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Privatisation
Mr. Duncan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will produce a table showing the gross proceeds of all privatisations since 1979 and the net proceeds after taking account of (a) underwriting fees and sales commissions, (b) accounting, banking, legal and consultancy fees, (c) marketing and advertising costs, (d) the actual or estimated cost of employee and small shareholder incentives, (e) any other expenses associated with the sale, (f) any small shareholder incentives, (g) any tax or debt write-offs agreed ahead of the sale and (h) interest income or other offsetting receipts, itemising each of these costs separately, and expressing total costs as a percentage of total gross proceeds. [19894]
Sir George Young: It is not practical to list all companies that have been privatised as many were subsidiaries of nationalised industries and were sold by the parent body, not the Government; consequently, information is not held centrally for all such sales. The table shows the companies privatised by the Government since 1979. Non-sale costs are shown where this information is held centrally; in some cases, costs are initial estimates rather than outturns. The administrative costs incurred by the vendor department are not included. To the extent that the costs shown in the table include non-cash costs--debt written off and the cost of bonus shares--they would not normally be set against the net proceeds which are measured in cash terms. Receipts from privatisation have amounted to £60 billion over the past 15 years.
Privatisation Costs (£million)
gross proceeds of As per
sale
|cent. of
|<3>Debt |Interest on |total
|Year of |<1>Sale |Cash |written |Employee |Loyalty |application |Total |gross |Net
Privatisation |sale |equity |debt |total |Costs |injection |off |incentives |incentives |monies |costs |proceeds |proceeds
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
British Aerospace<2> |1981 |149 |- |149 |6 |100 |60 |- |- |- |166 |111.4 |-17
Cable and Wireless<2> |1981 |224 |- |224 |9 |35 |- |- |- |- |44 |19.6 |180
Amersham International |1982 |63 |- |63 |3 |- |- |- |- |3 |0 |0 |63
NFC |1982 |54 |- |54 |0 |49 |100 |- |- |- |149 |278.5 |-96
Britoil |1982 |549 |- |549 |13 |- |- |- |- |- |13 |2.3 |536
Associated British Ports<2> |1983 |48 |25 |73 |3 |- |81 |1 |- |- |85 |116.1 |-12
Enterprise Oil |1984 |392 |- |392 |11 |- |- |- |- |1 |10 |2.5 |382
BT<2> |1984 |3,916 |3,500 |7,416 |185 |- |2,790 |56 |82 |4 |3,109 |41.9 |4,307
British Gas<2> |1986 |5,434 |2,500 |7,934 |187 |- |- |37 |185 |7 |402 |5.1 |7,532
British Airways |1987 |892 |- |892 |35 |- |160 |15 |8 |4 |213 |23.9 |679
Royal Ordance |1987 |190 |- |190 |4 |- |- |1 |- |- |5 |2.7 |185
Rolls-Royce |1987 |1,348 |- |1,348 |34 |283 |- |14 |- |5 |326 |24.2 |1,022
BAA |1987 |1,225 |- |1,225 |46 |- |44 |3 |17 |2 |108 |8.8 |1,117
National Seed Development Organisation |1987 |66 |- |66 |1 |37 |- |- |- |- |38 |58.3 |28
Professional and Executive Recruitment |1988 |6 |- |6 |1 |- |- |- |- |- |1 |15.0 |5
British Steel |1988 |2,500 |- |2,500 |58 |- |4,489 |18 |- |2 |4,564 |182.5 |-2,064
General Practice Finance Corporation |1989 |145 |- |145 |1 |- |- |- |- |- |1 |0.4 |145
Harland and Wolff |1989 |8 |- |8 |1 |205 |422 |- |- |- |629 |8,275 |-621
Short Brothers |1989 |30 |- |30 |2 |366 |390 |- |- |759 |2,529 |2,529 |-729
Regional Electicity Companies |1990 |5,182 |2,815 |7,997 |<5>202 |- |- |51 |64 |34 |<6>- |<6>- |<6>-
Generating Companies<2> |1991 |2,228 |768 |2,996 |<5>85 |- |- |24 |41 |6 |<6>- |<6>- |<6>-
Scottish Electricity Companies |1991 |2,918 |626 |3,544 |114 |- |1,044 |11 |53 |1 |1,219 |34.4 |2,325
NTL |1991 |48 |22 |70 |2 |- |- |- |- |- |2 |3.1 |68
Insurance Services Group |1991 |<4>70 |- |<4>70 |7 |50 |- |- |- |- |57 |81.0 |13
BTG |1992 |28 |- |28 |3 |- |- |- |- |- |3 |10.5 |25
Northern Ireland Electricity |1992-93 |704 |70 |774 |29 |- |- |2 |15 |- |47 |6.0 |727
DVOIT |1993 |5 |- |5 |2 |- |- |- |- |- |2 |50.0 |2
Forward |1994 |5 |- |5 |1 |- |- |- |- |- |1 |10.9 |4
DTELS |1994 |7 |- |7 |2 |- |- |- |- |2 |27.3 |5
Belfast International Airport |1994 |33 |15 |48 |4 |- |- |- |- |- |4 |7.4 |44
British Coal |1994 |963 |- |963 |35 |- |1,633 |- |- |- |1,669 |173.3 |-706
Notes:
<1> Costs to Government (often some costs will fall to the company).
