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Staff (Working Hours)
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will undertake a survey of all offices and agencies for which he has responsibility to ascertain to what extent staff supplying a service to the public are curtailing their work on a Friday afternoon earlier than other days of the week ; and if he will make a statement on his policy on hours of staff working each week.
Mr. Burt : No. Fridays are treated no differently from any other working day. Full-time administrative staff in the Department work 37 hours a week outside London, 36 hours a week in London, in keeping with civil service-wide rules. Working patterns can vary, but consideration is always given to customers' views on the level of service provided.
Unregistered Care Homes
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 1 March, Official Report, column 46, in what circumstances he would deem it appropriate for registration authorities to be advised of the fact that income support and residential allowance were being paid towards the costs of care in an unregistered home.
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Mr. Burt : There are no circumstances in which registration officers would require such information.
Youth Training
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proposals he has to review the mandatory link between income support benefit eligibility and willingness to take a youth training place ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Burt : Subject to the normal rules, income support is payable to those who are not required to be available for work. We also provide the safety net of income support for those seeking work or training who are at risk of hardship. We have no plans to change this policy although we continue to monitor closely the delivery of benefit.
Social Fund
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the administrative costs of the social fund in cash terms for 1992-93 and as a proportion of the social fund budget.
Mr. Scott : The information requested is not yet available. The latest estimated administrative costs of the social fund as a percentage of social fund expenditure are for 1991-92. Details are provided in the Social Security departmental report : the Government's expenditure plans 1993-94 to 1995-96, a copy of which has been placed in the Library.
Disability Living Allowance
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his Department's target response time for the Benefits Agency to respond to requests for medical evidence to unsuccessful applicants for disability living allowance ; what data he has on actual average response times ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Burt : The information requested is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Part-time Study
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claimants are currently studying on part-time courses under the 21- hour rule.
Mr. Burt : This information is not available. The 21-hour rule enables unemployed claimants in receipt of income support to follow part- time education courses while continuing their search for work. The Department's annual statistical enquiry contains no record of the numbers who take advantage of this rule.
Invalidity Benefit
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the average weekly payment of invalidity benefit at the latest date for which figures are available.
Mr. Scott : On 30 March 1991, the latest date for which figures are available, the average weekly payment of invalidity benefit was £67.40.
Note : Information from a 1 per cent. sample of claimants.
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Housing Benefit (Students)
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will consider reintroducing eligibility to housing benefit for students who have to pay for accommodation over the long summer vacation, particularly for mature students who may own their own homes.
Mr. Burt : We have no plans to do so. In general it is the educational maintenance system which is designed to provide support for full-time students ; mature students are likely to be entitled to additional allowances such as the older students allowance and dependency allowances. Housing benefit, which helps with rent, is available to vulnerable group students throughout their course, including the summer vacations. Income support which can provide help with mortgage interest payments, is available to lone parents and disabled students throughout their course and to student couples with dependent children during the summer vaction. In addition non-student partners can claim income support and housing benefit on behalf of the couple if they satisfy the normal qualifying conditions.
Portuguese Scheme
Mr. Mike O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the average time taken to deal with an application for sickness benefit by residents in the United Kingdom who have paid contributions into the Portuguese scheme ; what difficulties have been encountered in receiving information from the Portuguese authorities on request for confirmation of payments into these schemes ; and how long the Portuguese authorities take to reply to such requests.
Mr. Scott : The administration of sickness benefit, including liaison with a country overseas in which a person has paid contributions, is a matter for Mr Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member and a copy will be placed in the Library.
Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Mike O'Brien, dated 5 March 1993 :
As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency, it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to the points raised in your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking what is the average time taken to deal with an application for sickness benefit by residents in the United Kingdom who have paid contributions into the Portuguese scheme ; what difficulties have been encountered in receiving information from the Portuguese authorities on request for confirmation of payments into these schemes ; and how long the Portuguese authorities take to reply to such requests.
I should first of all explain that the European Community regulations on social security enable contributions paid in two or more Member States to be added together to assist in the satisfaction of the contribution conditions for Sickness Benefit. Generally, however, only one country actually pays the benefit and this is the country in which the person was lastly insured.
Where a person is residing in the UK, any claim to Sickness Benefit will normally be made to the District Office of the Benefits Agency in the area in which that person is living. If the contribution conditions are not satisfied on the UK National Insurance record alone, but the claimant has recently returned from abroad, the Agency's Overseas Branch will become involved.
