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Home Births
Mr. Fearn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of babies were born at home in (a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales in (i) 1994, (ii) 1995 and (iii) 1996. [5275]
Mrs. Liddell: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Chief Executive of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given. Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. Ronnie Fearn, dated 27 June 1997:
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply, as Director of the Office for National Statistics, to your recent parliamentary question on the proportion of live births at home.
The percentages of live births occurring at home for the countries and years requested are shown below
| 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 1.8 | 1.9 | 2.1 |
| Scotland(2) | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.8 |
| Wales | 1.9 | 2.1 | 2.1 |
(2) All livebirths outside hospital.
Low Pay
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people earn less than £3.50 per hour in the constituency of Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland. [5561]
Mrs. Liddell:
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Chief Executive of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
27 Jun 1997 : Column: 664
Letter from Tim Holt to Dr. Ashok Kumar, dated 27 June 1997:
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply as the Director of the Office for National Statistics to your recent question on earnings in the Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland parliamentary constituency.
Ms Lawrence:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to publish the Finance Bill; and when he will make notes on the Bill's clauses available to hon. Members. [3506]
Mr. Gordon Brown
[pursuant to his reply, 11 June 1997, c. 448]: The Finance Bill will be published by The Stationery Office on Tuesday 8 July. Explanatory Notes on the Bill's clauses will be placed in the Vote Office and the Libraries of the House that day. Copies of the Bill will be available to Members from the Vote Office at the conclusion of the Budget debate on Monday 7 July.
The latest information, from the New Earnings Survey (NES) April 1996, precedes the creation of Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland parliamentary constituency. Data for the parliamentary constituencies before they were redefined prior to the last General Election are given below:
Langbaurgh Middlesbrough Redcar
Full-time 10.9 7.5 4.7
Part-time 27.8 33.0 38.5
All 14.6 15.6 10.3
Married Quarters
Mr. McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was paid in fees to National Westminster Markets Ltd. for preparing and completing the asset sale of the Ministry of Defence married quarters to Nomura Investment Bank. [4042]
Mr. Spellar: I am currently considering our policy of withholding the information requested under exemption 7 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information and hope to reach a decision shortly.
Nuclear Weapons (Costs)
Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the proportion of the defence budget for (i) each of the last 10 years and (ii) the current year spent on (a) capital spending and (b) running costs for nuclear weapons. [4755]
Dr. Reid [holding answer 23 June 1997]: Polaris and Trident capital and running costs for years 1987-88 to 1996-97 as a percentage of the defence budget are as follows:
| Capital costs | Running costs | |
|---|---|---|
| 1987-88 | 3 | 2 |
| 1988-89 | 4 | 1 |
| 1989-90 | 4 | 1 |
| 1990-91 | 4 | 1 |
| 1991-92 | 5 | 1 |
| 1992-93 | 4 | 1 |
| 1993-94 | 4 | 1 |
| 1994-95 | 3 | 1 |
| 1995-96 | 2 | 1 |
| 1996-97 | 2 | 1 |
27 Jun 1997 : Column: 665
The estimate for 1997-98 for capital costs represents 1 per cent. of the 1997-98 defence budget. No consolidated estimate of Polaris and Trident running costs for 1997-98 is yet available. The costs of the WE177 free-fall nuclear bomb which will go out of service by 31 March 1998 and the Lance nuclear artillery system which was withdrawn from service in 1992-93 are not recorded separately. However, records show that there has been no major capital expenditure on WE177 in the last four years.
SCOTLAND
Internet
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what use he plans to make of the Internet to make Government more open. [5101]
Mr. Dewar: The Scottish Office already makes use of the Internet to publish electronically information about its work. An updated Web site is being developed to replace the current version, which has been available since August 1995. The updated site will provide further information about the business of the Department, including named contacts; full text of Departmental publications, including press releases, consultation papers and statistical bulletins; national and Departmental Charter standards and information about performance against these; information about Departmental complaints procedures; and regulatory forms and guidance.
My hon. Friend the Minister for Home Affairs and Devolution will launch a separate Scottish Devolution Web site in Edinburgh on 30 June. This will provide details of the Government's proposals for a Scottish Parliament including access to Ministerial speeches, details of meetings and Parliamentary proceedings.
In addition, the Scottish Office is examining the delivery of further services electronically where that will deliver better quality or efficiency.
Mr. Donohoe:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will list for each national health service trust operating in Scotland the names of the (a) chief executive, (b) chairman, (c) executive directors and (d) non-executive directors indicating the correspondence address for the trust; [5126]
27 Jun 1997 : Column: 666
Mr. Galbraith:
The information sought is lengthy and I will write to the honourable Member. These details will take account of appointments I have announced which will be effective from 1 July. A copy of this information will be placed in the Library.
Mr. Mitchell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the special advisers in his Department, the Minister to whom each is responsible, the subjects on which they advise and the number of advisers in his Department in the year up to 1 May. [5366]
Mr. Dewar:
My Department employs two Special Advisers, Ms Wendy Alexander and Mr. Murray Elder. Both are responsible to me. They are employed under the terms and conditions based on the model contract for Special Advisers, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House. Both advise on the wide range of issues dealt with by my Department in accordance with Schedule 1 (Part 1) of the Model Contract. Mr. Elder advises specifically on education and industry matters and with issues relating to agriculture, the environment and fisheries. Ms Alexander advises on health and the Arts, local government, housing and transport. In addition, both deal with matters relating to Home Affairs and Devolution.
Two Special Advisers were employed by my Department in the year up to 1 May 1997.
Mr. Coaker:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many fox and mink factory farms there are in Scotland by county. [5557]
Mr. Chisholm:
There are no fox or mink farms in operation in Scotland.
Mrs. Ewing:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will announce his proposals for the dates, times, venues and membership for meetings of the Scottish Grand Committee during the current parliamentary session; if he will list the proposed dates, times, venues and membership; and if he will make a statement on the role of the Scottish Grand Committee. [2586]
Mr. Dewar
[holding answer 10 June 1997]: The Scottish Grand Committee is a forum for all Scottish Constituency MPs to consider and debate issues of relevance to Scotland. I intend that this continue. It is proposed that eight meetings will take place in 1997-98 on the basis of four subjects to be chosen by the Government for debate and two each to be debated on Liberal Democrat and the Scottish National Party subjects.
(2) if he will list for each health board in Scotland the names of the board (a) general manager, (b) chairman, (c) executive directors and (d) non-executive directors indicating the correspondence address for the health board. [5128]
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