| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Equality in Employment
Mr. Gorrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will take steps to ensure that local authorities require suppliers and contractors of services to promote equality in employment and non-discrimination. [56959]
Mr. McLeish: Good procurement practice is essential if local government is to obtain real improvements to service cost and quality under Best Value. I recognise the restrictions the Local Government Act 1988 places on local authority tendering. Legislation amending the existing provisions is likely to be a matter for the Scottish Parliament.
Intestate Succession Rules
Ms Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to amend the current rules of intestate succession to allow surviving cohabitants or step-children who are neither the natural children of the deceased nor adopted by them to apply to a court for a discretionary provision out of the estate of the deceased. [57394]
Mr. McLeish: The Scottish Law Commission, in its 1992 Report on Family Law, recommended that a surviving cohabitant should be able to apply to a court for a discretionary provision out of the deceased's estate, whether or not there is a will. I hope to issue a consultation paper shortly on family law in Scotland, in which I shall be asking for views on this recommendation.
The Scottish Law Commission has also considered the position of step-children in the law of succession in Scotland, but did not make any recommendation on this in its 1990 Report on Succession. It did recommend that
3 Nov 1998 : Column: 482
natural and adopted children of the deceased should have a fixed share of the estate. I am, however, seeking views on an alternative suggestion that children should only be able to claim from the estate the amount that the deceased would have owed them as aliment had he or she lived. Under such a system step-children who had been accepted as children of the family could be owed aliment and would have a claim on the estate.
Mrs. Ewing:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last met representatives of the health trusts in Scotland to discuss the proposed reorganisation of the NHS trusts in Scotland. [56112]
Mr. Galbraith:
I chair meetings of Chairmen and General Managers of Health Boards and Chairmen and Chief Executives of Trusts on a quarterly basis. The options for Trust configuration were the subject of widespread consultation by Health Boards and, in making their recommendations, Health Boards took the views expressed into account. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and I announced the reduction in the number of NHS Trusts from 46 to 28 on 3 September. We remain committed to ensuring that the new configuration of Trusts will reduce bureaucracy so that the maximum amount of resources are available for direct investment in patient care.
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what advice has been given and what administrative guidelines issued to ensure that an arrested person is aware of the implications of failing to mention
3 Nov 1998 : Column: 483
a material fact concerning the offence of belonging to a proscribed and specified organisation; and if he will place in the Library a copy of such documents. [56319]
Mr. McLeish:
A letter was sent to Scottish Chief Constables on 15 September outlining the provisions of the Criminal Justice (Terrorism and Conspiracy) Act 1998. The letter advised that a special warning be given to anyone being questioned about membership of a specified organisation, so that they are aware of the implications of failing to mention a fact material to the offence. I have placed a copy of the letter in the Library. A Scottish Office Circular of guidance on the Act will be issued shortly.
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many individuals have been (a) charged, (b) summarily convicted and (c) convicted on indictment under section 2 or the equivalent section of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989 relating to membership of a proscribed organisation in each year since enactment; what percentage of those convicted in each year received a prison sentence; and what percentage of those were sentenced to a term of less than one year. [56318]
Mr. McLeish:
On the basis of the latest information, no individuals have been proceeded against or convicted in Scottish courts for an offence under Section 2 of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989, or equivalent sections.
Dr. Strang:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many and what proportion of deaths in Scotland were due to cancer in each of the last five years. [56983]
Mr. McLeish:
The information requested is given in the table.
| Year | Number of deaths from cancer | As a percentage of all deaths |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 15,458 | 24.1 |
| 1994 | 15,164 | 25.6 |
| 1995 | 15,224 | 25.2 |
| 1996 | 15,171 | 25.0 |
| 1997 | 14,889 | 25.0 |
(7) Underlying cause of death categories included--International Classification of Diseases etc., ninth revision (ICD 9), codes 140-208, malignant neoplasms.
Council Housing
Mr. McAllion: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which tenants' organisations in Scotland he has met to discuss stock transfers of council housing. [56120]
Mr. Macdonald: I have met the Scottish Tenants' Organisation and some of its affiliated federations of tenants on a number of occasions to discuss general housing issues, including stock transfers.
Job Losses
Mr. Prior:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement about the number of job losses in Scotland over the last two months. [56122]
3 Nov 1998 : Column: 484
Mr. Macdonald:
In recent weeks there have been several significant job loss and job creation announcements. The net balance of these job losses and gains can be judged only some months afterwards, as company plans often change. The latest official figures on a non-seasonally adjusted basis show that, over the year to June-August 1998, ILO unemployment in Scotland fell by 26,000 and that total employment increased by 13,000.
