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Advertisements are booked to achieve value for money and to reach appropriate audiences.

Ms Corston: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what was the cost of the advertising campaign entitled, "Ending discrimination against disabled people";

(2) in which newspapers, journals or periodicals the advertisement headed "Ending Discrimination against Disabled People" has appeared; and what are the future plans for using the advertisement.

Mr. Hague: The advertisement, "Ending discrimination against disabled people", has appeared in the following publications: The Guardian 18 and 25 January 1995

The Independent 19 and 26 January 1995

Community Care w/c 23 January 1995

Care Weekly w/c 23 January 1995.


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The cost of the advertising campaign was £16,581. There are no future plans for using this advertisement.

Benefits

Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list for each of the past 30 years (a) the number and percentage of unemployed who draw national insurance benefit only, (b) the number and percentage claiming unemployment benefit and income support, (c) the number and percentage claiming income support only, (d) the number and percentage claiming housing benefit only and (e) the number claiming no benefit.

Mr. Roger Evans: The available information is set out in the table. Information relating to unemployed claimants claiming housing benefit is not kept.


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Number and percentage of claimants by benefit entitlement                     

Thousands                                                                     

        |Total                                                                

         unemployment  Unemployment                                           

                       Benefit                                                

Year     count  Unemployment  and Income    Income SupportNo Benefit          

                Benefit only  Support       only                              

         (100 pe(Percentages of                                               

                total count are                                               

                shown in                                                      

                parenthesis)                                                  

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1965    |319   |139   |(43.6)|24    |(7.5) |75    |(23.5)|81    |(25.4)       

1966    |295   |128   |(43.4)|25    |(8.5) |65    |(22.0)|78    |(26.4)       

1967    |543   |260   |(47.9)|76    |(14.0)|94    |(17.3)|114   |(21.0)       

1968    |559   |236   |(42.2)|70    |(12.5)|135   |(24.2)|119   |(21.3)       

1969    |532   |218   |(41.0)|63    |(11.8)|129   |(24.2)|122   |(22.9)       

1970    |576   |237   |(41.1)|65    |(11.3)|140   |(24.3)|134   |(23.3)       

1971    |736   |302   |(41.0)|94    |(12.8)|177   |(24.0)|163   |(22.1)       

1972    |873   |343   |(39.3)|114   |(13.1)|255   |(29.2)|161   |(18.4)       

1973    |621   |196   |(31.6)|58    |(9.3) |234   |(37.7)|133   |(21.4)       

1974    |546   |176   |(32.2)|59    |(10.8)|190   |(24.8)|121   |(22.2)       

1975    |808   |301   |(37.3)|95    |(11.8)|251   |(31.1)|161   |(19.9)       

1976    |1,200 |446   |(37.2)|141   |(11.8)|413   |(34.4)|200   |(16.7)       

1977    |1,229 |408   |(33.2)|130   |(10.6)|489   |(39.8)|202   |(16.4)       

1978    |1,283 |413   |(32.2)|113   |(8.8) |511   |(39.8)|246   |(19.2)       

1979    |1,106 |366   |(33.1)|85    |(7.7) |466   |(42.1)|188   |(17.0)       

1980    |1,304 |489   |(37.5)|105   |(8.1) |486   |(37.3)|225   |(17.3)       

1981<1> |2,195 |940   |(42.8)|225   |(10.3)|735   |(33.5)|294   |(13.4)       

1982    |2,573 |731   |(28.4)|251   |(9.8) |1,202 |(46.7)|390   |(15.2)       

1983    |2,864 |713   |(24.9)|253   |(8.8) |1,539 |(53.7)|359   |(12.5)       

1984<1> |2,999 |750   |(25.0)|223   |(7.4) |1,661 |(55.4)|364   |(12.1)       

1985<2> |-     |-     |-     |-     |-     |-     |-     |-     |-            

1986    |3,079 |732   |(23.8)|194   |(6.3) |1,684 |(54.7)|469   |(15.2)       

1987    |2,752 |645   |(23.4)|152   |(5.5) |1,514 |(55.0)|442   |(16.1)       

1988    |2,264 |504   |(22.3)|132   |(5.8) |1,254 |(55.4)|374   |(16.5)       

