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Mr. Soames: No increase is planned in the number of my Department's personnel, aircraft or flying hours flown at RAF Topcliffe. Future flying training at RAF Topcliffe will, however, be conducted on the Tucano aircraft, whereas previous flying training carried out at the station utilised the Firefly aircraft.
Service Bases
Mr. Fatchett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 17 May, Official Report, column 230 , if he will list all those Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and Army bases which were sold to the highest bidder. [26275]
Mr. Soames: The information requested is not held centrally by my Department, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Portland Naval Base
Mr. Fatchett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what will be the estimated cost to his Department of undertaking (a) a structural survey of key buildings and breakwaters and (b) an environmental assessment of the Portland naval base on behalf of the purchaser, Portland Port Ltd.; when this work began; and if he will make a statement. [26277]
Mr. Soames: My Department has at present no intention of carrying out a structural survey of buildings and breakwaters at Portland naval base, nor do we intend to conduct an environmental assessment.
Mr. Fatchett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what undertakings have been given to Portland Port Ltd. in respect of new roads to the Dorchester bypass, and thence north to the M5, the midlands and south Wales; what will be the estimated cost to the Government of fulfilling these undertakings; when such roads may be complete; and if he will make a statement. [26278]
Mr. Soames: My Department has given no undertaking to Portland Port Ltd. in respect of new roads to the Dorchester bypass, and thence north to the M5, the midlands and south Wales. The question of any costs falling to my Department does not therefore arise.
Mr. Fatchett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 9 May, Official Report , column 404 , if he will list the meetings between officials of his Department and prospective bidders for the purchase of the Portland naval base; if he will name the lobbying companies which made representations on behalf of the bidders; and if he will make a statement. [26279]
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Mr. Soames: Meetings between my officials and prospective bidders for the Portland naval base were held on 27 May, 15 July and 15 December 1994; and4 January, 12 January, 14 February, 21 February,22 February and 7 April 1995. No representations were made by lobbying companies on behalf of the bidders.
Mr. Fatchett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the Drivers Jonas report into the sale of Portland naval base. [26280]
Mr. Soames: The Drivers Jonas report on options for the reuse of the Portland naval base was commissioned in 1993 by Weymouth and Portland borough council. Requests for a copy of the report should therefore be made to the council.
Mr. Fatchett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the work being carried out by his Department at Portland naval base prior to the handover to Portland Port Ltd.; what is the cost of these works; and if he will make a statement. [26513]
Mr. Soames: Work at Portland naval base is limited to the maintenance work required to meet my Department's obligations until the property is relinquished on 31 March next year. In addition, work will be carried out to clear ordnance from the site in accordance with the usual policy for property in disposal. It is not yet possible to assess the cost of this work.
Mr. Fatchett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans his Department has to undertake the removal of a structure blocking the southern entrance to Portland naval base; if he will identify the nature and cause of that blockage; if he will estimate the cost of removing the structure; and if he will make a statement. [26514]
Mr. Soames: In 1914, the battleship HMS Hood was sunk as a blockship in the southern entrance to Portland harbour to provide protection against submarine and torpedo attack. The presence of the hulk, which is now totally submerged, markedly reduces the swell in the harbour which would otherwise be experienced during southerly winds. There are at present no plans to remove the hulk which does not restrict the use of, or access to, the harbour.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Lone Parents
Mr. John Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the annual cost of benefits payable to single parents. [26411]
Mr. Burt: Total benefit expenditure on lone parents in 1994 95 is expected to be £9.1 billion.
Employment Categorisation
Mr. French: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people, classified as self-employed by the Inland Revenue, are required by the Contributions Agency to be treated as employed for the purposes of national insurance contributions; and in what types of activity they are mainly engaged. [26389]
Mr. Arbuthnot: The Inland Revenue and the Contributions Agency are committed to a "common approach" in determining employment status. Under this arrangement, the conclusion reached by one Department
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about an individual's status after an investigation of all the facts will normally be accepted by the other.It is not possible to estimate the number of people who are treated as self -employed by the Inland Revenue but as employees by the Contributions Agency for the purposes of national insurance contributions. There is a very limited number of groups of workers covered by particular statutory rules which may result in such different treatment.
Certain divers are assessable as self-employed persons for income tax purposes but pay national insurance contributions as employees. Additionally, the Social Security (Categorisation of Earners) Regulations provide that particular groups of workers should be treated as employees. In these cases it may mean occasionally that the national insurance treatment differs from the tax treatment. The following groups of workers are affected:
Agency workers;
Ministers of religion;
Office cleaners;
Part-time or visiting lecturers, teachers or instructors; Persons employed by their spouse.
