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Loan Guarantee Scheme
Mr. Hutton : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the average time taken to approve applications under the loan guarantee scheme in each of the last five years.
Mr. McLoughlin : No information is held on the average time taken to approve applications prior to January 1992. Since that time, 99 per cent. of applications were cleared by the Department of Trade and Industry within five working days of receipt.
Mr. Hutton : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many applications under the loan guarantee scheme were successful in each of the last five years ; and what was the average value of the loan guaranteed expressed in constant 1993 prices.
Mr. McLoughlin : Information on the scheme is held by financial year. The number of applications guaranteed in the last five years with their average value expressed in constant 1993 prices is as follows :
Year |Loans guaranteed |Average value (£)
|(constant 1993
|prices)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1988-89 |2,266 |35,071
1989-90 |3,204 |36,323
1990-91 |3,387 |27,582
1991-92 |2,933 |24,515
1992-93 |2,342 |22,350
Mr. Hutton : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the total value of loans secured under the loan guarantee scheme in each region of Britain in each of the last five years, expressed in (a) cash and (b) constant 1993 prices.
Mr. McLoughlin : Information on the scheme is held by financial year. The total value of loans guaranteed in each region of Britain in each of the last five years, expressed in (a) cash and (b) constant 1993 prices is as follows :
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Cash value of guaranteed loans (£ million)
|1988-89|1989-90|1990-91|1991-92|1992-93
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
North East |4.46 |5.19 |4.64 |3.61 |2.15
North West |6.76 |10.13 |8.59 |5.43 |3.55
Yorks and Humberside |5.25 |7.47 |5.13 |3.33 |3.75
West Midlands |4.95 |6.32 |5.93 |4.71 |3.56
East Midlands and Eastern |3.85 |4.85 |5.12 |7.17 |6.32
London and South East |22.01 |41.62 |36.90 |27.32 |17.74
South West |5.62 |9.89 |9.13 |9.76 |7.15
Scotland |4.14 |7.67 |4.44 |4.29 |4.33
Wales |5.45 |5.34 |3.47 |3.28 |3.39
Northern Ireland |1.12 |.92 |1.21 |.58 |.41
Value of guaranteed loans by constant 1993 prices (£ million)
North East |5.57 |6.08 |5.12 |3.73 |2.15
North West |8.44 |11.87 |9.48 |5.62 |3.55
Yorks and Humberside |6.55 |8.75 |5.66 |3.44 |3.75
West Midlands |6.18 |7.41 |6.54 |4.87 |3.56
East Midlands and Eastern |4.81 |5.68 |5.65 |7.42 |6.32
London and South East |27.47 |48.77 |40.71 |28.26 |17.74
South West |7.01 |11.59 |10.07 |10.10 |7.15
Scotland |5.17 |8.99 |4.9 |4.44 |4.33
Wales |6.8 |6.26 |3.83 |3.39 |3.39
Northern Ireland |1.4 |1.08 |1.33 |.60 |.41
Trade Associations
Mr. Page : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he is taking to encourage trade associations to provide an effective voice in representing the needs of business to Government.
Mr. Heseltine : I want trade associations to be effective organisations--in representing the views of members to Government Departments, the European Commission and other bodies, in promoting the international competitiveness of their member companies and in providing a strong point of focus for their industry. The principal responsibility for ensuring that this is the case falls on the companies that are their members.
But the CBI also has a role to play. And so do the Government. We must be open in our discussions with companies and industrialists about our perceptions of the effectiveness of the organisations which represent them.
In light of this, I am considering adopting a new approach to representations from trade associations to my Department. Where a lead association has emerged in a sector and the subject of proposls was relevant to the sector as a whole, I would ask the lead association to co- ordinate representations received from other associations in that sector before submitting them to me. To support the efforts of the trade associations to promote the competitiveness of their sectors, I am inviting them to submit proposals for "competitiveness clubs" to carry out benchmarking studies of processes important to their sectors. I propose allocating up to £0.5 million to support the 10 or so most attractive schemes. I will be setting out my views in a speech which I am delivering at the CBI today. I am placing copies of my speech in the House of Commons Library.
Post Offices
Mr. Cousins : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he proposes to take to allow post offices to widen the range of activities and businesses they undertake.