<2> Excludes costs and proceeds of secondary sales(s).
<3> Since 1979.
<4> Includes up to £5 million to be paid in 1996.
<5> Costs to 31 December 1991 excluding VAT and stamp duty.
<6> Lack of information on VAT and stamp duty costs means this is not available on a consistent basis.
Value Added Tax
Mr. Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which directorate and commissioner are responsible for taking forward the proposals contained in European Commission document COM (94) 584 on the subject of the establishment of a common system of value added tax. [20981]
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Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: Directorate General XXI of the European Commission has responsibility for "Customs and Indirect Taxation" and for matters relating to VAT. The commissioner responsible for DGXXI is Mr. Monti. Document COM (94) 584 is essentially a report produced by the European Commission on the operation of the VAT system in the Community, with particular reference to the rates of tax applicable in member states. The only specific proposal which is made in the context
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of this document relates to an option for member states to apply a reduced rate of VAT to certain non-food agricultural products, such as cut flowers.Mr. Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether he has yet had chance to consider European Commission Document COM (94) 584 on the subject of the establishment of a common system of value added tax, what response he has made to those parts of that document which propose the abolition of zero rating for new houses; and if he will make a statement; [20977]
(2) whether it is his policy to endorse the recommendations of the European Commission Document COM (94) 584 on the subject of the establishment of a common system of value added tax in respect of (a) the scheduled establishment in January 1997 of a definitive value added tax regime and (b) the inclusion within that regime of the ending zero rating of all outstanding items including housing. [20978]
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: Document COM (94) 584 is a routine report produced by the European Commission in accordance with the requirements of the sixth VAT directive. It is largely concerned with the operation of the VAT system within the Community, with particular reference to the rates of tax applicable in member states. I have noted its contents, and, in particular, its principal conclusion that the current VAT rates and structures applicable in the Community do not present any serious problems for the satisfactory operation of the single market.
The report makes no specific proposals in respect of zero rates, although it makes reference to them in the context of the proposed move to a definitive system for VAT. Separate proposals from the Commission in respect of a definitive system are expected later this year. The Government have already made it clear that a condition of any move to a definitive system would be that such a system made provision for the UK to continue to apply any zero rates which are in force at the time any new system is introduced.
Mr. Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the possible impact on the United Kingdom housing market of the implementation of the proposals of European Commission Document COM (94) 584 on the subject of the establishment of a common system of value added tax; and if he will make a statement. [20980]
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: Document COM (94) 584 does not contain any specific proposals in relation to the VAT treatment of housing. To the extent that the document addresses the status of zero rates, it does so in the context of the proposed move to a definitive system. Substantive discussions on any such definitive system have yet to begin, but the UK has consistently made it clear that one condition of a move to any such system would be that it made provision for the UK to continue to apply any zero rates which are in force at the time any new system is introduced.
Mr. Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list all those items which are currently zero rated for value added tax purposes and which would be affected by the recommendations for the ending of such zero rating included within the provisions of European Commission document COM (94) 584 on the subject of the establishment of a common system of value added tax. [20979]
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Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: Document COM (94) 584 makes no specific proposals for the ending of UK zero rates. It addresses only the status of zero rates in the context of the proposed move to a definitive system. The Government have consistently made it clear that, as a condition of any move to a definitive system for VAT, such a system must make provision for the UK to continue to apply any zero rates which are in force at the time any new system is introduced.
Building Societies
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take action to compel directors of building societies to declare publicly in full the benefits they will gain personally when takeovers, amalgamations and conversions into banks are promoted and recommended. [20683]
Mr. Nelson: Regulations made under the Building Societies Act 1986 require the disclosure of information about the interests of the directors of a society in any transfer of business, the compensation or other consideration proposed to be paid to directors or other officers of the society attributable to the transfer and the manner in which the salary and other benefits of officers of the society will be affected by appointment to any position by the successor company. This information must be contained in the transfer statement, which is sent to all members eligible to vote.
