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Water Charges
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proportion of family expenditure in each quintile of income was taken up by water charges in 1987 and 1992.
Mr. Nelson : I have been asked to reply.
The amounts and proportions of weekly household expenditure on water and sewerage charges for each quintile of income are given in the table for the United Kingdom for 1987 and 1992. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10p.
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Quintiles of gross weekly household income
|Lowest twenty |Second |Third quintile|Fourth quin- |Highest twenty|All households
|per cent. |quintile group|group |tile group |per cent.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1992
Lower boundary of group (£) |- |108 |213 |341 |515 |-
Average weekly expenditure on water and
sewerage charges (£) |1.90 |2.30 |2.70 |2.90 |3.60 |2.70
Percentage of weekly household expenditure |2.00 |1.40 |1.10 |0.90 |0.70 |1.00
1987
Lower boundary of group (£) |- |82 |162 |260 |381 |-
Average weekly expenditure on water and
sewerage charges (£) |0.60 |1.00 |1.30 |1.60 |2.00 |1.30
Percentage of weekly household expenditure |0.90 |0.80 |0.80 |0.70 |0.60 |0.70
Source: Family Expenditure Survey.
Environmental Protection
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposal on the costing of environ-mental protection arising from (a) the Marrakesh meeting on the implementation of the Uruguay round by GATT and (b) recent EU council decisions he intends to put to the forthcoming meeting of the G7 in Naples.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : I have been asked to reply.
At Marrakesh in April, Ministers decided that the World Trade Organisation should establish a committee on trade and environment. G7 leaders at the Naples summit welcomed the new World Trade Organisation's work on trade and the environment.
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment reported the outcome of the last EU Environment Council meeting in his reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Sir K. Carlisle) on 17 June, Official Report, column 671. G7 leaders at the Naples summit said that they supported the work of the Commission on Sustainable Development in reviewing progress in the implementation of the Rio process.
They also welcomed the restructuring and the replenishment of the global environment facility and supported its choice as the permanent financial mechanism of the biological diversity and climate change conventions.
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HOME DEPARTMENT
Correspondence
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the hon. Member for Walsall, North will receive replies to his two letters of 7 June concerning constituents ref. 09/06/94 and 08/06/94.
Mr. Charles Wardle : I wrote to the hon. Member on 14 July and understand that the Minister of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for Fareham, also replied on that date.
Wheel Clamping
Mr. Spellar : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement before the summer recess regarding his proposals on private wheel clamping.
Mr. Maclean : We have no plans to do so.
Asylum Seekers
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his Department's current practice in respect of immigration officials passing on details of the claims of persons seeking asylum to the embassies of countries from which asylum seekers have travelled.
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Mr. Charles Wardle : It is not our practice to disclose any information about an individual asylum application to the diplomatic post of the asylum seeker's country of origin.
Immigration
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the types of personal data held by his Department which relate to the administration of immigration procedures ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Charles Wardle : I will write to the hon. Member.
Car Boot Sales
Mr. Spellar : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will introduce measures to give trading standards officers the power to control car boot sales.
Mr. McLoughlin : I have been asked to reply.
Trading standards officers already have extensive powers to enforce legislation intended to protect consumers. These powers can be exercised at car boot sales.
TRANSPORT
Steel Rolls (Lorry Transportation)
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if steel rolls are required to be secured to a lorry cradle during transportation along minor roads ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key : Steel rolls and the cradles upon which they are carried are both required to be secured to a lorry when they are in transit on any road.
The safety of loads on vehicles used on roads is controlled by the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986. Regulation 100(2) requires that any load carried by a vehicle be secured, if necessary, by additional restraints so that it is not likely to cause danger or nuisance by moving, falling or blowing off the vehicle. This would apply to steel rolls.
Section 8 of the Department of Transport's publication "Code of Practice on the Safety of Loads on Vehicles" advises operators of the best way to secure metal rolls to their vehicles.
Air Services (Liberalisation)
Mr. Dunn : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on developments on the liberalisation of United Kingdom- United States air services.
Mr. MacGregor : I am writing today to the United States Transportation Secretary saying that I am prepared to give exceptional approval for airlines to bring in new services to replace certain transatlantic routes which have recently been or are about to be suspended. I am therefore offering United States airlines rights to serve Manchester- Los Angeles and Stansted-New York-Chicago. I am making this offer in order to help to maintain services for consumers while we continue to seek to make progress in securing a wider liberalisation of United
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Kingdom-United States air services. I hope that the United States will soon be in a posiiton to return to the liberalisation negotiations. This offer is a further demonstration of my determination to secure liberal changes to the current air services agreement in the interests of consumers on both sides of the Atlantic.Network SouthEast
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the public service obligation grant awarded to Network SouthEast in each year since 1978, in both cash and 1993-94 prices.
