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Year ended 31 March |Area (hectares) |Percentage of total
|land
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scotland
1980 |799,700 |10.4
1981 |800,052 |10.4
1982 |797,511 |10.3
1983 |793,540 |10.3
1984 |759,758 |9.9
1985 |741,993 |9.6
1986 |732,154 |9.5
1987 |729,217 |9.5
1988 |727,670 |9.4
1989 |725,576 |9.4
1990 |723,497 |9.4
1991 |720,467 |9.3
1992 |718,421 |9.3
Wales
1980 |160,700 |7.8
1981 |160,674 |7.8
1982 |158,979 |7.7
1983 |157,699 |7.6
1984 |154,410 |7.5
1985 |150,901 |7.3
1986 |147,751 |7.2
1987 |145,306 |7.0
1988 |144,329 |7.0
1989 |142,654 |6.9
1990 |141,490 |6.9
1991 |140,299 |6.8
1992 |138,671 |6.7
England
1980 |303,000 |2.3
1981 |303,271 |2.3
1982 |302,193 |2.3
1983 |299,685 |2.3
1984 |295,004 |2.3
1985 |288,080 |2.2
1986 |285,685 |2.2
1987 |282,031 |2.2
1988 |277,440 |2.1
1989 |276,026 |2.1
1990 |274,638 |2.1
1991 |272,157 |2.1
1992 |270,502 |2.1
Note:
All the 1980 figures are rounded to the nearest 100 hectares.
Mrs. Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many access arrangements, and how many access agreements, the Forestry Commission have made in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales and (c) England in each year since 1991.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 9 February 1993] : Arrangements for securing continued public access to Forestry Commission woodlands after sale, by means of prior agreements entered into between the Commission and local authorities, were introduced in October 1991. No access agreements were completed in that year, but three were concluded in 1992, two in Wales and one in England.
Mrs. Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many hectares of (a) Forestry Commission and (b) private planting each year since 1981 in (1) Scotland, (2) Wales and (3) England have been (i) new planting of conifers, (ii) restocking of conifers, (iii) new planting of broadleaf trees and (iv) restocking of broadleaf trees.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 9 February 1993] : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her yesterday at column 634.
Forestry
Mrs. Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what representations he has received, and what discussions he has held, in respect of increasing forestry in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales and (c) England ;
(2) what plans he has for increasing forestry in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales and (c) England.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 9 February 1993] : I have had many representations on the need for increasing forestry in Britain. The Government made clear their support for
"a steady expansion of tree cover to increase the many, diverse benefits that forests provide"
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in a statement published in September 1991 under the title "Forestry Policy for Great Britain", a copy of which is in the Library of the House. This continues to be our policy, and we shall be reviewing the effectiveness of the incentives currently available for forestry investment in accordance with the commitment we gave in our election manifesto. This review will be completed later this year.Mrs. Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of afforestation in Great Britain has been in Scotland each year since 1981 ; and how much of this has been coniferous.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 9 February 1993] : The information is given in the following table.
Year ended 31 March |Area afforested in |Area of conifers
|Scotland as |planted as
|percentage of area |percentage of total
|in Britain |area planted in
|Scotland
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1982 |89 |100
1983 |85 |99
1984 |87 |99
1985 |89 |99
1986 |91 |99
1987 |91 |97
1988 |90 |95
1989 |90 |93
1990 |78 |84
1991 |74 |80
1992 |74 |78
Mrs. Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many hectares of forest have been planted each year in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales and (c) England without a grant from the woodland grant scheme since its introduction.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 9 February 1993] : The Forestry Commission's estimates of the area of new woodlands planted without grant-aid each year since the woodland grant scheme was introduced are given in the table.
(hectares) Year ended 31 March |Scotland |Wales |England |Total ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1989 |38 |22 |136 |196 1990 |2 |4 |185 |191 1991 |0 |3 |134 |137 1992 |0 |4 |119 |123
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Forestry Commission (Privatisation)
Mrs. Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to privatise the Forestry Commission ; and what consultations he has held.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 9 February 1993] : The Government have no plans at present to privatise the Forestry Commission.
Fishing Nets
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the approximate cost to the Scottish Office of the recent prosecution of the owner of the Moyallan for carriage of a monofilament net.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 9 February 1993] : The case has been handled through the normal procedures that exist for dealing with alleged breaches of fisheries law. It has involved a number of different officials who have spent small amounts of time over a period and for that reason it is not possible to estimate the costs involved.
