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Mr. Ainger : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will place in the Library a copy of the report by Watson Europe on pensions in Britain and Europe.
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Miss Widdecombe [pursuant to her reply, 29 March 1993] : I am arranging for a copy of the research data provided by Watson Europe to be placed in the Library today. The net benefit totals given for each of the family models covered by this study are expressed in sterling equivalents. A summary table showing figures which reflect purchasing power parity, derived from OECD data, is included. None of the figures includes the value of health benefits.
Income Support (Unemployed People)
Ms Short : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether the benefit of an unemployed person who is in receipt of income support is retained or is suspended where a doubt arises about their availability for work ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Burt : While a doubt about an unemployed person's availability for work is being considered, income support may be paid at a reduced rate if the adjudication officer is satisfied that the claimant or a member of his family would otherwise suffer hardship.
Executive Agencies
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Broxbourne (Mrs. Roe) of 9 February, Official Report, columns 601-2, if he will instruct the chief executives of agencies within his responsibility to discontinue the practice of delaying letters to hon. Members in response to parliamentary questions until the day after copies have been sent to Ministers.
Miss Widdecombe : Chief executives of the Department's next steps agencies are expected to abide by the guidance to all Departments when the present publication arrangements were introduced in October 1992 ; that hon. Members should receive a letter in reply within twenty four hours of him or her receiving the responsible Minister's own reply. I understand that so far they have done so in almost every case.
Postage Costs
Mr. Cann : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what his Department and its agencies paid in postage in the last year for which records are available.
Mr. Burt : The cost to the Department and its executive agencies in 1991-92, the latest year for which information is available, was about o64 million.
Pension Law Review Committee
Mr. Thomason : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what progress is being made by the pension law review committee.
Mr. Lilley : The review has attracted a great deal of interest and the committee is currently analysing evidence from some 1,700 written submissions, seven days of oral hearings, during which a number of organisations and individuals gave evidence to support their submissions, and three public meetings.
Under the weight and detail of all this evidence, Professor Goode has asked for a short extension to his reporting timetable. I am concerned to have this report as
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quickly as possible, but given the complexity of the task, the importance of the outcome and the need for a very careful analysis of the issues, I have agreed to extend the deadline for the report to 30 September 1993.Copies of Professor Goode's letter, requesting the extension, and my reply have been placed in the Library.
NHS Transport, Leeds
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to the answer of 9 March, Official Report, column 497 , whether the contract for providing a bus service for staff travelling between Quarry House, Leeds, and Leeds city station was (a) advertised, (b) subject to competitive tendering and (c) awarded on the basis of the lowest tender ; and if he will make a statement.
Miss Widdecombe : The contract for the bus service between Quarry House, Leeds and Leeds city British Rail station was not advertised. In view of the need at the time to provide a bus service at short notice and the fact that limited hours of service were involved, five local omnibus operators were contacted and invited to tender for the contract. The tenders were carefully considered in accordance with departmental guidelines and the contract awarded to the company offering best value for money.
Reciprocal Pension Agreements
Mr. Churchill : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when Her Majesty's Government last took steps to negotiate a reciprocal pension agreement with a foreign country ; what criteria have been used in selecting the countries in respect of which agreements have thus far been concluded ; and if he will now take steps to conclude agreements with all those countries with which no agreement exists, to which significant numbers of United Kingdom pensioners have retired.
Miss Widdecombe : The United Kingdom most recently concluded a social security agreement with Barbados which came into force in April 1992. It fulfils a commitment given to the Government of Barbados in 1974.
In order to enter into an agreement with the United Kingdom the other country's social security scheme had to be sufficiently similar to provide for reciprocity. Increasingly, there had to be sufficient movement of workers between the two countries to justify the outlay of resources to negotiate, operate and maintain the agreement. Above all, any additional costs had to be affordable.
The majority of United Kingdom pensioners overseas live in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa. The United Kingdom already has social security agreements with Australia, Canada and New Zealand, which, in general, allow residence or insurance in one country to be used by the country where the pensioner normally resides to satisfy its qualifying conditions for a pension. They do not allow for United Kingdom pension increases to be paid in those countries. There is no agreement with South Africa. We have no plans to revise the agreements with Australia, Canada and New Zealand, or to negotiate an agreement with South Africa.
