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Development Aid
Miss Lestor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much development aid is spent on (a) a multilateral basis and (b) a bilateral basis; and what are the most recent projections for the allocation between bilateral and multilateral between 1995-96 and 1998-99. [9102]
Mr. Hanley: I refer the hon. Lady to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for York (Mr. Bayley) on 10 January, Official Report column 223-24.
Multilateral Institutions
Miss Lestor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those multilateral institutions with which Her Majesty's Government are in financial arrears. [8947]
Mr. Hanley: The UK is not in financial arrears to any of the multilateral development institutions of which it is a member.
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Bilateral Aid
Miss Lestor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what percentage of bilateral aid has been fully tied to the purchase of goods and services from the United Kingdom since 1990-91. [8872]
Mr. Hanley: I refer the hon. Lady to the reply I gave on 14 December 1995, Official Report, column 751.
Miss Lestor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what requirements are made of NGOs to evaluate their programmes when receiving United Kingdom official aid. [8870]
Mr. Hanley: The Overseas Development Administration's joint funding scheme, JFS, is the principal channel of United Kingdom official aid for the development activities of UK NGOs.
NGOs in receipt of JFS support are required to undertake a degree of evaluation on all of their programmes. This takes the form of annual reports of progress, often supplemented by separate studies to evaluate the impact of their work.
Rwanda and Burundi
Mr. Wareing: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals he has to increase assistance to (a) Rwanda and (b) Burundi. [9180]
Mr. Hanley: Since October 1993, Britain has committed £93 million and £2.6 million in bilateral emergency and rehabilitation assistance to Rwanda, including Rwandan refugees in neighbouring countries, and Burundi respectively. Future aid levels will reflect need, the capacity of NGOs and UN agencies to deliver assistance to those most at risk, and the absorptive capacity of the relevant Governments.
LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL
Preparation of Public Bills
41. Mr. Morgan: To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will make a statement on the use of Parliamentary Counsel and private draftsmen and women in the preparation of Public Bills. [7483]
Mr. Newton: The Government and the House are, in my view, well served by Parliamentary Counsel in the preparation of legislation. As an experiment, to test the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of an alternative approach, my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has employed private sector lawyers to draft parts of the Finance Bill currently before the House.
Prime Minister's Question Time
43. Mr. Gunnell: To ask the Lord President of the Council what representations he has received regarding the length and format of Prime Minister's Question Time. [7486]
Mr. Newton: The Procedure Committee has produced a report on Prime Minister's questions which my right hon. Friend and I are studying.
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Railtrack Privatisation
44. Mr. Bayley: To ask the Lord President of the Council if he intends to bring forward proposals for legislation about the privatisation of Railtrack. [7487]
Mr. Newton: No further legislation is needed to complete the privatisation of Railtrack.
Lockerbie
45. Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will set up a Select Committee to examine the on-going implications of the destruction of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie. [7488]
Mr. Newton: As I told the hon. Gentleman in my replies of 23 October 1995 and 27 November 1995, there are no plans to do so.
Written Parliamentary Questions
46. Mr. William O'Brien: To ask the Lord President of the Council what proposals he has to improve the procedure for obtaining answers to written parliamentary questions; and if he will make a statement. [7489]
Mr. Newton: If the hon. Gentleman has some particular proposal to make, perhaps he could let me know.
Parliamentary Procedures
47. Mr. Flynn: To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will introduce a procedure whereby hon. Members may briefly raise matters of interest without notice. [7490]
Mr. Newton: I have no plans to do so.
ENVIRONMENT
Official Hospitality
Mr. Tony Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much was spent on official hospitality by the Property Services Agency in 1993-94 and 1994-95; and what is projected for 1995-96. [9168]
Sir Paul Beresford: The information is as follows:
Expenditure in 1993-94 (excluding teas and coffees): £50,380.45
Expenditure in 1994-95 (excluding teas and coffees): £2,457.10
Estimated expenditure in 1995-96 (excluding teas and coffees): £117.51
Energy Efficiency
Mr. Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 22 November, Official Report, column 122, if he will make a statement on the number of inquiries generated for each of the 14 energy efficiency products. [9128]
Mr. Robert B. Jones: As assessment will be carried out following the voucher book scheme's conclusion on 31 March.
