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Taxation

Mr. Byers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the (a) direct tax and (b) indirect tax in cash prices paid in (i) 1978-79 and

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(ii) 1996-97 for those whose income is in the (i) top 1 per cent., (ii) top 5 per cent., (iii) top 10 per cent., (iv) top 25 per cent., (vi) bottom 10 per cent., (vii) bottom 5 per cent., and (viii) bottom 1 per cent. and what is the total change for each category and change for each individual taxpayer. [38786]

Mr. Jack [holding answer 22 July 1996]: The information is not available in the form requested. Latest information is contained in the article, "The Effects of Taxes and Benefits on Household Income, 1994-95, (Economic Trends, December 1995).

NORTHERN IRELAND

Race Relations

Mr. Robert McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what consultations he had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the question of (a) amending the Race Relations Acts and (b) other measures to protect members of the Irish traveller community when in Great Britain. [38292]

Mr. Ancram: I have had no consultations with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on either of these matters. Case law in Great Britain has already established Irish people generally as constituting a racial group and therefore subject to the protection of the Race Relations Act 1976.

Mr. McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is his estimate of the number of (a) different ethnic groups and their populations and (b) the Irish traveller community, who will be covered by the proposed race relations Order in Council. [38291]

Mr. Ancram: The Government's proposal for a draft race relations (NI) Order in Council seeks to extend to all individuals in Northern Ireland legal redress against racial discrimination. As a question on ethnic origin has not been included in previous Northern Ireland censuses, there are no precise figures on the number in different ethnic groups in Northern Ireland. In its consultation document on race relations of December 1992, the Government published an estimate of approximately 5,000 members of the Chinese community, 1,000 members of the Indian community and 700 members of the Pakistani community. The Irish traveller community was estimated at 1,115 in a survey conducted by the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland in 1993.

Student Grants

Mr. Robert McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will consult the Secretary of State for Education and Employment in order to amend the residency rule that prevents British students whose British-born parents have been abroad, outside the EU,

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for periods of more than three years from receiving awards for or toward tuition fees, to apply to a period of more than 10 years. [38296]

Mr. Ancram: No. There are no plans to consult about such a change to the residence requirements, which are common throughout the United Kingdom.

Mr. Lindsay Robb

Mr. Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to his answer of 3 July, Official Report, columns 4777-8, what payments have been made by the Royal Ulster Constabulary to Mr. Lindsay Robb; and on what dates. [38511]

Sir John Wheeler: It is not appropriate to comment on specific instances in which payments are made under the witness protection scheme. In no circumstances is payment offered as an inducement in return for the giving of evidence. However, it is an unfortunate fact of life, not unique to Northern Ireland, that people who are prepared to perform their public duty in giving evidence of wrongdoing can, on occasion, be subjected to threat and intimidation. In such cases, it is appropriate that protection should be given to those who are prepared to make such a commitment. This protection may include the relocation of the individual and his or her family away from their original home, and involve payments to reimburse them for additional expenses incurred, or to enable them to maintain a standard of living equivalent to that enjoyed prior to any forced relocation.

Death Statistics

Mr. Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many deaths have been recorded in Northern Ireland for each of the past 10 years in the period December to March; [39010]

Sir John Wheeler: Responsibility for the subject has been delegated to the Statistics and Research Agency under its chief executive, Mr. E. F. Jardine. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from E. F. Jardine to Mr. Ian Davidson, dated 22 July 1996:

You recently tabled two questions asking the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many deaths have been recorded in Northern Ireland for each of the past 10 years in the period December to March, and what the excess Winter mortality rates have been for each of the last 10 years expressed in both excess numbers and as percentages. I have been asked to reply in my capacity as Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency.


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Fair Employment

Mr. Robert McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the titles of its research papers into fair employment practice that the Northern Ireland civil service has decided not to publish. [38294]

Mr. Ancram: The policy, planning and research unit, on behalf of the central community relations unit, commissioned research on "Modelling Rates of Unemployment using the "Continuous Household Surveys 1987-89" from the department of social statistics at the university of Southampton in December 1990, and a report was received in April 1993. The research was not published as it had been superseded by a more comprehensive project, employing more up-to-date data. Two reports on this latter research, which was commissioned from the Northern Ireland economic research centre, have subsequently been published by the central community relations unit.

Pension Splitting

Mr. Robert McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the ability of divorcing couples to arrange pension splitting under the Family Law Act 1996 provisions where their pensions are governed by the new England and Wales law, or one is so governed while the other is governed by Northern Ireland law; and if he will make a statement. [38297]

Mr. Moss: None. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security proposes to publish a Green Paper to consult on the implications of pension splitting, and to bring forward firm proposals for its implementation. It is our intention to bring forward legislation to allow for pension splitting to be implemented in Northern Ireland from the same date as in England and Wales.

Stalking

Mr. Robert McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will take steps in consultation with the Home Office to have Northern Ireland included in the extent of the proposed law on stalking. [38293]

Sir John Wheeler: On 9 July, the Home Office and Lord Chancellor's Departments jointly published a consultation paper, "Stalking--The Solutions", which addresses the problems posed by stalking in England and

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Wales and proposes measures to deal with the menace. As the consultation paper states, my right hon. and learned Friend intends to publish a separate paper which will address circumstances in Northern Ireland, including the relevant civil and criminal law. The extent of any new legislation which might arise, and the means by which it might be implemented, will obviously depend on comments received on the consultation papers in the two jurisdictions. I will, however, bear the hon. and learned Gentleman's request in mind.

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