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UN Conference on Women
Ms Eagle: To ask the Lord President of the Council what progress he hopes to achieve in his Department over the next three months to push forward the declaration signed in October 1994 at the Vienna conference in preparation for the fourth UN conference on women; and if he will agree to incorporate a section on equal opportunities in his department's annual report.
Mr. Newton: The Government are committed to the principles set out in the regional platform for action agreed at the conference in question, and have pursued these through a wide range of programmes and initiatives. As indicated in my reply to the hon. Lady of 4 May, 60 per cent. of staff in my Department are women. I am considering the recommendation in the White Paper "Taking Forward Continuity and Change" regarding the publication of material on equal opportunities.
EMPLOYMENT
Social Charter
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what assurances he has given to the committee of independent experts in respect of the Government guaranteeing in practice complete and effective protection against anti-trade union discrimination based on trade union membership or activities. [27657]
Miss Widdecombe: The Government, in reporting to the Council of Europe in respect of the Council's social charter, have on a number of occasions, most recently in its 15th report which was submitted in 1994, provided information on the provisions in UK law which protect:
(a) employees against dismissal or action short of dismissal on grounds related to trade union membership or activities; and (b) people against refusal of employment on grounds related to union membership.
Under the Council's reporting procedures, the committee of independent experts will give their opinion on the 15th report in 1996. A copy of the report has been placed in the Library.
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what information he has given to the committee of independent experts concerning (a) the
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proportion of the working population employed under atypical contracts, including fixed-term contracts, casual short- term work, part-time work and home-based work and (b) the entitlement to paid annual holiday of such workers. [27659]Miss Widdecombe: Information was provided in 1994 in the UK Government's 15th report to the Council of Europe in respect of the Council's social charter, on the number of part-time workers in Great Britain. The report states that the seasonally adjusted level of part-time employment in December 1993 was 6,789,000 million, to the nearest thousand, of which 5,297,000 were women.
The experts have now asked for information on the proportion of the working population employed under fixed-term contracts, in casual, home-based and part-time work and the entitlements to paid annual holidays of such workers, and in line with the current reporting procedures the UK will seek to provide this information in its 17th report in 1996.
Youth Unemployment
Mr. Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of (a) boys and (b) girls leaving school and not continuing in full-time education or training became unemployed in the Rotherham and Mexborough travel-to-work area in 1993 and in 1994. [27914]
Mr. Paice [holding answer 15 June 1995]: The information is not available in the form requested. Figures are available only by the areas covered by the Rotheram careers service and the Doncaster careers service. The information is taken from figures published by the local authority associations.
The following table shows the total number of statutory school leavers in both Rotherham and Doncaster in 1993 and 1994, and the numbers who at the date the information was collected were known to have been unemployed.
Total number of Known to have
Date informatioschool leavers been unemployed
collected |Boys |Girls |Boys |Girls
----------------------------------------------------------------
Rotherham
October 1993 |1,537 |1,460 |97 |60
November 1994 |1,617 |1,524 |112 |75
Doncaster
November 1993 |1,622 |1,657 |112 |74
November 1994 |1,790 |1,618 |129 |80
Transsexuals
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what employment protection is specifically available for transsexuals; and if he will make a statement. [29548]
Miss Widdecombe: Transsexuals have the same employment protection rights as other employees.
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Cheetham Jobcentre
Mr. Eastham: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what positions in rank order of employment service offices has been achieved by the Manchester Cheetham employment service office in respect of the number of people successfully removed from benefit. [29340]
Miss Widdecombe: Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service Agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given. Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Mr. Ken Eastham, dated 19 June 1995:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question regarding the number of people disallowed benefit at the Cheetham Hill Employment Service Jobcentre, and how this office compares with other offices.
Clients may not receive Unemployment Benefit (UB) for a number of reasons. Some people through their own actions disqualify themselves to benefit by leaving their employment
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without good cause, or because of misconduct, or because they refuse employment. Others are disallowed because they fail to satisfy conditions of entitlement because they are not available for, capable of, or actively seeking work.Decisions to stop UB being paid are made by independent Adjudication Officers appointed by the Secretary of State for Employment. Decisions to disallow other Social Security benefits are made by officers of the Department of Social Security and its various executive agencies.