Mr. Freeman : The table shows the level of public service obligation grant spent on Network SouthEast since 1985-86. Figures are not readily available to split PSO by sector before 1985-86. Up to 1986-87 figures are shown for London and the south-east region.
Year |£ million Cash|£ million
|1993-94
|Prices
------------------------------------------------------------
1985-86 |253 |388
1986-87 |205 |304
1987-88 |230 |324
1988-89 |140 |184
1989-90 |86 |106
1990-91 |146 |169
1991-92 |355 |384
1992-93 |575 |595
<1>1993-94 |371 |371
<1> Subject to audit.
Road Schemes
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what costs have been incurred by his Department in developing road schemes subsequently abandoned in respect of (a) Preston southern and western bypass, (b) Hereford bypass, (c) Durham western bypass, (d) the A40 north of Oxford and Headington bypasses and (e) the A40 Longford-Gorsley improvement.
Mr. Key [holding answer 23 June 1994] : As the information requested relates to operational matters of the Highways Agency, I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member. Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. Simon Hughes, dated 12 July 1994 :
I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the costs incurred in developing road schemes subsequently abandoned in respect of (a) Preston Southern and Western Bypass, (b) Hereford Bypass, (c) Durham Western Bypass, (d) the A40 North of Oxford and Headington Bypasses and (e) the A40 Longford-Gorsley Improvement.
The information is as follows :
|£ million
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
a. Preston Southern and Western Bypass. |1.62
b. Hereford Bypass-this scheme has not been abandoned;
it is a Priority 2 scheme in the revised Roads
Programme.
c. Durham Western Bypass. |2.00
d. The A40 North of Oxford and Headington Bypasses. |2.196
e. The A40 Longford-Gorsley Improvement. |5.500
These costs include consultants' fees, preparation costs, surveys, advance
land purchase and VAT.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION
Bilateral Aid Programme
Ms Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what amount of the United Kingdom's bilateral aid programme was spent last year in (a) sub-Saharan Africa, (b) India and (c) South Asia ; and how much the Oversease Development Administration plans to spend in each year to 1996-97 in these places in (a) cash prices, (b) real terms and (c) as a percentage of the relevant year's bilateral aid programme.
Mr. Lennox Boyd : Actual expenditure figures for the last financial year, 1993-94, are not yet available. United Kingdom bilateral aid expenditure figures in 1992-93, the latest year for which actual data are available, are :
|1992-93 |Percentage of
|£ million |Aid
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub-Saharan Africa |509 |<1>37
of which: Country Programmes |285 |21
Other Bilateral Aid<2> |224 |16
India |115 |<1>8
of which: Country Programmes |92 |6
Other Bilateral Aid<2> |23 |2
South Asia (excluding India) |145 |<1>11
of which: Country Programmes |99 |7
Other Bilateral Aid<2> |46 |4
Other Regions |439 |<1>32
of which: Country Programmes |174 |13
Other Bilateral Aid<2> |265 |19
World Unallocated<3> |166 |12
of which: Other Bilateral Aid |166 |12
<1>The corresponding figures as a percentage of bilateral aid allocable by
region are higher.
<2>Other bilateral aid is made up of Aid and Trade Provision, Food Aid, Disaster
Relief, Debt relief, Non-Project Technical Co-operation, Drugs Assistance and
CDC Investments.
<3>"World Unallocated" comprises block grants to the British Council, Natural
Resources Institute, VSO, NGOs, Research Institutions and Commonwealth
Organisations based in the United Kingdom.
For 1993-94 and subsequent years, no breakdown is available for sub-Saharan Africa, India or South Asia. Figures are available for Africa, including North Africa and the middle east, and for the whole of Asia and the Pacific. The table shows planning figures for bilateral country programmes only for these two areas. These figures are not directly comparable with the figures for 1992-93.
