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Organ Donors
Mr. Page : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to introduce organ donor consent to driving licences ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and I have agreed that such a facility will increase the chances of identifying a potential donor quickly. This will be of great benefit in saving others' lives.
Therefore, from today, 1 March, driving licences issued by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency will include an organ donor consent section in the counterpart of the licence. Licence holders will be able to complete this section voluntarily in the same way as they can complete a separate organ donor card at present. Holders of existing licences will not need to exchange them if they wish to become organ donors. They should complete and carry a separate donor card, available widely from doctors, health clinics, hospitals and Department of Health offices.
Airport Security
Mr. Prescott : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether United Kingdom airport security screening of all hold baggage, with full physical baggage reconciliation, will be required only for US international flights.
Mr. John MacGregor : No. The proposals for 100 per cent. hold baggage screening, and for accounting and authorising hold baggage for carriage, will apply to all international flights from this country.
M1-M62 Link
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what changes in vehicles per day are expected, resulting from proposals for an M1-M62 link road (a) yellow route and (b) purple route, for junctions 38 to 39 of the M1.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : The yellow route option is forecast to increase traffic on the M1 between junctions 38 and 39 by about 8,000 vehicles per day in the opening year and the purple route to reduce traffic by about 31,000 vehicles per day.
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessments of the cost factors have been undertaken for changes in traffic volume between junctions 38 and 39 of the M1, within proposals for an M1- M62 link road.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : The cost factors have been assessed by predicting the carriageway provision that would be required where the traffic flow is forecast to change from the level of normal growth, as a result of the route options for an M1-M62 link road.
Buses, London
Mrs. Roche : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give the cost recovery ratio between farebox income, revenue apportionment from Travelcard, bus pass, retired persons and staff passes, and revenue subsidy, from block grant or through tendering arrangements for London bus routes W7, 43 and X43.
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Mr. Norris : This information is commercially sensitive.
Salvage Working Group
Mr. Waterson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has had the opportunity to consider the report of the salvage working group entitled "Meeting Future Salvage Needs" ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Norris : The Department is currently considering the report, but has not yet reached firm conclusions on it.
Aircraft
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will list those dispensations to the normal regulations that have allowed aircraft to fly supersonically over the Bristol channel area in the past six months ;
(2) if he will set out the rules that govern the circumstances in which aircraft are allowed to fly supersonically in areas near to the British mainland.
Mr. Norris : Supersonic flight by civil aircraft over any part of the United Kingdom is prohibited and there is no procedure for dispensations. Sonic booms from inbound aircraft are sometimes heard on land. This occurs in certain meteorological conditions, mainly during winter. These are known as secondary booms and may be propagated from aircraft many miles from land. Both British Airways and Air France have co- operated in making operational changes in the winter to reduce the disturbance from secondary booms. Although they cannot eliminate the phenomenon, British Airways' Concordes decelerate to fly subsonic 105 nautical miles west of Coombe Martin in Devon ; Air France routes its Concordes further south of the United Kingdom.
EMPLOYMENT
Alternative Employment
Mr. Denham : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what was the total sum of moneys made available in each year since 1989-90 to assist former employees of defence-related industries in Hampshire in finding alternative employment ;
(2) what is the total sum of moneys her Department is planning to make available in each of the years 1992-93 to 1994-95 to assist former employees of defence-related industries in Hampshire in finding alternative employment.
Mr. McLoughlin : Currently these figures are not available in the form requested and it is not foreseen that they will be.
Restart
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people have taken part in Restart interviews in this and each preceding year ; in each year how many then got jobs ; and how many of those were in work six months later.
Mr. McLoughlin : Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
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Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Mr. Frank Dobson, dated 1 March 1993 :As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency the Secretary of State has asked me to write to you direct to respond to your Parliamentary Question about the number of people who have taken part in Restart interviews and the number of people who started work as a result of their interview. This is something which falls within the responsibilities she has delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
The information you asked for is given in the attached table. Unfortunately, I am unable to provide details of the number of clients who are still in employment six months after leaving the unemployment register. To do so would involve the use of expensive tracking mechanisms at a disproportionate cost.