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Social Fund
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the balance outstanding for (a) grants and (b) loans from the social fund at the most recent available date in the district covering the Stoke on Trent, North parliamentary constituency ; if he will give a breakdown by reason of the number of grant and loan applications refused since 1 April 1992 for that district ; how many review applications were received by that district ; and how many of them resulted in a changed decision.
Mr. Scott : The administration of the social fund 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 David Riggs to Ms Joan Walley, dated 29 March 1993 : As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency, it is the responsibility of Michael Bichard to answer questions about relevant operational matters. However, as Mr. Bichard is away at the moment I am replying on his behalf to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking what was the balance outstanding for (a) grants and (b) loans from the Social Fund at the most recent available date in the District covering the Stoke on Trent North parliamentary constituency ; if he will give a breakdown by reason of the number of grant and loan applications refused since 1st April 1992 for that district ; how many review applications were received by that district ; and how many of them resulted in a changed decision.
The following details are provided for the Benefits Agency's North Staffordshire District which deals with your constituency. The outstanding balance of the District Social Fund allocation at 28 February 1993, the latest date for which figures are available, was o66,912 for grants and o113,528 for loans.
Details of the numbers of grant and loan applications refused and of reasons for refusal are given at Appendix A.
During the period 1 April 1992 to 28 February 1993, 2,658 review applications were received by North Staffordshire District. Of these, 852 resulted in a changed decision.
I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy of this letter will appear in the Official Report and a copy will also be placed in the Library.
Appendix A
Details of Grant and Loan Refusals for North Staffordshire District
1 April 1992-28 February 1993 (Latest available data)
Reason for Refusal |Grants |Loans
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Not in receipt of Income Support (IS) |465 |377
In receipt of IS for less than 26 weeks |- |1,326
Direction 4 not satisfied |4,256 |-
Applicant excluded by Direction |9 |11
No serious risk to health or safety |- |132
Requested amount below minimum allowable |28 |114
Previous decision for same item(s) within 26 weeks |249 |292
Item excluded by Direction |167 |203
Alternative item available |4 |12
Help available from another source |25 |25
Grant awarded on loan request |- |271
Savings over £500 meet cost |14 |5
(customer or partner over 60) |9 |3
Enough money available to meet crisis |- |5
Total debt exceeds £1,000 |- |17
Inability to repay |- |229
Insufficient priority |969 |1,575
Other reasons |25 |75
Note: Secretary of State's Directions are listed in the Social Fund Guide, a copy of which is in the
Library.
DEFENCE
RAF (Radios)
Mr. Deva : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to make a decision on the contract for the supply of management radios for the Royal Air Force.
Mr. Aitken : I am pleased to announce that a contract to supply and maintain 6,000 management radios for the Royal Air Force has today been awarded to Phillips Communications Systems Ltd in Cambridge. Contractual details are commercially confidential but the approximate value of the contract is o13 million. The contract was won by Phillips in competition. The radios will be used for secure local communications on RAF bases.
Iraq
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent information he has relating to the prosecution of Iraqi personnel for alleged breaches of international conventions or treaties relating to the conduct of hostilities ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : None. The United Nations continues to gather evidence and the United Kingdom is contributing in full to this process. No decisions have been taken on the way forward.
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what responsibilities his Department had for the provision of information about Iraqi military capabilities and intentions prior to 2 August 1990 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Within my Department, the defence intelligence staff are responsible for the provision of assessments for the Government on defence policies, intentions and capabilities of any potential enemies.
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether compensation payments have now been made to those Ministry of Defence personnel who were held captive by the Iraqi Government after the invasion of Kuwait ; and if he will make a statement :
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Compensation payments have been made to those personnel who were forced to abandon personal effects in Kuwait. Personnel held captive by the Iraqi Government after the invasion are submitting claims via the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to the United Nations Compensation Commission in accordance with UN resolution 687 and the rules developed by the governing council of the UNCC.
Convention Breaches
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his policy regarding the prosecution of British service personnel for possible breaches of international conventions or treaties relating to the conduct of hostilities ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : British service personnel are subject to both domestic and international law at all times. Any allegation that members of our armed forces had
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contravened the laws of armed conflict would be investigated, and if necessary the evidence would be referred to the appropriate authority for consideration of proceedings against the individuals concerned.Gulf Trust
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current amount of money in the Gulf Trust ; how much money has been paid out by the Gulf Trust in the last 18 months ; and how many people have been provided with assistance by the Gulf Trust.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The current amount of money in the Gulf Trust, including accrued interest, is o2,854,570. The amount of money paid out by the Gulf Trust in the last 18 months to reimburse the benevolent funds for payments in respect of Gulf related cases is o193,661. Some payments made over the period have yet to be reimbursed from the Gulf Trust. 159 individuals have so far been provided with assistance from the trust together with four charitable bodies and three charitable funds.