It is the responsibility of my people to refer client claims to the Adjudication authorities when they have doubts about their entitlement, or that they may qualify for benefit payments. In the period 1 April 1995 to 31 May 1995 the total number of decisions to disallow UB made by the Adjudication Officers for offices in the Manchester Employment Service District were 628. Of these, 89 were referred from the Jobcentre at Cheetham Hill and 2 have subsequently been allowed on review.
We do not rank order our offices on the basis of the number of people whose benefit is stopped. This is because many variables need to be taken into account when looking at office performance in this area, for example the size of the office. However, I can tell you that of seven offices in Manchester district Cheetham Hill Jobcentre was fourth in the number of disallowances made.
I hope this is helpful.
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DEFENCE
BMARC
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date his Department took possession of documents taken from the company BMARC; on what date these documents were handed over to the Scott inquiry; and if he will list the Ministers who had access to these documents within his Department. [18300]
Mr. Soames [pursuant to his answer, 4 April 1995, Official Report col 1097--98] : The Ministry of Defence Police announced on Saturday17 June 1995, that they had found additional documents, which the force obtained in 1990 during the course of an investigation into corruption involving Astra Holdings and its subsidiaries, including BMARC. This investigation was with regard to corruption in MOD procurement contracts and resulted in successful prosecutions. The discovery was made during the course of a re-sorting of all the property stores at the MDP's headquarters at Wethersfield in Essex, which commenced in January 1995, following its relocation there. Some of these items were documents which previously belonged to Astra/BMARC. These were returned to the liquidators for Astra Holdings, to whom they belong, on 15 June 1995. Additional documents belonging to the liquidators were discovered on 16 June and will be sent to the liquidators. Other documents found, which were obtained during the original investigation, belong to the Ministry of Defence and to companies other than Astra/BMARC. The latter are being examined to verify their rightful ownership. HM Customs and Excise and the Scott inquiry have been informed. This was an operational matter for the Ministry of Defence police. A copy of their statement of 17 June 1995 is being placed in the Library of the House. The deputy chief constable has also made it clear that he has initiated an immediate inquiry to ensure that no further documents relating to the corruption investigation remain in MDP custody; to establish how the documents came to be wrongly located and why their retention by the MDP was not recognised; and to establish what action needs to be taken to ensure that similar mistakes do not recur.
Nuclear Test Veterans
Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of British nuclear test participants with a blue book entry in records currently held show a zero dosage of
radiation. [27943]
Mr. Soames: Of the 14,290 UK nationals with entries in the blue books, 3,865 fall into the lowest category of measured dose. This includes all doses from zero to 0.2 millisieverts. A further 8,340 entries concern UK nationals for whom no measurements were entries concern UK nationals for whom no measurements were recorded but who are assessed as having zero dose.
Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what number of service personnel, present at British nuclear tests, were treated during their service after 1965 for skin disorders. [27972]
Mr. Soames: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
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Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research has been conducted to investigate potential effects on human immune systems arising in British nuclear test participants who had a recorded level of contamination. [27973]
Mr. Soames: Although high levels of radiation exposure have been shown to affect the human immune system, there is no scientific evidence of any detrimental effect arising from exposure to the low radiation levels experienced by British nuclear test participants. It has therefore not been necessary to conduct any specific research in this area.
Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of whether grounds exist for an investigation into genetic effects and deformities arising from British nuclear tests and medical conditions in participants' families. [27974]
Mr. Soames: We consider there to be no grounds for such an investigation.
Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information is available on the health monitoring activities of Mr. Frank Morgan at Aldermaston for participants invovled in British nuclear tests. [28001]
Mr. Soames: The late Dr. Morgan worked in the chemistry division at Aldermaston until the mid-1980s and was involved in radiochemical aspects of British nuclear tests. He had no responsibility for health monitoring programmes.
Devonport
Mr. Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the estimated additional cost of continuing hunter-killer refitting at Rosyth due to the unavailability of drydock facilities at Devonport. [28238]
Mr. Freeman: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Cornwall, South-East (Mr. Hicks) on 17 May 1995, Official Report , column 229 . Discussions with the dockyard companies are on-going and costs will be one of the considerations taken into account before any final decisions are made.
