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WALES
A40 (Dualling)
Ms Lawrence: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish the results of the study which he undertook on dualling the A40 to St. Clears; and if he will place a copy of the study in the Library. [85661]
Mr. Hain [holding answer 8 June 1999]: Copies of the report have been placed in the Library of the House.
The results of the study indicate that although there would be significant benefits to be gained from investments in public transport options, there would still remain the need to provide good road infrastructure.
It will now be for the Assembly to decide what resources to devote to new trunk road schemes and to what standards they should be built.
Mr. Barry Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the level of poll tax debts which remain unpaid; and if he will make a statement. [86346]
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Mr. Jon Owen Jones:
The information provided on local authority returns indicate that around £6.5 million of community charge arrears were still outstanding at 31 March 1999.
Following the transfer of functions, this issue will be a matter for the National Assembly.
Mr. Barry Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many coal mines there are in Wales; and if he will make a statement. [86339]
Mr. Hain:
There are currently 11 underground and eight opencast licensed coal mines in Wales.
Mr. Barry Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what measures he has put in place to enhance social inclusion; and if he will make a statement. [86338]
Mr. Hain:
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff, North (Ms Morgan) by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, 31 March 1999, Official Report, column 727-29.
Copies of the document "Building an Inclusive Wales: Tackling the Social Exclusion Agenda" were placed in the Libraries of the House.
Following the transfer of functions, this issue will be a matter for the National Assembly.
Mrs. Betty Williams:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the medium secure units in operation in Wales and the date when each was commissioned. [87043]
Mr. Jon Owen Jones:
There are currently three medium secure units in operation in Wales. These are Ty Llywellyn in Llanfairfechan completed in 1998, Caswell Clinic in Bridgend completed in 1992 and the privately run Llanarth Court in Raglan also completed in 1992.
Following the transfer of functions, this issue will be a matter for the National Assembly.
Mrs. Betty Williams:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on how many occasions patients have absconded from medium secure units in Wales in the last three years, and from which units; and on how many of those occasions (a) it was assessed that there was a risk to the public and (b) members of the public were assaulted or threatened. [87040]
Mr. Jon Owen Jones:
There are three medium secure facilities in Wales. Figures for escapes from the hospital grounds over the last three years are as follows:
| Number of escapes | |
|---|---|
| Ty Llywellyn, North Wales | 1 |
| Caswell Clinic, Bridgend | 3 |
| Llanarth Court, Raglan | 0 |
At no time were any of the patients assessed as a danger to the public nor were any members of the public assaulted
or threatened. In addition to these escapes, Caswell had 15 patients who breached parole arrangements over the same period and Llanarth Court had 26.
Following the transfer of functions, these issues will be a matter for the National Assembly.
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HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mileage Claims
Mr. Steen: To ask the President of the Council if she will estimate the number of additional hours per month required to complete the newly designed C1, C2, C3, C4 and C5 forms; how many additional staff are employed by the Fees Office to handle these claims; and if she will estimate the average number of hours (a) hon. Members will spend annually, recording and completing motor mileage claims and (b) the Fees Office takes to check this information. [86884]
Mrs. Beckett: I am afraid that it is not possible for me to estimate the hours required by Members to complete the Fees Office claim forms and their motor mileage claims. As I am sure the hon. Member will understand, Members have differing claim and travel patterns and, therefore, will take different amounts of time to complete the relevant forms. The new claim forms were designed to make completion easier for Members. I understand that the Fees Office has had a number of favourable comments about them from Members.
No additional staff were engaged to handle the revised claim forms. Staff employed by the Fees Office in checking motor mileage claims also have other duties and it is not possible accurately to apportion the time spent on each specific area of work.
Line of Route
Mr. Tyler: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire (Mr. Kirkwood), representing the House of Commons Commission, what has been the cost to date of the consultants' study of the proposal to re-open the line of route during the summer adjournment; and whether their contract has been re-negotiated. [86683]
Mr. Kirkwood [holding answer 14 June 1999]: The costs of the study to date have been shared between both Houses. The original contract up to April 1999 was suspended in the light of the decision to defer the summer opening until 2000. A new contract was re-negotiated to cover the period up to October 1999, but this is being reviewed as a result of the House's decision on 26 May that other options should be examined. I have asked the Serjeant at Arms to write to the hon. Member with details.
Debate Extracts
Mr. Webb: To ask the Chairman of Broadcasting Committee if his Committee will investigate the feasibility of allowing hon. Members to obtain audio or video clips from debates in a digital format. [86399]
Mr. Eric Clarke:
The Parliamentary Recording Unit supplies sound and video tapes to hon. Members. Audio tapes can be supplied in DAT, or digital format if requested. However, video tapes are not yet available in digital format since all recordings are still analogue. The
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first digital signals will originate from the Committee Rooms in Portcullis House and, from autumn 2000, digital and analogue video tapes will be available on request.
Financial Advice (VAT)
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will remove VAT on fee-based financial advice. [86935]
Ms Hewitt: No. VAT liability depends upon what service is provided and whether it is paid for. Financial advice for which a charge is made is liable to VAT at the standard rate. This is a requirement of European law.
ECOFIN
Mr. Maclean: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the latest agenda of the ECOFIN meeting of 14 June, prior to the meeting. [86832]
Ms Hewitt: There is no meeting of ECOFIN today. The next meeting is scheduled for 12 July. The agenda will be made available to the Scrutiny Committees when determined by Coreper, approximately one week before the meeting. Copies of the agenda will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Offshore Oil and Gas
Mr. Blizzard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much capital gains tax relating to the sale of exploration licences was paid by the offshore oil and gas industry in each of the last three years; and what is the forecast figure for the current financial year. [86858]
Mrs. Roche: The corporation tax liability of oil and gas companies arising from their capital gains on the sale of exploration and production licences averaged £25 million a year in the period 1995-96 to 1997-98 and is expected to be about £15 million for the current year.
Charities (Tax Concessions)
Mr. Spring: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the estimated annual cost to his Department of all tax concessions to charities (a) as a total and (b) as a percentage of the total registered turnover of the charitable sector. [86689]
Ms Hewitt: (a) The annual cost of all tax reliefs for charities is estimated at over £2 billion. This comprises around £1.2 billion of relief from direct tax, about £0.2 billion in VAT reliefs and £0.6 billion in business rate relief.
(b) The total turnover of the charitable sector is not known. The Charity Commission's Register showed at the end of March 1999 that the total annual income of all registered charities in England and Wales was about £21 billion. This does not cover charities in Scotland and Northern Ireland, nor does it include non-registered charities.
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