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Mrs. Bridget Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people were found to be fraudulently claiming invalidity benefit in each year since 1980 ; and if he will give the figure so far for 1993.
Mr. Scott : I understand from Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency that the information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Elletson : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give the number of people claiming (a) sickness and (b) invalidity benefit for each of the last 10 years.
Mr. Scott : Available information about the numbers claiming sickness and invalidity benefits is in the table.
Date |Sickness benefit |Invalidity benefit
|claimants<2> |claimants
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
29 May 1982 |469,000 |684,000
2 April 1983 |408,000 |737,000
31 March 1984 |<3>247,000 |797,000
30 March 1985 |225,000 |849,000
5 April 1986 |237,000 |899,000
4 April 1987 |<3>187,000 |968,000
2 April 1988 |228,000 |1,047,000
1 April 1989 |266,000 |1,126,000
31 March 1990 |309,000 |1,209,000
30 March 1991 |372,000 |1,306,000
1991-92<4> |120,000 |1,365,000
1992-93<4> |135,000 |1,490,000
Notes:
<1> Figures based on a 1 per cent. sample of claimants, at a point in time,
rounded to the nearest thousand.
<2> Figures include claimants who are not receiving sickness benefit but
receive national insurance credits.
<3> Statutory sick pay introduced from 6 April 1983 for a maximum eight
weeks sickness absence in a tax year. From 6 April 1986 statutory sick pay
was payable for up to 28 weeks in any one period of incapacity for work.
<4> Information is not yet available for later than March 1991.
For 1991-92 and 1992-93 figures come from the estimates appearing in the
departmental report 1993.
Quangos (Appointments)
Mr. Grocott : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the former Members of the House who have been appointed since 1988 by his Department to quasi autonomous non-governmental organisations ; and if he will list in each case the title of the post, the salary, the duration of the appointment, and the party which the former hon. Member represented.
Mr. Hague : None to those bodies listed in "Public Bodies 1992".
Mr. Grocott : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the names of individuals who (a) are spouses of hon. Members, (b) are members of the House of Lords, (c) are spouses of members of the House of Lords and (d) have been party candidates for Parliament, indicating for which party, who have been appointed by his Department since 1988 to quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations giving, in each case, the title of the post, and salary payable, and the duration of the appointment.
Mr. Hague : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is responsible for a large number of public appointments. The information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Income Statistics
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the total weekly income including benefits of (a) a single unemployed person aged 21 years and paying £40 a week in rent and (b) a student of the same age on full grant and loan paying the same rent.
Mr. Burt : On the assumption that insufficient contributions had been paid to give title to unemployment benefit, a lone, unemployed 21-year -old with a rent liability of £40 per week would normally be entitled to income support of £34.80 per week and would, through housing benefit, receive up to 100 per cent. of his rent, less any ineligible items. This equates to about £74.80 per week.
A 21-year-old student following a full-time course of higher education, but otherwise in the same circumstances, would not normally be eligible for income support or housing benefit but would receive support through the educational maintenance system. During the period of study the standard maintenance grant outside London, for the coming academic year, equates to £59.60 per week over 38 weeks, with income available from the full- year student loan of £15.38 per week. This equates to about £74.98 per week.
In addition, if a student in higher education faces particular financial difficulties he may be able to receive assistance from the access funds. The access funds are administered on a discretionary basis by the educational establishments.
It is not possible to estimate students' income during the long vacation because some students will find work during that period.
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Maxwell Pension Funds
Mr. Madel : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the latest position in relation to the recovery of Maxwell pension funds ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Hague : The liquidators of Bishopsgate Investment Management Ltd., which managed Maxwell pension scheme funds, have located and secured assets presently worth some £300 million. The Maxwell pension scheme trustees are now cautiously optimistic about meeting their pension liabilities in full in the long term. Much now depends on claims against third parties. Sir John Cuckney and the Maxwell pensions unit are encouraging all concerned to an early resolution of disputes. They are available to facilitate this process with the consent of the parties concerned.
Mais Lecture
Mr. Deva : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he plans to publish the analysis and projection of social security provision to which he referred in his Mais lecture on 23 June.
Mr. Lilley : I will publish a document entitled "The Growth of Social Security" on Thursday 8 July. It contains the analysis of the growth of social security provision and projections up to the end of the century prepared in the course of the Government's long-term review of social security. It will be sent to all right hon. and hon. Members. Copies will be placed in the Library.
