| Home Page |
Column 455
Written Answers to Questions
Monday 14 March 1994
NATIONAL FINANCE
Ministerial Offices
Mr. Boyes : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many bottles of (a) whisky and gin and (b) sherry and port were consumed by each of his private offices in 1993-94.
Mr. Nelson : Disaggregated information of this sort could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Boyes : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the cost of new furniture for each private office in his Departments during the year 1993-94.
Mr. Nelson : The cost of new furniture in the Chancellor's office was £1,150. There was no expenditure on new furniture in other private offices.
Agency Chief Executives
Mr. Radice : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many agency chief executives in his Departments are currently paid more than £82, 925, excluding performance-related bonuses ; and whether such chief executives were recruited directly to their present post from outside the civil service.
Mr. Dorrell : One agency chief executive in the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Departments is paid more than £82,925 per year, excluding performance-related bonuses. The person in question was recruited directly to the post from outside the civil service.
Exchequer Property
Mr. Enright : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what property, leased or owned for the purposes of the Exchequer, is not in current use.
Mr. Nelson : None. All the properties occupied and used by the Treasury form part of the Government's common user estate which is the responsibility of the Secretary of State for the Environment, who will answer in respect of that property. The Treasury has no other property holdings.
Inflation
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what steps the Government are taking to prevent inflation in asset prices from spreading to goods and services ;
(2) what assessment the Government have made of the inflationary effect of increases in house prices ; and what steps the Government intend to take to prevent house prices from rising further in 1994.
Mr. Nelson : The Government are committed to low inflation and will continue to conduct monetary policy so as to deliver their inflation target.
Column 456
Monetary policy decisions are based on assessments of a range of monetary and other indicators, including house prices and other asset prices. Asset price movements have in the past been valuable leading indicators of inflation, but the Government do not rely on any single indicator.As stated in the 1994-95 "Financial Statement and Budget Report," while some recovery in house prices is expected in 1994, inflation is still forecast to remain within the Government's target range.
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer to what extent the Government distinguish between asset inflation, cost-push inflation and demand-pull inflation for the purposes of fiscal and monetary policy ; and which of the three principally characterised inflation between 1987 and 1990.
Mr. Nelson : The Government's monetary policy is set to deliver low inflation irrespective of its cause. Figures on a wide range of monetary and other indicators are monitored, including asset prices, earnings, other input prices and activity. These are published regularly in the monthly monetary report, which has included charts for the period referred to.
PSBR
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the proportions and the amounts of the public sector borrowing requirement funded by the trading banks for each year since 1985 in the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Italy ; and what amount of United Kingdom gilts in each year were purchased and held by (a) banks, (b) pension funds and (c) other financial institutions.
Mr. Nelson : Data on Government financing by type of debt holder are published by the International Monetary Fund in its "Government Finance Statistics Yearbook". This covers the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Italy. More detailed sectoral analyses of United Kingdom gilt transactions are published by the Bank of England in its "Statistical Abstract".
Value Added Tax
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many collection staff were working for the Inland Revenue in each year since 1980 (a) in London and the south-east and (b) in the United Kingdom as a whole in the area of value added tax.
Mr. Dorrell : No Inland Revenue staff are employed in the area of value added tax. Value added tax is entirely dealt with by Customs and Excise.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what was the total number of Customs and Excise officers engaged in value added tax inspections in the Doncaster area in each year for the last 10 years ;
(2) what was the total number of value added tax inspections carried out in the Doncaster area by Customs and Excise officers in each year for the last 10 years.
Sir John Cope : Information is not available for the whole period requested. For the years to the end of March 1991, March 1992 and March 1993 Doncaster local VAT office assigned 48, 50 and 47 officers respectively to visiting duties. For the year to the end of March 1994, it is expected that 45 officers will be assigned to this work.
Column 457
A total of 4,088 visits were carried out by those staff in the year ending 31 March 1991, 3,197 in 1992 and 2,956 in 1993. It is planned to complete some 2,500 visits by the end of March 1994. Businesses are selected in accordance with their risk profile which may vary from year to year. Better targeting of resources and the time needed to carry out each visit also has an effect.Mr. Wigley : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of what proportion of the total value added tax revenue is raised in (a) Wales, (b) England, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland.
Sir John Cope : Estimated proportions are :
|Percent.
Wales |4.6
England |85.2
Scotland |8.0
Northern Ireland |2.2
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the outstanding value added tax debt of registered business in the Doncaster area.
