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Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the low- flying area boundaries in use for daytime flying are also used for the night low-flying system.
Mr. Hanley : No. the United Kingdom low-flying system is based on a different set of low-flying areas which apply to daytime flying. As I told the hon. Member for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley (Mr. Foulkes) on25 October, Official Report, col 485, a map of the United Kingdom night low- flying system is in the Library of the House.
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many aircraft movements into the highlands restricted area were booked in each year since 1981.
Mr. Hanley : It is not our practice to publish detailed information on activity in individual low-flying areas.
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many low- flying sorties were undertaken in the United Kingdom low-flying system in the period between sunset plus 30 minutes and sunrise minus 30 minutes, in each year from 1987 to 1992.
Mr. Hanley : Statistics on low-flying sorties during the period of the day specified are not available. Statistics on sorties flown in the United Kingdom night low-flying system are, however, available from July 1989 onwards and are given in the table :
|Sorties
------------------------
<1>1989 |1,601
1990 |3,709
1991 |2,066
1992 |3,520
<1> July to December
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the requirements for individual air force flying units or stations to provide statistics to the military air traffic organisation on the use made of each low-flying area.
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Mr. Hanley : In general, statistics on the use of low-flying areas are compiled from information provided by the tactical booking cell at RAF West Drayton and there is no requirement for individual units to provide statistics to HQ military air traffic operations. The following units or flying stations, which are the co-ordinating authorities for dedicated user areas within the United Kingdom low-flying system or which have a dispensation to operate in their local low-flying area without pre-booking through TBC, are however, required to submit statistics on a monthly basis :
RAF Benson
RAF Chivenor
RNAS Culdrose
RAF Leuchars
RAF Lossiemouth
HQ Northern Ireland
RAF Odiham
Salisbury Plain Operations Centre
RAF Spadeadam
RAF Ternhill
Wattisham
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the locations and dates of currently planned presentations by the RAF low-flying presentation team.
Mr. Hanley : Presentations by the Ministry of Defence low-flying presentation team are currently planned to take place on Wednesday 3 November 1993 at Staplehurst, Kent and on Thursday 9 December at Morecambe, Lancashire.
Aircraft Noise
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the progress of the joint United Kingdom-United States- Canadian study on the long-term effects on human health of exposure to aircraft noise ; and if he will list any publications by participants in this study.
Mr. Hanley : Initial work on the feasibility of a study to investigate the possible effects on health of noise from low-flying aircraft has been completed and a report is being prepared. My Department is not aware of any publications by participants in relation to the study.
MiG Aircraft Collision
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the minimum authorised altitude for the air display by the two MiG-29 aircraft which collided at RAF Fairford on 25 July ; and what was the overall minimum altitude for all participating aircraft in the display.
Mr. Hanley : All participants in the international air tattoo held at RAF Fairford were required to comply with the regulations contained in the Joint Services Publication 318 as follows : Fixed Wing aircraft performing straight and level flypast--not below 100 feet Minimum Separation Distance (MSD).
Rotary Wing aircraft performing straight and level flypast--not below 50 feet MSD.
Aircraft performing aerobatic manoeuvres and inverted flight--not below 500 feet MSD.
Fixed Wing aircraft performing all other manoeuvres--not below 300 feet MSD.
Rotary Wing aircraft performing all other manoeuvres--not below 100 feet MSD.
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Helicopters and vertical or short take-off and landing aircraft may operate below the above MSDs during hovering and transition manoeuvres.Minesweepers
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what considerations he will take into account when deciding to whom to sell the six River class minesweepers presently for sale.
Mr. Aitken : Our general policy is to support the sale of British defence equipment overseas wherever this is compatible with our political, strategic and security interests, We consider our own national security, our policy towards a particular country, and our international obligations. Subject to these constraints, we will negotiate with interested Governments in order to achieve the best price for the vessels.
Eurofighter 2000
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the progress being made in the development of flight control of software for Eurofighter 2000.
Mr. Aitken : The integrity of the flight control system software is critical to the flight safety of an aerodynamically unstable aircraft such as EF 2000. It is therefore essential that all aspects of the software standard required for first flight are subjected to thorough ground rig testing beforehand. This is taking rather longer than expected and has necessitated a postponement of the first flight, which Eurofighter is now forecasting for April next year. This further delay is disappointing, but there is no indication of any major design problem and it should not be of great significance in overall programme terms. It should not affect the forecast delivery of the first RAF production aircraft in 2000.
