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Column 701

Written Answers to Questions

Thursday 11 February 1993

ENVIRONMENT

Attercliffe Study

Mr. Betts : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what alternative sources of funding are available for the initiation of the Attercliffe study, following the ending of the urban programme.

Mr. Robin Squire : Urban programme and urban development corporation resources have been used to fund the Attercliffe study. The study is now complete and the recommendations are being considered by Sheffield city council and its partners.

Derelict land grant, city grant--both to be absorbed into the proposed urban regeneration agency--urban development corporation and European regional development fund resources may be available for those schemes which meet the relevant grant criteria and also have sufficient priority when considered alongside other schemes. In addition, the recent relaxations on use of capital receipts should enable Sheffield city council to assist such schemes from its own resources.

Deposit Bond Bank Schemes

Ms. Corston : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many deposit bond bank schemes are currently in operation in England and Wales ; and what is their location.

Mr. Baldry : This information is not held by the Department.

Refugees (London)

Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list for each London borough the latest actual and budget figures he has for expenditure on (a) housing, (b) education and (c) social services resulting from the acceptance by that borough of refugees to the United Kingdom ; and if he will also list for each London borough the amount of specific grant allowed by his Department for this purpose.

Mr. Robin Squire : The information on actual and budgeted expenditure is not available centrally. Details of a special grant payable in 1992-93 to local authorities in respect of displaced persons from the former Yugoslavia are set out in the "Special Grant Report (No. 5)" which the House approved on 3 February.

Disabled People (Council Tax)

Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what estimate he has made of the number of disabled persons in each council tax band B to H


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inclusive who are likely to be eligible for a disabled person's discount ; and what is the estimated cost of this discount for each band B to H, and in total for England ;

(2) what estimate he has made of the number of disabled persons living in dwellings valued in council tax band A who would be eligible for a discount if their dwelling were valued in any other band.

Mr. Howard : Figures are not available for the number of dwellings in each band likely to benefit from the reductions for disabilities scheme.

Urban Priority Areas

Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 4 February, Official Report, column 243, if he will name the external researchers referred to in his answer ; and if he will give a full timetable for consultations on the methodology to be used for the review of urban priority areas.

Mr. Robin Squire : The external researchers are the Centre for Urban Policy Studies, Manchester university. We will circulate shortly a paper by the researchers proposing a methodology to be used in analysing census data to the local authority associations and voluntary organisations. Given the technical complexity of the subject, we will seek to give as much time as possible for them to respond.

Special Needs Housing

Mr. Nigel Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has for the funding of special needs projects currently funded by the Housing Corporation ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Baldry : Expenditure plans for 1993-94 include provision of £96.6 million for the revenue funding of special needs projects by the Housing Corporation. Most of this provision relates to projects which are currently receiving funding from the corporation.

Mr. Nigel Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to ring-fence the current financial regime governing special needs projects ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Baldry : Revenue funding for special needs projects is provided by my Department through the special needs management allowance paid to housing associations by the Housing Corporation. Provision for this programme in 1992-93 is £95 million, specifically for supporting the housing management costs of associations operating in the field of special needs accommodation. Funding for 1993-94 will include provision for an additional 3,000 SNMA bedspaces, the majority of which will receive capital funding from the corporation's approved development programme. In addition, the ADP will provide funds for 1, 500 units of special needs accommodation not requiring support from SNMA.

Mr. Nigel Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to encourage special housing authorities being formed and run by disabled people ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Baldry : My right hon. and learned Friend has no plans to encourage the formation of such organisations.


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The Housing Corporation currently supports about 250 housing associations which provide accommodation for a range of special needs, including the needs of disabled people.

Council Tax

Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate he has made of the number of council tax payers eligible for a second homes discount in each band, and in total, for England ; and what is the estimated cost of the discount for each band and in total.

Mr. Howard : The table shows the estimated number of dwellings which may be subject to two council tax discounts. The majority of these will be second homes. Local authorities will not be setting their council taxes until the spring ; we have no estimate of the cost of the discounts that might apply to second homes.


Band                |Number of dwellings                    

                    |('000s)                                

------------------------------------------------------------

A                   |126                                    

B                   |78                                     

C                   |88                                     

D                   |59                                     

E                   |40                                     

F                   |25                                     

G                   |25                                     

H                   |9                                      

                    |---                                    

Total for England  450                                      

Local Government Finance

Mr. David Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what arrangements he intends to adopt to allow local authorities continued borrowing during 1993-94 to cover the collection of outstanding arrears of 1990-91 and 1991-92 community charges ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Redwood : During this year community charge collection has improved significantly, and it is essential that authorities continue to make every effort to collect all outstanding unpaid community charges. To assist authorities we are prepared to consider, in response to an application by an authority, granting an increase in its aggregate credit limit for 1993-94 to cover those unpaid 1990-91 and 1991-92 community charges which it expects to collect during 1993-94. This will enable such an authority to continue to borrow to cover these debts pending their collection during the course of next year.

Mr. Channon : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the 16 local authorities he referred to on 3 February, Official Report, column 342 which will receive a special grant to compensate them since their standard spending assessment is more than 5 per cent. lower than under the old basis of estimating ; and if he will quantify the money each of the 16 local authorities will receive.

Mr. Redwood [holding answer 9 February 1993] : The "Special Grant Report (No. 5)", which was laid before the House on 28 January 1993, sets out the authorities to which population loss grants are to be paid, and the amount of each grant. These are listed :


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                 |£              

---------------------------------

Bracknell Forest |690,257        

Richmondshire    |426,440        

Wokingham        |321,846        

Rutland          |189,768        

West Oxfordshire |160,569        

Three Rivers     |139,901        

Colchester       |135,501        

Purbeck          |131,493        

North Kesteven   |118,575        

North Shropshire |80,988         

Milton Keynes    |69,099         

Tendring         |66,819         

City of Oxford   |48,818         

East Yorkshire   |38,250         

Wealden          |35,790         

Surrey Heath     |20,050         

Local Authority Housing Investment

Mr. Jenkin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what further conclusions he has reached following his consultation exercise on the development of the local authority housing investment programme process.