Country Percentage
programmes only
|Cash prices|1992-93 |of total
|prices |country
|programmes
Year |£ million |£ million
-------------------------------------------------------------
Africa (including North Africa and Middle East)
1993-94 |330 |320 |47
1994-95 |344 |324 |45
1995-96 |315 |286 |45
1996-97 |284 |252 |44
Asia/Pacific
1993-94 |254 |246 |35
1994-95 |248 |233 |33
1995-96 |227 |206 |32
1996-97 |217 |192 |33
These planning figures include an allowance, additional to the overall figure agreed in the public expenditure survey, to compensate for expected slippage of expenditure. For this reason, and because of the many detailed changes that take place over a period at country level in the rate of spending, actual spending will vary from the figures shown.
Aid Programme
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when Her Majesty's Government first received (a) a draft copy and (b) the final version of the Organisation for Economic Co- operation and Development report on the United Kingdom's aid programme published on 5 July ; and what plans there are to respond to the criticisms contained in the OECD report.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We received a copy of the draft version of the report on 24 February and the final version on 5 July. The intervening period was required for the OECD to circulate the draft to other members for comments, and to fit publication into its printing schedule. Overall the OECD report recognised the many strengths in the "highly concessional and business-like" United Kingdom aid programme. We are continually looking for ways to improve efficiency and in doing so we shall take into account the conclusions of the OECD review.
DUCHY OF LANCASTER
Japan (Technology Agreement)
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Wyre (Mr. Mans) of 4 July, Official Report, column 80, what discussions took place on civil nuclear science and technology co-operation during his visit to Japan in June ; and if he will place a copy of the United Kingdom-Japan science and technology agreement of 13 June in the Library.
Mr. Waldegrave : My visit in June was to attend the seventh Carnegie group meeting of Science Ministers and advisers of G7 countries. This informal biannual meeting has a wide-ranging agenda and useful discussions took place on strengthening international co-operation and on progress with major science projects, including some in the field of civil nuclear research. However, no bilateral discussions took place.
I have arranged for a copy of the United Kingdom-Japan science and technology agreement to be placed in the Library.
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Disabled People
Mr. Luff : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what plans he has to improve the opportunities for employment and career development of disabled people in the civil service.
Mr. David Davis : The civil service has had a code of practice on the employment of people with disabilities since 1985. The code has done much to improve the position of disabled people in the civil service, but we have recognised that still more needs to be done. For this reason, on 15 July the code will be replaced by a programme for action to achieve equality of opportunity in the civil service for disabled people.
The programme provides a framework which will help Departments and agencies recruit, retain and promote people on merit, regardless of disability. It also provides detailed action checklists to help Departments and agencies make the best possible use of their disabled employees. The programme for action is accompanied by a stand-alone support document, "Focus on Ability", which offers practical advice on how to implement the programme.
In addition, the approval of the Privy Council is currently being sought to an amendment to the civil service Order in Council, which will permit Departments and agencies to offer disabled applicants encouragement and assistance in the selection process, such as a guaranteed interview, and thus enable those Departments and agencies that wish to do so to sign up to the Employment Service's two-ticks symbol.
NATIONAL HERITAGE
Planning (Ecclesiastical Exemption)
Mr. Alison : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will make a statement about the future of the ecclesiastical exemption from listed building and conservation area control.
Mr. Brooke : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales and I have today laid before Parliament an order under section 60(5) and 75(7) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 defining the future scope of the exemption in England and Wales.
As foreshadowed in my reply to my right hon. Friend on 17 December 1992, Official Report, column 370-71, a measure of exemption will be retained only for those church buildings which are covered by denominations' own arrangements for the control of works, where those arrangements satisfy our code of practice. Statutory procedures already exist for the Church of England ; other denominations which are in the process of setting up arrangements are the Church in Wales, the Roman Catholic Church, the Methodist Church, the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Baptist Union of Wales and the United Reformed Church. Buildings of all other denominations and faiths will from 1 October 1994, when the order is due to come into force, be fully subject to normal listed building and conservation area control. Where the exemption is retained, its scope will be reduced. Subject to what is said below, it will apply in future only to buildings whose primary use is as a place of worship, and to objects or structures attached to their exterior or within their curtilage to the extent that these are
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not listed in their own right. Where such objects or structures are listed in their own right, they will be fully subject to normal listed building control. My right hon. Friend and I came to the view that this was the most appropriate method of demarcation, taking into account the need to minimise duplication of control with the internal systems of the denominations concerned and, in relation to tombstones, the concerns expressed about possible inconvenience for the bereaved.To ensure reasonable parity of treatment between exempted and non-exempted bodies, we propose directions to bring within conservation area control tombstones, memorials and monuments not covered by the ecclesiastical exemption but below the current control limit of 115cu m. To minimise any practical inconvenience, this extension of control will relate only to tombstones and so on erected before 1 January 1925.
