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Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will ensure that the enforcement provisions contained in the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994 apply to all regulations for which his Department is responsible, past, present and future, and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Arbuthnot: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to him today by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Corporate Affairs.
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the statutory instruments which his Department has sponsored in the last 12 months.
Mr. Hague: The 72 statutory instruments introduced by this Department in the past 12 months are as follows:
SIs completed during period 20 February 1994 to 20 February 1995 SI Number |Title --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1994/470 |The Housing Benefit and Council Tax | Benefit (Amendment) Regulations | 1994 1994/500 |The Guaranteed Minimum Pensions Increase | Order 1994 1994/506 |The Social Fund Maternity and | Funeral Expenses (General) Amendment | Regulations 1994 1994/523 |The Housing Benefit and Council Tax | Benefit (Subsidy) Order 1994 1994/527 |The Income-related Benefits Schemes | (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations | 1994 1994/542 |The Social Security Benefits Up-rating | Order 1994 1994/544 |The Social Security (Contributions) | (Re-rating and National Insurance Fund | Payments) Order 1994 1994/559 |The Social Security Benefits Up-rating | Regulations 1994 1994/561 |The Statutory Sick Pay (Small Employers' | Relief) Amendment Regulations 1994 1994/562 |The Statutory Sick Pay (Rate of Payment) | Order 1994 1994/563 |The Social Security (Contributions) 1994/578 |The Housing Benefit and Council Tax | Benefit (Miscellaneous Amendments) | Regulations 1994 1994/579 |The Housing Benefit (Permitted Totals) | Order 1994 1994/592 |The Statutory Maternity Pay (Compensation | of Employers) Amendment Regulations | 1994 1994/667 |The Social Security (Contributions) | (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations | 1994 1994/671 |The Workmen's Compensation | (Supplementation) (Amendment) Scheme | 1994 1994/704 |The Social Security Pensions (Home | Responsibilities) Regulations | 1994 1994/715 |The Personal Injuries (Civilians) | Amendment Scheme 1994 1994/726 |The Social Security (Categorisation of | Earners) Amendment Regulations | 1994 1994/730 |The Statutory Sick Pay Act 1994 | (Consequential) Regulations 1994 1994/731 |The Child Support Act 1991 (Consequential | Amendments) Order 1994 1994/771 |The Home Guard (Amendment) Order 1994 1994/772 |The Naval, Military and Air Forces etc. | (Disablement and Death) Service | Pensions Amendment Order 1994 1994/773 |The Ulster Defence Regiment (Amendment) | order 1994 1994/781 |The Housing Benefit and Council Tax | Benefit (Subsidy) Regulations 1994 1994/895 |The Occupational Pension Schemes | (Deficiency on Winding up etc.) | Regulations 1994 1994/1003 |The Housing Benefit (General) Amendment | Regulations 1994 1994/1004 |The Income Support (General) Amendments | Regulations 1994 1994/1062 |The Occupational and Personal Pension | Schemes (Consequential Amendments) | Regulations 1994 1994/1082 |The Social Security (Adjudication) | Amendment Regulations 1994 1994/1101 |The Social Security (Sickness and Invalidity | Benefit and Severe Disablement | Allowance) Miscellaneous Amendments | Regulations 1994 1994/1105 |The Social Security Revaluation of Earnings | Factors Order 1994 1994/1230 |The Maternity Allowance and Statutory | Maternity Pay Regulations 1994 1994/1367 |The Social Security Maternity Benefits and | Statutory Sick Pay (Amendment) | Regulations 1994 1994/1553 |The Social Security (Contributions) | Amendment (No. 2) Regulations | 1994 1994/1608 |The Income-related Benefits | Schemes (Miscellaneous) Amendments (No. 2) 1994/1646 |The Social Security (Cyprus) | Order 1994 1994/1661 (C.30) |The Social Security Act 1989 | (Commencement No. 5) Order 1994 1994/1751 |The Protected Rights (Transfer Payment) | Amendment Regulations 1994 1994/1779 |The