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Departmental Staff (Shareholdings)
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many staff in her Department or its agencies have (a) declared any company shareholdings they hold or (b) been advised to dispose of shareholdings in the last five years, indicating the companies concerned. [33411]
Mr. Sproat: The Department of National Heritage was created in April 1992. It has two agencies--the Royal Parks Agency, created in April 1993, and the Historic Royal Palaces Agency, created in October 1989. Within those timeframes one member of staff--working in the central Department-- has to date declared a shareholding. This is in the Lappa Valley Railway Company, Cornwall. The member of staff has not been advised to dispose of the shares held.
TRANSPORT
Unfair Dismissal
Mr. Ian McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many unfair dismissal cases were brought against his Department during the last 12 months; how many were successful; and what were the total costs including legal fees and compensation. [34620]
Mr. Norris: Staff who are dismissed and who have more than two years' service can appeal to the Civil Service Appeal Board or to the industrial tribunal or to both.
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Three cases were referred to the Civil Service Appeal Board; one was dismissed, one was withdrawn and the third is still in progress. A further four cases were referred to the industrial tribunal; two were out of time and one is still in progress. In the fourth, the Department and appellant agreed a settlement of £900 and the case did not proceed.Further details of costs are not readily available and I will write to the hon. Member.
Cut-and-shut Vehicles
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what review is being considered by his Department on controls to stop the selling of damaged cars with particular reference to cut-and-shut cars; and if he will make a statement. [34341]
Mr. Norris: The Road Traffic Act 1988 already makes it an offence to sell an unroadworthy vehicle, unroadworthiness being defined in terms of defects which carry potentially serious road safety implications. I am currently considering the specific issue of cut-and-shut vehicles in the context of whether any change in legislation would be justified.
Crime (London Underground)
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what has been the number of (a) assaults and (b) robberies on each of the London Underground stations on the Northern line in each of the last six months; and if he will make a statement [34501]
Mr. Norris: This is an operational matter for London Underground.
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what has been the percentage change in (a) robbery, (b) pickpocketing, (c) indecent assault, (d) assault on passengers and staff and (e) total crime on London Underground between 1993 and 1994 and between 1994 and 1995 on an annualised basis. [34308]
Mr. Norris: The figures for 1993 94 and 1994 95, supplied by London Underground Ltd., are set out in the table.
_
|Percentage
Offence |1993-94 |1994-95 |increase/decrease
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total crime |13,928 |14,999 |+ 7.7
Assaults on passengers |490 |359 |-26.7
Assaults on staff |120 |94 |-21.7
Robbery |517 |614 |+18.8
Indecent assault |253 |246 |-2.8
Pickpocketing |7,286 |8,352 |+14.6
Traffic Calming Measures
Mrs. Golding: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research his Department has done on the impact of traffic calming measures on children's outdoor play in the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [34452]
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Mr. Norris: The effects of traffic calming on the way in which pedestrians, including children, use local roads is being investigated as part of our current research programme. Past research has not examined any specific effects that there might be on children's street play.
Midland Main Line
Mrs. Helen Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the estimate (a) of the increase in traffic on the M1 of a 20 per cent. reduction of the midland main line passenger service and (b) of the equivalent reduction of M1 traffic of a 20 per cent. improvement in that service. [34522]
Mr. Watts: The Department of Transport has employed consultants to study the potential for transferring road traffic on to the midland main line. The consultant's report was published last year. On the basis of these findings, a 20 per cent. increase or decrease in service frequency on the midland main line would, on average, alter the number of cars on the M1 by around one third of 1 per cent.
EUCARIS Scheme
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he is making to seek to extend the EUCARIS scheme to the rest of the European Community; and what representations his Department is making to Interpol to extend the scheme further. [34027]
Mr. Norris: The meeting of the EUCARIS Participants Board held at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency on 13 and 14 June drew up a plan for informing other countries and organisations about the scheme. The agency is playing a full part in taking this plan forward in conjunction with other participating registration authorities.
Channel Tunnel Rail Link
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many tenderers for the CTRL put forward variant bids; [34277] (2) how many tenderers for the CTRL produced additional bids which identify essential changes in the reference design as set out in the competition overview. [34273]
Mr. Watts: All details of all the bids are commercially confidential.