Victor Tankers
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he proposes to dispose of the Victor tankers which have been withdrawn following the disbandment of 55 Squadron.
Mr. Aitken : Tenders for the purchase of the aircraft are expected on 4 November and we hope to complete the sale by the end of the month.
Operation Deny Flight
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many combat air patrols have been flown by aircraft of the Royal Air Force since the commencement of operation Deny Flight.
Mr. Hanley : Up to and including 27 October 1993,540 combat air patrol sorties had been flown by Royal Air Force Tornado F3 aircraft.
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many close air support training missions have been flown by aircraft of the Royal Air Force since the commencement of operation Deny Flight.
Mr. Hanley : Up to and including 27 October 1993, 238 close air support training missions had been flown by Royal Air Force Jaguar aircraft.
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Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many aircraft of the Royal Air Force, and of what types, are currently deployed in operation Deny Flight.
Mr. Hanley : The Royal Air Force aircraft currently deployed on operation Deny Flight are listed in the table :
|Number
---------------------------
Tornado F3 |8
Jaguar GR1 |12
Sentry AEW 1 |2
Tristar |2
Cash Limits
Mr. Garnier : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what changes he proposes to the class I cash limits and running costs limit for 1993-94.
Mr. Rifkind : Subject to parliamentary approval of the winter supplementary estimates, the following change will be made :
Class I, vote 1 cash limits
|£ thousands
--------------------------------------------
Current cash limits |12,408,726
Change |-3,510
Revised cash limit |12,405,216
This change decreases the block defence cash limit by £3,510,000 from £23,406,837,000 to £23,403,327,000. It reflects a transfer between the Ministry of Defence and the Department of Environment to enable Plymouth urban development corporation to purchase Royal William yard.
The running costs limit is unchanged.
EMPLOYMENT
Sellafield
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will set out the criteria established for the procedures, remit and timing of Health and Safety Executive studies of the incidence of leukaemia and other radiation effects in relation to British Nuclear Fuels plc's plant at Sellafield.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : As the findings of the 1990 report by Professor Gardner suggested a possible occupational cause for the raised incidence of leukaemia and non-Hodgkins lymphoma in young people near the Sellafield plant, the Health and Safety Executive decided to focus its investigation on the occupational histories of fathers employed at the plant. The purpose of the investigation, which was based on records held by British Nuclear Fuels plc, was to see if the Health and Safety Executive needed to take any specific action to further restrict workplace exposures. At the same time HSE agreed to fund a number of other relevant studies jointly with the Department of Health.
A written protocol specifying the criteria and working methods of the investigation was drawn up and agreed with the workforce and management of British Nuclear Fuels plc and the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority. It
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was cleared with the medical ethical authorities in December 1990 and work began in January 1991. It was recognised that a full epidemiological study would take some years to complete. Therefore, two short studies based on the case fathers identified by Professor Gardner, were carried out to whether any obvious common factors emerged ; neither study pointed to a need for action. Originally, it was envisaged that the main study could be completed in April 1992. However, despite giving the work a high priority, the study took longer to complete because of the volume and complexity of the records that had to be examined and interpreted. This resulted in the report not being finalised until the end of September 1993. The findings of the report suggest that no further preventive action is required to protect the occupational health and safety of the Sellafield work force, over and above the measures which are already in place.Training and Employment Measures
Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what communications he has received from the local government international bureau about possible forfeiture by the United Kingdom of money available from the European Community in support of measures to promote training and employment ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Michael Forsyth : No formal communications have been received from the local government international bureau on this subject, but I understand that it has been raised at meetings with the Department's European social fund unit.
The United Kingdom has not forfeited money made available from the ESF. Acceptance of additional resources from the ESF arising from exchange rate fluctuations was subject to discussions with the European Commission and others about the complex accounting procedures governing the ESF. However a solution has now been found which will enable us to make use of the additional funds.
Higher Education
Mr. Henderson : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is his Department's estimate of the number of people who have completed a course of study at university or a college of further or higher education (a) in the last year, (b) in the last two years and (c) in the last three years and have yet to find employment.
Miss Widdecombe : The Department does not hold information in precisely the form requested. However the Labour Force Survey provides information both on an individual's highest qualification and duration of unemployment. The following table shows unemployment estimates for people qualified to further and higher education levels :
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Unemployment
duration
Highest |less than 1 year |more than one but|more than 2 years
qualification |less than 2 years|but less than 3
|years
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First degree or above |115,000 |25,000 |10,000
Higher education below degree |65,000 |20,000 |5,000
A level or equivalent |375,000 |110,000 |45,000
European Court
Mr. Duncan Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how the Government intend to respond to the recent decision of the European Court of Justice in the case of Marshall v. Southampton and South West Hampshire health authority (No. 2).
Miss Widdecombe : We are urgently seeking powers under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 to make regulations to amend the law in the light of this judgment. These regulations will, in particular, remove the upper limit on compensation in the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and give industrial tribunals a power to award interest in sex discrimination and equal pay cases. I expect these regulations to come into force during November. Similar regulations are intended for Northern Ireland.
The Marshall judgment was concerned only with sex discrimination. However, the Government believe that other types of discrimination which are similarly prohibited should carry the same penalties as sex discrimination.
The Government will therefore seek a suitable opportunity to amend the penalties available for racial discrimination under the Race Relations Act 1975, to keep them consistent with those soon to be available under the Sex Discrimination Act.
Similarly, my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland will seek an
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opportunity to amend the penalties available for religious discrimination in Northern Ireland under the Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Act 1976, as amended.Radiation, Sellafield
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment on what date the recent Health and Safety Executive study of the incidence of leukaemia and other radiation effects in relation to BNFL's plant at Sellafield was made available to British Nuclear Fuels.
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 27 October 1993] : Pre- publication copies of the report of the findings were sent to British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. and the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority on 15 September 1993, following clearance by the Health and Safety Commission for publication.
Disabled People
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the budget for each of his Department's special schemes for disabled people, and the actual amount available for the last five years for which figures are available.
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 28 October 1993] : I have prepared the answer to the hon. Gentleman's question in the form of the following tables :
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Actual expenditure for each scheme £000s Scheme |1988-89|1989-90|1990-91|1991-92|1992-93 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Aids to Employment (SAE) |3,361 |4,293 |5,602 |6,523 |6,670 Adaptations to Premises and Equipment (APE) |423 |338 |449 |527 |581 Fares to Work (FTW) |853 |1,160 |1,383 |1,648 |1,801 Business on Own Account (BOA) |31 |17 |40 |59 |40 Job Introduction Scheme (JIS) |614 |527 |461 |410 |391 Personal Reader Service (PRS) |453 |350 |619 |807 |1,206
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Actual expenditure for each scheme £000s Scheme |1988-89|1989-90|1990-91|1991-92|1992-93 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Aids to Employment (SAE) |3,361 |4,293 |5,602 |6,523 |6,670 Adaptations to Premises and Equipment (APE) |423 |338 |449 |527 |581 Fares to Work (FTW) |853 |1,160 |1,383 |1,648 |1,801 Business on Own Account (BOA) |31 |17 |40 |59 |40 Job Introduction Scheme (JIS) |614 |527 |461 |410 |391 Personal Reader Service (PRS) |453 |350 |619 |807 |1,206
SCOTLAND
Departmental Offices
Mr. Byers : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many civil servants are working in his Department's offices at Dover house, Whitehall.
Mr. Lang : At 28 October 1993, my Department had 39 civil servants working in Dover house.
Cash Limits
Mr. Gallie : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what changes he intends to make to the cash limits in running costs for 1993-94 within his responsibility.
Mr. Lang : Yes. Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimates I intend to make changes to six voted cash limits, two running costs limits and in addition the two non-voted cash blocks :--
(a) The cash limit for class XIV, vote 3, training programmes, roads and transport services and industrial support, Scotland, will be increased by £17,437,000 from £728,557,000 to £745,994,000. The increase takes account of an increase in provision of £8,650,000 for grant payments to Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd (offset by a reduction in the company's market borrowing) ; a transfer of provision of £800,000 from class XIV, vote 17 ; an increase in provision of £7,287,000 for Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, for the package of employment and training measures announced by the Chancellor in his Budget statement on 16 March 1993, Official Report, cols 169 to 196 ; a transfer of £1,077,000 provision in respect of Department of Employment employment action ; and the uptake of end-year flexibility as announced by the Chief Secretary on 14 July 1993, Official Report columns 512-17.
