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Mr. Douglas Hogg : Earlier this year the Secretary General of the United Nations, Dr. Boutros-Ghali, told my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs that the United Nations was currently seized of 25 conflicts around the world. Detailed information on all these conflicts is not centrally recorded and could be produced only at disproportionate cost. However, 12 of these conflicts are the object of a United Nati Salvador, Western Sahara, Angola, Somalia and Mozambique.
Ukraine
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his oral answer of 14 April, to the hon. Member for Wallasey (Ms Eagle), Official Report, column 830, if he will set out the reasons why Her Majesty's Government regard it as a
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disastrous mistake by the Ukranian Parliament to hold the view that the Ukraine should not relinquish the nuclear weapons held by Ukraine.Mr. Garel-Jones : Under the Lisbon protocol to START I, Ukraine is committed to ratification of START I and early accession to the non- proliferation treaty as a non-nuclear weapons state. Fulfilment of these commitments will influence the extent to which co-operation and partnership between Ukraine and the west can be developed. A decision to retain nuclear weapons would jeopardise the implementation of START I, and thus START II, and would risk weakening the NPT. We believe it is in the interests of global security, and that of Ukraine, that the START reductions should be carried out and the NPT strengthened.
Subsidiarity
Mr. Fabricant : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what procedure he plans to adopt to review European Community legislation passed before December 1991 in relation into its compliance with the principles of subsidiarity laid down by the Maastricht treaty.
Mr. Garel-Jones : We attach great importance to the rigorous implementation of subsidiarity, both in relation to existing and proposed Community legislation. The Edinburgh European Council asked the Commission to present the outcome of its review of existing EC legislation to the Brussels European Council in December. We are discussing with EC partners and with the Commission which items of legislation should be repealed or amended on subsidiarity grounds.
Overseas Domestic Workers
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what percentage of (a) overseas domestic workers and (b) their employers he estimates received his Department's "Information for Domestic Servants Travelling to the United Kingdom" ; and whether the leaflets are written in the mother tongues of the intended recipients.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : All domestic workers are handed a copy of an information leaflet when interviewed at post for entry clearance, and all employers are given a leaflet together with an explanatory note. Records are not kept of the numbers of leaflets issued.
Leaflets are available in English and Arabic. Arrangements are in hand for a translation to be made available in Tagalog--Filipino. Where an applicant does not understand English the contents of the leaflet are explained in their local language. The Home Office is currently producing copies in Spanish, Bengali, Urdu, Hindi and Tamil.
South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands
Mr. Pickles : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the policy of Her Majesty's Government towards the extension of maritime jurisdiction around South Georgia and the South Sandwich islands.
Mr. Garel-Jones : In recent years, we have become increasingly concerned about the conservation of marine
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resources around South Georgia and the South Sandwich islands in the south Atlantic which is a British dependent territory. At present, the Crown's sovereignty and jurisdiction around South Georgia and the South Sandwich islands extend to the 12-mile limit of the territorial sea. For waters beyond this, we have hitherto relied solely on the work of the commission created by the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources--CCAMLR--a component of the Antarctic treaty system. This depends on flag state regulation and policing to apply conservation measures decided by consensus amongst the 22 members. We fully support CCAMLR and co-operate in the body's work. We have worked most energetically to strengthen the role of CCAMLR in its regulation of southern ocean fisheries. Although CCAMLR has provided timely and much- needed protection for commercially fished species, we are concerned that nevertheless fish stocks have been depleted.Moreover, infringements of CCAMLR regulations have grown. The need to reinforce conservation arrangements in the area for which Her Majesty's Government are responsible is clear. Accordingly, Ministers have decided to strengthen conservation and management of marine resources around South Georgia and the South Sandwich islands by the introduction of national measures. These measures are intended to supplement not replace the role of CCAMLR and are of course fully compatible with it.
For this reason, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has instructed the commissioner for South Georgia and the South Sandwich islands to issue a proclamation tomorrow to provide for the exercise of the Crown's sovereign rights to jurisdiction over a maritime zone and its natural resources, living and non-living, extending to a distance of 200 nautical miles around the territories.
In addition, an ordinance will be made, in due course, by the commissioner for South Georgia and the South Sandwich islands designed to monitor and protect the state of the fish stocks within the maritime zone. This action will reinforce existing measures under CCAMLR.
Since their re-establishment in 1990, our relations with Argentina have progressed to their present excellent state and are now marked by a new openness and growing mutual confidence. This is a source of great satisfaction to Her Majesty's Government, who will continue to work to develop the relationship further. Against this background, it was natural for us to discuss our concerns over conservation fully with the Argentine Government with whom we have extensive exchanges on south Atlantic matters, particularly in relation to fisheries. We look forward to pursuing this dialogue.