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport in what year the Government commitment as set out in the draft development agreement for the channel tunnel rail link not to upgrade existing railway lines between London and the channel tunnel to the extent they could be used as high-speed lines lapses. [34275]
Mr. Watts: I refer the hon. Member to section 8.6.1 of the "Competition Overview". The second indented paragraph states: "any subsidy or financial assistance provided by the Government in relation to the existing routes between London and the Channel Tunnel would be limited to their repair and refurbishment, and would not encompass any improvement to allow them to be used as high speed lines".
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No termination date has been set for that commitment, which will be enshrined in the development agreement.Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport to what extent the initial bid for the channel tunnel rail link put forward by Eurorail failed to conform with the requirements of the tender document. [34539]
Mr. Watts: All details of all the bids are commercially confidential.
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his latest estimate of the range of public subsidy likely to be required for the construction of the channel tunnel rail link. [34540]
Mr. Watts: I have nothing to add to my earlier reply to the hon. Member on this point on 6 June 1995, Official Report column 41 .
Signal Failures (Merseyrail)
Mr. Matthew Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what reports he has received regarding failures to the (a) the signalling system and (b) passenger information system on the northern line of Merseyrail; and if he will make a statement. [35022]
Mr. Watts: Railtrack has informed me that it has worked steadily to overcome the problems which it has experienced following the installation of the Sandhills system which controls the signalling on the Merseyrail lines. Up to three weeks ago it was achieving 95 per cent. performance targets. Since then performance has been badly affected by a combination of adverse weather and vandalism. Railtrack informs me that it and Merseyrail have kept local news media informed about the causes of the disruption to services.
Problems relating to the implementation of new software have delayed the commissioning of the new passenger information system on the northern and Wirral lines. Measures have been put in place to improve the standard of information available to passengers in the absence of passenger information displays and automatic public address systems. Railtrack expects to commission the customer information displays at the end of October and the phased renewal and commissioning of the automatic passenger announcing system by mid-December.
WALES
Ministerial Visits
Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list (a) details of all overseas trips made by him or ministerial colleagues in his Department, paid for wholly or partly from public funds and (b) the purpose, destination and duration of such overseas trips, which officials accompanied him and the total cost in each case, including that of officials to public funds for each year since 1992. [32277]
Mr. Hague: The following visits were undertaken by Ministers and officials:
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Year |Destination |Minister/Party |Duration /Dates
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1992 |United States, Japan,|Mr. David Hunt and |18 days
| Korea, Hong Kong | 4 officials
1993 |Taiwan, Singapore |Sir Wyn Roberts, 2 |6 days
| officials, 1 WDA
| representative
1993 |Japan, United States |Mr. John Redwood, |9 days
| 2 officials and 1
| WDA representative
1994 |Japan |Mr. John Redwood, | 7 days
| 2 officials and 1
| WDA representative
The 1992 visit also included Regional Links engagements with the Prefecture of Oita.
These visits were undertaken to promote inward investment into Wales.
Year |Destination |Minister<1> |Duration/ Dates ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1992 |Italy (Milan) |Sir Wyn Roberts |2 days 16-17 November 1993 |Switzerland (Zurich) |Sir Wyn Roberts |2 days 9-10 June 1993 |Singapore and Malaysia |Sir Wyn Roberts |2 days 18-24 June 1993 |USA and Canada |Sir Wyn Roberts |12 days 12-24 September 1993 |Dubai/Abu Dhabi/Bahrain|Gwilym Jones MP |6 days 1-6 October 1994 |Belgium (Brussels) |Gwilym Jones MP |2 days 16-17 February 1994 |Spain (Barcelona) |Sir Wyn Roberts |2 days 14-15 March 1994 |Sweden (Stockholm) |Sir Wyn Roberts |2 days 3-4 May 1994 |Australia/ New Zealand |Gwilym Jones MP |8 days 31 May -7 June 1995 |Saudi Arabia (Riyadh) |Rod Richards MP |3 days 8-10 November 1994 |Argentina |Rod Richards MP |4 days 14-17 May <1> On each occasion, the Minister concerned was accompanied by an official.
These visits were undertaken to promote trade with Wales. In each case, the relevant Minister headed the Welsh Office trade mission.
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Year |Destination |Minister<1> |Duration dates |Purpose
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1992 |Paris |Sir Wyn Roberts and 1 official |1 day |One day visit to Salon International De
| L'Alimentation.
1992 |Barcelona |Mr. Bennett and 3 officials |3 days 18-20 Feb |To participate in the Four Nations
| Conference on disability.
1992 |Brussels |Mr. David Hunt and 2 officials |1 day |To address the Regional Development
| Section of the EC Economic and Social
| Committee.