1989    |1,649 |278   |(16.9)|100   |(6.1) |997   |(60.5)|274   |(16.6)       

1990    |1,432 |251   |(17.5)|48    |(3.4) |914   |(63.8)|220   |(15.4)       

1991    |2,048 |453   |(22.1)|102   |(5.0) |1,212 |(59.2)|280   |(13.7)       

1992    |2,546 |545   |(21.4)|124   |(4.9) |1,564 |(61.4)|313   |(12.3)       

1993    |2,759 |543   |(19.7)|116   |(4.2) |1,765 |(64.0)|335   |(12.1)       

1994    |2,551 |428   |(16.8)|113   |(4.4) |1,729 |(67.8)|281   |(11.0)       

Notes:                                                                        

<1> February figures are given: figures for May are not available due to      

industrial action.                                                            

<2> Figures not available due to industrial action.                           

1. Figures and percentages are as at second Thursday of May each year.        

2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand.                         

3. Percentages have been rounded to one decimal place.                        

4. Figures are based on a 100 per cent. count.                                

5. Component parts may not sum to totals due to rounding.                     

6. Income support replaced supplementary benefit in 1988.                     

7. Supplementary benefit replaced the national assistance scheme in 1966.     

Sources:                                                                      

Before November 1978: 100 per cent. count of the registered unemployed.       

From November 1978: 100 per cent. count of the registered unemployed          

claimants.                                                                    

From November 1992: 100 per cent. count of unemployed claimants.              

Gulf War Syndrome

Mr. Livingstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many pension awards have been made by the War Pensions Agency to service personnel (a) who are claiming to suffer from gulf war syndrome and (b) who have claimed disablement as a result of being the subject of tests and studies at the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment at Porton Down.

Mr. Arbuthnot: No awards have been made in respect of alleged Gulf war, or Desert Storm, syndrome, which is not recognised as a discrete medical condition. Eleven awards have been made in respect of ex-service personnel making such claims, but in all cases the awards were for recognised medical conditions.

The other information requested is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Family Credit

Mr. Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of the number of family credit claimants currently employed in schools, who have lost or will lose benefit as a result of the ruling by Social Security commissioners in October 1994; what plans he has to monitor the situation; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Roger Evans: Precise information is not available but we estimate that there may be about 7,500 people who work in schools, or similar establishments, who have been affected by the commissioner's decision. Although these people may have lost eligibility for family credit, many have been able to claim income support. We have been monitoring the situation closely and intend to amend the regulations, to reverse the effects of the commissioner's decision, at the earliest opportunity, following consultation with the Social Security Advisory Committee and the local authorities associations.

Mucous Membrane Disease

Mr. Etherington: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give details, including dates, duration and numbers attending, of all specialist training courses held since January 1994 on the industrial disease mucous membrane PD4 for experienced medical practitioners employed by the Benefits Agency Medical Services Section which has responsibility for Northumberland and Tyne and Wear.

Mr. Hague: All the doctors employed by the Benefits Agency medical services and the doctors who act as independent adjudicating medical practitioners assessing disablement benefit have had access to an up-to- date paper on prescribed disease D4--inflammation or ulceration of the mucous membrane of the upper respiratory passages or mouth produced by dust, liquid or vapour--prepared by a senior medical adviser of the Department of Social Security in January 1995. In addition, two full-time medical advisers from the Northumberland and Tyne and Wear areas attended a one day international symposium on PD D4 on 20 June 1994.

Net Incomes

Mr. Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security by how much the real net incomes after housing costs of (a) the poorest 10 per cent. and (b) the richest 10


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per cent. of householders with children have changed since 1979; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Burt: Reliable estimates of the changes in the real net incomes for the top 10 per cent. and bottom 10 per cent. of householders with children are not available. The following table gives the information for the top 20 per cent. and bottom 20 per cent. The latest period for which information is available is 1991 92, that is the two calendar years combined.

Information is given both before and after housing costs. The fall in income for the bottom 20 per cent. was due mainly to the decline in employment among couples with children and the increased in lone parenthood.


Percentage change in real incomes of top 20 per cent. 

and bottom                                            

20 per cent. of families with children, 1979 to       

1991-92                                               

percentage change                                     

                     |Quintile 1|Quintile 5           

                     |bottom 20 |top 20 per           

                     |per cent. |cent.                

