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d
|Number
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NFS 1 |Unable to trace offender|143,643
NFS 2 |No offence |40,366
NFS 3 |Summons not served |21,738
NFS 4 |Unable to interview |67,970
NFS 5 |Prosecution discontinued|9,241
NFS 6 |Specified difficulties |34,435
NFS 7 |Out of time |38,401
NFS 8 |Unactioned/Abandoned |106,102
Poole
Mr. Ward : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to announce the preferred route for (a) the new Poole harbour crossing and (b) the Poole-A31 link road.
Mr. Key : I expect to announce our preferred route for these schemes shortly.
Column 721
London Underground Ltd.
Mr. Tracey : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made in implementing the recommendations of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission of 5 June 1991, report on London Underground Ltd ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Norris : London Underground Ltd. is today publishing its three- year response to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission report, detailing the progress which has been made in implementing the report's recommendations, and the benefits which the implementation of the report has produced since it was published three years ago. This is London Underground's final response on the implementation of the report.
The programme of work set out by the MMC in 1991 was an extremely wide- ranging one, touching on all aspects of the LUL organisation. Implementation of 101 of the report's 114 recommendations is now complete-- an increase of 33 since their previous progress report two years ago. Two of the recommendations will not now be completed in the manner recommended by the MMC. Work on the rest, which are of a longer-term nature, will continue.
A number of the developments which have taken place since 1991 are worthy of particular mention. In November 1991, London Underground responded to a number of the MMC's key concerns with the publication of its company plan. This set out ambitious proposals for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the business. Three years on, this initiative has delivered a reduction in staff numbers of more than 20 per cent. At the same time, the quality of London Underground's services has continued to improve, with consistently strong performance against the testing service quality targets which have been set by the Secretary of State and embodied in successive customer charters.
Nine of the recommendations in the MMC report were directed wholly or partly towards the Government. Three of these--101, 105 and 111--were about performance indicators, three--70, 71 and 77--about fares, and three--10, 97 and 98--about the financial regime under which London Underground operates.
Overall, the position on the first six of these has not altered substantively since the Government's own response of September 1991. Since 1991 we have set for London Underground three successive sets of performance indicators, increasingly based, in accordance with MMC recommendation 101, on measured customer satisfaction and on outputs rather than inputs. For the very latest set of objectives, which I announced in May this year, six out of the 10 objectives set are assessed on the basis of customer satisfaction.
On fares, we remain unconvinced of the case for a formal fares contract between the Government and a nationalised industry. However, in general terms, the Government do not dissent from London Underground's view that there should continue to be some real fare increases over the next few years.
There have, however, been two important developments on the financial side. The first has been introduction in the last few months, and consistent with the recommendation 10, of a greater degree of flexibility allowing nationalised industries such as London Transport to carry forward from one financial year to the next, any underspend, up to 5 per cent. of their external financing limit, provided that the amount carried forward is sent on investment. The second,
Column 722
connected with recommendation 98, has been the opening up, through the Government's private finance initiative, of a greater range of opportunities for LUL to work with the private sector. The Government welcome the fact that London Underground is currently working up a range of PFI projects, and commend London Underground for the enthusiasm and commitment with which it has responded to this important initiative.The MMC made a number of recommendations about long-term planning for the network. The Government are continuing to work with LUL in developing a framework for strategic planning. Any such planning framework needs to be sufficiently flexible to adapt to changes in demand and other external developments, including the level of funding available. As the Government's original response made clear, it is not possible to commit public funding years in advance, because of the need for the Government to retain sufficient flexibility to deal with changes in the macroeconomic environment, and competing calls elsewhere in the public sector.
Within these constraints, London Underground is developing a more flexible approach to strategic planning, including--as recommended by the MMC--the development of a range of scenarios involving different levels of service and funding. It is also working to establish a greater understanding of the relationships between asset health, investment, and service performance. The Government welcome these steps, which will continue to be important building blocks in the evolution of future plans for the Underground.