PRIME MINISTER
Appointments
Mr. Maclennan : To ask the Prime Minister how many peers have been appointed to offices of profit under the Crown since 1979.
The Prime Minister : This information is not available.
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Engagements
Sir Peter Tapsell : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 6 May.
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 6 May.
The Prime Minister : This morning, I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall be having further meetings later today.
EDUCATION
Testing
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the cost of the advertisements his Department placed in the national press on 27 April promoting the national testing scheme ; and what plans he has to publish further advertisements on testing in schools.
Mr. Forth : Information about the cost of the advertisements is commercial in confidence. Further advertising is planned in the national press until the end of the campaign in May which concludes with magazine advertisements.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Unemployment
12. Mr. McFall : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of the cost to the Exchequer of each unemployed person per year.
Sir John Cope : The Department of Social Security's annual report provides an estimate that, in the current year, a change in unemployment of 100,000 would result in a variation of £350 million in benefit expenditure--or an average of £3,500 per unemployed person.
22. Ms Short : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the cost to the Treasury in benefits paid and tax and national insurance payments forgone of the current level of unemployment.
Mr. Portillo : The Department of Social Security estimates that in 1993-94 the total cost of benefits paid to unemployed people will be £9.29 billion based on an unemployment assumption for Great Britain of 2 million. An estimate of tax and national insurance payments forgone is not produced, as it depends on the particular tax liabilities and earnings when in employment of each individual who is currently unemployed.
Recession
13. Dr. Berry : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the steps he is taking to end the recession in Britain.
Mr. Nelson : Across the economy there are clear signs of a resumption of growth, reflecting our success in bringing down inflation. The Government's economic policies are designed to ensure that inflation is kept low and thereby support the recovery.
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Industrial Production
15. Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his assessment of the latest trend in the level of industrial production.
Mr. Portillo : The recent trend in industrial production has been upwards : in the three months to February the index of production was 1 per cent. up on a year earlier. And business surveys point to continuation of an upward trend.
European Bank of Reconstruction and Development
16. Mr. Worthington : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action he has taken to influence the policy of the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development.
Mr. Nelson : In his statement to the EBRD's annual meeting in London, on 27 April, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer emphasised the EBRD's duty to use taxpayers' resources as cost-effectively as possible. He stressed the need that the institution, which was established to promote efficiency and enterprise, should itself provide an example of sound financial management. Welcoming the changes agreed by the bank's board of directors to improve the control of its costs, my right hon. Friend argued for rapid and vigorous implementation of these. He also called for the bank to develop its key role in promoting effective mechanisms for assisting small and medium-sized enterprises in the countries of the former Communist bloc.
Cohesion Fund
17. Sir Teddy Taylor : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the total sum to be distributed from the EC's proposed cohesion fund between now and 1999 ; and what part of this sum is estimated to come to the United Kingdom.
Sir John Cope : The Edinburgh European Council agreed a figure of 15.15 billion ecu for the period ; and that only Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Greece would be eligible.
Petroleum Revenue Tax
18. Mr. Welsh : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on the petroleum revenue tax changes announced in the Budget ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nelson : Representations, including important support for the reform, have been received from a number of companies and individuals on the petroleum revenue tax changes.
Business Taxation
19. Mrs. Roche : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what impact his 1992 Budget changes to business taxation have had on employment levels.
Sir John Cope : The changes in business taxes in the 1992 Budget, together with those in the autumn statement and this year's March Budget have strengthened the prospects for sustainable growth of output and employment.
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Investment and Unemployment
20. Dr. Kim Howells : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the relationship between the Budget measures for investment and unemployment levels.
Mr. Portillo : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Ipswich on 1 April, at columns 371-72.
Mortgage Rates
21. Mr. Bates : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when mortgage rates were last at their current level.
Mr. Nelson : Following the most recent cut in base rates, most mortgage lenders have announced mortgage rates below 8 per cent. They are now at their lowest level since April 1969.
Retail Sales
23. Mr. Clappison : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when retail sales were last at their latest reported level.
Mr. Nelson : Retail sales in the first quarter of this year were at their highest level ever recorded.
Trade Balance
24. Mr. Mullin : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to monitor the United Kingdom's balance of trade in the absence of official statistics.
Mr. Portillo : Statistics for the United Kingdom's trade with countries outside the EC have continued without interruption. Figures for our trade with all countries in the first quarter of 1993 will be published in the usual balance of payments released in June.
Domestic Fuel
25. Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what further plans he has to alleviate the effect on those on low incomes of charging VAT on domestic fuel.
