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Welsh Assembly
Mr. Alan Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what estimate he has made of the potential level of saving relating to non-departmental public bodies under a Welsh Assembly that could not be achieved under present arrangements; [9903]
- (2) if he will invite the National Audit Office to validate estimates of savings that can be made in non-departmental public bodies and public services by the Welsh Assembly.[9880]
Mr. Ron Davies: Our plans for a Welsh Assembly provide both for the rationalisation of non-departmental public bodies in Wales before it is established and the power for the Assembly to continue this process afterwards. I expect that both elements will yield long-term savings in the form of economies of scale, reduced duplication of effort and lower administration costs. However, it is impossible at this early stage to provide a quantified estimate of such savings, particularly as future decisions will be in the hands of the Assembly itself. Our proposals are in line with the election manifesto.
Mr. Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 23 July, Official Report, columns 638-39, if he will ask the National Audit Office to review the estimates and the assumptions used to make them relating to the establishment and running costs of a Welsh assembly. [11164]
Mr. Davies: No. As I said in my answer of 23 July to my right hon. Friend, the figures I published are estimates of what the Assembly itself might decide to spend, not Government expenditure plans, and I have clearly set out the assumptions used. It would not be appropriate to ask the National Audit Office to investigate such matters.
Departmental Payroll
Mr. Todd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list each of the functions relating to the payroll for which his Department is responsible, indicating the management systems purchased, all subcontractors involved in the work, co-operative arrangements with
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other Departments and the costs of the systems and processes in the last year for which figures are available.[10737]
Mr. Ron Davies:
In 1996-97, the last year for which figures are available, the Department's pay section and finance division collated and processed payments in respect of its own staff and the staff of the office of Her Majesty's chief inspectorate of schools in Wales, including basic pay, tax and other deductions, overtime, and so on.
Staff employed on a casual basis and a number of miscellaneous payments for services were paid by the finance division, all other staff were paid by the Chessington Computer Services Ltd., via the SPIRE system--standard payroll input and retrieval system.
The total cost of providing this service in 1996-97 was £269,000.
Mr. Ruane:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the quangos for which his Department is responsible and indicate the size of their budgets and the names, dates of appointment and retirement and salaries of all paid appointees. [10749]
Mr. Ron Davies:
The non-departmental public bodies for which the Secretary of State for Wales is responsible are listed, together with total gross expenditure budgets and numbers of board appointments, in the annual Cabinet Office publication "Public Bodies". Further details of appointments, including names, dates of appointment and retirement and salaries are published in the quarterly publication "Appointments by the Secretary of State for Wales".
Copies of both publications are available in the Library of the House.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what funding is presently committed from his Departmental budget for (a) 1997-98, (b) 1998-99 and (c) 1999-00 to resolve the year 2000 computer problem; and whether he will make a statement. [11378]
Mr. Ron Davies:
There is at present no specifically dedicated budget for this purpose. The Department's main information systems platform is not affected. Remedial work needed on earlier systems is being assessed and any costs will be met from future information systems budgets.
Mr. Bruce:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of total departmental expenditure on computer-related current and capital work for (a) 1995-96, (b) 1996-97, (c) 1997-98, (d) 1998-99 and (e) 1999-00; and if he will make a statement. [11382]
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| Current | Capital | |
|---|---|---|
| 1995-96 | 2,289,835,55 | 919,099.59 |
| 1996-97 | 2,384,779.31 | 1,741,681.88 |
| 1997-98 | 4,897,000.00 | 1,000,000.00 |
| 1998-99 | 4,897,000.00 | 600,000.00 |
| 1999-00 | 4,897,000.00 | 600,000.00 |
Expenditure on computer-related work is kept under review to ensure that it meets my Department's operational needs.
Public Expenditure
Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was public spending per head in Wales as a percentage of public spending per head in England in 1996-97. [11358]
Mr. Ron Davies: Information for 1996-97 will be published in the Treasury's public expenditure statistical analysis in March 1998. Identifiable general Government expenditure per head in Wales was 16 per cent. higher than in England in 1995-96.
Some 42 per cent. of identifiable Government expenditure in Wales is social security, where a number of economic factors result in high levels of social security expenditure in relation to England.
Owner-Occupation
Mr. Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proportion of homes in Wales were owner occupied in each year since 1979. [11192]
Mr. Win Griffiths: Information on the proportion of owner occupied homes in each year from 1979 is given in the following table:
| Owner occupied homes (per cent.) | |
|---|---|
| 1979 | 59.3 |
| 1980 | 59.7 |
| 1981 | 62.4 |
| 1982 | 63.8 |
| 1983 | 64.6 |
| 1984 | 65.1 |
| 1985 | 66.0 |
| 1986 | 66.7 |
| 1987 | 67.8 |
| 1988 | 69.1 |
| 1989 | 70.5 |
| 1990 | 70.8 |
| 1991 | 70.9 |
| 1992 | 71.0 |
| 1993 | 71.1 |
| 1994 | 71.1 |
| 1995 | 71.2 |
| 1996 | 71.3 |
(31) At 31 December. The breakdown of dwelling stock by tenure is estimated from census information, local authority returns and housing association returns.
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Water and Sewerage
Mr. Fraser:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what investment Dwr Cymru has made in the water and sewerage system (a) in total and (b) per household in each year since 1987. [11190]
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Mr. Win Griffiths:
The information is set out in the following tables. Full report year investment data are not available from 1987-88 to 1989-90. Total investment figures for these years in respect of the Welsh Water authority are given in "Waterfacts 93" published by the Water Services Association, copies of which are in the Library of the House.
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| (1996-97 prices)(33) | 1990-91 | 1991-92 | 1992-93 | 1993-94 | 1994-95 | 1995-96 | 1996-97(32) | Total 1990-97 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water service | 105.0 | 117.1 | 116.7 | 112.9 | 116.5 | 110.0 | -- | 678.3 |
| Sewerage service | 84.9 | 97.5 | 105.5 | 82.6 | 87.7 | 114.6 | -- | 572.7 |
| Total investment | 189.9 | 214.6 | 222.2 | 195.6 | 204.2 | 224.6 | 253.0 | 1,504.0 |
Notes:
(32) Only total investment in 1996-97 is available in the public domain.
(33) Retail prices index used to obtain 1996-97 prices.
Source:
Office of Water Services.
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Notes:
(34) Calculated on the basis of the total number of properties--domestic and non-domestic--connected to the distribution system at the end of the year.
(35) Calculated on the basis of the total number of domestic properties connected to the sewerage system at the end of the year.
(36) Only total investment in 1996-97 is available in the public domain.
Source:
Office of Water Services.
29 Jul 1997 : Column: 235
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