Mr. Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the deadline for nuclear installations inspectorate approval of the Trident submarine refitting drydock facility at Devonport. [28236]
Mr. Freeman: The nuclear installations inspectorate is involved during all stages of approval and the aim remains to have the necessary approvals in place in time to meet the Trident refit programme, around the turn of the century.
Mr. Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the accepted price of the construction of drydock facilities for Trident refitting at Devonport when the contract was awarded; what is the current estimated total cost of building the facilities; and what is the permissible margin for increased costs on the contract. [28237]
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Mr. Freeman: No contract has yet been awarded for the construction of the Trident refitting facilities. Negotiations are continuing and it would be inappropriate to speculate on the outcome in respect of costs, details of which remain commercially confidential.
RAF Harrier (Crash)
Mr. Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence to which unit the Royal Air Force Harrier which crashed in the Solway firth on 1 June belonged; what was the nature of the trial in which it was engaged at the time; and if the aircraft was operating in concert with other aircraft or on its own. [28239]
Mr. Soames: The aircraft, from the strike attack operational evaluation unit, Boscombe Down, was on a singleton sortie to trial a new ground proximity warning system. It is not yet known whether the equipment was in use at the time of the crash.
RAF Finningley
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the same consideration and help will be given to (a) the staff and (b) the local community of Royal Air Force Finningley when it is closed as is available to the staff and local communities of the Royal Air Force stations to be closed in Lincolnshire; and if he will make a statement. [28277]
Mr. Soames: In accordance with normal departmental practice, careful and sympathetic consideration is being given to the individual preferences of staff at RAF Finningley, and every effort is being made to find them alternative employment elsewhere in MOD or in other Government Departments. Any staff who are made redundant will be compensated under the appropriate regulations, and the MOD redundancy, counselling and outplacement service will be available to help those concerned to identify new work opportunities.
No final decision has yet been made on alternative military uses for RAF Finningley. However, my officials have recently held their second meeting with Doncaster metropolitan borough council at which local aspirations for the site were discussed, and a joint planning brief will be prepared which takes these into account.
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. McMaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of parliamentary questions, which would have been answered directly by him or his Ministers prior to the establishment of executive agencies, are now referred to the chief executive of such an agency. [28494]
Mr. Soames: Ministers are accountable to Parliament for all matters concerning their agencies. Written parliamentary questions concerning matters which have been delegated to the chief executive of an executive agency in its framework document normally receive a reply from the Minister to the effect that he or she has asked the chief executive to reply direct to the Minister by letter. The chief executive's letter is published in Hansard below the Minister's reply.
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Training Areas
Mr. McFall: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will list the weapons which are permitted to be fired in the Garelochhead training area; and what changes have occurred to the list of permitted weaponry since 1990;
(2) how many training man-days were spent on the Garelochhead training area in each of the financial years 1993 94 and 1994 95; (3) how many training man-days have been spent in each financial year since 1989 90 on (a) Tighnablair training area, (b) Cape Wrath training area, (c) Auchallater training area, (d) Barry Buddon training area, (e) Dreghorn training area, (f) Milton Bridge training area, (g) the Galloway training area and (h) Cambusbarron training area. [29072]
Mr. Soames: My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence will write to the hon. Member and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
HMS Roebuck
Mr. Churchill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when HMS Roebuck was commissioned; when she is to be decommissioned; what factors led to the decision to decommission her; what is to be the future strength of the Royal Navy's hydrographic service; what proportion of such ships is to be taken up from trade or newly constructed; and what decision has been taken as to where new orders are to be placed. [29552]
Mr. Soames: HMS Roebuck was commissioned on 3 October 1986. On current plans, she will be withdrawn from service around the end of the century, as the capability of the hydrographic service is upgraded with the introduction of new vessels. We envisage that the future hydrographic surveying squadron will comprise five survey vessels, including the new ocean survey vessel, HMS Scott, an order for which was placed in January. No decisions have yet been taken on the procurement of further vessels.
