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Written Answers to Questions
Friday 16 April 1993
ENVIRONMENT
Public Appointments
Dr. Wright : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many of the appointments made by him as listed in "Public Bodies 1992" came within the categories set out in paragraphs 49 and 50 of "Questions of Procedure for Ministers" and required a submission to the Prime Minister.
Mr. Howard : There were 27 appointments to the bodies listed in "Public Bodies 1992", sponsored by my Department, which required prior consultation with the Prime Minister under paragraph 50 of "Questions of Procedure for Ministers".
Data Protection Act 1984
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many certificates have been signed under the terms of section 27 of the Data Protection Act 1984 for each year since 1987.
Investment (Hackney)
Ms Abbott : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what investment packages are available to private sector investors in Hackney to create jobs and housing.
Mr. Baldry : The following DOE programmes are available in Hackney :
City Challenge : £37.5 million over five years, to develop and improve the local business economy, develop the skills of local people and raise the quality and management of homes.
Housing : Following the Chancellor's autumn statement, an additional £10.8 million for housing associations to purchase homes and provide cash grants to enable housing association and council tenants to move into owner occupation. The estate action programme has also been successful in drawing private sector investment into the refurbishment of council estates.
City grant : The private sector in Hackney is able to bid for funding of individual projects.
Hackney task force : Provides loans/grants of up to £5,000 to small and and start up businesses.
Urban partnership funding : £125,000 for enterprise projects will lever in over £500,000 from the private sector as a result of this initiative.
London Residuary Body
Mr. Dowd : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to reassign the functions and responsibilities of the London residuary body (a) prior to abolition and (b) following abolition.
Mr. Squire : My right hon. and learned Friend has no such plans. It is envisaged that the London residuary body will discharge its present functions and responsibilities until it is wound up.
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Mr. Dowd : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects the London residuary body to be wound up ; and when its final accounts will be published.
Mr. Squire : The date of the winding up of the London residuary body (and hence the date of the publication of its final accounts) will depend upon the timing of the disposal of the County hall site and buildings.
Mr. Dowd : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what were the running costs of the London residuary body for each year to date.
Mr. Squire : Expressed in current prices, net expenditure by the London residuary body on general management or administrative services, including preparation and transfer of records to successor bodies by the London residuary body's administration department, was as follows in the years 1986-87 to 1992-93 :
(B) Proposed awards of contracts from 1 September 1993
This lists the other prison establishments that will be offered to tenderers listed in table A where the existing provider has agreed to provide
education services on current terms until 31 August. The starting date is subject to the outcome of the judicial review.
Prison/Young |Existing provider |Preferred tenderer
offender
institution
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aylesbury |Aylesbury College} |Amersham and Wycombe
Bedford |Bedford College} | College
The Mount |West Herts College}
Hindley |Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council/}
| Wigan and Leigh College}
Liverpool |Liverpool City Council/} |South Manchester College
| Liverpool Community College}
Blundeston |Suffolk County Council}
Highpoint |Suffolk County Council/}
| West Suffolk College}
Hollesley Bay |Suffolk County College} |Norwich City College
Norwich |Norwich City College}
Wayland |Norwich City College}
Cardiff |South Glamorgan County Council}
Dorchester |Dorset County Council/}
|Weymouth College}
Exeter |Devon County Council} |University of Bristol
Reading |Berkshire County Council/}
|Reading Adult College}
Swansea |Swansea College}
|}
Ashwell |Leicestershire County Council/}
| Charles Keen College}
Gartree |Leicestershire County Council/}
| Leicester South Fields College}
Glen Parva |Leicestershire County Council/}
| Charles Keen College}
Leicester |Leicestershire County Council/} |Mill Wharf Education Services
| Leicester South Fields College}
Morton Hall |Lincolnshire County Council/}
| Grantham College}
Stocken |Leicestershire County Council/}
| Leicester South Fields College}
County Hall
Mr. Dowd : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the future of the north, south and island blocks of County hall ; how much they are valued at ; and if he will make a statement on potential buyers.
Mr. Squire : The disposal of these properties is a matter for the London residuary body, which is at present actively marketing the land and buildings concerned.
