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Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 19 May 1994
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Judicial Appointments
Mr. Richards : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, what steps he has taken to implement the proposals for developing judicial appointments procedures which were announced by the Lord Chancellor in his speech to Her Majesty's judges on 7 July 1993.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The Lord Chancellor has today published a consultation paper, "Developments in Judicial Appointments Procedures". The paper outlines the proposed arrangements for openly advertised competitions which he intends to hold later this year to fill vacancies arising in 1995- 96 for circuit and district judges. Copies of the consultation paper have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. The Lord Chancellor invites comments on the proposals which he has put forward in the consultation paper, further copies of which may be obtained from his Department.
The closing date for responses is 30 June 1994.
TREASURY
Multilateral Debt
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on his policy towards the creation of special drawing rights at the international financial institutions as a means of lessening the multilateral debt problems of the world's poorest countries.
Sir John Cope : The articles of the IMF prescribe that allocations of special drawing rights should be made to address global liquidity shortages. No such shortages exist at present and, in the Government's view, the case for a general allocation has not therefore been made.
The world's poorest countries are eligible for and receive financial assistance on concessional terms from the international financial institutions, particularly through the IMF's enhanced structural adjustment facility and the World Bank's International Development Agency's credits. The agency's fifth dimension facility also assists the poorest countries with loan repayments. Net financial flows from the institutions to the poorest countries remain substantially positive.
International Monetary Fund
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proposals in regard to the cost of environmental protection he put to the interim committee of the International Monetary Fund during its discussions on the new World Trade Organisation at its meeting in
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Washington DC on 25 April ; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the United Kingdom submission to the interim committee.Mr. Kenneth Clarke : A number of different issues, including the World Trade Organisation, were covered by those who spoke at the interim committee on 25 April. In my speech to the committee I warned against protectionist trading practices establishing themselves under the guise of legitimate environmental concerns.
Full texts of my speeches to the interim committee and development committee have been deposited in the Library of the House.
Private Medical Insurance
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many individuals received tax relief on private medical insurance premiums paid by employers on behalf of employees whose earned income including benefit is less than £8,500 a year for each of the past five years in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland ; and what was the value of tax relief on private medical insurance premiums paid by employers on behalf of employees whose earned income, including the value of benefits is less than £8, 500 a year for each of the past five years in (i) England, (ii) Scotland, (iii) Wales and (iv) Northern Ireland.
Mr. Dorrell : As I said in reply to the hon. Member for Bristol, South (Ms Primarolo) on 8 March 1994, Official Report, column 99, this information is not available.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Edinburgh, Central (Mr. Darling) of 15 March, Official Report, columns 571-72, what was the expected revenue yield from premium tax in 1994-95 and 1995-96 on private medical insurance.
Sir John Cope : The expected revenue yield from insurance premium tax on private medical insurance is estimated to be approximately £10 million in 1994-95 and £50 million in 1995-96. This includes both insurance paid for by households, included in "Medical and other" in the answer to the hon. Member for Edinburgh, Central (Mr. Darling), and insurance paid for by companies, included in "Other business" in that answer.
Consultants
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the expenditure on management and financial consultants by his Department in 1992-93.
Sir John Cope : The Treasury's computer systems do not distinguish between management and financial consultants.
The Treasury's expenditure on consultants for 1992-93 was £2,430, 405 exclusive of VAT.
VAT (Education) Order
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the individuals and bodies consulted (a) before the drafting and (b) during the drafting of the VAT (Education) Order 1994 ; and what response was received.
Sir John Cope : The VAT (Education) Order was initiated by an internal review of the current VAT
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exemption by Customs and Excise. At that stage consultation was limited mainly to officials within that Department and the Department for Education. The first draft of the order was published as part of the public consultation document issued by Customs last December and publicised by a press release. About 500 copies of the consultation document were issued to a variety of bodies with interests in the educational sector including local authorities, trade and professional associations, accountancy firms, charities and individual education and training providers.Most of the responses supported the need for change, but many expressed concerns and made proposals for extending the new exemption better to preserve the status quo. The final draft of the order was modified to reflect a great many of these useful comments.
Council Tax
Mr. Burden : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to monitor the time being taken to (a) inspect properties where householders have submitted council tax appeals and (b) schedule appeals for hearings.
Mr. Nelson [holding answer 9 May 1994] : Together with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, I am keeping under close review the progress being made by the Valuation Office Agency and the valuation tribunals in the settlement of council tax appeals and we expect 80 per cent. of cases to be cleared by the end of 1994.