Mr. Gorrie:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his Department's current estimate of the cost to be borne by Scottish local authorities on spending to cope with the problem of the date 2000 on computers in (a) 1998-99 and (b) 1999-2000 and of the contribution from central Government towards meeting these costs. [56961]
Mr. McLeish:
There is no central estimate of the total cost to local government. It is for each local authority to form its own estimate of cost and to consider how costs are to be met within the funds available. The priority is to ensure that every authority is in fact tackling the issue. To that end, the Scottish Office is funding a post of Year 2000 project manager in COSLA. In addition, and as a result of the Government's Comprehensive Spending Review, £10 million has been included in the 1999-2000 local government finance settlement. No provision was made in 1998-99.
Northern Ireland Questions
Mr. McNamara: To ask the President of the Council if she will make a statement on future handling of Northern Ireland questions following the permanent establishment of a Northern Ireland Assembly. [56401]
Mrs. Beckett: The establishment of the Northern Ireland Assembly will reduce the direct responsibilities of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and consequently the matters for which she is accountable to the House. I have no immediate plans to alter the arrangements for Northern Ireland questions. The Procedure Committee is conducting an inquiry into the procedural consequences of devolution and this is one of the subjects I expect them to address. I will be giving evidence to that Committee soon.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Holding Centres
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how and when she intends to respond to the principal recommendations of the Independent Commissioner for the Holding Centres in his most recent report. [56402]
Mr. Ingram:
Following consultation with relevant interested parties, the Secretary of State wrote to the Independent Commissioner for the Holding Centres on 26 August 1998 in response to matters raised in his Fifth Annual Report. A copy of that letter has been placed in the Library of the House.
3 Nov 1998 : Column: 485
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many individuals have been detained in each of the holding centres in each month since September 1997. [56385]
Mr. Ingram:
The following table shows the number of persons detained in each of the Holding Centres since September 1997:
| Year | Month | Castlereagh | Gough | Strand Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | September | 21 | 12 | 1 |
| October | 0 | 29 | 2 | |
| November | 0 | 31 | 4 | |
| December | 0 | 9 | 6 | |
| 1998 | January | 43 | 7 | 0 |
| February | 60 | 0 | 0 | |
| March | 67 | 0 | 0 | |
| April | 61 | 7 | 0 | |
| May | 32 | 8 | 0 | |
| June | 31 | 4 | 0 | |
| July | 51 | 7 | 0 | |
| August | 33 | 5 | 0 | |
| September | 35 | 25 | 0 | |
| Total | 434 | 144 | 13 |
Note:
Castlereagh Holding Centre was closed for refurbishment during the period October to December 1997
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to her answer of 6 November 1997, Official Report, column 293, on what date she
3 Nov 1998 : Column: 486
replied to the Independent Commissioner for the Holding Centres; and on what date her letter was deposited in the Library. [56386]
Mr. Ingram:
I wrote to the Independent Commissioner for the Holding Centres on 23 February 1998 in response to a number of outstanding matters raised in his Fourth Annual Report which the Secretary of State had been unable to address in her earlier letter to him of 26 September 1997. My letter was inadvertently not placed in the Library of the House at that time. I have now made arrangements for this to be done.
The Secretary of State's letter of 26 September 1997, together with my letter of 23 February 1998, represents the Government's full response to the Independent Commissioner's Fourth Annual Report.
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) male, (b) female, (c) under 18 year old, (d) 18 to 25 year old, (e) over 25 year old, (i) republican, (ii) loyalist and (iii) other suspects have been detained in the holding centres in the 12 months from September 1997 to September 1998. [56384]
Mr. Ingram:
Set out are the numbers of males and females detained at each of the three holding centres during the period September 1997 to September 1998.
The RUC does not hold information in the form necessary to answer the question in full. A manual check of the records of each of the centres would be required; this could not be done within the timescale allowed for reply and would incur disproportionate costs.
3 Nov 1998 : Column: 485
| Castlereagh | Gough | Strand Road | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Male | Female | Total | Male | Female | Total | Male | Female | Total |
| 1997 | |||||||||
| September | 18 | 3 | 21 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 1 | -- | 1 |
| October | -- | -- | -- | 29 | -- | 29 | 2 | -- | 2 |
| November | -- | -- | -- | 29 | 2 | 31 | 4 | -- | 4 |
| December | -- | -- | -- | 9 | -- | 9 | 6 | -- | 6 |
| 1998 | |||||||||
| January | 40 | 3 | 43 | 7 | -- | 7 | -- | -- | -- |
| February | 57 | 3 | 60 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| March | 65 | 2 | 67 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| April | 56 | 5 | 61 | 4 | 3 | 7 | -- | -- | -- |
| May | 32 | -- | 32 | 8 | -- | 8 | -- | -- | -- |
| June | 29 | 2 | 31 | 3 | 1 | 4 | -- | -- | -- |
| July | 44 | 7 | 51 | 6 | 1 | 7 | -- | -- | -- |
| August | 31 | 2 | 33 | 5 | -- | 5 | -- | -- | -- |
| September | 33 | 2 | 35 | 25 | -- | 25 | -- | -- | -- |
| Total | 405 | 29 | 434 | 136 | 8 | 144 | 13 | -- | 13 |
3 Nov 1998 : Column: 485
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |