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DudleyWolverhampton
Cheshire
Liverpool
St. Helens and Knowsley
Lancashire
Bolton
Bury
Manchester
Oldham
Rochdale
Salford
Trafford
Wigan
Contraceptives
Ms Glenda Jackson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consideration the Government have given to imposing prescription charges on contraceptives.
Mr. Sackville : We have no present plans to do so.
Prescription Charges
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for Health by how much prescription charges have risen in (a) cash terms and (b) real terms between 1979 and 1993.
Dr. Mawhinney : On 1 April 1993, prescription charges had risen by £4.05 cash and £1.53 in real terms since 1979. The charge remains substantially less than the average total cost of a prescribed item to the national health service. Only one in five precribed items dispensed by community pharmacists and appliance contractors now attracts a charge, compared with two in five in 1979.
Drugs Projects
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list all drugs residential and rehabilitation projects by borough in the Greater London area ; how many places each project has ; what was the cost of each project in 1991-92 ; and what was the budget for 1992-93.
Mr. Bowis : Comprehensive information about residential and rehabilitation projects for drug misusers is not available centrally. The hon. Member may wish to contact the Standing Conference on Drug Abuse, the national umbrella organisation for drug misuse services, which publishes a directory ofState for Health how many successful prosecutions have been made relating to the sale and/or distribution of anabolic steroids in each of the last three years ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville [holding answer 12 July 1993] : There has been one successful Medicines Act prosecution since 1991.
DEFENCE
Skyship 600
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what role has been designed for the Skyship 600 airship ordered by his Department ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Aitken : A Skyship 600 airship has been supplied to the MOD by Westinghouse Surveillance System Ltd. for a series of trials to assess the suitability of airships for a variety of possible roles. Until these trials have been completed and the results assessed, no decisions can be made on any future operational roles that airships might undertake.
Service Training
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what have been the budgeting implications of reduction in numbers of service personnel involved in training in each of the past five years.
Mr. Hanley : Following the introduction of the new management strategy, data is now collected by budgetary area--as shown in table 2.2 of Defence Statistics 1993--and not by programme. It is not possible to identify separately the budgetary implications of the reductions in numbers of service personnel involved in training without disproportionate cost.
Redundant Trainers
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department is taking to ensure that skilled trainers declared redundant by the armed services are used to their best advantage in the civilian economy.
Mr. Hanley : The Ministry of Defence provides a comprehensive training and resettlement service for all service leavers, including redundees. This is designed primarily to assist in the move to a second career, and includes advice on the job market and the skills required. Many service leavers not only possess a wide range of skills but will also have several years experience as instructors, trainers and teachers. In addition to the wider marketing of their potential through the "Access to Excellence" campaign, a number of specific initiatives are being pursued in conjunction with the Departments of Employment and Education to promote their value as instructors and trainers for employment opportunities through the training and enterprise councils and within the new general national vocational qualification scheme.
Yugoslavia
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the Spanish battalion in UNPROFOR II will be withdrawn ; what changes have been or will be made to the area of responsibility of the United Kingdom contingent as a result ; if additional logistic support will be required ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Hanley : The duration of individual nations' contributions to UNPROFOR is a matter for the UN and the nations concerned, which we would expect to make public any such decision. Currently there are no plans to change the areas of responsibility of the various national contingents to UNPROFOR Bosnia-Herzegovina command, and consequently no requirement for additional logistic support.
Burma
Mr. Anthony Coombs : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what training facilities Her Majesty's Government currently offer to military personnel from Burma.
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Mr. Hanley : None : The inclusion of Burma in the list of countries that receive military training provided in the answer my right hon. Friend the Member for Epsom and Ewell (Mr. Hamilton) gave the hon. Member for Tooting (Mr. Cox) on 27 May, at column 681, referred to a civilian who was due to attend a military medical course, but who in the event did not turn up.
Red Arrows
Mr. Anthony Coombs : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current annual cost of maintaining the Red Arrows RAF formation flying team.
Mr. Hanley : The full accounting which takes into account station overheads cost of maintaining and supporting the RAF Red Arrows aerobatic team for financial year 1992-93 was some £17,000,000. The cash cost, which comprises pay, aviation fuel and travel and subsistence, was some £2,000,000.
Airborne Warning and Communication System
Mr. Elletson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what limitations AWACS has in tracking slow-moving propellor-driven light aircraft ; if he will make a statement on the reasons for these limitations and on their effects on the ability of the international community to police unauthorised air traffic over Bosnia-Herzegovina ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Hanley : AWACS was designed and developed to detect fast-moving military aircraft, larger than those suspected of violating the no-fly zone, flying beyond and below the coverage of surface radars. AWACS' performance in detecting small, slow-moving targets is less effective than for its primary role. The ability to detect these slow-moving targets is further inhibited by the "radar shadow" afforded by the mountainous terrain. Details of suspected violations are reported to the United Nations in a number of ways and the limitations of AWACS does not have a material effect on monitoring the operation of the no-fly zone.
Chemical and Biological Weapons
Mr. Livingstone : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many committees are run by the Chemical and Biological Defence Board of the Defence Scientific Advisory Council ; what are the titles of each committee ; how long each committee has existed ; how many people sit on each committee ; and how many of these people are from universities and institutions of higher education.
Mr. Hanley : The Chemical and Biological Defence Board of the Defence Scientific Advisory Council has three committees reporting to it. These are :
(i) The Biomedical Sciences Committee which has been in existence since 1 January 1992 and has nine members of whom seven are from universities and institutions of higher education.
(ii) The Microbiology and Biotechnology Committee which has been in existence since 1 January 1992 and has nine members of whom five are from universities and institutions of higher education. (iii) The Physical Sciences Committee which has been in existence since 1 January 1981 and has 10 members all of whom are from universities of higher education.
Mr. Livingstone : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times the Government have reviewed
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their policy concerning the production of (a) chemical weapons and (b) biological weapons since 1979 ; and how many times United Kingdom Defence Ministers have discussed this policy with the Defense Secretaries of the United States Government during that time.Mr. Hanley : The United Kingdom abandoned its offensive biological capability after the second world war and its offensive chemical capability in the 1950s and that remains the Government's policy. Since then the United Kingdom's policy has concentrated on implementation of an effective defence against the use of such weapons and international agreements on their control, destruction and eventual abolition. The Government consider their policy on these latter issues on a regular basis, and have a long- standing and continuing dialogue with the United States authorities. The issues are discussed at ministerial level when necessary.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many contingency plans have been considered or drawn up by the Ministry of Defence for the supply of chemicals and biological weapons from its allies in the event of an emergency, since 1963.
Mr. Hanley : The Ministry of Defence has had no contingency plans to obtain chemical or biological weapons from its allies since the United Kingdom abandoned its offensive capabilities in chemical weapons in the 1950s and biological weapons after the second world war.
Depleted Uranium Shells
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what communication he has received since 1 June from (a) the Traumatic After Care Trust and (b) Galloway United Against Radiation Danger in regard to the health risks posed by the testing and use of depleted uranium shells.
Mr. Hanley : My Department has no record of receiving any communication from Galloway United Against Radiation Danger since 1 June. The directors of the Trauma After Care Trust wrote to me on 8 July, but their letter does not specifically mention such health risks.
Defence Statistics
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many copies of his Department's United Kingdom Defence Statistics 1993 have been printed ; at what cost ; and to whom it has been distributed.
Mr. Hanley : A total of 9,300 copies of United Kingdom Defence Statistics 1993 were printed. The costs of printing and publication were borne by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, which aims to recover its costs from sales revenue.
In addition to commercial sales, copies were distributed widely within the Ministry of Defence and the armed forces, to British embassies and high commissions, other Government Departments, the Libraries of both Houses, the House of Commons Vote Office, members of the press and academics.
Expenditure
Mr. Clapham : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of national income goes on military spending in (a) Britain, (b) Germany and (c) Japan ; and what is the European average.
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Mr. Hanley : Defence expenditure for the United Kingdom and Germany in 1992 as a proportion of gross domestic product was 4.1 per cent. and 2.2 per cent. respectively. Japan is expected to devote around 1 per cent. of its GDP to defence in 1992-93. Total defence expenditure by European NATO countries in 1992 was some 2.7 per cent. of their aggregate gross domestic product.
Guard service
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of his Department's new guard service and of its performance relative to previous arrangements.
Mr. Hanley : The MOD Guard Service (MGS) was implemented on 1 October 1992 to bring together a variety of guarding grades locally recruited at some 300 different sites under a wide variety of conditions of service. While the guards had given good service and provided security which was generally high, the new service is designed to produce a more professional body with commonality of uniform ; professional standards ; pay ; conditions of service ; staffing structure ; and centralised training. The result is an improved performance over the previous arrangements. For the future, improvements to MGS training together with the introduction of recently formulated national vocational qualifications for guarding will further enhance the high standards already achieved.
Bangladesh
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if there have been any secondees from the British Army to military training establishments in Bangladesh in 1992 or 1993 ; and what plans there are for such secondments in future.
