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As I have indicated earlier, the remaining units will mainly be handed over to other organisations and the residents will not be adversely affected by this process.If you require any further information or advice on my answers to your questions please let me know.
Disability Living Allowance
Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when Elizabeth Pinnock of 45 South Furzeham road, Brixham (NI number YM 87 30 82 A) will learn the result of her appeal against the decision to refuse her disability living allowance ; and whether any of her doctors, consultants, osteopaths and chiropracters were consulted before this decision was made.
Mr. Scott : The administration of disability living allowance is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member and a copy will be placed in the Library.
Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Anthony Steen, dated 11 January 1993 :
As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency, it is my responsibility to answer questions raised about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about Mrs. Elizabeth Pinnock's appeal against the decision to refuse her Disability Living Allowance (DLA), and whether any of her doctors, consultants, osteopaths and chiropractors were consulted before this decision was made. Mrs. Pinnock appealed against a decision to refuse her claim for Mobility Allowance (MobA) on 6 November 1991 and was notified of the outcome of the appeal on 13 December 1992. I am pleased to tell you that the review decision on her DLA claim has also now been notified to Mrs. Pinnock.
As you may be aware, adjudication officers (AOs) are independent of the Benefits Agency in their decision-making and are free to seek such medical advice as they deem necessary to make a decision. General Practitioners, consultants, chiropractors and osteopaths are all among the sources available to AOs before decisions are made. A medical report was obtained from Mrs. Pinnock's GP in pursuit of her appeal.
I am very sorry for the delay in dealing with this case and for any difficulties Mrs. Pinnock has experienced. I wrote to you in greater detail about this on 6 January 1993.
I hope that you find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report . A copy is also being placed in the Library.
Benefits, Wakefield
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the refusal rate for (a) community care grants and (b) social fund loans at the Wakefield Benefits Agency office in the 1991-92 financial year and from April 1992 to the current date.
Mr. Scott : The administration of the social fund is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefit Agency. He will write to the hon. Member and a copy will be placed in the Library.
Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. David Hinchliffe, dated 11 January 1993 :
As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency, it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to the points raised in your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about refusal rates for grants and loans at the Wakefield Benefits Agency Office. Details of refusal rates for each Benefit Agency District, for the 1991-92 financial year, are in the Library. The number of applications received and refused by each District for the period 1 April 1992 to 30 September 1992 is also in the Library. The refusal rate in Wakefield District for loans and grants for the months of October and November 1992 (the
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latest data available) is 34.5 per cent. and 78.6 per cent. respectively. I should emphasise that the vast majority of community care grant refusals are because the application fails to meet the basic criteria.I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report. A copy is also being placed in the Library.
Benefit Take-up
Mr. Amess : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when the take-up figures for the post-1988 reforms income-related benefits will become available.
Mr. Lilley : Estimates of take-up for the post-1988 income-related benefits have been published today. Copies of the report, which relates to 1989 for income support and housing benefit and 1988-89 and 1991 for family credit, have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Child Support Agency
Lady Olga Maitland : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what guidance she proposes to issue to Child Support Agency staff on the subject of the requirement on mothers to co-operate ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Burt : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security has today issued guidelines for Child Support Agency staff which describe how he wishessection 6 of the Child Support Act 1991, which deals with applications by those receiving certain benefits and includes a requirement to co-operate in some circumstances, to be applied. Copies of the guidelines have been placed in the Library. A new system of child maintenance is being introduced on 5 April, which takes the responsibility for determining maintenance away from the courts and puts it in the hands of a new Government body, the Child Support Agency. Both parents have a responsibility for the financial support of their children.
After 5 April, lone mothers who get income support, family credit or disability working allowance will be asked to give the name and other details of their child's father so that the Child Support Agency can arrange for him to pay maintenance for his child. The vast majority of lone mothers claiming income support already provide details of absent fathers although they are not yet required to do so by law. Some mothers, however, decide not to give details of the child's father. These mothers will be asked to supply information after 5 April, unless they or any children living with them would be at risk of harm or undue distress if they did so. Many mothers who receive child maintenance find that it gives them greater flexibility and more choice over the way they organise their lives, particularly as they continue to get maintenance if they go to work, and research shows that many mothers would welcome a return to work. Nevertheless, the Government recognise that in some cases a mother will have genuine fear that disclosing the name of the father to the Child Support Agency will result in a risk of harm or undue distress to her or her children. Mothers will be told, in these circumstances, that the Child Support Agency will act as a buffer between the parents so that, if they do not wish to do so, they will not have to see the child's father, and he will not be told where the mother and her children live. However, if the mother continues to believe, in spite of this, that there is a likelihood that there is a risk to her or the children, then the guidelines will be applied.