Monthly returns of clearance are received in order to monitor progress, but there are no plans to monitor the time taken to inspect properties and to schedule appeals for hearings during the clearance process.
ENVIRONMENT
Housing Benefit
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total rent income received by registered housing associations and the proportion of total rental income of registered housing associations which is met by payments of full and partial housing benefit, for the year to 31 March 1993 and for any subsequent period for which figures are available.
Sir George Young : The total rental income, including service charges, for housing associations registered with the Housing Corporation for 1 April 1992 to 31 March 1993 was £1.621 billion.
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Information on the proportion of total rental income met by housing benefit is not available.Council Tax
Mr. Deva : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what is the cost to local authorities of collecting the council tax in each London borough ;
(2) what is the cost of collection of council tax in each local authority ;
(3) what was the amount collected in 1993 by each London borough and local authority through the council tax.
Mr. Curry : I have arranged for this information to be placed in the Library of the House.
Sewerage
Mr. Spellar : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his Department's policy regarding the use of twin-wall plastic piping products for sewerage use.
Mr. Atkins : This is a matter for the sewerage undertakers.
Fire Safety, Harrogate
Mr. Robert Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many premises were inspected for compliance with fire safety regulations by staff of the Harrogate borough council in each of the last three years.
(2) how many inspectors are employed by Harrogate borough council to check on fire standards.
Mr. Baldry : The responsibility for compliance with the provisions of the fire safety regulations made under the Fire Precautions Act 1971 rests with fire authorities, in this case North Yorkshire county fire authority. Building control and environmental health officers employed by Harrogate borough council will, however, be involved in inspections with regard to fire safety matters under other legislation. the number of such officers is a matter for the council, and figures are not collected centrally. Likewise the number of premises inspected by these officers is not collected centrally.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Keen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the revenue from capital receipts, by London borough, for each financial year from 1988-89 to 1993-94.
Mr. Curry : Total capital receipts were as follows :
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£ million
|1988-89|1989-90|1990-91|1991-92|1992-93|1993-94
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barking and Dagenham |60.194 |36.828 |15.376 |12.592 |14.672 |11.886
Barnet |41.812 |38.854 |11.535 |20.390 |17.384 |24.249
Bexley |16.847 |22.223 |10.490 |7.362 |8.663 |15.130
Brent |34.148 |36.392 |25.553 |11.045 |8.084 |17.250
Bromley |103.656|34.676 |12.288 |15.147 |137.915|9.652
Camden |35.690 |75.147 |32.586 |14.425 |33.384 |45.417
City of London |21.167 |19.776 |8.729 |10.232 |5.159 |9.612
Croydon |72.064 |57.690 |36.207 |26.470 |15.469 |11.877
Ealing |n/a |38.978 |19.860 |24.652 |13.873 |19.887
Enfield |40.122 |49.042 |20.970 |22.521 |18.774 |11.300
Greenwich |27.178 |34.805 |19.549 |13.656 |13.446 |19.096
Hackney |18.544 |36.292 |25.421 |16.532 |9.119 |20.511
Hammersmith and Fulham |n/a |10.719 |15.899 |9.605 |7.046 |6.579
Haringey |n/a |19.664 |20.947 |17.643 |15.896 |16.300
Harrow |19.558 |30.452 |21.986 |9.459 |5.403 |10.597
Havering |26.293 |22.610 |14.207 |12.452 |8.863 |41.003
Hillingdon |42.414 |33.447 |21.355 |23.785 |47.303 |35.733
Hounslow |46.689 |31.103 |20.906 |13.876 |12.230 |26.667
Islington |28.214 |40.803 |30.725 |19.945 |12.651 |16.044
Kensington and Chelsea |11.702 |13.272 |10.251 |6.233 |7.056 |5.317
Kingston-upon-Thames |11.667 |29.313 |4.726 |4.741 |3.420 |9.940
Lambeth |n/a |n/a |36.882 |23.091 |12.280 |9.912
Lewisham |14.395 |64.482 |33.596 |21.956 |15.409 |29.100
Merton |24.099 |20.294 |23.384 |10.038 |17.806 |23.396
Newham |26.943 |39.117 |21.726 |13.221 |9.105 |12.863
Redbridge |30.281 |25.313 |13.048 |10.052 |13.862 |13.650
Richmond-upon-Thames |22.499 |14.432 |10.541 |9.663 |6.462 |12.500
Southwark |n/a |n/a |38.573 |16.526 |17.524 |30.976
Sutton |15.407 |18.459 |12.871 |6.618 |8.599 |25.920
Tower Hamlets |45.560 |94.112 |45.111 |20.039 |14.879 |23.834
Waltham Forest |28.211 |28.352 |15.668 |7.076 |6.841 |20.100
Wandsworth |77.210 |81.101 |46.763 |35.052 |27.824 |32.308
Westminster |54.225 |77.459 |28.682 |17.183 |18.395 |29.000
Source:
Local authority capital outturn returns. 1993-94 figures from local authority
third quarter forecasts.
