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West Wellow Bypass
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will extend their deadline date for public consultation on the alternative routes for the A36 West Wellow bypass from 12 July to 12 August.
Mr. Norris : The public consultation period is being extended to 13 September.
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consideration his Department or any agencies employed by him has given to a route south of West Wellow for the A36 bypass of the village.
Mr. Norris : The Department has considered route options for the proposed A36 West Wellow bypass south of the existing trunk road, but rejected them on environmental grounds.
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give details of the environmental assessments
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undertaken by his Department or agencies in respect of the four alternative routes known as purple, green, yellow A and yellow B for the A36 bypass of West Wellow.Mr. Norris : Environmental assessments undertaken for the route options are contained in three landscape reports, an ecological appraisal and a preliminary appraisal report. They are available for inspection at the public exhibitions currently being held in West Wellow.
Motor Vehicles
Mr. Nigel Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the percentage annual change in road use by motorised vehicles in each year since 1979.
Mr. Key : The annual percentage change in road use by motorised vehicles in each year since 1979 is given in the table.
All motor vehicle traffic in Great Britain
Year All motor vehicle
traffic
|(Billion vehicle Km)|Percentage change on
|previous year
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1978 |256.49 |-
1979 |255.87 |-0.2
1980 |271.93 |6.3
1981 |276.90 |1.8
1982 |284.46 |2.7
1983 |288.06 |1.3
1984 |303.09 |5.2
1985 |309.67 |2.2
1986 |325.30 |5.0
1987 |350.46 |7.8
1988 |375.70 |7.2
1989 |406.88 |8.3
1990 |410.84 |1.0
1991 |411.58 |0.2
<1>1992 |404.60 |-1.7
<1> Provisional estimate.
Mr. Callaghan : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the number of licensed motor vehicles on the roads (a) in 1983 and (b) at the latest date for which figures are available.
Mr. Key : The information requested was published recently by HMSO in "Vehicle Licensing Statistics 1992". This shows that the total number of motor vehicles licensed in Great Britain as at 31 December 1983 were
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20,209,000. As at 31 December 1992, the latest year available, the number of licensed motor vehicles had increased by 23 per cent. to 24,851,000.Trunk Roads
Mr. Callaghan : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what provision has been made for expenditure on trunk roads in each of the next three years.
Mr. Key : The provision for expenditure on trunk roads in England is £2,092 million in 1993-94, £2,151 million in 1994-95 and £2,059 million in 1995-96.
Mr. Callaghan : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the total number of jobs involved in current highway projects on the trunk road network.
Mr. Key : Some 50 new construction schemes are under construction and many major maintenance projects are under way on the English trunk road network. The number of jobs on these sites varies from day to day. In addition, there are people working in the industries supplying aggregates, steel, communications equipment, and other materials. On the basis of comments by independent bodies, it is estimated that, each £30,000 of capital expenditure directly supports one job. On this basis, the £1,932 million we plan to spend on new construction and capital maintenance in 1993-94 will directly support 60,000 to 70,000 jobs, and a good many more besides in supplying industries.
London Underground
Mr. Callaghan : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what plans he has for the relief of traffic congestion on London Underground ;
(2) what proposals he has to reduce passenger overcrowding on the London Underground.
Mr. Norris : London Transport and London Underground Ltd. are responsible for the management of the underground system, including decisions on measures to relieve overcrowding and congestion. Such measures currently include both improvements to the existing network such as the £750 million modernisation of the Central line and the £28 million modernisation of Bank/Monument station, and plans for new lines, notably the Jubilee line extension and crossrail.
Mr. Callaghan : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much central Government expenditure is allocated to improving safety standards on the London Underground.
Mr. Norris : The Government provide a block grant to London Transport--LT--as a whole. We do not allocate specific amounts either to London Underground Ltd--LUL--or to expenditure on improving safety standards. Decisions on such matters are taken by LT and LUL.
Light Rail Projects
Mr. Callaghan : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many light rail projects are planned in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Freeman : Local authorities are primarily responsible for initiating light rail projects, and I am aware of
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around 30 that are planning or considering such projects for their area. These are in addition to the schemes towards which the Government has provided resources, the Manchester Metrolink scheme, which opened last year, and the South Yorkshire Supertram scheme, which is under construction and the first phase of which is due to open in early 1994. The Government have also provided funds towards the development of the Midland Metro scheme.Wheel Clamping
Mr. Callaghan : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effect of wheel clamping on levels of illegal parking.