Social Security (Attendance Allowance | and Disability Living Allowance) | (Amendment) Regulations 1994 1994/1807 |The Income-related Benefits Schemes | (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 3) | Regulations 1994 1994/1832 |The Social Security Benefit (Persons | Abroad) Amendment (No. 2) Regulations | 1994 1994/1837 |The Social Security (Credits) Amendment | Regulations 1994 1994/1882 |The Statutory Maternity Pay (Compensation | of Employers) and Miscellaneous | Amendment Regulations 1994 1994/1906 |The Naval, Military and Air Forces etc. | (Disablement and Death) Service | Pensions Amendment (No. 2) Order | 1994 1994/1924 |The Income-related Benefits Scheme | (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 4) | Regulations 1994 1994/1925 |The Housing Benefit (Supply of | Information) and Council Tax Benefit | (General) Amendment Regulations | 1994 1994/2021 |The Personal Injuries (Civilians) | Amendment (No. 2) Scheme 1994 1994/2137 |The Housing Benefit and Council Tax | Benefit (Miscellaneous Amendments) | (No. 2) Regulations 1994 1994/2138 |The Council Tax Benefit (Permitted Total) | Order 1994 1994/2139 |The Income-related Benefits Scheme | (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 5) | Regulations 1994 1994/2194 |The Social Security (Contributions) | Amendment (No. 3) Regulations 1994 1994/2299 |The Social Security (Contributions) | Amendment (No. 4) Regulations 1994 1994/2319 |The Social Security (Claims and | Payments) Amendment Regulations | 1994 1994/2343 |The Social Security (Industrial Injuries) | (Prescribed Diseases) Amendment | Regulations 1994 1944/2556 |The Social Security (Severe Disablement | Allowance and Invalid Care Allowance) | Amendment Regulations 1994 1994/2593 |The Social Fund Cold Weather Payments | (General) Amendment Regulations | 1994 1994/2686 |The Social Security (Adjudication) | Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 1994 1994/2802 |The Social Security (Jersey and Guernsey) | Order 1994 1994/2891 |The Occupational Pensions (Revaluation) 1994/2926(C.65) |The Social Security (Incapacity for Work) | Act 1994 (Commencement) Order 1994 1994/2943 |The Social Security (Claims and Payments) | Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 1994 1994/2944 |The Social Security (Claims and Payments) | Amendment (No. 3) Regulations 1994 1994/2945 |The Social Security (Incapacity Benefit- | Increases for Dependants) Regulations | 1994 1994/2946 |The Social Security (Incapacity Benefit) | Regulations 1994 1994/2947 |The Social Security (Severe Disablement | Allowance) Amendment Regulations 1994 1994/2975 |The Social Security (Medical Evidence) | Amendment Regulations 1994 1994/3061 |The Income-related Benefits Schemes | (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 6) | Regulations 1994 1994/3196 |The Social Security (Claims and Payments) | Amendment (No. 4) Regulations 1994 1995/35 |The Occupational and Personal Pension | Schemes (Miscellaneous Amendments) | Regulations 1995 1995/74 |The Social Security (Widow's Benefit and | Retirement Pensions) Amendment | Regulations 1995 1995/123 |The Child Support (Miscellaneous | Amendments) Regulations 1995
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what pilot project his Department intends to initiate at the central correspondence unit following the report by Coopers and Lybrand reviewing the support work within DSS headquarters; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Hague: A review of support services in our headquarters offices in London recommended that the Department should pilot the use of more centralised teams to provide replies to correspondence from Members of Parliament and members of the public. A pilot project will start in April and will be evaluated in the autumn.
Mr. Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claimants have won an appeal against refusal of income support under the habitual residence test.
Mr. Roger Evans: The information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what separate sub-categories are used under the habitual residence test to identify those people who are to be refused income support.