Civil Service Retirement
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 2 May, Official Report , column 200 , if he will provide comparable details on civil service early retirement packages on grounds of inefficiency. [29286]
Mr. Freeman: Inefficiency is a ground for dismissal. Early retirement packages are not offered to staff leaving the Department on the grounds of inefficiency, although an immediate lump payment of up to two years' salary may be made where the Department judges that the payment of compensation is appropriate. Where compensation is agreed and the person dismissed is over the age of 55, this may be forgone in favour of immediate payment of the accrued superannuation benefits which would otherwise be preserved for payment at retiring age.
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HEALTH
Dental Services
Mr. Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list for each of the last five years (a) the number of dental practitioners, (b) the number of NHS patients registered with dental practitioners and (c) the proportion NHS patients were of the total numbers of patients treated, for (i) City and East London FHSA and (ii) the London borough of Newham. [27337]
Mr. Malone: Patients are free to visit or register with dentists outside their family health services authority area. Therefore the total number of patients resident in City and East London Family Health Services Authority who visit dentists either privately or on a national health service basis is not known. The available information is shown in the table.
General Dental Service: number of dentists<1> and the number of
patients registered with a dentist practising in City and
East London Family Health Services Authority at
30 September<2> from 1990 to 1994
|Dentists |Patients registered
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1990 |189 |-
1991 |173 |166,940
1992 |175 |281,951
1993 |169 |288,397
1994 |168 |282,484
<1>Some dentists have contracts in more than one Family Health Services
Authority. These dentists have been counted only once.
<2>Prior to the introduction of the new contract in October 1990, patients were
not required to be registered, therefore the figures for September 1991 are not
strictly comparable with later years.
Ms Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was funding per capita on NHS dentistry for each year since 1990. [28090]
Mr. Malone: Information for the general dental services is shown in the table.
General Dental Services: Gross and net cost per capita from 1988-89 to 1994-95. England £ Year |Gross expenditure|Net expenditure ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1989-90 |19.87 |12.19 1990-91 |21.74 |13.80 1991-92 |25.85 |17.47 1992-93 |26.99 |18.83 1993-94 |25.17 |17.61 1994-95 |26.42 |18.49 Expenditure for 1994-95 is provisional. Population estimates at June.
Emergency Admissions
Mr. Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the reasons for the increase in emergency hospital admissions in recent years. [27387]
Mr. Sackville: Studies are currently being undertaken within the national health service and associated organisations looking at the numbers and causes of emergency admissions. The NHS Executive will be circulating details of these and will, later this year, be issuing good practice guidance on contracting for emergencies, drawing on the work currently being done in five sites.
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Managers (Termination Payments)
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the individual termination payments made to general and senior managers in health authorities in the most recent years for which figures are available. [27502]
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many termination payments have been made by health authorities and FHSAs to (a) chief executives, (b) general managers and (c) senior managers; and what was the total amount for each authority over the last two years. [28448]
a
Mr. Malone: Information is not available centrally in the form requested. The available information for 1994 95 relating to ex-gratia and contractual severance payments is shown in the table.
|£
-------------------------------------------------
South Thames RHA |23,575
Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth HA |14,000
North Thames RHA |75,435
Barking and Havering HA |106,808
North West RHA |108,089
North West Lancashire HA |64,549
Lancashire FHSA |26,079
Trent RHA |73,435
Nottingham HA |49,611
Anglia and Oxford RHA |74,482
Walsall HA |51,033
NHS Supplies |72,881
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 2 February, Official Report , columns 840-41 , if she will update the information on termination payments made to trust chief executives and managers. [27533]
Mr. Malone: The table shows the latest information about termination payments made since April 1994 which national health service trusts have notified to the National Health Service Executive, under the arrangements in TEL(94)3, copies of which are available in the Library.