(b) The cash limit for class XIV, vote 7, housing and environmental services, Scotland will be increased by £152,000 from £418,807,000 to £418,959,000. The increase takes account of a £282, 000 increase in provision for running costs as a result of a transfer of £96,000 from class XIV, vote 21 ; £56,000 as part take-up by Historic Scotland of the Scottish Office end-year flexibility entitlement for running costs ; and £130,000 which is covered by a corresponding increase in Appropriations in Aid.
(c) The cash limit for class XIV, vote 12, law, order, miscellaneous health and social work services, Scotland, will be increased by £2,829,000 from
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£280,703,000 to £283,532,000. The major elements are transfers of provision for running costs ; lower than forecast appropriations in aid in respect of the Scottish Prison Service ; a £181,000 increase in provision for the Orkney inquiry offset by a corresponding reduction in social work services : and the uptake of end- year flexibility.(d) The cash limit for class XIV, vote 17, education, arts and libraries, Scotland, will be increased by £1,806,000 from £761,903, 000 to £763,709,000. The increase reflects the full uptake of end-year flexibility of £2,606,000, partially offset by a transfer of provision of £800,000 to class XIV, vote 3.
(e) The cash limit for class XIV, vote 21, Scottish Office Administration, will be increased by £1,019,000 from £163,417,000 to £164,436,000. This increase results from additional running cost resources of £600,000 taken up within the agreed limit for 1993-94 offset by a series of inter-Vote transfers totalling £286,000 ; and take up of £705,000 under end-year flexibility arrangements for running costs. Additional resources will be used to meet increased ERNIC costs, spending on staff and development of information systems to administer reformed EC schemes of agricultural support, making the Scottish Office more accessible through local contact points and telephone enquiry lines and offsetting loss of income from the intervention board.
(f) The cash limit for class XIV, vote 22, Scottish Record Office, will be increased by £67,000 from £10,202,000 to £10,269,000. Within this total, the running cost limit is increased by £15,000 following a transfer from class XIV, vote 21. There is also £52,000 for the uptake of end-year flexibility on capital expenditure. The additional provision will contribute to the cost of installing and running an automatic intruder and flood detection system.
(g) The non-voted cash limit SO/LA1, which covers non-housing capital expenditure by local authorities, is to be increased by £30, 604,000 from £590,156,000 to £620,760,000. This reflects full take-up of end year flexibility amounting to £32,604,000 along with a reduction of existing net capital allocations amounting to £2,000,000 to balance an increase on class XIV, vote 8, local environmental services and housing.
(h) The non-voted cash limit SO/LA2, which covers housing capital expenditure by local authorities and capital expenditure by new towns, will be increased by £11,019,000 from £264,395,000 to £275,414,000. The increase takes account of a reduction of £2,000,000 as a result of a transfer to class XIV, vote 11 ; and an increase of £13,019,000 as a result of the take-up of end-year flexibility entitlement. (
(i) The Scottish Office running cost limit will be increased by £2,369,000 from £330,487,000 to £332,856,000. This results from take up of end-year flexibility totalling £1,339,000 ; a transfer out of £15, 000 to 1-112 *T
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Scottish Record Office ; a transfer in of £15,000 to Scottish Prison Service from the Office of Public Service and Science (Class XVIII, Vote 1) ; £900,000 to cope with increased prison population and administrative work arising from CAP Reforms and the White Paper "Scotland in the Union" ; and an increase of £130,000 for Historic Scotland covered by additional income earned this year.These increases will be offset by savings on other votes and cash limits within my responsibility and by claims on the Reserve. There will not therefore be any addition to the planned total of public expenditure.
Sewage Sludge
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will place in the Library a map showing the boundaries of the sewage sludge dump on the Firth of Clyde.
Sir Hector Monro : A copy of the appropriate map has been placed in the Library.
Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his policy towards the appointment of persons with Conservative party affiliations to NHS trust boards.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 28 October 1993] : Political affiliation is not a factor in such appointments, which are made on the basis of the personal contribution which the individual concerned can make to the board.
A Partnership for Good"
Mr. Wallace : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will estimate the total annual costs which will be, or already have been, incurred in fulfilling the commitments made by his Department in the document, "Scotland in the Union--A Partnership for Good."
