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Sir George Young : My right hon. Friend is convening the London Forum. It will be a private sector company which will look to the private sector for its funding.
Sir Allen Sheppard was invited by my right hon. Friend to be chairman. Members from the private sector have been invited to join the board by Sir Allen, following consultation with interested parties including the CBI, the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and my right hon. Friend. As a private sector company it will be for the Forum to draw up its business plan and to decide its working methods.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment who is paying for the launch of the London Forum at the Regent hotel on 29 March ; and what is the cost.
Sir George Young : My Department will meet the costs of the launch event for the London Forum, which are estimated to be around £15,000.
Housing, Manchester
Mr. Lewis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proportion of the sums announced in the autumn statement for the purchase of existing houses was allocated to housing associations in Greater Manchester.
Mr. Baldry : Allocations were not made to particular local authority areas, but rather to housing associations working in larger areas, who were asked to ensure a reasonable distribution of purchases across local authority areas. A total of 6.8 per cent. of funds have been allocated to the Housing Corporation's north west region.
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Housing Associations
Mr. Lewis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total number of houses acquired by housing associations using the sums allocated in the autumn statement from (a) unsold houses from builders, (b) unsold houses from owner/occupiers and (c) repossessions.
Mr Baldry : Of the 12,611 properties purchased by 12 March 6,891 were bought from builders or developers, 4,824 were private treaty sales, and 559 were repossessed properties purchased from lenders.
Mr. Lewis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total number of house bought by housing associations using the sums allocated for this purpose in the autumn statement (a) nationally and (b) in Greater Manchester.
Mr. Baldry : Of the 12,611 properties purchased in England by 12 March, 691 were in Greater Manchester.
Waste Trade
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate he has made of the annual value of the trade in waste.
Mr. Eggar : I have been asked to reply.
The total value of United Kingdom trade for trade commodity headings containing an element of waste was £770 million in exports and £1,090 million in imports during 1991. The vast majority of this material was non-hazardous.
Local Authority Employees
Mr. Nigel Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the total number of full-time equivalent local authority employees in England, in each financial year since 1979-80, stating separately how many of the total were teachers ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Robin Squire [holding answer 12 March 1993] : The information is as follows :
Year (at March) |FTE's-All Services |FTE'S Lecturers and
|(000s) |Teachers (000s)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1980 |1,960 |538
1981 |1,924 |528
1982 |1,891 |520
1983 |1,890 |516
1984 |1,893 |514
1985 |1,892 |509
1986 |1,903 |507
1987 |1,918 |508
1988 |1,936 |510
1989 |1,921 |504
1990 |1,900 |484
1991 |1,890 |478
1992 |1,866 |475
Source: Joint Staffing Watch for England.
Notes: 1. In April 1989 approximately 23,000 full-time equivalent lecturers and
teachers were lost from local authority employment when polytechnics and
further education institutions transferred to the private sector.
2. Between January 1990 and January 1992 approximately 7,000 full-time
equivalent teachers have been lost to the local authority sector because
schools have opted to become self-governing state (grant-maintained) schools.
Housing Benefit
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on his assessment of the effect of benefit tapers on low wage earners and of the effects on the unemployed and low wage earners of changes in levels of subsidy to the social housing sector.
Mr. Burt : I have been asked to reply.
Benefit tapers ensure that low wage earners who are able to increase their income by working harder, or for longer hours, do not lose all or more of any increase in earnings because of the withdrawal of income-related benefits. The current system of tapers concentrates help on those at the bottom of the income scale. Housing benefit is available to people who are in or out of work, to meet reasonable rents or reasonable rent increases.
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action the Government are taking to prevent an increase in the number of unemployed people dependent on housing benefit to pay their rent.
Mr. Burt : I have been asked to reply.
We have no plans to change the rules for housing benefit.
NATIONAL HERITAGE
Royal Opera House
Sir Thomas Arnold : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what progress has been made towards agreeing the future financing of the royal opera house ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Brooke : It is for the Arts Council of Great Britain to decide on appropriate funding for the three companies which make up the royal opera house. In 1993-94 it will receive a grant of £19,521,000.