Special arrangements will apply to cathedrals of the Church of England. In this case, the exemption will cover the cathedral itself and buildings, objects or structures which are located within an area designated by me after consulting the Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England and which fall within a precinct indicated by the Commission under the Care of Cathedrals Measure 1990. It will also cover places of worship elsewhere within the precinct, and tombstones elsewhere within the precinct which are not listed in their own right.
The new arrangements will be summarised in planning policy guidance notes, to be issued in due course. Details of the exempted denominations' procedures will also be circulated to all local planning authorities. Plans showing the designated English cathedral areas have been sent to those local authorities concerned. As mentioned in the previous statement, our intention is to monitor these arrangements and review them after two years.
The present exemption is also to be continued for the time being for certain categories of ecclesiastical buildings, mainly belonging to the denominations mentioned. My officials are writing to the bodies concerned to invite them to consider how works to such buildings should be controlled in future. These categories include buildings within Church of England peculiars, buildings of religious communities, school and other institutional chapels, and buildings of certain Scottish denominations within England and Wales.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Bovine Immunodeficiency Virus
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to her answer of 4 July, Official Report, column 37, whether an immunodeficiency virus has ever been communicated from cattle to humans ; why no tests are done on imported milk ; what tests are done on United Kingdom produced non-pasteurised milk ; whether bovine immunodeficiency virus has been found in non-pasteurised milk ; and what assessment she has made of whether BIV is killed by (a) pasteurisation, (b) sterilisation and (c) ultra heat treatment.
Mr. Soames : There is no evidence that an immunodeficiency virus has been communicated from cattle to humans and there is no evidence that bovine immunodeficiency-like virus affects humans.
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Experimental efforts to grow BIV in human cells have failed. Two United States laboratory personnel who accidentally had needle stick injuries with BIV infected cell material some five years ago have shown no signs of illness as a result. In the absence of any risk to human health from BIV, we do not consider it necessary to test milk for the virus. Raw cow's milk produced in the United Kingdom is subject to hygiene and quality checks for example for plate counts, antibiotic residues and added water. In addition, raw cow's milk sold for drinking in England and Wales is subject to strictmicrobiological standards, for plate count and coliforms, under the Milk (Special Designation) Regulations 1989. We are not aware that BIV has been isolated from unpasteurised milk either here or abroad. It is known that lentiviruses are susceptible to heat treatment. Studies have been commissioned at the Central Veterinary Laboratory on the inactivation of BIV in milk by pasteurisation.
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to her answer of 4 July, Official Report, column 37, if she will now require testing of all milk imported from other EC countries to ensure that it complies with EC directive 92/46 on milk hygiene and that it is free of bovine immunodeficiency virus.
Mr. Soames : EC directive 92/46 allows milk to be traded within the EC if it meets requirements in the directive and bears the EC health mark. Under the EC veterinary checks regime, it is the responsibility of the exporting member state to ensure that only products meeting these requirements enter intra-Community trade. An importing member state can carry out non-discriminatory checks at destination unless there is suspicion of an infringement of requirements in the directive, in which case spot checks, including sampling, can be carried out at any stage. However, it would be a barrier to trade and contrary to EC law to check for bovine immunodeficiency-like virus, which is not referred to in the directive.
Intervention Board
Mr. Moss : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how the Intervention Board performed against its targets for 1993-94 ; and what key performance targets Agriculture Ministers have set the agency for 1994-95.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The Intervention Board's performance against its key targets in 1993-94 was as follows :
1993-94
|Target |Performance
|(per cent.)|(per cent.)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percentage of claims processed within
deadlines |98.0 |99.9
Percentage of claims processed correctly |98.5 |98.8
Running cost efficiency gains |2.5 |4.5
Improvement in productivity |5.0 |8.0
Ratio of disallowance to EAGGF funds
handled | 0.40 | 0.03
To main expenditure within vote provision,
cash and running cost limits |- |Met
New value for money savings in
procurement of goods and services |5.0 |6.5
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In agreement with my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, I have set the following targets for 1994-95 :
|Per cent.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percentage of claims processed within deadlines |98.5
Percentage of claims processed correctly |98.5
Running cost efficiency gains |2.5
Improvement in productivity |6.0
Ratio of disallowance to EAGGF funds handled | 0.40
To maintain expenditure within vote provision, cash
and running cost limits |-
New value for money savings in procurement of
goods and services |5.0
Veterinary Medicines Directorate
Mr. Moss : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when the 1993-94 annual report and accounts for the Veterinary Medicines Directorate is due to be published.