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The customer will be asked to provide details of employment and contributions abroad, and Overseas Branch will liaise, as necessary, with the foreign authority concerned. The actual procedures vary according to whether the person, before falling sick, had contributed to the UK scheme since their return to this country or whether they had been lastly insured abroad.Where the person was most recently insured in the UK, Overseas Branch will ask the foreign authority to provide a record of contributions to their scheme to see whether they can assist towards satisfaction of the UK contribution conditions for Sickness Benefit. In such cases it is impossible to say precisely how long it will take for any individual foreign authority to respond. This varies considerably from country to country and even from office to office within a particular country. It should be borne in mind that legal requirements and administrative practices often differ from our own. For example, records may not be held centrally, particularly if a person has been subject to legislation which provides for affiliation to an occupational scheme. In such instances retrieval of remote contribution records can take longer than centrally held information.
Conversely, where a person was most recently insured in another European Community country, Overseas Branch does not need to obtain the foreign contribution record. They are responsible for obtaining all relevant information about the period abroad from the customer, all claim documents from the District Office and information about contributions paid to the UK scheme. The claim is then transferred to the other Member State concerned. It is for them to decide entitlement to Sickness Benefit under their scheme, taking into account any UK contributions as necessary. The foreign authority will notify the customer of their decision, and consider redress if the person is dissatisfied.
With regard to the Portuguese authorities, we have not experienced any particular problems in our dealings with them. In keeping with many other foreign authorities response times for requests for their contribution records vary considerably from case to case. Because of such variations, it would be unrealistic, and indeed unfair, to attempt to give an average figure. Similarly, I am unable to comment on the time it takes for them to process a claim for which they are responsible for determining.
I am sorry that I am unable to be more precise in my reply. However, every effort is made to clear cases involving foreign authorities as quickly as possible, and procedures are kept under constant review and improvements introduced wherever possible.
Local Office, Northfield
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 10 February, Official Report, column 694, what is the policy of the Northfield benefits agency office on paying benefit temporarily by girocheques on a weekly basis pending the replacement of a lost benefit book ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Burt : The administration of income support is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available and a copy will be placed in the Library.
Letter from Michael Bichard to Dr Lynne Jones, dated 5March1993 :
As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his Answer 10 February, Official Report, column 694, asking what is the policy of the Northfield Benefits Agency office on paying benefit temporarily by girocheque on a weekly basis pending the replacement of a lost benefit book ; and if he will make a statement.
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As stated in my letter of 9 February, when a customer reports that an order book has been lost, he is asked about the circumstances surrounding the loss. The interview to obtain this information is carried out by trained officers, experienced in dealing with this type of situation. The officer must be satisfied that reasonable efforts have been taken to recover the order book.The decision to replace or refuse replacement is made by an officer acting on behalf of the Secretary of State. If that officer has reason to doubt the validity of the reported loss, a replacement may not be made pending further investigation.
In the case of Northfield Benefits Agency office, there have been 474 reported lost Income Support order books in the period 2 March 1992 to 24 February 1993, of which 393 have been replaced. Of these 393, a proportion will have received payment by weekly girocheque pending the outcome of investigations.
I hope you find this reply helpful. Copies of this letter will be placed in the library.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
EC Surplus Food
Mr. Cox : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the amount of EC surplus foods distributed in the Greater London area in each of the last five years.
Mr Curry : The following amounts of butter and beef have been distributed in the Greater London area under the EC surplus food scheme.
Year |Butter (tonnes)|Beef (tonnes) ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1988-89 |93 |96 1989-90 |131 |154.5 1990-91 |235 |162 1991-92 |483 |118 1992-93 |228 |130
Hillsdown Holdings
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what services have been provided to Ministers or their officials by Hillsdown Holdings or any of its related companies in the last five years.
Mr. Curry : The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is the sponsoring Department for the food and drink industry. It is therefore necessary for Ministers and officials to have contacts with a very wide range of companies in that sector, including Hillsdown Holdings.
Poultry Inspections
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what representations he has received as to the independence from poultry-producing companies of on-line inspectors of poultry meat ; (2) what proposals he has for the meat inspection service as it relates to poultry products ; (3) which poultry producers are represented on the working committee charged with responsibility for developing new arrangements for the inspection of poultry meat ; (4) what further consideration is being given by his Department to on-line inspection by employees of poultry producers under a spotter system ; (5) on what occasions in the last year he has discussed with the chairman of Hillsdown Holdings
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the question of poultry meat inspection manning levels ; and where the meetings took place ; (6) what discussions he has had with representatives of the poultry trade as to a modified regime for the inspection of poultry on poultry plants ; (7) what representations he has received from poultry producers in favour of changes in the arrangements for the inspection of poultry ; and if he will list the companies involved ; (8) what proposals he has as to responsibility for training on-line inspectors of poultry products.Mr Soames : The Government are currently preparing to implement EC Council directive 92/116/EEC amending and updating directive 71/118/EEC on poultry meat hygiene. This directive was agreed in December 1992 and is due for implementation in member states by 1 January 1994.
