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Reconciliation Services
Mrs. Peacock: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what sums will be allocated for reconciliation services as a result of the Family Law Act 1996; and if such funds will be used solely for reconciling the couple to remaining married.[8186]
Mr. Streeter: The Lord Chancellor announced on 6 November that he was inviting tenders for a programme of pilot projects in order to identify types of service with particular potential for reducing the incidence of marriage breakdown and its consequent cost. Tenders have been invited from marriage support organisations. All valid bids will be evaluated on merit after 17 January 1997. Funding under the programme will be available for a range of marriage support services, including marriage preparation. The sums allocated will depend on the number of bids received which meet the pilot programme objectives.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION
Emergency Relief
25. Dr. Godman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the consequences of the Chancellor's Budget statement for his Department's expenditure in respect of emergency relief. [6523]
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Dr. Liam Fox: The Chancellor's statement will have no direct or indirect effect on the capacity of the ODA to continue to provide overseas emergency relief.
Rwanda
27. Mr. Grocott: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the current level of aid to Rwanda. [6525]
Dr. Liam Fox: Since April 1994, the United Kingdom has committed over £137 million bilaterally and in support of European Union actions to help meet emergency and rehabilitation needs in Rwanda and those of Rwandan refugees.
Lome Convention
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with other EU countries regarding the future of the Lome convention. [6524]
Dr. Liam Fox: My right hon. and noble Friend the Minister for Overseas Development has discussed this topic in several recent meetings with her counterparts from other EU member states. Most recently, the topic was raised at the EU Development Council on 22 November, where Ministers had the opportunity for an initial exchange of views on the issue.
Belarus
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what current financial
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assistance is being committed for the assistance of the economy in the Republic of Belarus; and if he will make a statement. [6527]
Dr. Liam Fox: The Government are not providing financial assistance to Belarus. That country has benefited from a modest level of technical assistance from the know-how fund and from our contributions to the multilateral agencies.
Bilateral Aid
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what expenditure, in 1996 prices, his Department has incurred on consultants, including management consultants, on the bilateral aid programme in 1995-96. [6976]
Dr. Liam Fox: Expenditure on consultants, including management consultants, for 1995-96 was £171,770,000. This sum covers contracts with individuals, charitable agencies, universities and commercial companies.
ENVIRONMENT
Town Centres
Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the implications for Government policy on town centres of his Department's decision to contribute towards the research by the Association of Town Centre Management into the feasibility of US-style town and city improvement zones. [7174]
Sir Paul Beresford: This research is exploring the feasibility of a variety of approaches, based on voluntary participation, and is in line with our response to the Environment Committee to work with ATCM and others. I cannot prejudge the outcome of the research.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what external legal advice he has taken in respect of the Audit Commission's use of the powers set out in sections 28 and 29 of the Local Government Finance Act 1982; and if he will make a statement. [7644]
Sir Paul Beresford: It is for the Audit Commission to satisfy itself that it is acting fully within its powers under sections 28 and 29 of the Local Government Finance Act 1982.
Mr. Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much money is to be yielded by national domestic rates in 1996-97; what percentage of that amount is allocated to local government and how much of that amount was held back by the Treasury in 1996-97; and what estimate he has made of the figures in each case for 1997-98. [7476]
Mr. Curry: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Croydon, North-East (Mr. Congdon) on 27 November, Official Report, column 242-44.
Because of the pooling arrangements, it is not possible to say what percentage of the non-domestic rates yield for any one year is allocated to local government in that year. Under paragraph 8 of schedule 8 to the Local Government
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Finance Act 1998, the Secretary of State for the Environment is required to distribute to local authorities the total amount which he estimates will be paid into the pool, after adjusting for any deficit or surplus brought forward from the previous year.
By the end of 1996-97, the amount distributed from the pool since 1990-91 to local authorities will total £81.476 billion, while the amounts paid into the pool are estimated to total £80.631 billion over the same period: the deficit on the pool at the end of 1996-97 is, therefore, estimated to be £0.845 billion. Taking account of estimated payments into the pool of £12.873 billion in 1997-98, the amount paid into the pool between 1990-91 and 1997-98 is estimated to total £93.503 billion, and will equal the amount distributed to local authorities over the same period.
Mr. Cohen:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the rate of (a) death and (b) major injury among the self-employed in each of the last 10 years. [7526]
Sir Paul Beresford:
The fatal and major injury incidence rates for self-employed people for all industry, as reported to health and safety enforcing authorities, were as follows:
| Year | Fatal rate (per 100,000) | Major injury rate (per 100,000) |
|---|---|---|
| 1986-87 | 2.0 | 26.9 |
| 1987-88 | 3.0 | 31.0 |
| 1988-89 | 2.7 | 39.4 |
| 1989-90 | 3.3 | 41.2 |
| 1990-91 | 2.7 | 41.2 |
| 1991-92 | 2.1 | 33.1 |
| 1992-93 | 2.0 | 35.8 |
| 1993-94 | 1.6 | 40.6 |
| 1994-95 | 2.5 | 40.4 |
| 1995-96(13) | 1.5 | 35.9 |
(13) Provisional.
Shellfish
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many and what proportion of England's shellfish waters have been designated as safe under the shellfish waters directive 79/923. [7683]
Mr. Clappison: The shellfish waters directive applies to coastal and brackish waters designated by member states and defines quality objectives to protect the development of shellfish populations from the principal sources of pollution. Seventeen such waters have been designated in England, and the Environment Agency monitoring results for 1995 showed that over 80 per cent. complied with the directive's requirements. None of the failures was considered by the competent authority to have harmful consequences for the development of shellfish colonies.
Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Mr. Rooker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will bring forward proposals to restore
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for areas of outstanding natural beauty the same primary purpose as that pertaining to national parks. [7758]
Mr. Clappison: We have no plans to do so.
Mr. Rooker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received regarding the separation of the common primary purpose previously enjoyed by the national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty; and if he will make a statement. [7759]
Mr. Clappison: I am not aware of any such representations.
Asbestos
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many of the prosecutions brought for breaching asbestos regulations since 1986 resulted in the imposition of a fine; and what was the average value of the fine imposed. [7903]
Sir Paul Beresford: The information requested is available only for prosecutions brought by the Health and Safety Executive's field operations directorate for breaches of the Asbestos Regulations 1969, the Asbestos (Licensing) Regulations 1983, the Asbestos (Prohibitions) Regulations 1985, the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 1987 and the Asbestos (Prohibitions) Regulations 1992, from 1 April 1986 to 31 March 1996.
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