Sir George Young : Last May, my Department launched a major consultation exercise on the further development of the local authority housing investment programme process. The consultation paper made proposals designed to improve the way in which housing resources are used and to stimulate the involvement of local people in this process. It was suggested that local authorities should prepare new strategies covering the full range of housing activities in their area. It was also proposed that decisions on the initial allocation of Housing Corporation funding should be co-ordinated with local authorities' housing strategies for each area and recent trends in the allocation of HIP resources, designed to promote better value for the money spent through housing capital programmes, should be developed.

Interim decisions on these matters, covering points which it was necessary to settle in time for the 1992 HIP round, were issued in July, Official Report, 10 July 1992, column 384. We have now reached conclusions on the framework for the HIP process in 1993 and later years.

Our view is that the HIP process should develop progressively in a flexible manner, which allows scope for the differing circumstances of authorities and the developing housing policies of both local and central Government. To facilitate this, we intend to invite all housing authorities to draw up annual housing strategy statements in which each authority describes the needs and resources for housing in their area, and the plans and programmes which the authority has for addressing them. Housing strategies should be developed in consultation with the Housing Corporation, housing associations, the private housing sector, both rental and owner occupied, house builders, the voluntary sector, tenants groups and other interested parties. They should encompass all relevant functions and resources of the authority in a corporate approach.

Alongside this, we intend to build on this year's success in co-ordinating the arrangements for the HIP and the Housing Corporation's approved development programme processes. We have reaffirmed our view that there is a role for a significant element of discretion in the


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allocation of HIP resources, including a primary allocation criterion based on the efficiency and effectiveness of authorities in meeting housing need. And in particular we have reached the view that the statistical index used in the allocation of HIP resources-- the generalised needs index or GNI--should be comprehensively reviewed, with special reference to the year-on-year stability of the index. In the spring, the Department will issue guidance to local authorities on the preparation of housing strategy statements and the submission of HIP bids for 1994-95.

I have now asked officials to take forward discussions on the practical implications of these decisions with the local authority associations, the Housing Corporation, the National Federation of Housing Associations and other interested parties, as appropriate. I have placed in the Libraries of the House copies of a note which gives more detail of the decisions we have taken.

Sheltered Housing

Mr. Wareing : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received in respect of his Department's consultation document to local housing authorities proposing the transfer of the care element of the warden service in sheltered housing from housing revenue accounts to social service budgets ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Baldry [holding answer 10 February 1993] : Last September my Department issued a consultation document proposing temporary legislation, to be included in the Housing and Urban Development Bill, enabling local housing authorities to provide welfare services for their tenants and to account for the costs in their housing revenue accounts if they wish. These powers would avoid disruption and uncertainty in the wake of the Ealing judgment. The consultation document explained that the powers were intended to be temporary because it is the Government's intention that the housing revenue account should be a landlord account, and that welfare services should be accounted for elsewhere.

My Department received approximately 130 representations widely welcoming these powers, but many suggested that welfare services should continue to be provided by housing authorities as part of the housing service, or at least until local government reorganisation was complete. We have made it clear that no decisions will be taken on whether or when to withdraw these powers until a further, full consultation exercise has taken place.

I am issuing this further consultation paper today, and I have arranged for copies to be placed in the House Libraries. The paper is being sent to all local authorities and other interested parties, setting out proposals for the longer-term funding and provision of welfare services for tenants of local housing authorities. The paper proposes that housing authorities should retain the temporary powers, at present being considered as part of the Housing and Urban Development Bill, to provide these services for their tenants, until the current review of local government is completed. It also sets out options on which services might be excluded from the housing revenue account and on timing. We will take no decisions until we have considered what consultees have to say. Whatever


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longer-term arrangements are then decided on, we will ensure that there will be no disruption to services for tenants.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales will also be issuing a consultation paper on these issues shortly.

SOCIAL SECURITY

Blepharospasm

Mr. Conway : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what provision his Department makes for sufferers of the condition blepharospasm ; and of he will make a statement.

Mr. Scott : A wide range of benefits is available to sick and disabled people, including sufferers of blepharospasm, provided that they meet the conditions of entitlement. Information about benefits is available from the Benefits Agency in leaflets and through confidential free telephone advice lines.

Pensions

Mr. Caborn : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish figures estimating the cost of reintroducing earnings uprating for the retirement pension and other linked benefits beginning in April 1996, giving annual figures in 1992-93 prices over a 10-year period.

Miss Widdecombe : The information is not available in the form requested. However, a comparison between the cost of earnings uprating of benefits and that of prices uprating of benefits from 1990-91 to 2050-51 can be made by referring to tables 13 and 14 of the "National Insurance Fund Long Term Financial Estimates--Report of the Government Actuary on the Second Quinquennial review under Section 137 of the Social Security Act 1975" published in July 1990 as HC 582.

Disability Benefits

Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will take steps to ensure that the hon. Member for East Lothian receives a reply to his letter of 4 November 1992 about the case of Mr. Mark Moffat, which was subsequently referred by the Parliamentary Under -Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Bury, North (Mr. Burt), to the chief executive of the Benefits Agency.

Mr. Scott : The administration of disability living allowance is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. I understand that Mr. Bichard has already replied to the hon. Member about this case.