------------------------------------------------------

Before housing costs |(-2)      |51                   

After housing costs  |(-12)     |49                   

Notes:                                                

1. The figures relate to the top 20 per cent. and     

bottom 20 per cent. of individuals in families with   

children.                                             

2. Percentage growth estimates are calculated from    

the median income of each quintile.                   

3. Estimates in brackets () are particularly          

uncertain; see Appendix 5 Of "Households Below        

Average Income 1979 to 1991-92"-a copy of which is in 

the Library-for details of the tests applied to       

estimates of changes in real incomes.                 

National Insurance

Mr. Alan W. Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been the increase in employees' national insurance contributions since 1979.

Mr. Arbuthnot: In 1979, not contracted-out employees paid national insurance contributions at a flat rate of 6.5 per cent. of earnings. Currently, all employees pay an initial contribution of 2 per cent. on earnings up to the lower earnings limit of £57 a week and then at 10 per cent. on the balance of earnings up to the upper earnings limit of £430 a week. As a result, the percentage of earnings paid in contributions rises progressively as earnings increase; from 2 per cent. for those earning at the lower earnings limit to just under 9 per cent. for those earning at the upper earnings. limit. The present structure benefits the lower paid more. Employees earning up to about £130 a week pay less contributions now than they would have done if the flat 6.5 per cent. contribution rate and structure in force in 1979 still applied.

SCOTLAND

Departmental Running Costs

Mr. McAllion: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish the budgets for departmental running costs for each of the past five years for which figures are available for (a) his Department, (b) Historic


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Scotland, (c) the Scottish Agricultural Science Agency, (d) the Scottish Fish Protection Agency, (e) the Scottish Office Pensions Agency, (f) the Student Awards Agency for Scotland, (g) Scottish Home and Health Department Prison Service, (h) the Scottish Courts Administration, (i) the General Register Office (Scotland), (j) Registers of Scotland and (k) the Scottish Records Office.


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Mr. Lang: The information is set out in the table below. Agencies came into being on various dates during this period. To give a consistent time series a full five-year run of figures has been prepared irrespective of when the agencies were created. The table shows outturn expenditure since information is not readily available over the full five-year period on a budget basis.


£ million                                                                                

                                         |1989-90|1990-91|1991-92|1992-93|1993-94        

                                         |Outturn|Outturn|Outturn|Outturn|Outturn        

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(a) Scottish Office Administration       |114.7  |123.5  |142.9  |155.5  |152.0          

(b) Historic Scotland                    |8.6    |9.8    |11.4   |12.7   |12.6           

(c) Scottish Agricultural Science Agency |3.8    |4.0    |4.0    |4.5    |4.7            

(d) Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency |9.5    |10.0   |10.8   |11.2   |12.1           

(e) Scottish Office Pensions Agency      |3.8    |3.9    |4.0    |4.2    |4.5            

(f) Student Awards Agency for Scotland   |1.7    |1.9    |2.1    |2.3    |2.6            

(g) Scottish Prison Service              |97.9   |105.0  |119.4  |114.8  |135.3          

(h) Scottish Courts Administration       |26.0   |33.0   |36.8   |39.3   |40.0           

(i) General Register Office (Scotland)   |6.2    |8.5    |13.5   |8.3    |7.6            

(j) Registers of Scotland                |14.6   |20.8   |26.3   |28.6   |27.5           

(k) Scottish Record Office               |2.9    |3.3    |3.8    |4.1    |4.0            

Mr. McAllion: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish the figures for total full-time equivalent staff for each of the past five years for which figures are available for (a) his Department, (b) Historic Scotland, (c) the Scottish Agricultural Science Agency, (d) the Scottish Fish Protection Agency, (e) the Scottish Office Pensions Agency, (f) the Student Awards Agency for Scotland, (g) the Scottish Home and Health


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Department Prison Service, (h) the Scottish Courts Administration, (i) the General Register Office (Scotland), (j) Registers of Scotland and (k) Scottish Records Office.

Mr. Lang: The total full-time equivalent staff in post figures for the Scottish Office, its executive agencies, associated departments, Scottish courts administration and Registers of Scotland for the years from 1990 to 1994 are shown in the table.


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Staff in post (full time equivalent) 1990 to 1994.                                   

