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Mr. Scott : The information requested is not available.
Mr. Bradley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people were in receipt of (a) invalidity pension and (b) invalidity allowance for each year since 1979.
Mr. Scott : The information is in the table.
Numbers receiving invalidity pension and invalidity allowance Date |Invalidity pension |Invalidity allowance ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2 June 1979 |609,900 |505,100 31 May 1980 |614,500 |512,100 30 May 1981 |632,600 |533,000 29 May 1982 |683,100 |575,400 2 April 1983 |736,800 |364,000 31 March 1984 |797,000 |665,500 30 March 1985 |848,900 |708,200 5 April 1986 |899,200 |516,400 4 April 1987 |967,900 |508,400 2 April 1988 |1,047,500 |509,100 1 April 1989 |1,126,000 |518,100 31 March 1990 |1,208,900 |523,300 30 March 1991 |1,306,000 |534,600 Notes: 1. Based on a 1 per cent. sample of claimants; the latest date for which information is available is 30 March 1991. 2. The estimated average number of people receiving invalidity benefit at any one time during 1992-93 is 1,490,000 (source: departmental report).
Mr. Byers : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give for each benefit office the number of claimants in receipt of invalidity benefit in May 1979 and at the most recent date for which figures are available.
Mr. Scott : I understand from Mr. Michael Bichard the chief executive of the Benefits Agency, that the information is not available.
Industrial Disablement Pension
Mr. Bradley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people received industrial disablement pension in each year since 1979.
Mr. Scott : The information requested is in the table :
Estimated average numbers of recipients<1> at any one time Thousands Period |Number ---------------------- 1979-80 |270 1980-81 |265 1981-82 |260 1982-83 |265 1983-84 |265 1984-85 |260 1985-86 |265 1986-87 |285 1987-88 |290 1988-89 |295 1989-90 |295 1990-91 |305 1991-92 |295 1992-93 |295 <1>The information is taken from departmental reports. The figures include recipients of industrial injuries disablement pension and/or reduced earnings allowance.
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DSS Employees (Fraud)
Mr. Frank Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many DSS employees have been charged with fraud in each year since 1979 ; what was the value of this fraud ; and what is the estimated total value of frauds committed by DSS employees for each of those years.
Mr. Hague : The information is in the table.
Information is not available for the period 1979 to 1983, and only partial details are available for the period 1984 to 1987. There is no basis on which to estimate the total value of unknown fraud committed. The figures in column 4 relate to the value of fraud on the part of DSS employees detected each year. Where criminal prosecution was not considered to be appropriate the incidents were dealt with by internal disciplinary measures.
Year |Number of staff |Amount of fraud |Known total value of
|prosecuted |involved (£) |internal fraud
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1984 |9 |35,816.39 |-
1985 |4 |41,484.88 |-
1986 |3 |13,563.27 |-
1987 |10 |22,911.09 |-
1988 |1 |4,206.05 |7,802.33
1989 |1 |42,924.80 |57,628.31
1990 |1 |34,084.90 |55,933.91
1991 |1 |46,649.07 |160,040.53
1992 |3 |106,961.35 |160,276.76
1993 |3 |93,617.25 |195,635.93
Mr. Terry Green
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what consideration he gave in deciding to appoint Mr. Terry Green as a non- executive director with the Benefits Agency to his immediately preceding status as a civil servant in the agency ; (2) if he will publish the terms and conditions relating to the recent appointment of Mr. Terry Green as a non-executive director of the Benefits Agency.
Mr. Hague : The appointment of non-executive members of the Benefits Agency management team 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 M. Bichard to Mr. John McAllion, dated 18 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 Questions to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking what consideration he gave in deciding to appoint Mr. Terry Green as a non-executive director with the Benefits Agency to his immediately preceding status as a civil servant in the Agency and if he will publish the terms and conditions relating to his appointment of Mr. Terry Green as a non-executive director of the Benefits Agency.
We have recently been looking, within the Benefits Agency, at the roles and responsibilities of the directors who form the Benefits Agency Management Team. We concluded that it would be appropriate to reduce the number of full-time executive directors from six to five, but that it would also be desirable to appoint two part-time non-executive members of
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the Team, particularly to contribute to the strategic thinking of the Agency. I have been very pleased to appoint Terry Green as a non-executive member of the Management Team with a special interest in customer service issues. In that role he will be able to develop the work he led on customer service when he was employed by the Agency.The terms and conditions relating to this appointment are not yet the subject of a formal contract but it has been agreed that Mr. Green will work for three days a month. Details of an individual's remuneration are regarded as confidential, but the daily fee payable to Mr. Green is well within the normal range for this type of appointment. He will also be reimbursed travel and subsistence expenses in accordance with the normal Benefits Agency rules. His immediately preceding status as a civil servant was relevant only to the extent that he is able to bring to our deliberations considerable knowledge of customer services issues in the Benefits Agency. The normal rules of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme relating to re-employment will be applied.