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has concerning the criteria for payments to be made by the Gulf Trust ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The criteria for payments made by the Gulf Trust are set out in the trust deed. The objectives of the trust are the relief of financial need of the beneficiaries and to relieve sickness, distress or any other physical or mental disability of the beneficiaries insofar as they have arisen or may arise by virtue of the military and other operations relating to or in connection with the Gulf conflict. Provision may also be made for such other charitable purposes for the benefit of the beneficiaries as the united services trustee as trustee of the fund in its absolute discretion, thinks fit.
To be a beneficiary a person must be a member of Her Majesty's armed forces involved in military and other operations relating to or in connection with the Gulf conflict ; the civilian personnel attached to or accompanying such members of the armed forces ; and their respective dependants. Individual applications for assistance from the Gulf Trust are handled by the service benevolent funds working within the terms of the Gulf trust deed, their own trust deeds and charity law and they apply their normal, established policies in making payments.
Yugoslavia
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what recent discussions he has had with his NATO counterparts relating to the deployment of armed forces to (a) Kosovo and (b) the former Yugoslavian republic of Macedonia ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) what recent consideration he has given to the deployment of British armed forces to (a) Kosovo and (b) the former Yugoslavian republic of Macedonia ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : No consideration has been given to the deployment of British forces into Serbia, of which Kosovo is a province. There is a CSCE civilian observer mission in Kosovo but the United Nations has made no proposals for a deployment there. In the case of
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Macedonia, United Nations Security Council resolution 795 of 11 December 1992 authorised the deployment there of an infantry battalion and a number of United Nations military observers (UNMOs) and United Nations civil police to provide a monitoring presence on Macedonia's borders with Albania and the former Republic of Yugoslavia. The United Kingdom agreed to a United Nations request to redeploy one United Kingdom UNMO to Macedonia ; and to redeploy temporarily nine personnel and three vehicles from the United Kingdom field ambulance unit in Croatia to assist with the provision of medical care for United Nations forces in Macedonia pending the arrival of the Nordic battalion with its own capability. In the event, however, the deployment of the United Kingdom field ambulance personnel was not required.Belize
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent incursions there have been across the border from Guatemala to Belize which United Kingdom armed forces personnel have attempted to prevent ; what discussions Her Majesty's Government held with the Governments of Guatemala and Belize on these incidents ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : There have been no such recent incidents.
Housing
Mr. Ancram : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what provisions he has made to publicise the Housing Corporation's do-it- yourself shared ownership scheme to service personnel.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The do-it-yourself shared ownership (DIYSO) scheme is widely publicised in the
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three services. The joint service housing advice office distribute a DIYSO information leaflet, on a monthly basis, to every service unit world-wide via the joint services married quarters sales office bulletins. The Army families advice bureau also circulates the leaflet to all housing commandants, families officers, Army welfare assistants and through resettlement channels. The three service magazines advertise the scheme and there are briefings and presentations to service personnel worldwide.Mr. Ancram : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what means he is taking to encourage the sale of surplus housing to service personnel at a 30 per cent. discount ; and what plans he has for raising the discount to serving personnel to a maximum of 60 per cent.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : All surplus married quarters which are suitable for individual sale are normally offered to service personnel through the services discount scheme in the first instance. There are no plans to raise the discount to 60 per cent.
Departmental Contracts
Mr. Ronnie Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list, for each of the last five years, the duration, value and nature of contracts awarded by his Department to Arthur Andersen, Andersen Consulting, KPMG Peat Marwick McLintock, Touche Ross, Ernst and Young and Price Waterhouse.