1992 |Brussels |Mr. David Hunt and 2 officials |2 nights |Opening of the Wales European Centre and
| a meeting with Commissioner Millan.
1993 |Stuttgart |Mr. David Hunt and 2 officials |1 day |To attend part of Wales Art Week.
1993 |Brussels |Mr. David Hunt and 1 official |1 day |To meet the UK Ambassador to Belgium
| and to have brief talks with
| Commissioners Steichen, Ruberti and
| Flynn.
1993 |Liege |Sir Wyn Roberts and 2 officials |2 nights |Informal Regional Policy Council
| representing the United Kingdom.
1993 |Dublin |Sir Wyn Roberts and 2 officials |1 day |To discuss regional links between Wales
| and Ireland.
1993 |Brussels |Mr. David Hunt and 2 officials |2 days |To promote Trade into Wales.
1994 |Paris |Mr. Gwilym Jones and 2 officials |1 day |Visit to Salon International De
| L'Alimentation.
1994 |Dublin |Mr. Rod Richards and 2 officials |1 day |To discuss Holyhead Port.
1994 |Milan |Sir Wyn Roberts and 2 officials |3 days |To sign a cooperation agreement
1994 |Paris |Mr. Gwilym Jones and 1 official |2 days |To promote trade into Wales.
1995 |Luxembourg |Mr. John Redwood and 2 officials |1 day |Transport Council Luxembourg
| Memberstate Representation.
<1> On each occasion, the Minister was accompanied by an official.
Welsh Development Agency
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 15 June, Official Report , column 661 , if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's reply to the letter from the European
Column 810
Commission concerning the participation of the Welsh Development Agency in European development programmes. [34657]Mr. Hague: A full reply to the points raised in the commission's letter will be made in due course, and will be placed in the Library of the House. I have, however, already placed a copy of the Department's interim response in the Library of the House.
Column 811
Sickness Absence
Mr. Ian McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many days were lost in sickness in the last 12 months by employees in his Department (a) in total and (b) as a proportion of the number of days worked; and what was the cost of this absence. [34624]
Mr. Hague: The latest available information is for the 1994 calendar year. 21,543 days were lost; 4.06 per cent. of the total days worked. The figures are adjusted for weekends and public holidays. Information is not available on the cost of this absence and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Computer Equipment Suppliers
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the top 10 suppliers of computer equipment to his Department and its agencies in the last five years, indicating the total value of the contracts received. [34565]
Mr. Hague: The top 10 suppliers of computer equipment to my Department over the last five years were as follows: Ampersand Systems; BISS; Canon; Computercenter; Corporate Software; IBM; ICL; JBA; McDonnell Douglas Information Systems and Siemens Plessey. The total value of the contracts over the period was £7,126,615.
Departmental Redundancies
Mr. Ian McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many redundancies occurred in his Department over the last 12 months; how many were voluntary; and what was the total sum spent on redundancy payments. [34625]
Mr. Hague: Ninety, all of them voluntary. The total cost was £2.568 million.
Unfair Dismissal
Mr. Ian McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many unfair dismissal cases were brought against his Department during the last 12 months; how many were successful; and what were the total costs including legal fees and compensation. [34623]
ENVIRONMENT
Unfair Dismissal
Mr. Ian McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many unfair dismissal cases were brought against his Department during the last 12 months; how many were successful; and what were the total costs including legal fees and
compensation. [34590]
Sir Paul Beresford: During the past 12 months four cases of unfair dismissal were heard by the Civil Service Appeal Board. The board found for the Department in every case. No compensation was paid and no legal fees were incurred.
Column 812
The Health and Safety Executive became part of the Department on 4 July. No unfair dismissal cases have been brought against it in the past 12 months.Sickness Absence
Mr. Ian McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many days were lost in sickness in the last 12 months by employees in his Department (a) in total and (b) as a proportion of the number of days worked; and what was the cost of this absence. [34591]
Sir Paul Beresford: The following provisional information for the calendar year 1994 covers non-industrial staff in my Department, excluding Health and Safety Executive, Ordnance Survey and PSA services. All calculations have been adjusted for weekends and public holidays.
(a) 43,210 days were lost in sickness
(b) 3.04 per cent.
Source: OHSA Sickness Absence Database
The cost of this absence could be provided only at
disproportionate cost.