Sir John Cope : As my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer made clear in his Budget speech, extra help will be given from April 1994 to poorer pensioners and others receiving income-related benefits. The precise amount and the way in which this will be targeted will be announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security in the autumn.
Sudan
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on relations between Sudan and (a) the International Monetary Fund and (b) the World bank.
Mr. Nelson : The IMF is not providing any financial assistance to the Sudan which is in arrears to that institution. The World bank has provided one loan, for an emergency drought recovery project, since 1990 ; the bank has no current plans to make further loans.
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GP Fund Holders
Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what differences there are in taxation of the various functions, services and purchases between those of a general practioner fund-holding practice and those of a non-fund-holding practice.
Mr. Dorrell : As far as VAT is concerned, there is no difference. For their NHS activities, both are considered to be part of the VAT registration of the regional health authority, and are treated equally. The position for trading income is that the same general rules on the taxation of trading profits apply whether or not the income of a general practitioner practice includes amounts allocated under the funding initiative.
Public Servants
Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 26 April, Official Report, 292-94, if he will list the numbers and staff costs to the Exchequer of each central Government Department by civil service grade for 1979-80 and 1991-92 ; and what comparable information he has for local authorities.
Mr. Portillo : Information is not available centrally about the staff costs to the Exchequer of each central Government Department by civil service grade or about the staff grading or staff costs of local authorities.
Information on numbers of non-industrial staff in post in the major departments, broken down by selected occupational groups and grades, is given in the annual publication "Civil Service Statistics" which is available from the Library. The 1991 and 1992 editions provide staffing information for 1 April 1991 and 1 April 1992 respectively. A breakdown by grade only is published in the 1979 and 1980 editions.
EC Payments
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what additional payments were made from the Consolidated Fund to the EC as part of the United Kingdom's total payments to the EC due to the increased VAT incurred as a result of contracting out in each year since 1982.
Sir John Cope : The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Environmental Protection
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what matters in regard to investment in global environmental protection were discussed at the most recent meeting of G7 Finance Ministers in Washington DC.
Mr. Nelson : None. The meeting focused primarily on the economic situation in the G7 countries.
VAT
Sir Michael Neubert : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on the level of the qualifying turnover for VAT since his Budget statement.
Sir John Cope : The few representations that have been received are divided between those who would like to see
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the threshold raised significantly in order to exclude many more businesses from the tax and those who seek a much lower or nil threshold in order to minimise what they see as unfair competition for registered traders from those who are not registered.Family Tax Bills
Ms Janet Anderson : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the impact on the average family's tax bill of the Budget changes in fuel costs, national insurance contributions, married couples' allowances and excise duties.
Sir John Cope : I refer the hon. Member to the replies given to the hon. Member for Glasgow, Garscadden (Mr. Dewar) on 22 April at columns 172- 78.
Personal Debt
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest estimate of the level of personal debt in the United Kingdom.
Sir John Cope : Total financial liabilities of the personal sector were £486 billion in the third quarter 1992.
Illegal Alcohol Imports
Mr. John Townend : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what quantity of illegally imported alcoholic beverages have been impounded or confiscated by Customs and Excise officials in the first quarter of 1993 ;
(2) what estimate he has made, on a weekly basis, of the level of illegal importation of alcohol during the first quarter of 1993 ; and what his projection of the level was on 30 June 1992 ;
(3) how many cases Customs and Excise detected in the first quarter of 1993 of people illegally selling alcohol bought elsewhere in the EC at lower excise duty rates and imported into the United Kingdom ostensibly for personal use ;
(4) what is his estimate of the percentage of abuse of the indicative level of alcohol and tobacco imports being detected by Customs and Excise officers ; and what estimate he has made of the annual loss of revenue resulting from such abuse.
Sir John Cope : Details of detections of imported alcoholic drink illegally offered or intended for sale in the United Kingdom during the quarter ending 31 March are shown in the table.
Beverage |seizures |Quantity litres ---------------------------------------------------------------- Beer |51 |47,064 Wine |15 |7,385 Spirits |18 |860
Any estimates as to the extent of undetected illegal importations would be largely a matter of speculation, but the revenue involved in the detected cases amounts in total to £57,834.
There is no longer any requirement for travellers to declare routinely details of tobacco and alcohol being brought into the United Kingdom from other EC member states for their personal use. Provided the goods are duty
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paid in the EC country of departure and are intended for personal use, the indicative levels, which function only as a guide, may be legitimately exceeded.European Monetary Union
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consideration is being given to ways of delaying the advent of stage 2 of EMU beyond 1 January 1994.
Mr. Nelson : I am not aware of any such consideration. Article 109e of the Maastricht treaty states that the second stage for achieving economic and monetary union shall begin on 1 January 1994.