Mr. Roger Evans: The habitual residence test applies to all income support claimants who satisfy the conditions of entitlement for that benefit. No separate sub-categories
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are used to identify those people who are refused income support because of the habitual residence test. As part of our monitoring of the change, we collect information on the numbers of British Citizens, European Economic Area nationals and others who pass or fail the test.Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much invalidity benefit was paid to (a) men and (b) women in the latest available year; and what is the latest available number of (i) male and (ii) female claimants.
Mr. Hague: The available information is in the table.
|IVB beneficiaries |Percentage of |incapacitated on |estimated annual |3 April 1993 |IVB expenditure<1> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Men |1,156,000 |78 per cent. Women |424,000 |22 per cent. <1> estimated invalidity benefit-IVB- paid in the final week of the 1992-93 statistical year. Notes: 1. All information in the table is based on a 1 per cent. sample of claimants to benefit within Great Britain, rated up by 100 and rounded to the nearest thousand.
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security in which years the Comptroller and Auditor General decided to qualify his audit opinion of the supplementary benefit scheme before it was replaced by income support in 1988.
Mr. Roger Evans: The Comptroller and Auditor General has never qualified his audit opinion of the supplementary benefit scheme before it was replaced by income support in 1988.
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what is the total amount of council tax benefit annually given to families with (a) one adult working, (b) two adults working and (c) three or more adults working, specifying the amount given to people aged 18 to 24 years in each category; and how much was given to single parents in category (a) .
(2) what is the total amount of housing benefit given annually to families with (a) one adult working, (b) two adults working and (c) three or more adults working, specifying the amount given to people aged 18 to 24 years in each category; and how much is given to single parents in category (a) .
Mr. Roger Evans [holding answer 16 February 1995]: The available information is set out in the table.
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Housing benefit and council tax benefit estimated expenditure at May 93: by the number of working adults in a family unit and whether the claimant is aged between 18 and 24. £ Millions Housing benefit Council tax benefit Annual housing Annual council benefit expenditure tax benefit (£) estimated expenditure (£) from a sample estimated from a taken in the last sample taken in the week last week of May 1993 of May 1993 |Claimant aged|Others |Total |Claimant aged|Others |Total |between 18 to |between 18 to |24 |24 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No-one in the benefit unit |425.1 |1855.8 |2280.9 |58.3 |347.7 |406.1 working (a) One adult in the benefit unit |41.2 |359.3 |400.6 |5.0 |80.2 |85.3 working Single parents included in (a) |n/a |n/a |222.2 |n/a |n/a |39.0 (b) Two adults in the benefit |0.6 |17 |17.6 |0.1 |6.4 |6.5 unit working (c) Three or more adults in the |<1> |<2> |<2> |<1> |0.5 |0.5 benefit unit working Source: Housing benefit management information system, 1 per cent. sample May 93. Symbols and abbreviations: <1> Nil or negligible <2> Amount rounded to zero n/a not appropriate Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred thousand. 2. Adults in work can include claimants, their partners and non-dependants. 3. The figures are for family benefit units which may be a single person or couple, with a dependant aged up to 16, or 19 if the dependant is in full-time non-advanced education.
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Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many families currently receiving housing benefit have (a) one adult working, (b) two adults working and (c) three or more adults working, specifying the number of people aged 18 to 24 years
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each category includes: and how many single parents are included in (a).Mr. Roger Evans [holding answer 16 February 1995]: The available information, as at the end of May 1993, is set out in the table:
Number of families in receipt of housing benefit where at least one adult is working. May 1993 Thousands |Total number of |Total number of Number of adults families Number of people people aged 18-24 working aged 18-24 in the family |0 |1 |2 |3 |4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 |382 |268 |89 |22 |2 |1 |142 2 |29 |12 |13 |4 |- |- |23 3 or more |2 |1 |- |- |- |- |2 Total |413 |281 |102 |27 |3 |1 |167 Source: Housing benefit management information system annual 1 per cent. sample enquiries taken at the end of May 1993. Notes: 1. For the purpose a family has been defined as a household where there are dependants or non-dependants. It is not possible to separately identify non-dependants who are not part of the family. 2. The number of people aged 18 to 24 includes the claimant, partner, dependants and any non-dependants, regardless of whether they are working or not. 3. Adults working could possibly be the claimant, partner or any non-dependants. 4. Figures are for GB and have been rounded to the nearest thousand. 5. "-" represents less than 500 rated-up cases.