London has the world's oldest and most complex underground network. The task of modernising and upgrading it will be a difficult and costly one, and we need to be realistic about how quickly it can be achieved. But we believe that during the three years since the MMC report, the management and staff of London Ungerground have made a worthwhile start on this process.
London Underground in 1994 is an organisation very different from that on which the MMC reported in 1991. While the Government have played their part by providing record levels of funding, the past three years have also seen substantial reforms and improvements in London Underground's own management, financial, and service performance. I would like to pay tribute to the MMC for the role which its comprehensive report played in initiating and directing this important process.
Copies of LUL's response have been placed in the Library.
Railways
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if the Rail Regulator will be undertaking consultation before approving access agreements for railway passenger services.
Mr. Freeman : The Rail Regulator has today published two consultation documents, entitled "Framework for the Approval of Railtrack's Track Access Charges for Franchised Passenger Services" and "Competition for Railway Passenger Services". I am arranging for copies of both documents to be placed in the Library.
Column 723
British Rail Maintenance Ltd.
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the sale of British Rail Maintenance Ltd. and the level 5 maintenance depots will commence.
Mr. Freeman : Next week British Rail will have available, for suitable prospective bidders, a detailed information memorandum offering for sale its maintenance depots at Eastleigh, Doncaster, Wolverton, Ilford, Chart Leacon and Glasgow and an Electronic Service Centre at Swindon.
For commercial and legal reasons, the memorandum will be available only to bona fide bidders who have signed a confidentiality undertaking. The principal areas covered by the memorandum are : The nature of the businesses and the overall market in which they operate ;
Future workload contracts ;
Management and employees, including pensions and travel facilities ;
The process for separating the businesses from British Rail ; historical financial information.
The six depots do a range of maintenance and repair work on vehicles and components such as bogies, but each tends to specialise in particular types of repair and of vehicle. The Swindon ESC repairs, produces and maintains a range of specialist equipment.
The depots are to be sold as going concerns with workload contracts in place. Their customers will be the various businesses which now own rail rolling stock, principally the three rolling stock companies--ROSCOs--which have taken over BR's domestic passenger rolling stock fleets for leasing to train operators. Other customers include the freight businesses and Rail Express Systems, which is responsible for BR's business with the Post Office.
The depots are being offered separately, though buyers will be encouraged to bid for more than one depot. In evaluating bids BR will have regard to a range of objectives, including the extent to which competition may be fostered in the heavy repair industry. I hope that bidders will include MEBO teams from the depots.
BR will seek indicative bids by the end of August. I expect the sales to be completed by the end of the calendar year.
Traffic Examiners
Mr. Canavan : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the number of traffic examiners responsible for road traffic enforcement in each county.
Mr. Key : The road transport enforcement division of the vehicle inspectorate is organised by area. As the areas cover more than one county an analysis by county cannot be given.
The table details the current number of substantive traffic examiners involved directly in traffic enforcement work by area.
Column 724
|Number
--------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Highland, Grampian, Tayside |4
2. Strathclyde, Dumfries and Gallaway |5
3. Central, Fyfe, Lothian, Borders |7
4. Cumbria, Lancashire |7
5. Greater Manchester, Derbyshire |7
6. Merseyside, Cheshire, Clywd, Gwynedd |7
7. Staffordshire, Shropshire |9
8. West Midlands, Warwickshire, Hereford and
Worcester |8
9. Gwent, Glamorgan, Dyfed, Powys |6
10. Gloucester, Avon, North Somerset, West Wiltshire |6
11. Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, West Somerset |7
12. Hampshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, East Wiltshire |8
13. Surrey, West Sussex |10
14. Kent, East Sussex |11
15. London |8
16. Hertfordshire, Essex |7
17. Suffolk, Norfolk |6
18. Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire,
Buckinghamshire |8
19. Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire |5
20. Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire |7
21. Humberside |5
22. West and North Yorkshire |9
23. Cleveland, Durham, Tyne and Wear, Northumberland |7
Rolling Stock Leasing
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are the indicative rolling stock leasing charges issued by the three rolling stock companies to train operating units, indicating for each train operating unit the specification of the rolling stock leased this year and the indicative charge for its use.
