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Column 445
Written Answers to Questions
Friday 25 February 1994
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Commercial Court (Lloyd's Litigation)
Sir Thomas Arnold : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what assessment he has made of the likely effect of impending Lloyd's litigation on the work load of the Commercial court.
Mr. John M. Taylor : Mr. Justice Cresswell, the judge in charge of the Commercial court list, is currently conducting a review of the Lloyd's litigation. An assessment of the potential impact on the court's work load will be made at the conclusion of his review, but it is not currently expected to have an adverse impact on other users of the court.
South Yorkshire Courts
Mr. Patchett : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what measures are being taken by courts in south Yorkshire to protect child witnesses with particular reference to the use of screens, television link equipment, and pre-recorded interviews ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John M. Taylor : In the area of south Yorkshire screens and video playback equipment to protect child witnesses are available at Barnsley, Doncaster, Sheffield and Rotherham magistrates courts. Live television link equipment will also be available at Rotherham magistrates court from May 1994. Screens, live Television links, and video playback equipment are in place at the Crown court at Sheffield. Screens are also available at the Crown court in Doncaster, and at the family hearing centres at Doncaster, Rotherham and Barnsley county courts.
Mr. Patchett : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department which courts in south Yorkshire have child liaison officers to protect child witnesses ; if he will make a statement.
Mr. John M. Taylor : Child liaison officers are in place at all Crown court centres. In the south Yorkshire region, the Crown court sits at Sheffield combined court and Doncaster where there are child liaison officers in post.
Legal Aid Scheme
Mrs. Ewing : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the hourly rate for work carried out under the civil legal aid scheme in England and Wales for (a) advocacy and (b) non- advocacy, chambers work ; and what provision there is for uplift to be applied in the hourly rates of remuneration in England and Wales under the legal aid system in operation.
Mr. John M. Taylor : There are a variety of prescribed rates which are contained in the regulations set out in the
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table. The regulations also provide for the circumstances where an uplift may be granted and the amount by which the prescribed rate may be uplifted. Where the prescribed rates do not apply the rates allowable are at the discretion of the taxing authority.Stautory Instrument number and Title
1991/2038
The Legal Aid in Family Proceedings (Remuneration) Regulations 1991 (as amended SI 1994/230)
1994/228
The Legal Aid in Civil Proceedings (Remuneration) Regulations 1994.
ENVIRONMENT
North Yorkshire County Council
Mr. Robert Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out the expenditure by North Yorkshire county council in each of its departments during the financial years 1992-93 and the anticipated outcome for 1993-94.
Mr. Baldry : The information requested is not available centrally.
Sites of Special Scientific Interest
Mr. Morley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 3 February, Official Report, column 879, for which sites of special scientific interest he refused a section 29 order under the Wildlife and Countryside Act ; on what dates ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Atkins : The information requested is as follows :
NCOs refused |Date of refusal --------------------------------------------------------------------- Went Ings Meadows, South Yorkshire |30 August 1983 Sherburn Willows, North Yorkshire |8 February 1985 Brimham Rocks, North Yorkshire |27 February 1985
The three orders were refused because the former Nature Conservancy Council failed to provide evidence that the sites concerned were of national importance.
Allotment Land
Mr. William Powell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many requests he has received for the disposal of allotment land by local authorities under section 8 of the Allotments Act 1925 from 1 January to 31 December 1993 ; in how many cases consent to dispose was granted ; and what was the total acreage in each case.
Mr. Atkins : Sixty-two applications were received by my Department's regional offices ; consent was given for the sale, appropriation or lease in every case and involved a total of 142.14 acres.
Government Car Service
Mr. Soley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of Monday 14 February, Official Report, column 582, what is his policy on making internal documents available for inspection by hon. Members.
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Mr. Baldry : The car log sheets used by the Government car service contain detailed information about the movement of Ministers. Security considerations preclude the release of these internal documents.
Pennine Trails
Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to make an announcement on the national Pennine bridleway trail ; how it will link up with the trans-Pennine trail ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Atkins : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 21 January, Official Report, column 869. If the Pennine bridleway is approved it will intersect with the proposed trans-Pennine trail.
Repossession (Assistance)
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps his Department plans to take to help borrowers faced with shortfalls following repossession.
Sir George Young : Low interest rates and improved employment prospects resulting from the Government's economic policies mean that fewer people are getting into difficulties with their mortgage. Those who are will be in a better position to repay any arrears and, as house prices recover, will be less likely to suffer a shortfall in the event of repossession. Individual mortgages are private contracts entered into by the borrower and the lender. It is for these parties, together with any indemnity insurer, to determine how any shortfall following repossession action should be treated.
Council Tax
Mr. Skinner : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many complaints have been made about the council tax in each individual council that is responsible for the collection of the council tax.
Mr. Baldry : This information is not held centrally.
Mrs. Maddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many appeals have been lodged since the 1992 valuations of homes for the purpose of assessing council tax in each district and borough of Dorset and Hampshire ; and how many of these cases in each district and borough have now received a final adjudication.
Mr. Baldry : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Don Valley (Mr. Redmond) on 17 February at column 967.
Mrs. Maddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when his Department expects the currently outstanding appeals against house valuations for the purposes of assessing council tax to be concluded in each district and borough of Dorset and Hampshire.