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Departmental Redundancies
Mr. Ian McCartney: To ask the Attorney-General how many redundancies occurred in his Department over the last 12 months; how many were voluntary; and what was the total sum spent on redundancy payments. [34607]
The Attorney-General: In the 12 months to the end of June 1995, one redundancy occurred in the Crown Prosecution Service, which was compulsory and involved a payment of £6,997.40
There have been no redundancies in the Serious Fraud Office, the Treasury Solicitor's Department, the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers or Government Property Lawyers.
Unfair Dismissal
Mr. Ian McCartney: To ask the Attorney-General how many unfair dismissal cases were brought against his Department during the last 12 months; how many were successful; and what were the total costs including legal fees and compensation. [34605]
The Attorney-General: During the 12 months to the end of June 1995, three claims of unfair dismissal have been brought against the Crown Prosecution Service. The Department successfully defended one case on which costs of £2,951.25 were incurred in legal fees. A settlement of £5,500 was agreed in another case on which legal fees have yet to be determined. The remaining case is still pending.
No unfair dismissal claims have been brought against the Serious Fraud Office, the Treasury Solicitor's Department, the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers or Government Property Lawyer.
Column 813
Sickness Absence
Mr. Ian McCartney: To ask the Attorney-General how many days were lost in sickness in the last 12 months by employees in his Department (a) in total and (b) as a proportion of the number of days worked; and what was the cost of this absence. [34606]
The Attorney-General: Information for the 12 months to 30 June 1995 is as follows:
G
|Days |Proportion
|absence |of days
|through |worked
Department |sickness |Percentage
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Treasury Solicitor's Department |2,256.5 |2.6
Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers |17.0 |0.3
Crown Prosecution Service |65,391.0 |4.72
Serious Fraud Office |1,597.0 |4.47
Government Property Lawyers |858.5 |2.89
No records are available which give figures for the cost of this absence.
Computer Suppliers
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Attorney-General if he will list the top 10 suppliers of computer equipment to his Department and its agencies in the last five years, indicating the total value of the contracts received. [34556]
The Attorney-General: The main suppliers of computer equipment to each of the Departments for which I am responsible are shown in the table. The figures represent total expenditure during the periods shown.
£ thousand
----------------------------------------------------------
1990-95
Treasury Solicitor's Department<1>
ICL plc |154.0
Specialist Computer Centres |152.0
Computacenter |140.0
Dell Computer Corporation Ltd. |130.0
Technology plc |82.0
Olico Systems plc |66.0
P and P Corporate Systems Ltd. |34.5
Equanet Ltd. |32.0
Atlas Telecommunications Ltd |32.0
Lansdowne (UK) |21.5
1994-95<2>
Crown Prosecution Service
UNISYS Ltd. |1,308.0
Bull Information Systems Ltd. |466.0
P and P Corporate Systems Ltd. |193.7
Vistec Business Systems Ltd. |177.6
International Computers Ltd. |80.4
McDonnel Douglas Information Systems Ltd. |52.3
1993-95
Serious Fraud Office
Dell Computer Corporation Ltd. |301.0
Cedardata plc |74.1
Technomatic Ltd. |38.8
European Printing Systems Ltd. |34.8
Quantum Business Systems |33.8
Network SI Group Ltd. |33.4
Olivetti UK Ltd. |32.4
Computer Supply Lines Ltd. |32.3
Verity UK |28.4
Morse Group plc |21.9
1990-95
Legal Secretaries to the Law Officers
Programs Unlimited |37.0
Equanet Ltd. |28.5
Network Stations |11.9
East Central (Business Machines) Ltd. |2.3
<1> Including the Government Property Lawyers an agency
established on 1 April 1993.
<2> Information for previous years is available only at
disproportionate cost.
SCOTLAND
Auditors' Remuneration
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much have (a) health authorities and (b) trusts spent on auditors' remuneration in each year since 1992, by region. [34164]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: Up to and including the 1994 95 financial year, the cost of auditors' remuneration and expenses for health boards and NHS trusts were met centrally. The majority of audits were undertaken by the Scottish Office audit unit whose running costs are contained within the Scottish Office's central services budget and not assigned to individual health authorities. A number of audits were contracted out to the private sector. A summary of the payments in respect of these external audit services is provided in the tables.
(a) External audit remuneration health boards
Health Boards |1992-93 |1993-94 |1994-95
|£ |£ |£
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fife |- |41,903 |24,664
Grampian |- |39,586 |44,355
Highland |<1>94,850 |21,628 |18,497
Greater Glasgow |- |73,948 |60,800
Lanarkshire |<2>119,686 |58,045 |59,750
<1> Paid as a block for the audits of Fife, Grampian and Highland
Health Boards.