Mr. Aitken : The number and value of contracts recorded as placed in the last three years with these firms, and with other businesses which are clearly linked to them, are detailed in the table. Data for 1989-90 and earlier years are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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|1992-93<1> |1991-92 |1990-91
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arthur Andersen |nil |nil |2 contracts £370,000
Andersen Consulting |7 contracts £6,450,613 |4 contracts £496,147 |4 contracts £2,788,922
KPMG Peat Marwick McLintock |4 contracts £203,361 |9 contracts £565,850 |11 contracts £2,802,179
KPMG Management Consulting |1 contract<2> |nil |nil
Touche Ross & Co. |6 contracts £1,749,875 |6 contracts £1,129,552 |6 contracts £1,110,437
Touche Ross Management Consultants |9 contracts £1,172,351 |13 contracts £802,305 |nil
Ernst & Young |nil |1 contract<1> |3 contracts £297,890
Ernst & Young Management Consultants |4 contracts £335,300 |5 contracts £559,653 |6 contracts £1,234,624
Price Waterhouse |10 contracts £1,145,419|8 contracts £471,122 |4 contracts £582,409
<1> All contracts recorded centrally up to end February, but may not include contracts placed in late February.
<2> As it is our practice to treat values of individual contracts as commercially confidential, I am not able to reveal the value of
this contract.
It is not possible to identify the duration and nature of each and everyone of these contracts without disproportionate cost.
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Homing Pigeons
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what operational establishments of homing pigeons currently exist in Her Majesty's armed forces ; and if he will make a statement.
Brilliant Pebbles
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent communications he has had with the United States Department of Defense in regard to the Brilliant Pebbles space-based interceptor system.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The United States continues to keep the United Kingdom advised of the progress on all elements of the strategic defence initiative programme. The new administration however has yet to give precise details of its proposed SDI architecture.
Theatre Defence Interceptor
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what orders or research contracts have been placed in the United Kingdom under the Pentagon's strategic defence initiative office for the responsive theatre defence interceptor.
Mr. Aitken : No United States-funded research contracts specifically related to candidate theatre defence interceptors have been awarded to my Department. It is not our practice to give details of individual contracts won directly by United Kingdom firms or universities, although we believe that there are none at present in this category.
Recruitment
Mr. Spellar : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent in each of the last three years on manpower recruitment ; and how much of this was accounted for by media advertising.
Mr. Archie Hamilton [holding answer 8 March 1993] : The information in respect of centrally controlled expenditure is as follows :
Financial years
|1990-91 |1991-92 |1992-93
|£ million|£ million|£ million
----------------------------------------------------------
Recruitment |n/a |84.88 |72.86
Media advertising |12.01 |10.51 |7.04
Details of recruitment expenditure other than media advertising, prior to April 1991, are not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Until 1 April 1991 recruitment of centrally funded civilian staff was carried out by the Civil Service Commission and details of expenditure for the Ministry of Defence are therefore unobtainable.
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HEALTH
Departmental Contracts
Mr. Ronnie Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list, for each of the last five years, the duration, value and nature of contracts awarded by her Department to Arthur Andersen, Andersen Consulting, KPMG Peat Marwick McLintock, Touche Ross, Ernst and Young and Price Waterhouse.
Mr. Sackville : The information has been placed in the Library. Information is not readily available before the year 1991-92 nor for the duration of individual contracts.
Prescription Charges
Mr. Hoon : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to extend the list of medical conditions which confer exemption from prescription charges to include cystic fibrosis.
Dr. Mawhinney : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave the hon. Member for Pembroke (Mr. Ainger) on 25 March at column 696.
Mrs. Anne Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to replace free prescriptions entirely with the pre-payment certificate scheme.
Equal Opportunities
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to recruit women, members of ethnic minorities and disabled people, respectively, in top grades of employment at her Department.
Mr. Sackville : Recruits to senior grades in the Department are selected on merit on the basis of fair and open competition with certain limited and legally permitted exceptions. Various steps have been taken throughout the civil service to aid recruitment from all sectors of the community including equal opportunities training for those involved in selection and the use of validated selection procedures.
The Department supports these initiatives and monitors carefully the results of all recruitment exercises.
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) when her Department last conducted surveys of (a) ethnic origins and (b) the number of women among its employees ; when it next plans to do so ; and whether she will make a statement ;
(2) how many and what percentage of officers in each grade from 1 to 7 and overall in her Department are (a) women, (b) from ethnic minorities and (c) disabled people.
Mr. Sackville : The last survey of ethnic origin conducted in the Department was in December 1992. A further survey is planned later in this year. No special surveys are conducted to determine the number of women employed by the Department as this information is readily available.