Mr. Freeman : This is a commercial matter for BR.
Consultants
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Mrs. Dunwoody) of 22 March, Official Report, columns 283-84, if he will show for all consultants or other outside organisation or individuals currently or previously employed by the Office of the Rail Regulator (a) the name of the consultancy, organisation or individual, (b) the length of contract offered to each consultancy, organisation or individual, (c) the total amount inclusive of value added tax paid to date to each consultancy, organisation or individual, (d) the total amount inclusive of value added tax expected to be paid to each consultancy, organisation or individual and (e) the services required by the Office of the Rail Regulator from each consultancy, organisation or individual ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman [holding answer 5 July 1994] : The Rail Regulator informs me that the consultants shown in the tables have been employed by his office.
Column 723
J
A. Call-off contracts for the provision of ad-hoc advice/services on demand
Consultant |Period |Paid to date |Services provided
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arthur Andersen & Co |To end of July 1994 |£323,125 |Economic and financial analysis
W. & J. Burness WS |Ongoing |Nil |Legal advice
Slaughter & May |Ongoing |£260,230 |Legal advice
Sedgwick UK Ltd |Ongoing |£6,374 |Advice on insurance issues affecting the privatised rail industry
Column 726
Further payments will depend on future work commissioned.Column 725
B. Specific projects
Consultant |Paid to date |Further payments due |Services provided
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kinsley Lord |£18,048 |<1>- |Review of organisation and structure
W. S. Atkins |Nil |£8,400 |Health and Safety policy development and implementation
Information Processing Ltd |Nil |£6,000 |Provision of advice and support on evaluation of IT network
|procurement
Central Computing |Nil |£25,000 |Development of departmental information systems strategy
Communications Agency
Interconnect |£4,900 |£2,000 |Technical advice and support for purchase and installation of office telephone system
Communications Ltd
<1>This will depend upon the detailed arrangements for subsequent stages of the assignment.
In addition, Dr. Stephen Glaister and Mr. Gordon Pettitt have been appointed to provide advice as required in the fields of, respectively, transport economics and railway operational matters. It would not be appropriate to publish details of the terms of these personal appointments.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Mrs. Dunwoody) of 22 March, Official Report, column 146, if he will show for all consultants or other outside organisations or individuals currently or previously employed by his Department for advice or assistance in rail privatisation, (a) the name of the
Column 726
consultancy, organisation or individual, (b) the length of contract offered to each consultancy, organisation or individual, (c) the total amount inclusive of value added tax paid to date to each consultancy, organisation or individual, (d) the total amount inclusive of value added tax expected to be paid to each consultancy, organisation or individual and (e) the services required by his Department from each consultancy, organisation or individual ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Freeman [holding answer 5 July 1994] : Consultants currently employed by the Department, the services they provide, and payments made to date are :
Column 725
|£ million
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Linklaters & Paines |Legal advice |5.6
Samuel Montagu |Merchant banking |2.0
KPMG Peat Marwick |Accountancy & Taxation |3.3
Dewe Rogerson<1> |Marketing |0.7
Shandwick |Marketing |0.0
Ernst & Young |Information systems |0.8
Richard Ellis |Property matters |0.4
Sedgwick |Insurance |0.1
Brodies |Advice on Scots law |0.02
Travers Morgan |Specialist advice on BRIS contract
| pricing |0.0
Ernst & Young |Corporate finance advice on BRIS
| contract pricing |0.0
<1> Contract terminates on 12 August 1994.
Future payments to these firms will depend on work done.
