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Child Support

Ms Lynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what facilities there are for newly separated couples to draw up an amicable and binding child maintenance agreement without the involvement of the Child Support Agency in cases where neither party is a recipient of income support, family credit or disability working allowance. [625]

Mr. Andrew Mitchell: All such couples are free to do so.

Ms Corston: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what the level of child support would be in 1995 if it had been uprated in line with prices since 1965. [1058]

Mr. Mitchell: The information is in the table.

	First child £	Second child £	Third child £
Under age 11	9.16	11.98	12.58
Aged 11-15	11.17	13.89	14.60
Aged 16 and over	13.19	15.91	16.61

1. The amounts quoted are those which would have been payable from April 1995. 2. The table shows the combined value of child tax allowance and family allowance and assumes payment of tax at the standard rate.

Ms Lynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the outcome of the recent examinations of child support systems within the United States of America. [620]

Mr. Mitchell: This is a matter for the United States' federal and state Governments.

20 Nov 1995 : Column: 32

Child Support Agency

Ms Lynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many employees of the Child Support Agency have (a) been dismissed and (b) faced other disciplinary action from each office of the Child Support Agency indicating the month and year that such action was taken for (i) the improper use of confidential information and (ii) other improper behaviour. [623]

Mr. Andrew Mitchell: The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Child Benefit

Ms Corston: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what total gross and net savings in 1995-96 resulted from not uprating child benefit in line with prices since 1979. [444]

Mr. Andrew Mitchell: If child benefit had been uprated annually in line with the retail prices index and with the normal rounding to the nearest 5p, the April 1979 rate-- £4.00 per week per child--would be £10.85 from April 1995. It is estimated that the total savings in 1995-96 from paying £10.40 for the eldest qualifying child and £8.45 for each other child, instead of £10.85 for every child, are about £900 million. The corresponding net savings, after allowing for normal adjustments to other benefits are around £650 million.

Extra help has been made available to less well-off families since 1988 through the income-related benefits. This will be worth around £1.2 billion in 1995-96. The overall expenditure on families has increased by 121 per cent. in real terms between 1978-79 and 1995-96.

TRANSPORT

Search and Rescue Helicopters

Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what new assessment he has made of the safety implications of the changes made in the past year in the helicopter search and rescue service. [355]

Mr. Norris: The only change in search and rescue helicopter provision in the past year has been the withdrawal of the Royal Navy helicopter at Portland and its replacement, on a temporary basis, by a coastguard helicopter. This has no adverse implications for safety. At the same time, we have established an inter-departmental helicopter review group to examine the national requirement for helicopters for search and rescue, and how this might most effectively and efficiently be met, as part of an integrated approach to search and rescue. The group is due to report to Ministers in the new year.

Drowning Incident

Mr. Ainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport following the drowning of Pamela Drew on Sunday 5 November at Musselwick, Marloes, Pembrokeshire, if he will list the times (a) the coastguard was informed of the emergency, (b) Littlehaven lifeboat was informed, (c) Chivenor SAR helicopter was informed, (d) Littlehaven lifeboat was launched, (e) Chivenor SAR helicopter took off, (f) Littlehaven lifeboat spotted casualties, (g) Littlehaven lifeboat got casualties on board,

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(h) of the arrival of Chivenor SAR helicopter over lifeboat, (i) casualties were winched on board the helicopter and (j) of the arrival of casualties at Withybush hospital, Haverfordwest. [905]

Mr. Norris: I have asked the chief executive of the Coastguard Agency to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from C. J. Harris to Mr. Nick Ainger, dated 20 November 1995:

The Secretary of State for Transport has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the drowning of Pamela Drew on Sunday 5 November at Musselwick, Marloes, Pembrokeshire.
The times given are in Universal Co-ordinated Time (UTC)
(a) 1654
(b) 1656
(c) 1656
(d) 1702
(e) 1703
(f) not recorded
(g) 1724
(h) 1733
(i) 1738
(j) 1745

Abnormal Loads

Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what financial arrangements are made when abnormal loads are moved on motorways. [343]

Mr. Watts: The suitability of any route for the movement of an abnormal load has to be notified and cleared by the highways authorities and police forces involved. The vehicle operator or his employer is required to meet the cost of any surveys of structures involved, any strengthening required, and in some cases, for the provision of police escorts.

Bull Bars

Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received on the danger of bull bars from (a) coroners, (b) industry, (c) road safety organisations and (d) the public. [353]

Mr. Norris: The number of representation the Department has received over the past two years is as follows:

	Coroners	Industry	Road safety organisations	Public
1994	0	0	0	64
1995	0	19	5	364

Acts of Parliament

Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the Acts of Parliament including consolidation Acts that affect local government that have been introduced by his Department since January 1994. [36]

20 Nov 1995 : Column: 34

Mr. Norris: Schedule 6 to the Channel Tunnel Rail Link Bill, which was introduced by my right hon. Friend's predecessor on 23 November 1994, modifies the functions of planning authorities in relation to development authorised by part I of the Bill.

Consolidation Bills are a responsibility of my right hon. and learned Friends the Lord Chancellor and the Attorney-General.

Ministerial Transport, London

Mr. MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many times in the last year he has used (a) London Buses and (b) London Underground while on official business. [414]

Sir George Young: I travel on London Transport buses and on the London Underground both as a constituency MP and in a personal capacity. For short journeys in London, I often walk.

East London Line (Correspondence)

Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will answer the letters from the hon. Member for Lewisham, Deptford, of 18 October, 26 October, 30 October and 9 November concerning the closure of the East London Line. [200]

Mr. Norris: I replied to the letters of 18 October, 26 October and 30 October on 13 November. A reply to the hon. Member's letter of 9 November will follow shortly.

Ministerial Travel (British Rail)

Mr. MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many times in the last year he has used British Rail while on official business. [420]

Sir George Young: I travel regularly to work by British Rail and I have used British Rail in the course of nine official visits since July this year.

Road Traffic (Driving Instruction by Disabled Persons) Act

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reasons the Road Traffic (Driving Instruction by Disabled Persons) Act 1993 has not fully been brought into force; and when he intends to do so. [199]

Mr. Norris: It has not been possible to bring this Act into force because the implementing regulations and related amendments to other regulations have proved more complex than was expected. I am pleased to be able to say that the difficulties have been resolved and we now intend to make the regulations to enable the Act to come into force in the first half of next year.

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