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Family Planning Services
Ms Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the chairmen of the Welsh health authorities concerning recent changes in the provision of family planning services; if he will list recent changes in family planning service provision notified to him; and what guidance he has issued to health authorities on the commissioning of such services. [11927]
Mr. Win Griffiths: I have had no consultation with chairmen of health authorities regarding family planning services. Government policy is that people should be free to choose their source of contraceptive advice and that health authorities' family planning services complement rather than duplicate those services provided by GPs. Guidance which reminded health authorities of their responsibilities was issued to the service in Wales in 1990 and reinforced in 1993 by the "Protocol for Investment in Health Gain: Healthy Living".
Copies of both documents have been placed in the Library of the House.
Ms Morgan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the relationship between changes in the level of provision of family planning services and the number of abortions carried out in Wales.[11928]
Mr. Griffiths:
The following figures show the general downward trend of abortions in Wales. The increase in the first quarter of 1996 might be attributable to the reaction to publicity about oral contraceptives and thrombosis in October 1995.
Abortions performed to women resident in Wales
1988: 7,379
1989: 7,366
1990: 7,440
1991: 7,187
1992: 6,856
1993: 6,924
1994: 6,775
1995: 6,442
1996: 7,279
| 1995 | 1996 | Percentage increase from 1995 figure | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January-March | 1,073 | 1,226 | 14 |
| April-June | 1,061 | 1,097 | 3 |
| July-September | 1,115 | 1,033 | -7 |
| October-December | 1,107 | 1,031 | -7 |
St. David's Day
Mr. Flynn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will take steps to have St. David's day made a bank holiday in Wales. [11718]
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Mr. Ron Davies:
The Government have no current plans to change the bank holiday arrangements in the UK. However, I am sympathetic to the sentiment that my hon. Friend expresses and will seek to promote further consideration of this idea within government.
Mr. Rooney:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many unemployed people have qualified for assistance on the business start-up scheme in each of the last five years; and what was the annual expenditure. [12169]
Mr. Hain:
The information requested for Wales is given in the following table:
| Number of participants(4) | Expenditure (£ million) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1992-93 | 2,077 | 4,683 |
| 1993-94 | 1,957 | 5,174 |
| 1994-95 | 1,958 | 4,979 |
| 1995-96 | 1,593 | 4,821 |
| 1996-97 | 1,679 | 4,703 |
| Total | 9,264 | 24,360 |
(4) At March each year.
Aberfan
Mr. Rowlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will consider restoring to the people of Aberfan the sums taken from them in 1968 towards the cost of removing coal tips above the village. [12269]
Mr. Ron Davies: I have long made clear my view that there should have been no requirement in the first place for a contribution to be made from the disaster fund toward the costs of clearing the tips.
I am pleased to announce today that I shall be making available a grant of £150,000 to repay the sum originally contributed and to supplement provision in the Aberfan disaster fund and in the memorial charity. My Department will be discussing with the trustees how this money can best be spent for the benefit of the community of Aberfan.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what approach he will adopt when considering applications for sanction by local authorities under sections 19 and 20 of the Local Government Act 1982; and if he will make a statement. [12455]
Mr. Win Griffiths: As required by the statute, we shall decide each application for sanction on its merits having regard both to our policy on sanction applications and to the circumstances of the individual case concerned. Our policy is to continue the approach previously followed--that the power to sanction should not be exercised too widely. Sanction may be appropriate in those cases where the expenditure is incurred in good faith, but in ignorance of the strict letter of the law, or inadvertently without observance of requisite formalities, or under such circumstances as make it fair and equitable that the expenditure should not be disallowed by the auditor.
In accordance with our commitment to open government, we will send to the Welsh Local Government Association, the Audit Commission, the Commission for
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Local Administration in Wales and to all local authorities in Wales a departmental note setting out the basis on which applications for sanctions under sections 19 and 20 of the Local Government Finance Act 1982 are to be made and considered. Copies of the note will be placed in the Library of the House as soon as possible.
Mr. Gareth Thomas:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will review the operation of the legislation on council tax discounts for second homes in Wales. [12456]
Mr. Win Griffiths:
My right hon. Friend and I are aware of the concerns of a number of local authorities about the operation of the legislation on council tax discounts for second homes and have decided to review it in partnership with the Welsh Local Government Association.
Mr. Dafis:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he is taking to address the implications of the multilateral agreement on investment for small firms in Wales. [10654]
Mrs. Roche:
The multilateral agreement on investment will be the first multilateral, comprehensive and legally binding investment instrument and will represent a major step towards a global level playing field for investors. It will create the framework which all businesses need to be able to take international investment decisions with greater confidence.
Legal Aid
Mrs. Ballard: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make a statement on the investigation by the Legal Aid Board's special investigations unit of the applications for legal aid made by a constituent of the hon. Member for Taunton, whose name has been supplied to him. [11615]
Mr. Hoon: I do not comment on, or intervene in, the award of legal aid in individual cases. I have, however, been advised by the Legal Aid Board that the investigation of the hon. Lady's constituent's means by the special investigations unit is still in progress.
Mrs. Ballard: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what measures he is taking to prevent multiple applications to the Legal Aid Board through different regional offices to support unnecessary litigation. [11631]
Mr. Hoon: All application forms for legal aid require the applicant to state if they have applied for legal aid before and, if so, to provide details. The declaration to be signed by the applicant makes clear the range of penalties available if the applicant knowingly gives false information or withholds relevant information.
The Legal Aid Board is introducing a new corporate information system which will give every legally assisted person a unique personal identifier. This will provide
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board staff with the applicant's full legal aid history, preventing applications relating to the same case from being submitted to more than one regional office.
Mr. Todd:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department 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 other Departments and the costs of the systems and processes in the last year for which figures are available. [10733]
Mr. Hoon:
The Lord Chancellor's Department's departmental pay unit is responsible for collating and inputting data to enable the payment of salaries and allowances to staff of the Lord Chancellor's Department, including the Court Service and the Public Trust Office agencies, and to certain full-time judicial officers and judges. The Department also processes data for the payment of fees and retainers for the clerks to the general commissioners of income tax, the Lord Chancellor's advisory committee on legal education and conduct and staff of the legal services ombudsman's office. The unit also inputs data to enable the payments of some pensions.
Payments are actually made by Chessington Computer Services Ltd. on behalf of the Lord Chancellor's Department. It also calculates, deducts and pays income tax and national insurance.
Payment of fees to part-time judicial officers and certain part-time Lord Chancellor's Department staff are processed by local offices within the Lord Chancellor's Department, with deductions for tax and national insurance. Some offices use manual systems, while others use an in-house accounting package for calculation and payment.
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