Column 726
Consultants previously employed by the Department, services provided and payments made were :Column 725
|£ mil-
|lion
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arthur D. Little |Research |0.1
Coopers and Lybrand |Access and access charging|2.3
Mercer Management |Freight and Franchising |1.2
Norman Broadbent |Recruitment |0.1
Putnam Hayes and Bartlett |Access and Access charging|0.2
Debenham Tewson and Chinnocks |Property matters |0.02
NERA |Regulatory matters |<1>-
Deloitte Haskins and Sells |Industry structure |<1>-
<1> Contracts completed prior to April 1991; information can only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Column 727
Contracts for consultancy advice are normally offered on an on-going basis with provision for the Department to terminate the contract.A number of individuals have been employed by the Department to advise on rail privatisation matters, but information on payments to such individuals is commercially confidential.
EDUCATION
Higher Education Students
Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what figures are available for higher education students completing courses in the current year ; and what estimates there are for how many (a) already have employment to go to (i) in their chosen career and (ii) in a temporary capacity and (b) will be claiming income support and related benefits ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Boswell : Information is not yet centrally available on the numbers of graduates completing their studies in this academic year.
Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what figures are available for drop-out rates in higher education for each term in the academic year for (a) dependent students and (b) independent/mature students for each academic year from 1980-81 to 1993-94 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Boswell : Estimated United Kingdom education wastage rates for full-time and sandwich students studying for first degrees are published in the Department's annual report. The figures for the academic years between 1982-83 and 1991-92 are in that table. Data are not available on a termly basis and do not distinguish between students on the basis of mode of support or age.
Academic year |Percentage ------------------------------------------ 1982-83 |13 1983-84 |14 1984-85 |15 1985-86 |14 1986-87 |16 1987-88 |17 1988-89 |14 1989-90 |16 1990-91 |15 1991-92 |17 Source: Table 14: Department for Education and Office for Standards in Education: Departmental Report 1994
Mature Students
Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what are the figures for (a) mature students returning to education and (b) school further education leavers continuing in further
education/higher education for each academic year from 1980-81 to 1993-94.
Mr. Boswell : Numbers of mature home entrants--defined as those aged 21 and over at the start of an undergraduate course and aged 25 and over at the start of a postgraduate course--and home entrants of other ages to higher education are shown below. Data on the academic year beginning 1993 are not yet available.
Column 728
Great Britain (000s) Academic year |Mature entrants|Other entrants |Total beginning -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1980 |134.9 |180.9 |315.8 1981 |139.7 |189.8 |329.5 1982 |139.8 |193.1 |332.9 1983 |149.7 |190.9 |340.6 1984 |151.2 |192.8 |344.0 1985 |168.3 |192.3 |360.6 1986 |186.4 |191.7 |378.1 1987 |186.6 |196.0 |382.6 1988 |203.7 |199.8 |403.5 1989 |216.2 |217.6 |433.8 1990 |236.8 |231.6 |468.4 1991 |278.2 |259.3 |537.5 1992 |319.4 |281.6 |601.0 Data on entrants to further education are not available on this basis. Sources: Mature Students in Higher Education Statistical Bulletins.
Students (Employment Statistics)
Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what figures are available for students graduating in 1993 having entered (a) full-time careers, (b) temporary part-time employment, (c) post-graduate courses and (d) unemployment ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Boswell : The first destinations of United Kingdom domiciled first degree students graduating in academic year 1992-93 from UFC-funded universities in England whose destinations are known are shown in the table :
|Numbers
---------------------------------------------
Employment |28,700
Further study |15,500
Not available for employment |2,800
Believed unemployed |5,700
(Source: Universities' Statistical Record)
Some 9 per cent. of those identified in the answer as being employed reported themselves as being in temporary employment expected to end before 31 March 1994. In many cases these graduates continue in employment after this date. Information on the full or part-time status of employment is not centrally available.
Education Statistics
Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimates are available for people intending to pursue (a) further education courses and (b) higher education courses for the academic year 1994-95 ; and of these what percentage are (i) school further education leavers and (ii) mature students returning to education.
Mr. Boswell : As at May, the number of applicants through central schemes to full-time higher education courses for admission in 1994 stood at some 378,000--virtually the same level as at May last year. This information is not broken down by the age of applicants, or their previous educational experience.
Information is not collected centrally on applicants for further education courses since there is no central admission mechanism for further education colleges.