Sir John Cope : Information regarding total outstanding value added tax debt is not analysed by geographical areas. Providing this information for the Doncaster area would involve disproportionate cost.
Excise Duties (Evasion)
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what basis cases of evasion of duty on imports of wine, spirits or tobacco are dealt with in magistrates courts.
Column 458
Sir John Cope : Proceedings for such cases may be taken in the magistrates court under sections 170(A) or (B) of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979, or under sections 170(1) or (2) of that Act if the magistrates court accepts jurisdiction where it considers its powers of sentencing adequate following representations from Customs and the defendant or his representative.
Sections 170(A) or (B) carry maximum penalties of £5,000. Sections 170(1) or (2) involve fraudulent intent to evade duty and carry maximum penalties of six months' imprisonment and a penalty of £5,000 or three times the value of the goods concerned.
ENVIRONMENT
Rough Sleepers Initiative
Mr. Dowd : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the projects which have received rough sleepers initiative funding during 1993-94, the amounts allocated and the London boroughs in which they are located.
Sir George Young : As part of the rough sleepers initiative in central London my Department has allocated grant aid in 1993-94 under section 73 of the Housing Act 1985 to the housing associations and voluntary organisations shown in the following table.
In addition, the Housing Corporation has made capital allocations of £67 million to 23 housing associations to provide at least 1,500 places in permanent accommodation for people who are in hostels or on the streets to move on to.
Column 457
List of voluntary organisations and housing associations who receive funding through section 73
of the Housing Act 1985 under the Rough Sleepers Initiative in 1993-94
Organisation |Project |London Borough |Total grant (£)
/Association
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alone in London |Resettlement Work |Camden |21,000
Service
Arlington HA |Arlington House hostel<1> |Camden |31,000
Resettlement Work
Centrepoint |Vauxhall Hostel<1> |Lambeth |894,327
|Off the Streets' |Westminster
|Management ofPSL properties<1> |Westminster
|Resettlement Work |Camden/Lambeth/Westminster
|Soho Square winter shelter |Westminster
CLHAS |Resettlement Work |Westminster/Camden/Islington |80,467
Crisis |Tooley Street winter shelter |Southwark |216,225
DePaul Trust |Lord Clyde nightshelter<1> |Lambeth |295,211
|Moorhouse Road hostel<1> |Westminster
|Resettlement Work |Lambeth
Drink Crisis Centre |HostelWorkers |Lambeth |50,000
English Churches |Station Hotel hostel<1> |Camden |880,164
Housing Group |New To London hostel<1> |Westminster
|MacNaghten House hostel<1> |Camden
|Nevern Mansions hostel<1> |Kensington and Chelsea
|Resettlement Work |Camden/Westminster
|Allied House winter shelter |Islington
Homeless Network |Improved Support Project |Westminster |59,000
Housing Services |Managing PSL properties |Camden |273,295
Agency |Clearing Housing Project |Camden
|Resettlement Work |Camden
Hyde HA |Private Sector Leasing<1> |Bromley |106,100
London Borough of |Albert Street winter shelter |Camden |79,000
Camden
London Connection |Resettlement Work |Westminster |182,448
London and Quadrant |Private Sector Leasing<1> |Lewisham |89,000
Housing Trust
Look Ahead HA |Resettlement Work |Westminster |18,000
Met Office |Weather Forecasting |- |1,463
National Council of |West Cromwell Road Hostel<1> |Kensington and Chelsea |74,000
YMCAs
New Horizon Youth |Resettlement Work |Westminster |26,000
Centre
North Lambeth Day |Resettlement Work |Lambeth/Southwark |95,730
Centre
Notting Hill Housing |Private Sector Leasing |Kensington and Chelsea |228,000
Trust |Rent Deposit Fund
The Passage |Passage Nightshelter |Westminster |190,000
Providence Row |47/49 Crispin St. hostel<1> |City of London |418,000
|50 Crispin St. hostel<1> |City of London
|Ede House hostel<1> |Hackney
|Resettlement Work |City of London
Resource Information |Information gathering |- |3,180
Service
Riverpoint |Management of PSL properties<1>|Hammersmith andFulham |241,622
|John Street winter shelter |Camden
St. Mungo Association |Nevern Square hostel<1> |Kensington and Chelsea |1,205,005
|Bassett Road hostel |Kensington and Chelsea
|Vartry Road hostel<1> |Haringey
|Chichester Road hostel<1> |Brent
|City Road hostel<1> |Islington
|Hatton Gardens hostel |Islington
|Siddons Buildings hostel |Westminster
|Outreach/Resettlement Work |Westminster/Lambeth/Camden
|Neville House winter shelter |Westminster
Salvation Army |Outreach/Resettlement |Hackney |168,641
|TudorStreet winter shelter |Camden
SHAC |Hostels Vacancy Information |Westminster |114,000
|Project
Shaftesbury Society |Lansdowne Centre hostel<1> |Southwark |171,000
|John Kirk Centre hostel<1> |Southwark
|Aldershot Road hostel<1> |Brent
Short Term Leasing |Management of PSL properties<1>|Islington |167,000
South London Family |Private Sector Leasing<1> |Lambeth |11,000
HA
Thames Reach |Outreach/Resettlement Work |Southwark |59,000
|Lincoln's Inn Outreach Team |Camden
Threshold HA |Private Sector Leasing<1> |Wandsworth |21,000
West Hampstead HA |Private Sector Leasing<1> |Camden |173,000
<1> These organisations also receive RSI revenue funding from the Housing Corporation.