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many families currently receiving council tax benefit have (a) one adult working, (b) two adults working and (c) three or more adults working,
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specifying the number of people aged 18 to 24 years that each category includes: and how any single parents are included in (a).Mr. Roger Evans [holding answer 16 February 1995]: The available information, as at the end of May 1993, is set out in the table:
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Number of families in receipt of council tax benefit where at least one adult is working Thousands |Total number of |Total number of Number of adults families Number of people people aged 18-24 working aged 18-24 in the family |0 |1 |2 |3 |4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 |514 |367 |118 |26 |3 |1 |182 2 |63 |25 |27 |10 |1 |- |50 3 or more |10 |3 |2 |4 |1 |1 |14 Total |587 |395 |147 |39 |5 |2 |247 Source: Council tax benefit management information system annual 1 per cent. sample enquiries taken at the end of May 1993. Notes: 1. For the purpose, a family has been defined as a household where there are dependants of non-dependants. It is not possible separately to identify non-dependants who are not part of the family. 2. The number of people aged 18 to 24 includes the claimant, partner, dependants and any non-dependants, regardless of whether they are working or not. 3. Adults working could possibly be the claimant, partner or any non-dependants. 4. Figures are for GB and have been rounded to the nearest thousand. 5. "-" represents less than 500 rated-up cases.
Mr. Boateng: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the members of Lord Woolf's civil justice review committee and its working groups.
Mr. John M. Taylor: Lord Woolf is assisted in his inquiry into access to justice by a team of assessors. They are: John Bolton, solicitor and arbitrator; Dick Greenslade district judge; Rupert Jackson QC; Phillip Sycamore, solicitor; and Robert Turner, Master of the Queen's Bench Division. Professor Ross Cranston, professor of commercial law at the London School of Economics and
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Political Science, is acting as academic consultant to the inquiry. Professor Richard Susskind has just been appointed as an information technology consultant.A sub-group comprising Master Turner and District Judge Greenslade, with representatives of the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux and the National Consumer Council, is working on a single code of rules. Mr. James Rennie, a retired Parliamentary Counsel, has been engaged as draftsman.
Mr. Boateng: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what assessment of legal needs in respect of (a) social security, (b) housing, (c) debt, (d)
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employment, (e) matrimonial law, (f) the Children Act 1989 and (g) immigration in different pats of the country his Department is making; and when he expects to publish these assessments.Mr. John M. Taylor: For a number of years, the Legal Aid Board has been undertaking pioneering work in establishing methods for predicting legal need in some of these areas of work. Details of this work--which is continuing--are contained in the Legal Aid Board's annual reports. This work will need to be built upon as the ideas outlined by the Lord Chancellor earlier this year are developed further. The results of such work will be published in due course if it seems appropriate to do so.
Mrs. Maddock: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what proportion of those accepted for fast-stream entry for which his Department is responsible (a) in 1991, (b) 1992, (c) in 1993 and (d) in 1994 were women.
Mr. John M. Taylor: For information in respect of 1991 and 1992, I refer the hon. Member to the Civil Service Commissioners' Reports for 1991 92 and 1992 93 respectively. Copies of both reports are available in the Library of the House. In 1993 and 1994, there were 10 new fast-stream entrants to the Lord Chancellor's Department, as shown in the table.
Parliamentary question for written answer on Monday 27 February |Number Year |appointed |Females |Males ------------------------------------------------------- 1993 |6 |2(Grade 7)|4 1994 |4 |3 |1 Totals |10 |5 |5
Mr. Boateng: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when he plans to publish the report of Lord Woolf's review of the civil justice system.