Mr. McLoughlin [holding answer 15 June 1993] : Sub-post offices may undertake an almost unlimited range of activities on the private side of their shops. Requests by Post Office Counters Ltd. to widen the range of activities undertaken by them through the post office network are considered on their merits. We have recently announced that Post Office Counters will be allowed to take on work in connection with the national lottery. More generally, we
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are considering the question of Counters' activities as part of our review of the structure and organisation of the Post Office.Parcelforce
Mr. Cousins : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has for the future of Parcelforce ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. McLoughlin [holding answer 15 June 1993] : My right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade announced on 15 July 1992 his intention of privatising Parcelforce-- Official Report , column 1137. Decisions on the most appropriate method and timing for the sale will be announced in due course.
Shipbuilding
Mr. Cousins : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the shipbuilding yards in the United Kingdom which have access to intervention funding ; and where Her Majesty's Government have wholly or partly placed warship orders since 1985.
Mr. Heseltine [holding answer 15 June 1993] : The following shipbuilders yards in the United Kingdom have access to the shipbuilding intervention fund :
Appledore Shipbuilders Ltd.
Richard Dunston (Hessle) Ltd.
FBM Marine Ltd.
Ferguson Shipbuilders Ltd.
Harland and Wolff Shipbuilding & Heavy Industries Ltd.
Kvaerner Govan Ltd.
John Mowlem Construction plc--McTay Marine Division
Richards (Shipbuilders) Ltd.
Yorkshire Dry Dock Co Ltd.
All yards listed, with the exception of Appledore Shipbuilders Ltd., Ferguson Shipbuilders Ltd. and Yorkshire Dry Dock Ltd have received orders from the Ministry of Defence since 1985. However, as the shipbuilding intervention fund does not apply to orders placed by the Ministry of Defence, no support has been provided in respect of those orders.
Research and Development
Dr. Moonie : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he is taking to improve the take-up of grants and other incentives for research and development by small and medium enterprises.
Mr. McLoughlin [holding answer 16 June 1993] : The three schemes of support specifically for small and medium sized enterprises for research and development projects continue to be popular. The small firms merit award for
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research and technology--SMART--and support for products under research--SPUR--have maintained their levels of activity and I expect all the available funds to be committed. Regional innovation grants--RIN--have experienced a dramatic increase in take up since May 1992 when the scheme was expanded to additional geographical areas, the upper limit on the size of business was raised to fewer than 50 employees and the restriction of one grant per business was removed. In the financial years 1991-92 and 1992-93 the take-up of the schemes was as follows :Column 715
Scheme SMART SPUR RIN
(Stages 1 and 2)
|1991-92|1992-93|1991-92|1992-93|1991-92|1992-93
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Applications |1,453 |1,416 |281 |210 |454 |887
Awards |286 |288 |140 |139 |<1>193 |<1>432
<1> Offers accepted.
Innovation Support
Dr. Moonie : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he is taking to improve the ease of access to innovation support programmes by small and medium-sized enterprises.
Mr. McLoughlin [holding answer 16 June 1993] : I refer the hon. Member to paragraph 2.18 of the recent White Paper "Realising Our Potential--Strategy for Science, Engineering and Technology" and to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade to my hon. Friend the Member for Elmet (Mr. Batiste) on 26 May, Official Report, columns 583-86. One-stop shops will play a key role in providing access for smaller and medium-sized businesses to innovation support both from my Department and from other organisations.
Science and Engineering Research Council
Dr. Moonie : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he is taking to draw up a concordat of co-operation between his Department and the Science and Engineering Research Council.
Mr. McLoughlin [holding answer 16 June 1993] : As the recent White Paper "Realising Our Potential : A Strategy for Science, Engineering and Technology" makes clear, a new system of research councils will come into effect on 1 April 1994. The Government have proposed that each of these new research councils should work with each of the Government Departments in which they have a significant policy connection to draw up and publish concordats. In the case of the Department of Trade and Industry, work to conclude concordats with the existing research councils has been under-way for a number of months.
Forward Look"
Dr. Moonie : To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he will designate one of his Ministers to be responsible for his Department's contribution to the Government's science and technology "Forward Look".
Mr. McLoughlin [holding answer 16 June 1993] : Paragraph 2.37 of the recent White Paper "Realising Our Potential--A Strategy for Science, Engineering and Technology" describes the preparation of the forward look by the Office of Science and Technology, and the participation of Government Departments through the existing, well-established machinery of the official and ministerial Cabinet committees on science and technology.
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Refrigerators
Mr. Cryer : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the annual number of second-hand refrigerators and freezers exported to South Africa ; what precautions are taken to prevent leakage of harmful gases ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. McLoughlin [holding answer 15 June 1993] : Information on the export of second-hand refrigerators and freezers to South Africa is not available. Under section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, it is illegal to treat, keep or dispose of controlled waste, which includes chlorofluorocarbon refrigerants, in a manner likely to cause pollution to the environment. There is no United Kingdom legislation covering discharges from refrigerators outside the United Kingdom.
