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Guidance Notes
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many pages of guidance notes have been issued by (a) his Department, (b) regulatory authorities and (c) non-departmental public bodies in each of the last three years. [18635]
Mr. Kynoch: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Forests (Common Grazings)
Ms Roseanna Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which forests in the highland region, Argyll and the western isles were planted on former crofting common grazings. [19153]
Mr. Kynoch: The Forestry Commission does not keep a central record of this information, which could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Forestry Commission
Ms Roseanna Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which department of the Forestry Commission in Scotland was responsible for land purchases between (a) 1966 and 1970, (b) 1971 and 1980 and (c) 1981 and 1990. [19152]
Mr. Kynoch: The forestry commissioners were responsible for decisions on land purchase during these periods.
Ms Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list (a) the land currently owned by the Forestry Commission and (b) the estates owned by the Scottish Office, indicating which of these (i) are on the market for sale and (ii) can be affected by the right of feudal pre-emption. [19150]
5 Mar 1996 : Column: 161
Mr. Kynoch: The information is as follows:
(a) Lists of Forestry Commission woodlands in England, Scotland and Wales are in the Library.
(b) A list of the Scottish Office crofting estates is given in annexe A of the recently issued consultation paper on crofting trusts, a copy of which is in the Library. There are a further 17 lowland Scottish Office estates comprising a total of 452 hectares.
(i) A list of the Forestry Commission woodlands which are currently on the market for sale was given in my answer to the hon. Member for Sherwood (Mr. Tipping) on 18 January 1996, Official Report, columns 773-76. None of the Scottish Office estates is currently on the market for sale.
(ii) Information on which of the Forestry Commission and Scottish Office land could be affected by the feudal right of pre-emption could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Kynoch: Lists of land sold by the Forestry Commission between the introduction of the commission's disposals programme in July 1981 and December 1994 are in the Library of the House. A list of the sales in 1995 is in preparation and will be placed in the Library shortly.
Ms Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much of the Forestry Commission's annual budget in Scotland, expressed in (a) monetary value and (b) percentages was expended on land purchases each year from 1966 to 1991 inclusive. [19151]
Mr. Kynoch: The commission's annual reports and accounts, which are available in the Library, record the areas of land suitable for planting which the commission bought each year in Britain and their average cost. There is no separate record of the cost of the acquisitions in Scotland.
Ms Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland in how many sales by the Forestry Commission the right of feudal pre-emption was applied in (a) 1980 to 1989 and (b) 1990 to 1996. [19182]
Mr. Kynoch: The Forestry Commission does not keep a central record of this information, which could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Inheritance Tax
Mr. Gallie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if any items accepted in lieu of inheritance tax have been allocated in Scotland since he last made an announcement. [19484]
Mr. Michael Forsyth: I am pleased to announce that I am allocating the painting "The Return from the Flight into Egypt" by the 16th century artist Paris Bordone to the national galleries of Scotland. The painting has been accepted in lieu of tax arising from the death of Colonel W J Stirling of Keir.
5 Mar 1996 : Column: 162
SOCIAL SECURITY
Family Credit
Mr. Rowlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his latest estimate of the number of recipients receiving family credit (a) in Wales, (b) in Mid Glamorgan and (c) in Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney. [17929]
Mr. Roger Evans: The administration of family credit is a matter for Peter Mathison, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Ted Rowlands, dated 4 March 1996:
(14) The figure for Mid Glamorgan has been compiled using figures for the Benefit Offices at Aberdare, Bargoed, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Merthyr Tydfil, Pontypridd, Porth and Tonypandy.
I hope you find this reply useful.
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what is the latest estimate of the number of recipients receiving Family Credit (a) in Wales, (b) in Mid Glamorgan and (c) in Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney.
The information is not available in the format requested. Statistics are not kept which are specific to Mid Glamorgan, Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney but are available for Benefits Agency Offices. The figures have been produced by a computer scan and the latest available is for 10 November 1995. The figures are provisional and subject to change.
Families in receipt of Family Credit
Wales 38,247
Mid Glamorgan(14) 6,722
Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney Benefit Offices 1,491
Child Support Agency
Mr. Heppell: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security for what reasons individuals who have detachment orders have received arrears notices from the Child Support Agency when their employers have failed to pay the CSA. [17706]
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. John Heppell, dated 4 March 1996:
I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the issues of Child Support Agency arrears notices.
5 Mar 1996 : Column: 163
Mr. Denham:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of the total spending by his Department on advertising and public relations in (a) 1993-94, (b) 1994-95 and (c) 1995-96; and if he will list the major advertising campaigns executed or planned indicating the expenditure on each. [18252]
Mr. Burt:
The information is as follows:
You asked about the issue of arrears notices by the Agency where an absent parent's method of payment is by Deduction of Earnings Order (DEO). The reason such notices are currently issued is that employers, even when complying with a DEO, can vary the date of their payments; but arrears notices are issued automatically to the absent parent by the Child Support Computer System (CSCS) when payments are more than eight days late.
The Agency has recognised that this process needs to be amended where a DEO is in force and the employer is complying with it. In April 1996, CSCS will be updated and enhanced. As part of this enhancement CSCS will no longer issue arrears notices to absent parents whose method of payment is DEO. Instead, a monthly analysis will be introduced to identify those cases where the absent parent's employer has not operated the DEO correctly. The Agency will follow these up with the employer concerned.
I hope this is helpful.
The above figures are for advertising only and include expenditure by the Department's executive agencies. The Department does not incur expenditure on public relations.
1993-94: £5,964,988
1994-95: £3,596,508
1995-96 1 : £4,400,000
1 Estimated figure to the end of the year.
| Campaign title | Amount ex VAT £ |
|---|---|
| 1993-94 | |
| Family Credit | 2,629,664 |
| Child Support Agency Campaign | 47,835 |
| Disability Working Allowance | 680,850 |
| Disability Anti-Discrimination Campaign | 254,468 |
| Industrial Injuries to Coalminers | 258,723 |
| 1994-95 | |
| Child Support Agency Campaign | 180,353 |
| Disability Anti-Discrimination Campaign | 764,883 |
| Pensions | 153,191 |
| Working with Benefits | 1,715,744 |
| Disability Working Allowance | 212,765 |
| 1995-96 | |
| Working with Benefits | 1,962,090 |
| Pensions | 851,063 |
| Disability Working Allowance | 212,765 |
| Disability Act | 191,691 |
Some aspects of the 1995-96 costs have yet to be finalised.
(15) The term "major" has been defined as campaigns costing more than £100,000.
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