Housing Benefit

Mr. Nigel Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list for each housing authority, for the latest year for which figures are available, the number of housing benefit claimants who live in (a) council housing, (b) other public sector housing and (c) private rented accommodation ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Burt : The information requested is in the table. "Other public sector housing" is taken to refer to


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accommodation provided by housing associations. The information relates to averages of the quarterly caseload counts, from the housing benefit management information system statistics for May and August 1992.


Claimants of Housing Benefit by type of accommodation.                                                     

Local authority        |Local authority     |Housing associations|Other private rented                     

                       |tenants                                                                            

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aberconwy              |1,733               |95                  |1,331                                    

Aberdeen               |13,882              |636                 |1,527                                    

Adur                   |2,196               |48                  |744                                      

Allerdale              |3,277               |2,489               |912                                      

Alnwick                |1,541               |261                 |345                                      

Alyn and Deeside       |2,991               |304                 |629                                      

Amber Valley           |4,024               |312                 |1,202                                    

Angus                  |5,402               |158                 |1,055                                    

Annandale and Eskdale  |2,019               |42                  |337                                      

Arfon                  |3,253               |41                  |1,478                                    

Argyll-Bute            |3,513               |534                 |810                                      

Arun                   |3,225               |627                 |2,955                                    

Ashfield               |5,733               |328                 |1,242                                    

Ashford                |4,606               |170                 |995                                      

Aylesbury Vale         |4,998               |4                   |1,387                                    

Babergh                |3,096               |108                 |982                                      

Badenoch               |443                 |75                  |211                                      

Banff and Buchan       |4,597               |151                 |506                                      

Barking                |14,118              |41                  |1,075                                    

Barnet                 |9,377               |515                 |6,584                                    

Barnsley               |18,050              |787                 |2,962                                    

Barrow in Furness      |2,957               |6                   |1,713                                    

Basildon               |3,770               |40                  |1,678                                    

Basildon (DC)          |6,928               |0                   |0                                        

Basingstoke            |4,811               |549                 |1,213                                    

Bassetlaw              |5,715               |217                 |1,194                                    

Bath                   |4,382               |483                 |2,177                                    

Bearsden and Milngavie |805                 |22                  |77                                       

Berwickshire           |970                 |144                 |195                                      

Berwick-upun-Tweed     |1,425               |59                  |357                                      

Beverley               |2,618               |221                 |831                                      

Bexley                 |5,309               |387                 |3,974                                    

Birmingham             |76,660              |8,754               |19,185                                   

Blaby                  |1,244               |197                 |420                                      

Blackburn              |8,661               |1,345               |1,422                                    

Blackpool              |5,039               |626                 |6,293                                    

Blaenau Gwent          |6,696               |741                 |787                                      

Blyth Valley           |5,390               |1,124               |697                                      

Bolsover               |4,226               |168                 |1,075                                    

Bolton                 |16,543              |1,386               |3,461                                    

Boothferry             |2,682               |106                 |665                                      

Boston                 |3,271               |80                  |526                                      

Bournemouth            |4,635               |119                 |8,751                                    

Bracknell              |3,974               |496                 |864                                      

Bradford               |22,643              |7,264               |5,746                                    

Braintree              |6,283               |122                 |1,219                                    

Breckland              |4,149               |277                 |1,162                                    

Brecknock              |1,408               |143                 |420                                      

Brent                  |n/a                 |n/a                 |n/a                                      

Brentwood              |2,165               |125                 |460                                      

Bridgnorth             |1,860               |56                  |536                                      

Brighton               |8,194               |1,385               |7,451                                    

Bristol                |23,178              |2,277               |10,833                                   

Broadland              |12                  |2,237               |1,138                                    

Bromley                |415                 |11,164              |2,900                                    

Bromsgrove             |2,179               |85                  |503                                      

Broxbourne             |2,780               |218                 |692                                      

Broxtowe               |3,817               |301                 |1,486                                    

Burnley                |4,654               |536                 |1,752                                    

Bury                   |6,897               |883                 |1,818                                    

Caithness              |1,641               |65                  |230                                      

Calderdale             |9,640               |656                 |3,053                                    

Cambridge              |5,288               |822                 |1,870                                    

Camden                 |17,896              |4,166               |8,558                                    

Cannock Chase          |4,883               |132                 |814                                      

Canterbury             |4,476               |621                 |2,513                                    

Caradon                |2,557               |81                  |1,293                                    

Cardiff                |14,232              |3,343               |7,464                                    

Carlisle               |5,728               |196                 |1,538                                    

Carmarthen             |1,890               |190                 |837                                      

Carrick                |3,050               |27                  |2,023                                    

Castle Morpeth         |2,065               |133                 |335                                      

Castle Point           |1,408               |99                  |697                                      

Ceredigion             |1,759               |143                 |1,443                                    

Charnwood              |4,321               |366                 |1,233                                    

Chelmsford             |5,001               |303                 |1,030                                    

Cheltenham             |4,209               |447                 |2,043                                    

Cherwell               |3,981               |345                 |1,581                                    

Chester                |4,926               |53                  |2,102                                    

Chester le Street      |3,842               |114                 |323                                      

Chesterfield           |7,218               |407                 |1,392                                    

Chichester             |3,537               |290                 |1,303                                    

Chiltern               |0                   |776                 |2,068                                    

Chorley                |2,396               |1,350               |782                                      

Christchurch           |0                   |1,191               |619                                      

City of London         |994                 |0                   |101                                      

Clackmannan            |6,388               |195                 |328                                      

Cleethorpes            |2,029               |99                  |1,370                                    