Mr. Duncan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will introduce changes to the Building Societies Act 1986 so that when the Building Societies ombudsman confirms that maladministration is proven against the interest of a category of saver, all such savers shall be recompensed, and not only those who have registered a complaint. [20975]
Mr. Nelson: The purpose of the building societies ombudsmen scheme is to provide an alternative to legal action for settling individual disputes between societies and their customers. Each case must be decided by the ombudsman on its merits and the details of any two complaints are seldom identical, so it would not be appropriate for the decision of the ombudsman in one particular case to be applied automatically to a number of other cases which had not been submitted to him.
Government Borrowing
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the current level of Government borrowing; what was the level in April 1992; what he estimates the level will be in April next year; and at what level of borrowing he thinks it would be prudent to contemplate tax cuts. [21075]
Mr. Nelson: The public sector borrowing requirement in 1991 92 was £13.9 billion. In 1994 95, the PSBR was £35.6 billion. The PSBR is expected to fall to £21 billion in 1995 96 and is projected to be in surplus by the end of the decade.
Tax cuts will be made only when it is in the best interests of the economy.
Manufacturers
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the relative competitiveness on price of United Kingdom exports of
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manufactures at the current rates of exchange and at those in the fourth quarter of 1986. [21303]Mr. Nelson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 13 March, Official Report , column 360.
Mortgage Statistics
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will list by region the current average amount where a home owner's mortgage debt exceeds or falls short of the value of their property; what the national average is; and what were the equivalent figures for each of the four previous years; [20721]
(2) if he will list by region the number of home owners whose current property value is at a negative equity figure; and what were the figures for each of the previous four years. [20729]
Mr. Nelson: Estimates of the number of households with, and the average value per household of, negative equity by region in the years 1990 1994 are shown in the tables. Figures for households with positive equity are not available.
Estimates of negative equity are sensitive to assumptions made about average house prices. These estimates are based on Department of the Environment house price data.
On this basis, the number of UK households with negative equity in the fourth quarter of 1994 had fallen by 45 per cent. since its peak in the fourth quarter of 1992. The total value of negative equity fell by 64 per cent. over the same period.
Table 1: The number of households with negative equity,
by
region, 1990-94
Thousands
|1990|1991|1992|1993|1994
--------------------------------------------------------
South East |129 |230 |425 |447 |361
Greater London |20 |61 |141 |148 |107
South West |41 |75 |126 |143 |111
East Anglia |26 |39 |60 |69 |58
East Midlands |16 |28 |42 |50 |22
West Midlands |11 |9 |32 |33 |14
Wales |5 |11 |12 |14 |11
Yorkshire and Humberside |4 |5 |23 |10 |21
North West |6 |4 |4 |27 |9
North |1 |4 |6 |4 |6
Scotland |6 |4 |1 |4 |5
Northern Ireland |5 |4 |2 |2 |3
United Kingdom |270 |475 |875 |952 |729
Table 2: The average value of negative equity per household,
by
region, 1990-1994
£
|1990 |1991 |1992 |1993 |1994
--------------------------------------------------------------
South East |3,540|4,332|6,306|6,449|5,101
Greater London |2,455|3,004|6,091|5,648|3,792
South West |3,555|3,476|4,314|4,770|3,745
East Anglia |4,900|4,795|5,246|5,026|4,603
East Midlands |1,080|1,319|1,486|1,813|1,658
West Midlands |1,411|955 |1,550|1,496|1,280
Wales |1,178|2,570|1,872|1,692|1,428
Yorkshire and Humberside |488 |602 |1,165|1,447|835
North West |588 |958 |388 |1,003|516
North |1,004|1,635|1,264|1,414|730
Scotland |649 |721 |168 |634 |463
Northern Ireland |809 |1,145|1,902|1,365|1,480
UK |3,160|3,685|5,295|5,269|4,207
Council Tax Bands
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the charter standards for the speed with which the Inland Revenue notifies local authorities of amendments to a property's council tax band. [20690]
Mr. Nelson: Listing officers of the Valuation Office Agency are responsible for maintaining council tax bandings.
There is no charter standard for the speed with which listing officers notify local authorities of amendments to a property's council tax band but they would aim to do this within three months of becoming aware of the need for an amendment.
Medicash
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what fee was paid by Medicash to the Paymaster General's office for sending private health care mailshots to NHS pensioners; and how many were sent out. [20678]
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: The information requested falls within the operational responsibility of the chief executive of PAYMASTER, whom I have asked to reply.
Letter from Keith Sullens to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 26 April 1995:
I am replying to your written parliamentary question of 21 April, that you asked The Chancellor of the Exchequer. I have been asked to reply because it falls within my area of responsibility as Chief Executive of the Office of HM Paymaster General, known as the Agency PAYMASTER.
On behalf of Medicash we forwarded informative material to 152, 000 pensioners. Medicash were charged £21,379 including VAT.
