting with representatives of the high street banks, on 11 December ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nelson [holding answer 15 December 1992] : My right hon. Friend the Chancellor did not meet with the representatives of the high street banks on 11 December, but he plans to do so over the next few days.
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Recycling
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Chairman of the Administration Committee what progress is being made towards ensuring that all stationery of the House is produced on recycled paper.
Mr. Michael J. Martin : In June 1991, the Services Committee agreed that, in addition to stationery or archival quality, items of stationery made from recycled material should be made available to Members on a permanent basis. Since then the Serjeant at Arms has made arrangements to ensure Members are aware of the availability of this recycled range. For large orders it may be obtained from the Serjeant at Arms' stores, but where a particular local demand has been identified, it is also available from stationery cupboards. Although, for the forseeable future, there will continue to be a need for stationery of archival quality, recycled stationery is becoming increasingly popular with Members.
The Serjeant at Arms and HMSO have a continuing responsibility to monitor the development of this range of stationery and to report any significant change to the Administration Committee.
Select Committees (Travel Costs)
Mr. Hutton : To ask the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed, as representing the House of Commons Commission, what was the total expenditure for travel by members of Select Committees, divided into fares and subsistence, for each parliamentary Session since 1987-88 in (a) cash and (b) 1991-92 prices.
Mr. Beith : The information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, for the year 1991-92, the expenditure for travel and subsistence by members of Select Committees was £462, 883.68. Costs for visits by individual Committees are set out in the appropriate Sessional Returns.
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Library Research Staff
Mr. Dafis : To ask the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed, as representing the House of Commons Commission, how many research staff have been employed by the Library in each of the last 10 years ; and what plans he has to increase the numbers of Library research staff.
Mr. Beith : Numbers of research staff on the establishment of the Library in each of the last 10 years--that is, deputy assistant librarians and library clerks, including the international affairs and defence section, are set out in the table in full-time equivalents.
|Number
---------------------
1983 |22
1984 |22
1985 |22
1986 |23
1987 |23
1988 |26
1989 |27
1990 |28
1991 |29
1992 |32
These figures exclude support staff. I understand that proposals for an increase in the establishment of the research division are in preparation, and will be considered by the House of Commons Commission in accordance with its usual practice.
Advisory Committee on Works of Art
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed, as representing the House of Commons Commission, if he will set out the membership and terms of reference of the Advisory Committee on Works of Art.
Mr. Beith : I understand that Madam Speaker has appointed the following Members to the Advisory Committee on Works of Art : the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Banks), the right hon. Member for Southend, West (Mr. Channon) and the hon. Members for Stockton, North (Mr. Cook), for Staffordshire, South (Mr. Cormack), for Warley, East (Mr. Faulds), for Twickenham (Mr. Jessel), for Caithness and Sutherland (Mr. Maclennan) and for Windsor and Maidenhead (Mr. Trend).
The terms of reference of the committee, which have been approved by the House of Commons Commission, are :
to advise the Speaker generally on matters relating to works of art, including acquisitions ; and to advise the Accommodation and Works Committee on the policy on, conservation of, and curatorial management of the collections of pictures, statues, murals, historic furniture and furnishings and decorative interior of the Palace ; and advise on the decorative interiors of other buildings in the Parliamentary Estate when requested by that Committee.
Early-day Motions
Mrs. Lait : To ask the Lord President of the Council what estimate he has made of the cost within Government Departments of preparing briefing on early-day motions for Session 1991-92 and for Session 1992-93 up to the summer adjournment.
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Mr. Newton : No estimate has been made of the costs involved to Government Departments in preparing briefing on early-day motions.
Statutory Instruments
Mr. Beith : To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will set out, for each Session since 1987-88 (a) the number of motions to annul statutory instruments tabled each year, (b) the number considered in Standing
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Committee, (c) the number considered on the Floor of the House and (d) the number which were not considered, broken down in each case into those standing in the name of (i) the leader of the Labour party, (ii) the leader of the Liberal Democrats or predecessor parties, (iii) Conservative Members, (iv) other Labour Members and (v) other hon. Members.Mr. Newton : The information is set out in the table.