Mr. Lang [holding answer 28 October 1993] : Details of the identifiable costs, both actual and estimated, of implementing specific commitments contained in the White Paper, "Scotland in the Union : A Partnership for Good" are set out in the table. Many of these commitments would have arisen in any case, but all contribute to the White Paper's general thrust to devolve more decision-making power to Scotland and within Scotland.
Proposal or |Estimated or actual commitment |costs ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Europartenariat |<1>40,000 Review of Scottish Trade International |14,000 Publication of concise Annual Report |38,000 Making Scottish Office more accessible to all parts of Scotland |<2>176,870 Publication of Further and Higher Education Charters |86,500 Publication of Householders Guide to Planning |2,210 Publication of Charter on Local Authority Environmental Services |20,600 Publication of Guide to Rights of Private Sector Tenants |3,625 Appointment of Lay Inspector of Constabulary |<3>17,170 Appointment of lay members of schools and colleges inspection teams |<4>15,000 Appointment of lay inspectors to Social Work Sevices Inspectorate |<5>2,600 Comments: <1> Estimate cost of Scottish Office Industry Department Stand. <2> Includes initial publicity costs of £150,000; estimated annual running costs are £28,500. <3> Salary fee for 9 month contract. <4> Start up costs. <5> Cost so far incurred.
Sight Tests
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many NHS sight tests took place in each financial year since 1984-85.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 28 October 1993] : The number of national health service sight tests paid for by health boards in each of the financial years from 1984-85 to 1992-93 is shown in the table.
Number of NHS sight tests Year |Number --------------------------------- 1984-85 |884,727 1985-86 |913,901 1986-87 |965,160 1987-88 |1,098,145 1988-89 |1,168,610 1989-90 |<1>475,479 1990-91 |432,885 1991-92 |496,598 1992-93 |538,684 <1> Since 1 April 1989 free National Health Service sight tests have only been available to children, full-time students under 19, those in receipt of Income Support or Family Credit, the registered blind and partially sighted, complex lens users, those who hold an AG2 Examption certificate from the Health Benefits Unit, diagnosed diabetic or glaucoma sufferers and close relatives aged 40 or over of glaucoma sufferers.
Local Government Reorganisation
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many (a) individuals and (b) organisations in East Lothian have had their views conveyed to him (i) in favour of his plan to divide the local authority area of East Lothian, and (ii) against that proposal.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 29 October 1993] : Since the publication of the White Paper, "Shaping the Future--The New Councils", 35 individual letters commenting on the proposal to create a new single-tier authority for Berwickshire and East Lothian have been received from East Lothian, three of which have been in favour of the proposal and 32 against. Of these, 27 letters have come from individuals and eight from organisations. In addition, some 14,000 postcards, pro forma letters and petition signatures have been submitted, mainly from people objecting to the Government's proposals for East Lothian.
Severely Disadvantaged Areas
Dr. Strang : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the net farm income for mainly sheep and sheep and cattle farms in severely disadvantaged areas, in both nominal and real terms for each year since 1978.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 29 October 1993] : Estimates of net farm income based on results of sample surveys are provided in the following tables. The system of classification changed in 1992-93 and the figures in the two tables are not fully comparable. Year-to-year comparisons on each table can best be made by reference to the indices which are based on results from constant samples of farms.
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Table 2
New Classification<3>
Specialist Sheep Mixed Cattle and
(SDA) Sheep (SDA)
Net Farm Income Indices Net Farm Income Indices
(89-90 to 89-90 to
91-92=100)<1> 91-92=100)<1>
|Nominal Terms|Real Terms |Nominal Terms|Real Terms |Nominal Terms|Real Terms |Nominal Terms|Real Terms
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1987-88 |8,800 |11,600 |97 |120 |9,600 |12,600 |91 |112
1988-89 |9,400 |11,600 |89 |104 |12,300 |15,300 |116 |135
1989-90 |8,600 |9,800 |91 |99 |11,100 |12,800 |105 |113
1990-91 |8,100 |8,500 |101 |99 |10,100 |10,500 |95 |93
1991-92 |9,100 |9,100 |108 |102 |8,600 |8,600 |100 |94
1992-93<2> |10,800 |10,500 |149 |136 |11,600 |11,300 |110 |100
Source: Farm Accounts Scheme.
<1> Net Farm Income figures deflated by the Retail Price Index, 1991-92=100.
<2> 1992-93 Net Farm Income figures are provisional.
<3> The levels of income have been rounded to the nearest hundred.
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