Mrs. Gillian Shepherd : I am pleased to report that the Veterinary Medicines Directorate's annual report and accounts for 1993-94 was published today. Copies are available in the Library of the House The report charts the continuing success of the directorate as a next steps agency, and I would like to congratulate the chief executive and his staff on their considerable achievements during the year.
Food Stockpile
Mr. Clappison : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the destination of the donation of biscuits from the strategic food stockpile ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Soames : During the past three years more than 30,000 tonnes of high-energy biscuits have been donated from the strategic food stockpile administered by my Department. The biscuits were subject to stringent quality testing prior to release for donation. They were donated to some 20 United Kingdom-based charities to help the starving and homeless victims of serious disasters in more than a dozen countries in Africa and eastern Europe, particularly to help relieve the plight of the civilian population in the former Yugoslavia.
The final 5,000 tonnes of biscuits will be donated to the United Nations World Food Programme through the Overseas Development Administration over the coming months. This is a step towards the liquidation of the strategic food stockpile by March 1996. The biscuits would provide sufficient food for over 250,000 people for a year. To provide similar aid at today's prices would cost in excess of £20 million and represents a significant contribution to the United Kingdom's response to disaster relief.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Political Talks
Mr. Trimble : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on which dates he met representatives of the Irish Government since 1 September 1993 to discuss political developments in Northern Ireland.
Column 793
Sir Patrick Mayhew : I have held such discussions with the Irish Foreign Minister, Mr. Spring, at six meetings of the
intergovernmental conference on 10 September and 3 November 1993, 28 January, 10 March, 25 April and 17 June 1994, during a visit to Dublin on 5 March and in the margins of the opening of the Shannon-Erne waterway on 23 May.
I was also present on 3 and 15 December 1993 and 19 February 1994, when these matters were discussed by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and Mr. Reynolds, the Irish Prime Minister.
Column 794
Residential Homes
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons are employed on (a) a full-time and (b) a part- time basis at the residential homes of the Southern area health board ; how many in each category at each home are (a) Protestants, and (b) Roman Catholics ; and what is the Roman Catholic/Protestant ratio in each of the employment catchment areas for the three homes.
Mr. Ancram : The table below gives a breakdown of staff by perceived religious affiliation in the three residential homes within the Armagh and Dungannon unit of management which is the only remaining directly managed unit within the Southern board's area.
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Perceived
religious
affiliation
Type of Employee |Roman |Protestant |Not known |Total
|Catholic
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Full-time |29 |22 |4 |55
Part-time |24 |13 |7 |44
Information on the Roman Catholic:Protestant ratio in each of the employment catchment areas for the three homes is not readily available.
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Benefits
Mr. Rowlands : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of the resident population are in receipt of benefits other than retirement pension ; and what were the numbers in (a) 1964, (b) 1971, (c) 1981 and (d) 1991.
Mr. Ancram : The information requested is provided in the tables :
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Recipients of Benefit in Northern Ireland
Current<1> 1991 1981
Total Total Total
population=1,628,000 population=1,601,400 population=1,637,700
|Recipients |Percentage of|Recipients |Percentage of|Recipients |Percentage of
|population |population |population
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Housing Benefit |137,621 |8 |168,000 |10 |n/a |-
Attendance Allowance |49,237 |3 |41,400 |3 |18,300 |1
Invalid Care Allowance |18,736 |1 |10,600 |1 |700 |<2>-
Disability Living Allowance |67,080 |4 |n/a |- |n/a |-
Disability Working Allowance |159 |<2>- |n/a |- |n/a |-
Mobility Allowance |n/a |- |17,000 |1 |6,900 |<2>-
Child Benefit (Children) |488,372 |29 |459,700 |29 |482,600 |31
One Parent Benefit |30,890 |2 |26,400 |2 |20,800 |1
Family Credit |19,952 |1 |15,300 |1 |n/a |-
Family Income Supplement |n/a |- |n/a |- |10,700 |1
Income Support |222,621 |14 |203,700 |13 |n/a |-
Supplementary Benefit |n/a |- |n/a |- |161,600 |10
Industrial Injuries Benefits |9,574 |1 |10,200 |1 |8,200 |<2>-
Sickness Benefit |4,183 |<2>- |3,898 |<2>- |18,100 |1
Invalidity Benefit |87,813 |4 |58,800 |4 |32,600 |2
Severe Disablement Allowance |14,334 |1 |13,400 |1 |n/a |-
Maternity Allowance |893 |<2>- |500 |<2>- |14,085 |1
Guardian's Allowance/CSA |100 |<2>- |100 |<2>- |400 |<2>-
Unemployment Benefit |14,595 |1 |18,900 |1 |41,200 |3
Widows Benefit |11,129 |1 |12,800 |1 |15,100 |1
Non-contributory Invalidity Pension |n/a |- |n/a |- |10,200 |1
<1> Most recent information available-mainly May 1994.