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the Government's policy towards the carriage of monofilament nets in Scottish waters by fishing boats which are (a) United Kingdom-registered flag of convenience boats and (b) United Kingdom-registered in ports other than in Scotland.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 9 February 1993] : Under the Inshore Fishing (Prohibition of Carriage of Monofilament Gill Nets) (Scotland) Order 1986 the carriage of monofilament gill nets by any British fishing boat, including United Kingdom-registered flag of convenience boats and United Kingdom boats registered in ports other than in Scotland, is prohibited in the 0 to 6 mile sea area adjacent to the coast of Scotland.
Woodland Grant Scheme
Mrs. Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many grants have been paid out under the woodland grant scheme in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales and (c) England ; and how much this has amounted to in each of the years since 1988.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 9 February 1993] : The numbers of applications approved under the woodland grant scheme in each of the last four financial years, together with the grants paid, are shown in the following table. Applications associated with the farm woodland scheme have been included, but the grants paid do not take account of any annual payments made under that scheme.
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-
1988-89 1989-90 1990-91 1991-92
|Number of |Grants paid (£|Number of |Grants paid (£|Number of |Grants paid (£|Number of |Grants paid (£
|applications |thousand) |applications |thousand) |applications |thousand) |applications |thousand)
|approved |approved |approved |approved
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scotland |698 |222 |1,436 |5,026 |1,218 |6,509 |697 |6,926
Wales |290 |25 |348 |406 |347 |463 |283 |621
England |2,233 |382 |3,688 |4,773 |2,935 |6,527 |2,273 |7,048
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total |3,221 |629 |5,472 |10,205 |4,500 |13,499 |3,253 |14,595
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NHS Drugs Committee
Mrs. Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many appointees serve on the Advisory Committee on NHS Drugs ; and how many more seats there will be when the Committee is extended.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 9 February 1993] : There are currently 15 members on the advisory committee on NHS drugs ; a further five members are being appointed.
Sheep Annual Premium
Mr. Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has had about extending the increase to the SAP less- favoured areas supplement after the current year ; ane when the SAP less- favoured areas supplement will be paid.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 9 February 1993] : I have received no such representations. An LFA supplement of 5.5 ecu was paid to Scottish sheep producers in late summer. The further 1.5 ecu agreed by the Agriculture Council in December is expected to be paid in April 1993.
Hill Livestock Compensatory Allowance
Mr. Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the value of hill livestock compensatory allowance payments for the forthcoming year ; and what was the value of hill livestock compensatory allowance payments in each year since 1979.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 9 February 1993] : The great majority of sheep and cattle which qualify for HLCAs in Scotland are located in the severely disadvantaged area of the less-favoured area. The HLCA sheep and cattle rates in the severely disadvantaged area in each year since 1979 were as set out in the following table :
Year |Cows |Upland sheep|Hill sheep
|£ |£ |£
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1979 |29.00 |2.85 |3.60
1980 |35.00 |4.25 |5.50
1981 |42.50 |4.25 |6.25
1982 |44.50 |4.25 |6.25
1983 |44.50 |4.25 |6.25
1984 |44.50 |4.25 |6.25
1985 |44.50 |4.25 |6.25
1986 |54.50 |4.50 |6.75
1987 |54.50 |4.50 |6.75
1988 |54.50 |4.50 |6.75
1989 |54.50 |4.50 |6.75
1990 |54.50 |4.50 |7.50
1991 |63.30 |4.90 |8.75
1992 |63.30 |4.90 |8.75
1993 |63.30 |3.60 |6.50
Potatoes
128. Mr. Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what national support schemes are planned within the proposed EC potato regime.
Sir Hector Monro Holding answer 9 February 1993] : The current EC proposals for potatoes make no provision for the recognition or maintenance of national support measures.
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The EC considers that potatoes should be brought within the coverage of the CAP and that a harmonised regime is necessary for completion of the single market.Mr. Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what were the operating costs of the Potato Marketing Board in each year since 1979.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 9 February 1993] : The operating costs of the Potato Marketing Board are to be found in the annual report and accounts of the board. The figures in the table, for the period 1979 to 1991, reflect the total administrative costs incurred, excluding costs of market intervention.