Near-market Research
Dr. Moonie : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what his Department's policy is with regard to the funding of near-market research.
Mr. McLoughlin [holding answer 16 June 1993] : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the recent Government White Paper "Realising Our Potential--A Strategy for Science, Engineering and Technology" (HMSO Cm 2250), sections 2.20 to 2.22.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Taxation and Benefits (Merger)
Sir Thomas Arnold : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what recent progress has been made towards merging the taxation and benefit systems ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Burt : There are no plans to merge the tax and benefit systems. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has, however, recently set up a working group to identify options for reducing the administrative difficulties for business caused by the difference in the rules for national insurance and income tax, which he announced in his reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Colne Valley (Mr. Riddick) on 26 May 1993 at column 638.
Independent Living Fund
Mr. Rooker : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when the independent living fund ceased accepting applications under the special rules covering the terminally ill ; and what are the financial savings from this decision.
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Mr. Scott : The former independent living fund ceased to operate on 31 March 1993. At the same time two new bodies were established, one of which was the independent living (1993) fund. This fund is an independent trust. Within the discretion accorded them by the trust deed, the trustees are responsible for deciding the fund's priorities.
The trustees have recently decided that the fund's resources should be targeted on the most severely disabled people in order to allow them to live as full a life as possible in the community, rather than on terminally ill people, for whom separate provision is made both by this Department and the Department of Health as well as a number of charitable and voluntary bodies. Because the fund is cash limited, no financial savings arise from the trustees' decision.
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the decision of the independent living fund not to give help to new applicants who are terminally ill.
Mr. Scott : The former independent living fund ceased to operate on 31 March 1993. At the same time, two new bodies were established, one of which was the independent living (1993) fund. This fund is an independent trust. Within the discretion accorded them by the trust deed, the trustees are responsible for deciding the fund's priorities.
The trustees have recently decided that the fund's resources should be targeted on the most severely disabled people in order to allow them to live as full a life as possible in the community, rather than on terminally ill people, for whom separate provision is made both by this Department and the Department of Health as well as a number of charitable and voluntary bodies.
Disability Allowances
Mr. Wallace : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people are in receipt of the mobility component of the disability living allowance in (a) Orkney and (b) Scotland.
Mr. Scott : The information is not readily available and dcould be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Compensation Scheme
Mr. Frank Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if the clearance target used in the new compensation scheme, announced on 4 May, will be the target for the year the payment should have been made or the target for the year the payment was finally made.
Mr. Hague : I refer the hon. Member to the reply to him on 21 May at columns 326-27.
Mr. Frank Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he will publish a leaflet for the public setting out the rules governing the new compensation scheme for late payment of social security benefits announced on 4 May, to include the clearance targets relevant to each benefit ;
(2) if he will publish the full rules governing the award and calculation of compensation in the new compensation scheme for late payment of social security benefits announced on 4 May.
Mr. Hague : The special payment arrangements to compensate for late payment of benefit are not new but
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were introduced several years ago. We have, however, recently significantly improved the arrangements by reducing, in the majority of cases, the period before which payment of compensation is considered and linking it with the relevant clearance targets. The arrangements are ex-gratia and so it is not considered appropriate to publish the internal guidance. However, the criteria under which payment of compensation is considered are :The delay must be six months plus the relevant target clearance time set for the majority of claims (usually between 85 per cent. and 95 per cent.) ;
The delay must be caused by official error ;
The arrears must be £50 or more.
There are no plans to publish a leaflet.
Mr. Frank Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the clearance target for each social security benefit which will be used in the calculation of the new compensation scheme announced on 4 May.
Mr. Hague : The targets will be used in the calculation of the revised compensation arrangements will be the Secretary of State secondary targets for the clearance of new claims to the relevant benefit as published in the Benefits Agency business plan. For those benefits which do not have a Secretary of State clearance target the target will be the operational or internal target set by the BA. In the case of those benefits which do not have a secondary clearance target, the primary target will be used.
Spending Statistics
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his estimate of the change in social security spending in real terms between 1979 and 1992-93 and the proportion of this rise due to (a) increased benefits levels, (b) changes in demographic and family patterns and (c) changes in levels of unemployment.
Mr. Scott : Information in the form requested is not available, but the 1993 departmental report contains information about benefit expenditure on certain categories of beneficiaries. A copy of the report is in the Library. In real terms, social security spending, at 1992-93 prices, has risen from £46,341 million in 1978-79 to £78,343 million in 1992- 93.
