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Joint Industry Board
Mr. McAllion: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what requests he has received for the trade unions certification officer to take the Joint Industry Board to court for contravention of the Trade Union Act 1984 during the period when it was registered as a trade union; and if he will make a statement. [28213]
Mr. John M. Taylor: The certification officer is an independent authority appointed by statute. Requests for the certification officer to investigate complaints are made directly to him and not to Ministers.
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Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
Mr. Alan W. Williams: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what funds were allocated to research into Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and its possible relationship with bovine spongiform encephalopathy over the period (a) 1986 to 1990, (b) 1990-91 to 1995-96 and (c) 1996-97. [28518]
Mr. Ian Taylor: The information is not all available in the form requested.
| 1986-87 to 1987-88 | 1988-89 to 1989-90 | 1990-91 to 1995-96 | 1996-97 (estimated spend) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Department of Health | Nil | Nil | 1.7 | 2.3 |
| MRC | n/a | 0.6 | (9)3.6 | n/a |
(9) This figure includes an estimated spend of £700,000 for 1995-96, as the figure for this year has not yet been finalised.
n/a = not available
It is difficult to estimate the MRC's spend for 1996-97 because a forthcoming call for proposals in this area is likely to lead to increased spend in future years.
The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council also supports research related to CJD, and over the period 1991-92 to 1997-98 it awarded grants to the value of £2.4 million.
Pembrokeshire NHS Trust (Auditors' Report)
Mr. Ainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he proposes to place in the Library a copy of the auditors' report by Coopers and Lybrand into the circumstances leading up to, and financial implications of, the departure of the former chief executive of the Pembrokeshire NHS trust. [28889]
Mr. Richards: A report under section 20(3) of the NHS and Community Care Act 1990 has recently been received from the trust's external auditors. I shall write to the hon. Member when it has been properly considered.
Oil Spillage (Sea Empress Incident)
Mr. Ainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what information has been requested by the Environment Agency from his Department about the Sea Empress oil spillage; when that information was requested; and if he will place a copy of his Department's reply in the Library; [28866]
- (2) if he will place in the Library copies of the letters sent by the Environment Agency requesting information from Government Departments about the Sea Empress oil spillage. [28865]
Mr. Gwilym Jones: There have been close contacts between the Welsh Office and the agency on a range of matters associated with the Sea Empress oil spillage. It is
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not my usual practice to place copies of correspondence between the Environment Agency and the Welsh Office in the Library of the House.
Mr. Ainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what investigations are being carried out by the Environment Agency into the spillage of oil from the Sea Empress. [28863]
Mr. Jones: The agency is collecting a broad range of information relating to its responsibilities for the protection of the environment.
Read Codes System
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the licence income paid by different segments of the NHS in Wales for participating in or helping to develop the Read codes system. [28936]
Mr. Hague: The value for money of licence fees charged to NHS trusts in Wales for use of Read codes is under consideration as part of the pilot project based at Pembrokeshire NHS trust.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Calf Slaughter
Mr. Tyler: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received about the calf slaughter scheme. [28871]
Mr. Baldry: I have received a number of representations about this scheme. They relate mainly to the requirement for processors to give three days' notice of presentation of animals for slaughter and the penalties if the number actually presented does not tally with that notified in advance. My officials are pressing the EU Commission for a relaxation of these rules so as to make the scheme more flexible.
Cattle Slaughter
Dr. Strang: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how long he estimates it will take the approved slaughterhouses to slaughter those cattle currently over the age of 30 months. [28324]
Mr. Baldry [holding answer 7 May 1996]: It is too early to make a meaningful estimate of this kind. The slaughter programme has now started and we aim to remove the backlog of cattle as quickly as possible.
Mr. Beith: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what facilities will be available in the county of Northumberland to collect cull cows and cattle of over 30 months for a slaughter; and if he will designate Acklington mart for this purpose. [28543]
Mr. Baldry [holding answer 7 May 1996]: Several centres in Northumberland, including Acklington, and others at Hexham, Morpeth and Wooler, are included in the provisional list of markets being designated as collection centres for the slaughter of cattle over 30 months.
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EC Beef Ban
Mr. Marlow: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will set out the main points of the report by the Scientific Veterinary Committee that was consulted by the EC Commission with regard to beef on 22 March. [24889]
Mrs. Browning [holding answer 16 April 1996]: I have placed in the Library of the House a copy of the conclusions of the Scientific Veterinary Committee's meeting of 22 March.