Mr. Baldry : As I announced on 11 January, we expect four out of five appeals to be dealt with before the end of the year and the remainder to be settled as rapidly as possible thereafter.
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Northumberland Coast
Mr. Byers : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will hold a public inquiry into the proposal to designate the Northumberland coast as a special protection area.
Mr. Atkins [holding answer 24 February 1994] : I have no plans to do so. All representations made to English Nature and to my right hon. Friend will be carefully considered before a decision is made on whether to designate this area as a special protection area for birds in accordance with the United Kingdom's obligations under the EC birds directive.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Benefits
Sir David Knox : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the social security benefit rates for 1994-95.
Mr. Hague : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to the hon. Member for Gainsborough and Horncastle (Mr. Leigh) on 30 November 1993 at columns 437-50 ; and to the pursuant reply on 16 December at column 840.
Family Credit
Mr. Frank Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list by occupation, the numbers of successful claimants for family credit ; and if he will distinguish within these categories the number of clergy men and women who are successful claimants.
Mr. Burt : An analysis of family credit recipients, by the occupation of the main earner, is contained in table B.5A of "Family Credit Statistics, Final Quarterly Tables, April 1993", a copy of which is in the Library. Information is not available about the number of clergy men or women receiving family credit and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Industrial Diseases
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 8 February, Official Report, columns 214-15, if he will list the number of industrial injuries disablement benefits paid relating to prescribed disease D1--asbestos industry only--and D3 in each area in each year.
Mr. Scott : Information is not collected in the precise format requested. The available information is in the table and relates only to new medical assessments made by special medical boards in Great Britain.
Special medical boards
Great Britain
Number of cases, analysed by
Special Medical Board,
of asbestos-related diseases
D1 and D3
assessed as having 1 per
cent. or more disablement
|<1>D1|D3
-----------------------------
1992
All boards |354 |551
Cardiff |53 |42
Swansea |12 |4
Glasgow |96 |77
Stoke |13 |30
Sheffield |43 |87
Manchester |46 |70
Newcastle |42 |55
London |49 |186
1991
All boards |330 |519
Cardiff |32 |67
Swansea |6 |3
Glasgow |68 |58
Stoke |14 |20
Sheffield |45 |74
Manchester |63 |56
Newcastle |53 |61
London |49 |180
1990
All boards |306 |462
Cardiff |27 |53
Swansea |6 |3
Glasgow |90 |53
Stoke |11 |19
Sheffield |36 |69
Manchester |59 |48
Newcastle |18 |57
London |59 |160
1989
All boards |268 |441
Cardiff |36 |51
Swansea |3 |6
Glasgow |75 |55
Stoke |11 |26
Sheffield |35 |76
Manchester |35 |46
Newcastle |25 |47
London |48 |134
1988
All boards |202 |479
Cardiff |22 |32
Swansea |3 |9
Glasgow |42 |73
Stoke |17 |19
Sheffield |25 |49
Manchester |30 |61
Newcastle |17 |74
London |46 |162
Based on a 100 per cent.
count.
<1>Asbestos industry only.
D1 = Pneumoconiosis.
D3 = Diffuse mesothelioma.
Note: Benefit is payable for
these conditions where
disablement is
assessed at 1 per cent. or
more.
Administration Costs
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 15 February, Official Report, column 698, if he will express the administration costs as a percentage of total budgets for each benefit in each year.
Mr. Burt : The information is in the table.
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£ million -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Child Benefit and One Parent Benefit |105 |2.2 |111 |2.3 |107 |2.2 |118 |2.2 Income Suport |1,114 |14.7 |1,180 |15.4 |1,348 |15.2 |1,373 |11.8 Sickness and Invalidity Benefit |154 |4.3 |182 |4.5 |208 |4.5 |275 |<1>4.9 Family Credit |24 |6.1 |30 |7.1 |<2>46 |9.3 |<2>33 |5.3 Social Fund |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |132 |47.1 |163 |45.2 <1> Figure differs from information in 1993 departmental report as benefit expenditure figure since revised. <2> Includes increased capital investment for information technology and publicity costs.
Disability
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many new claims for disability living allowance to each disability centre in each month since April 1993 have either (a) resulted in an award or (b) been rejected ; and in each case whether (i) examining medical practitioner evidence was provided, (ii) general practitioner factual reports were provided or (iii) the claim was decided solely on the statement of evidence provided by the claimant ;
(2) how many new disability living allowance claims have been refused, broken down by reason for refusal, in each month since June 1993 at each disability benefits centre and for the country as a whole.
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Mr. Scott : The administration of disability living allowance is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Paul Flynn, dated 24 February 1994.
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about Disability Living Allowance (DLA).
Your first question refers to new claims received. I have appended at Table 1 details of all new claims received in each Disability Benefit Centre (DBC) in each month since April 1993 showing how many (a) resulted in an award of (b) were rejected ; and in each case whether (i) EMP evidence was provided, (ii) GP factual reports were provided or (iii) the claim was decided solely on the statement of evidence provided by the claimant.
Table 2 shows the number of claims refused, broken down by reason for refusal, in each month since June 1993, at each DBC, and for the country as a whole.
I hope you find this reply helpful.
