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Defence Costs Studies
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list each of his Department's defence cost studies; what were the estimated savings accruing from the implementation of proposals contained in each study; and what is his current estimate of how much each proposal will save. [18114]
Mr. Soames: I refer the hon. Member to my answer given to the hon. Member for Wyre (Mr. Mans) on 26 November 1996, Official Report, columns 196-97.
Nuclear Tests (Compensation)
Mr. Livingstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his policy in respect of claims that former service personnel who participated in the nuclear tests programme in Australia and the south Pacific have developed (a) leukaemia, excluding chronic lymphatic and (b) multiple myeloma as a result of those tests; and if he will make a statement. [17953]
Mr. Soames: My Department's policy is based on the conclusions of the studies by the National Radiological Protection Board. The second report concluded that the excess of leukaemia in test participants compared with controls in the period two to 25 years after the tests is likely to be a chance finding, although the possibility that test participation may have caused a small risk of developing leukaemia in the early years after the tests cannot be completely ruled out. It also concluded that data available from the additional follow-up since 1988 did not support the suggestion from the previous report that participants may have experienced a small hazard of multiple myeloma, which also appeared to be a chance finding.
The general conclusion of the NRPB studies was that participation in the nuclear weapon testing programme had not had a detectable effect on the participants' expectation of life nor on their risk of developing cancer or other diseases.
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These findings provide no grounds for claims for compensation and no such claims have been made against my Department.
Mr. Austin Mitchell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the revision of the manual of military law of armed conflict currently planned by Her Majesty's Government are part of a concerted NATO revision.[18101]
Mr. Soames:
No. However, the authors have been in informal consultations with other nations which are working on similar projects including some NATO countries.
Mr. Mitchell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the planned new joint service manual on the law of armed conflict to replace part III of the manual of military law will be published; what consultations will be held on its revision; and if he is prepared to accept representations on it. [18091]
Mr. Soames:
A text for a draft joint service manual was prepared some years ago but held in abeyance pending decisions on the ratification by the UK of the additional protocols to the Geneva conventions of 1949. That text is currently being updated to take into account recent developments in the field although no final date can be given as yet for its completion. The draft is being prepared by service officers, assisted by an eminent academic consultant, and the final text will be subject to comment both within the Ministry of Defence and other interested Departments prior to publication. There are no plans for public consultation or comment. Once published, it will be available to the public and subject to regular update and amendment.
Mr. Jamieson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what financial assistance his Department plans to provide for service personnel to assist with increases in rents for family quarters; and if he will make a statement.[17948]
Mr. Soames:
We do not propose to introduce any additional financial assistance to compensate for the rises in service accommodation charges.
The Armed Forces Pay Review Body recommends levels of pay and charges broadly comparable to those in the civilian sector. The level of accommodation charge is based on the costs of comparable housing, less an abatement to take account of the relative disadvantages of living in service accommodation. Taking account of the increases in pay due to come into effect on 1 April and 1 December 1997, no personnel will experience a net decrease in pay as a result of the increases in accommodation charges.
Mr. Dalyell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representation he has received from General Sir David Scott-Barrett of the Scots Guards regarding Scots Guardsmen Fisher and Wright. [18208]
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Mr. Soames:
My right hon. Friend has received one representation direct from General Scott-Barrett. He and I have received a number of others from hon. Members about the case of Guardsmen Fisher and Wright.
Dr. David Clark:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list his Department's aircraft crashes which are still under investigation. [18112]
Mr. Soames:
The information requested is as follows:
Dr. David Clark:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 17 February, Official Report, column 367, what were the total receipts for the sale of the empty homes by the end of summer 1996. [18113]
Mr. Soames:
Of the 5,348 disposals, 2,373 formed part of the service families married quarter sale to Annington Homes and the value of surplus homes cannot be separately identified. A total of 2,687 were sold through the normal processes but receipts information is not held centrally and therefore it has not been possible to collate cost data in the time available: I will write to the hon. Member. Two hundred and fifteen houses were demolished as surplus or as part of the demolition and rebuild programme and thus did not attract receipts. Seventy-three houses were leased pending later sale.
The above figures cover the 18-month period to 30 September 1996 and include the Annington Homes sales for which contracts were exchanged on 24 September 1996.
Mr. Cousins:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of his staff work from the Al Bilad building, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; if his Department is the owner of the building; and which organisation is responsible for its security arrangements. [17238]
Mr. Arbuthnot
[holding answer 24 February 1997]: The building mentioned is not owned by my Department. I am withholding information on the security arrangements under exemption 4(f) of the code of practice on access to government information 1997.