SCOTLAND
Timex
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish the sum total of Government grants received by Timex Corporation and Timex Electronic Corporation in relation to their Dundee factories since 1980, indicating the year, amount and nature of each grant.
Mr. Stewart : The principal sources of Government grants available to Timex Corporation and subsequently Timex Electronics Corporation since 1980 have comprised regional development grant--RDG--and regional selective assistance--RSA. Comprehensive records on the RDG 1 scheme, which was terminated in 1984, are not retained. No grants were made in respect of the RDG II scheme which was terminated in 1988. Offers of RSA under which payments were made were as follows :
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Year of offer |Amount offered --------------------------------------------- 1983 |£700,000 1985 |£270,000 1987 |£865,000
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a table showing the number and proportion of children receiving school meals broken down into (a) paid and (b) free in (i) primary schools, (ii) secondary schools and (iii) special schools in each year since 1987- 88.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 16 June 1993] : The information requested, taken from the annual school meals census returns for each year since 1987-88, is as follows :
School Meals Survey: Schools/Departments
Meals paid Meals free Total
|Pupils |<1>Per cent.|Pupils |<1>Per cent.|Pupils |<1>Per cent.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary
1987-88 |106,319 |26.3 |126,303 |31.2 |232,622 |57.5
1988-89 |134,411 |33.8 |71,257 |17.7 |207,668 |51.4
1989-90 |142,737 |35.4 |69,862 |17.3 |212,599 |52.7
1990-91 |141.612 |35.0 |72,437 |17.9 |214,049 |52.9
1991-92 |135,871 |33.8 |76,792 |19.1 |212,663 |52.9
Secondary
1987-88 |75,573 |26.9 |41,853 |14.9 |117,426 |41.8
1988-89 |73,318 |27.9 |27,384 |10.4 |100,702 |38.3
1989-90 |83,894 |33.1 |23,449 |9.2 |107,343 |42.2
1990-91 |85,249 |34.7 |23,505 |9.6 |108,754 |44.2
1991-92 |88,680 |36.1 |24,809 |10.1 |113,489 |46.1
Special
1987-88 |1,603 |20.5 |5,856 |74.8 |7,459 |95.2
1988-89 |1,940 |25.3 |4,868 |63.4 |6,808 |88.7
1989-90 |2,068 |28.8 |4,343 |60.6 |6,411 |89.4
1990-91 |1,881 |26.7 |4,418 |62.7 |6,299 |89.4
1991-92 |1,710 |24.5 |4,275 |61.2 |5,985 |85.7
<1> Percentage of pupils present on day of survey.
Note: In a number of cases, figures for special classes or units forming part of a primary or secondary
school are included with the figures for that primary or secondary.
Near-market Research
Dr. Moonie : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what his Department's policy is with regard to the funding of near-market research.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 16 June 1993] : I refer the hon. Member to paragraphs 2.20 to 2.22 of the White Paper "Realising Our Potential--A Strategy for Science, Engineering and Technology".
EMPLOYMENT
Youth Training, Newham
Mr. Leighton : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the number of young people on the youth training scheme in the London borough of Newham in each of the last five years ; and what percentage (a) finished their course and (b) left early.
Miss Widdecombe : Information is not available for the London borough of Newham. Results available are for
Column 720
east London area office, which later became London East training and enterprise council--LETEC--and includes the London borough of Newham.Table 1 gives the number of youth training and table 2 gives completers and early leavers information, for each of the last five years.
Table 2
Youth training scheme/youth training completers and early leavers (percentage) April 1988 to January 1993 London
East TEC area
|Completers |Early leavers<1> |Not stated/not known
|Per cent. |Per cent. |Per cent.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 1988 to March 1989 |31 |69 |-
April 1989 to March 1990 |26 |74 |-
April 1990 to March 1991 |27 |67 |6
April 1991 to March 1992 |25 |68 |7
April 1992 to January 1993<2> |24 |66 |9
Source: Youth Training Leavers Database.
<1> Early Leavers' are those whose actual completion date was earlier than anticipated at the time they started
training. This group will include those starting employment and those who subsequently take up another Youth
Training course or a full-time course elsewhere.
<2> 1992-93 figures are provisional.
Table 2
Youth training scheme/youth training completers and early leavers (percentage) April 1988 to January 1993 London
East TEC area
|Completers |Early leavers<1> |Not stated/not known
|Per cent. |Per cent. |Per cent.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 1988 to March 1989 |31 |69 |-
April 1989 to March 1990 |26 |74 |-
April 1990 to March 1991 |27 |67 |6
April 1991 to March 1992 |25 |68 |7
April 1992 to January 1993<2> |24 |66 |9
Source: Youth Training Leavers Database.