Clydebank              |5,694               |319                 |604                                      

Clydesdale             |4,101               |100                 |194                                      

Colchester             |5,417               |482                 |2,268                                    

Colwyn                 |1,720               |365                 |1,538                                    

Congleton              |2,502               |80                  |422                                      

Copeland               |2,925               |513                 |1,752                                    

Corby                  |3,724               |0                   |1,010                                    

Cotswold               |2,736               |149                 |1,070                                    

Coventry               |16,214              |3,065               |6,212                                    

Craven                 |1,194               |63                  |703                                      

Crawley                |4,840               |401                 |687                                      

Crewe and Nantwich     |4,343               |201                 |1,238                                    

Croydon                |12,541              |2,374               |7,047                                    

Cumbernauld            |n/a                 |n/a                 |n/a                                      

Cumbernauld (DC)       |3,258               |0                   |0                                        

Cumnock & Doon         |4,855               |87                  |191                                      

Cunninghame            |11,320              |145                 |1,384                                    

Cynon Valley           |3,649               |600                 |1,074                                    

Dacorum                |6,168               |769                 |648                                      

Darlington             |4,811               |486                 |1,697                                    

Dartford               |3,174               |182                 |878                                      

Daventry               |2,213               |0                   |480                                      

Delyn                  |3,050               |223                 |727                                      

Derby                  |11,077              |2,225               |4,331                                    

Derbyshire Dales       |1,931               |19                  |624                                      

Derwentside            |7,737               |471                 |832                                      

Dinefwr                |1,448               |96                  |615                                      

Doncaster              |19,220              |357                 |4,013                                    

Dover                  |4,158               |535                 |2,256                                    

Dudley                 |20,713              |1,477               |1,487                                    

Dumbarton              |n/a                 |n/a                 |n/a                                      

Dundee                 |18,557              |1,591               |2,613                                    

Dunfermline            |9,247               |1                   |1,492                                    

Durham                 |5,566               |331                 |792                                      

Dwyfor                 |843                 |77                  |591                                      

Ealing                 |11,127              |2,926               |7,152                                    

Easington              |9,907               |763                 |846                                      

East Cambridgeshire    |2,342               |76                  |688                                      

East Devon             |3,079               |217                 |1,914                                    

East Dorset            |15                  |1,514               |987                                      

East Hampshire         |2,625               |135                 |998                                      

East Hertfordshire     |3,696               |91                  |757                                      

East Kilbride          |585                 |29                  |435                                      

East Kilbride (DC)     |5,230               |0                   |0                                        

East Lindsey           |3,526               |142                 |2,894                                    

East Lothian           |6,023               |311                 |633                                      

East Northampton       |2,510               |81                  |639                                      

East Staffordshire     |3,288               |269                 |925                                      

East Yorkshire         |2,760               |130                 |2,218                                    

Eastbourne             |3,333               |740                 |2,801                                    

Eastleigh              |2,749               |204                 |1,244                                    

Eastwood               |833                 |49                  |243                                      

Eden                   |1,017               |129                 |564                                      

Edinburgh              |25,236              |922                 |13,432                                   

Ellesmere Port         |3,763               |248                 |551                                      

Elmbridge              |2,985               |79                  |1,557                                    

Enfield                |11,484              |813                 |5,127                                    

Epping Forest          |4,903               |295                 |872                                      

Epsom and Ewell        |1,093               |181                 |567                                      

Erewash                |4,549               |290                 |1,398                                    

Ettrick and Lauderdale |1,494               |417                 |263                                      

Exeter                 |3,996               |974                 |2,734                                    

Falkirk                |13,208              |254                 |857                                      

Fareham                |2,035               |125                 |829                                      

Fenland                |3,175               |96                  |1,306                                    

Forest Heath           |1,965               |138                 |532                                      

Forest of Dean         |2,675               |276                 |503                                      

Fylde                  |1,378               |70                  |1,412                                    

Gateshead              |20,209              |1,123               |4,200                                    

Gedling                |2,744               |312                 |1,690                                    

Gillingham             |2,442               |234                 |1,608                                    

Glanford               |2,010               |205                 |680                                      

Glasgow                |101,048             |5,599               |15,875                                   

Glenrothes (DC)        |3,253               |0                   |0                                        

Gloucester             |4,209               |581                 |2,048                                    

Glyndwr                |1,607               |198                 |475                                      

Gordon                 |2,104               |109                 |368                                      

Gosport                |3,279               |328                 |1,141                                    

Gravesham              |4,610               |165                 |1,234                                    

Great Yarmouth         |4,574               |333                 |2,011                                    

Greenwich              |16,658              |1,916               |4,107                                    

Grimsby                |5,386               |591                 |2,299                                    

Guildford              |3,745               |29                  |1,715                                    

Hackney                |23,875              |2,365               |8,914                                    

Halton                 |5,491               |1,963               |4,532                                    

Hambleton              |2,293               |1                   |755                                      

Hamilton               |10,602              |268                 |324                                      

Hammersmith            |10,792              |3,247               |6,265                                    

Harborough             |1,637               |27                  |459                                      

Haringey               |18,340              |2,822               |17,846                                   

Harlow                 |6,644               |263                 |731                                      

Harrogate              |3,209               |461                 |2,280                                    

Harrow                 |5,400               |326                 |3,309                                    

Hart                   |1,366               |93                  |587                                      

Hartlepool             |7,272               |1,165               |1,712                                    

Hastings               |3,280               |965                 |3,347                                    

Havant                 |2,405               |283                 |996                                      

Havering               |12,620              |157                 |2,208                                    