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Prayers 1987-88 to Summer Adjournment 1992
|1987-88 |1988-89 |1989-90 |1990-91 |1991-92 |<1>1992-93
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All |195 |151 |185 |99 |46 |7
Leader of Labour Party
Total |150 |143 |154 |92 |40 |5
Floor of the House<2> |24 |47 |17 |13 |4 |-
Committee |20 |17 |17 |13 |9 |-
Not Considered |106 |79 |120 |66 |27 |5
Leader of Liberal Democrats and predecessors
Total |18 |2 |15 |- |- |1
Floor of the House<2> |2 |- |1 |- |- |-
Committee |2 |- |- |- |- |-
Not Considered |14 |2 |14 |- |- |1
Conservtive Members
Total |21 |3 |5 |4 |3 |1
Floor of the House<2> |- |- |1 |- |- |-
Committee |- |- |- |- |- |-
Not Considered |21 |3 |4 |4 |3 |1
Other Labour Members
Total |6 |3 |7 |1 |2 |-
Floor of the House<2> |2 |1 |- |- |- |-
Committee |- |- |- |- |- |-
Not Considered |4 |2 |7 |1 |2 |-
Other Members
Total |- |- |4 |2 |1 |-
Floor of the House<2> |- |- |- |- |- |-
Committee |- |- |2 |- |- |-
Not Considered |- |- |2 |2 |1 |-
<1> Until Summer Adjournment.
<2> The number considered on the floor of the House includes those statutory instruments prayed
against and considered on the floor concerning which no Question was ever put.
Mr. Beith : To ask the Lord President of the Council when was the last occasion on which a motion to approve a statutory instrument was defeated on a Division in the House ; and when a prayer to annul a statutory instrument was last carried on a Division in the House.
Mr. Newton : The last occasion on which a motion to approve a statutory instrument was defeated on a Division in the House was 24 July 1978. The last occasion on which a prayer to annul a statutory instrument was carried on a Division in the House was 24 October 1979.
SCOTLAND
Water Privatisation
14. Mr. Norman Hogg : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many representations he has received in support of privatising the water industry in Scotland ; how many he has received opposing water privatisation ; and if he will make a statement.
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26. Mr. McKelvey : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many submissions he has received so far in the consultation on the future of Scottish water and sewerage.
31. Mrs. Adams : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received on the current consultation on water and sewerage in Scotland.
Sir Hector Monro : To date, we have received 66 responses to the consultation paper, 3,702 pre-printed postcards and 977 other representations, many of which arrived before the consultation paper was published. Detailed analysis of the responses will be completed only after the end of the consultation paper.
Agricultural Marketing Boards
15. Mr. Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries in Scotland has received about the agricultural industry marketing boards ; and what steps he intends taking to ensure the future economic prospects of the sectors of the agricultural industry involved.
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Sir Hector Monro : My Department received a number of comments both on the Scottish milk marketing boards' proposals for conversion to voluntary co-operatives and about the Potato Marketing Board. The Government's policy is to ensure that these sectors can flourish within an open and competitive structure, while retaining the best features of the existing marketing schemes where appropriate.
Transport Infrastucture (Lanarkshire)
16. Dr. Reid : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to upgrade the transport infrastructure in Lanarkshire ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Lanarkshire is a focal point in the central Scotland motorway network and is well served by the M8, M80 and M74. A £40 million extension of the M74 to Cambuslang is under construction and the M80 Stepps bypass opened to traffic earlier this year. My right hon. Friend was able to include in his recent plans major improvements to upgrade the A8/M8 route to serve new development in north Lanarkshire including the Mossend rail freight depot.
Homelessness
17. Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will estimate how many people in Scotland will be homeless on 25 December.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : A forecast of the number of homeless would be very difficult to assess at any given time. The Government are devoting very substantial resources to local authorities whose responsibility it is to deal with this problem.
28. Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has for rehousing the homeless.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The Government provide resources to local authorities so that they can carry out their statutory duty of providing accommodation, or advice and help in finding accommodation, for those assessed as homeless. These resources have included extra allocations of nearly £23 million in 1991-93.