International Initiatives Fund
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Falmouth and Camborne (Mr. Coe) of 9 March, Official Report, columns 512-13, what proposals he has in relation to the funding of and responsibility for the international initiatives fund, as regards its repartition between English, Scottish and Welsh arts organisations.
Mr. Brooke : From 1994-95 the funding for the international initiatives fund, which is currently administered by the Arts Council of Great Britain, will be shared out amongst the English, Scottish and Welsh arts councils in the following proportions : England 83.7 per cent, Scotland 10.45 per cent. and Wales 5.85 per cent. Arrangements will be put in place to facilitate policy and executive coherence between the three arts councils on international work.
TV Licence Evasion
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many persons were proceeded against for television licence evasion in (a) Inverclyde, (b) Strathclyde region and (c) Scotland as a whole in each of the past seven years.
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Mr. Brooke : The information is not available in the form requested. Statistics on prosecutions for television licence evasion are recorded for each TV licensing enforcement office (TVLEO) area. Glasgow TVLEO area covers Inverclyde and most of Strathclyde, but statistics specifically for Inverclyde and Strathclyde are not separately recorded. Information covering the Glasgow TVLEO area and Scotland as a whole in the years for which figures are available is set out in the table.
Number of
Prosecutions
Year |Glasgow TVLEO area|Scotland
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1988 |2,675 |12,185
1989 |3,754 |12,937
1990 |2,563 |11,736
1991 |3,899 |16,998
1992 |3,895 |15,102
Museums
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what support his Department gives to museums concerning (a) the second world war and (b) the intelligence services.
Mr. Key : The Department of National Heritage provides grant-in-aid in support for national museums and galleries including the Imperial War museum, which holds collections associated with the second world war and the intelligence services. The Government also provide support to the museums in the regions through the Museums and Galleries Commission and its network of area museum councils, which may assist museums holding such collections.
EMPLOYMENT
Unemployment Benefit
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how much money in unemployment benefits is paid in total to unemployed persons between the ages of (a) 20 to 30 years, (b) 31 to 40 years, (c) 41 to 50 years and (d) 51 to 60 years.
Mr. Burt : I have been asked to reply.
The information is not available in the form requested.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Public Bodies
Dr. Wright : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many appointments to the public bodies listed in "Public Bodies" for his Department were made from names supplied by the public appointments unit ; and if he will list them.
Pensions
Mr. Knox : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish figures for 1992 showing the numbers and percentages of (a) men and (b) women who
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reached state pension age with entitlement to (i) a full category A old age pension or national insurance invalidity pension, (ii) a full category B old age pension or NI invalidity pension equivalent and (iii) no basic old age or invalidity pension.Miss Widdecombe : The information is not available in the form requested.
The available information regarding recipients of retirement pension resident in Great Britain at 31 March 1992 is in the table :
thousands
|Men aged 65 |Women aged 60
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Full category A retirement
pension |180.0 |46.1
Full category B retirement
pension (widow/widower) |- |4.0
Full category B retirement
pension (married woman)<1> |n.a. |23.1
Notes:
1. The standard rate of category B retirement pension payable to a
married woman is approximately 60 per cent. of the full categoryA
rate.
(i) Information regarding the individual ages and rates of notional
entitlement to retirement pension is not available in respect of
invalidity benefit recipients who have attained pensionable age.
(ii) The following main categories of benefit recipients are not shown
in the table:
people receiving pension at less than the full rate;
women receiving pension partly on their own and partly on their
husbands' contributions;
people receiving invalidity benefit post-pensionable age.
Provisional population estimates for mid-1991, the latest date for which information is available, show 264,300 men aged 65 and 297,300 women aged 60 resident in Great Britain.
European Community (Incomes)
Mr. Knox : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the most recent estimate of the number of (a) families and (b) people in each member state of the EC with incomes below 50 per cent. of average earnings ; and what are the comparable figures for 1975 and 1985.
Mr. Burt : Information comparing incomes with average earnings is not available. Information on the distribution of people below fractions of average income in the United Kingdom is available in my Department's publication "Households Below Average Income : A Statistical Analysis 1979- 1988-89", copies of which are in the Library. Comparable information on other member EC states is not available.
Income Support
Mr. Knox : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 15 February to the hon. Member for Ealing, North (Mr. Greenway) Official Report, column 100, on claims for income support in 1992-93, what percentage of families claimed income support, distinguishing between families above state pension age and those of working age, and showing two-parent families with children and one-parent families, separately.