Mr. Frank Field : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the total amount of gross capital expenditure by all local authorities in each year since 1980-81 at (a) cash prices and (b) constant prices.
Mr. Baldry : The available information is shown in the table :
Local authority gross capital expenditure:
England
£ million
|At current|At 1992-93
|prices |prices
--------------------------------------------
1981-82 |5,417 |8,286
1982-83 |5,692 |9,747
1983-84 |6,014 |9,842
1984-85 |6,188 |9,643
1985-86 |5,740 |8,474
1986-87 |5,991 |8,593
1987-88 |6,472 |8,814
1988-89 |7,518 |9,594
1989-90 |10,083 |12,031
1990-91 |6,922 |7,643
1991-92 |6,593 |6,846
1992-93 |6,460 |<1>6,460
1993-94 |7,300 |<2>7,070
<1> Provisional
<2> Estimate
Notes: Figures before 1985-86 are not
strictly comparable due to changes in the
definition of gross capital expenditure;
figures shown are an indication of trend
only. Comparable figures for 1980-81 are
not readily available.
Gross capital expenditure includes mortgage
lending to former tenants in respect of
dwelling sales which reached a peak of £750
million in 1982-83.
1992-93 prices calculated using GDP
deflator.
Local Government, Cleveland
Ms Mowlam : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 11 May, Official Report , column 170 , what are the particular circumstances in Cleveland which permit a change in the structure of local government to precede local elections.
Mr. Curry : In announcing his decisions on the future structure of local government in Cleveland on 18 January my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the
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Environment made clear his intention to consult the majority and minority groups on each of the four district councils and the county council about whether or not elections should be held in May 1994 with the intention of establishing the four new unitary authorities in April 1995. However, because of the judicial review case brought by Cleveland county council, it proved impossible for us to lay an order providing, inter alia, for elections to be held in May this year.Therefore we again sought the views of the majority and minority groups on the relevant local authorities and, in the light of their comments, we decided that the most practicable arrangement would be for the new unitary authorities to be established in April 1995 followed by elections in May 1995.
Cardiff Bay Barrage
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consultations he has had with the Environment Commissioner concerning the effect of the exclusion of the Lappel Bank mud flats from the Medway estuary special protection area on the negotiations with him in relation to the Cardiff bay barrage proposal and its legal status ; and if he will make a statement.
Ivory
Dr. Liam Fox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received concerning any resumption of trade in ivory.
Mr. Atkins : My right hon. Friend has received a large number of letters on this issue. The present ban on trade in ivory was introduced following the seventh conference of the parties of the convention on international trade in endangered species in Lausanne in 1989. We have made it clear that the United Kingdom would not be prepared to consider supporting any relaxation of the ban without first being satisfied that this could be done without undermining the conservation status of the African elephant.
We are aware of a South African Government proposal to seek agreement to the resumption of a limited trade in meat and hides only, in relation to the elephant population
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in their country, with the possibility of extending this to ivory at some point in the future. Before any such a proposal can be considered by the CITES conference of the parties it will have to be examined by a CITES panel of experts whose conclusions we would also take into account, together with the views of African elephant range states and other parties. We understand that the relevant CITES procedures are being put in hand. We shall certainly wish to examine the proposal and its implications with great care.Water Bills
Mr. Streeter : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what he expects prospects for water bills to be after the announcement by the Director General of Water Services on water pricing policy.
Mr. Gummer : At present average annual charges for water are around £200 per household--about 55p a day to provide high quality drinking water in unlimited amounts and to treat our sewage. The Director General of Water Services is currently reaching a view on new limits on the extent to which the companies may increase their prices over the next 10 years. He is to announce these on 28 July. He has said that he hopes that nationally it may be possible to limit overall price increases on average to between 0 and 2 per cent. above the rate of inflation. This will supersede the current average ceiling of 4 per cent. above the rate of inflation. In setting price limits he intend to assume that improvements in service are generally financed from efficiency gains, that companies will be able to deliver existing services at lower prices and that companies can both increase the efficiency of their capital programmes and finance them at a lower return on capital. This will have a significant impact on the increases in bills required to finance new obligations. In this way my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales and I have sought to secure best protection of the environment in a cost-effective way.