British Manufacture and Research Company
Mr. Byers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will refer the conduct of the former directors of the British Manufacture and Research Company to the Customs and Excise for it to consider an investigation into possible breaches of the arms embargo with Iran. [20487]
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory [holding answer 24 April 1995]: Decisions on whether to investigate possible breaches of UK export controls are for the Commissioners of Customs and Excise in exercise of their law enforcement responsibilities. They will consider all relevant information available to them in deciding whether an investigation is appropriate and would welcome any information which the hon. Member or others may provide.
Cable Companies
Mr. Key: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how the uniform business rate is calculated for franchised
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cable companies; and what is the rate set for 1994 95 and for 1995 96. [19111]Mr. Nelson [holding answer 25 April 1995]: Valuations of the franchised cable companies for uniform business rate purposes, in the absence of reliable rental evidence, have been based on the cost of installing the systems.
In 1994 95 the rateable value for England for franchised cable companies is estimated to be £5.5 million. For 1995 96 the equivalent figure is estimated to be £22.5 million.
Public Sector Occupational Pension Schemes
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information is available regarding the expenditure of public sector occupational pension schemes on pensions, lump sums on death and lump sums on retirement,
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comparable to that given for self- administered private sector schemes in table 4.4 of the Government Actuary's report, "Occupational Pension Schemes 1991"; and what was the total expenditure of public sector schemes under each of these heads in 1991 and in the financial year 1992 93. [19990]Sir George Young [holding answer 25 April 1995]: Information in the form requested is held centrally only for the public service pension schemes covering local government, teaching, the NHS, the civil service and the armed forces. It is given in the following table. Similar information for other public sector occupational pension schemes may be available from employing authorities or the managers of those schemes.
The Central Statistical Office publishes information obtained on a different sampling basis from that used by the Government Actuary--its survey of income and expenditure of funded private and public sector schemes in table 4.3 of "Business Monitor MQ5".
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£ million
|1991-92 |1992-93
|Pensions |Lump sums |Pensions |Lump sums
|Members and|Death |Retirement |Members and|Death |Retirement
|dependents |dependents
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Local Government |1,760 |34 |478 |1,951 |31 |533
Teaching |1,892 |14 |433 |2,092 |16 |526
NHS |1,340 |17 |283 |1,497 |18 |317
Civil Service |1,670 |32 |271 |1,773 |32 |318
Armed Forces |1,109 | 190 |1,195 | 286
EDUCATION
Public Bodies
Dr. Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which of the advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by her Department are under a statutory requirement to (a) publish their advice to the Government, (b) publish an annual report and (c) lay an annual report before Parliament; and if she will list those bodies with a statutory base. [21165]
Mr. Boswell: There are no advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by this Department.
Drugs
Mr. Hawksley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what changes there have been in circulars giving guidance to schools concerning the reporting to police of pupils caught with soft drugs. [21279]
Mr. Forth: The Department issued for consultation last November a draft circular on drug prevention and schools. That made it clear that my right hon. Friend expects schools to notify the police when illegal drugs are found on a pupil or on school premises. That remains our view. Any instances of possession, use or supply of illegal drugs on school premises should be regarded with the utmost seriousness. The final circular will be published next month.
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University Science Parks
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many university science parks are now in operation; and how many acres of land they occupy. [21061]
Mr. Boswell: There are currently 49 science parks in the UK with UK Science Park Association membership. We understand that there are also a small number of independent science parks. Figures on acreage of land occupied are not available centrally. The total amount of science park property floor space occupied by UKSPA members in 1994 was 675,000 sq. m.
