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Contracted-out Services

Mr. Welsh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what will be the impact on local authority contracted-out services of the restrictions placed by Customs and Excise on the ability of bodies to recover VAT retrospectively; what is the estimated cost to local authorities and if he will make a statement. [2620]

Sir Paul Beresford: No assessment has been made of the estimated cost to local authorities of this proposed change. If approved, the changes limiting the repayment of VAT to three years will apply equally to both the public and private sector. Local authorities should have proper accounting arrangements to recover VAT, whether contracted out to the private sector or performed in-house.

Business Rate Relief

Mr. Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to make independent petrol retailers eligible for business rate relief. [2635]

Sir Paul Beresford: Independent petrol retailers in rural villages will be eligible for discretionary rate relief under the measures introduced in the Local Government and Rating Bill.

Council Tax (Students)

Mr. David Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to assist full-time students who are jointly liable for the council tax because they share accommodation with non-students. [2766]

Mr. Curry: At present when a student shares accommodation with a recipient of council tax benefit their joint liability for council tax is higher than if each lived separately. We propose to end this anomaly by amending the council tax liability rules to exclude students from joint and several liability as soon as we have an opportunity to amend primary legislation.

As an interim measure my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Social Security, has submitted a proposal today to the Social Security advisory committee to amend the council tax benefit rules, with effect from 1 April 1997, so that where a full-time student is jointly liable with a benefit recipient their presence in the household will be ignored in the calculation of council tax benefit. This will have a similar effect to the longer-term solution.

NATIONAL HERITAGE

Improvement Works

Mr. Barry Field: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will list the current works of improvement and refurbishment being undertaken on the English Heritage estate in the south of England. [2593]

Mr. Sproat: A total of £9.2 million was spent in 1995-96 on works to the 181 English Heritage properties in the south of England--£3.5 million on day to day maintenance of properties and £5.7 million on conservation and visitor improvements works. My hon.

6 Nov 1996 : Column: 533

Friend may wish to contact Jane Sharman, English Heritage's acting chief executive, if he requires further information.

National Lottery (Sheffield)

Sir Irvine Patnick: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many grants have been awarded by the National Lotteries Charities Board in (a) Sheffield and (b) the Hallam constituency; and if she will make a statement. [2391]

Mr. Sproat: The National Lottery Charities Board has made 58 grants to charities and voluntary organisations based in Sheffield, of which six are based in Hallam.

Computers (Century Date Change)

Mr. Ingram: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what assessment she has made of the cost effects of the millennium date change on the computer systems operated by her Department. [2602]

Mr. Sproat [holding answer 5 November 1996]: The Department of National Heritage is in the process of liaising with the suppliers of the information technology software and systems that it uses to gauge the level of work required to deal with the millennium date change.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Burma

Mr. Fatchett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the discussions regarding Burma at the recent EU Foreign Ministers meeting in Luxembourg. [2485]

Mr. Hanley: At the recent General Affairs Council in Luxembourg, Ministers adopted an EU common position on Burma which imposes the following measures on the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council--SLORC:

ban on entry visas for senior members of the SLORC and their families;


ban on entry visas for senior members of the military or the security forces who formulate, implement or benefit from policies that impede Burma's transition to democracy, and their families;


suspension of high-level bilateral governmental visits to Burma (Ministers and officials at level of political director and above).

Peru

Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the bilateral talks in Lima between Her Majesty's Government and Peru on debt. [2424]

Sir Nicholas Bonsor: Following negotiations in Lima last month between officials of the Export Credits Guarantee Department and the Government of Peru, the United Kingdom-Peru agreement No. 5 (1996), covering approximately £120 million of debt owed by Peru to ECGD, was signed on 4 November 1996. This agreement follows on from the July agreement of the Paris Club of Government creditors to reschedule £6.3 billion of Peru's official bilateral debts over 20 years.

6 Nov 1996 : Column: 534

Her Majesty's Government wrote off the Overseas Development Administration's outstanding aid loans to Peru, worth some £5 million, in 1995.

Mr. Clive Russell

Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will ensure that (a) public interest immunity certificates and (b) the Official Secrets Act are not used in the case of Mr. Clive Russell and supplies to Argentina. [275]

Mr. Rifkind [holding answer 4 November 1996]: Neither the law relating to public interest immunity nor the Official Secrets Acts provides any impediment to the proper investigation of alleged criminal offences. Mr. Russell or any other person having evidence that goods or services have been unlawfully supplied to Argentina should make that evidence available to the appropriate investigating authority, which is HM Customs and Excise.

TRANSPORT

Tunnel and Bridge Tolls

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received from the European Commission in respect of charging VAT on tunnel and bridge tolls; and what responses he has made. [2443]

Mr. Bowis: None.

Speed Limits

Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has for 10 mph speed limits in residential areas. [2393]

Mr. Bowis: None.

Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into the (i) lives saved and (ii) injuries reduced where 20 mph speed limits have been introduced. [2394]

Mr. Bowis: The Department commissioned the Transport Research Laboratory to conduct research into the effectiveness of 20 mph zones. TRL published its report--TRL report No. 215--on 12 September 1996. The report shows that in the zones accident frequency fell by 60 per cent., pedestrian casualties fell by 61 per cent. and child pedestrian and child cyclist casualties fell by 67 per cent.

Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) speed cameras and (b) live speed cameras his Department plans to install in the next six months. [2060]

Mr. Bowis: Decisions on when and where speed enforcement camera equipment is installed are for local highway authorities to take, the Highways Agency for motorways and trunk roads and local authorities for other roads.

6 Nov 1996 : Column: 535

Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans his Department has to introduce legislation requiring new vehicles to be fitted with on-board variable speed limiters; and if he will make a statement. [2056]

Mr. Bowis: None.

Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will list the principal elements of the "kill your speed" campaign over the next 24 months; and if he will make a statement; [2062]

(2) what plans his Department has to introduce measures to reduce the number of road crashes; and if he will make a statement. [2055]

Mr. Bowis: The Government regards the "kill your speed" campaign as a long-term commitment. Changing public attitudes to driving at inappropriate speeds is essential if the numbers of people killed and injured in road traffic accidents is to continue to decline.

In November 1992, the Government published a policy document, "Killing speed and saving lives", which sets out the main elements of the strategy. The more recent "Child pedestrian safety strategy", published in August this year, reaffirms the priority given to reducing urban speed. Copies of both these publications are available in the library.

Detailed plans for the next two years are under discussion.

Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of road crashes resulting in death or serious injury which involved a vehicle which was exceeding the speed limit in the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [2058]

Mr. Bowis: During the 10 years 1986 to 1995 there were 513,636 road accidents in Great Britain involving death or serious injury. A total of 604,079 people were killed or seriously injured in these accidents. It is not known how many of the accidents involved a vehicle exceeding the speed limit. However, research by the Transport Research Laboratory and in the United States has indicated that around a third of road accident casualties resulted from accidents in which a vehicle was travelling with excessive speed. Some two thirds of such accidents occurred in roads with a 30 mph speed limit.

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