<1> Early Leavers' are those whose actual completion date was earlier than anticipated at the time they started
training. This group will include those starting employment and those who subsequently take up another Youth
Training course or a full-time course elsewhere.
<2> 1992-93 figures are provisional.
Market Testing
Ms Mowlam : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list all the market tests that have taken place in his Department since November 1992 and indicate, in each case, whether the result was the maintenance of in-house provision, or whether the service was contracted out.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Four tests have been completed since November 1992, all of which are included in the Employment Department headquarters' 1992-93 market-testing programme :
(i) van service--3 van service runs were tested, 2 were contracted out and 1 remained in-house ;
(ii) travel service--was contracted out ;
(iii) the Field System--was contracted out ;
(iv) TECs and National Providers Unit--was con-tracted out.
Benlate
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what discussions are taking place with the United States Government on the investigation being undertaken by the Federal National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health into the use and effects of Benlate ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 16 June 1993] : No discussions are taking place with the United States Government on any investigation by the Federal National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health into the use and effects of Benlate.
Government Departments with responsibility for pesticides maintain a watching brief on the scientific and technical literature and assess the results of relevant research. Where appropriate, the results are forwarded to the independent Advisory Committee on Pesticides--ACP.
The ACP reviewed benomyl, the active ingredient in the pesticide product Benlate, in 1992 and considered further information from a university of California study in March 1993. The ACP concluded that there was no cause for concern over the continued use of benomyl in the United Kingdom.
WALES
Open-Heart Surgery
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many adults resident in Wales had open-heart surgery outside Wales in 1992.
Patients treated in NHS hospitals: Finished consultant episodes, by main operation, 1991-92<1> Aged 16 and over |Age not known --------------------------------------------------- 431 |88 <1> Excludes patients recorded as being under 16 years of age. <2> Includes operations of heart valves and adjacent structures, operations on coronary artery and other open heart operations.
Cancer
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many cancer cases were confirmed per 1,000 population in each county in Wales in 1972, 1977, 1982, 1987 and 1992.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : Data on cancer registrations in Wales for the current district health authorities are only available from 1974. Prior to this date, the Welsh Cancer Registry only collated data for the previous districts of south and mid Wales. Data for 1992 have not yet been processed. The latest available recorded number of cases of malignant cancers per 1,000 population for each health authority in Wales for 1977, 1982 and 1987 are given in the following table :
|1977<1> |1982<1><2>|1987
------------------------------------------------------------
Clwyd |4.65 |5.10 |5.07
East Dyfed |4.85 |4.67 |6.23
Pembrokeshire |4.35 |3.86 |5.20
Gwent |3.73 |4.19 |5.58
Gwynedd |4.73 |5.10 |6.24
Mid Glamorgan |3.52 |4.06 |5.01
Powys |4.29 |4.48 |5.35
South Glamorgan |3.98 |4.35 |4.35
West Glamorgan |4.65 |4.98 |6.36
Wales |4.19 |4.53 |5.41
Source: Welsh Cancer Registry
<1> Data for these years have been revised since previous
publication.
<2> 1982 data may be under-recorded due to industrial
action in medical records departments at that time.
Firms (Receivership)
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the percentage change in the number of Welsh firms going into receivership between the first four months of 1993 and the first four months of 1992 ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Official statistics on companies placed into receivership are not available separately for Wales.
Strategic Planning Guidance
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects to receive the strategic planning guidance document commissioned from the Assembly of Welsh Counties ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply my predecessor gave to him on 27 May at column 716.
Solvent Abuse
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people in Wales have died from solvent abuse in each county in Wales in each year since 1979 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The number of deaths to residents of Wales associated with abuse of volatile substances in each year since 1979 are given in the following table. Information at county level is not available for reasons of confidentiality.
|Deaths to residents
------------------------------------------------------------
1979 |1
1980 |1
1981 |2
1982 |3
1983 |2
1984 |7
1985 |2
1986 |4
1987 |8
1988 |4
1989 |2
1990 |7
Source: St. George's Hospital Medical School.
Radon
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what measures are being taken to help those people in Clwyd whose homes are at risk from radon seepage ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The results of further research, to delineate more accurately areas where radon levels may be higher than average, are expected in the spring of 1994. In the meantime, free measurement of radon levels is available to concerned householders living in areas where concentrations may be elevated. Home renovation grants may be available for homes where radon concentrations are found to be above the Government action level of 200 bq/cu m.
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