As you will appreciate, the figures I have given reflect only the direct results of Restart. We do not know how many people subsequently take up a job or a place on an employment or training programme as a result of the guidance given to them at their interview. It is through this support which advisers give clients in reviewing their options for returning to work that Restart has its effect.
An indication of the degree of that effect is provided by the report "The Restart Effect" which was recently published by the independent Policy Studies Institute in 1992. It is based on an analysis of the largest survey of unemployed people in the UK since 1980. This showed conclusively that the programme had a major effect in reducing the time it takes people to leave unemployment, to get a job and to enter Employment Training, particularly for those people who were at a disadvantage within the labour market.
I hope this is helpful.
As decided by the Administration Committee of the House of Commons, Chief Executive replies to written Parliamentary Questions will now be published in the Official Report . I will also place a copy of this letter in the Library of the House.
Restart interviews and job placings
Operational year 1986-87 to January 1993
|Restart interviews|Job placings
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1986-87 |1,285,097 |7,243
1987-88 |2,248,016 |10,916
1988-89 |2,029,500 |12,387
1989-90 |1,509,703 |18,439
1990-91 |1,362,831 |19,066
1991-92 |1,995,030 |21,185
April 1992-January 1993 |1,933,999 |28,063
|------- |-------
Total |12,364,176 |117,299
Restart
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people went on the job interview guarantee scheme in this and each preceding year ;and in each year how many people completed the scheme, how many went into employment from the scheme and how many were in employment six months later.
Mr. McLoughlin : Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange a reply to be given. Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Mr. Frank Dobson, dated 1 March 1993 :
As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to write to you direct to respond to your Parliamentary Question about the Job Interview Guarantee (JIG) initiative. This is something which falls within the responsibilites delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
The information we are able to give you is set out on the attached table which records the numbers of people assisted and the numbers of people assisted and the numbers of people who were placed directly in work through JIG.
We do not collect statistical information on how many people completed the JIG initiative or on how many people who went into employment from the scheme were in employment six months later. To do so would necessitate expensive mechanisms at a disproportionate cost.
I hope this is helpful.
As decided by the Administration Committee of the House of Commons, Chief Executive replies to written Parliamentary Questions will now be published in the Official Report. I will also place a copy of this letter in the Library of the House.
Job interview guarantee
September 1989 to January 1993
|People assisted|People placed
----------------------------------------------------------------
<1>1989-91 |19,632 |5,324
1991-92 |134,296 |39,960
April 1992-93 |159,285 |63,603
|------- |-------
Total |313,213 |108,887
<1> From September 1989 to March 1991 JIG was piloted in 20
inner city areas only.
Unemployment, Southampton
Mr. Denham : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will list those wards in which the ratio of unemployed claimants to registered electors is lower than in the Bargate, Southampton, ward for (a) wards included in areas to be assisted by city challenge projects, (b) wards covered by inner city task forces, (c) wards covered by city action teams and (d) wards wholly or partly covered by urban development corporations.
Mr. McLoughlin : The information requested is not held centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Job Clubs
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people have taken part in job clubs in this and each preceding year ; in each year, how many got jobs at the end ; and how many of those were still in work six months later.
Mr. McLoughlin : Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given. Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Mr. Frank Dobson, dated 1 March 1993 :
As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to write to you direct to respond to your Parliamentary Question to her about Jobclub statistics. This is something which falls within the responsibilities she has delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
The statistics for the number of people who have taken part in Jobclubs (throughflow) and the number who have got jobs (job entries) are detailed in the attached table. Figures are given from 1985-86, which was the first year for which national statistics were collected.
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We do not collect information on the number of people who were still in work after six months. To do so would require expensive tracking mechanisms at a disproportionate cost.I hope this is helpful.
As decided by the Administration Committee of the House of Commons, Chief Executive replies to written Parliamentary Questions will now be published in the Official Report. I will also place a copy of this letter in the Library of the House.
