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Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretry of State for Defence what are the weather minima for low-flying training below 250 ft in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The weather minima for all military low flying training in the United Kingdom low flying system are as follows :
(a) All aircraft flying in the system faster than 140 kts must maintain 5 km visibility, 1500 m horizontal and 500 ft vertical separation from cloud.
(b) Aircraft, other than helicopters, flying at 140 kts or slower must maintain either 5 km visibility, 1500 m horizontal and 500 ft vertical separation from cloud or 2 km visibility, clear of cloud and in sight of the surface.
(c) Helicopters flying at 140 kts or slower must maintain either 5 km visibility, 1500 m horizontal and 500 ft vertical separation from cloud or keep clear of cloud and keep in sight of the surface.
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretry of State for Defence how many movements into low-flying areas at less than 250 ft above ground level were authorised in each year since 1987.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The number of movements authorised for flying below 250 ft in the three United Kingdom tactical areas each year since 1987 are as follows :
Year |Number --------------------- 1987 |1,386 1988 |2,115 1989 |2,694 1990 |6,027 1991 |1,814 1992 |3,220
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of the military low level training sorties flown over the United Kingdom in each year since 1987 included authorisation to fly at (a) 200 ft above ground and (b) 100 ft above ground level.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Figures for low-flying sorties that have been flown below 250 ft are not available. The proportion of low-flying training movements authorised for flying below 250 ft, for each year since 1987, is given in the table. Such flights may be authorised down to a minimum level of 100 ft but records do not distinguish between levels within the 250 ft to 100 ft band.
Year |Per cent. ------------------------------ 1987 |0.43 1988 |0.69 1989 |0.88 1990 |1.92 1991 |0.72 1992 |1.15
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Royal Air Force fast jet pilots are currently qualified to fly at 100 ft above ground level.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The information is not available.
Mr. Spellar : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the estimated final value of the Al-Yamamah arms contract with Saudi Arabia.
Mr. Aitken : Al-Yamamah is a continuing programme, with no specified end point, so it is not possible to estimate its final value. Purchases by the Saudi Arabian Government under the agreement are, of course, a matter for them.
Mr. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which AWE sites are covered in his evidence to the Select Committee on Defence, in the answer on page 66 of HC 237 of Session 1989-90.
Mr. Aitken : The AWE sites are covered in evidence given to the Defence Select Committee in report HC 237 1989-90 were AWE Aldermaston, AWE Burghfield, AWE Cardiff and AWE Foulness.
Mr. Clapham : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many United Kingdom nuclear tests are scheduled to take place before September 1996.
Mr. Aitken : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Central (Mr. Cousins) on 12 November 1992, Official Report, column 881.
Mr. Olner : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will seek a meeting with the Spanish ambassador regarding the position of British children abducted to Spain.
Mr. John M. Taylor : Spain is a signatory to both the Hague and European conventions on child abduction. Since central authorities remain in close contact with each other, there are no plans for such a meeting at this time.
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Mr. Boswell : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education together with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland have laid the Education (Student Loans) Regulations 1993 before Parliament today.
The loans regulations provide for the new higher rates of loan. For the academic year beginning in September 1993 the maximum rates of loan in the United Kingdom will be as follows :
Loan rates 1993-94 |Full year rate (£) |Final year rate (£) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Students living away from parents home: In London |940 |685 Elsewhere |800 |585 Students living at parents home |640 |470
Apart from technical amendments, the one change to the loans scheme included in the regulations this year provides for students following two- year degree courses, and one accelerated three-year course, to claim the full-year rate of loan if their final year lasts for 40 weeks or more.
Mr. Hunter : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a further statement on the measures which he has introduced and is intending to introduce to increase developer contributions to road improvements.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : My right hon. Friend published a consultation document last August following an efficiency scrutiny report on developers' contributions to highway works. This set out proposals to facilitate developments that otherwise may be postponed or prevented because of inadequate road capacity. The responses to the consultation document are still being examined. A further statement will be made once that examination has been concluded.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 28 April, Official Report, column 401, if he will name the firm of consulting engineers appointed as the Government's agent.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : G. Maunsell and Partners.
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Mr. Ray Powell : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what is the overall average period of service in one episode of employment ;
(2) how many (a) men and (b) women work in (i) manufacturing industry and (ii) the retail trades ; what percentage of the work force these figures represent ; and what is the average length of time spent by each sex in each category of employment.
Mr. McLoughlin : The information available for both questions, from the labour force survey, is given in the tables :
Persons in employment by sex and industry, Autumn 1992 Great Britain (not seasonally adjusted) Numbers of persons in employment (thousands) |All industries|Manufacturing |Retail trade |industry ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Men |13,779 |3,754 |1,114 Women |11,188 |1,462 |1,699 All persons |24,967 |5,217 |2,813 As a proportion of all in employment (per cent.) Men |55.2 |15.0 |4.5 Women |44.8 |5.6 |6.8 All persons |100.0 |20.6 |11.3 Average length of time in current employment (years) Men |9 |9 |7 Women |6 |7 |5 All persons |8 |9 |6
Ms Short : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many unemployed people were quarterly attenders in each month since January 1981 ; and if she will make a statement.