The new directive takes into account developments in this area over the last 20 years, including a series of studies carried out on behalf of the European Commission in the 1980s, into alternative methods of poultry meat inspection. These studies demonstrated that information on the health status of the flock from which birds were taken can aid inspection at the slaughterhouse and that company employees could carry out inspection with the same effectiveness as official inspectors, given adequate training. Under the new directive, member states are authorised to permit individual companies to utilise their own staff to carry out on-line inspection at the slaughterhouse, under supervision and control by the official veterinary surgeon with responsibility for the slaughterhouse. The new directive also makes extensive provisions for poultry meat inspectors to assist the official veterinary surgeon in the day-to-day supervision of poultry processing, and it is likely that these staff will increasingly take on a supervisory role. The Government support the principle that companies may be eligible to carry out poultry meat inspection under the supervision of enforcement bodies. This is consistent with the principle embodied in the Food Safety Act 1990 that the food industry has the main responsibility for ensuring the protection of its customers. The directive lays down detailed requirements for the monitoring and supervision of the inspection function, and requires that detailed guidance on training shall be laid down by the Commission. The Government have invited representative organisations, including the British Poultry Meat Federation, British Retail Consortium, and meat inspector, training, veterinary and local authority interests to join a working group set up to discuss the detailed requirements, including training, which will apply under the new system. The poultry industry representation on this group has yet to be agreed. Since the Department first consulted interested parties on the Commission's proposals in 1990. it has received eight representations on the independence from poultry producing companies of the poultry inspection system, from a range of individuals and organisations. Representations from poultry companies on the Commission's proposals were received through trade associations including the British Poultry Meat Federation. In addition the Scottish Office and Northern Ireland Office have received separate representations from individual companies. My right hon. Friend the Minister
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of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food discussed the EC poultry meat market, with industry representatives, including, Hillsdown Holdings, Northern Foods, Bernard Matthews, Cherry Valley and Favour Parker Ltd. on a number of occasions in 1992. He has also visited Sun Valley and Lloyd Maunder for discussions.The Department will issue for public consultation in due course its detailed proposals on guidance and legislation to implement the new Directive. Guidance was issued to local authorities on 3 November on the use of trained plant staff to assist in poultry meat inspection, as a measure to ease the transition to the new arrangements.
Staff (Working Hours)
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will undertake a survey of all offices and agencies for which he has responsibility to ascertain to what extent staff supplying a service to the public are curtailing their work on a Friday afternoon earlier than other days of the week ; and if he will make a statement on his policy on hours of staff working each week.
Mr. Curry : It is the responsibility of local managers to set hours of work for their staff which take account, among other things, of the needs of the public they serve.
Livestock Identification Scheme
Mr. Ainger : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will include the livestock identification scheme in the Government's deregulation initiative.
Mr. Soames : All the Department's activities are conditioned by the need to minimise the regulatory burden on those affected. In the case of animal identification this is of course subject to the need for measures to protect public and animal health and to safeguard taxpayers' money.
Mr. Ainger : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received on the livestock identification scheme ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Soames : Representatives of the livestock industry and enforcement bodies are being fully consulted on the implementation of new Community rules on animal identification and registration. Helpful and constructive contributions have been received from the farming unions, breeding organisations, auctioneers, local authorities and others.
Grants and Subsidies
Mr. Martlew : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what sums were paid out by each of his divisional offices for each (a) agricultural subsidy scheme and (b) grant scheme available to farmers in 1992 ; how many agreements were entered into for each grant scheme ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Curry : A restructured regional organisation for the Ministry came into effect on 1 April 1992, when the existing five regional offices and 19 divisional offices were replaced by nine regional service centres. Information in the form required for 1992 cannot therefore be provided.
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However, the number of plans approved under the farm and conservation grant scheme in England is shown in the table. Some data on agreements under other schemes and sums paid out in England should become available shortly. I will pass on this information shortly. Aggregate summaries of grants and subsidy expenditure are included in the Ministry's February 1993 departmental report (Cm2203), a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.