|Number of
NHS Trust |payments |Amount
|£
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|\ |4,487
| | |7,323
Broadgreen Hospital NHS Trust | | |31,078
| | |23,128
|/ |63,039
Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust |1 |25,400
Burnley Health Care NHS Trust |1 |245,000
Burton Hospitals NHS Trust |1 |7,053
Cheviot and Wansbeck NHS Trust |\ |10,086
|/ |6,329
Chorley and South Ribble NHS Trust |1 |28,749
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Learning
Disabilities NHS Trust |1 |11,000
|\ |37,222
Dudley Priority Health NHS Trust | | |7,481
|/ |9,639
East Hertfordshire NHS Trust |1 |22,500
East Surrey Learning Disability and
Mental Health Services NHS Trust |1 |36,677
Enfield Community Care NHS Trust |1 |35,522
Epsom Healthcare NHS Trust |1 |15,000
Fosse Health NHS Trust |1 |19,500
Frimley Park Hospital NHS Trust |1 |6,328
Hammersmith Hospital NHS Trust |\ |47,616
|/ |75,073
Herefordshire Community Health NHS
Trust |1 |28,416
Healthlands Mental Health NHS Trust |1 |25,008
Hertfordshire Health Agency NHS Trust |\ |3,000
| | |3,000
|/ |3,000
|\ |55,573
Kings Healthcare NHS Trust | | |1,005
|/ |23,627
|\ |10,261
Kingston Hospital NHS Trust | | |4,365
| | |14,903
|/ |7,873
|\ |12,991
The Medway NHS Trust | | |12,803
|/ |13,501
Mid Anglia Community Health NHS
Trust |1 |5,449
Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust |1 |31,549
New Possibilities NHS Trust |1 |65,199
North East Essex Mental Health
Service NHS Trust |1 |26,188
North Hampshire Hospitals NHS Trust |1 |30,000
North Mersey Community NHS Trust |1 |11,300
North Middlesex Hospital NHS Trust |1 |11,328
North Tees Health NHS Trust |1 |27,764
North West London Mental Health
NHS Trust |1 |6,500
Northern Birmingham Mental Health
NHS Trust |\ |45,155
|/ |29,372
Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust |1 |25,000
Northampton Community Healthcare
NHS Trust |\ |20,259
|/ |19,540
Northgate and Prudhoe NHS Trust |1 |6,500
|\ |13,814
Nottingham City Hospital NHS Trust | | |23,642
| | |13,556
|/ |3,948
Nottinghamshire Ambulance Service
NHS Trust |1 |17,500
Pilgrim Health NHS Trust |1 |7,864
Plymouth Hospital NHS Trust |\ |7,865
|/ |21,900
Queens Medical Centre Nottingham
University NHS Trust |1 |77,715
Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust |1 |35,295
|\ |47,355
Royal Liverpool University Hospital | | |7,242
|/ |28,384
Royal Liverpool Children's NHS Trust |\ |18,466
|/ |12,122
Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital
NHS Trust |1 |7,130
Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Trust |1 |19,343
Salford Mental Health Services NHS
Trust |1 |15,874
South Bedfordshire Community
Healthcare NHS Trust |1 |17,771
South Devon Healthcare NHS Trust |1 |37,740
South Downs Health NHS Trust |1 |8,727
South Kent Community Healthcare
NHS Trust |1 |30,636
South Kent Hospitals NHS Trust |1 |8,626
South Warwickshire General Hospital
NHS Trust |1 |34,829
|\ |43,908
Southend Healthcare NHS Trust | | |29,901
|/ |7,031
Southmead Health Services NHS Trust |1 |30,649
Stockport Healthcare NHS Trust |1 |21,940
Teddington Memorial Hospital NHS
Trust |1 |18,750
United Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS
Trust |1 |30,000
Walsall Community NHS Trust |1 |35,000
Walsall Hospital NHS Trust |1 |6,926
West Herts Community Health NHS Trust |\ |2,633
| | |2,276
| | |29,505
|/ |40,000
Wiltshire Ambulance Service NHS
Trust |1 |27,314
Winchester and Eastleigh NHS Trust |1 |19,504
Worcester Royal Infirmary NHS Trust |1 |22,167
Worthing and Southlands Hospitals
NHS Trust |\ |34,547
|/ |18,200
York Health Services NHS Trust |1 |55,000
Secure Residential Care
Mr. Sykes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will add the police to the list of those persons the local authority must notify before a child is placed in secure residential care under the Arrangements for Placement of Children (General) Regulations 1991, Regulation 5, where that child is a known offender. [27986]
Mr. Bowis: If the hon. Gentleman wishes to write to me to set out reasons for such a change, I should be happy to consider them.