Mr. Burt : The latest available information is in the table.
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Family type |Percentage of all IS
|recipients
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All Families |37.0
Families over Pension Age |2.6
Families under Pension Age |34.4
All Couples with children |9.4
Couples over pension age, with children |0.1
Couples under pension age, with children |9.3
All Lone Parents |20.0
Lone Parents over pension age |0.1
Lone Parents under pension age |19.9
Notes:
1. Source: Income Support Statistics Annual Enquiry, May 1991.
2. Percentages quoted are those of the Income Support caseload. It is not possible
to give percentages of the total population for each of the specified groups.
3. Pension age is defined as 65 for men, 60 for women. Only the age of the claimant
has been taken into account for this reply.
4. Temporarily separated cases have been treated as single.
Child Benefit
Mr. Olner : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security in what circumstances child benefit is continued after a child is abducted and taken out of the United Kingdom by one of its parents. Mr. Burt : There is nothing in child benefit legislation relating specifically to child abduction cases. When a child and one parent leave the United Kingdom permanently child benefit normally ceases from the date of departure ; after eight weeks if the absence is temporary. Exceptions are that child benefit might be payable to parent abroad with the child if the parent has gone to work in a European Community country, or a country with which the United Kingdom has a reciprocal social security agreement, and remains liable to pay United Kingdom national insurance contributions ; also if they have gone abroad temporarily and remain liable to pay United Kingdom income tax.
Lone Parents
Mr. Knox : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what percentage of families with children were one-parent families, in each member state of the EC, in 1975 and the latest date available.
Mr. Burt : In Great Britain the proportion of families with dependent children headed by a lone parent has increased from 10 per cent. in 1975 to 19 per cent. in 1990--source : "General Household Survey". Comparable figures are not available for 1975 for other EC countries.
Table 1 provides the best available estimates of the proportion of all families with children aged under 18 headed by a lone parent at the end of the 1980s. The estimates were published in a report to the European Commission in 1992. They should be treated with caution because the information and definitions used to derive them are not completely comparable.
Table 1
Estimates of the numbers of lone parent families
as a proportion of all families with children under the age of 18
at the end of the 1980s
|Per cent.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Great Britain |17
Denmark |15
France, Germany |11-13
Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal |9-11
Greece, Spain, Italy |5-6
Source: "Lone Parent Families in the European Community". A report to
the European Commission, Jo Roll 1992.
Mr. Hall : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what percentage of lone parents in the area of the Benefits Agency office which includes Warrington, South claimed income support at the latest available date.
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 Mr. Mike Hall, dated 17 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 your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking what percentage of lone parents in the area of the Benefits Agency Office which includes Warrington, South claimed Income Support at the latest available date.
The Income Support Management Information Statistics for the end of February 1993 show that 7,120 customers within the Benefits Agency's North Cheshire District, which includes the constituency of Warrington, South, received the Lone Parent Premium within their Income Support entitlement. However, general population statistics on lone parents are only available for Great Britain as a whole. We are therefore unable to express this number of customers as a percentage of the total number of lone parents in the District's catchment area.
I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy of this letter will appear in the Official Report and a copy will be placed in the Library.
Independent Living Fund
Mr. Jon Owen Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what provision has been made for those people who are eligible for the independent living fund but have missed the deadlined for final applications.
Mr. Scott : No specific provision has been made. Local authorities have primary responsibility for providing care for all disabled people.
The Independent Living (1993) Fund will be open to new applications from 1 April.
Social Security Expenditure
Mr. Knox : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will show expenditure on social security as percentages of gross domestic product in each member state of the EC in 1975, 1985 and the latest year available.
Mr. Burt : Information is not available to compare social security expenditure in each member state of the EC. Comparisons are made of social protection expenditure, which embraces a greater range of functions and includes items such as the supply of health services. A comparison of social protection expenditure is in the table.