Mr. Key : Research carried out by the Road Research Laboratory indicates that wheel clamping on public roads significantly increases the degree of compliance with parking regulations, which in turn allows traffic to flow more freely.
Carbon Dioxide Emissions
Mr. Harvey : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from motor vehicles in order to help fulfil the commitments the Government gave at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development.
Mr. Key : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by my right hon. Friend to the hon. Members for Wakefield (Mr. Hinchliffe) and for Ellesmere Port and Neston (Mr. Miller) on 24 May, Official Report, columns 417-18.
Birmingham Relief Road
Dr. Wright : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the implications for the tolling design of the Birmingham northern relief road of "Paying for Better Motorways", Cm. 2200.
Mr. Key : "Paying for Better Motorways" makes it clear that no decisions have been taken on whether to charge directly for the use of existing motorways. Legislation would be required for any form of charging. We see no need to revise the current plans for the Birmingham northern relief road. The private sector has already taken on responsibility for costs and risks associated with the scheme.
Road Surfaces
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made, in respect of each stretch of motorway and trunk road, of the likelihood of the road surface being damaged by hot weather ; and, in respect of each, what repairs will be carried out and when.
Mr. Key : The standards and specifications used by the Department of Transport for the design and construction of all motorways and trunk roads make due allowance for the effect of hot weather. However, damage does sometimes occur in exceptional circumstances. In addition to normal monitoring, during periods of unusual weather conditions extra monitoring is undertaken. Problems are rectified as quickly as possible and in such a way as to cause minimum inconvenience to road users.
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Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate the cost of repair in respect of each stretch of motorway and trunk road of repairing damage caused, or likely to be caused, by defective concrete and reinforced steel construction ; and what plans he has to undertake repair work to ensure minimum disruption to motorists.
Mr. Key : The Department of Transport spends some £16 million each year on the rehabilitation of concrete roads. This is mainly to rectify the effects of many years of wear and tear from heavy traffic ; only a very small proportion of the work is to remedy defective materials and workmanship. Concrete roads are regularly inspected and any necessary repair work is carefully planned and co-ordinated to ensure minimum disruption to road users, by working at night, for example.
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which stretches of (a) motorway and (b) trunk road, with the number of miles in each case, have been constructed with concrete and reinforced steel.
Mr. Key : Of the 250 miles of motorway with a concrete surface, about 65 miles are reinforced with steel. For all-purpose trunk roads, there are 210 miles of which 80 are reinforced. Many roads have concrete as part of the pavement but have a blacktop surface. Taking these into account, approximately 20 per cent. of motorways and 8 per cent. of all- purpose trunk roads have concrete as a part of the structural pavement layers. Roads with long--above 10 miles, but not necessarily continuous-- lengths of concrete carriageway are :
|Lengths (miles)
----------------------------------------------------------------
M20 in Kent |38
M40 in Oxfordshire/Warwickshire |38
M11 in Essex |30
A12 in Essex |29
M25 in Surrey |22
M42 in Warwickshire |19
M27 in Hampshire |16
A1 in Nottinghamshire |16
M5 in Somerset |15
M6 in Lancashire |13
A45 in Suffolk |13
M2 in Kent |12
M25 in Essex |12
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give full details of the design specification required of contractors who (a) build and (b) repair roads ; and what plans he has to review the specification required of the tenderer.
Mr. Key : Contractors involved in the construction and repair of the Department's roads are required to carry out their work in accordance with the specification for highway works which forms part of the manual of contract documents for highway works. The content is subject to continual review with the publication of an update approximately annually. Designs for road construction are based on standards set out in the design manual for roads and bridges. Copies of both documents are being made available in the Library of the House.
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MV Tigris
Mr. Wallace : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what response he has received from the Greek authorities in respect of representations made to them by his Department regarding the alleged dumping of coal residue in international waters west of Foula in 1992, by the MV Tigris ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Norris : The response from the Greek authorities received last month states that the competent Greek authorities have investigated the matter and questioned the master of the vessel. He confirmed that :
a. MV Tigris was on 13 May 1992 and at 1445 GMT in the position mentioned and the Captain was on the bridge ;
b. A crew member was on the starboard side where he was piling coal dust after a clean up of the hold of the ship ;
c. Competent officers under Captain's orders ensured that remainders of cargo were not shovelled into the sea ;
d. The Captain issued the order since the vessel was in a Special Area ;
e. The crew member on the starboard side did not shovel coal dust over the side of the vessel.