Administration cost
|£ million
------------------------------
1979 |3.3
1980 |3.9
1981 |4.8
1982 |5.0
1983 |5.7
1984 |6.0
1985 |6.9
1986 |7.0
1987 |7.5
1988 |7.8
1989 |8.2
1990 |6.9
1991 |9.1
Source: PMB Annual report and
accounts.
Mr. Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many times the Government have intervened in the potato market ; and what was the tonnage and cost in each year since 1979.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 9 February 1993] : The Government do not intervene directly in the potato market but may pay a proportion of the cost of any intervention by the Potato Marketing Board under the provisions of the potato marketing scheme. It is therefore difficult to link Government expenditure to tonnage. Since 1979 Government expenditure has been as follows :
|£ million
------------------------------
1981 |13.5
1983 | 0.3
1985 |12.9
Wool
Mr. Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations and discussions he has received about retaining the British Wool Marketing Board's statutory guarantee duties ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 9 February 1993] : I have received representations about the ending of the wool guarantee from a number of hon. Members, from the National Farmers Union of Scotland, from the Scottish Crofters Union and from the Scottish northern regional committee of the British Wool Marketing Board.
We announced our decision to terminate the wool guarantee in 1988. This element of direct involvement in
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the wool market has outlived its usefulness, particularly in the face of EC support measures under the common agricultural policy. Sheep farmers will continue to receive very substantial Government support through ewe premium and hill livestock compensatory allowances. Scottish producers currently benefit each year by over £100 million in direct subsidies from these sources.Mr. Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the British Wool Marketing Board's standard guarantee price in each year since 1979 ; what was the world wool price in each year since 1979 ; and what the income from wool has been to producers in the less favoured areas in Scotland in each year since 1979.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 9 February 1993] : The guarantee price for wool in the United Kingdom in each year since 1979 is given in the table :
Year |Price (p/kg) --------------------------------------- 1979 |112 1980-83 |115 1984 |120 1985-89 |129 1990 |125 1991 |130 1992 |117
The price of wool on world markets varies from country to country and is influenced by factors such as demand, availability and quality. The average price achieved for British wool at auction in each year since 1979 is given in the table :
Year |Price (p/kg) --------------------------------------- 1979-80 |103.20 1980-81 |87.64 1981-82 |101.99 1982-83 |99.86 1983-84 |119.91 1984-85 |138.70 1985-86 |112.69 1986-87 |116.72 1987-88 |133.87 1988-89 |136.38 1989-90 |109.58 1990-91 |61.85 1991-92 |<1>61.08 <1>Provisional.
Information covering the income of producers in the less-favoured areas only is not available.
Milk Quotas
Mr. Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations and discussions he has had with regard to maintaining the current restrictions which ensure the milk quotas on remote and island areas in Scotland ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 9 February 1993] : A number of representations have been received about ring-fencing milk quotas within the remote and island areas of Scotland. The Government are considering this matter in the light of new European Community regulations governing milk quotas.
Column 858
Farm Incomes
Mr. Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a table of farm income figures in Scotland in each year since 1979, at 1992 prices.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 9 February 1993] : The figures requested are set out in the table :
Farming income at 1992
prices<1>
|£ million
------------------------------
1979 |182.8
1980 |47.5
1981 |146.5
1982 |226.5
1983 |148.3
1984 |281.4
1985 |32.4
1986 |125.0
1987 |215.5
1988 |138.9
1989 |205.8
1990 |153.3
1991 |100.9
<2>1992 |163.4
<1>Aggregate farming income
in cash terms deflated by the
retail price index (
1992=100).
<2>Estimated.
Note: Farming income is the
return to the farmer and
spouse for their manual and
managerial input and the
capital they have in the farm
business.