Child Benefit
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what the cost would be of disregarding child benefit in the calculation for income support and family credit.
Mr. Burt : It is estimated that the cost of disregarding child benefit in income support would be £1,490 million. Child benefit is already disregarded in family credit. Disregarding child benefit in all the income-related benefits would cost around £1,680 million.
SCOTLAND
West Coast Main Line
16. Mr. Donohoe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he will next meet the Scottish director of British Rail (ScotRail) to discuss the job implications for Scotland of future decisions on the west coast main line.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Regular contact is maintained with British Rail by Scottish Office Ministers and officials. Such contacts cover a wide range of topics relating to rail services in Scotland.
25. Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received about the British Rail main line coast services ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : My right hon. Friend has received a small number of representations about rail
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services on the west coast main line. Responsibility for railway matters however lies with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport. The detailed operation of the railways, including the precise level of services to be offered on individual lines, is a matter for British Rail.Stobhill Hospital
17. Mr. Michael J. Martin : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many acute bed places were available in Stobhill hospital during the months of November 1992, December 1992 and January 1993 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Stewart : For each month during the period November 1992 and January 1993 there were between 191 and 193 acute beds available at Stobhill hospital.
Crown Estate Commissioners
18. Mr. Charles Kennedy : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to give directions to the Crown estate commissioners as to the discharge of their functions in relation to fish farming in Scotland under section 1(4) of the Crown Estate Act 1961 ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Hector Monro : My right hon. Friend has no plans to give directions to the Crown Estate Commissioners as to the discharge of their functions in relation to fish farming in Scotland. These responsibilities have been reviewed most recently by the Agriculture Select Committee. Following that report, the Scottish Office issued draft guidance on the location of marine fish farms, which was widely welcomed.
Rented Housing
19. Sir David Steel : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he will take to encourage the provision of low cost rented housing.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : I am already encouraging considerable investment in low cost rented housing through the Government's funding of Scottish Homes. Over 70 per cent. of its development programme, amounting to some £230 million, will be spent in the current financial year on the provision of rented accommodation through the housing association and co-operative movement. This investment will result in over 5,000 new house starts in 1993-94.
Scottish Enterprise
20. Mr. Salmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last met the chief executive of Scottish Enterprise to discuss the underlying trends in the Scottish economy ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Stewart : As I have indicated to the hon. Member for Renfrew, West and Inverclyde (Mr. Graham), my right hon. Friend and I frequently meet the chairman and chief executive of Scottish Enterprise to discuss a range of issues relevant to the Scottish economy. I am pleased to note that independent forecasters continue to predict that the present recovery in Scottish output will be sustained. I am also delighted that unemployment has fallen over the past four months. We continue to have an unemployment rate significantly below the United Kingdom average.
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Economy, Lanarkshire
21. Dr. Reid : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received on the Lanarkshire economy ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Stewart : My right hon. Friend has received no recent representations regarding the Lanarkshire economy.
Health and Education Spending
22. Mr. Oppenheim : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the spending per head on (a) health and (b) education in Scotland.
Mr. Stewart : The latest available figures for identifiable general government expenditure are for 1991-92. They show spending in Scotland of £787 per head on health and personal social services and £646 per head on education.
Timex
23. Mr. Ernie Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he intends to meet representatives of Timex Electronics Corporation to discuss the grants made to its plant in Dundee.
Mr. Stewart : My right hon. Friend has met senior Timex management twice in recent weeks.
Following the announcement of the Dundee factory's closure the company and the Scottish Office Industry Department have discussed grant assistance made to the plant.
Local Authority Services
24. Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what further steps he is taking to encourage local authorities to deliver high quality, low cost services.
Mr. Stewart : The Government are committed to the provision of high quality, low cost local services and have taken a number of steps to achieve this. These include :
-- our plans to reform the structure of local government : -- the introduction of the citizens charter, the principles of which my right hon. Friend hopes will be adopted by all authorities ; -- the requirement that authorities subject certain services to competitive tendering ;
-- support for action by the Accounts Commission to improve value for money in Scottish local government ;
-- the provisions in the Local Government Act 1992 requiring local authorities to publish their standards of performance in delivering services in the light of a direction issued by the Accounts Commission.