Use Classes Order
Mr. Gale : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has completed his review of the working of the use classes order in relation to houses in multiple occupation ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. David Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environenmt if he will make a statement on the control of the change of use of hotels to hostels by planning authorities.
Mr. Curry : The review has now been completed. The Government are satisfied that there is a real and specific threat to the amenity of tourist areas from the establishment
Column 460
of such hostels in traditional hotel areas. It is investigating the feasibility of legislation to introduce a licensing system for the establishment of hostels.As a temporary measure pending the introduction of any such licensing scheme, an amending order being made today will amend the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 to require planning permission for the change of use from a hotel to a hostel.
Derelict Land
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects the interdepartmental working group on derelict land to report ; and if he will make a statement.
Column 461
Mr. Atkins : There is no interdepartmental working group on derelict land. If, however, the hon. Member is referring to the review of the arrangements for dealing with contaminated land, I refer him to the answer I gave on 8 March 1994, Official Report, column 110.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to complete the register of derelict land ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Atkins : If the hon. Member is referring to registers of land subject to contaminative uses under section 143 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, the Government withdrew their proposals on 24 March 1993, Official Report, column 633.
If the hon. Member is referring to the registers of vacant and underused public sector land, these are compiled each year by local authorities and other public bodies. My Department does not have a central register.
Area Cost Adjustment
Mr. Robert Ainsworth : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has for changes to the area cost adjustment.
Mr. Baldry : The area cost adjustment was given extensive consideration during the 1993 review of standard spending assessments. We do, however, wish to look again at the way the adjustment works within the south-east region outside London. We shall be discussing shortly with the local authority associations the 1994 programme of technical work on SSAs.
Wind Farms
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is taking to ensure that wind farms are not located in environmentally sensitive areas or in areas of natural beauty.
Mr. Baldry : Planning policy guidance note 22 gives advice on renewable energy projects which local planning authorities should take into account when they consider planning applications for wind farms. This guidance makes it clear that authorities must always weigh the desirability of exploiting a clean, renewable energy resource against the visual impact which the development may have on the landscape.
The PPG also emphasises that particular care should be taken in assessing proposals for developing all renewable projects, including wind farms, in national parks, areas of outstanding natural beauty, the Broads and sites of special scientific interest.
Grand Island Gas Scheme
Mr. Robert Ainsworth : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how much grant was paid to British Gas by Greater Manchester development corporation for the development of the Grand Island scheme ;
(2) what is the current situation concerning the grant dispute with British Gas for the Grand Island scheme in Manchester.
Mr. Baldry : The Central Manchester development corporation has paid grant of £4,464,940 to British Gas land division. CMDC is now taking steps to recover this grant.
Column 462
Development Grants
Mr. Robert Ainsworth : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what checks are made by his Department to ensure that grant levels paid for development purposes are appropriate.
Mr. Baldry : My Department operates a range of grants. Grant schemes have a stipulated set of conditions including monitoring and appraisal requirements.
City Grant
Mr. Robert Ainsworth : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received concerning possible abuse of grants analogous to city grant which are offered by urban development corporations in their own areas.
Foleshill Gas Works
Mr. Robert Ainsworth : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether agreement has been reached with British Gas on the appropriate level of grant needed to ensure the development of the Foleshill gas works site in Coventry.
Mr. Baldry : English Partnerships has made a proposal to British Gas, the site owners, under which a grant could be offered for a first phase of development on the Foleshill site. English Partnerships has also suggested a possible joint venture for the development of a second phase.