Column 729
EC Youth and Education Councils
Mr. Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Gillingham (Mr. Couchman) of 5 July, Official Report, column 127, what was the voting record of each member state at the meetings of the European Community's Council of Youth Ministers and the Council of Education Ministers held on 6 and 21 June.
Mr. Boswell : The Council of Youth Ministers and the Council of Education Ministers respectively adopted common positions on the Youth for Europe III proposal and the SOCRATES proposal by unanimity. The Council of Education Ministers also adopted conclusions on the cultural and artistic apsects of education, again by unanimity. Votes were not taken on the other matters under discussion.
TREASURY
Earnings
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring up to date the figures in his answer of 8 January 1990, Official Report , columns 555-56 , concerning real earnings after tax and child benefit, on the breakdown between manual and non-manual males to take account of the change in real earnings since April 1989 as well as changes in taxation.
Mr. Dorrell : The information is given in the table.
Increases<1> in real earnings<2> after income tax<3>
and child benefit of a married man with two children<4>,
between April 1979 and April 1993
Point of earnings Percentage
increase
distribution |Manufacturing |Non-manufacturing
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Manual males
Lowest decile |7 |9
Lower quartile |12 |15
Median |18 |19
Higher quartile |23 |22
Highest decile |28 |26
Average earnings |20 |20
Non-manual males
Lowest decile |19 |21
Lower quartile |29 |30
Median |38 |41
Higher quartile |47 |49
Highest decile |53 |57
Average earnings |45 |48
Source: New Earnings Survey data and RPI (all items).
<1>The increases shown do not relate to the same individuals at the
different dates.
<2>Earnings are those for full-time males on adult rates in Great
Britain.
<3>For April 1979, income tax is based on the tax regime in the Finance
Act 1979.
<4>Two children, both aged under 11.
Manufactured Trade
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what steps the Government take to predict the volume of imports and exports of manufactured independently of past and future movements in nominal and real exchange rates against both the ecu and non-ecu currencies ;
(2) what account the Government have taken of the divergent movements in both the nominal and the real exchange rate between the ecu and non-ecu currencies in recent years in producing economic forecasts.
Mr. Nelson : The Government's forecasts, including those for export and import volumes, are given in the summer economic forecast. As discussed there, they reflect a range of influences including competitiveness, world trade and domestic demand.
Departmental Expenditure
Mr. Burns : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the entitlements for 1994-95 resulting from the carry-forward of capital and running costs underspends allowed under the end-year flexibility schemes.
Mr. Portillo : A list of entitlements totalling £523 million for capital expenditure and £269 million for running costs is shown in the following table.
Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimates, individual cash limits and running costs limits will be increased when entitlement is taken up.
The total increase in cash limits resulting from the take-up of end-year flexibility will be charged to the Reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.
Column 729
Entitlements for 1994-95 cash limits resulting from the carryover of capital underspends
Cash limits on Votes
Class |Vote |Accounting |Description of |£ thousands
|Department |expenditure
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
II |1 |Foreign and Commonwealth Office |Overseas representation |13,940
II |3 |Foreign and Commonwealth Office |External broadcasting and monitoring |2,749
III |4 |Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food |Agricultural, food and fishing services |594
III |5 |Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food |Departmental research, advisory services and administration |358