Timeshare
26. Mr. Hunter : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received about the imposition of business rates on timeshare dwellings.
Mr. Stewart : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave on 31 March 1993 at col. 153.
In the period from 27 March, we have received representations concerning the regulations from a further 49 Members of Parliament and 228 other individuals.
Forestry
27. Mr. Ian Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the Government's review of the future of forestry policy in the United Kingdom.
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Sir Hector Monro : The review which my right hon. Friend announced on 30 March 1993 is progressing well, although it is still at an early stage in its task. As part of that review the Forestry Commission has issued a consultation paper seeking views on the effectiveness of the current incentives for forestry investment.
28. Mr. Lidington : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent representations he has received about the Government's forestry review.
36. Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received regarding his review of the options for the ownership and management of Forestry Commission woodlands.
Sir Hector Monro : Over 500 letters have been received offering comment on the work of the review which my right hon. Friend established on 30 March. Comment has come from all quarters, inclu, the environment and the recreational uses of forests.
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will consider extending the review group on the Forestry Commission to include a representative from a conservationist group ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Hector Monro : The Forestry Review group already includes representatives from the Department of the Environment, the Welsh Office and the Scottish Office which are the Government Departments with responsibility for nature conservation. In addition, the chairman and secretariat are provided by the Scottish Office Environment Department.
The review group is working to a remit which requires it to make proposals for changes which would improve the effectiveness of the delivery of the Government's forestry policy objectives, having regard to the Government's other economic and environmental policies. Concern for nature conservation is an integral component of existing forestry policy.
Mr. Morley : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what groups have been called on by the forestry review group to give external advice and assistance ; and if he will put copies of their submissions in the Library.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 24 June 1993] : The Forestry Commission has asked Canopy Consultants to carry out an environmental survey of a sample of private woodlands which have received grant aid during the last 15 years. This survey will inform the review of the effectiveness of current incentives for forestry investment which is part of the work of the forestry review group. No other groups have been asked for external advice or assistance.
There are no plans to publish the Canopy Consultants report in advance of the review group making its report to Ministers.
Local Government
29. Mr. Kynoch : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects the new single-tier local authorities in Scotland to be up and running.
Mr. Stewart : Subject to the necessary legislation being in place, it is intended that elections to the new authorities
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should be held in spring 1995, with the new councils assuming responsibility from existing authorities on 1 April 1996.Status Definitions
30. Mrs. Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last met representatives of the European Community to discuss objective 1 and objective 5b status definitions of areas in Scotland ; and if he will make a statement on progress.
Mr. Stewart : Negotiations on revised regulations for the EC structural funds made excellent progress on 3 July, thanks to the considerable efforts of United Kingdom negotiators and in particular my right hon. Friend the Minister of State at the Department of Trade and Industry.
I am very pleased that, subject to final agreement in the Council later this month, the whole of the Highlands and Islands Enterprise area will now be granted objective 1 status. This demonstrates the advantage for Scotland of relying on the considerable weight which the United Kingdom as a whole can bring to bear in EC negotiations. The process of designating objective 5b areas in Scotland will begin as soon as the regulations have been adopted. It is as yet too early to say what areas might qualify.
Fishing Industry
31. Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what further representations he has received from west coast fishermen about fishing quotas and days at sea.
Sir Hector Monro : I receive regular representations from west coast fishermen and their representative organisations on these and other issues.
Engineering Industry
32. Mr. Gallie : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has on employment, export and manufacturing order figures for the engineering sector in Scotland for the most recent quarter for which figures are available ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Stewart : The most recent census of employment, carried out in September 1991, identified a total of 104,900 employees in the engineering sector in Scotland. Official figures on exports and manufacturing orders are not disaggregated on a regional or national basis.
There are encouraging signs of an increase in confidence in the Scottish engineering sector, and many companies have reported an increase in total orders as well as export sales.
Water Fluoridation
33. Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has for the fluoridation of public water supplies.
Mr. Stewart : My right hon. Friend regrets that Strathclyde Regional Council has decided not to proceed with fluoridation, despite the potential benefits to dental health and the strong support for fluoridation expressed by the hon. Member for Strathkelvin and Bearsden among
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others. The Department stands ready to consider providing assistance to the capital costs involved when and as decisions to fluoridate water supplies are taken locally.Renewables Order
34. Mr. Ingram : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 21 April, Official Report, column 113, when he now expects to publish the Scottish renewables order ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Stewart : I have nothing to add to the answer given to the hon. Member on 21 April 1993 at column. 113.