Mr. John M. Taylor: The Lord Chancellor expects to receive the first report of Lord Woolf's inquiry into access to justice after Easter this year.
Mr. Boateng: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans he has to establish a permanent standing committee on civil justice reform.
Mr. John M. Taylor: The Lord Chancellor has no plans at present to establish a permanent standing committee on civil justice reform.
Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he has taken to institute an inquiry into the Balibo killings of 16 October 1975.
Mr. Goodlad: We have no plans to institute an inquiry. The Australians took the lead at the time in investigating
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the deaths of five members of an Australian television team working in East Timor in October 1975. In view of the circumstances then prevailing in East Timor, there was no means of ascertaining the precise circumstances in which they died. No firm evidence was discovered of who was responsible for their deaths. It is most unlikely, at this distance from the events, that another inquiry would shed any new light on the matter.Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what response his Department has made to the report of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights concerning the killings at the Santa Cruz cemetery in Rili in November 1991 and the subsequent investigation by the national commission of inquiry.
Mr. Goodlad: We welcomed Indonesia's decision to invite the UN special rapporteur to visit East Timor last July. With our EU partners we are considering his report, and Indonesia's response, at the present session of the UN Commission on Human Rights.
Mr. McFall: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place an English translation copy of the Interamerican Human Rights court ruling on the massacre of prisoners in the Peruvian El Fronton prison on 18 and 19 June 1987 in the Library.
Mr. David Davis: We have not received a copy of the ruling. However, we shall try to obtain one in order to place it in the Library.
Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 3 February, Official Report, column 884 , if the representations about banning of three journals by the Government of Indonesia were made privately.
Mr. Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what requests have been made to the Indonesian Government for information on the location and use of defence equipment exported from Britain.
Mr. Goodlad: Any such requests are made on a confidential basis. It is not our practice to disclose such exchanges.
Mr. Denzil Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Her Majesty's Government will be presenting oral legal argument before the European Court of Justice in the action between the European Parliament and the Commission of the European Countries, case C-445/93, 18 March 1993, regarding the abolition of border controls.
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Mr. David Davis: We have submitted written observations to the ECJ in this case. An oral hearing has been requested by the Commission. In due course, we will receive notification of the date of that hearing.
Mr. Dafis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Government of Surinam concerning the rights of indigenous and Maroon peoples to be consulted over land use divisions covering the areas in which they live.
Mr. Baldry: I am not aware of any recent problem concerning the Maroon people in Surinam and we have received no other request to make representations on their behalf. However, if the hon. Member would care to write about his concerns, I would be happy to look into the matter.
Mr. Harry Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many overseas students currently studying in the United Kingdom are in receipt of funding from his Department; and what expenditure this creates.
Mr. Baldry: In the current financial year, ending on 31 March 1995, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is providing funding for some 11,500 overseas students studying in the United Kingdom. The total costs will be approximately £97.6 million.
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will ensure the enforcement provisions contained in the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994 apply to all regulations for which his Department is responsible, past, present and future, and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Goodlad: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given today by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Corporate Affairs.
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the statutory instruments which his Department has sponsored in the last 12 months.
Mr. Baldry: I shall write to the hon. Member shortly to provide him with a list of the 29 statutory instruments sponsored by my Department in 1994.
Mr. Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions since 1979 his Department sought information from a recipient country on the location and use of defence equipment which was exported to that country from Britain.
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Mr. Douglas Hogg: Any such requests are made on a confidential basis. It is not our practice to disclose such exchanges with other Governments.
Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will authorise the United Kingdom permanent representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors in Vienna to request that the agency investigates whether manufactured nuclear warheads were hidden from the IAEA investigation team which verified South Africa's non-nuclear status in connection with South Africa's application to become a member state of the nuclear non- proliferation treaty.
Mr. David Davis: The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed South Africa's non-nuclear weapon status in 1993. We have no plans to request another investigation.