Health Service Staff
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the number of redundancies among NHS staff for each year since 1989-90 dividing the figures by the reason.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 10 February 1993] : Statistics on redundancies in the NHS in Scotland are not collected centrally other than in respect of staff who are both over 50 years of age and have at least five years' reckonable service for superannuation purposes where a benefit is immediately payable under the NHS (Compensation for Premature Retirement) (Scotland) Regulations 1981. The total number of such premature retirement awards for the years since 1989-90 is as follows :
Year |Number of cases ------------------------------------------------ 1989-90 |1,040 1990-91 |480 1991-92 |625
A breakdown by reason of redundancy is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Private Roads
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland in what circumstances EC funds can be sought to meet the cost of bringing a private road up to a standard where it can be adopted by the roads authority.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 9 February 1993] : The normal method of attracting EC funding for a road project would be through the European
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regional development fund. To qualify, the project would have to be in an eligible area and be carried out by a public body. In Scotland, the areas eligible for ERDF are parts of Galloway, Lothian except Edinburgh city, parts of Central, Fife and Tayside regions, and all of Strathclyde and Highlands and Islands regions.In the majority of circumstances roads projects can be funded by ERDF only if they make a direct contribution to the creation and maintenance of employment, economic development, and productive investment. They must also be essential to the efficient movement of industrial, commercial, or tourist traffic. I am unaware of any other EC funds which might be available for the stated purpose.
Regulations
Mr. Sproat : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will place in the Library a list of all the regulations for which his Department is currently responsible with a descriptive title for each individual regulation.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 10 February 1993] : A provisional list of regulations which impact on business has recently been put together. Consideration will be given to placing the list in the Library once it has been fully checked for accuracy and consistency of definition.
Greater Glasgow Health Board
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the capital spending allocation for the Greater Glasgow health board for each of the last five years together with the comparable figure for 1992-93 and the projected capital budget for each of the next three years both in cash and real terms.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 11 February 1993] : The figures for total capital allocations to Greater Glasgow health board for 1987-88 to 1992-93 are given in the table.
Year |Cash |£ million at 1992-93
|prices
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1987-88 |20.216 |27.817
1988-89 |21.365 |27.403
1989-90 |28.031 |33.735
1990-91 |22.341 |24.900
1991-92 |30.627 |31.929
1992-93 |41.613 |41.613
For 1993-94, Greater Glasgow health board, along with all other boards, received capital allocations for the building programme and computer developments which will be carried out by its directly managed units. It has also received provisional allocations for its directly managed units' building programme for 1994-95 and 1995-96. However, these figures are not comparable with those for previous years since they do not include the building and computer programmes of the prospective trusts. Capital provision for those will be included in their external financing limits. Additional small capital allocations may also be made for other purposes. For all boards and trusts the provisional allocations for 1994-95 and 1995- 96 reflect only the consequences of the 1993-94 allocation and do not take into account potential new approvals given in the course of 1993-94. The figures are :
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|Cash |£ million at 1992-93
|prices
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1993-94 Building and computer
programme |29.196 |28.415
1994-95 Building programme only |20.048 |18.897
1995-96 Building programme only |18.984 |17.415
Grant-maintained Schools
Mr. Nicholls : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list all schools which have opted to adopt grant-maintained status.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 11 February 1993] : Parents at London Street primary school in Edinburgh and Dalmuir primary school in Clydebank have voted in favour of applying for self- governing status. The subsequent application by the London Street primary school board was rejected and the Dalmuir primary school board has been advised that I am considering rejection of their application.
Parents of three schools are currently being balloted by their school boards on self-governing status. The schools are St. Mary's Episcopal primary school, Dunblane where the school board has passed two resolutions calling for a ballot ; and St. Gerard's and Queen's Park secondary schools in Glasgow where parents have presented the school board with a petition seeking a ballot.
Hospitals
Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will introduce a guarantee for patients who wish to receive in-patient treatment at the same hospital they attended as out-patients.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 10 February 1993] : No. The decision as to how treatment should be carried out is a matter for discussion between the patient and his or her general practitioner and then the patient and consultant to whom he or she is referred. This may lead to a decision that the in-patient treatment may be most appropriately provided at another hospital.
TRANSPORT
Tourism
Mr.Tyler : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department has taken to implement the recommendations of "Tourism in the UK : Realising the Potential" as it applies to his Department's responsibilities ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : My Department recognises that travel is an integral part of tourism and continues to make progress in the areas of work which are described in "Tourism in the UK : Realising the Potential". As foreshadowed in the report a number of initiatives have been taken to assist tourist coach operation in central London, including the provision of over 160 additional parking spaces for the 1992 summer season.