School Meals
Mr. Thurnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will list, in ranking order, the amount of subsidy per pupil for school meals for each local education authority in England and Wales, giving in the form of a table the income, expenditure and the subsidy, both in absolute amounts and per pupil, and relate the absolute subsidy to the cost of teachers' pay award in each authority. [20720]
Mr. Robin Squire: The table shows, in ranking order of cost per pupil, the expenditure and income in cash terms for local education authority school catering services in 1992 93, the latest year for which final figures are available. The table also shows the notional cost of the increase in teacher salaries in 1995 96 in England only; this information is not collected centrally in Wales. The figures in the table take no account of changes in
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teacher numbers or other factors that affect the teachers' pay bill.Column 655
School catering services
|1995-96
|1992-93 |1992-93 |1992-93 |1992-93 |estimated increase
|expenditure |income |difference |cost per pupil |teachers' salary
|£000 |£000 |£000 |£ |£000
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Corporation of London |108 |18 |90 |433 |12
Walsall |11,025 |1,808 |9,217 |206 |1,634
Lambeth |5,421 |876 |4,545 |183 |1,271
Kensington and Chelsea |2,204 |446 |1,758 |182 |450
Islington |10,265 |6,332 |3,933 |176 |1,138
Tower Hamlets |6,229 |808 |5,421 |172 |1,614
Hackney |4,688 |633 |4,055 |168 |1,189
Manchester |13,163 |2,349 |10,814 |151 |2,769
Hammersmith |2,737 |606 |2,131 |150 |709
Southwark |5,304 |1,022 |4,282 |145 |1,214
Camden |3,536 |562 |2,974 |140 |1,037
Derbyshire |28,192 |9,873 |18,319 |136 |5,273
Wandsworth |4,079 |991 |3,088 |135 |1,170
Greenwich |5,388 |1,034 |4,354 |125 |1,620
Newcastle upon Tyne |6,554 |1,838 |4,716 |119 |1,531
Haringey |4,286 |1,118 |3,168 |115 |1,303
Lewisham |4,471 |1,063 |3,408 |111 |1,237
North Tyneside |5,071 |1,673 |3,398 |110 |1,226
Knowsley |3,549 |607 |2,942 |110 |986
Gwynedd |5,814 |2,021 |3,793 |108
Humberside |21,208 |6,743 |14,465 |103 |5,209
Dyfed |8,420 |2,599 |5,821 |103
Newham |4,873 |1,063 |3,810 |102 |1,555
Waltham Forest |4,388 |1,240 |3,148 |102 |1,388
Cleveland |14,836 |4,530 |10,306 |101 |3,839
Bradford |12,781 |4,355 |8,426 |101 |3,212
Mid Glamorgan |14,688 |5,097 |9,591 |101
Durham |15,029 |5,615 |9,414 |101 |3,449
Brent |4,370 |1,147 |3,223 |100 |1,371
Wakefield |8,500 |3,689 |4,811 |98 |1,837
South Tyneside |3,887 |1,457 |2,430 |98 |896
Barnsley |5,014 |1,829 |3,185 |98 |1,131
Wolverhampton |5,017 |1,422 |3,595 |94 |1,490
Birmingham |22,908 |7,046 |15,862 |93 |6,401
Kirklees |9,161 |3,588 |5,573 |93 |2,341
Westminster |2,045 |536 |1,509 |92 |820
Rochdale |4,935 |1,836 |3,099 |91 |1,249
Salford |4,931 |1,757 |3,174 |86 |1,459
Isles of Scilly |43 |19 |24 |86 |17
Sandwell |6,015 |1,929 |4,086 |84 |1,893
Ealing |4,261 |1,391 |2,870 |83 |1,370
Avon |17,438 |6,477 |10,961 |82 |5,068
Liverpool |8,782 |2,456 |6,326 |81 |2,993
Sheffield |8,824 |3,383 |5,441 |79 |2,681
Bolton |6,075 |2,672 |3,403 |78 |1,656
Powys |1,476 |58 |1,418 |77
Nottinghamshire |19,059 |7,560 |11,499 |77 |5,759
Coventry |4,716 |1,062 |3,654 |76 |1,924
Doncaster |7,620 |3,894 |3,726 |75 |1,722
Gateshead |3,331 |1,124 |2,207 |75 |1,168
Gwent |9,532 |4,074 |5,458 |75
Suffolk |7,115 |526 |6,589 |74 |3,556
Enfield |4,740 |1,812 |2,928 |74 |1,613
Tameside |5,265 |2,685 |2,580 |72 |1,299
Northumberland |7,386 |3,854 |3,532 |71 |1,768
South Glamorgan |7,185 |2,533 |4,652 |71
Bury |3,782 |1,890 |1,892 |69 |953
Barking |2,572 |898 |1,674 |69 |963
East Sussex |10,152 |4,322 |5,830 |68 |3,252
Hounslow |3,328 |1,120 |2,208 |68 |1,374
Sefton |4,799 |1,692 |3,107 |68 |1,655
St. Helens |3,271 |1,274 |1,997 |67 |1,146
Leeds |12,622 |5,602 |7,020 |66 |4,081
Lancashire |24,451 |10,704 |13,747 |65 |8,188
Bedfordshire |11,733 |6,293 |5,440 |64 |3,292
Sutton |2,037 |764 |1,273 |64 |735
Norfolk |11,020 |4,801 |6,219 |64 |3,664
Barnet |4,669 |2,200 |2,469 |63 |1,741
Trafford |3,432 |1,531 |1,901 |62 |1,115