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Table 1
Awards Refusals
DBC Types of evidence Types of evidence
|1 |2 |3 |1 |2 |3
---------------------------------------------------------
April 1993
Edinburgh |338 |355 |191 |360 |482 |165
Newcastle |495 |338 |93 |463 |359 |115
Leeds |1,232|517 |414 |1,385|591 |371
Manchester |363 |520 |365 |629 |648 |238
Bootle |1,080|398 |496 |778 |542 |343
Birmingham |2,093|808 |1,235|1,200|463 |846
Bristol |628 |318 |80 |587 |234 |40
Cardiff |680 |271 |112 |737 |374 |122
Wembley |1,436|713 |535 |743 |492 |338
Sutton |1,351|921 |377 |888 |426 |218
Glasgow |402 |423 |283 |541 |869 |209
May 1993
Edinburgh |265 |342 |220 |313 |431 |152
Newcastle |584 |297 |86 |469 |371 |120
Leeds |1,025|465 |338 |1,412|493 |310
Manchester |305 |482 |360 |622 |499 |288
Bootle |698 |379 |376 |600 |497 |318
Birmingham |1,540|586 |1,047|982 |317 |670
Bristol |465 |360 |58 |435 |235 |37
Cardiff |1,401|236 |108 |1,648|309 |99
Wembley |1,191|802 |576 |605 |541 |349
Sutton |1,859|579 |628 |1,086|176 |412
Glasgow |529 |449 |365 |771 |878 |327
June 1993
Edinburgh |331 |411 |257 |450 |542 |234
Newcastle |688 |305 |145 |538 |389 |152
Leeds |1,117|484 |333 |1,561|542 |345
Manchester |381 |505 |406 |662 |680 |292
Bootle |752 |475 |522 |799 |625 |431
Birmingham |1,458|716 |1,275|1,099|428 |965
Bristol |497 |389 |82 |551 |210 |46
Cardiff |771 |295 |108 |1,053|374 |141
Wembley |1,304|872 |690 |828 |579 |446
Sutton |1,325|421 |678 |957 |98 |462
Glasgow |458 |491 |329 |818 |1,020|393
July 1993
Edinburgh |283 |333 |183 |381 |507 |195
Newcastle |442 |299 |157 |540 |364 |181
Leeds |858 |518 |364 |1,343|608 |345
Manchester |321 |582 |392 |696 |836 |315
Bootle |488 |436 |595 |683 |620 |584
Birmingham |1,446|710 |1,228|1,121|487 |1,001
Bristol |511 |291 |106 |490 |230 |55
Cardiff |729 |400 |190 |998 |541 |177
Wembley |1,094|847 |620 |691 |579 |417
Sutton |1,116|451 |632 |844 |124 |438
Glasgow |326 |360 |286 |502 |628 |285
August 1993
Edinburgh |207 |278 |198 |332 |419 |215
Newcastle |462 |323 |144 |493 |392 |179
Leeds |775 |533 |474 |1,166|592 |346
Manchester |301 |487 |369 |573 |640 |304
Bootle |454 |355 |441 |705 |523 |452
Birmingham |1,067|624 |1,078|975 |440 |851
Bristol |378 |315 |100 |307 |189 |39
Cardiff |258 |178 |122 |393 |237 |158
Wembley |1,178|775 |669 |734 |488 |433
Sutton |956 |462 |508 |901 |157 |447
Glasgow |268 |406 |335 |536 |803 |398
September 1993
Edinburgh |208 |309 |143 |345 |440 |154
Newcastle |462 |327 |148 |555 |395 |200
Leeds |771 |522 |389 |1,168|595 |384
Manchester |346 |497 |335 |709 |622 |246
Bootle |300 |340 |549 |671 |532 |584
Birmingham |1,172|626 |1,315|1,124|450 |1,038
Bristol |546 |399 |86 |631 |246 |42
Cardiff |554 |296 |201 |1,123|427 |230
Wembley |1,251|840 |578 |741 |585 |398
Sutton |912 |596 |605 |829 |189 |468
Glasgow |177 |391 |276 |491 |681 |399
October 1993
Edinburgh |187 |338 |120 |334 |380 |117
Newcastle |384 |294 |128 |519 |364 |137
Leeds |795 |604 |456 |1,103|571 |345
Manchester |291 |474 |277 |678 |589 |222
Bootle |292 |373 |453 |800 |545 |520
Birmingham |1,081|702 |1,045|1,059|593 |855
Bristol |319 |346 |100 |397 |242 |62
Cardiff |574 |362 |219 |863 |495 |179
Wembley |1,163|719 |432 |741 |558 |295
Sutton |727 |606 |461 |754 |256 |377
Glasgow |206 |361 |234 |537 |649 |291
November 1993
Edinburgh |267 |377 |153 |341 |470 |149
Newcastle |342 |278 |92 |481 |324 |138
Leeds |926 |648 |370 |1,019|566 |292
Manchester |297 |530 |317 |618 |600 |256
Bootle |541 |389 |469 |654 |478 |489
Birmingham |988 |687 |1,003|1,149|660 |905
Bristol |289 |341 |112 |388 |259 |54
Cardiff |666 |374 |97 |895 |459 |96
Wembley |1,130|831 |446 |746 |543 |321
Sutton |782 |723 |432 |754 |295 |361
Glasgow |394 |438 |231 |735 |688 |263
December 1993
Edinburgh |235 |326 |132 |311 |344 |136
Newcastle |262 |286 |96 |327 |243 |112
Leeds |830 |541 |374 |680 |553 |309
Manchester |333 |445 |227 |515 |493 |156
Bootle |386 |377 |400 |632 |403 |460
Birmingham |943 |709 |797 |900 |588 |659
Bristol |321 |284 |85 |393 |195 |59
Cardiff |551 |315 |71 |608 |349 |79
Wembley |958 |665 |348 |589 |509 |279