IV |1 |Department of Trade and Industry |Support for business, consumer and investor protection,
| energy programmes and administration |2,750
V |1 |Department of Employment |Programmes and central services |2,000
V |2 |Department of Employment |Employment Service |240
V |3 |Department of Employment |Health and Safety Commission and Advisory, Conciliation
| and Arbitration Service |654
VI |1 |Department of Transport |Highways Agency |45,192
VI |2 |Department of Transport |Administration and transport services |2,000
VI |4 |Department of Transport |Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency |2,000
VI |5 |Department of Transport |Roads and local transport |2,552
VI |8 |Office of Rail Regulation |Office of the Rail Regulator |1,058
VII |5 |Department of the Environment |Central environmental services, etc. |836
VII |6 |Department of the Environment<1> |Property Holdings and other services to government |1
VII |10 |Ordnance Survey |Ordnance Survey |1,354
IX |3 |Northern Ireland Court Service |Administration of Justice |1,554
IX |5 |Public Record Office |Public Record Office |2,000
IX |12 |The Crown Office, Scotland |Procurator Fiscal Service and Lord Advocate's Department:
| administration |597
X |1 |Department for Education |Schools, research and miscellaneous services |3,538
X |4 |Department for Education |Administration |1,886
XI |1 |Department of National Heritage |Museums and Galleries |134
XI |2 |Department of National Heritage |Arts |818
XI |6 |Department of National Heritage |Royal palaces, Historic Royal Palaces
| Agency, Royal Parks Agency, historic buildings, ancient monuments and the
| national heritage |998
XII |1 |Department of Health<2> |Hospital, community health, family health services (part), and
| related services, England |236,920
XII |3 |Department of Health<2> |Administration, miscellaneous health services and personal
| social services, England |15,898
XII |6 |Office of Population Censuses and Surveys |Office of Population Censuses and Surveys |318
XIII |4 |Department of Social Security |Administration and miscellaneous services |10,980
XIV |2 |Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for |Agricultural services, agricultural grants and fisheries,
| Scotland | Scotland |2,000
XIV |3 |Industry Department for Scotland |Training programmes, roads and transport services and
| industrial support, Scotland |3,508
XIV |7 |Scottish Office Environment Department |Housing and environmental services, Scotland |204
XIV |12 |The Scottish Home and<2> Health |Law, order and miscellaneous health and social work services,
| Department | Scotland |1,338
XIV |14 |The Scottish Home and<2> Health |Hospital, community health, family health (part), and other
| Department | health services and NHS trusts external financing, Scotland |22,592
XIV |17 |Scottish Education Department |Education, arts and libraries, Scotland |474
XIV |19 |The Scottish Courts Administration |Administration of Justice, Scotland |416
XIV |21 |The Scottish Office |The Scottish Office: administration |167
XIV |22 |The Scottish Record Office |The Scottish Record Office |982
XIV |23 |The General Register Office for Scotland |General Register Office for Scotland |237
XV |2 |Welsh Office |Agricultural support and services, fishing; regional assistance
| and industrial development, Wales |7,359
XV |5 |Welsh Office |Tourism, roads and transport, housing, other environmental
| services (including civil defence), arts and libraries and
| health and personal social services, Wales |3,479
XV |8 |Welsh Office<2> |Hospital, community health, family health services (part) and
| related services, Wales |5,344
XVI |1 |Northern Ireland Office |Administration, law, order, protective and miscellaneous
| services |1,561
XVII |1 |H.M. Treasury |H.M. Treasury |2,000
XVII |5 |Inland Revenue |Administration |695
XVII |9 |Department for National Savings |Department for National Savings |488
XVII |12 |The Office of H.M. Paymaster General |The Office of H.M. Paymaster General |1,023
XVIII |1 |Cabinet Office |Office of Public Service and Science |1,544
Total Voted 409,330
<1> This is a token Vote. Carryforward will be taken in the form of increased appropriations in aid of £13,642,000.
<2> Special health scheme.