Figures as at 1 April.                                                               

                                     |1990   |1991   |1992   |1993   |1994           

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Scottish Office Core             |6,275.0|5,475.0|5,247.5|4,923.0|4,835.0        

                                                                                     

Scottish Office Agencies<1>                                                          

Historic Scotland                    |-      |610.5  |630.5  |642.0  |636.0          

Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency |-      |196.5  |215.5  |226.5  |250.0          

Scottish Agricultural Science Agency |-      |-      |138.5  |142.0  |138.0          

Scottish Office Pensions Agency      |-      |-      |-      |164.5  |175.5          

Scottish Prison Service              |3,999.5|4,004.0|4,228.5|4,625.0|4,498.5        

                                                                                     

Other:                                                                               

Scottish Courts Administration       |887.0  |928.0  |939.0  |952.0  |977.0          

General Register Office              |303.0  |332.5  |309.0  |271.5  |246.5          

Scottish Record Office               |113.5  |119.0  |117.0  |114.5  |115.5          

Registers of Scotland                |997.0  |1,204.5|1,336.5|1,257.5|1,187.5        

<1> On 5 April 1994 the Student Awards Agency for Scotland was established.          

Staff are counted in the Scottish Office core prior to that date.                    

Egg Market

Mr. John D. Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what percentage of the Scottish egg market is supplied by egg producers in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) the Republic of Ireland;

(2) what percentage of the Scottish egg market is supplied by Scottish egg producers;

(3) from which countries eggs are imported into Scotland; and what percentage of the Scottish egg market each country has.

Sir Hector Monro: There is no reliable information on the size of the Scottish egg market or the share of its supplies from different sources.


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Training Courses

Mr. Kirkwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list each training and tuition course with a total cost exceeding £5,000 paid for by (a) his Department and (b) his agencies during the last 12 months, showing the title and objectives of each course, the name of the organisation engaged, the total cost of each course, a summary of the responsibilities of staff members taking part and the process for course evaluation by his Department or agency.

Mr. Lang: The list of courses paid for from the Department's central budget for developmental training is set out below. Information about agencies is not held centrally. Staff members taking part in the courses listed


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undertake a wide range of administrative and professional duties within the Department. The Department operates a system of evaluation which involves participants, line


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managers and training professionals and ranges from validation of the event itself to the effect of the training on the work of the Department.


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Courses costing more than £5,000                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Course                                                                           |Cost                                                                            |Aim                                                                                                                                                              

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Effective Manager I                                                              |£17,273                                                                         |To help course members to operate effectively as managers by making the best                                                                                     

                                                                                                                                                                  |use of their staff resources. The course provides a comprehensive introduction                                                                                   

                                                                                                                                                                  |to the manager's task and develops relevant awareness and skills.                                                                                                

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Effective Manager II                                                             |£16,852                                                                         |To improve course members' effectiveness as managers by helping them to                                                                                          

                                                                                                                                                                  |meet new demands facing them by extending and enhancing their capabilities                                                                                       

                                                                                                                                                                  |in areas selected according to individual needs.                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Policy Programme II                                                              |£15,214                                                                         |To enhance and develop policy-related skills building on a foundation of                                                                                         

                                                                                                                                                                  |knowledge. By the end of the module students should be able to demonstrate                                                                                       

                                                                                                                                                                  |written and oral policy skills in drafting, briefing and presenting. This is the                                                                                 

                                                                                                                                                                  |second stage of the central Policy Programme and provides a body of skills                                                                                       

                                                                                                                                                                  |essential to its completion.                                                                                                                                     

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Leadership Development for Managers                                              |£17,719                                                                         |To increase middle managers' understanding of their role as active leaders by                                                                                    

                                                                                                                                                                  |expanding their knowledge of current thinking about leadership and practising                                                                                    

                                                                                                                                                                  |the appropriate skills that will enable them to be more effective leaders.                                                                                       

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

EC Personal Development                                                          |£16,094                                                                         |To enable participants to identify their strengths and preferences at work and                                                                                   

                                                                                                                                                                  |to give an indication of competences and skills that need further development                                                                                    

                                                                                                                                                                  |for their future career.                                                                                                                                         

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Introduction to Management for Senior                                            |£9,835                                                                          |To develop a practical understanding and awareness of the essentials of                                                                                          