Sutton |701 |589 |361 |651 |320 |266
Glasgow |508 |340 |157 |597 |491 |182
January 1994
Edinburgh |163 |363 |144 |233 |391 |122
Newcastle |315 |361 |161 |330 |326 |120
Leeds |731 |616 |376 |684 |538 |326
Manchester |366 |480 |312 |506 |585 |188
Bootle |349 |372 |433 |538 |425 |408
Birmingham |952 |758 |745 |764 |611 |627
Bristol |416 |453 |118 |434 |225 |62
Cardiff |694 |398 |97 |612 |352 |120
Wembley |1,002|854 |274 |646 |685 |224
Sutton |667 |712 |322 |623 |301 |302
Glasgow |341 |429 |197 |442 |621 |217
Key:
1=Evidence from claimant
2=GP Factual Report
3=EMP
Source: 100 per cent. count
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Table 2
Refusals by reason
DBC |Medical grounds|Lay grounds |Lay grounds |Lay grounds |Total
|<2>R and P |<1>Age |other
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
June 1993
Edinburgh |1,238 |4 |40 |2 |1,284
Newcastle |1,082 |0 |60 |1 |1,143
Leeds |2,463 |1 |97 |1 |2,562
Manchester |1,642 |3 |54 |1 |1,700
Bootle |1,899 |1 |90 |0 |1,990
Birmingham |2,532 |8 |191 |3 |2,734
Bristol |859 |2 |38 |1 |900
Cardiff |1,657 |3 |82 |2 |1,744
Wembley |1,898 |23 |152 |3 |2,076
Sutton |1,572 |7 |140 |1 |1,720
Glasgow |2,235 |1 |91 |4 |2,331
Other MUs |110 |2 |14 |0 |126
|------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Great Britain |19,187 |55 |1,049 |19 |20,310
July 1993
Edinburgh |1,090 |6 |42 |5 |1,143
Newcastle |1,086 |49 |39 |0 |1,174
Leeds |2,319 |4 |81 |2 |2,406
Manchester |1,857 |6 |47 |3 |1,913
Bootle |1,932 |4 |75 |1 |2,012
Birmingham |2,651 |9 |152 |4 |2,816
Bristol |800 |2 |55 |0 |857
Cardiff |1,825 |2 |84 |0 |1,911
Wembley |1,732 |17 |137 |3 |1,889
Sutton |1,458 |3 |120 |3 |1,584
Glasgow |1,440 |0 |57 |0 |1,497
Other MUs |86 |5 |16 |0 |107
|------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Great Britain |18,276 |107 |905 |21 |19,309
August 1993
Edinburgh |966 |5 |49 |2 |1,022
Newcastle |1,064 |10 |41 |0 |1,115
Leeds |2,138 |7 |103 |2 |2,250
Manchester |1,521 |4 |59 |3 |1,587
Bootle |1,734 |3 |78 |1 |1,816
Birmingham |2,300 |7 |148 |6 |2,461
Bristol |566 |4 |53 |1 |624
Cardiff |845 |2 |48 |0 |895
Wembley |1,690 |17 |103 |2 |1,812
Sutton |1,577 |5 |730 |1 |1,656
Glasgow |1,744 |1 |71 |0 |1,816
Other MUs |76 |4 |19 |0 |99
|---- |---- |---- |---- |----
Great Britain |16,221 |69 |845 |18 |17,153
September 1993
Edinburgh |943 |0 |47 |0 |990
Newcastle |1,152 |8 |46 |1 |1,207
Leeds |2,160 |8 |110 |0 |2,278
Manchester |1,583 |6 |70 |3 |1,662
Bootle |1,817 |0 |67 |2 |1,886
Birmingham |2,637 |11 |147 |3 |2,798
Bristol |944 |5 |46 |2 |997
Cardiff |1,863 |2 |80 |3 |1,948
Wembley |1,798 |17 |107 |5 |1,927
Sutton |1,588 |7 |108 |5 |1,708
Glasgow |1,576 |2 |59 |0 |1,637
Other MUs |115 |1 |19 |0 |135
|---- |---- |---- |---- |----
Great Britain |18,176 |67 |906 |24 |19,173
October 1993
Edinburgh |842 |3 |36 |3 |884
Newcastle |1,030 |7 |41 |1 |1,079
Leeds |2,042 |9 |86 |3 |2,140
Manchester |1,495 |5 |53 |7 |1,560
Bootle |1,895 |0 |80 |0 |1,975
Birmingham |2,535 |12 |143 |3 |2,693
Bristol |720 |1 |50 |1 |772
Cardiff |1,603 |1 |77 |1 |1,682
Wembley |1,653 |28 |121 |2 |1,804
Sutton |1,510 |5 |101 |5 |1,621
Glasgow |1,481 |1 |48 |1 |1,531
Other MUs |102 |3 |15 |0 |120
|---- |---- |---- |---- |----
Great Britain |16,908 |75 |851 |27 |17,861
November 1993
Edinburgh |969 |1 |35 |3 |1,008
Newcastle |9,440 |6 |34 |0 |984
Leeds |1,897 |5 |95 |3 |2,000
Manchester |1,480 |7 |57 |4 |1,548
Bootle |1,648 |0 |65 |0 |1,713
Birmingham |2,743 |92 |164 |13 |2,929
Bristol |717 |1 |39 |2 |759
Cardiff |1,544 |0 |67 |2 |1,613
Wembley |1,654 |15 |118 |0 |1,787
Sutton |1,499 |8 |91 |6 |1,604
Glasgow |1,694 |2 |38 |3 |1,737
Other MUs |124 |2 |16 |0 |142
|---- |---- |---- |---- |----
Great Britain |16,913 |56 |819 |36 |17,824
December 1993
Edinburgh |798 |0 |24 |4 |826
Newcastle |683 |5 |47 |1 |736
Leeds |1,559 |7 |78 |3 |1,647
Manchester |1,166 |5 |38 |0 |1,209
Bootle |1,526 |0 |49 |0 |1,575
Birmingham |2,168 |10 |106 |5 |2,289
Bristol |655 |1 |22 |0 |678
Cardiff |1,113 |1 |43 |0 |1,157
Wembley |1,441 |19 |94 |2 |1,556
Sutton |1,319 |5 |60 |7 |1,391
Glasgow |1,275 |0 |48 |1 |1,324
Other MUs |129 |4 |16 |2 |151