In the view of the committee, the data presented at the meeting on the new variant of CJD do not to date provide evidence that BSE is transmissible to man.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Drugs Misuse
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which committees, Ministers and officials within his Department are responsible for the development of a multi-agency and cross-Government Department approach on the misuse of drugs; and if he will make a statement. [28254]
Mr. Sackville: The ministerial sub-committee of the Cabinet on the misuse of drugs, chaired by my right hon. Friend the Lord President of the Council, co-ordinates the work of Departments, including the Home Office, involved in tackling drug misuse. The Lord President is supported in his co-ordinating role by the central drugs co-ordination unit. Independent advice to Government is provided by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs.
Police and Fire Services
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what additional resources the Government are making available to meet increased costs from pensions, inflation and other unavoidable costs in the police and fire services; and if he will make a statement. [28245]
Mr. Maclean [holding answer 9 May 1996]: For the police service in England and Wales the settlement for 1996-97 included an extra £79.9 million for pensions, £123.6 million for pay and other inflationary pressures, and a further £20 million to enable the police service to recruit 1,000 additional constables by the end of 1996-97. The Association of Chief Police Officers and the police authority associations play a valuable role in forecasting additional pressures on police authority budgets. Their views will be taken into account in the 1997-98 spending round.
For the fire service for England, the settlement for 1996-97 included an extra £14 million for pensions and £3 million for training. The total fire standard spending assessments are distributed to individual fire authorities by means of a formula. This was adjusted to take account of factors for pensions and fire safety for 1996-97 in line with recommendations by the Audit Commission. The
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formula is looked at each year and local authority representatives play a full part in that review.
Mr. Carlile:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what plans he has to increase the length of service for police and firemen from 30 years to 35 years before securing a full pension; and if he will make a statement; [28250]
Mr. Maclean
[holding answer 9 May 1996]: The information about the number of retirements on ill health grounds is not available in the form requested. The details of the police and fire service pension schemes have been under review. The results will shortly be the subject of consultation with police and fire interests.
Mr. Carlile:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the cost in real terms of the police and fire service pension schemes in each of the last 10 years; what estimate he has made of these costs for each of the next 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [28251]
Mr. Maclean
[holding answer 9 May 1996]: The net cost of the police and fire pensions scheme between 1985-86 and 1994-95, as actual expenditure and at 1996-97 prices, is set out in the tables. Projections of costs from 1995-96 to 1999-2000 are available only in respect of police pensions as set out in the tables.
(2) what percentage of (a) firemen and (b) police officers retire on ill health grounds with less than 30 years service; and if he will make a statement on how these figures affect each pension scheme. [28252]
| Year | Net expenditure (actual) | Net expenditure (at 1996-97 prices) |
|---|---|---|
| Actual outturn(10) | ||
| 1985-86 | 187 | 306 |
| 1986-87 | 224 | 356 |
| 1987-88 | 237 | 357 |
| 1988-89 | 254 | 359 |
| 1989-90 | 292 | 386 |
| 1990-91 | 333 | 407 |
| 1991-92 | 409 | 471 |
| 1992-93 | 461 | 510 |
| 1993-94 | 543 | 584 |
| 1994-95 | 611 | 645 |
| Estimates(11) | ||
| 1995-96 | 702 | 721 |
| 1996-97 | 793 | 793 |
| 1997-98 | 830 | 810 |
| 1998-99 | 884 | 848 |
| 1999-2000 | 949 | -- |
(10) Outturn figures from 1985-86 to 1993-94 were calculated from gross pensions expenditure and pensions income (pensions holding account) in the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy's Police Statistics (Actuals). In the absence of CIPFA Actuals for 1994-95, figures for 1994-95 were calculated from authorities' returns to the Home Office (revenue grant claim forms).
(11) Projections from 1995-96 onwards were derived from Government Actuary Department models. Actual expenditure was expressed at 1996-97 prices using the latest GDP deflators which run to 1998-99.
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| Year | Net expenditure (actual) | Net expenditure (at 1996-97 prices) |
|---|---|---|
| Actual outturn(12) | 50 | 82 |
| 1985-86 | 58 | 92 |
| 1986-87 | 64 | 96 |
| 1987-88 | 73 | 104 |
| 1988-89 | 84 | 111 |
| 1989-90 | 98 | 120 |
| 1990-91 | 117 | 135 |
| 1991-92 | 131 | 144 |
| 1992-93 | 147 | 158 |
| 1993-94 | 159 | 168 |
| 1994-95 |
(12) Outturn figures from 1985-86 to 1994-95 were calculated from authorities' revenue outturn returns to the Department of the Environment and the Welsh Office.
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