Mr. Hanley : There were no British Army secondees in the period, although there was a tri-service training team on loan service in Bangladesh until October 1992. There are no immediate plans for any secondments in future.
Mr. Meacher To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans there are for inviting Bangladeshi military personnel to attend development and technical training courses in British military establishments.
Mr. Hanley : Bangladesh bids for places on courses in British military establishments, in a similar way to other countries. Bangladeshi students attend military courses on a variety of subjects. Details of training provided are confidential.
PRIME MINISTER
Referendums
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the dates since 1979 on which Government policy on the desirability of a referendum has been expressed by the Prime Minister in an official capacity ; and whether the Prime Minister was in favour in the cases listed in his parliamentary answer, Official Report, 28 November 1991, column 608.
The Prime Minister : I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave on 28 November 1991 at columns
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613-14. I supported the views expressed on behalf of the Government by my predecessor. Since then there have been four occasions, all of which referred to European integration, on which I have made the Government's views clear : 3 June 1992, Official Report, column 830 ; 18 June 1992, Official Report, column 1037 ; 16 March 1993, Official Report, column 167 ; and 30 March 1993, Official Report, column 156.Tokyo Communique
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Prime Minister what specific steps he intends to take to (a) encourage the multilateral development banks to focus more intensively on sustainable development and (b) incorporate environmental appraisals into project preparation and to make them publicly available, as stated at paragraph 8 of the G7 communique from Tokyo on 9 July.
The Prime Minister : Following the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in June 1992 the Government have supported a wide range of improvements in this area. For the International Development Association of the World bank, details are set out in the report on the 10th replenishment which the House approved on 12 July. Negotiations on the sixth replenishment of the African Development Fund and the capital resources of the Inter-American and Asian development banks are currently in progress. We are also actively working for agreement by the World bank board to proposals to make more information on its projects publicly available, including environmental assessments : a decision is expected soon.
Ministerial Responsibilities
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Prime Minister what consideration he has given to the appointment of a senior Minister as (a) a Minister with special responsibility for young people and (b) a Minister with special responsibility for older people ; and if he will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : I refer the hon. Member to my reply to his similar question on 14 November 1991 at column 639 about designating a Minister with responsibility for young people. Similarly, issues facing older people are not specific to that age group. Appointing a Minister with special responsibility to look after such groups would diffuse responsibilities for particular aspects of policy which presently fall clearly on each departmental Minister.
Yugoslavia
Mr. Wareing : To ask the Prime Minister what progress has been made towards holding a further meeting of the London conference on former Yugoslavia ; and if he will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : The steering committee of the international conference on the former Yugoslavia met at senior official level in Geneva on 1 July. There are currently no plans to hold a further meeting, at either official or ministerial level, but the co-chairmen are keeping this under review.
Mr. Wareing : To ask the Prime Minister what progress has been made in placing monitors on the border between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Bosnia-Herzegovina ; and if he will make a statement.
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The Prime Minister : Following the adoption of United Nations Security Council resolution 838, the Secretary-General submitted to the Security Council a report on the options for deployment of international border monitors on the border between
Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia/Montenegro. Following full discussion of the report in the Security Council, the President of the Council replied, asking the Secretary-General to investigate whether the states involved were willing to co-operate in the deployment of monitors and, if so, which member states of the United Nations would be prepared to contribute monitors. We await the outcome of these soundings.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Disability
Ms Corston : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) why publication of information about population with disabilities has been discontinued in the report, "Households Below Average Income" ; (2) if he will ensure that the next "Households Below Average Income" report makes specific reference to people with disabilities and includes statistical data covering disabled pensioners and recipients of disability benefits and invalidity benefits who are under pensionable age.
Mr. Burt : Information on people with disabilities was discontinued as part of the "Households Below Average Income" (HBAI) report following recommendation 4.34 of the HBAI stocktaking report published and placed in the Library in November 1991.
The family expenditure survey, the data source for the HBAI report, does not record whether an individual is disabled and the stocktaking report, expressed concern about the reliability of the data for sick and disabled people.
There are no plans to change the information provided in the next HBAI statistics.
Incomes
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give the increase in real incomes for the top decile of the income range between 1979 and the latest available year before and after housing costs.
Mr. Burt : I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Glasgow, Garscadden (Mr. Dewar) on 8 July at columns 214-15.