|------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Great Britain |13,832 |57 |625 |25 |14,539
January 1994
Edinburgh |750 |3 |21 |0 |774
Newcastle |780 |8 |43 |1 |832
Leeds |1,571 |8 |75 |5 |1,659
Manchester |1,288 |8 |50 |1 |1,347
Bootle |1,396 |0 |46 |0 |1,442
Birmingham |2,036 |13 |122 |6 |2,177
Bristol |735 |3 |36 |2 |776
Cardiff |1,137 |4 |51 |1 |1,193
Wembley |1,637 |23 |104 |4 |1,768
Sutton |1,296 |9 |70 |5 |1,380
Glasgow |1,284 |2 |36 |2 |1,324
Other MUs |132 |0 |14 |0 |146
|------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Great Britain |14,042 |81 |668 |27 |14,818
<1> Age over 66.
<2> Residence/presence conditions not satisfied.
MU=Management Unit.
Source: 100 per cent. Count.
Child Support Agency
Mr. Austin-Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he will make a statement about the Child Support Agency performance in meeting the target set out in its customer charter in respect of the letter dated 17 January to the Child Support Agency from the hon. Member for Woolwich, CSA Ref. 1522TYR1002505852 and in respect of the letters dated 6 December 1993, 3 January 1994, 8 January, 15 January and 11 February from the hon. Member's constituent, Mr. Y.;
(2) if he will set out the provisions in the customer charter for the Child Support Agency for (a) replying to correspondence, (b) acknowledging written complaints and (c) replying in full to written complaints ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Burt : The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Ros Hepplewhite, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ros Hepplewhite to Mr. John Austin-Walker, dated 24 February 1994 :
Column 458
I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Social Security about your constituent Mr. Y., and the provisions regarding correspondence in the Child Support Agency Charter.The Agency's Charter contains a stated aim to respond to correspondence within 10 working days of receipt, and the Agency aims to acknowledge written complaints within two days of receipt. Because the Agency is a new organisation providing a completely new service, it will not be possible to state with confidence before the end of the first year the average length of time taken to reply to correspondence.
I replied to your letter about Mr. Y. on 23 February, and I am sorry that the Agency did not meet the targets set in its Charter standards in the correspondence with him.
TRANSPORT
Vehicle Testing Stations
Mr. Donohoe : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the testing stations within each of the new operational regions established by the Vehicle Inspectorate on 1 November 1993.
Mr. Key : I have asked the Vehicle Inspectorate chief executive to write to the hon. Member with this detailed information.
Column 459
Port of Liverpool
Mr. Nigel Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what financial support the port of Liverpool and the Mersey Docks and Harbour Co. has received from (a) the European Community and (b) his Department in each financial year from 1990-91 to 1993-94 ; (2) what financial support the port of Liverpool and the Mersey Docks and Harbour Co. is expected to receive from (a) the European Community and (b) his Department in 1994-95 and in subsequent years.
Mr. Norris : Financial support from the European regional development fund--ERDF--to the Mersey Docks and Harbour Co.--MDHC--is set out in column 1 to the following table. The sums are those which MDHC are entitled to claim under MIDO1, MIDO2 and RENAVAL in each of the calendar years 1990 to 1995.
Financial support from the Department of Transport to the port of Liverpool is shown in column 2 in the table. The port was previously within the dock labour scheme and qualified, under the Dock Work (Compensation Payment Scheme) Regulations 1989, for contributions towards the costs of severances of former registered dock workers made redundant following abolition of the scheme. Column 2 shows the amounts paid in the calendar years 1990, 1991 and 1992 to MDHC and to the eight other employers in the port.