  Staff: Resource Management                                                                                                                                      |resource management.                                                                                                                                             

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Policy Programme I (2 courses)                                                   |£29,563                                                                         |To train managers for active involvement in policy work by examining the                                                                                         

                                                                                                                                                                  |outline structure of central Government and the pressures and constraints on                                                                                     

                                                                                                                                                                  |civil servants working within it. By the end of the module students should be                                                                                    

                                                                                                                                                                  |able to describe the key elements of the government framework.                                                                                                   

Note:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

All these courses were provided by the Civil Service College.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Beaches

Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many (a) beach rangers are working in Scotland and (b) beaches are patrolled by beach rangers; and what is the estimated size of coastline of the beaches patrolled.

Sir Hector Monro: District and islands councils are responsible for management of beaches in their control. Information on beach rangers is not collected centrally.

Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what community initiatives he has proposed to clean up Scotland's beaches.

Sir Hector Monro: Beach clean-ups are organised by district and islands councils, "Keep Scotland Beautiful" and other voluntary organisations. Local community groups are often involved in these projects.

GP Fundholders

Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many GP fundholding practices there are in (a) Fife and (b) North East Fife.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: There are currently four GP fundholding practices in Fife. In addition, one practice is preparing to commence operational fundholding from 1 April 1995. None of these practices is in North East Fife district.


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Information Technology

Mr. McFall: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much money has been allocated to the development of information technology in (a) criminal and (b) civil courts in Scotland; and what arrangements have been made for (i) judges, (ii) sheriffs and (iii) clerks of court who participate in information technology training courses.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: Since 1989, an investment programme at a level of approximately £1.1 million annually has been allocated to information technology provision in the supreme and sheriff courts. Initially, the investment was used primarily to produce a criminal operations system for the sheriff courts and is now being utilised mainly to develop a system to support the handling of civil business in the court of session and the sheriff courts, and to provide personal computers to members of the judiciary. Training is provided either by commercial organisations, under contract, or by the court service training centre, as appropriate.

Courtroom Assaults

Mr. McFall: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many cases of assault by an accused have taken place in courtrooms in Scotland in the last 10 years.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: This information is not held centrally.


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Housing, Irvine

Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what provisions there were in the agreement reached between Irvine development corporation and Irvine housing association for the lease of development corporation properties for the eventual purchase of these properties by Irvine housing association; and how much money has been received by Irvine development corporation from Irvine housing association under this agreement.

Mr. Stewart: The leases between Irvine development corporation and Irvine housing association contain an option to purchase. No sales have been finalised to date.

Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when the agreement was reached between Irvine development corporation and Irvine housing association for the lease by the association of the corporation's properties; and whether Scottish Office approval was sought and given for this agreement.

Mr. Stewart: The agreement was reached in July 1994. There was no requirement to seek approval from the Scottish Office.

Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of how the rent levels for tenants of Irvine development corporation compare with the rent levels of tenants of Irvine housing association living in Irvine development corporation tenancies.

Mr. Stewart: None. This is not a matter for my right hon. Friend.

Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 17 January, Official Report, column 468, if he will make a statement giving further information about how the money spent by Irvine development corporation on the Irvine housing association has been spent.

Mr. Stewart: The expenditure by Irvine development corporation has met start-up costs of Irvine housing association. These have comprised consultancy fees, staffing and the fitting out of the association's offices.

Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 17 January, Official Report, column 468, how much rental income Irvine housing association has collected on behalf of Irvine development corporation; and how much the Irvine housing association has recovered from Irvine development corporation to offset its management and maintenance costs.

Mr. Stewart: The total rents remitted by Irvine housing association were £94,300 as at 31 December 1994. The association has not yet incurred costs on management and maintenance expenditure.

Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the right to buy of the tenants occupying the Irvine development corporation properties leased to Irvine housing association has been altered by their current tenancy status.

Mr. Stewart: No tenanted stock has been leased by Irvine development corporation to Irvine housing association. There were therefore no tenancy agreements to be altered. The tenancy agreements offered by Irvine housing association are a matter for the association.

Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many vacant properties Irvine development


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corporation has let during each of the last five financial years.