Hereford               |2,645               |281                 |1,163                                    

Hertsmere              |3,626               |189                 |644                                      

High Peak              |3,091               |271                 |1,060                                    

Hillingdon             |9,631               |313                 |3,072                                    

Hinckley and Bosworth  |2,575               |68                  |678                                      

Holderness             |1,385               |21                  |637                                      

Horsham                |3,119               |57                  |1,218                                    

Hounslow               |7,520               |719                 |3,322                                    

Hove                   |2,572               |660                 |4,861                                    

Huntingdon             |4,243               |91                  |1,491                                    

Hyndburn               |3,025               |168                 |1,491                                    

Inverclyde             |9,796               |362                 |840                                      

Inverness              |4,632               |184                 |866                                      

Ipswich                |6,512               |1,230               |2,404                                    

Irvine (DC)            |1,904               |0                   |0                                        

Isles of Scilly        |41                  |9                   |29                                       

Islington              |19,785              |1,547               |6,417                                    

Islwyn                 |3,868               |467                 |582                                      

Kennet                 |2,623               |86                  |738                                      

Kensington and Chelsea |5,489               |4,662               |4,363                                    

Kerrier                |2,943               |51                  |2,481                                    

Kettering              |3,196               |100                 |1,045                                    

Kilmarnock             |7,927               |186                 |648                                      

Kincardine and Deeside |1,124               |129                 |244                                      

Kingston-upon-Hull     |26,581              |2,017               |7,129                                    

Kingston-upon-Thames   |4,307               |1,042               |1,318                                    

Kingswood              |2,728               |311                 |631                                      

Kirkcaldy              |n/a                 |n/a                 |n/a                                      

Kirklees               |19,804              |1,305               |4,745                                    

Knowsley               |18,373              |503                 |3,234                                    

Kyle and Carrick       |8,145               |61                  |1,180                                    

Lambeth                |23,729              |3,852               |8,773                                    

Lancaster              |3,365               |300                 |4,396                                    

Langbaurgh             |9,905               |1,015               |1,985                                    

Leeds                  |51,887              |3,855               |14,702                                   

Leicester              |20,671              |547                 |7,270                                    

Leominster             |1,163               |78                  |512                                      

Lewes                  |2,481               |338                 |1,465                                    

Lewisham               |20,435              |3,654               |8,324                                    

Lichfield              |2,917               |184                 |615                                      

Lincoln                |6,342               |202                 |2,230                                    

Liverpool              |40,991              |13,086              |17,041                                   

Livingston (DC)        |3,654               |0                   |0                                        

Llanelli               |4,796               |297                 |1,177                                    

Lliw Valley            |3,236               |261                 |624                                      

Lochaber               |1,007               |82                  |206                                      

Luton                  |6,944               |619                 |3,552                                    

Macclesfield           |4,007               |327                 |1,447                                    

Maidstsone             |4,858               |265                 |1,472                                    

Maldon                 |1,460               |92                  |646                                      

Malvern Hills          |2,937               |27                  |883                                      

Manchester             |62,613              |6,413               |17,761                                   

Mansfield              |6,265               |690                 |1,735                                    

Medina                 |71                  |2,303               |2,919                                    

Meirionnydd            |1,130               |62                  |626                                      

Melton                 |1,309               |0                   |489                                      

Mendip                 |3,310               |201                 |1,668                                    

Merthyr Tydfil         |4,957               |12                  |1,721                                    

Merton                 |6,814               |1,216               |3,619                                    

Mid Bedfordshire       |3,467               |72                  |672                                      

Mid Devon              |2,360               |218                 |950                                      

Mid Suffolk            |2,523               |151                 |612                                      

Mid Sussex             |52                  |2,438               |1,308                                    

Middlesbrough          |12,793              |1,574               |3,096                                    

Midlothian             |3,645               |254                 |893                                      

Milton Keynes          |8,220               |1,460               |2,154                                    

Mole Valley            |2,037               |41                  |775                                      

Monklands              |12,986              |0                   |319                                      

Monmouth               |2,820               |235                 |594                                      

Montgomery             |1,426               |348                 |622                                      

Moray                  |4,181               |261                 |803                                      

Motherwell             |16,944              |193                 |654                                      

Nairn                  |532                 |32                  |107                                      

Neath                  |3,812               |505                 |709                                      

New Forest             |4,560               |849                 |1,654                                    

Newark                 |4,238               |283                 |1,446                                    

Newbury                |34                  |3,274               |1,627                                    

Newcastle under Lyme   |5,681               |144                 |1,193                                    

Newcastle-upon-Tyne    |28,697              |4,064               |5,927                                    

Newham                 |18,921              |3,149               |12,328                                   

Newport                |9,317               |963                 |2,797                                    

Nithsdale              |3,365               |177                 |602                                      

North Bedfordshire     |0                   |5,585               |1,850                                    

North Cornwall         |2,620               |290                 |1,406                                    

North Devon            |2,330               |474                 |2,310                                    

North Dorset           |1,688               |177                 |516                                      

North East Derby       |5,803               |88                  |629                                      

North East Fife        |2,927               |118                 |594                                      

North Hertfordshire    |5,406               |725                 |1,107                                    

North Kesteven         |2,875               |0                   |769                                      

North Norfolk          |3,300               |89                  |1,562                                    

North Shropshire       |1,750               |148                 |613                                      

North Tyneside         |15,064              |2,284               |3,643                                    

North Warwickshire     |2,369               |110                 |568                                      

North West Leicester   |2,954               |392                 |679                                      

North Wiltshire        |3,850               |92,                 |1,042                                    

Northampton            |9,822               |401                 |2,899                                    

Northavon              |3,335               |274                 |940                                      