Year (1) (2)
ERDF sums Dock labour severance
which MDHC payments made to
|are entitled to|(a) |(b)
|claim |MDHC |Other
|Liverpool port
|employers
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1990 |140,522 |3,447,500 |2,625,000
1991 |672,460 |157,500 |612,500
1992 |1,238,521 |500,000 |200,000
1993 |1,948,375 |- |-
1994 |2,178,833 |- |-
1995 |18,575 |- |-
Birmingham International Airport
Ms Estelle Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress is being made in talks with the United States Government on access by United States airlines to Birmingham international airport ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Norris : Liberalisation of routes from the United States to United Kingdom regional airports has been a consistent priority of this Government. In December the United Kingdom tabled a proposal which would give immediate open access to regional routes, including to Birmingham. We hope that the United States Government will consider our proposal seriously.
Driving Regulations
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what mechanisms exist to monitor the degree of compliance or non-compliance with regulations concerning (a) operators acting illegally without an operator licence, (b) parking and routing restrictions, (c) drivers' hours, (d) overloading, (e) general conditions placed by the licensing authority on operators and (f) payment of vehicle excise duty.
Column 460
Mr. Key : The Vehicle Inspectorate is the Department's vehicle and traffic enforcement agency. In the 12 months ending 31 March 1993, the inspectorate inspected 295,125 heavy goods vehicles and 40,508 public service vehicles, the majority of which were "O" licensed vehicles. The results of inspections by the vehicle inspectorate provide the traffic commissioners with details of traffic and roadworthiness offences by licensed heavy goods and passenger vehicle operators. The performance of operators is monitored by the licensing review board in each traffic area office which can make recommendations for disciplinary action by the traffic commissioner. In respect of specific aspects of compliance and non- compliance listed in the question, the position is as follows :
(a) operators acting illegally without an operator licence The Vehicle Inspectorate's traffic examiners carry out roadside and other spot checks on lorries and also visit operators' premises. Intelligence from co- operation with other enforcement organisations including the police is used to target co-ordinated enforcement checks against suspected illegal operations.
(b) parking and routeing restrictions
Enforcement of local authority parking and routeing restrictions for heavy commercial vehicles is primarily an operational matter for the chief officer of police in consultation with local authorities. It is a matter for them to assess the effectiveness of the enforcement effort. Traffic commissioners, as licensing authorities, can impose conditions on the number, type and size of authorised goods vehicles which at any time may be at a licence holder's operating centre for the purposes of maintenance and parking. The licensing authority may also impose conditions on a licence regulating the parking arrangements for authorised vehicles at or in the vicinity of a licence holder's operating centre.
(c) drivers' hours
EC regulations require the fitment of tachographs to most heavy goods vehicles over 3 tonnes and also to certain passenger carrying vehicles. The tachograph records the drivers' activities--driving, rest and periods of other work--as well as vehicle speed and time. The resultant records allows retrospective checking by enforcement authorities. The Vehicle Inspectorate checked 1,656,353 tachograph charts for heavy goods vehicles and 208,278 tachograph charts for public service vehicles in the 12 months ending 31 March 1993. (d) overloading
One of the declarations that an applicant for a goods vehicle operator's licence must make to the traffic commissioner before a licence is granted is that he or she will make proper arrangements to ensure that vehicles, including trailers, will not be overloaded. Checks on vehicles weights are carried out by staff of the Vehicle Inspectorate, the police and local authority trading standards departments. For this purpose, the Department of Transport has provided some 69 enforcement weighbridge sites which are used regularly by the enforcement organisations. There are also a number of public and private weighbridges which are available for use by drivers and enforcement officers.
Statistics on heavy goods vehicles weighed by vehicle inspectorate traffic examiners are reported in the annual reports of the licensing authorities, copies of which are
Column 461
available in the House of Commons Library. In the year ending 31 March 1993, 124,004 heavy goods vehicles were weighed by Vehicle inspectorate traffic examiners.(e) general conditions placed by the licensing authority on operators
There are no mechanisms in place routinely to monitor the compliance or non -compliance by operators of conditions imposed by traffic commissioners. Failure to comply with conditions attached to a licence can be drawn to the attention of a traffic commissioner by local residents, local authorities, police and other enforcement agencies. This can result in a specific monitoring exercise being initiated, and, if necessary, follow-up action being taken including disciplinary action against the operator for non- compliance with the conditions of the licence.
(f) payment of vehicle excise duty
Estimates of the revenue loss through evasion of vehicle excise duty are derived from periodic roadside surveys of moving vehicles, updated by an ongoing exercise conducted by the Department's statisticians to monitor trends. Details of the most recent survey can be obtained from the transport statistics report "Vehicle Excise Duty evasion in Great Britain in 1989-90", which is available in the House of Commons Library. The next survey is planned for June 1994, with the results due to be published in September.
Shipping Industry (Training)
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will provide details of the amount of money allocated by his Department for the Government assistance for training scheme in the United Kingdom shipping industry, in each year since 1988 ; and what was the outturn expenditure in each of those years.
Mr. Norris : The table shows the allocation of money to the GAFT scheme and the outturn in each year since 1988.