There is currently some difference in treatment involving workers in the entertainment industry which is under review.
National Insurance Numbers
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give an undertaking that the national insurance number will be used only with respect to taxation and social security benefits; and if he will make a statement. [26398]
Mr. Arbuthnot: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on Monday 30 January, Official Report , column 519 .
Housing Benefit
Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he expects to respond to the report into housing benefit published by the Social Security Advisory Committee; and if he will make a statement on its conclusions. [26653]
Mr. Roger Evans: I have received a copy of the report "Housing Benefit--The Review of Social Security", paper 3, which was published on 11 May and have noted the issues identified. The report does not call for a formal response, but I welcome the views of the committee in the context of the Government's proposals to improve work incentives and to target housing benefit more effectively--matters on which the committee has been consulted separately.
War Pensions
Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many nuclear test participants are in receipt of war pensions. [26662]
Mr. Arbuthnot: The information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Income Support
Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will ensure that claimants without bank accounts receiving payments above the girocheque
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encashment limit resulting from successful tribunal decisions receive such payments in a form which they can convert into cash; and if he will make a statement. [26741]Personal Pensions
Mr. Ingram: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the number of people paying contributions to a personal pension scheme in each year since 1988 under the categories (a) self-employed
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contributors, (b) employed contributors, not contracted out of SERPS, (c) employed contributors, contracted out of SERPS, receiving DSS rebate-only contributions to the scheme, and (d) employed contributors, contracted out of SERPS making personal payments in addition to DSS rebates. [21839]Mr. Arbuthnot: Further to my answer of 1 May, Official Report, columns 112 13, estimates of the number of self-employed contributors to personal pensions are in the table.
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Numbers: Thousands Type of scheme |1988-89 |<2>1989-90 |1990-91 |1991-92 |1992-93 |<3>1993-94 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Self-employed contributors<1> |44 |104 |238 |423 |599 |n/a <1>A self-employed person has been defined as someone whose main source of income is from self-employment. <2>For the years prior to 1990-91 the estimates are less firm because before independent taxation Inland Revenue recorded income separately for the husband and wife, but only recorded allowable deductions from income, such as personal pension contributions, for the tax unit as a whole. Where both husband and wife were self-employed and there was a personal pension contribution, an assumption has been made that it is attributable to only one partner. Where only one partner is in self-employment any PP contributions are assumed to be attributable to that person. <3>Figures from the survey for the tax year 1993-94 are not yet available. Source: Inland Revenue Survey of Personal Incomes.
NATIONAL HERITAGE
Retirements and Redundancies
Ms Hodge: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many staff of (a) the Department of National Heritage and (b) agencies for which the Department of National Heritage is responsible (i) took early retirement, (ii) took voluntary redundancy, (iii) took compulsory redundancy and (iv) were retired on medical grounds in (1) 1993 94 and (2) 1994 95; and what are the projected figures for 1995 96. [25507]
Mr. Dorrell: The information in respect of the Department of National Heritage and its two agencies, the Historic Royal Palaces agency and the Royal Parks agency, is as follows:
|1995-96
|1993-94 |1994-95 |(estimate)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DNH
Early/voluntary retirement |1 |<1>3 |nil
Compulsory redundancy |nil |nil |nil
Medical retirement |nil |nil |1
HRPA
Early/voluntary retirement |nil |nil |nil
Compulsory redundancy |nil |nil |nil
Medical retirement |2 |6 |1
RPA
Early/voluntary retirement |nil |<1>2 |2
Compulsory redundancy |nil |nil |nil
Medical retirement |nil |5 |4
<1>Costs charged to the Property Services Agency under the PSA's
"Early retirement/Swap Scheme".
Departmental Performance
Ms Hodge: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what performance indicators and performance targets there are for measuring the performance of his
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Department in (a) answering letters from members of the public and (b) answering telephone calls from members of the public; how performance is monitored; and what are the latest figures for performance measured against the target set. [26228]Mr. Dorrell: My Department has set a performance target of 18 working days from receipt for dealing with written correspondence. If necessary, an interim reply will be issued explaining when the full answer can be provided.
A correspondence tracking system is in place to log correspondence answered via Ministers' offices and to monitor performance. In 1994, there were 6,355 pieces of private office correspondence requiring a reply. Five thousand and twenty, approximately 79 per cent., were answered within the Department's target. Although this is less than one would have hoped, it must be borne in mind that the Department must often consult with its sponsored bodies in order to provide replies.
All telephone inquiries received by the DNH public inquiry unit will be answered on the spot where possible. The remainder will be answered within two working days or by negotiation, as appropriate to the scope of the inquiry. During 1994, all telephone inquiries were dealt with within the agreed target.