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The guidelines are not exhaustive and do not provide a definitive list of circumstances which would constitute good cause for not providing information about the absent parent. Rather, they provide guidance which staff will use to help make a decision. Each case will be considered on its merits. Child support staff will be very carefully trained, in a programme devised with the help of Relate, to enable them to deal with their clients sensitively. In general, the mother will have the right to be believed unless what she says is inherently contradictory or implausible. The guidelines also explain the rights of appeal to an independent tribunal.The same rules for child maintenance will apply in cases where the parent with care of the child is the father, and it is the mother who will be contacted to pay maintenance. In one in 10 cases, the parent with care is the father.
In addition to placing the guidelines in the Library, further copies will be available from the Department.
I understand that the Department of Health and Social Services will shortly be issuing similar guidelines for the Northern Ireland Child Support Agency.
DEFENCE
Royal Navy Ships
11. Mr. Loyden : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has further to reduce the number of Royal Navy ships ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Our plans to move to a smaller and better equipped Navy remain as set out in "Britain's Defence for the 90s". We will move to these force levels while introducing newer and more capable vessels.
Armed Forces Pay
16. Mr. Enright : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effect the armed forces pay increase announced in the autumn statement will have on morale.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The Government's policy on pay restraint applies across the public sector without exception. Service personnel recognise that they must play their part, along with other public sector workers, in keeping public expenditure under control and contributing to economic recovery.
Peacekeeping (Europe)
17. Mr. Fabricant : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about the effect of the projected deployment of infantry in peacekeeping roles in Europe on the availability of forces for other purposes.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : I am satisfied that the restructuring of the Army currently under way will deliver a balanced force that is well matched to our needs and at a level which is adequate to meet the tasks we ask it to undertake.
Industry (Communications)
18. Mr. Mark Robinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to improve his Department's communications with industry.
Mr. Rifkind : We seek continually to develop and improve communication between the Department and
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industry. Most recently, we have informed the Defence Trade Associations that, from this year, we shall be publishing annually a list of our approved equipment programmes, as an aid to industry in their forward planning.Oil Pipelines
19. Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to increase the revenue of his Department by allowing the private sector to use the oil pipelines under his control.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Spare capacity on the MoD pipeline system has, for a number of years, been let to the private sector and revenues appropriated in aid. The situation is continuously monitored by our managing agents, the Oil and Pipelines Agency, to ensure maximum returns commensurate with strategic requirements.
Bosnia
20. Mr. Simon Coombs : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the role of British forces in Bosnia.
24. Mr. Riddick : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the latest situation in Bosnia.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : I refer my hon. Friends to the answer my right hon. and learned Friend gave my hon. Friend the Member for Vale of Glamorgan (Mr. Sweeney) earlier today.
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the number and deployment of United Kingdom troops in Bosnia.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : There are currently some 2,500 British troops deployed to Bosnia Herzegovina as part of the United Nations protection force.
Trident
21. Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his latest estimate of the life of the Trident submarine programme.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The Trident force is planned to enter service progressively from the mid-1990s and will provide the United Kingdom's strategic nuclear deterrent capability until well into the next century.
Defence Spending (Scotland)
22. Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he next intends to visit Scotland to look at the implications there of reductions in defence spending.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : My right hon. and learned Friend frequently visits Scotland and gives regular consideration to the effects of reductions in the defence programme there, as he does for all parts of the United Kingdom.
Scottish Regiments and Battalions
23. Mrs. Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received on the review of Scottish regiments and battalions ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Archie Hamilton : I refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. and learned Friend gave the hon. Member for Banff and Buchan (Mr. Salmond) earlier today.
Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty
25. Mr. Lewis : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with regard to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : We take appropriate opportunities to discuss issues related to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty with those countries already party to the treaty, and to urge the few remaining countries who have not acceded to do so.
Defence Contracts
26. Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the nationality of all the companies given contracts for small arms and bullets in the last three years.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : In addition to companies based in the United Kingdom, companies from the following countries have been awarded contracts for small arms and bullets in the last three years : Austria
Belgium
France
Germany
Norway
Portugal
Sweden
Switzerland
United States of America
27. Mr. Burns : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the proportion of British defence contracts placed with British companies.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : In order to achieve the best value for money, wherever possible, we place contracts by means of open competition. British companies have proved highly competitive to the extent that, over the past five years, we estimate that 91 per cent. of defence equipment expenditure was spent with United Kingdom firms.