Table 1: GAFT scheme
£ million
|Provision |Spend |YTS spend
-------------------------------------------------------
1988-89 |2.5 |0.84 |-
1989-90 |3.5 |1.75 |-
1990-91 |3.5 |2.25 |-
1991-92 |<1>3.4 |<1>3.23 |0.75
1992-93 |<1>3.7 |<1>3.20 |0.55
1993-94 |<1>3.9 |<1><2>3.27|0.55
<1> Includes YT element-provided by Employment
Department.
<2> Forecast.
Public Bodies
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport in respect of which non-elected bodies whose membership in whole or in part is appointed by him (a) meetings are open to the public, (b) there is scrutiny of financial procedures by independently appointed audit and (c) there are rules governing the declaration of interests.
Mr. Norris : (a) board meetings and committee meetings of public bodies for which my right hon. Friend is responsible are not held in public.
Tribunal hearings which hear appeals against the Civil Aviation Authority's decisions on the granting or otherwise of licences or certificates are open to the public on application. The eight traffic commissioners all hold
Column 462
public inquiries in connection with bus and goods vehicle operator licensing. Other bodies may hold consultation meetings in public from time to time as circumstances require.(b) My right hon. Friend appoints auditors annually to audit the accounts of the British Railways Board, the Civil Aviation Authority, London Transport and the Traffic Director for London. The general lighthouse fund accounts consolidate the accounts of the general lighthouse authorities and the fund's accounts are audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General. The annual reports and accounts of port and harbour authorities are required by statute to be accompanied by an independent auditor's report.
(c) There are statutory requirements governing the declaration of interests of board members of the British Railways Board, the Civil Aviation Authority and London Transport. No requirements regarding declarations of interest have been imposed by my right hon. Friend on members of the lighthouse authorities--the majority of whom he does not appoint. The Traffic Director for London does not have a board but he is required by the terms of his appointment to be alert to the possibility of any conflicts of interest and to consult my right hon. Friend in any case of doubt. There are no rules covering the declaration of interests for advisory committee members, many of whom are appointed because of their particular interests, but members would be expected to declare an interest if a situation of conflict should arise.
The constitutions of some port and harbour authorities contain provisions requiring members to declare any pecuniary interests, direct or indirect, in any contractual or other matters with which the authority is concerned. More generally, my right hon. Friend seeks from all persons appointed by him to the boards of authorities a declaration of interests at the time of appointment or reappointment.
Heavy Goods Vehicles
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what amounts of money as a percentage of overall amount received, have been earmarked in 1992-93 and 1993-94 in each highway authority for the strengthening and widening of roads in preparation for the introduction from 1999 of 44-tonne lorries for international routes.
Mr. Key : No such earmarking of resources has taken place. Local highway authorities may use allocations for capital maintenance and minor improvement works on any schemes they wish within the rules of the transport supplementary grant system. We have, however, made specific allocations for the assessment and strengthening of bridges in preparation for the introduction of 40-tonne lorries in 1999. The allocations to each authority for this purpose in 1992-93 and 1993-94 are shown in the following table. The introduction of 44-tonne lorries for certain combined transport journeys will not require any additional strengthening compared with that of 40-tonne lorries, since it does not involve any further increase in axle weights.
Authority 1992-93 1993-94
|£000 |Per cent.|£000 |Per cent.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
City of London |3,043 |88.2 |1,696 |75.3
Barking |72 |4.8 |288 |10.3
Barnet |461 |41.8 |130 |8.8
Bexley |315 |8.7 |297 |4.4
Brent |1,038 |30.5 |611 |25.4
Bromley |180 |3.1 |207 |3.6
Camden |2,195 |44.9 |1,634 |37.4
Croydon |12 |0.6 |90 |1.4
Ealing |20 |0.4 |392 |9.8
Enfield |2,270 |18.5 |1,235 |18.4
Greenwich |335 |31.5 |355 |18.3
Hackney |75 |2.4 |147 |5.1