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 M. E. G. Fogden to Ms Clare Short, dated 7 May 1993 :
As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to write to you direct to respond to your Parliamentary Question to her about the number of unemployed people who were quarterly attenders in each month since January 1981. This is something which falls within the responsibilities she has delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
Unfortunately, I am only able to provide the information you requested from April 1986 as data prior to that date can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
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.
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Quarterly Attenders-April 1986 to March 1993 |1986-87|1987-88|1988-89|1989-90|1990-91|1991-92|1992-93 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- April |290,351|281,871|257,328|206,921|135,321|87,060 |59,113 May |286,833|270,723|249,148|191,929|123,922|80,125 |54,406 June |290,295|270,862|250,646|188,289|120,040|78,713 |53,670 July |292,012|269,103|248,932|183,614|115,573|75,696 |52,748 August |290,824|264,811|245,031|177,210|110,581|72,766 |50,330 September |295,138|266,475|245,460|170,150|107,917|70,736 |49,732 October |295,275|266,066|241,580|159,927|104,956|69,464 |48,672 November |291,077|260,594|232,315|150,536|99,451 |66,259 |46,915 December |293,316|261,563|227,964|147,294|97,366 |65,195 |46,409 January |290,536|257,897|222,289|144,090|95,625 |64,214 |44,964 February |282,125|255,867|212,927|138,753|91,665 |61,725 |43,242 March |281,817|258,871|212,094|136,626|98,756 |60,617 |42,845
Mrs. Anne Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to her answer of 21 April, Official Report, column 130, on the careers guidance diploma, how many students are studying part-time ; and what are the figures for Scotland.
Mr. McLoughlin : Further to my reply to the hon. Member of 21 April 1993, column 130, I have obtained from the local government management board the following information :
Number of students in United Kingdom currently studying part-time for Part 1 of the Diploma in Careers guidance, 90.
Of these, the number studying in Scotland, 5.
Ms Eagle : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what consultations she undertook prior to turning the post of chair of the Health and Safety Executive from a full-time position to a part-time one ; and what impact she estimates this will have on the work of the Health and Safety Executive.
Mr. McLoughlin : The decision to make the next chair of the Health and Safety Commission a part-time appointment reflects the loading of the post in current circumstances. Those circumstances include the strengthening of the senior management structure of the Health and Safety Executive last year, when a second full-time deputy director general was appointed to work with the existing full-time director general and deputy. The work of the Health and Safety Commission and Executive remains unchanged.
Mr. Callaghan : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current number of job vacancies in the Greater Manchester area.
Mr. McLoughlin : In March 1993, the latest date for which figures are available, the number of unfilled vacancies in jobcentres covering the Greater Manchester area was 4,840. This figure has not been seasonally adjusted.
Ms Eagle : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will make a statement on the importance and on the future role of the Health and Safety Executive.
Mr. McLoughlin : The future role of the Health and Safety Executive will be to continue its good work in promoting health and safety in the workplace while ensuring businesses are not burdened with unnecessary bureaucracy.
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Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 2 April, Official Report, column 480, to what extent he is currently underfunding the deficit.
Mr. Nelson : The Government are pursuing their full fund policy, as set out in the "Financial and Budget Report 1993-94".
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which other European Community Governments make use of advances from their central banks similar to the ways and means advances to Her Majesty's Government from the Bank of England.
Mr. Nelson : The public sector in most other European Community countries makes use of advances from its central bank. Details are given in the 1992 annual report of the committee of governors of the central banks of the member states of the European Economic Community. A copy of this document is available in the Library.
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 2 April, Official Report, columns 480-81 on ways and means advances, if he will give the actual advances from the Bank of England outstanding at the last working day of the last six financial years and the interest rate payable at that time on such advances.
Mr. Nelson : The information is as follows :
Financial year |Level of Ways and |Interest<1> |Means<1> advances |outstanding from |the Bank of England |£ million |percentage -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1987-88 |4,638 | 8.375 1988-89 |6,256 |12.875 1989-90 |5,963 |14.875 1990-91 |6,918 |12.875 1991-92 |7,187 |10.375 <2>1992-93 |3,062 |5.875 <1> Level of Ways and Means, rounded to the nearest million, and interest payable as at the last working day of each financial year. <2> (Provisional).
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 2 April, Official Report, column 481, on ways and means advances, why interest is paid on such advances ; and what proposals he has to arrange for the Bank of England not to charge such interest.