Calderdale |3,527 |1,645 |1,882 |62 |1,141
Richmond upon Thames |1,492 |440 |1,052 |61 |732
Stockport |4,003 |1,342 |2,661 |61 |1,639
Dudley |3,623 |968 |2,655 |59 |1,732
Hertfordshire |18,214 |9,785 |8,429 |59 |5,523
Clywd |7,108 |3,267 |3,841 |59
West Glamorgan |4,983 |1,575 |3,408 |59
Wirral |5,520 |2,441 |3,079 |59 |2,017
Wigan |5,414 |2,485 |2,929 |58 |2,038
Isle of Wight |1,017 |24 |993 |56 |684
Croydon |4,510 |2,345 |2,165 |52 |1,590
Warwickshire |6,916 |3,393 |3,523 |51 |2,563
Surrey |13,850 |8,155 |5,695 |50 |4,286
Shropshire |7,134 |4,063 |3,071 |50 |2,469
Cambridgeshire |9,338 |4,631 |4,707 |49 |3,420
Cornwall |5,394 |2,088 |3,306 |49 |2,446
Hampshire |20,463 |10,198 |10,265 |48 |7,944
Leicestershire |10,912 |4,205 |6,707 |48 |5,415
Devon |9,541 |3,075 |6,466 |48 |5,053
Rotherham |4,869 |2,853 |2,016 |48 |1,677
Sunderland |4,485 |2,251 |2,234 |46 |1,814
Oxfordshire |4,949 |1,712 |3,237 |44 |2,882
Bromley |1,180 |0 |1,180 |43 |1,045
Solihull |3,353 |2,013 |1,340 |41 |1,259
Cumbria |5,405 |2,608 |2,797 |40 |2,673
Oldham |3,981 |2,377 |1,604 |40 |1,625
Staffordshire |15,433 |8,944 |6,489 |40 |5,690
Havering |1,527 |130 |1,397 |40 |1,402
Cheshire |11,863 |6,169 |5,694 |37 |5,453
Wiltshire |2,844 |-18 |2,862 |36 |2,967
Redbridge |1,198 |0 |1,198 |36 |1,359
West Sussex |4,528 |1,173 |3,355 |36 |3,614
Essex |12,270 |5,665 |6,605 |33 |7,887
North Yorkshire |6,815 |3,677 |3,138 |31 |3,890
Gloucestershire |2,075 |203 |1,872 |28 |2,470
Somerset |1,763 |56 |1,707 |27 |2,365
Kent |5,323 |0 |5,323 |26 |7,259
Dorset |2,102 |107 |1,995 |25 |2,814
Kingston upon Thames |496 |89 |407 |24 |752
Hillingdon |596 |24 |572 |24 |926
Northamptonshire |2,151 |219 |1,932 |22 |3,318
Buckinghamshire |2,111 |131 |1,980 |21 |3,289
Harrow |653 |135 |518 |19 |1,083
Berkshire |1,940 |61 |1,879 |19 |3,776
Hereford and Worcester |2,157 |580 |1,577 |16 |3,763
Merton |1,037 |694 |343 |16 |970
Lincolnshire |1,282 |365 |917 |12 |2,676
Bexley |1,748 |1,683 |65 |2 |1,219
Total |782,880 |294,230 |488,650 |68 |265,910
North Yorkshire County Council
Mr. Robert Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the budget for the employment of staff in the education department of North Yorkshire county council for each of the last 10 years. [20830]
Mr. Robin Squire: The table shows North Yorkshire county council expenditure on staff involved in service strategy and regulation, management and administration,
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inspection and advisory service in cash and real terms from 1984 85 to 1993 94, the latest year for which provisional outturn figures are available. These figures have not been adjusted for any changes of function.Mr. Robert Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the budget for the employment of staff in the education department of North Yorkshire county council for each of the last 10 years. [20830]
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Mr. Robin Squire: The table shows North Yorkshire county council expenditure on staff involved in service strategy and regulation, management and administration, inspection and advisory service in cash and real terms from 1984 85 to 1993 94, the latest year for which provisional outturn figures are available. These figures have not been adjusted for any changes of function.
North Yorkshire
Administration and |Total |Total 1994-95)
inspection |(cash terms) |(1994-95 prices)
expenditure
|£000 |£000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1984-85 |2,850 |4,672
1985-86 |2,893 |4,496
1986-87 |3,024 |4,563
1987-88 |3,340 |4,785
1988-89 |3,412 |4,581
1989-90 |4,093 |5,136
1990-91 |3,931 |4,567
1991-92 |4,179 |4,568
1992-93 |3,652 |3,839
1993-94<1> |3,980 |4,060
<1> Provisional.
Class Sizes
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is her estimate of the cost of adopting a policy which ensures that no class sizes in state schools exceed 30 pupils. [20463]
Mr. Robin Squire: The financial implications of any policy setting arbitrary limits on class size would depend on the resulting decisions taken at school level about the deployment of teachers and pupils.