Jobclub
Operational year 1985-86 to January 1993
|Throughflow|Job entries
------------------------------------------------
1985-86 |1,994 |1,267
1986-87 |20,606 |12,364
1987-88 |105,677 |57,080
1988-89 |132,262 |71,495
1989-90 |140,095 |72,977
1990-91 |134,712 |65,498
1991-92 |176,140 |76,831
1992-93<1> |180,173 |80,446
|------- |-------
Total |891,659 |437,958
<1> April 1992 to January 1993.
St. David's Day
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans she has to make 1 March a bank holiday in Wales.
Mr. McLoughlin : The Government are currently consulting on changing the May Day bank holiday and hope to announce a decision shortly. However, we have no plans to make 1 March--St. David's day--a bank holiday in Wales.
Chartists Day
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans she has to promote the declaration of Chartists day, 4 November, as a bank holiday in Wales.
Mr. McLoughlin : We have no plans to promote the declaration of Chartists day as a bank holiday in Wales.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Benefit Statistics
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claimants without dependent children during the year 1991-92 received (a) unemployment benefit, (b) statutory sick pay, (c) sickness benefit, (d) invalidity benefit, (e) severe disablement allowance, (f) widow's pension, (g) industrial injuries disablement benefit and (h) invalid care allowance, where no income support was also in payment.
Mr. Scott : The information is not available in the form requested. Such information as is available is in the tables.
Table 1: 1991-92-Estimated numbers of people receiving benefits at any one time Benefit |Recipients ----------------------------------------------------- Unemployment Benefit |555,000 Statutory Sick Pay |330,000 Sickness Benefit |110,000 Invalidity Benefit |1,306,000 Severe Disablement Allowance |293,000 Widows' Pension |284,000 Industrial Disablement Benefit |200,000 Invalid Care Allowance |136,000
Table 2: 1991-92-Recipients of benefit where Income Support is also in payment. Benefit |Recipients -------------------------------------------------------------- Unemployment Benefit |103,000 Statutory Sick Pay |7,000 Sickness Benefit |26,000 Invalidity Benefit |112,000 Severe Disablement Allowance |172,000 Widows' Pension |26,000 Industrial Disablement Injuries Benefit |12,000 Invalid Care Allowance |42,000 Sources: Table 1-Surveys of benefits at March 1991; except unemployment benefit which relates to May 1991 and Statutory Sick Pay which is the 1991-92 estimate provided in the Departmental Report 1993. Table 2-Income Support Annual Statistical Enquiry May 1991. Notes: 1. The figures in Tables 1 and 2 have been rounded to the nearest thousand. 2., Table 2 shows the number of recipients of each benefit who also receive Income Support either as claimant or as a partner of an Income Support claimant.
Housing
Mr. Hendry : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security in what circumstances persons aged 16 and 17 years not in receipt of income support would be eligible for housing benefit.
Mr. Burt : Housing benefit is available to 16 and 17-year-olds who live independently and are not following a full-time course of higher education, whether or not they are in receipt of income support if they have a commercial liability to pay rent and are unable to meet their housing costs.
Rent Deposits
Mr. Hendry : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what provision exists in the social fund for the payment of rent deposits ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Scott : The fund does not provide help with rent deposits.
War Pensions
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many representations he has received regarding the cessation of war pension to those suffering under 20 per cent. disablement due to service-related noise-induced deafness ; and if he will make a statement.
Miss Widdecombe : Some 120 representations have been received.
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Pensioner Households
Mr. Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his latest estimate of the number of pensioner households which do not claim (a) housing benefit and (b) income support to which they would be entitled.
Mr. Burt : The latest available figures on take-up of housing benefit and income support can be found in "Income Related Benefits-- Estimates of Take Up in 1989" published on 11 January 1993, copies of which are in the Library.
Independent Living Fund
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if payments will be made from the independent living fund in cases where attendance allowance claims, successful after appeal, predate the closure date for independent living fund applications ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Scott : There are no plans to do so.
Unemployment Benefit
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security to how much the figure of £35, above which there is abatement of unemployment benefit for occupational pensioners, would have increased to have kept pace with (a) the retail prices index and (b) earnings since it was fixed at that level ; how many people received (i) no unemployment benefit and (ii) reduced unemployment benefit because they have an occupational pension exceeding £35 per week at the most recent available date ; and what would be the (1) gross cost and (2) net cost of abolishing this rule.
