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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.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
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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.
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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.
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.
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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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