Column 731
Cash limits on non-voted expenditure and NHS Trusts external financing limits
1993-94
Cash block |Accounting |Description of |£ thousands
|Department |expenditure
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOE/HC |Department of the Environment |Grants and capital expenditure financed by the Housing |434
|Corporation in England
DOE/NT |Department of the Environment |Net capital expenditure by the Commission for the New Towns |1,628
|and Letchworth Garden City Development Corporation for
|housing, roads, commercial and industrial investment and
|certain water services
DOE/UA |Department of the Environment<1> |External financing requirements of Urban Development |35,025
|Corporations in England, grants to local authorities and other
|bodies under the urban programme, the derelict land
|reclamation and city grant programmes (including associated
|LA credit approvals), grants for urban and housing projects
|under the City Challenge Initiative and other expenditure for
|inner cities initiatives
DOE/LACAP |Department of the Environment |Basic credit approvals to local authorities in England for |530
|housing, transport (except passenger transport authorities),
|education, health, other services' and Home Office (fire
|services in shires only). Supplementary credit approvals,
|specified capital grants and certain other grants to local
|authorities in England for housing. Supplementary credit
|approvals to certain local authorities for all capital purposes
|to offset some categories of commutation losses
DOE/OES |Department of the Environment |Supplementary credit approvals for other environmental |2,384
|services in England, Lee Valley Regional Park Authority and
|the Isles of Scilly (water and sewarage)
DOT/LACAP |Department of Transport |Supplementary credit approvals for transport in England. Basic |9,155
|credit approvals for passenger transport authorities
DOH/LACAP |Department of Health |Supplementary credit approvals for health in England |1,185
LCD/LACAP |Lord Chancellor's Department |Supplementary credit approvals for magistrates' courts in |700
|England and Wales
MAFF/LACAP |Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food |Supplementary credit approvals for flood defence and coast |780
|protection and harbour improvements in England
NID1 |Northern Ireland Departments |Services in Northern Ireland broadly analogous to services in |12,731
|Great Britain covered by cash limits but including family
|practitioner services
SO/LA1 |Scottish Office |Net capital allocations and grants to local authorities in |11,850
|Scotland for roads and transport, water and sewerage, police,
|education, social work services, general services, urban
|programme, river purification and civil defence
SO/LA2 |Scottish Office |Net capital allocations and grants to local authorities in |13,215
|Scotland for housing. Capital expenditure by New Towns in
|Scotland for housing and other environmental services
WO/LACAP |Welsh Office |Basic credit approvals for local authorities in Wales. |7,422
|Supplementary credit approvals for all services (except urban
|programme and urban development grant) and housing
|capital grants
WO/UA |Welsh Office<2> |Supplementary credit approvals and grants (both capital and |4,140
|current) to local authorities in Wales in respect of the urban
|programme and Urban Development Grant. Urban
|Investment Grant and expenditure by Cardiff Bay
|Development Corporation
NHS Trusts |Scottish Office |7,116
(Scotland)
NHS Trusts |Welsh Office |5,414
(Wales)
Total Non Voted and NHS Trusts 113,709
Total Capital End Year Flexibility 523,039
<1> DOE/UA has been superseded by 1994-95 cash block DOE/RI, which incorporates all the elements which were included in DOE/UA as well as programmes which have been transferred from other departments and elsewhere within DOE. The EYF entitlement has been calculated on the basis of capital underspends covered by
DOE/RI.
<2> Entitlement will be taken up on Class XV Vote 5 and WO/LACAP.
Entitlements for 1994-95 running costs limits resulting from the
carryforward of running costs underspends
Department |£ thousands
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overseas Development Administration |860
Intervention Board-Executive Agency |1,012
Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food |7,329
Trade and Industry |14,549
Office of Telecommunications |171
Department of Employment |14,961
Department of Transport |4,743
Department of the Environment |8,669
Property Holdings |1,906
Office of Water Services |1,017
Charity Commission |920
Home Office |41,543
Lord Chancellor's Department |2,177
Northern Ireland Court Service |94
Crown Prosecution Service |5,404
Public Record Office |196
Crown Office |631
Department for Education |4,061
Department of National Heritage |1,902
Department of Health |12,107
Office of Population Censuses and Surveys |1,512
Department of Social Security |66,474
Scottish Office |5,810
Scottish Courts Administration |677
Scottish Record Office |231
General Register Office |307
Office of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools in
Wales |95
Welsh Office |948
Northern Ireland Office and Departments |13,324
Her Majesty's Treasury |4,315
Customs and Excise |26,329
Inland Revenue |17,274
Registry of Friendly Societies |171
Department for National Savings |879
Central Statistical Office |105
Government Actuary's Department |132
Office of Public Service and Science |5,555
Cabinet Office |712
Privy Council Office |160
|---
Total |269,262
Royal Mint
Mr. Burns : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the outcome of the triennial review of the Royal Mint.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : The triennial review of the Royal Mint executive agency has now been completed, and a summary of the evaluation report has been placed in the Library.
