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Social and Economic Deprivation
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment where the district which includes the Hastings travel-to-work area lies for levels of social and economic deprivation in relation to other London and south-east districts. [7796]
Mr. Clappison: I have been asked to reply.
The Department's index of local conditions shows that Hastings is the 23rd most deprived district out of a total of 103 districts in London and the south-east.
Strikes
Sir Irvine Patnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many working days have been lost through strike action in 1994; and what were the equivalent figures for each of the last 16 years. [9545]
Mr. John M. Taylor: I have been asked to reply.
| Year | Working days lost (Thousands) |
|---|---|
| 1978 | 9,405 |
| 1979 | 29,474 |
| 1980 | 11,964 |
| 1981 | 4,266 |
| 1982 | 5,313 |
| 1983 | 3,754 |
| 1984 | 27,135 |
| 1985 | 6,402 |
| 1986 | 1,920 |
| 1987 | 3,546 |
| 1988 | 3,702 |
| 1989 | 4,128 |
| 1990 | 1,903 |
| 1991 | 761 |
| 1992 | 528 |
| 1993 | 649 |
| 1994 | 278 |
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Mobile Phones
Mr. William Ross: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many mobile phones have been supplied to his Department in each of the last eight years; and in each of those years how many different suppliers were involved. [8038]
16 Jan 1996 : Column: 520
Mr. Boswell: The Ministry and its associated executive agencies have been procuring mobile phones since 1990. Therefore, the information that follows covers the period from April 1990 to date.
We currently have approximately 1,469 mobile phones which were procured under centrally negotiated call-off arrangements. Two suppliers have been used, Racal Vodafone (Vodac Ltd.) from 1 April 1990 to 28 February 1993 and Mercury Communications Ltd. from 1 March 1993 to present.
The Ministry will shortly be tendering its requirements for mobile phones.
The number of mobile phones bought each year are as follows:
Mr. David Nicholson:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received from (a) individual farmers and (b) farming organisations about the practical consequences of implementing EC directive 95/29 on livestock transport in sparsely populated areas. [8200]
Mrs. Browning:
Out of a total of 127 responses to our recent consultation exercise on proposals for implementing Council directive 95/29/EC, (a) two individuals and (b) 13 farming organisations raised the issue of implementation in sparsely populated areas. Over 680 organisations and individuals were consulted in England and Wales.
Mr. Redmond:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the food regulations that ceased to be effective in the United Kingdom on 1 January; and if he will make a statement. [8451]
Mrs. Browning:
The following regulations, and any amendments to them, were revoked on 1 January 1996:
16 Jan 1996 : Column: 521
Mr. Key:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received following his decision to hold back payment of IACS cheques to farmers from December 1995 to January 1996; and if he will make a statement. [9336]
Mr. Baldry
[holding answer 15 January 1996]: Some 83 per cent. of claims under the arable area payments scheme were paid before 31 December 1995. We regret the delay to the remainder, which will be paid as soon as possible. Representations have been received from farming organisations and a number of individuals about the delay in making the remaining payments.
1990: 32
1991: 137
1992: 162
1993: 398
1994: 506
1995: 234.
Food Standards (General Provisions) Order 1994
Food Standards (Fish Cakes) Order 1950
Skimmed Milk and Non-Milk Fat Regulations 1960
Skimmed Milk with Non-Milk Fat (Scotland) Regulations 1960
Soft Drinks Regulations 1964
Soft Drinks (Scotland) Regulations 1964
Meat (Treatment) Regulations 1964
Meat (Treatment) (Scotland) Regulations 1964
Butter Regulations 1966
Butter (Scotland) Regulations 1966
Margarine Regulations 1967
Margarine (Scotland) Regulations 1970
Ice-Cream Regulations 1967
Solvents in Food (Scotland) Regulations 1968
Cheese Regulations 1970
Cheese (Scotland) Regulations 1970
Cream Regulations 1970
Cream (Scotland) Regulations 1970
Colouring Matter in Food Regulations 1973
Colouring Matter in Food (Scotland) Regulations 1973
Antioxidants in Food Regulations 1978
Antioxidants in Food (Scotland) Regulations 1978
Miscellaneous Additives in Food Regulations 1980
Miscellaneous Additives in Food (Scotland) Regulations 1980
Sweeteners in Food Regulations 1983
Sweeteners in Food (Scotland) Regulations 1983
Bread and Flour Regulations 1984
Bread and Flour (Scotland) Regulations 1984
Preservatives in Food Regulations 1989
Preservatives in Food (Scotland) Regulations 1989
Emulsifiers and Stabilisers in Food Regulations 1989
Emulsifiers and Stabilisers in Food (Scotland) Regulations 1989
Potassium Bromate (Prohibition as a Flour Improver) Regulations 1990
Potassium Bromate (Prohibition as a Flour Improver) (Scotland) Regulations 1990.
Monetary Union
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what considerations underlay his assessment of the prospects for the success of the Euro following the Madrid summit. [7725]
Mr. Kenneth Clarke: My assessment was based on my experience of frequent discussions of the subject at European Councils and ECOFIN meetings over the past two and a half years.
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will ask his panel of independent experts to report on the likelihood of the achievement of monetary union and the implications of the single currency for Britain; [7430]
- (2) if he will commission and publish a report on the benefits and problems of monetary union, assessing the case for and against and the benefits and disbenefits of the United Kingdom's remaining outside. [7434]
Mr. Kenneth Clarke: The Panel of Independent Forecasters' May 1995 report examined economic and
16 Jan 1996 : Column: 522
monetary union. A copy of this report is available from the House of Commons Library.
Protocol No. 11, annexed to the EC treaty, means that the United Kingdom shall not be obliged or committed to move to the third stage of economic and monetary union without a separate decision to do so by the Government and Parliament. We will agree to take part in a single currency only if it is in our national interest to do so, given the circumstances at the time.
Tax (Self-assessment)
Mr. Mike O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tax inspectors will deal with self-assessment in (a) 1994-95, (b) 1995-96, (c) 1996-97 and 1997-98. [8313]
Mr. Jack: Self-assessment will start with the 1996-97 tax year, and the tax return issued in April 1997. Accordingly, no tax inspectors will be dealing with self-assessment returns in advance of that date, although many inspectors have spent time helping taxpayers to prepare for self-assessment, giving seminars to local accountants, and so on. The need for tax inspector involvement in the work will increase progressively throughout 1997-98 and into 1998-99, as returns are received from taxpayers.
The Inland Revenue currently employs approximately 6,000 tax inspectors in local offices. Many of these deal with the affairs of taxpayers who receive tax returns, and will continue to do so when they start to received self-assessment tax returns.
Mr. O'Brien:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many persons who are not currently using accountants the Department estimates will use accountants when the programme of self-assessment is introduced. [8317]
Mr. Jack:
Neither the extensive market research programme nor surveys of those who have helped test the new tax return has yielded evidence that significant numbers of people will start to engage accountants as a result of self-assessment. On the contrary, some taxpayers viewed self-assessment as an opportunity to dispense with the services upon which they had previously depended.
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