Mr. Dowd : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the London residuary body will receive the proceeds of the sale of the main building of London's County hall ; how much they are expected to be ; and how they will be distributed.
Mr. Redwood : The timing and the amount of the receipt of the proceeds of the sale of the riverside building of County hall are matters of commercial confidentiality between the London residuary body and the purchasers. It is, however, expected that the ensuing capital receipt will be distributed to the London boroughs by 31 December this year. The method of distribution will be the subject of consultation between the Department and the London boroughs.
Mr. Dowd : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects the disposal of all the buildings in the County hall complex to be completed.
Mr. Baldry : The disposal of the County hall site and buildings is a matter for the London residuary body, which is under a duty to sell the land and buildings concerned for the best obtainable price.
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Gas Appliances
Mrs. Jane Kennedy : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 30 March, Official Report, columns 133-34, how many prosecutions have been brought under (a) the Housing (Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation) Regulations 1990 and (b) the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 for failure to maintain and repair gas appliances ; and how many of these prosecutions have resulted in convictions.
Mr. Baldry : The survey of local authorities in England and Wales contained in the Institution of Environmental Health Officers annual report 1990-91 reports that 90 convictions were obtained for failure to comply with section 369 of the Housing Act 1985, under which the Housing (Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation) Regulations 1990 are made.
The survey also reports that 719 notices were served under section 372 (power to require execution of works to remedy neglect of management). 403 of these were complied with (including those complied with by means of the local authority carrying out the works), and 12 convictions were obtained for failure to comply with a notice.
Information on the number of prosecutions specifically for failure to maintain and repair gas appliances, and on the number of prosecutions under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, is not held centrally.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is taking to invite contributions from local authorities and other interested parties to his review of standard spending assessments.
Mr. Howard [holding answer 14 April 1993] : Officials in my Department have written to all local authorities in England inviting them to make representations on the review of standard spending assessments and to provide evidence to support any proposed changes. There will also be regular meetings between my officials and representatives of the local authority associations until September to discuss the technical aspects of the review.
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out the staffing resources and the financial provision for external research that he proposes to devote to his review of standard spending assessments.
Mr. Howard [holding answer 14 April 1993] : The review of standard spending assessments will involve work by my own Department in consultation with other Government Departments and the local authority associations. Work is already in progress using existing resources. Some external research is under way and more will be carried out where this is felt necessary.
NATIONAL HERITAGE
The Crescent, Buxton
Mr. Hendry : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what action he will take to prevent further deterioration in the condition of the grade I listed former St. Ann's hotel in The Crescent, Buxton.
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Mr. Key : In view of the lack of progress with the repairs specified in last December's repairs notice, my right hon. Friend has today authorised the service on the owners, Capitalrise Ltd, of a compulsory purchase order under section 47 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990.
This is the first time that my right hon. Friend's powers under section 47 have been used. This reflects the outstanding importance of the building. My right hon. Friend and I are not prepared to see it deteriorate further through neglect and indecision.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Terrorism
Mr. Peter Robinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the total number of persons arrested under the Northern Ireland Emergency Provisions Act 1991 and the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989 for the period (a) September 1991 to December 1992 and (b) January 1993 to the present date.
Mr. Mates : The available information is as follows :
Period |Number of persons |Number of persons
|arrested in |arrested in
|Northern Ireland |Northern Ireland
|under the Northern|under the
|Ireland (Emergency|Prevention of
|Provisions) Act |Terrorism
|1991 |(Temporary
|Provisions) Act
|1989
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 September 1991- |92 |2,382
31 December 1992
1 January 1993- |Not yet available |438
31 March 1993
|----- |-----
Total |92 |2,820
Note:
If an individual is arrested on more than one occasion he/she will be added
to the statistics on each occasion.
Housing
Mr. Peter Robinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps it is intended to take to resolve housing needs in east and south Belfast, including the Castlereagh and Lisburn boroughs.