Education Expenditure, Leicestershire
Mr. Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much is budgeted to be paid directly to schools in Leicestershire in the current financial year; how much will be spent elsewhere by the LEA on central administration or for other purposes; and what were the figures for each of the four previous years. [19934]
Mr. Robin Squire: The figures in the table are derived from the budget and outturn statements published by the Leicestershire local education authority under section 42 of the Education Reform Act 1988 in respect of schools covered by its scheme for the local management of schools. The general schools budget represents total expenditure, or planned expenditure, on the authority's county, voluntary and--from 1 April 1994--special schools; the aggregated schools budget is that portion of the GSB which is allocated to the schools themselves. The difference represents funding retained by the authority for central administration and other purposes relating to the schools covered by the local management of schools scheme.
Financial year |GSB (£k) |ASB (£000) --------------------------------------------------------------- 1995-96 (budget) |318,103 |237,430 1994-95 (budget) |319,137 |232,660 1993-94 (outturn) |295,008 |220,634 1992-93 (outturn) |310,190 |224,483 1991-92 (outturn) |296,805 |204,956
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Equalisation Reserves
Mr. Heald: To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he will be issuing a consultation document on the subject of equalisation reserves. [22006]
Mr. Jonathan Evans: In his speech on Second Reading of the Insurance Companies (Reserves) Bill, my hon. Friend the Member for Hertfordshire, North (Mr. Heald) indicated that the Government proposed to issue a consultation document in the spring to invite comments on proposals for regulations introducing a requirement for equalisation reserves for some types of non-life business. I am pleased to be able to tell the House that the DTI and Inland Revenue are today jointly issuing the consultation document to which he referred. Copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. The insurance industry has argued for some years that it is at a disadvantage compared to its overseas competitors because some countries allow tax relief on transfers made into equalisation reserves for non-life business. These representations have been made in the light of the emerging single European market in insurance, and in particular the EC third non- life directive, which came into force on 1 July 1994 and which enables insurers to operate anywhere throughout the Community under a single authorisation and regulation by their home state. In some EC member states insurers are able to build up equalisation reserves free of tax to assist them in responding to exceptional claims and many UK companies believe this gives such companies a competitive advantage both in European and world insurance markets.
Claims equalisation reserves are used to set aside funds in good years to assist the meeting of losses in bad ones, resulting in a smoothing of insurers' underwriting results over time. Much insurance business that can suffer catastrophe or exceptional claims is written as one year contracts and taxed on the results for a single year. It is in the nature of such business, however, that its true profitability emerges only over a longer period. It is therefore argued that tax should be able to be deferred in respect of prudential sums set aside to reserves in good years since such sums are not really profit at all but will be needed to pay claims in bad years.
The supervisory proposals in the consultation document could be the basis of regulations if the provisions of the Insurance Companies (Reserves) Bill become law. The consultation document suggests that it would be appropriate for companies writing certain types of business to set aside a certain proportion of net written premium each year up to a maximum limit based on the amount of premium written over five years. Withdrawals would be triggered when a company's claims ratio for a financial year exceeded a set amount. The types of business which it is proposed be covered are: property, consequential loss, mortgage indemnity, marine, nuclear, proportional reinsurance of that business and all non-proportional reinsurance. I am grateful to the industry, and in particular to the Association of British Insurers, for the work done to assist the development of these proposals. We hope that all interested parties will consider the proposals carefully and indicate whether they are content to proceed on that basis.
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Representations should be sent by 7 July 1995 either to the DTI or the Inland Revenue.Radio Spectrum Review
Mr. Heald: To ask the President of the Board of Trade when the Government's response to stage 3 Radio spectrum review report will be published. [22007]
Mr. Heseltine: I am pleased to announce that, in agreement with the Secretaries of State for Defence, for the Home Department, for Scotland and for National Heritage, the Government's response to the recommendations made in the report of the radio spectrum review committee, "Stage 3: 28 470 MHz", will be published today. The review committee was chaired by Sir Colin Fielding and its report presented to Ministers on 19 January 1994.
Today's response and the progress which will be made in implementing the recommendations is a further example of the steps we are taking to improve the efficiency of spectrum management and usage in the UK to promote competition and choice for the benefit of all users of the radio spectrum.
The review committee made 28 recommendations, 24 of which have been accepted by the Government without reservation; the remaining four are accepted in principle. The recommendations cover both defence and civil use of the review spectrum and a number of them have already been acted upon. Part of an existing defence frequency band has already been released for a new digital radio broadcasting service for the UK. Further defence spectrum has been released in co-operation with NATO to provide the emergency services with an opportunity to develop a new radio system. This in turn will also assist with the resolution of the long-standing continental radio interference problems in the UHF frequency bands in England and Wales.
Some of the review committee's recommendations addressed spectrum management issues which were also the subject of the consultative document on the future management of the radio spectrum. Therefore it was decided to delay the completion of the Government's response to the stage three review until after consideration of the submissions to the consultative document.