28. Mr. William O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for improving the living quarters for armed forces in Cyprus ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Two hundred new houses are currently under construction throughout the sovereign base areas. These will replace 35- year-old prefabricated married quarters. It is planned to start construction of a further 96 married quarters in the eastern sovereign base areas in 1993. Two old barrack blocks in the eastern sovereign base area are scheduled for demolition and replacement by modern style single living accommodation for 150 ; construction is planned to start in 1993. In addition, the Defence Land Agent is steadily improving the stock as better properties become available.
Warship Orders
29. Mr. Beith : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will make a statement about future plans for ordering warships and auxiliary vessels.
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Mr. Archie Hamilton : Further orders for warships and auxiliary vessels are planned including type 23 frigates, a replacement for the type 42 destroyers, mine counter-measures vessels and new amphibious ships. Further orders for support ships are also planned.
Departmental Property
Mr. Raynsford : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the properties within the responsibility of his Department which are currently empty in the London borough of Greenwich.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : As at 30 September 1992, the latest date for which figures are available, there were 118 vacant service married quarters in the London borough of Greenwich out of a stock of 646. The majority of these are reserved for families returning from overseas within the next two months while others are undergoing or awaiting major maintenance work or modernisation.
In addition, 39 married quarters were in the process of being sold, 30 of these to a housing association at a discount in return for nomination rights for personnel who will be leaving the services over the next few years.
ENVIRONMENT
House Renovation Grants
Lady Olga Maitland : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has for changes to the house renovation grant system ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir George Young : As I explained to my hon. Friend the Member for Langbaurgh (Mr. Bates) in my reply of11 January, during recent months it has become clear that the present renovation grant system is placing increasing financial pressure on a growing number of local authorities, mainly because of the demands of mandatory grants. I have concluded that there is a need to take a further thorough look at the operation of the system, in particular to examine whether it offers the best structure for investing the resources that are likely to be available in future years. Accordingly, my Department will shortly be issuing a consultation paper setting out possible options for change. I shall want to consider very carefully the views expressed by local authorities and others in response to this document.
On 17 December 1992, I announced the resources which we are making available in 1993-94 to support the local authorities expenditure on renovation grants, on other aspects of private housing renewal and on dealing with defective housing. I am pleased to say that, taken together with authorities increased spending power receipts next year, these provide for higher total expenditure than in the current financial year.
On 22 December my officials wrote to the local authority associations consulting them on the amendment regulations to give effect to the changes to the renovation grant system that I announced on 16 July 1992, Official Report, column 1047. These changes will be implemented from 1 April this year. Among other things, these involve adjustments to the means test which will enable more help to be given to low income applicants, a limit of £50,000 on mandatory renovation grants and revised cost limits for minor works assistance and group repair schemes.
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These changes are being made without prejudice to further revision of the system, possibly including adjustments to the means test to target resources even more tightly on the poorest households, that I may decide to make for 1994-95 onwards as a result of the review.TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Research and Technology
Mr. Wigley : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make it his policy to terminate the application of attribution in relation to projects in research and development in the United Kingdom which have been granted EC funding.
Mr. Leigh : The DTI does not normally provide top-up funding to those organisations who have secured European Community R and D funding. EC R and D grants have already been set at a level which takes into account the need for the research projects to be completed successfully. I have no plans to change this policy.
The key need in research and development funding is to continue to avoid duplication, by ensuring that Community programmes complement, and are complemented by, our domestic programmes.
Toy Imports
Mr. Cox : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the total value of toys imported into the United Kingdom from China in each of the last five years.
Mr. Needham : Figures prior to 1988 are not available on a comparable basis due to the revision of the standard international trade classification. The available information is given in the table.
United Kingdom imports of toys<1> from
China
|£ million
-------------------------------------------
1988 |92.4
1989 |136.1
1990 |159.1
1991 |192.1
Jan-Oct 1992 |221.9
<1> Toys are defined as heading 894.2 of
the Standard International Trade
Classification (revision 3).
Source: Overseas Trade Statistics of the
United Kingdom.
Kazakhstan
Mr. French : To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what plans he has to negotiate a trade agreement between the United Kingdom and Kazakhstan ;
(2) what plans he has to meet trade delegations from Kazakhstan ; (3) what plans he has to increase the amount of trade between the United Kingdom and Kazakhstan.