All telephone and written inquiries made under the open government code of practice will be answered within the required time scale of 20 working days from receipt of the inquiry as set out in the DNH procedural note.
National Lottery
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage (1) if he will establish national heritage funds for England, Scotland and Wales to administer the funds collected in each country through points of sale; and if he will appoint to each members who are representative of lottery ticket buyers and require them to consult an expense-paid advisory council chosen proportionately by random selection from socio-economic groups who purchase lottery tickets; [26845]
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(2) if he will review the operation of the national lottery to ensure that its proceeds are spent on projects which are indisputably of benefit to the socio-economic groups who have bought most of the tickets. [26864]Mr. Dorrell: The arrangements for distributing the net proceeds of the national lottery were agreed by Parliament and are working effectively. I have no plans to change them.
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will make it his policy to invite (a) the Federation of Women's Institutes, (b) the Townswomen's Guild, (c) the British Legion and (d) other grassroots non-political organisations to consult their members and put forward each year local projects for the use of national heritage funds obtained from the lottery for the benefit of the socio-economic groups which contribute most of the money. [26877]
Mr. Dorrell: The applications process for grants from the national lottery is open to everyone provided their proposal is for the public good and not primarily for private gain. I am sure that the 11 independent distributing bodies would welcome appropriate applications from the groups mentioned and other similar organisations.
Mrs. Llin Golding: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how much money projects concerned with children's play have received from the national lottery. [26752]
Mr. Dorrell: Projects concerned with children's play have not yet received any awards from national lottery proceeds.
Museums and Galleries
Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what is the revenue raised from admission charges to museums and galleries sponsored by his Department for each institution, broken down to show (a) revenue from general admission charges and (b) revenue from charges for entry to temporary exhibitions in the last year for which figures are available. [26145]
Mr. Dorrell [holding answer 25 May 1995]: The information is shown in the table.
Estimated revenue from (a) general admissions to the museum and
(b) charges for entry to temporary exhibitions in DNH-sponsored
museums and galleries in 1994-95
Institution |(a) |(b)
|£ million |£ million
----------------------------------------------------------------------
British Museum |nil |0.277
Imperial War Museum |3.293 |nil
National Gallery |nil |0.224
National Maritime Museum |1.489 |nil
National Museum of Science and
Industry |1.745 |nil
National Museum and Galleries on
Merseyside |0.347 |0.175
National Portrait Gallery |nil |0.250
Natural History Museum |3.133 |nil
Royal Armouries |n/a<1> |nil
Tate Gallery |0.187 |1.449
Victoria and Albert Museum |1.143<2> |0.628
Wallace Collection |nil |nil
Geffrye Museum |nil |nil
Horniman Museum |nil |nil
Museum of London |0.270 |nil
Museum of Science and Industry in
Manchester |0.415 |nil
Sir John Soane's Museum |nil |nil
Total |12.022 |3.003
<1>It is not possible to provide figures for the Royal Armouries as
admission is via a combined ticket to the Tower of London.
<2>The Victoria and Albert Museum suggests a level of voluntary
donation for admission to its South Kensington site.
The figures are based on revised information supplied for the purpose by the institutions and include revenue for admissions from outstations of two institutions--the Tate gallery and the national museums and galleries on Mersyside--which do not charge for admission to their main sites.
BBC Production
Mr. McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what research has been (a) undertaken by and (b) evaluated by his Department to establish if it is (i) cheaper or (ii) more expensive for the BBC to produce a programme in-house or to commission it from independent producers; and if he will arrange for this research to be published. [26778]
Mr. Dorrell: None. The BBC must determine the most cost-effective way of commissioning and making programmes, and how it meets the statutory obligation to commission 25 per cent. of its qualifying output from the independent sector. My Department is, however, concerned with the wider question of the efficiency of the broadcasting sector, including the BBC and independent producers, in the context of helping the industry to improve its international competitiveness.
Departmental Budget
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what changes he proposes to make to his Department's cash limits and running cost limits for 1995 96. [27839]
Mr. Dorrell: Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary revised estimate, the following change will be made: The cash limit for class XI, vote 1--programme expenditure and administration--will be reduced by £5,999,000 from £999,272,000 to £993,273,000. The reduction reflects the removal of the gross subhead for ERDF expenditure from the supply estimates. The expenditure, which is wholly pre-funded by receipts from the EC, will be controlled through a new non-voted cash limit, DNH/ERDF for agency payments on behalf of the EC. The level of receipts and payments, mainly in support of projects aimed at promoting tourism, will be brought to the attention of Parliament through the creation of a net token subhead on the vote.