Child Care
Ms Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much his Department spends on child care provision for the under-fives and out-of-school provision for children aged over five either directly, excluding provision for departmental staff, or indirectly through resources made available to local authorities or other organisations ; what form of provision is thereby provided ; how many places are thereby provided ; and if he will make a statement on child care.
Mr. Baldry : The amount included in local authority standard spending assessments for 1994-95 in respect of the education of children under five is £935.2 million. The amount spent by local authorities on provision for child care, and the number of places thereby provided, are matters for individual authorities.
Single Regeneration Budget
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consultations were made in the development of the single regeneration budget ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Baldry : There has been extensive consultation on draft bidding guidance for the single regeneration budget, both centrally and at local level. Some 10,000 copies of the draft bidding guidance on the single regeneration budget have been distributed ; 11 seminars organised by the Department have been held throughout England ; and several hundred written responses have been received. The responses will be taken into account in finalising the bidding guidance which is expected to be issued in early April.
Column 463
Dog Fouling
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what powers individual citizens have to force local authorities to control fouling by dogs ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) what powers local authorities have to control and deal with dog faeces ; what representations he has received to increase those powers ; and if he will make a statement ;
(3) what plans he has to amend the law to classify dog mess as litter ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Atkins : Under the provisions of part IV of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, local authorities have a duty to keep certain public areas, such as parks and highways, clear of dog faeces. Citizens can apply to a magistrates court for a litter abatement order if a local authority fails to carry out this duty.
Local authorities in England and Wales can also adopt "poop-scoop" byelaws which make it an offence for owners not to clear up after their dogs in designated areas. It is however, for each local authority to decide whether or not to adopt such byelaws. The Tidy Britain Group and others have proposed replacement of poop-scoop byelaws with national legislation to make it an offence for any person to allow a dog to foul any area to which the public have access. The Department's advisory group on litter is currently considering this proposal as well as the suggestion that dog mess should be defined as litter. The advisory group's report is expected to be completed in the near future.
PRIME MINISTER
Ministerial Visits
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Prime Minister (1) what was the (a) budgeted and (b) actual expenditure by his office on (1) internal and (2) overseas travel by the Prime Minister in 1990-91 and after 28 November 1990, 1991-92, 1992-93 and so far in 1993-94 ; (2) what was the (a) budgeted and (b) actual expenditure by his office on (1) internal and (2) overseas travel by the Prime Minister in 1990-91, after 28 November 1990, 1991-92, 1992-93 and so far in 1993-94.
The Prime Minister : Disaggregated budget information is not available, nor is information for portions of financial years. The outturn for total travel and subsistence costs for domestic and overseas travel recorded in the financial years in question was as follows :
|Domestic |Overseas
|travel |travel
|£ |£
----------------------------------------
1990-91 617,943
1991-92 |89,810 |860,307
1992-93 |71,078 |1,190,087
Information on spending in 1993-94 will be available after the end of the financial year.
These figures relate to sums paid in the relevant financial years : in some cases payments may relate to travel in the previous financial year.
Column 464
No. 10 Downing Street (Costs)
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Prime Minister what is the budget for the running cost for the Prime Minister's residence at 10 Downing street for 1994-95 ; and what was the running cost of 10 Downing street over the last 14 years.
The Prime Minister : Figures on a consistent basis are not available. In 1980-81, recorded spending on 10 Downing street and Chequers on the votes of the Cabinet Office, OPSS, was £1.745 million. In 1981- 82, charges were introduced for the use of Ministry of Defence aircraft. Including those charges, spending was £2.415 million in 1981-82 and £2.700 million in 1982-83. In 1983-84, charges were introduced by the Property Services Agency for buildings and services. Including those charges, spending was £3.026 million in 1983-84. In 1984-85, charges were introduced for use of the Government car service and for service personnel at Chequers. Including those charges, spending was £3.787 million in 1984-85 and £4.406 million in 1985-86. In 1986-87, the cost of office services was included in the No. 10 budget. Including those costs, spending since then has been as follows :
Year |£million --------------------------- 1986-87 |4.963 1987-88 |5.418 1988-89 |6.554 1989-90 |7.669 1990-91 |8.226 1991-92 |8.664 1992-93 |9.866
An outturn for 1993-94 will be available shortly ; it is likely to be around the same level of spending as in 1992-93. The provisional budget for 1994-95 is £9.486 million.