Mr. Needham : Trade between the United Kingdom and Kazakhstan comes within Community competence and, under the United Kingdom presidency of the EC, my Department has played a leading role in securing agreement on a mandate for partnership and co-operation agreements with the republics of the former Soviet Union. Negotiations with Kazakhstan on such an agreement are expected to begin early this year. On a bilateral basis
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negotiations are now beginning between the United Kingdom and Kazakh authorities on an investment promotion and protection agreement--IPPA.No officially sponsored trade delegations are expected in the near future but as recently as last November my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade met Vice-President Asanbaev during his visit to London.
My Department intends to build on this visit and on that made by President Nazarbaev in November 1991. The section of the Department that dealt with the former Soviet Union has now been split up and enlarged to provide a separate section on Transcaucasia and central Asia, including Kazakhstan. This new section already provides British companies with information about economic conditions and specific business opportunities and supports them in the market, in which it works closely with the British embassy recently opened in Alma Ata.
Renewable Energy
Mr. Stern : To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what discussions his Department has had with the European Commission about lifting the 1998 time limit for the non-fossil fuel
obligation--NFFO--as it relates to renewable energy sources ; (2) what representations he has received regarding the impact of planning delays on the viability of waste-to-energy schemes included under the 1991 NFFO renewable order.
(3) how many waste-to-energy schemes are included under the 1991 NFFO renewables order ; and how many such schemes have (a) received planning consent, (b) failed to receive planning consent and (c) not applied for planning consent.
(4) what role renewable energy schemes, including waste-to-energy, have in achieving Government targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Mr. Eggar : The Government believe that renewable sources of energy can make an important contribution to limiting greenhouse gas emissions. We are currently working towards a figure of 1,000MW of new renewable energy generating capacity in 2000. The Renewable Energy Advisory Group has recommended that the Government should underwrite a floor level of 1,500MW of new renewables in the United Kingdom by the year 2000. This recommendation is under consideration. The Government are considering targets for the specific use of waste to generate energy against the background of the Government target of recycling 50 per cent. of recyclable household waste by the year 2000.
There are 42 waste to energy schemes including landfill gas, in the 1991 NFFO renewables order. Planning consents for such schemes are a matter for the generators who put them forward.
Representations about the effect of planning delays on waste to energy schemes have been received from Cory Environmental and from the hon. Gentleman. I am unable to comment on Cory's application for consent for a waste to energy station at Belvedere as I am acting in a quasi-judicial capacity.
Discussions are in progress with the European Commission on the question of support of renewables beyond 1998.
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European Space Agency
Ms. Primarolo : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the British companies carrying out work in connection with the European Space Agency in order of the value of the contract concerned.
Mr. Leigh : On the basis of the most recent information available, the total value of contracts awarded by the European Space Agency--ESA--to United Kingdom companies in the three years between 1989 and 1991 amounted to the equivalent of 323,194,715 ecu European currency units. More than 100 United Kingdom companies received contracts from ESA in this period and the following table lists those who were awarded contracts with a total value of more than 850,000 ecu.
Value of contracts awarded by the European Space Agency to
United Kingdom companies 1989-91
Company |Value ('000 ecu)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
British Aerospace |126,815
Matra Marconi Space UK |56,438
Serco Ltd. |19,077
Logica Ltd. |11,260
Avica |7,921
Marcol |6,491
Vega Space Systems |5,596
Royal Aerospace Establishment |4,769
Sira Ltd. |4,388
Science Systems |4,244
IGG Component Technology |3,629
Dowty Electronics Ltd. |2,658
Spur Electron Ltd. |2,324
GEC Research Ltd. |2,296
Satellites International Ltd. |2,158
Plessey Ltd. |1,975
STC Technology |1,875
ERA Technology |1,714
Rutherford Appleton Laboratory |1,653
European Space Tribology Lab |1,590
English Electric Valve Co. |1,560
Pilkington |1,521
Ferranti Ltd. |1,356
Martin Baker Aircraft Co. |962
Brunel University |959
COM Dev Europe |870
Other UK companies |44,097
|----
Total |323,195
Ms. Primarolo : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on United Kingdom participation in the European Space Agency.
Mr. Leigh : The United Kingdom will continue to participate in the European Space Agency on the present basis. Our most recent initiative within the agency's activities, which I announced on 26 November, 1992, Official Report, columns 818-19, has been to take a major share in a new earth observation programme, Envisat-1, approved by European Space Agency Ministers at their meeting in Granada on 9 and 10 November, 1992.
BAe Space Division
Ms. Primarolo : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the effects for the United Kingdom technology base of the Matra/Marconi takeover of the BAe space division.
Mr. Leigh : British Aerospace has discontinued discussions with potential purchasers or partners for its
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