Indemnity Undertakings
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what was (a) the number of indemnity undertakings given by Departments under section 16 of the
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National Heritage Act 1980 for the six-month period ending 31 March and (b) the value of any contingent liabilities in respect of such undertakings given at any time and which remain outstanding as at 31 March. [27840]Mr. Dorrell: The information my hon. Friend requests is as follows:
In the six-month period ended 31 March 1995 the following undertakings to indemnify were given by the relevant departments for items on loan to national and non-national institutions.
|Items
---------------------------------------------------------
Department of National Heritage |469
Scottish Office Education Department |77
Welsh Office Education Department |35
Department of Education for Northern Ireland |14
The values of contingent liabilities in respect of such undertakings given at any time and outstanding at 31 March 1995 are:
|£
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Department of National Heritage |2,096,423,871
Scottish Office Education Department |169,842,604
Welsh Office Education Department |25,179,133
Department of Education for Northern Ireland |5,098,379
Disabled Access
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what action he has taken to ensure access for the disabled to (a) theatres and (b) cinemas. [25253]
Mr. Dorrell [holding answer 6 June 1995]: My Department is a major funding partner in the ADAPT trust, which provides adaptations to theatres, cinemas, and other arts buildings, specifically to improve access for disabled people. I have also written to the chairman of the distributing bodies of national lottery funds, asking that the needs of disabled people are taken into account in the allocation of funds to successful projects. The Arts Council and the regional arts boards are fully committed to access initiatives for disabled people.
Complaints
Ms Hodge: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what policy and procedures exist for dealing with complaints against his Department by members of the public; when his Department last updated its policy; what time limit and target for dealing with such complaints his Department has; and what follow-up procedure exists where complainants are not satisfied with his Department's response to a complaint. [26212]
Mr. Dorrell: Any complaint against my Department will be dealt with as promptly as possible. However, we do not have a formal DNH complaints procedure.
The two executive agencies and the sponsored bodies for which I am responsible are involved more directly in providing services to the public. Both agencies have visitors charters which set out full complaints procedures. In addition, the 23 sponsored bodies having the greatest direct dealings with the public have been asked to draw up charter standard statements. The majority of these have now been published and all set out formal complaints procedures.
Any member of the public who is dissatisfied with how a complaint has been dealt with by either DNH, its two
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agencies or those of its sponsored bodies which come under the jurisdiction of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration, may ask a Member of Parliament to submit their complaint to the PCA for investigation and review.Retirements and Redundancies
Ms Hodge: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what is the annual cost to the Department of staff leaving under redundancy or early retirement schemes to incorporate (i) added years lump sum payments, (ii) redundancy payments, (iii) pension payments including enhancements and (iv) any other special arrangements for (a) 1993 94, (b) 1994 95 and projected for (c) 1995 96 and (d) 1996 97. [25642]
Mr. Dorrell: The Department of National Heritage was created in April 1992, and has two executive agencies, Historic Royal Palaces and Royal Parks, which were created in October 1991 and April 1993 respectively.
The costs to the Department of early retirement and redundancies are borne from the Department's running costs provision. A detailed breakdown of the various costs could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The total costs borne on the Department's and agencies' running costs in 1993 94 and 1994 95 are shown as actual figures. For 1995 96 the amounts are estimated. Projections for 1996 97 will be determined during the public expenditure survey. The early retirement costs for DNH and HRPA and RPA are shown in the table:
|DNH |HRPA |RPA
-------------------------------------------------------
1993-94 |£26,866.44|Nil |Nil
1994-95 |£30,029.45|Nil |Nil
1995-96 |£19,811.40|Nil |£958.72
1996-97 |- |- |-
Royal Art Collection
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what additional percentage of works of art in the royal collection has now been recorded on the computerised inventory; and when he expects the undertaking to be completed. [26566]
Mr. Dorrell: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Islington, South and Finsbury (Mr. Smith) on 28 April, column 737 . Any questions concerning the royal collection should be addressed to: The Director of the Royal Collection Trust, Stable Yard house, St. James's palace, London SW1A 1JR.
TREASURY
Surplus Land
Mr. Fatchett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library a copy of the Treasury guidelines on disposal of surplus Government land. [26276]
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: Copies of the guidance will be placed in the Library.