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 1 December to the hon. Member for Leeds, Central (Mr. Fatchett), Official Report , column 897 , if he will detail applications to join defence, security and/or security defence-related companies approved by his Department for employees who had left his Department of its agencies within the last two years.
Mr. Freeman: I have been asked to reply.
Since my answer of 1 December to the hon. Member for Leeds, Central (Mr. Fatchett), the following applications from staff in my Department have been approved for employment with defence-related companies. Only one application to join a security company--an Air Vice Marshal to join TNT Express (UK) Ltd--has been approved during the last two years.
Company |Rank/Grade ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Action Information (Management) |1 x Lt. Colonel Aramark plc |1 x Captain BAe plc |1 x Grade 3 BAe Sema Ltd. |1 x Commander RN BMT Defence Services Ltd. |1 x Grade 7 Cray Systems Ltd. |1 x Lt. Colonel Data Sciences (UK) Ltd. |1 x Squadron Leader EDS Scicon Defence Ltd. |1 x HEO |1 x SPTO |1 x PTO |1 x Lt. Commander RN |1 x Major General |1 x Group Captain Hewlett Packard Ltd. |1 x Lt. Commander RN Hiller Parker May and Rowden |1 x HEO IBM (UK) Ltd. |1 x Group Captain M L Douglas Equipment Ltd. |1 x HPTO NPBI |1 x Colonel Olin Ordnance |1 x HPTO Pennine Services |1 x Major Racal Radar Defence Systems Ltd. |1 x Squadron Leader Siemens Plessey Electronic Systems Ltd. |1 x Grade 6
Mrs. Maddock: To ask the Lord President of the Council what proportion of those accepted for fast-stream entry for which his Department is responsible in (a) 1991, (b) 1992, (c) 1993 and (d) 1994 were women.
Mr. Newton: The Privy Council Office, which comprises only 38 staff, does not employ fast-stream entrants on their first civil service appointment.
Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what are the criteria used for classifying grant-maintained schools as private sector institutions for the purpose of national income accounts;
(2) if he will make a statement on the status of (a) grant-maintained schools and (b) universities and colleges as private sector institutions for the purpose of national income accounts; and what are the differences between them.
Mr. Nelson: The national accounts are constructed by the Central Statistical Office in accordance with internationally agreed standards. Current practice is described in the CSO publication "United Kingdom National Accounts: Sources and Methods", third edition, available in the House of Commons Library.
At present, grant-maintained schools, universities and colleges are all classified as private non-profit-making bodies serving persons. There is no difference in their national accounts status. The main criterion for determining whether an organisation is classified to the public or private sector is who controls it. Grant-maintained schools are classified to the private sector primarily because they are considered to be run independently by governors appointed by the private sector.
CSO will be reviewing the sector classification of these bodies as part of a wider review to identify whether any changes are necessary to meet recently revised international standards.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the implications of his plans to stop the tax loophole between companies in banking groups in respect of discounted securities on housing associations which are partly financed by the use of discounted securities.
Sir George Young: I assume that the hon. Gentleman has in mind the proposals at clauses 76 and 77 of the current Finance Bill. These are not directed solely at transactions between companies in banking groups, and I understand from representations that about a dozen housing associations have issued securities on discounted or indexed terms that they believe will be affected by my right hon. and learned Friend's proposal. It appears that
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these associations have given indemnities to the holders of their securities against the effects of changes to their tax treatment. It follows, if the clauses in question pass into law, that these borrowings and any further borrowings on similar terms will cease to offer reduced borrowing costs compared with more conventional borrowing. We have, however, proposed that existing borrowings by housing associations should not be subject to the new basis of charge until 1 April 1996. This will give the associations concerned a breathing space in which to rearrange their financial plans.Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he and the Secretary of State for the Environment have made into how much of the private finance raised by the housing associations has been achieved via the use of discounted securities.