Norwich                |12,692              |912                 |3,630                                    

Nottingham             |25,849              |1,729               |10,215                                   

Nuneaton               |5,460               |285                 |1,454                                    

Oadby and Wigston      |920                 |69                  |437                                      

Ogwr                   |6,825               |653                 |1,843                                    

Oldham                 |15,075              |1,459               |2,864                                    

Orkney                 |571                 |60                  |240                                      

Oswestry               |1,423               |9                   |584                                      

Oxford                 |5,967               |652                 |4,061                                    

Pendle                 |3,317               |190                 |1,385                                    

Penwith                |2,399               |82                  |1,781                                    

Perth and Kinross      |5,938               |299                 |1,745                                    

Peterborough           |8,176               |1,930               |3,700                                    

Plymouth               |12,231              |1,841               |7,948                                    

Poole                  |3,778               |556                 |2,378                                    

Port Talbot            |3,664               |325                 |632                                      

Portsmouth             |12,888              |2,234               |4,647                                    

Preseli                |3,413               |227                 |953                                      

Preston                |7,071               |2,017               |1,650                                    

Purbeck                |1,181               |178                 |639                                      

Radnor                 |529                 |96                  |592                                      

Reading                |5,879               |869                 |3,421                                    

Redbridge              |6,794               |523                 |4,804                                    

Redditch               |4,837               |193                 |506                                      

Reigate and Banstead   |3,447               |287                 |1,050                                    

Renfrew                |17,606              |578                 |1,223                                    

Restormel              |2,664               |108                 |2,307                                    

Rhondda                |3,851               |669                 |1,317                                    

Rhuddlan               |1,711               |222                 |2,095                                    

Rhymney Valley         |8,101               |852                 |1,081                                    

Ribble Valley          |863                 |66                  |360                                      

Richmondshire          |1,275               |69                  |317                                      

Richmond upon Thames   |5,002               |463                 |3,125                                    

Rochdale               |12,447              |1,345               |2,637                                    

Rochester on Medway    |18                  |0                   |8,803                                    

Rochford               |1,483               |116                 |819                                      

Ross and Cromarty      |2,939               |140                 |399                                      

Rossendale             |3,569               |356                 |697                                      

Rother                 |2,196               |278                 |1,540                                    

Rotherham              |17,853              |1,200               |2,617                                    

Roxburgh               |2,308               |536                 |239                                      

Rugby                  |3,043               |472                 |890                                      

Runnymede              |2,215               |165                 |862                                      

Rural Wales            |468                 |0                   |0                                        

Rushcliffe             |2,257               |190                 |1,382                                    

Rushmoor               |2,793               |174                 |1,160                                    

Rutland                |881                 |12                  |256                                      

Ryedale                |0                   |2,006               |888                                      

Salford                |23,735              |2,628               |4,967                                    

Salisbury              |3,924               |68                  |1,835                                    

Sandwell               |31,516              |2,037               |2,248                                    

Scarborough            |4,139               |24                  |2,785                                    

Scottish Homes         |36,448              |0                   |0                                        

Scunthorpe             |4,763               |133                 |1,177                                    

Sedgefield             |8,173               |751                 |491                                      

Sedgemoor              |3,691               |252                 |1,758                                    

Sefton                 |11,286              |3,053               |5,965                                    

Selby                  |2,520               |181                 |850                                      

Sevenoaks              |27                  |3,348               |1,196                                    

Sheffield              |51,877              |4,835               |6,278                                    

Shepway                |2,902               |144                 |3,351                                    

Shetland               |882                 |50                  |72                                       

Shrewsbury and Atcham  |3,618               |186                 |1,183                                    

Skye and Lochalsh      |518                 |49                  |184                                      

Slough                 |5,552               |234                 |2,014                                    

Solihull               |9,347               |678                 |956                                      

South Bedfordshire     |4,175               |323                 |1,045                                    

South Bucks            |60                  |2,005               |378                                      

South Cambridgeshire   |3,477               |173                 |816                                      

South Derbyshire       |2,492               |33                  |718                                      

South Hams             |2,338               |207                 |1,288                                    

South Herefordshire    |1,298               |103                 |586                                      

South Holland          |2,678               |11                  |563                                      

South Kesteven         |4,844               |142                 |1,637                                    

South Lakeland         |2,498               |64                  |1,363                                    

South Norfolk          |3,161               |197                 |928                                      

South Northants        |1,911               |40                  |450                                      

South Oxfordshire      |3,331               |94                  |1,297                                    

South Pembrokeshire    |1,835               |125                 |982                                      

South Ribble           |2,372               |511                 |514                                      

South Shropshire       |1,122               |134                 |554                                      

South Somerset         |n/a                 |n/a                 |n/a                                      

South Staffordshire    |3,720               |331                 |523                                      

South Tyneside         |16,860              |1,325               |2,542                                    

South Wight            |48                  |1,717               |1,371                                    

Southampton            |11,797              |1,690               |6,762                                    

Southend on sea        |5,901               |945                 |4,647                                    

Southwark              |26,969              |3,033               |3,598                                    

Spelthorne             |2,343               |7                   |1,092                                    

St. Albans             |3,688               |238                 |1,283                                    

St. Edmundsbury        |3,629               |168                 |986                                      

St. Helens             |12,507              |2,002               |1,240                                    

Stafford               |3,868               |313                 |938                                      

Staffs. Moorlands      |2,031               |141                 |477                                      

Stevenage              |6,174               |288                 |936                                      

Stewartry              |1,084               |67                  |225                                      

Stirling               |5,798               |197                 |525                                      

Stockport              |9,702               |1,944               |2,645                                    