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Mr. Nelson : Interest is payable to the Bank of England on ways and means advances, and payable by the Bank of England on deposits when the national loans fund is in surplus. It is appropriate for national loans fund borrowing from, and lending to, the Bank of England to be at interest.
There are no proposals to change the arrangements for charging interest.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will table a new statutory instrument to replace the Industrial and Provident Societies (Increase in Shareholding Limit) Order 1981 (SI, 1981, No. 395) in order to increase the current £10,000 limit on shareholdings in industrial and provident societies ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nelson : I have no immediate plans to do so, although the Treasury keeps the limit on shareholdings in industrial and provident societies under review at all times.
Mr. Burns : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy that, where the owner of conditionally exempt property is required to sell part of it under the provisions of the Housing and Urban Development Bill, there should be no review of the designation of the whole of the property.
Mr. Dorrell : Where there is a disposal of part of a property which is conditionally exempt from inheritance tax, the conditional exemption designation of the whole property is reviewed. If the disposal has not materially affected the heritage entity, the designation for the remainder remains in force and the inheritance tax charge is limited to the part disposal.
Following consideration of representations received, the Government propose that, where a part disposal results solely from leasehold enfranchisement under the Housing and Urban Development Bill, or the Leasehold Reform Act 1967, and there is no breach of undertakings in respect of the retained property, there should be no review of designation of the retained property. In these circumstances, the inheritance tax charge will be limited to the part disposal. A new clause to the Finance (No. 2) Bill 1993 will be tabled shortly on this proposal.
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give details of the projects funded by the Overseas Development Association for Indonesia ; to what extent Indonesia's human rights record has affected the level of aid that it receives ; and what representations have been made to Indonesia on human rights matters.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : There are two main elements of ODA's aid programme for Indonesia--projects supported under the aid and trade provision, essentially through the concessional loan arrangements signed since 1986, and technical co-operation projects funded on a grant basis.
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In the first group of projects currently at the implementation stage are the rehabilitation and upgrading of 140 km of rail line, a new 17 km rail spur, both in west Java, provision of Bailey- type steel bridging, a radio communication system for the Ministry of Forestry, airport security systems for the Medan and Bali international airports, a flight simulator for a domestic civilian airline, shortwave radio transmitters for the national broadcasting service, equipment and a training centre for universities in western Indonesia and diesel power units for central Sumatra.Technical co-operation projects under implementation are in the sectors of natural resources, including particularly forestry, energy--both gas and power--education, public administration, and training.
ODA also supports the work of non-governmental organisations in Indonesia.
Decisions on the level of aid for Indonesia, as for all countries, are taken after consideration of all relevant factors, including human rights.
We frequently express to the Indonesian Government our continuing concern at human rights matters, both in Ministers' meetings with their Indonesian counterparts and in representations here and through the embassy in Jakarta. The most recent occasion was when my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary visited Indonesia in early April.
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what information he has received from the International Planned Parenthood Federation and the United Nations Fund for Population Activities on the activities of the Chinese Family Planning Association and the Chinese State Family Planning Commission ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) what discussions he has held with the IPPF and UNFPA concerning coercive population control in China ; and if he will make a statement ;
(3) further to his answer of 26 April, Official Report, column 363, on the work of IPPF and UNFPA, what information his Department receives from these organisations between their annual conferences.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd [holding answer 4 May 1993] : The Overseas Development Administration receives various information from, and is in regular consultation with, IPPF and UNFPA about China's population programme and the technical and financial assistance they provide to China's Family Planning Association and State Family Planning Commission.
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what account he takes in making grants to the population control work of IPPF and UNFPA of Chinese state laws prescribing mandatory abortifacient contraception, sterilisation and abortion.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd [holding answer 4 May 1993] : ODA provides grants to IPPF and UNFPA in support of their worldwide activities. ODA, IPPF and UNFPA all believe that women and men should be able to choose whether to have, or not to have, children without any form of coercion.
The British Government attach importance to China adopting powerful directives from the centre to eliminate coercive practices and human rights violations in its
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population programme. IPPF and UNFPA endorse this view and are in regular dialogue with the Chinese Government.Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will announce Her Majesty's Government's policy on the recognition of Eritrea following its referendum result.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We warmly welcome the outcome of the referendum on Eritrea's status. United Nations observers have confirmed their satisfaction with the process. This opens the way for recognition of Eritrea.
The Eritreans have announced that their independence will be formally declared on 24 May. Accordingly, we plan to announce our decision on diplomatic recognition on that occasion.
Mr. Hunter : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations were made to Malawi about human rights in Malawi during the recent United Kingdom presidency of the EC.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : During our presidency, the EC made two demarches to the Malawian Government about human rights. On 4 August a demarche expressed concern at the re-arrest of Chakufwa Chihana following his earlier release on bail. On 20 October, a further demarche detailed EC member states' continued concerns over human rights and in particular called for greater police accountability and freedom of expression, both of which the EC consider to be prerequisites for the lifting of the restrictions on non-humanitarian aid to the country, imposed by donors in May 1992.