Sir George Young: I understand from representations received and from press reports that about £130 million of borrowing in aggregate may have been raised by housing associations' issuance of discounted securities, and about a further £30 million by issuance of indexed securities which may also be affected by the measure I believe the hon. Gentleman has in mind. These figures total some 2.5 per cent. of estimated total private sector borrowing by housing associations.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has had discussions with the Secretaries of State for Health and for the Environment, following the Department of Health's approving the use of discounted securities for a housing association to finance low-rent accommodation for student nurses and junior doctors in 1989.
Sir George Young: My right hon. and learned Friend took the views of ministerial colleagues fully into account in deciding to extend a degree of transitional protection to existing borrowings by housing associations.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy (a) to amend his proposals to exempt housing associations in his proposed plan to curb tax avoidance with discounted securities and (b) to issue advice to the Housing Corporation and other relevant bodies on alternative means to raise private finance.
Sir George Young: We have proposed amendments to this year's Finance Bill granting a degree of transitional relief for existing borrowings by housing associations. For the future, these bodies already know of alternative means of raising private finance to those affected by our Budget proposals, and have used them for the overwhelming majority of their borrowing.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Environment about ensuring that housing associations' issue of discounted securities will not be affected by any action to curb tax avoidance in respect of discounted securities between subsidiaries in a banking group.
Sir George Young: My right hon. and learned Friend's proposal is not directed solely at transactions between subsidiaries in a banking group, and it is appropriate that securities issued by housing associations should come within its scope if they have the relevant characteristics. We have, however, concluded that it is appropriate to extend a degree of transitional protection to existing borrowings by housing associations.
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Mr. McAllion: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department which will (a) follow the pay arrangements of the sponsoring Department and (b) pursue an independent and separate route under the delegated pay option (i) from April 1995 and (ii) from April 1996.
Mr. Nelson: None of the NDPBs sponsored by the Treasury falls into the categories listed. One NDPB follows its own pay arrangements; for the remainder, remuneration is on a fee paid basis.
Mr. David Atkinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what help is being given to home owners with negative equity.
Mr. Nelson: The Bank of England estimates that the number of households with negative equity has fallen by over 44 per cent. since the end of 1992. The Government are pursuing sound economic policies designed to sustain economic recovery. That is the surest route to rising prosperity for all, including home owners who currently have negative equity.
Mr. Benton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the demolition of St. John's house in Bootle; how many civil servants are currently employed there; and what provision is being made for the continuation of their functions.
Sir George Young: St. John's house in Bootle is occupied by 1,650 Inland Revenue staff and 200 Home Office staff. The building is in need of major refurbishment and staff have had to put up with poor working conditions for a number of years. Detailed option studies were undertaken by Property Holdings and the Inland Revenue to consider how the problems associated with the building could be resolved. Having considered all the options, including value for money, the decision has been taken to demolish the whole of St. John's house and to put in its place a new, but smaller, building which will house 850 of the existing occupants. The other 1,000 Inland Revenue staff will move to private leased accommodation elsewhere in Bootle. There are no plans to move work out of Bootle and the Inland Revenue remains committed to retaining a substantial presence in Bootle.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proposals he has for refunding VAT paid on sports supplies which have been purchased by non-profit-making sports clubs; if it is the responsibility of sports clubs to consult their members on how any refund should be used or distributed to its members; and what discussions he has had with HM Customs and Excise regarding the payment of (a) VAT and (b) VAT refunds.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: In June 1994 Customs and Excise invited all non -profit-making sports clubs to claim repayment of VAT on certain sporting and physical education services supplied by them to members during the period 1 January 1990 to 31 March 1994. many of the
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repayments have now been made. Sports supplies purchased by clubs are generally not exempt from VAT.Whether or not sports clubs have a responsibility to consult members concerning allocation of the refunds is for the clubs and their members to determine between themselves. It is not a matter in which it would be appropriate for the Government or customs to intervene. VAT accounting arrangements fall within the statutory responsibilities of the Commissioners of Customs and Excise for managing the tax.
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