Mr. Burt : The limit of £35 per week was introduced in April 1981. If it had been increased in line with increases in (a) the retail prices index and (b) earnings between April 1981 and April 1992, the present limit would be £65 and £84 respectively.
The table shows the numbers of people whose unemployment benefit is abated because they receive an occupational or personal pension exceeding £35 per week.
Unemployed claimants whose unemployment benefit is
reduced
or extinguished due to receipt of an occupational
or personal pension exceeding £35 per week
|Thousands
------------------------------------------------------
Unemployment benefit reduced |17.2
Unemployment benefit extinguished |9.2
Notes:
1. Source: Half Yearly Analysis of Unemployed
Claimants.
2. No separate figures are maintained of recipients
of occupational and personal pension.
The gross cost of abolishing the abatement rule is estimated to be £40 million a year at 1992-93 prices. It is estimated that the net cost will not differ significantly from this figure.
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people received (a) no and (b) reduced unemployment benefit because a spouse's occupational pension is treated as earnings for the purposes of earnings rules for unemployment benefit in the
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most recent available period ; and what would be the (i) gross and (ii) net additional cost of abolishing that treatment of a spouse's occupational pension.Mr. Burt : The personal rate of unemployment benefit is unaffected by a spouse's occupational pension. Adult dependency
increases--ADIs--of unemployment benefit are extinguished when a spouse's earnings, including any occupational pension, exceed £26.20 a week. Information on the number of ADIs extinguished in this way is unavailable and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The cost of excluding occupational pensions from the earnings rule is therefore impossible to estimate.
Disability Living Allowance
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many representations he has received concerning the disclosure of medical evidence associated with unsuccessful applications for disability living allowance ; what consultations he has had with claimants' organisations, citizens advice bureaux and welfare rights lawyers in relation to current practice in dealing with such requests ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Scott : No such representations have been received nor consultations held.
Residential Homes
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what arrangements he has made to ensure that registration authorities are advised of which small homes eligible for registration after April have residents receiving income support or residential allowance towards the cost of their care.
Mr. Burt : No such arrangements are necessary. The social security benefits paid to residents living in small homes have no bearing on the registration process.
Retirement Pension (Women)
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security in what circumstances a woman aged 60 years or more is not entitled to the basic retirement pension ; and if he will make a statement.
Miss Widdecombe : A woman of 60 who has paid insufficient national insurance contributions will not be entitled to the basic retirement pension in her own right. If she is married she will be entitled to a retirement pension on her husband's contributions provided that he is 65 and has taken his pension. If her marriage has terminated she may still use her former husband's contributions to gain a pension. A widow of pensionable age may also receive a retirement pension based on her late husband's contributions.
National Insurance
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the effect on Treasury revenue in 1993-94 and in a full year of raising the upper earnings limit for national insurance in line with average earnings rather than prices ; and how many employees would pay extra national insurance as a result.
Miss Widdecombe : If the upper earnings limit for national insurance was raised in line with average earnings
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to £425 per week from April 1993, the additional revenue both in 1993-94 and in a full year would be about £50 million. Some 3 million employees would pay up to 45p per week extra in contributions.Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the effect on Treasury revenue in 1993-94 and in a full year of (a) abolishing the 2 per cent. national insurance contribution, (b) raising the lower earnings limit to the level of the personal tax allowance and (c) both (a) and (b) combined.
Miss Widdecombe : The information requested is in the table. The reduction in the full year cost at (b) reflects the savings in respect of personal pensions rebates and incentives paid after 1993-94. For the purposes of this calculation the personal tax allowance has been increased by the latest Treasury assumption of 2.6 per cent. over the 1992-93 level.
|Cost(-)/Yield(+)
|1993-94 |(£ billion)
|In year |Full year
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(a) Abolishing the two per cent.
national insurance contribution |-0.9 |-1.0
(b) Raising the lower earnings limit to
the level of the personal tax
allowance |-0.5 |-0.4
(a) Part (a) and (b) combined |-1.6 |-1.6
Note: Figures in (c) have been rounded and are therefore not the sum of the figures in (a)
and (b).