The Greek authorities did not impose a penalty.
We remain concerned about this matter and are considering how to take it further.
Cyprus Turkish Airlines
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to prevent the traffic of Cyprus Turkish Airlines between Stansted and Heathrow.
Mr. Norris [holding answer 14 June 1993] : If Cyprus Turkish Airlines were to fly to or from the United Kingdom they would require the permission of the Secretary of State under article 88 of the Air Navigation Order 1989. It is an offence to operate without this and an airline would be liable to prosecution.
No applications have been received from Cyprus Turkish Airlines.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Poverty Passports
Mr. Wareing : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if Her Majesty's Government support the proposal by the President of the European Commission for the issue of poverty passports to enable disadvantaged EC citizens to claim a range of benefits in order to lift them out of poverty ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Hague : Disadvantage takes different forms in different countries and, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, it is accepted that action lies primarily with member states. Community-wide "poverty passports" would not, therefore, be appropriate. Mechanisms already exist to deal with the portability of benefits between member states.
War Pensioners
Mrs. Helen Jackson : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what recent changes there have been to the treatment allowance available to war pensioners suffering from chronic illnesses ; and how much was spent on treatment allowances for pensioners in 1991, 1992 and in 1993 to date.
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Mr. Hague : Treatment allowance, which in effect brings a war pension up to the 100 per cent. rate, is payable where the pensioner is receiving treatment, in hospital or elsewhere, for his war-pensioned disablement. Legislation has been amended recently so that, from 12 April 1993, new awards of treatment allowance will be made only when the war pensioner incurs a loss of earnings as a result of the treatment. The Central Advisory Committee on War Pensions was consulted about this change.
Information on expenditure on treatment allowance is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Retirement Pensions
Mr. Denham : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what percentage of (a) men and (b) women in the latest year for which figures are available reached retirement age with entitlement to (i) the full basic state pension, (ii) some state earnings-related pension or additional pension, (iii) an occupational pension and (iv) a personal pension.
Mr. Hague : The information is not available in the form requested.
The available information regarding recipients of basic retirement pension and additional pension resident in Great Britain at 30 September 1992, the latest date for which figures are available, is in the table.
|Men aged 65 |Women aged 60
|<1>Per cent. |<1>Per cent.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Full category A retirement pension |68.0 |16.0
Full category B retirement pension (widow/widower) |- |1.5
Full category B retirement pension (married women)<2> |n/a |7.5
Notional additional pension<3> |71.5 |32.0
<1>Figures expressed as percentages of the 1991 based population projections for mid-1992
rounded to the nearest 0.5 per cent.
The following main categories of benefit recipients are not shown in the table:
People receiving pension at less than the full rate;
Women receiving pension partly on their own and partly on their husband's contributions;
People receiving invalidity benefit post-pensionable age.
<2>The standard rate of category B retirement pension payable to a married woman is
approximately 60 per cent. of the full category A rate.
<3>The figures relate to notional entitlement to additional pension with retirement pension
prior to any contracted-out deduction in respect of guaranteed minimum pension or protected
rights payment arising from membership of a contracted-out pension scheme or a personal pension
scheme used in place of the additional pension. The numbers therefore include cases where only
guaranteed minimum pension or protected rights is in payment.
In 1989, the most recent year for which figures are available, it is estimated that 66 per cent. of men aged 65 to 69, and 36 per cent. of women aged 60 to 64, had entitlement to some occupational pension. Information on numbers of men and women reaching retirement age with a personal pension is not available.
Income Support
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the cost in a full year of restoring income support entitlement to those aged 16 and 17 years.
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Mr. Burt : Information is not available to calculate the cost of restoring entitlement to income support for 16 and 17-year-olds.
Copenhagen Conference
Ms Quin : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the level of British Government participation in the conference in Copenhagen organised by the Danish EC presidency on 3 and 4 June, entitled, "Fighting Against Social Exclusion--A Challenge to the 1990s" ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Hague : The British Government was represented at this conference by two officials from the policy group in the Department.