The Mint provided United Kingdom coins in the quantities and at the times required by the public. It also maintained its position as the world's leading exporter of
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coins taking more than 50 per cent. of the available market. During the three years covered by the review, the Mint achieved an average annual rate of return of 23.2 per cent. compared with a target of 12.5 per cent. and exceeded most of its other performance targets. While I have decided that there should be no change in the Mint's status as an executive agency, I have asked officials to review the arrangements under which United Kingdom coins are purchased so as to encourage further improvements in the Mint's performance.Procurement
Mr. Burns : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made in improving value for money in Government procurement.
Mr. Portillo : The Treasury has today published the annual report of its procurement group on progress made in Government procurement. The group offers advice and guidance to Departments on policy, best practice and the achievement of value for money in public procurement and the management of construction projects.
The report notes that most Departments significantly exceeded their 1992-93 purchasing savings targets. These targets are set to encourage them to seek better value for money in procurement. In the sample area, where total spending is £3.4 billion, savings of £166 million were registered. For 1993-94 Departments have set a collective savings target of 3.5 per cent. The main message of the report is that while progress continues to be made in improving performance in Government procurement, in the management of construction projects and in increasing professionalism and value for money, further work is required if procurement staff are to take full advantage of market opportunities.
Copies of the report have been placed in the Library.
Securities and Investments Board
Mr. Burns : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to publish the annual report of the Securities and Investments Board.
Mr. Nelson : A copy of the board's report, made in accordance with section 117 of the Financial Services Act 1986, was laid before Parliament today. The report covers the period from 1 April 1993 to 31 March 1994. Copies have been placed in the Library.
EC Budget Contribution
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the principal reasons for the difference between the projected gross United Kingdom contribution after abatement to the preliminary draft budget of the European Communities for 1995 and the 1994 gross contribution ; and what action he is taking on this.
Sir John Cope [holding answer 7 July 1994] : The main reasons are the lower abatement of our VAT contributions in the 1995 preliminary draft budget relative to the 1994 Budget, because our net contribution in 1994 is relatively low ; the higher rate of growth in the United Kingdom's economy relative to that of other member states ; and the
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increase proposed by the Commission in the 1995 PDB. The latter is currently under negotiation and will be given First reading by the Budget Council on 25 July.Privatisation
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which organisations, agencies and other bodies relating to his departmental area of responsibility have been privatised since 1990 ; and what plans he has for further privatisation.
Mr. Nelson [holding answer 12 July 1994] : Forward : Civil Service Catering, which was formerly part of the Treasury, was privatised in February 1994. There are no plans for any further privatisations at present.
Market Testing
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list (a) those contracts awarded by his Department to private sector companies as a result of the Government's market-testing policy and (b) the total number of bids for each contract awarded to private sector companies.
Mr. Nelson [holding answer 13 July 1994] : The information requested is as follows :
Service |Number of|Number of
|contracts|bidders
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Review of scope for market testing |1 |4
Library services |2 |10
Economic Model Building |1 |4
Personnel Statistics<1> |1 |6
Treasury Security Guard<1> |2 |14
<1> Still in progress.
EMPLOYMENT
Cricket Professionals
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what decisions were made by his Department in the case of John Pollard, cricket professional for Ebenwood cricket club, and his applications for a work permit over the last three years ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The Employment Department has approved work permit applications by Evenwood cricket club to employ John Pollard in each of the last three seasons. The latest application was granted on appeal following confirmation of Mr. Pollard's first-class status.
School Leavers
Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what estimates are available for average wages currently being offered to school leavers in (a) full-time permanent jobs, (b) part-time jobs and (c) temporary employment for (i) England, (ii) the north-west, (iii) Lancashire and (iv) Burnley ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Information taken from the new earnings survey is given in the following table. Information is not available for the north -west, Lancashire and Burnley because the sample sizes are too small.
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