<2>- denotes less than 0.5.
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1971 1984
Total population Total population
= 1,540,400 = 1,450,000
Benefit |Recipients |Percentage of|Recipients |Percentage of
|population |population
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Family allowance (children) |308,100 |20 |270,100 |19
Widows' benefits |15,100 |1 |15,900 |1
Guardians allowances, orphans' pensions and children's allowances |290 |<1>- |320 |<1>-
Supplementary benefit |108,395 |7 |n/a |n/a
National assistance allowance |n/a |n/a |58,324 |4
Insured persons absent from work due to:
Sickness |42,000 |3 |35,000 |2
Industrial injury |1,400 |<1>- |1,100 |<1>-
<1> Denotes less than 0.5. per cent.
NHS Trust Hospitals
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list by wave (a) the number of non-executive directors of NHS trust hospitals and (b) the number of chairs of NHS trust hospitals, by salary band.
Mr. Ancram : Information on appointments to HSS trusts in Northern Ireland is set out in the table :
Chairmen
|Non- |Band 1 |Band 2 |Band 3
|executive|£19,285 |£17,145 |£15,125
|directors
------------------------------------------------------------
Wave 1 |5 |1 |- |-
Wave 2 |43 |3 |4 |2
Wave 3 |<1>14 |- |1 |2
<1> One non-executive director post remains to be filled.
Birth Statistics
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many sets of (a) twins, (b) triplets, (c) quadruplets, (d) quintuplets and (e) sextuplets were born in Northern Ireland in each year from 1990 to 1993 ; what was the total number of maternities in Northern Ireland in each year ; and how many multiple births of each type in each year were conceived as a result of (i) in-vitro fertilisation, (ii) gamete intra-fallopian transfer and (iii) other forms of assisted conceptions.
Mr. Ancram : The information requested is set out in the table.
|1990 |1991 |1992 |1993<1>
----------------------------------------------------------
Sets of
(a) Twins |267 |315 |258 |293
(b) Triplets |5 |6 |8 |9
(c) Quadruplets |- |- |- |-
(d) Quintuplets |- |1 |- |-
(e) Sextuplets |- |- |- |-
Maternities |25,338 |26,058 |25,425 |24,828
(i) IVF<2>
(a) Twins |12 |11 |<4>- |<4>-
(b) Triplets |2 |1 |<4>- |<4>-
(ii) GIFT<3>
<1> Provisional.
<2> These figures are the results of IVF by year of
conception.
<3> GIFT was available in Northern Ireland in only 1986
and 1987.
<4> Not known.
Column 796
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
UN Agencies
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals the United Nations
Secretary-General has made in respect of moving the UN Relief and Welfare Agency and other agencies ; what sites he has suggested ; and what is Her Majesty's Government's policy on this.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The Secretary-General has proposed moving UNRWA's headquarters from Vienna to Gaza. We will discuss this proposal with other donors represented on UNRWA's advisory commission. We have seen no proposals to move other agencies.
Burma
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will now make special representations to the Burmese Government for the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : With our European Union partners, we will underline our very serious concern about Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's continued detention on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of her house detention.
East Timor
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what communications he has received from the retired Australian diplomat James Dunn in relation to loss of life in East Timor ; what reassessment he has made of the situation there ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We can find no record of any communication from Mr. Dunn in the last three years. Research of earlier files would involve disproportionate cost.
Middle East
Mr. Jonathan Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on developments on the Jordanian track of the middle east peace process.
Mr. Hurd : We warmly welcome the recent decision by Jordan and Israel to initiate detailed discussions in the region on the elements of an eventual peace agreement. We similarly welcome King Hussein's decision, communic-ated to members of Jordan's Parliament on 9 July, that he and other Jordanian leaders should hold direct talks with Prime Minister Rabin and other Israeli leaders. I understand that discussions on border, security and water issues will begin on 18 July and that Foreign Minister
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