I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy of this letter will appear in the Official Report and a copy will also be placed in the Library.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Comfrey
Mr. Hain : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if individuals may import comfrey products for their private use ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Soames : The advice of the Government's independent expert committees is that consumption of comfrey products containing high levels of pyrrolizidine alkaloids may give rise to toxic effects in humans. With the co-operation of the principal health food trade associations, I have taken action to protect consumers by securing the removal of relevant products from sale. However, this is not a legislative prohibition.
Tobacco Subsidy
Mr. Morley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the EC subsidy for tobacco growing in ecu and sterling for 1991 and 1992 ; and what is the estimated level for 1993.
Mr. Jack : Community expenditure on tobacco amounted to 1,330 mecu (£931 million) in 1991 and 1,233 mecu (£873 million) in 1992. For 1993, the last year in which the unreformed regime applies, it is forecast at 1,401 mecu (£1,110 million) .
£1=1.4291 ecu
£1=1.4130 ecu
£1=1.2617 ecu
Agriculture Council (Voting)
Mr. Barnes : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to her answer of 27 May, Official Report, columns 687-88, what were the voting figures for each decision taken at the Agriculture Council held in Brussels on 24 and 25 May ; and if she will make it her policy to include in future statements on council meetings information on whether formal votes were taken.
Mr. Jack : The Agriculture Council, which met from 24 to 27 May, reached agreement in principle on the 1993 price proposals and related measures ; no formal vote was taken. The various measures were adopted at the subsequent Council on 14 June. No formal vote was taken
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but five member states registered votes against a measure increasing milk quotas and one against a measure extending the sugar regime. My right hon. Friend and I will in future indicate in statements on Council meetings whether formal votes were taken.Coastal Protection
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the current criteria for grant-aiding coast protection and sea defence works ; what changes she is expecting to make in the criteria ; how much of the East Anglian coastline she expects to meet the criteria in the next two years ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Jack : The basic criteria for grant-aiding coast protection and sea defence works are that they should be technically sound, economically worth while and environmentally acceptable. The protection of life is the paramount objective, but in considering applications for grant aid, there is a presumption that natural coastal processes should not be disrupted except where life or important natural or man-made assets are at risk. In recent months, the Ministry has published revised and expanded guidance on project appraisal and new guidance on environmental aspects of coastal defences, so that operating authorities are aware of how the criteria are applied. Application of the criteria is kept under review, but no changes are foreseen at present.
The need for improvements to some coastal defences in East Anglia is recognised. Several major grant-aided schemes are already under way or in the course of preparation. It is not possible to say how much of the East Anglian coastline will meet the critera for grant aid in the next two years, as it is for the local operating authorities, in the first instance, to decide what schemes to bring forward for approval. However, it is likely that a major part of the Ministry's grant provision will continue to be directed to the Anglian region.
Sea Level
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what studies her Department has conducted in the last five years into the impact to the British coast which would be caused by a rise in the sea level of a quarter of a metre ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Jack : The Ministry continues to fund a number of flood and coastal defence research projects relating to climate change and possible sea level rise, designed to ensure that we are in a position to assess the likely impact on the coast and to plan our response. These include the assessment of changes in the probability of sea levels in storms and of the impact of any changes in wave and storm climate on beaches. In addition, the Ministry funds a national system of tide gauges and recent work has been carried out to relate these to a global reference system so that changes in sea level and geological movements can be separately identified.
A further item of research the Ministry has sponsored in the period mentioned involved an economic appraisal of the consequences of climate- induced sea level rise for the East Anglian coast between Hunstanton and Felixstowe, which was carried out by the university of East Anglia. The research indicated that a strategy of raising defences
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as required would be economically worth while and current Ministry advice is that new or improved defences should include an allowance for future sea level rise based on estimates by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.Equine Viral Arteritis
Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to her answer to the hon. Member for Bury St. Edmunds (Mr. Spring) of 10 June, Official Report, columns 307-8, whether national provisions in force at the time the stallion which was possibly infected with equine viral arteritis was imported into the United Kingdom afford the same degree of protection to the United Kingdom as the provision set out in article 20(2) of the EC directive 90/496/EEC, (a) against inadequate third country veterinary certification and (b) when equidae are, or are suspected of being, infected with or contaminated by an infectious or contagious disease.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The animal health rules applicable to the import of horses into Great Britain at the time the stallion was imported were of at least equivalent effect to those now required under EC rules. Where there is evidence of inadequate veterinary certification, this is always taken up with the country concerned.
Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, when regulation No. 3295 implementing Council directive 90/496/EEC came into force ; on what date article 27 of that directive stipulates that it should have been brought into force in the United Kingdom ; what are the reasons for the difference in dates ; and if she will make a statement.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The Animals and Animal Products (Import and Export) Regulations 1992 (SI 1992 No. 3295) came into force on 1 January 1993.
Article 27 of directive 90/426/EEC required member states to bring into force implementing laws, regulations and administrative procedures from 1 January 1992. The provisions were implemented in Great Britain under existing legislation pending the coming into force of SI 1992 No. 3295.
Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when her Ministry first received representations from the Animal Health Trust that a relaxation in the rules governing the import of horses and farmed livestock would make the United Kingdom vulnerable to equine viral arteritis.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : As soon as it was realised that specific provisions in relation to EVA were not to be included in the EC animal health rules of equidae, the industry was advised to strengthen the existing voluntary code of practice designed to guard against the introduction of disease into the breeding stock.
Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what effect the timing of the implementation of directive 90/496/EEC, on animal health conditions governing the movement and import from third countries of equidae, had with respect to the importation of horses infected with equine viral arteritis and farmed livestock testing sero- positive to foot and mouth.
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Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The timing of implementation of directive 90/426/EEC, which does not apply to farmed livestock, has had no effect on the importation of horses infected with EVA.
Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what measures are presently in place, or are due to be implemented, which might restrict the United Kingdom's ability to halt the importation of animals infected with equine viral arteritis or other non-notifiable diseases ;
(2) whether the United Kingdom is able to act independently of other EC nations within the context of the European single market, to protect against the importation of equidae infected with equine viral arteritis and farmed livestock testing sero-positive to foot and mouth.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : EC rules require that animals entering the Community or moving between member states must be certified as free from clinical signs of disease. Member states may return animals not complying with this requirement.
Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action the Government are taking to ensure that equine viral arteritis is included on the list of notifiable diseases listed in schedule 5 to the Animals and Animal Products (Import and Export) Regulation 1992.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : None, because EVA is not required under EC rules to be notifiable in member states.
Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when a vaccine will be available to tackle equine viral arteritis virus ; and why stocks were not available in the United Kingdom for immediate use.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : An application for an inactivated vaccine has recently been received by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate and is being assessed as quickly as possible.
Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the most recent figures on the number of premises and horses known to have been infected with equine viral arteritis.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : According to information provided by the Animal Health Trust, active infection has been found on six of 14 premises currently under voluntary movement restrictions. Eighty-eight horses have, to date, tested seropositive.
Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what national rules have been in force pending the implementation of directive 90/496/EEC ; and what protection these rules provided against the importation of equidae infected with equine viral arteritis.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : National rules in force prior to implementation of directive 90/426/EEC required horses to be tested seronegative to equine viral arteritis prior to importation.
Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action her Department is taking to assist in the eradication of equine viral arteritis from the United Kingdom ; and by when she expects eradication to have been achieved.
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Mrs. Gillian Shephard : I refer the hon. Member to the reply my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Bury St. Edmunds (Mr. Spring) on 10 June 1993, columns 307-308.
Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what research her Ministry has financed towards the development of a genetically engineered killed vaccine for equine viral arteritis.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : None, although research into the equine viral arteritis virus is currently taking place at the Central Veterinary Laboratory, Weybridge and the Animal Health Trust, Newmarket for which a total of £0.25 million has been allocated over three years.
Animal Imports
Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will list each country from which horses and cattle cannot be imported into the United Kingdom until a quarantine requirement has been fully met.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : Current animal health rules for imports of horses and cattle into the United Kingdom do not include any quarantine requirements, although imports from a number of countries are subject to pre-export or post-import isolation.
Animal Diseases
Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will list those animal diseases currently present in the EC but not in the United Kingdom, which are not listed as notifiable diseases, and against which the United Kingdom is, or will be, prevented by EC legislation from imposing import restrictions on horses and farmed livestock.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : Member states are only required to report to the Commission and each other outbreaks of diseases which are notifiable under EC rules. Information i
Food From Britain
Mr. Morley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will list the level of funding given to Food From Britain for each of the last five years and the projected funding for each of the next three years.
Mr. Jack [holding answer 18 June 1993] : The information is as follows :
Government grant to Food
From Britain
|£000
---------------------------
1988-89 |4,186
1989-90 |4,500
1990-91 |4,500
1991-92 |4,500
1992-93 |4,757
1993-94 |<1>5,010
1994-95 |<2>5,249
1995-96 |<2>5,400
<1> Estimate.
<2> Provision.
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Sheep Quotas
Mr. Tyler : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what financial support she plans to provide for those farmers deprived of sheep quota after the national reserve is exhausted ; and if she will make a statement ;
(2) when she expects to announce details of the distribution of reserve sheep quotas ;
(3) if she will publish, on a regional basis, the number of farmers deprived of quota as a result of the new sheep quota regulations.
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Mr. Jack [holding answer 17 June 1993] : Producers who received sheep annual premium in 1991 and claimed in 1992 have an automatic entitlement to sheep quota. Where producers are not covered by the automatic rules, they will be able to apply for quota to the national reserve, if they fall into certain priority categories. All farmers, including those who are unsuccessful in obtaining quota from the national reserve, will be able to acquire quota through the transfer and leasing provisions the Government have negotiated. It is expected that details of the distribution of the national reserve quota for sheep will be made available later in the summer.
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