NHS Management Costs
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action she proposes to take regarding the management costs of the national health service benevolent fund. [28268]
Mr. Malone: I am unaware of this organisation.
Minocycline
Mr. Alan W. Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases have been recorded of severe rheumatic side effects from the use of acne tablets containing the drug minocycline. [28347]
Mr. Sackville: Since the introduction of minocycline in 1973, 119 cases of rheumatic symptoms suspected as associated with minocycline have been reported through the United Kingdom's spontaneous adverse drug reaction scheme. A report of a suspected adverse reaction does not necessarily mean that it was caused by the drug. Rheumatic reactions are a well-recognised side effect of minocycline, but are uncommon in relation to the wide usage of the product.
The majority of the patients experienced transient joint pains which resolved when minocycline was stopped. Systemic lupus erythematosus, a multi-system condition which may present with severe joint pains, was reported in
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13 cases. The current product information for minocycline provided to doctors includes joint pain and SLE as side effects.The Patient's Charter and You"
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the cost of preparation, production, printing and distribution of "The Patient's Charter and You", (F82/005 1687 1P 25m Jan 95). [28546]
Mr. Malone: The cost of producing, printing and distributing "The Patient's Charter and You" was £376,000.
Naltrexone
Mr. Rathbone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what tests have been carried out on the use of naltrexone to treat heroin addiction and avoid death from heroin misuse; and when naltrexone will become available under prescription for such treatment. [28544]
Mr. Bowis: In the United Kingdom naltrexone is not recommended by the British National Formulary in the treatment of patients who are currently addicted to heroin, although recent studies, mainly in the United States of America, have used naltrexone in combination with other drugs to assist rapid detoxification. In the United Kingdom, naltrexone may be prescribed to prevent relapse in detoxified, formerly opiate dependent, addicts. Its prescription is a matter for individual clinicians in discussion with their patients.
Pregnant Women (Diet)
Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what specific research her Department has commissioned into food purchasing and food consumption patterns of pregnant women in receipt of income support. [28805]
Marriages
Mr. Barry Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to control the level of charges for the performance of civil marriage services by registrars away from their normal offices; what recent estimate she has made of these charges; and what representations she has received on this subject since 1994. [28833]
Mr. Sackville: We have no plans to control the level of charges levied by local authorities for the attendance of registration officers at civil marriage ceremonies on approved premises under the Marriage Act 1994, beyond the provisions of The Marriage (Approved Premises) Regulations 1995 which limit such fees to an amount, determined by local authorities, as reasonably representing the costs to them of providing a registrar and superintendent registrar to attend at a solemnization. Difference fess may be set for different cases and circumstances.
No information is available centrally about these charges, and, to date, one representation has been received on this subject.
Column 40
Mr. Barry Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has (a) to regulate and (b) to review the charges made by local authorities for inspection of premises under the Marriage Act 1994. [28835]
Regulations made under the provisions of the Marriage Act 1994 empower local authorities to charge a fee for a particular application for the approval of premises or for applications generally. The fee charged shall not exceed the amount which reasonably represents the costs incurred in the former case or which reasonably represents the average costs incurred in the latter.
Mr. Barry Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the highest and lowest charge made for inspection of premises under the Marriage Act 1994. [28834]
Mr. Sackville: Information about the fees charged by local authorities in respect of applications for the approval of premises under the Marriage Act 1994 is not available centrally.
Mr. Barry Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the average charge made by a registrar for a wedding service (a) in their own offices and (b) at licensed premises outside. [28832]
Mr. Sackville: The fee payable for the attendance of a registrar at a register office wedding is set centrally and currently stands at £23.
The fee payable for civil ceremonies conducted on premises approved under the Marriage Act 1994 is one determined by each local authority as reasonably representing all the costs to it of providing both a registrar and superintendent registrar to attend the solemnization. The local authority may set different fees for different cases and circumstances. Information about the level of fees set by local authorities is not available centrally.
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