Cable Television Operators
Sir Nicholas Bonsor: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment has been made of the damage to trees in the borough of Havering by the work undertaken by Encom; and what steps have been taken to prevent further damage. [20719]
Mr. Ian Taylor: Havering borough council, in conjunction with Encom, has carried out a survey of 14,000 trees in the borough to assess damage to trees by cabling activity. The company have agreed that any tree damaged as a result of their contractors' activity will be replaced by two new specimens. A code of practice has been agreed with the borough council to minimise the potential for further damage. The code commits Encom's contractors to hand digging in the vicinity of trees.
Sir Nicholas Bonsor: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what powers local authorities have to control the activities of cable television operators within their area; and what residual powers Her Majesty's Government have in this area. [20717]
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Mr. Ian Taylor: The street works activities of cable TV operators, in common with other statutory undertakers, are governed by the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991, and its associated regulations. Local authorities may bring prosecutions under the Act for offences which include failure to reinstate, failure to comply with requirements on reinstatement materials and workmanship standards, failure to sign, guard and light the works as required and failure to co-operate with the street authority. The Telecommunications Act 1984, under which cable TV operators are licensed to install and run their systems, empowers the Secretary of State to modify the system installation conditions of cable operators' licences should he consider it expedient to do so.
Mr. McMaster: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what monitoring his Department carries out to ensure that cable television companies do not abuse their franchise by causing serious, unnecessary and unacceptable disruption to other local services and local residents; what recourse is available where this happens; and if he will make a statement. [19003]
Mr. Ian Taylor: Cable TV operators are licensed under the Telecommunications Act 1984 to install their systems in the maintainable highway and, with appropriate consent, on private land. Their licences include conditions designed to ensure that they operate in a responsible manner and adhere to all relevant street works legislation. Street works in the maintainable highway are subject to the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991, and its associated regulations, which is enforced by local highway authorities. The Act imposes a duty on the cable operator to co-operate with the local highway authority in the interests of safety, to minimise the inconvenience to persons using the street and to protect the structure of the street and the integrity of apparatus in it. The DTI monitors the performance of individual cable operators using a variety of statistical and empirical measures. The Department, in conjunction with local authorities, take action to ensure street works do not cause unnecessary disruption.
Cable Communications (Schools)
Ms Coffey: To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his oral answer to the hon. Member for Milton Keynes, North-East (Mrs. Butler) of 5 April, Official Report, column 1722, if he will place in the Library a copy of the Cable Communications Association undertaking to ensure that all schools in the areas for which it has franchises will be connected. [21023]
Mr. Ian Taylor: I welcome the decision by the Cable Communications Association to offer a free connecting to every school passed by cable TV networks. More than 350 schools are already benefiting from this policy, which was agreed by the association's board on 16 February. A copy of the policy has been placed in the Library of the House.
Shipbuilding
Mr. Davidson: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is his Department's policy on support for the shipbuilding industry from 1 January 1996. [20733]
Mr. Eggar: With the exception of the shipbuilding intervention fund and the home credit guarantee scheme, no changes are planned to the Department's policies on the shipbuilding industry after 1 January 1996.
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The shipbuilding intervention fund scheme will be abolished from that date. The United Kingdom will abide by the terms of the OECD's agreement respecting competitive conditions in the commercial shipbuilding and repair industry, signed in December 1994, which abolishes all direct subsidies to these industries on a multilateral basis. However, payments made under commitments entered into before 1 January 1996 may be continued until 31 December 1998.The future of the home credit guarantee scheme is being reviewed in the light of the OECD agreement.
Land Sales (British Coal)
Mr. Illsley: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will identify all the parcels of land currently being offered by sale by British Coal. [20829]
Mr. Page: This is a matter for British Coal. I understand that the corporation is considering the composition of the property packages which it is to offer for sale.
Crown Post Offices
Mrs. Roche: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what guidance his Department gives to the Post Office regarding consultation procedures for proposed changes to Crown post offices. [20890]
Mr. Page: The implementation of any changes to Crown post offices is a matter for Post Office Counters Ltd.
Mrs. Roche: To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many Crown post offices he expects there to be in each of the next five years. [20891]
Mr. Page: The ownership of its outlets is a matter for Post Office Counters Ltd.
Mrs. Roche: To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many representations he has received from members of the public regarding converting Crown post offices to agency status; how many of those have been in favour of such a change; and how many against. [20893]
Mr. Page: Since the Post Office started its Crown conversion programme in 1989 my Department has received a wide range of correspondence commenting on the programme, most commonly on proposals for individual offices. However, summary records of the numbers of letters received and the views expressed in them are not maintained.
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