The Government also provide funding for Scottish Homes, which issued a policy statement on homelessness on 12 November. Scottish Homes' target for 1992-93 is to secure the provision of accommodation for 1,750 households assessed as homeless by local authorities.
Hospital Treatments
18. Mr. Knox : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many (a) in-patients and (b) out-patients were treated in national health service hospitals in Scotland in the most recent year for which figures are available ; and what the figures were in 1979.
Mr. Stewart : A total of 920,144 patients were treated as in- patients in national health service hospitals in Scotland in the year ending 31 March 1992 compared with 737,816 in 1979--a 25 per cent. increase. Out-patient numbers rose to 6,005,131 in 1992 from 5, 206,078 in 1979.
Rent-to-Mortgage
20. Mr. Kynoch : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many applications are in the pipeline under the rent-to-mortgage scheme.
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Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : At 30 November 1992, a total of 618 rent-to-mortgage sales had been completed in Scotland. A further 513 applications were being processed at that date.
Governance
21. Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many public speeches he has made on the future government of Scotland since 9 April.
Mr. Lang : My concern that the future government of Scotland should reflect Scotland's needs has been a prominent theme in many speeches I have made since the general election.
22. Mr. Canavan : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects to complete his stocktaking exercise on the governance of Scotland ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lang : Our review of arrangements for the government of Scotland is progressing well and we will announce the outcome in the early part of next year.
Local Authorities (Competitive Tendering)
Mr. Gallie : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received following publication of the Scottish Office evaluation of compulsory competitive tendering for Scottish local authority services.
Mr. Stewart : My right hon. Friend has received no representations since the publication, on 19 November 1992, of the Scottish Office central research unit report "Evaluation of Compulsory Competitive Tendering for Scottish Local Authority Services".
Scottish Enterprise
23. Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement about Scottish Enterprise's budget.
Mr. Stewart : Details of the 1992-93 budget for Scottish Enterprise are published in the supply estimates. Last month my right hon. Friend announced an additional £6 million for Scottish Enterprise for 1992-93 as part of the Government's measures to help boost the economy. Details of the 1993-94 budget will be published later. My right hon. Friend announced on 2 December planned gross provision for Scottish Enterprise for 1993-94 of £441 million. In addition to that figure, local enterprise companies are expected to secure receipts from the European regional development fund next year of towards £20 million. Overall planned resources from public sources therefore exceed this year's plans.
Road Building
24. Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what criteria he uses for deciding priorities in the road building programme.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : My right hon. Friend's primary duty as roads authority for trunk roads is to cater for the needs of through traffic. Priorities are therefore to support economic activity with good, quick and reliable inter-urban road links and to provide good accessibility to all parts of Scotland.
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Cancer Clusters
25. Mr. Donohoe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 24 June, Official Report, column 258, what information he has on cancer clusters within the west of Scotland.
Mr. Stewart : At present, there are several studies being carried out to investigate whether cancer clusters might exist in the west of Scotland, but data are not yet complete.
Water Industry
27. Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what further representations he has received on his consultation on water ; and if he will place copies of all representations received on the water industry consultation document in the Library.
Sir Hector Monro : To date, 66 responses have been received to the consultation paper on water. Copies of responses will be placed in the Library following the end of the consultation period, unless respondents have specifically requested confidentiality.
Subsidiarity
29. Mr. Watson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he had on the question of subsidiarity as it applies to Scotland with the representatives of member states during the EC summit in Edinburgh.
Mr. Lang : None. The principle of subsidiarity, as defined in article 3b of the new EC treaty agreed at Maastricht, and as discussed at the Edinburgh European Council, refers specifically to the relations between the Community as a whole and individual member states. It is up to individual member states to order their own constitutional affairs at the national and sub-national level.
34. Sir Russell Johnston : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make it his policy to apply to Scotland the principle of subsidiarity set out in the Maastricht treaty.
Mr. Lang : Article 3b of the new EC treaty agreed at Maastricht, which sets out the principle of subsidiarity, refers specifically to the relations between the Community as a whole and individual member states. It is up to individual member states to order their own constitutional affairs at the national and sub-national level.
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