Radioactive Waste
Mrs. Angela Knight : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if radioactive waste management policy will be considered as part of the nuclear review.
Mr. Gummer : In parallel with the nuclear review, details of which were announced today by my hon. Friend the Minister for Energy, my Department will be heading a separate but complementary review of radioactive waste management policy.
The radioactive waste management review will examine current policy in the light of changes which have taken place since the Department published its national strategy in 1984. It will range wider than the nuclear industry-- covering radioactive waste management as a whole. It will not address the suitability of specific sites, this being a matter for the planning and regulatory process, or the merits of the operation of existing nuclear power stations or those in the pipeline.
The Department proposes to publish its preliminary conclusions later in the summer, as a basis for consultation.
Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution will also be issuing for consultation a revision of the Department's 1994 publication "Disposal facilities on land for low and intermediate level Radioactive Wastes : principles for the protection of the human environment".
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In parallell with this latter exercise, the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee, together with the Advisory Committee on Safety at Nuclear Installations, will be asked to consider the approach to site selection for disposal facilities and the criteria for ensuring the protection of human health. Further details will be announced later.Security Facilities Executive Agency
Mr. Robathan : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what targets he has set the Security Facilities executive agency for 1994- 95.
Sir George Young : For 1994-95, the following targets have been set for the agency. All of them require the agency to make further improvements in its performance.
Category |Measure |Target
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Financial |Outturn on the Vote |A surplus of £1.86 million
|Outturn on Net Running |Break even
|Costs
|Cost Recovery in Accruals |100 per cent. cost recovery
|Terms |including 6 per cent. return on
|capital
Sales |Sales Turnover |A sales turnover of £42 million
Efficiency |Unit Costs |0.5 per cent. reduction in real terms
Quality of |Regular Customer Surveys |80 per cent. rating of customer
Service |responses in good or higher
|categories
Environment |Vehicle Fuel Efficiency |Annual average of 24.5 mpg for the
|GCS and IDS fleets
Traffic Growth
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the implications for traffic growth of location of (a) companies and (b) retail outlets on sites adjacent to the M25 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Baldry : My Department has made no detailed assessment in the form suggested.
Planning policy guidance notes 4--Industrial and Commercial Development--6- -Town Centres and Retail Developments--and
13--Transport--are all relevant. They seek to encourage new development in locations which minimuse the length and number of trips by vehicles, and protect and enhance the viability and vitality of existing centres--in both urban and rural areas--by offering a range of everyday community, shopping and employment opportunities. PPG13 also asks local planning authorities to ensure that trunk roads and other through routes, including bypasses, serve their purpose as corridors of movement and do not have their national and strategic role undermined by development which encourages their use for short local trips. The Secretary of State for Transport has the power to direct local planning authorities to refuse applications for planning permission, or to apply specified conditions, and takes the policy in PPG13 into account in deciding whether to do so.
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WALES
Water Pricing
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what agreements his office made during 1989 on the pricing structure of (a) Welsh Water plc and (b) Severn Trent Water plc in relation to an accrual of money for infrastructure purposes ; what accrual is estimated to have occurred since then ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The agreements reached at privatisation between the Government and all water companies are published in the pathfinder prospectus--a copy of which is held in the Library of the House.
This matter has since become the responsibility of the Director General of Water Services.
Tuberculosis
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give the total number of notifications of tuberculosis in each year between 1987 and 1993.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The information requested is given in the following table :
Notification of Tuberculosis in Wales Year |Number ---------------------- 1987 |232 1988 |201 1989 |209 1990 |194 1991 |166 1992 |201 <1>1993 |202 <1> Provisional. Source: Communicable disease statistics (Series MB2) Registrar General's Weekly Return (Series WR) Office of Population Censuses and Surveys.
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give the number of deaths from tuberculosis in each year between 1988 and 1993.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The number of deaths of Welsh residents from tuberculosis in each year are shown in the table :
|Tuberculosis |Late effects of
|(all forms) |tuberculosis
|excluding late |(ICD 137)
|effects
|(ICD 010-018)
----------------------------------------------------------------
1988 |35 |19
1989 |26 |16
1990 |30 |14
1991 |29 |12
1992 |36 |13
1993 |n/a |n/a
n/a=Not available.
Source: International Classification of Diseases.
Office of Population Censuses and Surveys.