Mr. Atkins : The Housing Executive and housing associations have new building plans, which together with relets, are aimed at meeting housing needs. A total of 854 dwellings are presently under construction or planned by the Housing Executive over the next three years in east and south Belfast including the Castlereagh and Lisburn boroughs in addition to an estimated annual figure of some 1,970 relets. This will be complemented by housing association schemes currently under construction or planned to commence over the same period to provide 654 dwellings together with 109 bed spaces in shared accommodation.
Under the Government's house purchase scheme announced by the Chancellor in the autumn statement the Housing Executive and housing associations (including the Co-ownership Association) purchased a total of 126 dwellings in the area and these will further assist in meeting housing needs.
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The Belfast urban area plan (BUAP) 2001 zoned land for housing development in the greater Belfast area to cover the period up to 1993. The Department of the Environment recently announced that it had commenced a mid-term reassessment of housing land needs in that area. This reassessment will be made with the assistance of the 1991 census figures for population and housing to establish the extent of housing land needs and to meet housing needs up to the year 2001.IRA Prisoners
Mr. Peter Robinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what arrangements are currently in force for the police to be permitted to interview convicted Irish Republican Army prisoners in connection with incidents which have taken place (a) while they are in HM prison and (b) before they become inmates ; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of these.
Sir Patrick Mayhew : Where any convicted prisoner is suspected of involvement in any criminal offence either in or outside prison, rule 60 of the Prison Rules (NI) 1982 provides that
"a police officer may, on production of an order issued by or on behalf of the Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, interview any prisoner willing to see him."
The police and the prison authorities in Northern Ireland are satisfied that these arrangements are adequate.
Data Protection Act 1984
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many certificates have been signed under the terms of section 27 of the Data Protection Act 1984 for each year since 1987.
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Students
Mr. Peter Robinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many students from Northern Ireland applied for places at university in Great Britain, and how many were accepted, in the last year for which figures are available.
Mr. Hanley : Information provided by the Universities Central Council on Admissions is that in 1992, 8,121 students from Northern Ireland applied for places at university in Great Britain of whom 1, 794 accepted the offer of a place.
Life Sentences
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish a table to show for as many years for which the information is conveniently available the number of persons sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of (a) police officers, (b) prison officers, (c) regular Army, (d) Ulster Defence Regiment members and (e) civilians who have been in each year released from prison ; what was the average number of years and months served in each case ; whether the life sentence had a minimum recommendation imposed by the court which was not served ; and in which cases there was a terrorist involvement.
Sir Patrick Mayhew : The information is as follows :
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|RUC |NIPS |Army |UDR |Civilians
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1983 |0 |0 |0 |0 |1
Average years served |- |- |- |- |12 years 1 month
Terrorist involvement |- |- |- |- |0
Recommended minimum sentence not served |- |- |- |- |0
1984 |0 |0 |0 |0 |2
Average years served |- |- |- |- |13 years 8 months
Terrorist involvement |- |- |- |- |2
Recommended minimum sentence not served |- |- |- |- |1
1985 |1 |0 |1 |0 |2
Average years served |9 years |- |7 years 5 months |- |11 years 1 month
Terrorist involvement |1 |- |1 |- |2
Recommended minimum sentence not served |- |- |- |- |-
1986 |1 |0 |0 |0 |3
Average years served |13 years 4 months |- |- |- |10 years 10 months
Terrorist involvement |1 |- |- |- |2
Recommended minimum sentence not served |- |- |- |- |-
1987 |2 |0 |1 |1 |9
Average years served |14 years 1 month |- |10 years 3 months |14 years |12 years 8 months
Terrorist involvement |2 |- |1 |1 |8
Recommended minimum sentence not served |- |- |- |- |-
1988 |5 |0 |1 |0 |14
Average years served |14 years 4 months |- |10 years 10 months|- |13 years
Terrorist involvement |5 |- |1 |- |12
Recommended minimum sentence not served |- |- |- |- |3
1989 |4 |0 |2 |2 |23
Average years served |14 years 10 months|- |15 years 10 months|15 years 7 months |14 years 5 months
Terrorist involvement |4 |- |2 |2 |22
Recommended minimum sentence not served |- |- |- |- |1