Prosecutions
35. Mr. Robert Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the criteria used by the Lord Advocate in deciding whether a prosecution is in the public interest.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : It is not possible to list the criteria for deciding whether the public interest requires a prosecution in a particular case. The prosecutor considers whether there is sufficient reliable evidence and whether, having regard to all the relevant factors, the circumstances make a prosecution appropriate.
National Health Service Trusts
37. Dr. Strang : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many hospitals have been granted trust status.
Mr. Stewart : Seventeen NHS trusts are now operational in Scotland.
Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list all appointments made as chairmen, members, chairmen designate and members designate of all NHS trusts and trusts designate as at 30 June.
Mr. Stewart : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Argyll and Bute (Mrs. Michie) on 22 June 1993 at columns 145-56. No further appointments were made up to 30 June 1993.
Licensing Hours
38. Mr. Maxton : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he intends to introduce legislation to change the licensing hours in Scotland.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Liquor licensing hours in Scotland were amended by Part III of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990 following a consultative review of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976 ; no further changes are proposed at present.
River Clyde
39. Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement about funding for the dredging of the River Clyde.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : It remains the Government's policy that port authorities, including Clyde Port Ltd, should manage their businesses on a commercial basis and that the costs of dredging should be met by charges to the users of ports, or by other parties who benefit from the dredging.
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Episiotomies
Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has on the frequency of episiotomies in maternity units in all health board areas since 1983.
Mr. Stewart : This information is not held centrally.
Wheelchairs (Children)
Mrs. Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list per health board and trust board area the average waiting time for physically handicapped children to be (a) measured for and (b) supplied with wheelchairs adapted to their needs.
Mr. Stewart : The information requested is not available. The five artificial limb and appliance centres responsible for the supply and maintenance of wheelchairs in Scotland have been asked by my noble Friend the Minister of State to collect this information in future in respect of all new wheelchair patients.
Speech Therapists
Mrs. Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list per health board and trust board area the number of full-time (a) occupational and (b) speech therapists employed in paediatric services.
Mr. Stewart : The information requested is not held centrally.
Special Educational Needs
Mrs. Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list by regional council areas the length of time taken by education departments to open a record of need for children with (a) physical and (b) special learning needs ; and what is the average time for completion of such records.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : This information is not collected centrally. However, a research report (Children with Special Educational Needs : Thomson et al : August 1989) showed that in Scotland just over half of all Records of Needs are completed in under six months and nearly three- quarters within eight months.
Mrs. Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of the existing school rolls in Scotland has been identified as involving children with special educational needs over each of the past five years ; and if he will give a breakdown per regional education department.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Information on the percentage of education authority school pupils for whom a record of needs was opened and in force in terms of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980, as amended, is shown in the table.
Percentage of pupils in education authority
schools and departments
with a record of needs as at September
1988-92<1>
|1988|1989|1990|1991|1992
--------------------------------------------
Scotland |1.0 |1.0 |1.1 |1.2 |1.3
Borders |1.3 |1.1 |1.2 |1.4 |1.7
Central |1.2 |1.1 |1.2 |1.3 |1.5
Dumfries and
Galloway |1.0 |1.0 |1.3 |1.2 |1.4
Fife |0.8 |0.8 |0.8 |0.8 |0.9
Grampian |1.1 |1.1 |1.2 |1.2 |1.3
Highland |1.5 |1.4 |1.5 |1.6 |1.7
Lothian |0.6 |0.6 |0.6 |0.6 |0.7
Strathclyde |1.1 |1.1 |1.2 |1.4 |1.5
Tayside |0.7 |0.5 |0.7 |0.7 |0.9
Orkney |0.4 |0.6 |0.5 |0.7 |0.7
Shetland |0.6 |0.5 |0.7 |0.7 |0.7
Western Isles |0.6 |0.6 |0.7 |0.6 |0.8
<1> Excluding nursery schools and
departments.
Mrs. Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of the existing school rolls in Scotland have had records of needs (a) opened and (b) completed in each of the past five years.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The total number and percentage of children attending education authority schools (excluding nursery) in Scotland with records of needs at September in the last five years is :
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