Farm and conservation grant scheme: Plans
approved in 1992
|Number
------------------------------------------------
1 January 1992 to 31 March 1992
Regional Office
Eastern |14
Midlands and West |21
Northern |15
South East |14
South West |20
1 April 1992 to 31 December 1992
Regional Service Centre
Bristol |5
Cambridge |29
Carlisle |73
Crewe |26
Exeter (with outstation at Truro) |33
Northallerton |25
Nottingham |35
Reading |28
Worcester |13
Environmentally Sensitive Areas
Mr. Ainger : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the budget for 1993-94 and the estimate for 1994-95, the number of acres covered and the number of farms that could be included in (a) the Somerset Levels environmentally sensitive area and (b) the Broads environmentally sensitive area.
Mr. Curry : The budget for the ESA scheme is £30.2million in 1993-94 rising to £42.6 million in 1994-95. The scheme is managed as a whole and we do not allocate individual budgets to ESAs. The total area of the Somerset levels and moors ESA is 27,717 hectares, 68,488 acres, and the total area of the Broads ESA is 35,820 hectares, 88, 510 acres. It is not possible to determine accurately the number of farmers in each area because the ESA boundaries do not coincide with parish boundaries in respect of which such data might be obtained from the agricultural census.
Mr. Morley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list those environmentally sensitive areas where payments are being made to manage water levels ; and if he will list the total payments made under such schemes to date.
Mr. Curry : A requirement to manage water levels is included in all ESAs where field wetness is critical to the ecological interest of river valley grassland. In the Somerset levels and moors, Broads, North Kent marshes, Suffolk river valley and Avon valley ESAs there is a specific payment to encourage farmers to raise water levels in order to enhance the habitat for birds. This is the first year in which such conditions are being met in the Somerset levels and moors and Broads ESAs. It involves maintaining the water table at field level to create surface
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pools between 1 January and 30 April. Full payment will not be made until we are satisfied that the conditions can be maintained on the affected land.Agriculture Support
Mr. Martlew : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the amount spent in each of the last 10 years in direct support to British agriculture in cash and real terms ; what is his estimate of future costs ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Curry : The table provides figures on public expenditure under the CAP and on national grants and subsidies for the last 10 years, expressed as actual expenditure and in real terms. Figures for future years on a broadly comparable basis are provided in tables 8 and 23 of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food/Intervention Board departmental report 1993, which has been lodged in the House of Commons Library. Both this publication and "Agriculture in the UK" provide background details concerning trends in expenditure.
Public expenditure under the CAP and on national grants and subsidies Expenditure (£million) Financial Year |Actual |In 1992 Prices ------------------------------------------------------------ 1982-83 |1,432.8 |2,417.3 1983-84 |1,728.5 |2,785.6 1984-85 |1,712.0 |2,620.2 1985-86 |2,164.6 |3,143.0 1986-87 |1,449.0 |2,031.5 1987-88 |1,630.0 |2,189.6 1988-89 |1,379.7 |1,755.2 1989-90 |1,258.0 |1,479.6 1990-91 |1,909.7 |2,068.4 <1>1991-92 |2,086.0 |2,144.4 <1>Forecast Sources: Annual Review of Agriculture-1987. Agriculture in the United Kingdom-1988-91. Note: Expenditure in 1992 prices has been calculated with reference to the General Retail Price Index.
Floods and Drainage
Mr. Morley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what responsibilities the proposed new Environmental Protection Agency will have in relation to flood and drainage.
Mr. Curry : It is envisaged that the proposed new Environment Agency will assume the responsibilities for flood defence and land drainage that the National Rivers Authority currently has.
Mr. Morley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what has been the total amount of expenditure on flood defence and drainage in each of the last three financial years to date ; and what estimates there are for such expenditure in the 1993-94 budget ;
(2) if he will give a breakdown of flood defence and drainage expenditure in the last financial year on a county basis.
Mr. Curry : MAFF expenditure on grant aid in support of capital works on flood defence, including sea defence, and arterial drainage, excluding coast protection works against erosion, is as follows :
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|£ million
-------------------------------
1990-91 |25.5
1991-92 |36.4
<1>1992-93 |41.6
<1>Estimated.
On the same basis, provision for 1993-94 is £46.2 million. A breakdown of expenditure on a county basis is not available except at disproportionate cost.
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what evidence he has as to whether feeding pigs with material containing the infectious agent for BSE can result in a spongiform encephalopathy; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Soames : I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Holland with Boston (Sir R. Body) on 17 February, Official Report, column 223.
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