Expenditure on social protection as percentage of GDP Member state |1975 |1985 |1989 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Belgium |24.2 |29.3 |26.7 Denmark |25.8 |27.8 |29.6 Germany |29.7 |28.2 |27.3 Greece |n/a<2> |15.4 |<1>16.3 Spain |n/a<2> |17.8 |17.3 France |22.9 |28.8 |28.0 Ireland |19.7 |24.0 |20.6 Italy |19.6 |22.5 |23.2 Luxembourg |22.4 |25.5 |25.6 Netherlands |26.7 |31.1 |30.2 Portugal |n/a<2> |16.1 |18.1 United Kingdom |20.1 |24.4 |<1>20.6 Source: Eurostat. <1> Estimate. <2> Not an EC member in 1975.
Part-time Study
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will review the 21 hours rule regarding eligibility for payment of benefit to those wishing to study for fewer than 21 hours per week and who are out of work.
Mr. Burt : The 21-hour rule enables unemployed claimants of income support to follow part-time education courses while continuing their search for work. We have no plans to review this rule.
Social fund
Mr. Fabricant : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what the 1993-94 gross budget for the discretionary part of the social fund will be.
Mr. Scott : I am pleased to announce that the social fund gross discretionary budget for 1993-94 will be £346 million. £95 million will be allocated to grants, £250 million to loans and £1 million will be held as a contingency reserve. The new allocations represent an overall increase of £44 million--nearly 15 per cent--over the gross budget at April 1992.
The social fund continues to provide valuable help to large number of people. Between April 1992 and January 1993 almost 1.5 million non- repayable grants and interest-free loans were made. This is nearly 200,000 more than during the same period last year--an increase of 14 per cent. the increase from April will allow even more people to be helped. Details of the allocations for individual districts will be announced shortly.
Animal Carers
Mr. Sproat : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he expects to receive the report from the inquiry into the self-employed status of animal carers and the firm, Animal Aunts.
Miss Widdecombe : We hope to receive the inquirer's report by the end of this month.
Housing Benefit
Mr. George Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he will provide for each district and islands council in Scotland for each year since 1990-91 (a) the numbers and amounts of discretionary payments and their percentage in relation to total housing benefit expenditure and (b) the numbers and amounts of housing benefit overpayments and the amount as a percentage of the authority's overall housing benefit expenditure ;
(2) if he will provide for each district and islands council in Scotland for each available year from 1990-91
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(a) a breakdown of the numbers of housing benefit claimants, by rent rebate and rent allowance categories and the total amounts paid under each heading and (b) the numbers and amounts of backdated housing benefit payments and the amount paid as a percentage of each local authority's housing benefit expenditure.Mr. Burt : [holding answer 11 March 1993] : The available information has been placed in the Library.
SCOTLAND
Consultant Posts
Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the number of vacant consultant posts in (a) mental illness, (b) child and adolescent psychiatry, (c) forensic psychiatry, (d) mental handicap, (e) old age psychiatry and (f) psychotherapy ; and if he will give the number of vacant posts as a percentage of all posts in these specialties.
Mr. Stewart : Information on the total number of vacant consultant posts is not available centrally. The table shows information collected about consultant posts which had been vacant for six months or longer in the year ended 30 September 1991, the latest date for which information is available.
Long-term vacancies in consultant posts by selected specialty ; numbers at 30 September 1991.
\
Specialty |Number |Long-term vacancies
|as per cent of all
|consultants in post
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
General psychiatry |5 |2
Child and adolescent psychiatry |2 |5
Forensic psychiatry |1 |9
Mental handicap |1 |7
Old age psychiatry |2 |29
Psychotherapy |1 |11
Long-term vacancies are defined as established paid posts which have been unoccupied for a period of at least six months during the year up to 30 September.
Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many consultant posts in (a) mental illness, (b) child and adolescent psychiatry, (c) forensic psychiatry, (d) mental handicap, (e) old age psychiatry and (f) psychotherapy, have been vacant for (i) longer than one year and (ii) longer than two years.
Mr. Stewart : The information requested is not available centrally.
Community Care
Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make available to the public information on the arrangements made between health boards and social work departments concerning care in the community.
Mr. Stewart : Leaflets describing the changes which will take place in community care arrangements are currently being widely distributed.
Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what guidance has been given to local authorities to ensure
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than an individual's right to choose to be placed in residential or nursing home care is observed, when assessed under care in the community provisions.Mr. Stewart : The draft of "Direction on Choice of Residential Accommodation and Associated Guidance" has been sent to local authorities and others for comment. Following consideration of the comments the direction and guidance in final form will be issued shortly.
