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DEFENCE
Porton Down
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 14 December 1995, Official Report, column 763, if he will make the film of LSD experiments on service personnel available for broadcast when recovered; and if he will make a statement. [14540]
Mr. Arbuthnot: This is a matter for the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency under its framework document. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from John Chisholm to Dr. David Clark, dated 9 February 1996:
Your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Defence asking if he will make the film of LSD experiments on service personnel available for broadcast when recovered has been passed to me to reply as the Chief Executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency which includes the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment.
We are making arrangements for the transfer of the film material related to the field trials conducted with LSD to the Film Department of the Imperial War Museum which is an appointed place of deposit for public records.
I am unable to give you a date of transfer at this stage as a number of administrative procedures, including the authorisation of the early release of some material under the Public Records Act, has to be completed before this can take place. I will write to you again to let you know the date from which they will be released to the Imperial War Museum.
I hope you find this information helpful.
Spare Computer Capacity
Mr. Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list all cases where spare computer capacity has been sold to other Departments since 1987, giving the Department and value of each contract. [14083]
Mr. Arbuthnot: Generally, spare capacity is not something that the Department builds in when designing its computer systems. On occasions, computer facilities may be made available to other Departments which have requested assistance and this would normally be on a repayment basis. However, no central record is held of the degree to which its computer systems might contain spare capacity or the extent to which it has been made available for use by other Departments. This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
RB44 Light Vehicle
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which company carried out the repairs to his Department's RB44 light vehicle; how many vehicles were sent for repair; what was the total cost of repair; and who will pay this bill. [9952]
Mr. Arbuthnot
[holding answer 18 January 1996]: Modifications to the RB44 heavy utility truck in 1992 were made at the manufacturer's expense. Following the identification of continuing braking problems in 1993, and analysis of these by the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency, in consultation with the manufacturer, a further modification programme to 824 vehicles was started in October 1995 and is due to be complete by the end of
9 Feb 1996 : Column: 384
March 1996. The modification kits have been provided by the company, and about 100 of them have been fitted by the company, at its own expense. The remainder are being fitted by military or civilian personnel in unit workshops. The direct cost to the Department of carrying out these modifications is estimated at some £100,000. In addition, other costs to the Department associated with rectifying the problem include the analysis and trials of DERA at a cost of some £310,000 together with the costs of returning vehicles to serviceable and roadworthy condition and maintaining other vehicles used while RB44 have been out of service. The latter costs are not readily quantifiable. The total costs to the Department on this basis are assessed to be less than £1,000,000.
National Insurance
Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when the ad hoc programme will be run to resolve the inquiries of Mr. Peter Sutton, national insurance number 25 06 52 67D, into his national insurance contributions as communicated to the hon. Member for Wakefield by the chief executive of the Contributions Agency in December 1995. [13621]
Mr. Heald: This is a matter for Mrs. Faith Boardman, the chief executive of the Contributions Agency. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Mrs. Faith Boardman to Mr. David Hinchliffe, dated 8 February 1996:
As Chief Executive of the Contributions Agency, I have responsibility for answering questions about operational matters relating to the Agency and the National Insurance (NI) scheme.
I have been asked to reply to your enquiry on behalf of Mr Peter Sutton, NI number ZS 065267D, regarding difficulties with his NI affairs.
An amendment was introduced to the live code in late January 1996 to ensure no further occurrences such as Mr Sutton's can reoccur.
The analysis work necessary for the Ad Hoc recovery program, referred to in my previous communication, to identify those affected in the same way as Mr Sutton has now been completed. I am however unable to state how many accounts were affected by the error due to the costs involved in obtaining the information. The programme work will commence on 12 February 1996 followed by a live run in early March 1996.
I am sorry for any difficulties this has caused Mr Sutton, hopefully the action highlighted above will enable the situation to be finally resolved.
Child Support Agency
Mr. Bill Michie:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the present number of (a) temporary and casual staff and (b) permanent staff employed by the CSA; and what is the number of DSS staff seconded to, or engaged in, CSA work within the agency. [13501]
9 Feb 1996 : Column: 385
Mr. Andrew Mitchell:
The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive, Miss Ann Chant. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ann Chant to Mr. Bill Michie, dated 8 February 1995:
Notes:
Staff shown as whole time equivalents.
The Child Support Agency is an integral part of the Department of Social Security; everyone working for the Agency is a Department of Social Security member of staff.
Mr. Steinberg:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what percentage of the claims which are disallowed are successful on appeal. [13175]
Mr. Roger Evans:
The information is not available.
Mr. Chris Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 29 January, Official Report, columns 584-85, how the figures for savings on the disability living allowance as a result of improving the quality and level of information to decision-makers were calculated. [13435]
Mr. Andrew Mitchell:
An examination of a statistically valid sample of new claims suggested that without further evidence the higher rate mobility component would be inappropriately awarded in about 12 per cent. of cases and inappropriately disallowed in a further 1 per cent. Further work to test the assumptions underlying these estimates is currently being evaluated.
The estimated savings took account of factors including forecasts of new claims and survival rates, the proportion of cases already subject to further evidence, the rate at which cases are reviewed, and passporting on to other benefits.
Mr. Chris Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what discussions his officials have had with those of National Grid in respect of the additional power required by the announcement of eligible areas under the cold weather payments scheme. [14046]
Mr. Roger Evans:
No discussions have taken place between departmental officials and those of the National Grid. The impact of cold weather on demand for electricity is monitored separately from social fund cold weather payment triggers.
9 Feb 1996 : Column: 386
Mr. Martyn Jones:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the full year yield of restricting income tax reliefs and allowances to (a) £2,000, (b) £3,000, (c) £4,000, (d) £6,000, (e) £8,000, (f) £10,000 and (g) £12,000, indicating in each case the number of people affected. [14326]
Mr. Jack:
The full-year yield of restricting income tax allowances and reliefs and the number of people affected at 1996-97 income levels are given in the table. The estimates do not take account of any behavioural effects which might result from the introduction of such a limit.
I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the numbers of staff within the Child Support Agency.
At 31 December 1995, the following staff were employed by the Agency in the relevant categories.
Child Support Agency Belfast CSAC (Northern Ireland Civil Servants)
Permanent staff 6,221 594
Temporary and casual staff 547 110
| Upper limit for total allowances and reliefs(2) | Yield in full year | Number of taxpayers |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ million | Thousands |
| 2,000 | 18,300 | (3)25,800 |
| 3,000 | 11,100 | (3)25,800 |
| 4,000 | 4,800 | 15,600 |
| 6,000 | 1,200 | 1,200 |
| 8,000 | 700 | 380 |
| 10,000 | 500 | 190 |
| 12,000 | 400 | 120 |
(2) Including only allowances and reliefs given at marginal rates.
(3) This will effect all taxpayers and bring a number of people into tax.
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