1990 |5 |0 |4 |5 |41
Average years served |15 years 1 month |- |15 years 3 months |13 years 4 months |14 years 9 months
Terrorist involvement |5 |- |4 |5 |38
Recommended minimum sentence not served |1 |- |- |- |5
1991 |4 |0 |2 |1 |15
Average years served |16 years 1 month |- |13 years 9 months |15 years 2 months |15 years 9 months
Terrorist involvement |4 |- |2 |1 |14
Recommended minimum sentence not served |3 |- |1 |- |6
1992 |3 |1 |3 |4 |32
Average years served |16 years 8 months |13 years 8 months |16 years 1 month |15 years 9 months |15 years 3 months
Terrorist involvement |3 |1 |3 |4 |32
Recommended minimum sentence not served |2 |- |2 |2 |10
1993 (to 31 March) |0 |0 |0 |0 |12
Average years served |- |- |- |- |15 years 8 months
Terrorist involvement |- |- |- |- |12
Recommended minimum sentence not served |- |- |- |- |6
|--- |--- |--- |--- |---
Totals
Released on licence |25 |1 |14 |13 |154
average years served |14 years 10 months|13 years 8 months |14 years 1 month |14 years 8 months |14 years 7 months
Terrorist involvement |25 |1 |14 |13 |144
Recommended minimum sentence not served |6 |0 |3 |2 |32
Notes:
1. Table does not include prisoners who were released on licence early because they had given substantial assistance to the authorities.
2. Years served is calculated up to first release on licence.
Equal Opportunities
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the annual cost of monitoring the religious affiliation of the employees of BBC Northern Ireland.
Mr. Brooke : I have been asked to reply.
I understand from the BBC that the estimated annual cost is £30, 000.
EMPLOYMENT
Social Fund
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will make a statement on the implementation of objective 4 of the European Community social fund.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Assistance from the European social fund under objective 4 is aimed at improving the employment prospects of young people by supporting their vocational training. In 1992, £132 million was approved under objective 4 to support training for some 155,000 young people in the United Kingdom.
The regulations governing the EC structural funds are currently being reviewed.
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Industrial Tribunals
Mr. Mackinlay : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many applications were made to industrial tribunals since the beginning of 1989 in which the grounds of the application was wholly or partly based on a claim that the applicant had been disadvantaged in, or dismissed from, his employment because of his trade union membership ; and how many of these cases resulted in a decision in favour of the applicant.
Mr. McLoughlin : The figures are as follows :
|1989-90|1990-91|1991-92|1992-93
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Registered applications |513 |709 |475 |411
Decision in favour of applicant |95 |30 |25 |-
I regret that figures for the outcome of hearings are not yet available for 1992-93.
Mr. Mackinlay : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many applications have been made to industrial tribunals since the beginning of 1989 ; how many resulted in a hearing ; and how many resulted in decisions in favour of the applicant.
Mr. McLoughlin : The figures are as follows :
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|1989-90|1990-91|1991-92|1992-93
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Registered applications |34,697 |43,243 |67,448 |71,821
Hearings |10,229 |11,430 |13,773 |-
Decision in favour of applicant |4,598 |5,503 |7,017 |-
I regret that the figures for hearings and their outcome are not yet available for 1992-93.
The majority of applications to tribunals do not come to hearing, being settled or withdrawn, often after conciliation by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service.
Giro Cheques
Mrs. Helen Jackson : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what steps she has taken to ensure that Giro cheques reported lost are replaced with the minimum of delay.
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 Mr. M. Fogden to Mrs. Helen Jackson, dated 16 April 1993 :
As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to write direct to respond to your Parliamentary Question to her about replacing girocheques that are reported as lost. This is something which falls within the responsibilities she has delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
I should explain that the policy of the Employment Service is to issue a prompt replacement whenever a girocheque is reported as not received, lost or destroyed unless there is reason to doubt the report is genuine.
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.
Social Affairs Council
Mr. Foreman : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the outcome of the meeting on 6 April of the Social Affairs Council in Luxembourg ; and if she will make a statement.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : I attended the meeting of the Labour and Social Affairs Council in Luxembourg on 6 April.