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Mr. Malcolm Bruce:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action he proposes to take to stop computer-generated claims for interest on tax payments received under self-assessment after 31 January where the cost of recovering the interest exceeds the interest; and if he will make a statement. [17182]
Mr. Jack:
Self-assessment statements of account were not, and will not, be issued solely to advise taxpayers of small amounts of interest due.
Mr. Harry Greenway:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the gross sum collected per annum by HM Customs and Excise in respect of the VAT levied on the repair and maintenance of private dwellings. [17082]
Mr. Oppenheim
[holding answer 24 February 1997]: Statistics on the VAT collected on repairs and maintenance of private dwellings are not directly available. The gross VAT liability in 1995 in respect of repairs, maintenance and alterations carried out by contractors on private sector housing is estimated at £1.2 billion.
Mr. Byers:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what date the former head of the Inland Revenue special investigations unit (a) was arrested for corrupt practices and (b) requested information relating to the tax returns made by a right hon. Member. [17367]
Mr. Jack
[holding answer 24 February 1997]: Mr. Michael Allcock, the former head of the Inland Revenue's London special office 2 was arrested on suspicion of corruption on 27 July 1993.
With reference to the second part of the hon. Member's question, the rules on taxpayer confidentiality prevent the disclosure of any information relating to the tax affairs of any particular taxpayer or taxpayers.
Mr. David Marshall:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer to what extent environmental considerations informed the scale of increase in vehicle fuel taxation in his last budget. [17361]
Mr. Oppenheim:
The Government's policy on fuel duties is an important part of their overall environmental policy. The policy of successive UK Governments has been to charge duty on road fuels at rates which will not only raise sufficient revenue but also take account of the need to conserve finite stocks of fossil fuels a protect the general environment.
A commitment to raise road fuel duties by an average of at least 5 per cent. each year in real terms was announced in the 1993 Budget. The aim of these tax rises is to encourage fuel efficiency and to help to control harmful pollution. This will help to reach the Rio convention commitment by returning emissions of carbon
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dioxide and other greenhouse gases--methane, nitrous oxide--to their 1990 levels by the year 2000. As a result, pollution from vehicles is already coming down.
In order to encourage the use of high-mileage vehicles in our towns and cities and of more environmentally friendly fuels, two measures were announced: the duty rate of ultra-low sulphur diesel will be reduced by 1p per litre relative to ordinary diesel, when the necessary international agreement is attained. Ultra-low sulphur diesel is cleaner than ordinary diesel, but is slightly more expensive to produce. This measure will encourage the use of ultra-low sulphur diesel. We also announced 25 per cent. reduction in the duty on road fuel gases. This means the duty rate for gas used as road fuel is now 21.13 pence per kilogram--approximately 1.5 litres--compared with 41.68p per litre for leaded petrol and 36.86p per litre for unleaded petrol and diesel road fuel.
Mr. Olner:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the yield in (a) 1994-95 and (b) 1995-96; and what is the estimated yield in 1996-97 from (i) petrol duty, (ii) derv duty, (iii) vehicle excise duty, (iv) VAT on petrol and derv rates and (v) VAT on vehicle sales.[17515]
Mr. Oppenheim:
The information requested is shown in the table:
10 January 1996: 2 RAF Tornado F3s
23 January 1996: RAF Jaguar GR1B
13 February 1996: RAF Hawk T1
19 February 1996: RAF Harrier GR7
23 February 1996: RAF Tornado GR1
26 February 1996: RAF Tornado GR1
26 February 1996: RN Harrier T4N
26 May 1996: RAF Hawk T1
24 July 1996: RAF Jaguar GR1A
18 September 1996: RAF Jaguar T2A
28 September 1996: MOD(PE) Tornado F3
9 January 1997: RAF Harrier GR7
15 February 1997: RAF Puma HC1
| 1994-95 | 1995-96 | 1996-97 (forecast) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| petrol duty | 9.6 | 10.1 | -- |
| derv duty | 4.4 | 5.3 | -- |
| Total fuel duties | 14.0 | 15.4 | (1)17.4 |
| VED | 3.8 | 4.0 | 4.3 |
| VAT on fuel duties | 2.5 | 2.7 | 3.0 |
| VAT on vehicle sales | 3.4 | 3.6 | (2)n/a |
(1) Petrol and derv forecast receipts are not published separately.
(2) Separate forecasts of VAT on vehicle sales are not available.
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