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Medical and Dental Officers
Mr. Corbett: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement about the pay of medical and dental officers in the Armed Forces. [2096]
The Prime Minister:
The Armed Forces Pay Review Body has made recommendations on the pay of medical and dental officers in the Armed Forces. The Review Body recommends that the daily rate of basic pay should be increased by an average of 3.4 per cent. from 1 April. They have further proposed some significant changes to the pay structures of Service medical and dental officers which will see many forms of additional payments, such as consultant pay, consolidated into basic pay. The Review Body also mentioned that it welcomed the fact that the Ministry of Defence was, in future, proposing to base the pensions of Service medical and dental officers on representative rates of their own salaries rather than that of their combatant counterparts. These changes will
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serve to give a greater degree of comparability between the pay of Defence Medical Staff and their counterparts in the NHS.
The Government has decided to accept the Review Body's recommendations. Along with the earlier recommendations of the Armed Forces Pay Review Body, and the recommendations of the other Review Bodies, these will be staged, with 2 per cent. of the award being back dated to 1 April, and the remainder being payable from 1 December.
Indemnity Undertakings
Mr. John Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many indemnity undertakings were given by departments under section 16 of the National Heritage Act 1980 for the six-month period ended 31 March; and what was the value of (a) any contingent liabilities in respect of such undertakings given at any time under that section which remain outstanding as at 31 March, (b) non-statutory Government indemnities in respect of loans handled by the Government Art Collection which remain outstanding as at 31 March and (c) non-statutory undertakings to Her Majesty in respect of loans from the Royal Collection which remain outstanding at 31 March. [2027]
Mr. Chris Smith: The provision for the Government Indemnity Scheme is made by the National Heritage Act 1980. The scheme facilitates public access to loans of works of art and other objects for public display made to museums, galleries and other such institutions by private owners and non-national institutions. It does this by indemnifying lenders against loss or damage to their loan. Loans covered by the scheme must be for public benefit. The scheme also covers loans of such objects for study purposes within institutions where this would contribute materially to the public's understanding or appreciation of the loan--for example through a scholarly publication.
| Numbers | |
|---|---|
| Department of National Heritage | 469 |
| Scottish Office Education and Industry Department | 66 |
| Welsh Office Education Department | 65 |
| Department of Education for Northern Ireland | 28 |
The value of contingent liabilities in respect of undertakings given at anytime under section 16 and which remained outstanding at 31 March 1997 is:
3 Jun 1997 : Column: 137
Department of National Heritage: £1,337,264,837
Scottish Office Education and Industry Department: £38,701,845
Welsh Office Education Department: £60,611,806
Department of Education for Northern Ireland: £10,678,989
The value of non-statutory Government Indemnities to cover loans handled by the Government Art Collection and which remained outstanding at 31 March 197 is:
The value of non-statutory Undertakings given to Her Majesty in respect of loans from the Royal Collection and which remained outstanding at 31 March 1997 is:
Value: £9,000,000
Value: £100,327,077
National Newspapers
Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what plans he has for new regulations covering the ownership of national newspapers.[1822]
Mr. Nigel Griffiths [holding answer 2 June 1997]: I have been asked to reply. My Department has no immediate plans for new regulations covering the transfer of ownership of national newspapers, however the Department of National Heritage is maintaining regular monitoring of the impact of various factors and policies on the media, including control of cross-media ownership.
Disability
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will make it his policy to adopt a social model of disability in framing all future and amending previous relevant legislation and guidance; and if he will make a statement. [1666]
Mr. Tom Clarke: I shall be seeking to ensure that any proposed relevant future legislation and guidance issued by my Department reflects our manifesto commitment to establishing:
"comprehensive, enforceable civil rights for disabled people against discrimination in society or at work, developed in partnership with all interested parties". It will also reflect, as appropriate, the outcome of the consultation being undertaken by the Department for Education and Employment on the issue of the definition of disability.
SCOTLAND
Scottish Homes
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his policy with regard to the funding of Scottish Homes for the remainder of the present financial year. [87]
Mr. Dewar [holding answer 19 May 1997]: I can confirm that Scottish Homes grant in aid for 1997-98, as set out in "The Government's Expenditure Plans 1997-98 to 1999-2000", is £264.899 million.
I am making an additional £1 million available for the Scottish Rough Sleepers Initiative this year. Because this Initiative is funded through Scottish Homes, this extra money will be added to Scottish Homes' grant in aid.
Private Finance Initiative
Mr. Canavan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement about Government policy on private finance initiative for school building programmes. [1083]
3 Jun 1997 : Column: 138
Mr. Brian Wilson:
A number of education authorities are considering the potential of the private finance initiative and public private partnerships to assist their school building programmes. We are committed to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of that process and will be offering authorities practical advice and assistance to that end.
Mr. Menzies Campbell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects to set up the independent body to be established under the Crime and Punishment (Scotland) Act 1997 to consider cases of alleged miscarriages of justice. [1275]
Mr. McLeish:
My right hon. Friend supports the establishment of an independent Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission in principle, but further preparatory work will be required before a decision can be taken on implementation of the relevant provisions of the 1997 Act. He cannot at this stage say precisely when the Commission might be set up.
Mr. Menzies Campbell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what consultation he will initiate before seeking to bring into force those provisions of the Crime and Punishment (Scotland) Act 1997 which require his consent or subordinate legislation. [1276]
Mr. McLeish:
We intend to consult the judiciary and other interested parties, as appropriate, before making orders under section 65(2) of the 1997 Act.
Mr. David Stewart:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement about performance targets for the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency for 1997-98. [2011]
Mr. Dewar:
For the financial year 1997-98 I have set the following targets:
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In order to ensure that the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency uses its resources efficiently, I have set it a target to achieve cash releasing efficiency gains of 2.0 per cent. during 1996-97.
Aerial surveillance percentage of hours flown on task: 85 per cent.
Aerial surveillance cost per aircraft sighting: £82
Marine surveillance utilisation of effective patrol days: 96 per cent.
cost per boarding: £2,685
Marine surveillance number of boardings at sea: 2,200 1
Sea Fisheries inspectorate cost per logsheet check: £65
landing declarations checked against actual catches 40 per cent.
80 per cent. of cases for prosecution to be reported within 6 weeks of offence being detected and 95 per cent. within 8 weeks
Number of cases where court proceedings are taken as percentage of offences reported to prosecuting authorities: 80 per cent.
1 This target is 400 less than that for 1996-97 and reflects the reduction from 300 to nil of Royal Navy patrol days contracted from the Ministry of Defence.
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