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what advice has been given to primary care and hospital staff about the joint discharge arrangements between social work departments and health boards ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Stewart : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Glasgow, Maryhill (Mrs. Fyfe) on 17 March at column 275 .
Children (Legal Procedures)
Mr. Olner : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will seek to amend the Family Law Act 1986, to make court orders to hand over children directly enforceable throughout the United Kingdom without the need for further enforcement proceedings and applications for leave aid.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The current procedures set out in the Family Law Act 1986 are based on well-researched recommendations made by the Law Commission and the Scottish Law Commission in their joint "Report on Custody of Children--Jurisdiction and Enforcement within the United Kingdom" (Law Com No. 138) (Scot Law Com No. 91). As the Family Law Act 1986 has application in the various jurisdictions throughout the United Kingdom any proposal to change the rules in Scotland would require consideration at the same time within the other jurisdictions. I have no evidence that the current arrangements are not working satisfactorily or that they give rise to unnecessary delays.
Mr. Olner : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps are being taken to ensure that in all proceedings relating to child abduction--article 12 of the United Nations convention on the rights of the child--are applied with respect that the wishes of the child should be ascertained by appropriately trained professionals and given consideration, if necessary, through separate legal representation in the light of the child's age and understanding.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : It is already the practice of the Scottish courts, in considering any matter which relates to the welfare of a child, to afford the child the opportunity in appropriate cases of putting his or her views to the court, and to seek a report from a trained professional.
In its report on "Family Law" (Scot Law Com No. 135), the Scottish Law Commission, among other matters, recommends that in considering whether to make an order relating to parental responsibilities or rights, or guardianship, a court should be required to give due consideration to any relevant views of the child concerned which are properly before it, taking account of the child's age and maturity. The commission also recommends that rules of court should ensure that a child who is capable of
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forming his or her own views and who wishes to have his or her views put directly before a court in any proceedings relating to parental responsibilities or rights, or guardianship, has a readily available procedural mechanism for doing so. We are currently giving careful consideration to these recommendations.Mr. Olner : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will extend the passport office's powers to block the issue of a passport to cover objections made by the reporter to the children's panel on the basis of a children's hearing supervision requirement.
Mr. Charles Wardle : I have been asked to reply.
United Kingdom passports are issued in the United Kingdom at the discretion of the Home Secretary exercising the royal prerogative. The Passport Agency will accept an objection to the issue of a passport from the reporter to the children's panel if a warrent for the apprehension of a child has been issued with a view to detention in a place of safety.
Council House Sales
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the information that he has received from East Lothian district council and other sources about proxy purchasing of council houses by tenants who qualify for high discounts on behalf of third parties ; and if he will introduce amendments to the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 to prevent such practices.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : East Lothian district council wrote to the Scottish Office Environment Department last month referring to two cases which the council believes represent an abuse of the right-to-buy legislation. The Department is currently considering the information provided, and the council will receive a reply as soon as possible.
Scottish Homes
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received on behalf of Scottish Homes tenants who want to choose their local district or islands councils as alternative landlords ; and if he will introduce an amendment to the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 to include that option in the choices available to tenants.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : My right hon. Friend has received about 20 individual representations on this matter. He has no plans to make any changes to the present arrangements regarding sales of Scottish Homes' stock to alternative landlords under large scale voluntary transfer procedures or individual tenants' choice provisions. It has been made clear in guidance to Scottish homes that large scale sales of Scottish Homes' stock to a local authority should be considered only where there are special circumstances which do not compromise the Government's and Scottish Homes' policy objective of tenure diversification. It is expected that such circumstances will rarely arise.
Magazines
Mr. McFall : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will introduce legislation to make it illegal to distribute magazines depicting illegal and offensive weapons.
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Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : It is an offence, under section 141 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, to offer for sale or to expose or possess for the purpose of sale any weapons of a description specified by statutory instrument. We are willing to consider expanding the list of weapons so specified if we are notified of additional items that have no legitimate uses and can be clearly defined in law.
We have no plans at present to prohibit all advertising of illegal or offensive weapons or the distribution of such advertisements.
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