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Crickhowell House
Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if the arrangement originally entered into by the Welsh Office for the lease of Crickhowell House, Cardiff, were in line with Treasury rules for the leasing of such property; what study was undertaken of comparable buildings in the area; and what rents were sought for leases of such alternative options. [65282]
Mr. Michael: A copy of the option appraisal prepared by Welsh Health Common Services Authority (WHCSA) in respect of moving to new accommodation on a single site was submitted by the Department to Treasury for approval on 17 May 1991. Treasury advised that there were no objections to the proposed option provided that the Department's Accounting Officer was satisfied that taking into account all elements of the appraisal, financial and non-financial, the option represented the best value for money.
Eight developers with 11 sites were approached in January 1991 and seven of these made outline proposals. Refinements of the brief and the proposals led to a short list of three by June 1991. Of the three proposals, one was eliminated for financial reasons, and 2 were broadly similar. Having taken independent legal and property advice and having considered rents and other financial aspects, WHCSA's Board recommended the Grovesnor Waterside bid for providing leased accommodation at Crickhowell House.
I have asked the Chief Executive of WHCSA to send the right hon. Member a copy of the post project evaluation report prepared by the Authority.
Mr. Ruane:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the members of the European Objective I Task Force and the organisation or councils they represent. [65413]
Mr. Hain:
The Wales European Task Force, which was set up to look at the use of Structural Funds across all of Wales, consists of the major social and economic partner organisations with an interest in economic development. Except where indicated membership is for organisations, not individuals. The membership is as below:
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This membership may be varied as the work of this task force moves forward.
Mr. Evans:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the use of private jets by ministers in his Department since 2 May 1997. [65673]
Mr. Michael:
As part of visits to British Aerospace the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Neath (Mr. Hain), joined the company's regular shuttle services between Filton, Hawarden and Toulouse. These flights were at no cost to the Department and were not in place of scheduled flights. Private jets have not been used by Welsh Office Ministers on any other occasion since 2 May 1997.
Mr. Barry Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what initiatives he proposes in his policies for long-stay care hospitals. [66034]
Mr. Jon Owen Jones:
Many long stay units are small, modern or updated facilities which have a clear, locally agreed, role and these will continue. The remaining large mental and learning disability hospitals will be closed as and when resources allow but only when there are facilities in place to deliver a safe and effective service.
Mr. Barry Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on nurses' pay. [66030]
Mr. Jon Owen Jones:
The Review body for Nursing Staff, Midwives and Health Visitors which considers nurses pay has recently submitted its report to the Prime Minister. A decision on its recommendations is likely to be announced shortly.
Mr. Barry Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what new money is scheduled for the NHS in the forthcoming financial year; and if he will make a statement. [66032]
Mr. Jon Owen Jones:
The Comprehensive Spending Review provided an additional £175 million to NHS Wales in 1999-2000 bringing total provision to £2,654.9 million. This represented a 7.1 per cent. increase on 1998-99 provision.
Mr. Llwyd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the estimated annual cost of the proposal to allow
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unlimited free public transport in Wales to people of pensionable age; from what sources those costs would be met; and if he will make a statement. [65907]
Mr. Hain:
I am consulting local authorities and bus operators on how best to move to free concessionary bus travel for pensioners, which I expect to see phased in over the next two to three years. Until this work has been completed it is not possible to put a precise figure on the cost of the proposal. The method of funding the additional costs will be a matter for the National Assembly to determine.
Mr. Barry Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many (a) starts and (b) completions of Housing Association homes there have been in Flintshire in each of the past three years; and if he will make a statement. [66418]
Mr. Jon Owen Jones:
Starts and completions achieved by Housing Associations in the last three financial years are as follows:
WDA
WLGA
Council of Welsh TECs
Heads of Higher Education institutions in Wales
Fforwm
Welsh Council for Voluntary Action
TUC
CBI
Federation of Small Businesses
Equal Opportunities Commission
Wales Tourist Board
National Farmers' Union
Farmers Union of Wales
Countryside Council for Wales
Mr. Hywel Ceri Jones
Wayne David MEP (representing all Welsh MEPs)
The Four Regional Economic Fora
The Environment Agency.
| 1997-98 | 1996-97 | 1995-96 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starts | |||
| Flintshire | 145 | 118 | 207 |
| Wales | 2,468 | 3,200 | 3,688 |
| Completions | |||
| Flintshire | 90 | 213 | 250 |
| Wales | 2,989 | 3,717 | 3,799 |
Over this period Flintshire has received approximately 5 per cent. of the Housing Association programme in Wales. Resources have been made available to Housing Associations in Flintshire to achieve a similar outcome in financial year 1998-99.
Mr. Barry Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales in what ways he plans to assist Flintshire County Council to repair and modernise its housing stock; and if he will make a statement. [66416]
Mr. Jon Owen Jones:
Flintshire County Council's Basic Credit approval (BCA) for 1999-2000 is £8.833 million. It is for the Council to decide on the capital expenditure that it wishes to support from its BCA, including housing. In addition to the BCA supplementary Credit Approvals (SCAs) of £100 million are also available to local authorities in Wales to support strategic housing projects. All local authorities have been invited to submit proposals by the end of January for the use of those SCAs.
Mr. Opik:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to increase the diversity of job opportunities outside the M4 and A55 corridors. [66398]
Mr. Hain:
Increasing job opportunities and spreading economic prosperity to all parts of Wales is a key objective for the Government. It is being pursued through the Strategic Guidance to the WDA and will be fundamental to the aims of the National Development Strategy covering EC Structural Funds, currently being prepared by the European Task Force.
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Mr. Todd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will respond to the Motor Neurone Disease Association's report on the effect of the Benefit Integrity Project on people with Motor Neurone Disease. [65591]
Mr. Bayley:
I responded to the Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association on 19 January 1999.
The Benefit Integrity Project (BIP) has been subject to continuous review and prior to the Association's report being published in November 1998, significant improvements had been made to the way in which the BIP operated. Since 5 October, people with MND who are receiving the higher rate of mobility component together with the highest rate of the care component of Disability Living Allowance were exempt from the operation of the Project.
We plan that BIP should be replaced by a new system of review which is part of the routine administration of the benefit and which is both sensitive and fair. We are currently discussing our proposals with the Disability Benefits Forum.
Mr. Burstow:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs. May) of 1 December 1998, Official Report, columns 145-47, on the Benefit Integrity Project, what estimates his Department made of the level of successful reviews and appeals following decisions made by the Benefit Integrity Project, when calculating estimated benefit savings; and what plans his Department has to revise the current estimate for benefit savings to reflect the latest statistics on appeals against decisions made under the Benefit Integrity Project. [66413]
Mr. Bayley:
The most recent estimate of benefit savings from the Benefit Integrity Project is £8 million for 1997-98, £30 million for 1998-99 and £35 million for 1999-2000. A further estimate of the savings attributable to this Project will be calculated when it ceases.
Notes:
1. The estimate is based on information on reviews and appeals to the middle of 1998. This showed awards were increased in 32 per cent. of review decisions and 73 per cent. of appeal decisions. Cases processed as part of the Benefit Integrity Project after this date were assumed to follow a similar pattern in terms of review and appeal decisions.
2. This estimate was made on the assumption that the Project would continue to March 2000.
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