Disability Benefits
Mr. Bradley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many claims have been received to date by his Department for (a) compensation, (b) an ex-gratia payment or (c) both from people who claimed disability living allowance, attendance allowance or mobility allowance on or after 3 February 1992 ; how many in each category were (i) accepted or (ii) refused ; and what is the total cost to his Department for such payments over this period ; (2) how many people are expected to receive a special compensatory payment under the special arrangements for people who claimed disability living allowance, attendance allowance or mobility allowance on or after 3 February 1992 in total ; how many of those will receive (a) £10, (b) £20, (c) £30, (d) £40, (e) £50, (f) £60, (g) £70 and (h) over £70 compensation ; and what is the expected overall cost to his Department ;
(3) how many people whose attendance allowance or mobility allowance (a) came up for renewal or (b) was being reviewed on or after 3 February 1992 experienced interruption in their benefit for a period exceeding three months ; and how many of these have been awarded compensation ;
(4) how many people who claimed disability living allowance, attendance allowance or mobility allowance between 3 February 1992 and 31 March 1993 would have been eligible for compensation had the new compensation arrangements linking the scheme to Benefits Agency performance targets been brought into effect from3 February 1992.
Mr. Scott : The administration of disability living allowance and attendance allowance 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 Michael Bichard to Mr. Keith Bradley, dated 14 June 1993 :
As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency, it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to the points raised in your recent Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Social Security about compensation and ex gratia payments for people who have claimed Disability Living Allowance (DLA), Attendance Allowance (AA) and Mobility Allowance (MobA). I will deal with each of your points in turn.
Firstly, I should explain the effect of the revised arrangements and special retrospective scheme, which was recently announced.
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Until 1 April 1993, compensation, for delays in payment of benefit, is only considered when the delay in payment of benefit in new claims was at least 12 months. The delay had to have been caused by official error and the arrears of benefit had to be £50 or more. From 1 April 1993, the date from which compensation may be paid has been brought forward, whilst the other criteria remain the same. Compensation will be considered where a payment of benefit is delayed for 6 months beyond the target set for clearing the bulk of claims. In recognition that this improvement will be too late for people who claimed DLA last year and suffered unacceptable delay due to the exceptional problems following its introduction, a special compensatory payment will be made.This will apyment will be made at the rate of £10 per month for each month in excess of this 8 month period.
The number of people who have received payments of compensation for late payment of benefit on or after3 February, having claimed DLA, AA or MobA, is 186 at a cost of £25,779.84. The number of people who have received an ex gratia payment, made in respect of, for example, telephone bills is 162 at a cost of £9,316.96. These numbers will however include claims to benefit made prior to 3 February 1992. In the same period 129 people were refused a compensation payment and 74 people were refused an ex gratia payment. We have no record of people who claimed both. These figures are provisional and may be subject to amendment.
It is not possible to predict how many people will receive each of the amounts you quoted by way of special compensatory payments. It is anticipated that some 80,000 to 90,000 people will benefit from the scheme at a cost of around £3 million.
Arrangements for compensation for those people who have experienced an interruption in the payment of their benefit exceeding three months remain the same. These people would originally have made a claim to AA or MobA, which at renewal would have been paid as one of the components of DLA. Since 3 February 1992, 141 people experienced an interruption of this duration or more and have received a payment of compensation. The amount of compensation paid is £5,204.43. These figures are provisional and may be subject to amendment.
Requests for review are not subject to this three-month period, which applies to interruptions in payment. They are subject to the same period as new claims.
The information on how many people would have been eligible for compensation, had the new arrangements been brought into effect from 3 February 1992, is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. However these claims would have been subject to consideration of a payment of compensation where payment of benefit had been delayed for six months beyond the target date set for clearing the bulk of claims. In addition, the delay would have to have been caused by official error and the arrears of benefit would have had to be £50 or more.
I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report. A copy will also be placed in the Library.
Mr. Ainger : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people were claiming sickness or invalidity benefit in each month in each of the last three years (a) in the area covered by the Wales area directorate and (b) in each of the districts in Wales.
Mr. Scott : The administration of sickness benefit and invalidity benefit is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available and a copy will be placed in the Library.
Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Nick Ainger, dated 14 June 1993 :
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As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking how many people were claiming Sickness or Invalidity Benefit in each month in each of the last three years (a) in the area covered by the Wales Area Directorate and (b) in each of the districts in Wales.The information has been obtained in the format requested. The statistics for the number of people claiming Sickness or Invalidity Benefit at the last working day of each month of the last three years in the area covered by the Wales Area Directorate (Wales as part of the former Wales and South West Region prior to April 1991) are provided on the table. The statistics for each of the districts in Wales are provided on appendix 1.