Mr. Frank Field : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to introduce the Government's proposals on Sunday trading in the next session of Parliament ; and if he will present a Bill before Christmas 1993.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : We shall make available a draft Bill together with a text explaining the effects of its provisions before the summer recess. The Bill will be ready for introduction early next Session, when parliamentary time allows. Details of Bills for introduction in the next Session will be given in the Queen's Speech.
Mr. Callaghan : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) thefts of a motor vehicle and (b) thefts from a motor vehicle were committed in the Greater Manchester area in each year since 1987.
Mr. Jack : The information requested is published annually in table 3.1 of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, Supplementary Volume 3", copies of which are available in the Library.
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Mr. Etherington : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 22 October 1992, Official Report, column 372, if he is now able to provide information on the proportion of primates used in British research which are (a) wild caught, (b) captive bred outside the United Kingdom and (c) captive bred in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The Home Office scientific procedures inspectorate has, since the answer of 22 October 1992, completed a survey of the holding of larger primates in 1992. This indicated that the proportion of captive-bred larger primates held, though not necessarily used, is now 80 per cent.
The breakdown by species in 1992 was as follows :
Species |Number held |Number captive bred|Percentage captive |bred ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cynomolgus |2,689 |2,143 |79.7 Rhesus |919 |878 |95.5 Baboon |175 |0 |0 Stump/Pigtail |81 |79 |97.5 Others |6 |6 |100
It is not possible, from the information available, to distinguish between those animals which were captive-bred in the United Kingdom and those which were captive-bred elsewhere.
No precise information is available in respect of smaller primates, although it is believed that the great majority of those used will have been captive-bred in this country.
Mr. Callaghan : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crimes involving the use of replica firearms have been committed in each police authority area in the United Kingdom in each of the last five years.
Mr. Jack : Figures for offences involving imitation firearms in England and Wales are set out in the table. These figures include replica firearms and all other types of imitation firearms, including toys.
Figures for Scotland are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and figures for Northern Ireland are a matter for my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Notifiable offences recorded by the police in which imitation firearms were reported to have been used in England and Wales Police force |1987 |1988 |1989 |1990 |1991 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Avon and Somerset |- |4 |1 |9 |7 Bedfordshire |2 |3 |7 |3 |5 Cambridgeshire |2 |1 |4 |10 |5 Cheshire |- |2 |3 |8 |13 Cleveland |1 |- |1 |- |1 Cumbria |- |2 |2 |6 |5 Derbyshire |3 |4 |2 |4 |5 Devon and Cornwall |7 |4 |9 |4 |8 Dorset |1 |1 |5 |2 |2 Durham |1 |3 |- |1 |6 Essex |5 |16 |7 |12 |11 Gloucestershire |- |- |- |- |3 Greater Manchester |13 |20 |21 |22 |22 Hampshire |12 |7 |17 |19 |21 Hertfordshire |3 |2 |5 |2 |7 Humberside |6 |6 |9 |- |14 Kent |10 |12 |11 |8 |7 Lancashire |4 |- |- |7 |9 Leicestershire |9 |4 |10 |11 |11 Lincolnshire |1 |- |- |- |- London, City of |6 |1 |5 |1 |1 Merseyside |13 |17 |12 |23 |10 Metropolitan |95 |87 |107 |108 |112 Norfolk |2 |2 |2 |1 |1 Northamptonshire |3 |2 |1 |1 |4 Northumbria |5 |4 |9 |17 |21 North Yorkshire |1 |- |2 |2 |3 Nottinghamshire |7 |5 |5 |8 |10 South Yorkshire |4 |6 |11 |10 |17 Staffordshire |1 |2 |2 |3 |2 Suffolk |3 |5 |2 |2 |7 Surrey |2 |3 |4 |4 |2 Sussex |9 |8 |12 |18 |17 Thames Valley |6 |13 |14ent |2 |- North Wales |- |2 |6 |3 |11 South Wales |1 |3 |3 |7 |9 ------- England and Wales |277 |295 |365 |420 |481
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been spent on war crimes investigations since enactment of the War Crimes Act 1991 ; and with what results.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Expenditure so far incurred under the War Crimes Act 1991 is estimated at £3.21 million. Investigations have been undertaken into over 350 allegations and inquiries are still continuing in 75 cases. As yet, no prosecutions have been started under the Act.
Mr. French : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out for each police authority in England for the most recent three years for which figures are available (a) the number of recorded crimes, (b) the ratio of recorded crimes to population, (c) the number of cleared up crimes and (d) the ratio of crimes cleared up to crimes committed ; and if he will give the corresponding figures for 1978-79.
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