Mr. Stewart: The information is shown in the table:


        |Number       

----------------------

1989-90 |418          

1990-91 |378          

1991-92 |404          

1992-93 |372          

1993-94 |311          

Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many residential properties Irvine development corporation expects to lease to Irvine housing association prior to the start of the process of balloting its tenants on the disposal of the housing stock.

Mr. Stewart: Approximately 300 houses.

Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which housing associations other than Irvine housing association have indicated an interest to Irvine development corporation in bidding for its properties prior to the corporation's wind-up.

Mr. Stewart: Irvine development corporation will shortly be seeking expressions of interest.

Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what involvement he will have in making the decision on the possible purchase of the properties currently leased by Irvine housing association from Irvine development corporation.

Mr. Stewart: In terms of the guidance issued by the Scottish Office to the development corporations for the disposal of housing, my right hon. Friend will be asked to approve the sale only if the corporation proposes to accept a price below the valuation of the district valuer.

Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when the Irvine housing association offered to purchase housing stock from Irvine development corporation; and when he expects Irvine development corporation to make a decision on this offer.

Mr. Stewart: The offer to purchase was received by Irvine development corporation on 12 January 1995. The timing of the corporation's decision on it is a matter for the corporation.

Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 17 January, Official Report , column 468 , which of the 183 Irvine development corporation properties leased by Irvine housing association are not the subject of a purchase offer by Irvine housing association to Irvine development corporation.

Mr. Stewart: The 23 houses leased to Irvine housing association after the date on which the district valuer was instructed to value the 160 houses currently under offer are not currently the subject of a purchase offer. Irvine housing association is expected to include the 23 houses in a future bid for Irvine development corporation stock.

Head Lice

Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the incidence of the problem of head lice in Scottish schools; and if he will make a statement.


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Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: This information is not collected centrally.

Housing Associations

Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many residential properties belonging to each of Scotland's development corporations have been transferred to housing associations; if he will name the bodies to which these properties have been transferred; what was the number of properties involved in each case; and if he will make a statement on the nature of the agreement which exists in each case.

Mr. Stewart: The information as at 31 January is set out in the table:


                                                      |Number of                                            

                           |Housing                   |properties                                           

Development                |association               |transferred                                          

corporation                                                                                                 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Glenrothes                 |Kingdom                   |234                                                  

                           |Link                      |30                                                   

                           |Collydean                 |190                                                  

                                                                                                            

East Kilbride              |Loretto                   |20                                                   

                           |Link                      |60                                                   

                           |East Kilbride and District|130                                                  

                                                                                                            

Cumbernauld                |Bield                     |64                                                   

                           |Link                      |163                                                  

                           |West of Scotland          |136                                                  

                           |Gap                       |57                                                   

                           |YWCA                      |23                                                   

                                                                                                            

Livingston                 |Almond                    |71                                                   

                           |Castle Rock (Livingston)  |29                                                   

                           |Edinvar in Livingston     |23                                                   

                           |Canmore                   |92                                                   

Information on the terms of the transfer agreements between the Corporations and the housing associations   

are not held centrally.                                                                                     

Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the housing associations on which Scottish Homes has spent money establishing or administering up until 31 December 1994; and how much each housing association received in payments.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The information requested is a matter for Scottish Homes. I have asked the chairman of Scottish Homes, Sir James Mellon, to write to the hon. Member with the relevant information.

Agricultural Land

Dr. Strang: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has showing the proportion of agricultural land which was tenanted in Scotland for (a) 1965, (b) 1970, (c) 1980, (d) 1990 and (e) the latest available date.

Sir Hector Monro: The answer is as set out in the table:


Percentage                    

1965 |1970|1980|1990|1994     

------------------------------

41   |43  |42  |39  |38       

Includes minor holdings.      

Departmental Funding

Mr. Gallie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what changes he intends to make to the cash limits and running costs provision for 1994 95 within his responsibility.