Last working day of |Number of people |Number of people |Total number of
|claiming invalidity|claiming sickness |people claiming SB
|benefit (IVB) |benefit (SB) |and IVB
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 1990 |<1>- |<1>- |171,767
May 1990 |<1>- |<1>- |171,716
June 1990 |<1>- |<1>- |171,644
July 1990 |<1>- |<1>- |173,030
August 1990 |<1>- |<1>- |173,258
September 1990 |<1>- |<1>- |173,387
October 1990 |<1>- |<1>- |174,612
November 1990 |<1>- |<1>- |175,662
December 1990 |<1>- |<1>- |176,918
January 1991 |<1>- |<1>- |178,524
February 1991 |<1>- |<1>- |179,758
March 1991 |<1>- |<1>- |180,456
April 1991 |<1>- |<1>- |182,037
May 1991 |148,915 |32,381 |181,296
June 1991 |150,016 |32,808 |182,824
July 1991 |150,676 |33,699 |184,375
August 1991 |151,462 |34,563 |186,025
September 1991 |152,129 |34,374 |186,503
October 1991 |153,838 |33,982 |187,820
November 1991 |154,320 |34,367 |188,687
December 1991 |156,002 |34,218 |190,220
January 1992 |156,984 |35,215 |192,199
February 1992 |158,327 |35,309 |193,636
March 1992 |159,225 |36,187 |195,412
April 1992 |159,836 |35,951 |195,787
May 1992 |160,937 |36,101 |197,038
June 1992 |162,174 |36,754 |198,928
July 1992 |162,668 |37,469 |200,137
August 1992 |164,479 |36,862 |201,341
September 1992 |165,462 |37,559 |203,021
October 1992 |167,218 |38,969 |206,187
November 1992 |168,443 |39,654 |208,097
December 1992 |169,737 |40,929 |210,666
January 1993 |170,369 |40,807 |211,176
February 1993 |171,761 |41,729 |213,490
March 1993 |173,066 |41,679 |214,745
<1> Note SB and IVB claimants were counted together up to April 1991.
It should also be noted that the figures include customers who may have claimed Sickness Benefit and Invalidity Benefit but who may not be in receipt of the benefit. These cases will be "credits only" cases where the person is registered sick and receiving National Insurance credits, also cases where termination action has not been completed. The figures are based on a 100 per cent. clerical count of cases in the local office and are therefore subject to amendment. I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report and a copy will also be placed in the Library.
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April 1992 to March 1993 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gwyneddigion |11,003|11,250|11,164|11,255|11,310|11,571|11,666|11,747|11,961|11,978|12,111|12,421 Mid Wales and Maelor |11,069|11,153|10,831|11,534|11,625|11,653|11,851|12,143|12,295|12,167|12,271|12,197 Cynon Merthyr and Rhymney Valley |25,387|25,998|25,993|26,051|25,917|26,191|27,035|27,478|27,672|28,041|28,258|28,111 South Glamorgan |18,613|18,598|18,857|19,063|19,260|19,453|19,539|19,807|19,977|20,172|20,318|20,478 West Wales |21,389|21,340|21,506|21,635|21,874|22,062|22,346|22,341|22,779|22,705|23,188|23,080 Swansea |18,862|19,057|19,185|19,236|19,420|19,748|19,869|20,006|20,215|20,389|20,655|20,818 North Wales Coast |14,467|14,543|14,561|14,784|14,859|14,996|14,996|14,996|15,534|15,560|15,560|15,853 Ogwr Afan Nedd |23,648|23,731|23,997|23,338|23,392|23,354|24,442|24,705|25,121|24,786|24,957|25,532 Taff Rhondda |19,188|19,105|19,305|19,782|19,955|20,040|19,899|19,944|20,279|20,533|20,579|20,953 South Gwent and Islwyn |15,150|15,248|15,554|15,446|15,501|15,458|15,804|16,025|15,941|16,184|16,284|16,387 North Gwent and Brecon |17,011|17,015|17,975|18,013|18,228|18,504|18,748|18,913|18,892|18,661|19,309|18,915
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April 1992 to March 1993 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gwyneddigion |11,003|11,250|11,164|11,255|11,310|11,571|11,666|11,747|11,961|11,978|12,111|12,421 Mid Wales and Maelor |11,069|11,153|10,831|11,534|11,625|11,653|11,851|12,143|12,295|12,167|12,271|12,197 Cynon Merthyr and Rhymney Valley |25,387|25,998|25,993|26,051|25,917|26,191|27,035|27,478|27,672|28,041|28,258|28,111 South Glamorgan |18,613|18,598|18,857|19,063|19,260|19,453|19,539|19,807|19,977|20,172|20,318|20,478 West Wales |21,389|21,340|21,506|21,635|21,874|22,062|22,346|22,341|22,779|22,705|23,188|23,080 Swansea |18,862|19,057|19,185|19,236|19,420|19,748|19,869|20,006|20,215|20,389|20,655|20,818 North Wales Coast |14,467|14,543|14,561|14,784|14,859|14,996|14,996|14,996|15,534|15,560|15,560|15,853 Ogwr Afan Nedd |23,648|23,731|23,997|23,338|23,392|23,354|24,442|24,705|25,121|24,786|24,957|25,532 Taff Rhondda |19,188|19,105|19,305|19,782|19,955|20,040|19,899|19,944|20,279|20,533|20,579|20,953 South Gwent and Islwyn |15,150|15,248|15,554|15,446|15,501|15,458|15,804|16,025|15,941|16,184|16,284|16,387 North Gwent and Brecon |17,011|17,015|17,975|18,013|18,228|18,504|18,748|18,913|18,892|18,661|19,309|18,915