Hammersmith |940 |41.9 |1,000 |31.3
Haringey |532 |13.7 |688 |19.7
Harrow |410 |3.6 |747 |5.5
Havering |308 |35.7 |647 |46.6
Hillingdon |300 |1.6 |450 |3.4
Hounslow |60 |5.2 |270 |4.7
Islington |315 |12.6 |274 |10.6
Kensington |25 |1.4 |298 |17.0
Kingston |461 |17.2 |425 |15.3
Lambeth |100 |12.1 |190 |14.7
Lewisham |287 |2.3 |200 |2.3
Merton |93 |4.3 |95 |3.4
Newham |460 |6.4 |3,237 |31.3
Redbridge |249 |22.5 |223 |9.9
Richmond |372 |39.2 |546 |42.4
Southwark |33 |0.8 |125 |2.4
Sutton |109 |6.9 |620 |22.7
Tower Hamlets |86 |2.9 |491 |5.4
Waltham Forest |30 |1.4 |100 |3.5
Wandsworth |2,736 |47.5 |2,943 |50.7
Westminster |3,700 |58.0 |2,665 |49.6
Bolton |1,175 |32.2 |1,098 |28.3
Bury |370 |29.3 |570 |28.7
Manchester |2,210 |11.5 |3,048 |11.3
Oldham |2,842 |22.2 |2,806 |31.6
Rochdale |505 |31.1 |923 |44.8
Salford |555 |13.3 |765 |21.3
Stockport |2,087 |55.1 |2,289 |49.3
Tameside |1,276 |44.3 |373 |11.1
Trafford |200 |3.8 |158 |3.0
Wigan |450 |10.4 |384 |21.4
Knowsley |320 |2.3 |386 |1.7
Liverpool |400 |15.5 |555 |11.6
St. Helens |225 |1.5 |192 |3.8
Sefton |538 |36.0 |598 |28.8
Wirral |670 |17.3 |1,349 |27.6
Barnsley |824 |9.7 |469 |9.3
Doncaster |3,479 |46.0 |1,578 |21.8
Rotherham |350 |8.3 |85 |2.5
Sheffield |1,350 |6.4 |3,941 |14.7
Gateshead |910 |14.8 |273 |10.4
Newcastle |255 |5.7 |300 |4.1
North Tyneside |20 |2.1 |340 |20.2
South Tyneside |40 |3.1 |291 |15.4
Sunderland |394 |6.2 |440 |8.3
Birmingham |2,300 |8.3 |2,119 |5.5
Coventry |320 |3.0 |734 |5.2
Dudley |138 |1.8 |588 |5.5
Sandwell |2,487 |45.8 |2,656 |46.4
Solihull |100 |3.9 |194 |5.2
Walsall |2,018 |10.1 |1,500 |6.6
Wolverhampton |140 |1.4 |2,023 |10.9
Bradford |1,000 |18.4 |945 |14.1
Calderdale |374 |33.6 |904 |31.3
Kirklees |1,650 |32.9 |1,294 |14.5
Leeds |595 |5.8 |3,581 |15.8
Wakefield |1,386 |42.2 |1,209 |28.0
Avon |1,595 |5.9 |1,819 |8.2
Bedfordshire |1,486 |31.3 |2,150 |28.0
Berkshire |1,064 |8.8 |1,125 |8.8
Buckinghamshire |549 |10.6 |611 |8.8
Cambridgeshire |1,900 |29.9 |2,474 |23.3
Cheshire |1,020 |4.3 |2,720 |10.5
Cleveland |540 |5.1 |1,119 |7.4
Cornwall |790 |6.8 |1,700 |14.6
Cumbria |1,497 |29.6 |1,522 |17.9
Derbyshire |828 |13.9 |1,276 |15.2
Devon |1,771 |18.4 |1,500 |11.4
Dorset |830 |10.7 |850 |10.8
Durham |800 |7.9 |1,200 |9.1
East Sussex |613 |6.4 |1,776 |16.9
Essex |565 |4.1 |1,729 |10.4
Gloucestershire |486 |5.3 |700 |7.7
Hampshire |795 |2.6 |1,225 |2.9
Hereford and Worcester |467 |5.6 |685 |12.9
Hertfordshire |1,256 |9.2 |2,045 |11.4
Humberside |1,650 |9.5 |1,961 |9.3
Isle of Wight |0 |0.0 |187 |5.7
Kent |2,250 |3.1 |1,701 |2.3
Lancashire |7,910 |26.6 |5,873 |26.6
Leicestershire |385 |2.3 |896 |7.3
Lincolnshire |1,440 |18.2 |2,207 |20.6
Norfolk |3,887 |24.7 |4,786 |25.7
Northamptonshire |1,142 |9.7 |1,394 |13.2
Northumberland |100 |1.5 |4,480 |38.9
North Yorkshire |1,760 |10.7 |2,875 |12.4
Nottinghamshire |2,080 |20.4 |2,101 |16.3
Oxfordshire |820 |7.0 |1,115 |9.5
Shropshire |88 |1.1 |2,130 |30.7
Somerset |926 |10.7 |1,120 |7.9
Staffordshire |1,250 |14.4 |1,410 |9.3
Suffolk |2,910 |23.3 |2,340 |19.5
Surrey |5,900 |24.5 |4,765 |14.0
Warwickshire |1,815 |46.5 |2,462 |44.4
West Sussex |200 |2.3 |671 |7.5
Wiltshire |25 |0.4 |185 |4.3
Roads, Leicestershire
Mr. Duncan : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which road development schemes in Leicestershire and Rutland his Department has approved for funding in the latest financial year for which his Department has made its decision ; and when he expects the Oakham bypass to be approved by his Department within the Leicestershire county council's current list of road scheme priorities.
Mr. Key : Work started during the 1993-94 financial year on the A46 Leicester western bypass trunk road scheme at a cost of £36 million. On local road schemes the total estimated expenditure accepted by the Department in this financial year for transport supplementary grant--TSG-- during 1994-95 for Leicestershire, was £2,514,000 including adjustment for underspend in previous years. Major schemes receiving continued support will be :
(a) Leicester A46/47 link road
(b) A447 Hinckley northern perimeter road completion
(c) A512 Ashby/Loughborough-Coleorton improvement
(d) A563 Leicester motorway employment area stage 4 Soar Valley way
(e) A563 Braunstone way underpasses
The A606 Oakham-Langham bypass is included by Leicestershire in its five- year programme of major county highway schemes with a 1998-99 start year. The bid year for TSG would be 1997-98. Funding for structural maintenance on bridges and carriageways was also included.
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