Pensioners Living Abroad
Mr. Jenkin : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he has any plans to change the basis on which United Kingdom retirement pensions and widows' benefits are paid to people living abroad ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Hendry : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to change the basis on which United Kingdom retirement pensions and widows' benefits are paid to people living abroad ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Hague : In general, annual upratings of those benefits are not paid outside the United Kingdom, but some 13,500 pensioners and widows living abroad have
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erroneously been awarded benefit in excess of their legal entitlement, most between 1988 and August 1991. All new awards since August 1991 have been made on the correct legal basis. But there are about 10,500 continuing overpayments ; some are only a few pence a week and the average is about £10.80 a week. The total cost is estimated at £33 million between 1985-86 and 1992-93.We shall not be taking steps to reduce those pensions that are being overpaid since the past overpayments are not recoverable under section 71 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 and we are ensuring that United Kingdom pensioners who have received a certain level of benefit, albeit at too high a rate in existing law, should not now suffer a reduction for reasons which are no fault of their own. For that reason, we intend to introduce an amendment to the Social Security Benefit (Persons Abroad) Regulations which will provide a legal basis for maintaining these payments at their present rate.
Expenditure
Mr. Frank Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish a table showing what expenditure on social security would be in real terms in each year since 1973-74 if the number of pensioners, sick, unemployed, widows and families, etcetera had remained unchanged at 1973-74 levels ; and what proportion of the gross domestic product such spending accounted for in each year.
Mr. Scott : It is not possible to provide the information requested.
Mr. Frank Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate what expenditure on (a) housing benefit, (b) council tax benefit and (c) the social fund is attributable to the rise in unemployment.
Mr. Scott : Information in the form requested is not available. However, in 1992-93 expenditure on housing benefit and community charge benefit for unemployed people in Great Britain was £2,032 million. Awards from the social fund to unemployed people in Great Britain amounted to £115 million excluding cold weather payments. Information about cold weather payments is not available.
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish a table showing social security expenditure as a proportion of gross domestic product in each year since 1963.
Mr. Burt : The percentage figures for each year from 1963-64 until 1977-78 are in the table. Those for subsequent years are shown in table 4 of the Department of Social Security publication "The Growth of Social Security".
Years |Benefit expenditure
|as a percentage of
|GDP
------------------------------------------------------------
1963-64 |6.3
1964-65 |6.0
1965-66 |6.6
1966-67 |6.6
1967-68 |8.1
1968-69 |8.0
1969-70 |7.4
1970-71 |7.2
1971-72 |7.5
1972-73 |7.4
1973-74 |7.4
1974-75 |7.7
1975-76 |8.1
1976-77 |8.6
1977-78 |8.9
Source used to obtain figures "Annual Abstract of
Statistics", various years.
Legal Aid
Mrs. Jane Kennedy : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 28 June, Official Report, column 337, if he will place in the Library a copy of the guidance notes issued to assessment officers assessing financial eligibility in civil legal aid cases.
Mr. Burt : Copies of the relevant guidance have been placed in the Library.
Invalidity Benefit
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what proposals he has for introducing legislation to disregard attendance on employment training courses by those entitled to adult dependency supplements to their invalidity benefit from before the introduction of the all-or-nothing earnings rule on 15 September 1985, for the purpose of protecting existing beneficiaries ;
(2) on what date extra-statutory payments were cancelled for those previously entitled to adult dependency increases on top of their invalidity benefit and who have lost that entitlement due to attendance on an employment training course ; what plans he has to issue new instructions restoring the right to make extra-statutory payments to this category of benefit claimants ; and if he will make a statement ;
(3) what is his current estimate of the number of claimants of invalidity benefit supplemented by adult dependency allowance dating back to before 15 September 1985, who have lost their allowance due to attendance on employment training courses since 1988 ; and how many successful claims there have been for extra-statutory payments equalling the lost adult dependency allowance and to what total estimated value.
Mr. Scott : Information on the number of invalidity benefit recipients with an adult dependency increase where entitlement ended due to attendance on employment training courses since 1988 is unavailable. By April 1991, the latest date for which figures are available, there had been five successful claims for extra-statutory payments to a total value of £2,477.70. Instructions to staff to make extra-statutory payments in affected cases were cancelled in error in January 1993, but are being reinstated today. The Government intend to bring forward legislation to place these payments on a statutory footing when a suitable opportunity arises.
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National Insurance
Ms Eagle : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his estimate of the cost of changing the national insurance threshold into a tax allowance in (a) 1993-94 and (b) 1994-95.
Mr. Hague : If employees did not pay contributions on that part of their earnings which falls below the lower earnings limit the cost would be as follows :
(£ billion)
|In year |Full year
----------------------------------------
1993-94 |0.9 |1.0
1994-95 |0.9 |1.0
Ms Eagle : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much revenue would be raised by abolishing the national insurance ceiling in (a) 1993-94 and (b) 1994-95.
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