Stockton on Tees       |11,410              |1,462               |1,754                                    

Stoke on Trent         |16,299              |905                 |3,708                                    

Stratford-on-Avon      |3,514               |80                  |1,097                                    

Strathkelvin           |3,711               |162                 |287                                      

Stroud                 |3,947               |21                  |1,442                                    

Suffolk Coastal        |23                  |2,480               |1,843                                    

Sunderland             |27,591              |2,703               |3,620                                    

Surrey Heath           |1,703               |83                  |531                                      

Sutherland             |794                 |63                  |61                                       

Sutton                 |6,441               |1,568               |1,445                                    

Swale                  |19                  |4,609               |2,043                                    

Swansea                |11,682              |1,074               |4,162                                    

Taff-Ely               |4,969               |264                 |1,078                                    

Tameside               |13,282              |652                 |3,430                                    

Tamworth               |4,319               |456                 |537                                      

Tandridge              |1,768               |38                  |506                                      

Taunton Deane          |3,951               |176                 |1,844                                    

Teesdale               |651                 |118                 |395                                      

Teignbridge            |2,644               |126                 |2,302                                    

Tendring               |2,822               |730                 |2,972                                    

Test Valley            |3,756               |209                 |823                                      

Tewkesbury             |2,200               |349                 |647                                      

Thamesdown             |7,405               |701                 |2,427                                    

Thanet                 |4,588               |428                 |5,366                                    

The Wrekin             |9,500               |787                 |1,472                                    

Three Rivers           |3,009               |166                 |516                                      

Thurrock               |7,680               |228                 |1,138                                    

Tonbridge and Malling  |25                  |3,728               |1,010                                    

Torbay                 |2,551               |647                 |5,442                                    

Torfaen                |8,067               |186                 |736                                      

Torridge               |1,303               |128                 |1,387                                    

Tower Hamlets          |24,736              |2,458               |2,775                                    

Trafford               |7,437               |1,390               |2,712                                    

Tunbridge Wells        |45                  |3,206               |1,353                                    

Tweeddale              |585                 |201                 |142                                      

Tynedale               |2,038               |90                  |555                                      

Uttlesford             |2,049               |26                  |631                                      

Vale of Glamorgan      |3,961               |496                 |2,394                                    

Vale of White Horse    |2,896               |64                  |1,045                                    

Vale Royal             |4,498               |309                 |571                                      

Wakefield              |24,687              |482                 |3,595                                    

Walsall                |21,471              |1,653               |1,792                                    

Waltham Forest         |12,188              |1,211               |6,378                                    

Wandsworth             |15,818              |912                 |12,247                                   

Wansbeck               |5,227               |267                 |834                                      

Wansdyke               |2,629               |135                 |524                                      

Warrington             |7,803               |0                   |3,646                                    

Warwick                |4,298               |865                 |1,361                                    

Watford                |3,321               |109                 |1,615                                    

Waveney                |3,812               |239                 |3,807                                    

Waverley               |3,561               |98                  |1,068                                    

Wealden                |2,492               |210                 |1,351                                    

Wear Valley            |4,846               |981                 |650                                      

Wellingborough         |3,405               |37                  |1,126                                    

Welwyn Hatfield        |5,479               |231                 |632                                      

West Devon             |1,023               |160                 |951                                      

West Dorset            |3,054               |171                 |1,136                                    

West Lancashire        |6,514               |195                 |859                                      

West Lindsey           |2,722               |125                 |1,002                                    

West Lothian           |8,372               |536                 |497                                      

West Norfolk           |5,530               |486                 |1,843                                    

West Oxfordshire       |2,459               |137                 |1,124                                    

West Somerset          |1,295               |142                 |805                                      

West Wiltshire         |3,654               |55                  |1,729                                    

Western Isles          |1,406               |54                  |183                                      

Westminster            |9,082               |3,184               |7,271                                    

Weymouth and Portland  |2,336               |0                   |2,088                                    

Wigan                  |20,183              |1,097               |2,122                                    

Wigtown                |2,441               |144                 |486                                      

Winchester             |3,392               |325                 |1,051                                    

Windsor and Maidenhead |3,778               |123                 |1,169                                    

Wirral                 |16,281              |3,018               |7,827                                    

Woking                 |2,601               |301                 |741                                      

Wokingham              |2,060               |200                 |725                                      

Wolverhampton          |23,703              |1,612               |2,708                                    

Woodspring             |5,351               |359                 |3,239                                    

Worcester              |3,773               |607                 |1,317                                    

Worthing               |1,916               |155                 |2,952                                    

Wrexham Maelor         |8,694               |425                 |938                                      

Wychavon               |3,826               |81                  |750                                      

Wycombe                |4,943               |204                 |1,329                                    

Wyre                   |2,127               |133                 |1,373                                    

Wyre Forest            |4,379               |175                 |957                                      

Ynys Mon               |3,893               |380                 |1,203                                    

York                   |5,803               |495                 |2,023                                    

N/a-No returns received from the authority.                                                                

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Rape (War Crime)

Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will seek to place on the agenda at the human rights conference in Vienna and the G7 meeting in Tokyo the violation of women as a war crime.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : No. Neither of these meetings would be the most appropriate forum in which to discuss the recognition of the violation of women as a war crime. The topic would be most suitably discussed under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross as guardians of the Geneva conventions. The ICRC plans to hold an international conference this summer which will review all aspects of the protection of victims of war.

Iraq (British Prisoners)

Mr. Gerrard : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made recently towards the release of Paul Ride and Michael Wainwright from prison in Baghdad ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We continue to press for the release of Mr. Ride and Mr. Wainwright at every opportunity. The sentences imposed on the two men were grotesque. The Iraqi Government can be in no doubt that they stand to gain nothing from their continued detention.

Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the possible release of Michael Wainwright and Paul Ride.

Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We have urged the Iraqis at every opportunity to release Mr. Ride and Mr. Wainwright without further delay. Their continued detention is a manifest injustice.


Column 714

Yugoslavia

Mr. Winnick : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which Governments have submitted evidence to the United Nations Secretary-General of war crimes in the conflict in the former Yugoslavia ; and what proposals Her Majesty's Government now have to submit evidence.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : To date Bosnia Herzegovina, USA, Venezuela, Australia, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Russia, Colombia, Croatia, France, Turkey, Belgium, Italy, Slovenia, Albania, Canada, Mauritania, Sweden, United Arab Emirates and Denmark have submitted. We propose to submit substantiated evidence in the near future.

Departmental Budget

Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the percentage change in (a) real terms and (b) cash terms of his Department's budget from 1992-93 to 1993-94 (i) in total and (ii) separately for the diplomatic and aid wings.

Mr. Goodlad [holding answer 3 February 1993] : The figures are as follows :


                |£ billion          

------------------------------------

Aid wing                            

1992-93         |2.152              

1993-94         |2.267              

difference in cash terms+5.3 per cen

difference in real terms +2.5 per ce

                                    

Diplomatic wing                     

1992-93         |1.159              

1993-94         |1.220              

difference in cash terms +5.3 per ce

difference in real terms +2.4 per ce

                                    

Total for FCO                       

1992-93         |3.311              

1993-94         |3.487              

difference in cash terms +5.3 per ce

difference in real terms+2.5 per cen

International Events

Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list all the major international events in the United Kingdom and overseas in which Her Majesty's Government will participate in 1993 ; and which Minister will attend in each case.

Mr. Lennox-Boyd [pursuant to his reply 29 January 1993] : I should like to add to the list of major international events in which Her Majesty's Government will participate, the world conference on human rights, attended by the Foreign Secretary or the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.

Debt (Developing Countries)

Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of developing country debt was scheduled to be cancelled at the outset of the Trinidad terms ; and what proportion of total debt has been cancelled to date.


Column 715

Mr. Nelson : I have been asked to reply.

At the Commonwealth Finance Ministers meeting in Trinidad and Tobago in September 1990, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, then Chancellor, proposed a reduction in the stock of eligible debt of two thirds. In December 1991, the Paris Club of creditor countries agreed to allow creditors to provide the equivalent of 50 per cent. cancellation of eligible debts consolidated under each agreement. These terms also include an undertaking by creditors to consider a reduction in the stock of eligible debt after a period of proven financial and economic responsibility of three to four years. For some of the most desperately indebted countries this may not prove sufficient, and we therefore take every opportunity to build consensus with our Paris Club colleagues to improve the terms on offer.

Specifically we are eager to see an increase in the amount of debt reduction available where necessary, and earlier action on the stock of eligible debt for debtors who already have a good track record.

Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what is the total amount of bilateral debt that has been cancelled to date under the Trinidad terms ; (2) if he will list the countries which have benefited to date from the cancelling of bilateral debt under the Trinidad terms, indicating the level of debt cancellation (a) in total and (b) as a percentage of each country's total level of foreign debt.

Mr. Nelson : I have been asked to reply.

Fourteen countries have so far benefited from the Trinidad terms. The countries are Benin, Bolivia, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea Republic, Honduras, Mali, Mauritania, Nicaragua, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia. (a) Trinidad terms involve the equivalent of cancellation of up to half the eligible debt consolidated under the agreements. We estimate that the agreements so far reached will result in the equivalent of the cancellation of about US$ 1 billion of claims over the lives of the agreements. The agreements also commit creditors to take action on the whole stock of eligible debt after a period of three to four years financial and economic responsibility. The amount of debt cancelled will therefore increase as these agreements mature. Unfortunately, answering (b) would entail disclosing confidential details of debtor countries' obligations to their creditors, and is not in any event a useful comparison to make.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Mr. Cousins : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will estimate the value of the British output of unmanned aerial vehicles and the balance of payments for such products.

Mr. Sainsbury : Figures for unmanned aerial vehicles are not separately identifiable in official trade statistics.


Column 716

Aviation Committee

Mr. Cousins : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the members of his Department's aviation committee and the number of times it has met since 10 April 1992.

Mr. Sainsbury : The Aviation Committee has met three times since 10 April 1992.

The current membership of the Aviation Committee is as follows : Chairman

Professor J. L. Stollery

College of Aeronautics

Cranfield Institute of Technology

Members

N. V. Barber Esq.

Chairman

Aerospace and Defence Group

Smiths Industries Plc.

D. L. Bernstein Esq.

Joint Managing Director

Monarch Airlines

R. H. L. Clark Esq.

Managing Director

Flight Refuelling Ltd.

K. H. Coates Esq.

Executive Chairman

Meggitt Plc.

A. C. D. Cumming Esq.

Engineering Director

British Airways Plc.

C. C. Gustar Esq.

Managing Director

Westland Aerospace Ltd.

L. A. Edwards Esq.

Chief Executive, Dowty

TI Group Plc.

Professor K. Hayward

Senior Course Tutor

School of Social Sciences

Staffordshire University

Mrs. L. Lynn

Vice President

Airlines and Aerospace Department

Citibank, NA

R. M. McKinlay Esq.

Chairman

British Aerospace

Airbus Ltd.

R. W. R. McNulty Esq.

President

Short Brothers Plc.

J. E. V. Rose Esq.

Director--Corporate Development

Rolls-Royce Plc.

B. G. S. Tucker Esq.

Director of Programmes

GEC-Marconi Avionics Ltd.

F. Turner Esq.

Managing Director

Lucas Aerospace Ltd.


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