Trinidad Terms
Mr. Hanson : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans the Government have to extend the Trinidad terms on world debt to countries not currently covered by them.
Mr. Nelson : The Paris Club of creditor countries has so far given debt relief on Trinidad terms to 15 of the world's poorest and most indebted countries, 12 of them in sub-Saharan Africa. They include Benin, Bolivia, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea Republic, Honduras, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia. Trinidad terms are not intended for better-off but for heavily indebted countries, although I recognise that for some heavily indebted, lower-middle income countries, concessional debt relief may be necessary. Therefore, I welcome the call made by the G7 at the Munich summit to consider the special situation of some heavily indebted lower-middle income countries on a case-by-case basis.
Exchange Rate Mechanism
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the changes in the rates, rules and modus operandi of the ERM since the United Kingdom left the mechanism ; and what studies European central bankers have made of its operation and its effects on the level of currency speculation between European currencies.
Mr. Nelson : On 16 September 1992, sterling and the lira were suspended from participation in the ERM and the peseta was devalued by 5 per cent. The peseta was devalued by 6 per cent. along with the escudo, on 23 November 1992, and the Irish punt was devalued by 10 per cent. on 1 February 1993.
There have been no changes in ERM rules over this period. The European Council, meeting in Birmingham, endorsed the view of Economic and Finance Ministers that the recent financial turbulence calls for reflection and analysis in the light of developments in capital markets and in the European and world monetary systems. It invited Economic and Finance Ministers, assisted by the monetary committee, with the involvement of the Commission, to carry this work forward, with the central bank governors. This work is continuing.
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Debtor Countries
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the value to the United Kingdom of debt interest payments from developing countries in 1990-91, 1991-92 and 1992-93 from (a) payments to the Export Credits Guarantee Department, (b) payments to the Overseas Development Administration, (c) payments to the Commonwealth Development Corporation and (d) in total.
Mr. Nelson [holding answer 4 May 1993] : The following data related to receipts received by each of the agencies from developing countries in the last three financial years. The figures include debt interest paid by Poland, Turkey and Yugoslavia.
£ million |1990-91 |1991-92 |1992-93
--------------------------------------------------
ECGD |228.0 |338.0 |332.0
ODA |5.9 |7.9 |4.2
CDC |67.0 |65.9 |86.2
|--- |--- |---
Total |300.9 |411.8 |422.4
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what was the value to the United Kingdom of debt interest payments from Zambia in 1990-91, 1991-92 and 1992-93 from (a) payments to the Export Credits Guarantee Department, (b) payments to the Overseas Development Administration, (c) payments to the Commonwealth Development Corporation and (d) in total ;
(2) what is the current total of outstanding debt owed to the United Kingdom by Zambia.
Mr. Nelson [holding answer 4 May 1993] : The details of individual debtors' positions are confidential to the country concerned. We cannot publish these figures without the consent of the authorities in the debtor countries. However, I can say that at the beginning of April the ODA wrote off £56 million of old aid debts with Zambia. This followed the International Monetary Fund's approval of Zambia's rights accumulation programme.
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether negotiations have started for the second stage of Nicaragua's Trinidad terms debt agreement of 17 December 1991 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nelson [holding answer 4 May 1993] : Negotiations have not yet started for the second stage of Nicaragua's Trinidad terms debt agreement. Under that agreement, creditors agreed to consider a stock of debt reduction for Nicaragua after three or four years following a period of proven financial and economic responsibility. The Government are continuing to press the Paris Club to agree to earlier action on the stock of debt of the poorest and most heavily indebted countries.
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the current total of outstanding debt owed to the United Kingdom by developing countries.
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Mr. Nelson [holding answer 4 May 1993] : The latest figure available for the current total official outstanding debt owed to the United Kingdom by developing countries is £9.67 billion.
Premium Bonds
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 28 April, Official Report, column 405, if he will give details of the 12 changes made to the premium bond prize fund rate.
Mr. Nelson [holding answer 5 May 1993] : The details are as follows :
Prize fund rate changes
|Per cent.
-------------------------------------
1 August 1960 |4.500
1 September 1968 |4.625
1 August 1971 |4.750
1 July 1973 |4.875
1 July 1974 |5.500
1 November 1976 |5.625
1 January 1979 |5.750
1 July 1980 |7.000
1 November 1984 |7.750
1 August 1987 |7.000
1 July 1988 |6.500
1 March 1993 |5.000
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Ministry of Defence Police
Mr. Madden : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what inquiries he has made into reports of the unauthorised use of a tape recorder by Ministry of Defence police in Pateley Bridge magistrates court on 2 April ; what action he has taken ; and if he will make a statement.
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