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April 1992 to March 1993 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gwyneddigion |11,003|11,250|11,164|11,255|11,310|11,571|11,666|11,747|11,961|11,978|12,111|12,421 Mid Wales and Maelor |11,069|11,153|10,831|11,534|11,625|11,653|11,851|12,143|12,295|12,167|12,271|12,197 Cynon Merthyr and Rhymney Valley |25,387|25,998|25,993|26,051|25,917|26,191|27,035|27,478|27,672|28,041|28,258|28,111 South Glamorgan |18,613|18,598|18,857|19,063|19,260|19,453|19,539|19,807|19,977|20,172|20,318|20,478 West Wales |21,389|21,340|21,506|21,635|21,874|22,062|22,346|22,341|22,779|22,705|23,188|23,080 Swansea |18,862|19,057|19,185|19,236|19,420|19,748|19,869|20,006|20,215|20,389|20,655|20,818 North Wales Coast |14,467|14,543|14,561|14,784|14,859|14,996|14,996|14,996|15,534|15,560|15,560|15,853 Ogwr Afan Nedd |23,648|23,731|23,997|23,338|23,392|23,354|24,442|24,705|25,121|24,786|24,957|25,532 Taff Rhondda |19,188|19,105|19,305|19,782|19,955|20,040|19,899|19,944|20,279|20,533|20,579|20,953 South Gwent and Islwyn |15,150|15,248|15,554|15,446|15,501|15,458|15,804|16,025|15,941|16,184|16,284|16,387 North Gwent and Brecon |17,011|17,015|17,975|18,013|18,228|18,504|18,748|18,913|18,892|18,661|19,309|18,915
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people in Wales received (a) sickness benefit and (b) invalidity benefit in (i) March 1990 and (ii) March 1993.
Mr. Scott : The administration of sickness and invalidity benefit 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 Michael Bichard to Mr. Barry Jones, dated 14 June 1993 :
As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking how many people in Wales received (a) sickness benefit and (b) invalidity benefit in (i) March 1990 and (ii) March 1993.
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Figures are not yet available showing the number of recipients of Invalidity Benefit (IVB) and Sickness Benefit (SB) in Wales in March 1993. However, I am able to tell you that as at 30 March 1990 10,300 people in Wales were in receipt of SB and 137,500 people were in receipt of IVB.This information has been obtained from a one per cent sample of claimants.
I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report and a copy will also be placed in the Library.
DUCHY OF LANCASTER
Performance Targets
Dr. Wright : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many people working in public services now have their remuneration linked to performance targets as a result of the citizens charter programme.
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Mr. David Davis : Information on the number of public servants with their remuneration linked to performance targets is not held centrally.
As the citizens charter first report : 1992 (Cm 2101) explained, performance-related pay is progressively becoming established as a feature of public sector pay schemes. Performance pay schemes cover half a million civil servants ; discretionary allowances are available for primary school teachers ; 40 per cent. of local authorities have performance-related pay schemes ; London Underground managers have a proportion of their pay linked to performance ; quality of service affects London Executive Board members' pay by up to 35 per cent. ; and British Rail's performance against quality of service objectives affects all executive board members' pay by up to 20 per cent.
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