<2> Paid as a block for the audits of Greater Glasgow and Lanarkshire
Health Boards.
(b) External audit remuneration NHS trusts
Trusts |1992-93|1993-94|1994-95
|£ |£ |£
------------------------------------------------------
Argyll and Clyde |- |15,000 |43,536
Ayrshire and Arran |19,700 |35,200 |35,974
Dumfries and Galloway |- |- |16,000
Fife |- |- |42,350
Forth Valley |- |- |12,000
Grampian |18,700 |51,180 |53,219
Greater Glasgow |- |38,700 |104,552
Highland |- |24,520 |38,423
Lanarkshire |- |13,600 |40,899
Lothian |- |14,200 |90,512
Tayside |- |16,500 |54,359
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many deaths from hypothermia took place among (a) men aged 65 years and over (b) women aged 60 years and over in each year since 1990, by region. [34175]
Column 816
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 13 July 1995]: The information requested is given in the table:
Column 815
Deaths where hypothermia<1> was mentioned on the death certificate, by region and islands area. 1990-1994
Males aged 65 and Females aged 60
over and over
|1990 |1991 |1992 |1993 |1994<2>|1990 |1991 |1992 |1993 |<2>1994
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scotland |47 |31 |44 |35 |34 |72 |50 |47 |77 |62
Borders |1 |0 |0 |1 |1 |2 |0 |0 |3 |0
Central |3 |3 |3 |0 |3 |0 |2 |1 |5 |3
Dumfries and Galloway |0 |0 |1 |0 |0 |1 |1 |0 |1 |1
Fife |2 |1 |1 |0 |2 |5 |7 |2 |8 |6
Grampian |1 |2 |2 |4 |2 |4 |5 |4 |3 |7
Highland |2 |2 |2 |2 |3 |2 |2 |1 |2 |2
Lothian |8 |7 |6 |5 |5 |18 |9 |15 |11 |15
Strathclyde |28 |11 |22 |17 |16 |32 |22 |15 |32 |25
Tayside |1 |3 |3 |4 |2 |7 |2 |7 |11 |3
Orkney |0 |0 |1 |1 |0 |1 |0 |1 |1 |0
Shetland |0 |2 |1 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Western Isles |1 |0 |2 |1 |0 |0 |0 |1 |0 |0
<1>World Health Organisation International Classification of Diseases (Ninth Revision) codes E901 (primary
cause), 780.8, 780.9. E901 (secondary cause)
<2>Provisional
Females aged 60 and over
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994
Scotland 47 31 44 35 34 72 50 47 77 62
Borders 1 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 3 0
Central 3 3 3 0 3 0 2 1 5 3
Dumfries and Galloway 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 1
Fife 2 1 1 0 2 5 7 2 8 6
Grampian 1 2 2 4 2 4 5 4 3 7
Highland 2 2 2 2 3 2 2 1 2 2
Lothian 8 7 6 5 5 18 9 15 11 15
Strathclyde 28 11 22 17 16 32 22 15 32 25
Tayside 1 3 3 4 2 7 2 7 11 3
Orkney 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 0
Shetland 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Western Isles 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 0
World Health Organisation International Classification of Diseases (Ninth Revision) codes E901 (primary cause), 780.8, 780.9. E901 (secondary cause)
Provisional
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HOME DEPARTMENT
Departmental Redundancies
Mr. Ian McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many redundancies occurred in his Department over the last 12 months; how many were voluntary; and what was the total sum spent on redundancy payments. [34604]
Mr. Howard: The total number of redundancies in the Home Office, including its agencies, for the period July 1994 to June 1995 was 16. Of those, four were voluntary redundancies. The total cost of redundancy payments during the same period was £1,190,553. This includes payments made in respect of redundancies which occurred before July 1994.
Identity Cards
Sir Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when Her Majesty's Government agreed to admit EC nationals to the United Kingdom by means of identity cards; what was the legislative basis for such a decision; and if he will make a statement. [34425]
Mr. Nicholas Baker: On the accession of the United Kingdom to the European Economic Community in 1972, the United Kingdom Government were required to comply with existing Community law allowing nationals of the Community to enter the territory of other member states simply on production of a valid national identity card or passport. Previous arrangements for admission on production of identity cards were governed by agreements with the countries concerned.
Since 1 January 1994 the same right has been extended to non-European Union nationals of the European economic area--currently, Norway, Ireland, and Liechtenstein--in accordance with the provisions of the European Economic Area agreement which was ratified
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