The information requested on the number of women, ethnic minority staff and disabled people is shown in the table :
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Grade |Total staff (numbers) |Women number |Per cent. |Ethnic minorities number |Per cent. |Disabled people number |Per cent. ----- |----- |----- |----- |----- |----- |----- |----- 1 |2 |0 |- |0 |- |0 |- 2 |5 |0 |- |0 |- |0 |- 3 |26 |6 |23.1 |0 |- |0 |- 4 |28 |7 |25.0 |0 |- |2 |7.1 5 |193 |63 |32.6 |11 |5.7 |1 |0.5 6 |142 |49 |34.5 |4 |2.8 |0 |- 7 |557 |172 |30.8 |22 |3.9 |3 |0.5 All Grades (including 1.7) |5,112 |2,819 |55.1 |651 |12.7 |68 |1.3 Notes: 1. Number of staff, based on figures obtained from the Department's personnel computer system as at 24 March 1993. 2. The figures exclude special hospitals, youth treatment service, staff on loan, secondees in to the Department and casual staff of all grades. 3. The figures for disabled people are for Registered Disabled People only. 4. Numbers of ethnic minority staff relate to those responding to the ethnic origin questionnaire.
First Aid
Sir John Wheeler : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action she has taken in support of the St. John Ambulance Breath of Life campaign launch day ; and if she will make a statement as to the importance of first aid education to the public.
Dr. Mawhinney : At the invitation of St. John Ambulance my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State launched the campaign on 23 March.
Basic resuscitation treatment in the first minute or two after an accident or heart attack can be vital in sustaining life until skilled professional help arrives. The more people who are willing to train in these skills the greater the benefit to the public.
Azapropazonzone ; and what steps are taken to draw the attention of patients for whom this drug is prescribed to these side-effects ;
(2) whether she will direct that the known side-effects of the drug azapropazone are drawn to the personal attention of the patients for whom this drug is prescribed.
Dr. Mawhinney : Information on the side effects of azapropazone is given in the British National Formulary, which the Department issues free of charge to all prescribers, and in the data sheet for the product, which is produced by the manufacturer and authorised by the licensing authority. The side effects include photosensitive skin rashes, gastrointestinal bleeding and perforation of peptic ulcers. Blood disorders and kidney damage have been reported rarely. It is for doctors to use their clinical judgment in discussing with the patient the likely benefits and possible side effects associated with their treatment.
New legislation will make it mandatory to provide information to patients on the likely side effects of a medicine either by means of the label or package leaflet. This is intended to supplement the information given to the patient by their doctor.
Medicines Control Agency
Mr. Peter Ainsworth : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on how the Medicines Control Agency's opening balance will be financed when it becomes a trading fund on 1 April.
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Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : In order that the Medicines Control Agency can begin trading on 1 April 1993 two separate sums need be paid into the fund's opening balance via a Contingencies Fund advance :
i. o9 million to cover money paid in advance by the pharmaceutical industry up to 31 March 1993, primarily in respect of licence application fees ;
ii. o5.1 million to cover the surplus of income over expenditure at 31 March 1993.
Parliamentary approval of this new expenditure will be sought in the 1993- 94 estimates for the Department of Health administration, miscellaneous health and personal social services, England vote (class XII, vote 3). Pending that approval, urgent expenditure estimated at o14.1 million will be met by repayable advances from the Contingency Fund.
Obsessive Disorders
Ms Lynne : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidelines her Department has issued to health care professionals for dealing with people who suffer from obsessive and compulsive disorders.
Mr. Yeo : The care and management of people suffering from obsessive -compulsive disorders is a matter for the health professionals involved, taking into account the views of the sufferers and their families.
Ms Lynne : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what counselling is available to people who suffer from phobias, obsessive and compulsive disorders and anxiety attacks.
Mr. Yeo : Counselling may be available through primary care services including counsellors attached to general practitioner practices. Voluntary organisations specialising in such disorders may also provide counselling. Hospital psychiatric departments offer a range of treatments for such disorders, on referral. The Royal College of Psychiatrists has published a patient fact sheet on anxiety and phobias, a copy of which will be placed in the Library.
Ms Lynne : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding is available for self-help groups which support (a) sufferers of obsessive and compulsive disorders and (b) sufferers who are dependent on benzodiazepines.
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