Junior Hospital Doctors
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what has been the cost of measures taken to reduce the hours worked by junior hospital doctors in each year since 1991-92.
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Mr. Gwilym Jones : Central funds provided for the reduction in junior doctors' hours in Wales have amounted to the following :
|£ million
------------------------------
1991-92 |0.250
1992-93 |0.600
1993-94 |1.000
Details of the costs which health authorities and trusts have incurred in addition to the above are not available.
National Curriculum
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consideration he gave to using the recommendations of the Curriculum Council for Wales as the basis for the new National Curriculum for English Order ; for what reason the recommendations of the National Curriculum Council for England were selected ; what representations he has received regarding the order ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Wyn Roberts : On 31 March the Curriculum Council for Wales submitted revised proposals for English and suggested two amendments to reflect, firstly, the distinctive literary heritage of Wales and, secondly, the diverse linguistic backgrounds of pupils in Wales. My right hon. Friend considered the recommendations carefully and responded on 14 April, asking the new Curriculum and Assessment Authority--ACAC, which replaced the Curriculum Council for Wales on 1 April--to proceed to consultations. A copy of the correspondence is contained in the proposals for English issued for consultation by the authority : this is available in the Library of the House. My right hon. Friend has asked the authority to report to him on the outcome of the consultation in Wales and to make final recommendations in the light of that consultation by 30 September. My right hon. Friend will consider carefully the authority's further report and recommendations in the autumn with a view to making a new order for English jointly with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education.
Health Service Administration
Mr. Ainger : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of total health expenditure in Wales was spent on (a) managerial, (b) administrative and (c) clerical costs in each year since 1991-92.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The percentages of total health expenditure in Wales spent on managerial, administrative and clerical costs in 1991-92 and 1992-93 were as follows :
Per cent.
|1991-92|1992-93
----------------------------------------------------
Managerial |1.0 |1.0
Administrative and Clerical |4.8 |4.6
Source: Health Authorities Annual
Accounts/Financial Returns.
Pembrokeshire NHS Trust Financial Returns.
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SOCIAL SECURITY
Disability Living Allowance
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what proposals he has to make disability living allowance more accessible for those with learning difficulties ;
(2) what proposals he has to make access to disability living allowance more equitable for those with a mental illness.
Mr. Scott : None. Entitlement to disability living allowance depends on the care and mobility needs arising from a particular condition, rather than on the condition itself. Access to DLA is available to all disabled people through the claiming process. The Benefits Agency provides support services to assist people in making a claim.
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the length of time that those seeking review of refusal of disability living allowance have to wait before a hearing at a tribunal.
Mr. Scott : Information is not available in the form requested. Reviews of entitlement to disability living allowance are not dealt with at a tribunal hearing.
People who are dissatisfied with the decision given on their claim for benefit may ask for it to be reviewed by an independent adjudication officer. Following this review, if they remain dissatisfied, they can then appeal to an independent appeal tribunal.
NATIONAL HERITAGE
Television Licences
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will meet members of the Retired Members Association of the Transport and General Workers Union to discuss the cost of television licences ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Brooke : I do not think a meeting would serve any useful purpose. My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State has written to the hon. Gentleman to explain why the Government are not prepared to introduce free or concessionary television licences for retirement pensioners, as called for by the association at its recent conference.
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many parliamentary questions, in the period November 1992 to March 1993, were answered with the response that the information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost ; how many were referred on to an agency chief executive ; and, in each case, what percentage of the total number of questions asked this constituted.
Mr. Brooke : In the period November 1992 to March 1993 411 questions were tabled to my Department. Of these, two questions were answered that the information was not held centrally and four were referred to agency chief executives.
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Each of these figures represent less than 1 per cent. of replies given in the same period.Royal Parks
Ms Mowlam : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will give a breakdown of his Department's estimated £23.8 million expenditure for 1994-95 on the Royal Parks Agency.
Mr. Sproat : Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Royal Parks Agency under its chief executive, Mr. David Welch. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from David Welch to Ms Marjorie Mowlam, dated 13 May 1994 :
The Secretary of State for National Heritage has asked me to reply to your Question about estimated expenditure of the Agency in 1994-95. Details of the Department's Voted provision are published in the Supply Estimates 1994 -95, Class XI, and may be obtained from the Library of the House. The breakdown of the provision for the Royal Parks Agency is shown on Vote 6, Section C of Class XI (pages 34 and 35).
Identification Cards
Mr. Spellar : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what representations he has received regarding the use of identification cards at sporting events.
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