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Departmental Budget
Mr. Matthew Banks: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what changes are proposed to the Treasury's cash and running costs limits in 1995 96. [27561]
Sir George Young: Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary revised estimate the cash limit for class XVII, vote 1 will be reduced by £3,887,000 from £70,730,000 to £66,843,000 and the running costs limit will be reduced by £17,080,000 from £76,280,000 to £59,200,000. The reductions comprise:
a transfer of responsibility and net provision of £2,395,000, mainly for the central management of the principal civil service pension scheme, to the Office of Public Service and Science class XVIII, vote 1;
a reduction of £2,000,000 in running costs expenditure arising from the Treasury's fundamental expenditure review;
a transfer of £169,000 to the Department of Health; and an increase in other current and capital expenditure of £677,000.
Tradepoint Financial Networks plc
Mr. Matthew Banks: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about Tradepoint Financial Networks plc. [27752]
Mr. Nelson: The Securities and Investments Board is today announcing its decision to recognise Tradepoint Financial Networks plc--Tradepoint--as an investment exchange under the Financial Services Act 1986.
The Treasury has given SIB leave under the FSA to recognise Tradepoint. This decision was reached after receiving a report from the Director General of Fair Trading. This report concluded that none of Tradepoint's rules has, or is likely or intended to have, any significantly anti- competitive effect. Having considered the DGFT's report, I have concluded that there are no grounds on which the Treasury should refuse SIB leave to recognise Tradepoint as an investment exchange.
ECOFIN
Mr. Matthew Banks: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the recent Council meeting of the Economic and Finance Ministers of the European Union. [27373]
Mr. Kenneth Clarke: I represented the United Kingdom at the Economic and Finance Council of the European Union in Brussels on 22 May.
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The Council reached a broad consensus on a proposed regulation on the protection of the Community's financial interests fraud. I stressed the need for early agreement on an effective text which would produce a significant improvement on existing arrangements. Political agreement on a common position was reached on the proposed investor compensation directive to set minimum compensation requirements for EU investment firms and credit institutions. The Commission made short presentations on the state of trans-European networks and their financing; on its spring economic forecasts and on amended proposals for a carbon-energy tax in the light of the conclusions of the Essen European Council.The Council agreed that the conditions were now met for the disbursement of the 85 mecu loan to the Ukraine agreed in December 1994. There was also broad agreement in principle to a further loan of up to 200 mecu, with a first tranche of 100 mecu, and with the amount of the second tranche to be determined by the Council on the basis of satisfactory burden sharing. The implementation of the loan is to be linked to the Council's assessment of progress on the nuclear question.
The Council adopted a regulation by qualified majority to delay revaluation of the Belgian franc within the agrimonetary system. I made clear the UK's opposition to the proposal and accordingly voted against. I stressed that we would not accept any increase in the agricultural guideline.
There was a brief discussion about pressures on the financial perspectives ceilings for internal and external spending. I agreed with the Dutch and German representatives on the need for more transparency and for budgetary restraint at an EU level as well as at a national level.
North Sea Oil Revenue
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the different sources of Government revenue received in relation to the production of North sea oil; and if he will calculate the total amount of revenue the Government have received from these sources for each year since 1979. [27262]
Sir George Young: Revenues raised from North sea oil and gas production since 1979 80 amount to £75 billion. Annual revenues by category of tax have been as follows:
£million
Corporation Tax
|Petroleum |Supplementary
Year |revenue tax |petroleum duty|ACT set-off |Main-stream CT|Royalty |Total
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1979-80 |1,435 |- |78 |172 |628 |2,313
1980-81 |2,410 |- |97 |244 |992 |3,743
1981-82 |2,390 |2,025 |270 |411 |1,396 |6,492
1982-83 |3,274 |2,395 |202 |319 |1,632 |7,822
1983-84 |6,017 |- |430 |447 |1,904 |8,798
1984-85 |7,177 |- |1,244 |1,188 |2,426 |12,035
1985-86 |6,375 |- |1,085 |1,831 |2,057 |11,348
1986-87 |1,188 |- |1,130 |1,546 |919 |4,783
1987-88 |2,296 |- |681 |617 |1,024 |4,618
1988-89 |1,371 |- |685 |510 |602 |3,168
1989-90 |1,050 |- |495 |248 |575 |2,368
1990-91 |860 |- |363 |484 |605 |2,312
1991-92 |-216 |- |370 |268 |557 |979
1992-93 |69 |- |480 |202 |554 |1,305
1993-94 |359 |- |219 |39 |606 |1,223
1994-95 |710 |- |300 |80 |540 |1,630
Tax Allowances
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate for 1995 96 the average amount of (a) income tax reliefs claimed at the marginal rate, (b) income tax allowances claimed at the marginal rate, (c) income tax reliefs claimed at a rate other than the marginal rate, and (d) income tax allowances claimed at a rate other than the marginal rate for those with gross incomes over (i) £70,000, (ii) £80,000 and (iii) £100,000. [25010]
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