Market Testing
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list all the market tests that have taken place in his Department since November 1991 ; whether
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the result was the maintenance of in-house provision or whether the service was contracted out ; what was the name of the successful contractor where appropriate ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Norris : Two market tests have taken place in the Department of Transport since November 1991 :
1. Subject : Procurement and Storage of Protective Clothing. Service was contracted out. Contractor is Greenham Trading Limited. 2. Subject : Bulk/High Speed Reprographic Services. Service was contracted out : a split award, the contractors are HMSO Reprographics and Multiplex Technics Limited.
These services were examined and tenders invited under the procedures obtaining before the publication of the White Paper "Competing for Quality" in November 1991. It is likely that any remaining items from this original programme will be dealt with under the new procedures, including the in- house bid. None of the items included in the new programme, published in the citizens charter first report, has reached tender stage.
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff in his Department are assigned to the market testing programme ; how much the programme has cost his Department since November 1991 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Norris : The equivalent of eight full-time staff are assigned to the market testing programme. The approximate costs, including consultancies since November 1991 are £250,000.
Pedestrian Crossing, Dorrington
Mr. Conway : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he hopes to respond to representations on the need for pedestrian crossing facilities on the A49 in Dorrington, Shrewsbury.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : Discussions on the need for pedestrian crossing facilities on the A49 in Dorrington have been proceeding for some time. The Department's officials are arranging to meet representatives of Shropshire county council and Condover parish council later this month to discuss the options.
Exmoor
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consideration he has given to the representations by the Exmoor Society about the protection of moorland and villages from increased motor traffic.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : I am aware that the Exmoor Society has expressed to the national park authority its concern about traffic on Exmoor. However, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport has not been asked to consider this matter which is one for the local authorities concerned.
Rail Freight
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what tonnage of freight was transported by railway in each year since 1974 ; and what percentage this represented of total freight movements.
Mr. Freeman : Annual freight tonnages moved by rail can be found in table 9.3 of "Transport Statistics Great
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Britain 1992," a copy of which has been placed in the Library. Rail's percentage share for the years 1981 to 1991 is shown in table 1.9 ; comparable data for ealier years may be found in previous editions.Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 8 February, Official Report, columns 418-19, if he will now make public payment for track costs of rail freight operations in advance of conclusions to the parliamentary consideration of rail privatisation.
Mr. Freeman : No. Such payments must await the clear identification of track costs which the formal establishment of Railtrack will bring and the designation of the Secretary of State as the competent authority under EC regulation 1893-91.
Maritime Radar
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate the cost of a maritime radar installation with a recording facility.
Mr. Norris : It is not possible to estimate the costs of a radar installation without knowing the details of the location and type of facility proposed.
Lorries
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research has been undertaken on the night and weekend exemption system for lorries in parts of London, on its costs and benefits, and on the average cost of each lorry refused an exemption permit in each year of operation of the scheme.
Mr. Norris : The Londonwide overnight and weekend lorry ban was adopted by a number of London borough councils following the abolition of the Greater London council. It is administered by the London Boroughs Transport Committee. None of the information requested is readily available to my Department.
Fuel Consumption (Motorways)
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate the revenue from duty on fuel consumed on motorways.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : Approximately one eighth of the petrol and one quarter of the diesel fuel used in this country is consumed on motorways. The duty paid on this fuel would have been about £1.7 billion in 1991-92.
Trans-Pennine Routes
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his oral answer of 4 February, Official Report, column 493, what route across the Pennines he intends to exclude from consideration.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : The route referred to by my right hon. Friend in that answer was a dual carriageway on the A628-A616 through the Peak District national park. I shall consider any suggestions about extension of the M65 which may emerge from the current consultation on the trans-Pennine study strategy report.
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are the terms of reference for the consultants responsible for the trans-Pennine study strategy report.
Column 863
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : To study traffic levels on the existing routes across the Pennines ; to identify existing and future problems on the road network taking into account planned network developments and forecast increases in traffic and the role of public transport ; and to identify potential solutions and assess their environmental and economic impact.
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what studies and reports he has commissioned on the extension of the M65 eastwards from Colne.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : None apart from the trans-Pennine study, which looked at all major routes across the Pennines.
Stockport Bypass
Sir Thomas Arnold : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to hold the next public inquiry into the A6(M) Stockport north- south bypass ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : I cannot yet say when we shall be able to hold the next public inquiry. I shall write to my hon. Friend.
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