One proposal was agreed--a directive relating to the health and safety of workers exposed to biological agents at work. This directive, on the classification of biological agents, will amend the existing directive on the protection of workers from these risks. A general debate was held on the employment situation in the Community in open session. This stemmed from the Social Affairs Council resolution on unemployment agreed during the United Kingdom presidency. In my remarks, I stressed the need for the Community to have full regard to its wider international competitiveness, and the importance of not damaging the prospects for jobs growth by increased regulation and higher costs.
Most of the rest of the agenda consisted of policy debates on outstanding proposals for directives, including
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those on European Works Councils and Protection of Young People at Work, on both of which the presidency had raised specific issues for discussion. There was also a brief discussion of outstanding issues on the Working Time Directive. No decisions were taken, but the presidency indicated that it hoped to bring these proposals back to the Council on 1 June.Finally, there was a brief report from the presidency on the conference on the social dialogue, held in Copenhagen last month, and a progress report on negotiations on a directive on health and safety on fishing vessels.
TRANSPORT
Cyclists
Mr. Booth : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research has been conducted into the safety and protection from injury as provided by headgear for the users of bicycles.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : The Transport Research Laboratory report "Pedal Cycle Accidents--A Hospital Based Study" estimated that if helmets were universally worn more than 4,000 casualties would be prevented and the severity of 3,000 serious casualties would be reduced each year.
Data Protection Act 1984
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many certificates have been signed under the terms of section 27 of the Data Protection Act 1984 for each year since 1987.
Mr. Norris : I am aware of none so far as the Department of Transport is concerned.
Channel Tunnel
Mr. Dowd : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his estimate of the reduction in number of passengers travelling by air from London regional airports as a result of the channel tunnel rail link (a) when the tunnel opens and (b) when a high-speed rail link is completed.
Mr. Norris : The Department's 1991 air traffic forecasts project a reduction of 5.3 to 6.6 million passengers per annum travelling through London airports in 2000 as a result of the channel tunnel. These forecasts assume a high speed rail link. Estimates of the reduction in air passengers when the tunnel opens are not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
MV Braer
Mr. Wallace : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to receive the report from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch into the grounding of the MV Braer on Shetland in January.
Mr. Norris : The Marine Accident Investigation Branch investigation is progressing well, but it is too early to give an indication of when the report of the chief inspector of marine accidents will be available.
Mr. Wallace : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many formal or informal representations
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have been received by him or his departmental Ministers and officials to the effect that a formal investigation under merchant shipping legislation should not be instituted in respect of the grounding of the MV Braer on Shetland in January.Transport Delays
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate has been made of the costs to businesses caused by transportation delays, on a yearly basis since 1969.
Mr. Norris : These costs are undoubtedly considerable, but no reliable estimate of them, by roads or by other modes, is available. It is an aim of the Department's expenditure and policies to reduce congestion and delay where it is economic to do so, and to make the best possible use of all modes of transport. By ensuring the maintenance of standards in British Rail's passengers charter and the London Underground charter we aim to ensure that public transport delays are kept to a minimum.
Security Alerts
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information is held on the number of delays on British Rail and London Underground caused by security alerts, on a yearly basis since 1969.
Mr. Norris : British Rail and London Underground maintain records of such delays, though not back to 1969. It is not their policy to publish such information and thereby to give publicity to the activities of terrorists.
PRIME MINISTER
Scott Inquiry
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Prime Minister (1) if the costs of legal and other advisers attending the Scott inquiry will be covered by the resources made available by Her Majesty's Government to support Lord Justice Scott's investigation ;
(2) what criteria will govern the repayment of costs for witnesses at the Scott inquiry ; and what expenses will be regarded as reasonable.
The Prime Minister : The inquiry will meet the expenses of a witness or adviser necessarily incurred in attending to give evidence to the inquiry. Legal costs will be met by the inquiry if Lord Justice Scott decides that they were necessary in the interests of justice. They will be assessed by the costs branch of the Treasury Solicitor's Department on the standard basis (as defined in order 62, r.12(1) of the rules of the Supreme Court). The legal costs of Government witnesses or advisers will be met by the Department in which they were serving at the relevant time.
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