Pension Age
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if, on the basis of assumptions used in "Options for Equality in State Pension Age", 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 [holding answer 25 February 1993] : The table shows estimates of the cost of introducing earnings upratings with effect from April 1996 for retirement pensions and linked benefits--widow's pension, widowed mother's allowance, invalidity pension as well as unemployment and sickness benefits paid to those over state pension age. The consultation document on options for equality in state pension age assumes an annual increase in earnings of 1.5 per cent. greater than prices and this assumption has been used to derive the extra cost.
Year |Extra cost (£
|billion in April
|1992 prices)
---------------------------------------------------
1996-97 |0.5
1997-98 |1.0
1998-99 |1.5
1999-00 |2.0
2000-01 |2.5
2001-02 |3.0
2002-03 |3.5
2003-04 |4.0
2004-05 |4.6
2005-06 |5.1
Note: Estimates derived from estimates underlying
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 (
HoC 582).
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Pesticides
Mr. Cox : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the farm or cattle pesticides which have been banned in the United Kingdom during the last three years.
Mr. Soames : Since 1989 a total of 70 pesticide products have been banned in the United Kingdom. Of these 27 contained the active ingredient captafol, 26 organomercury compounds, 11 aldrin, four DNOC, and one each for pentachlorophenol and dieldrin.
Ewe Premium
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make it his policy not to reduce the level of less- favoured area supplement under the ewe premium scheme without increasing the level of hill livestock compensatory allowance.
Mr. Curry : Headage payment rates under the hill livestock compensatory allowances scheme will continue to be set in the light of all relevant factors.
Milk Marketing
Mr. Clifton-Brown : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to distribute the facilities and services of the former milk marketing board to milk marketing co-operatives other than Milk Marque.
Mr. Curry : The Agriculture Bill would enable each milk marketing board to submit formal proposals to Ministers for the transfer and distribution of its assets. Ministers would decide whether to approve those proposals in accordance with the provisions of the Bill as enacted.
Minister's Home (Security)
Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when and where the cost of providing security accommodation at his home was recorded in the departmental accounts ; and if it was annotated for the attention of the Comptroller and Auditor General.
Mr. Gummer : It is not in the public interest to disclose or aid the identification of security arrangements relating to public figures. Details of such expenditure do not in any event require separate annotation in departmental accounts.
Rabbit Diseases
Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what contingency plans there are to ensure sufficient supplies of vaccine would be available to cope with a sudden outbreak of either myxomatosis or viral haemorrhagic disease in rabbits.
Mr. Gummer : We have been in close contact with representatives of vaccine manufacturers, along with those
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of rabbit owners, to explore the possibility of vaccine supplies being made available. As a result, a vaccine against myxomatosis is expected to be licensed early in March, although it is likely to be May before the company is able to make supplies widely available. There is no current licence application for a vaccine against rabbit viral haemorrhagic disease, but a possible application is under active discussion.Linseed
Mr. Tyler : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to seek inclusion of linseed in the EC arable regime from 1993 ; what base year for set-aside he believes to be justified ; what proportion of the total EC linseed crop is currently grown in the United Kingdom ; whether these proposals will be the subject of majority voting in the Council of Agriculture Ministers ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Curry : The European Commission's price-fixing proposals include the addition of linseed to the list of crops eligible for aid in 1993 under the arable area payments scheme, which includes provisions for set aside. The timing
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of this proposal takes no account of farming practice, and causes considerable difficulties for linseed producers. I am therefore opposing it.In 1992, the United Kingdom area sown to linseed was approximately 60 per cent. of the EC total. The proposals for linseed have been made in the context of the Commission's annual price-fixing proposals, subject to qualified majority voting.
Milk Levy
Rev. Ian Paisley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give the detailed calculations for each year since the inception of the additional milk levy system setting out how the total guaranteed quantity, including Northern Ireland's share of the Community reserve, was allocated among all the United Kingdom's regions.
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