Mr. Lang: Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimates, I intend to make changes to seven voted cash limits, one non-voted cash block, one non-voted cash limit and four running costs limits:

a. The cash limit for class XIV, vote 3, training programmes, roads and transport services and industrial support, Scotland, will be increased by £25,487,000 from £876,652,000 to £902,139,000. The increase includes a transfer of £400,000 from the Department of Trade and Industry to provide innovation and technology support to small and medium sized businesses: a transfer of £16,000 to class XIV, vote 9 in respect of additional revenue support grant for air passenger duty inter- island services: increased provision of £15,984,000 for roads and transport to meet revised expenditure plans; and increased provision of £9,103,000 transferred from Department of Transport for grants to Strathclyde passenger transport authority to meet the revised costs of supporting rail services resulting from the restructuring of the railways.

b. The cash limit for class XIV, vote 7, housing and environmental services, Scotland will be decreased by £1,018,000 from £433,798,000 to £432,780,000. The reduced cash limit takes account of a reduced requirement of £1,267,000 for housing support grant; and a decrease in provision of £2,000 in appropriations in aid. There is a £250,000 increase in Scottish Homes's grant in aid to assist housing associations in the acquisition of local authority and new town development corporation housing stock. This increase will be fully offset by a reduction in the SO/LA2 non-voted cash limit. Gross running cost provision for Historic Scotland will be increased by £396,000 from £14,704,000 to £15,100,000, which will be offset fully by a matching increase in appropriations in aid for the agency. c. The cash limit for class XIV, vote 9, revenue support grants, etc, Scotland, will be decreased by £14,000 from £4,882,291,000 to £4,882,277,000. The decrease takes account of a reduced requirement of £100,000 for council tax valuation grant offset by a transfer of £70, 000 from Department of Social Security for additional revenue support grant arising from the transfer of Scottish Homes property to the WESLO housing association: and a transfer of £16,000 from class XIV, vote 3 in respect of additional revenue support grant for air passenger duty inter- island services.

d. The cash limit for class XIV, vote 14, hospital, community health, family health (part) and other health services, Scotland will be decreased by £1,712,000 from £3,012,073,000 to £3,010,361,000. The decrease takes account of a transfer of £1,500,000 to class XIV, vote 13, for changes in the requirements for GP practice fundholders: and a decrease of £212,000 as a result of an increase in the non-voted element of the NHS trusts' external financial limit. Overall, the NHS trusts' external financing limit has been increased by £6,714,000. e. The cash limit for clause XIV, vote 21, Scottish Office administration, will be decreased by £75,000 from £168,734,000 to £168,659,000 with the provision being transferred to class XIV, vote 22.

f. The cash limit for class XIV, vote 22, Scottish Record Office, will be increased by £75,000 from £9,027,000 to £9,102,000. Within this total, the SRO running cost limit increases by £30,000 from £5, 203,000 to £5,233,000 in order to give archive advice to local governments as a result of local government reorganisation. This increase will be offset fully by a matching increase in appropriations in aid. The additional capital provision is needed for the early installation of mobile shelving for the new purpose built repository.

g. The cash limit for class XIV, vote 23, General Register Office (Scotland), will be increased by £1,000 from £5,994,000


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to £5,995,000. Within this total, the running cost limit for GRO(S) increases by £95,000 from £7,380,000 to £7,475,000 to offset unforseen delays attributed to the Census output programme. This increase will be mostly offset by excess income related to the census programme and as a result the appropriations in aid increase by £94, 000.

h. The cash limit for class XIV, vote 24, the registers of Scotland, will be increased by £1,000 from £1,000 to £2,000. Within this total, running cost provision increases by £611,000 to allow for the compensation payments for the increased number of staff taking voluntary early retirement and also the costs associated with the advancement of the agency's information technology strategy. The increase will be met from additional fee income of £610,000. i. The non-voted cash limit SO/LA2, which covers housing capital expenditure by local authorities and capital expenditure by new towns, will be reduced by £250,000 from £276,207,000 to £275,957,000. This will fully offset the increase in Scottish Homes's grant in aid in class XIV, vote 7.

j. The overall running cost limit for the Scottish Office together with its agencies, including the new student awards agency for Scotland, will be increased by £396,000 from £338,589,000 to £338,985,000.

k. The non-voted cash limit SO/ERDF which covers European regional development fund payments in Scotland will be decreased by £24,000,000 from £124,000,000 to £100,000,000. This reflects slower than expected claims for payment and delays in new programmes coming on stream. (The cash limit of £124,000,000 was incorrectly shown as £122,977,000 in "Supply Estimates 1994 95: Summary and Guide", printed in March 1994 by HM Treasury, although the figure was correct in the estimate itself).

The net increase will be charged to the reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.


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