Back to Basics"
Mr. Grocott : To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent (Mr. Smith) of 21 February, Official Report, column 849, what has been the total expenditure to date by the Government on the Government's "back to basics" policy ; and how many departmental staff are currently working on the Government's "back to basics" policy.
The Prime Minister : As "back to basics" applies across a range of Government policies, the information which the hon. Gentleman requests could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.
Jimmy Young Programme"
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Prime Minister if he will place in the Library a copy of the transcript of his interview of the "Jimmy Young Programme" on BBC Radio 2 broadcast on 7 March ; and if he will make a statement on new policy positions announced in the interview.
The Prime Minister : No. The objectives of this Government remain unchanged.
10 Downing Street (Jewellery)
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Prime Minister when the last independent audit of the 10 Downing street jewellery inventory took place ; who carried out the audit ; and what were the findings.
Column 465
The Prime Minister : There has been no such audit in recent years, although the items are and have been available for inspection by the auditors in the Cabinet Office or in the National Audit Office. I am satisfied that all the items concerned are in safe-keeping in Number 10.
Ministers
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Prime Minister if he will publish a list of the number of Ministers in each Department with the numbers of Ministers in each corresponding Department in the period 1964 to 1970 ; and how the responsibilities of the respective Departments have altered.
The Prime Minister : Current information on the number of Ministers in each Department can be found in the "List of Ministerial Responsibilities", a copy of which is in the Library of the House. The responsibilities of Departments and the numbers of Ministers changed during the period 1964-1970. Tables of ministeral office holders were published regularly in Hansard.
Cornwall
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on ministerial responsibility for Cornwall.
The Prime Minister : The Government are collectively responsible for all regions of the United Kingdom.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Output
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 16 February, Official Report, columns 829-30, by how much United Kingdom output has fallen since the United Kingdom joined the EEC; and what have been the corresponding persentage changes since 1973 in Germany, France, Italy, Belgium and Spain.
Mr. Sainsbury : Changes in output between 1973 and 1983, as measured by the number of cars produced, were as follows :
|Percent.
---------------------------------
United Kingdom |-21
Germany |+3
France |-1
Italy |-39
Belgium<1> |-26
Spain |+113
<1> The comparison for Belgium
is for the period from 1976 to
1992.
Sources: "Motor Industry of
Great Britain: World Automotive
Statistics" and Motorstat
Express, Society of Motor
Manufacturers and Traders.
Motor Industry
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 16 February, Official Report, column 830, by what percentage employment in the United Kingdom vehicle and parts industry has fallen since 1973 ; and what have been the corresponding percentage changes in Germany, France, Italy, Belgium and Spain.
Column 466
Mr. Sainsbury : Between 1973 and 1993 the number of people employed in the United Kingdom motor vehicle and parts industry fell by 58 per cent.
Figures for Germany, France, Italy, Belgium and Spain are not available for the same period. But available figures show changes in people employed in the motor vehicles and parts industry were as follows :
-
|1976-1993|1980-1992
|Per cent.|Per cent.
---------------------------------------------
United Kingdom |-52 |-45
Germany |+20 |+11
France |+35 |-32
Italy |-45 |-37
Belgium |n/a |+3
Spain |n/a |-6
Source: Eurostat VISA database.
Know-how Projects
Mr. David Evans : To ask the President of the Board of Trade to what extent his Department participates in the know-how projects to assist the development of enterprise in eastern Europe.
Mr. Needham : My Department works closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, which has responsibility for the know-how fund scheme, on schemes to encourage enterprise in eastern Europe, including the former Soviet Union. The Department is consulted on applications from United Kingdom companies for grants under the pre-investment feasibility scheme for potential investment projects in the region and for support under the training investment personnel scheme. My Department also provides advice as appropriate on projects to encourage the development of enterprise under the know-how fund country programmes and is consulted on aspects of the joint industrial company awards programme under which entrepreneurs from the region are seconded to United Kingdom companies in order to gain valuable commercial experience. Two officials from the Department have been seconded to the FCO to work on the know-how-fund programme.
Mr. David Evans : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the contribution of the university of Hertfordshire to the know-how-funded projects in Romania.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : I have been asked to reply.
The university of Hertfordshire has made an important contribution to the know-how fund's activities in Romania through its involvement in the successful launch of the Romanian centre for the improvement of management performance. The know-how fund will continue to support the university's work with the centre into the next financial year. It is planned that the centre will be financially self-sustainable in early 1995.
| Next Section
| Home Page |