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many households were insulated under the home energy efficiency scheme in each of the past
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five years; and what is his current estimate for (a) the present financial year and (b) 1996-97. [9529]
Mr. Robert B. Jones: The home energy efficiency scheme began in January 1991. The total numbers of grants paid in Great Britain in each year since the scheme began, and estimated for the present financial year, are as follows:
| Year | Great Britain |
|---|---|
| 1990-91 | 7,582 |
| 1991-92(6) | 167,849 |
| 1992-93 | 204,130 |
| 1993-94 | 270,148 |
| 1994-95 | 449,902 |
| 1995-96 | (7)600,000 |
(6) From 1 January 1991.
(7) Estimate.
The allocation of funds for 1996-97 will enable at least 400,000 grants to be paid at the present mean value. However, additional resources will be available from contributions paid by eligible householders who are not on benefit after 1 April 1996. This means that the average job will cost less in grant because of the contribution, and considerably more than 400,000 jobs should be carried out.
Rents
Mr. Alfred Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the average rent paid by tenants of (a) private landlords and (b) local councils; and what were the equivalent figures in each category for 1978-79 in actual and real terms. [8529]
Mr. Curry: The figures are given in the table:
| Local authority tenants | Private tenants | |
|---|---|---|
| Year | £ a week | £ a week |
| 1994-95 (actual) | (8)35.79 | (9)69.00 |
| 1978-79 (actual) | (10)5.90 | (11)6.70 |
| 1978-79 (1994-95 prices) | 17.21 | 19.50 |
Source:
(8) Housing Subsidy Claim Form.
(9) Family Expenditure Survey.
(10) CIPFA survey of local authority rents.
(11) 1978 Private Renters Survey.
The 1978-79 estimates have been adjusted to 1994-95 prices using the GDP market prices deflator.
Estimates from the family expenditure survey and the 1978 private renters survey are subject to sampling variability.
Council Tax Valuation Appeals
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many appeals against council tax valuation banding have been received; and what percentages of these appeals have been (a) resolved, (b) withdrawn or (c) are still outstanding (i) nationally and (ii) by valuation office in the London region. [8973]
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Sir Paul Beresford: The Valuation Office agency had received 1,046,969 valid banding proposals in England by 30 November 1995, of which 93.2 per cent. had been resolved, including 22.1 per cent. withdrawn, leaving 6.8 per cent. outstanding. Details for VOA London region offices are:
| VOA local office | Number received | Percentage resolved | Percentage withdrawn | Percentage outstanding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barking | 5,079 | 90.9 | 37.0 | 9.1 |
| Bromley | 20,008 | 93.8 | 25.2 | 6.2 |
| Camden | 8,654 | 94.0 | 28.8 | 6.0 |
| City | 235 | 97.0 | 40.0 | 3.0 |
| Ealing | 10,724 | 93.3 | 25.5 | 6.7 |
| Enfield | 22,659 | 90.8 | 36.3 | 9.2 |
| Greenwich | 13,044 | 94.3 | 28.3 | 5.7 |
| Harrow | 11,348 | 91.4 | 26.0 | 8.6 |
| Islington | 10,173 | 93.6 | 25.1 | 6.4 |
| Kensington | 17,444 | 97.5 | 23.8 | 2.5 |
| Lambeth | 15,202 | 95.3 | 29.1 | 4.7 |
| Redbridge | 7,562 | 89.4 | 34.0 | 10.6 |
| Tower Hamlets | 4,594 | 89.6 | 26.3 | 10.4 |
| Westminister | 9,481 | 98.6 | 21.8 | 1.4 |
| Wimbledon | 14,374 | 96.9 | 25.8 | 3.1 |
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