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Column 801
Written Answers to Questions
Friday 30 June 1995
ENVIRONMENT
Construction Industry
Mr. Galbraith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to issue his next consultation document on the Latham report. [31297]
Mr. Robert B. Jones: Two consultation documents have recently been issued on legislative proposals arising from recommendations in the Latham report. I have no present plans for any further consultation documents.
Pollution and Breast Cancer
Mr. Dafis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what research projects have been commissioned by his Department to investigate the connection between environmental pollutants and the incidence of breast cancer. [31058]
Mr. Atkins: No research projects to specifically investigate the possible connection between environmental pollutants and the incidence of breast cancer have been commissioned by the Department. However, on behalf of the Department, the Medical Research Council's institute for environment and health is carrying out a review of existing literature and scientific opinion on the evidence for changes in human reproductive health, including breast cancer, and effects on wildlife, and to examine the possible links between the production and release into the environment of manmade chemicals, and the observed effects. The institute's report will be published in due course.
Whatley Quarry
Mr. Dafis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will call in Amey Roadstones Corporation's application to expand Whatley quarry. [31059]
Sir Paul Beresford: This application is currently being considered by Somerset county council. The Whatley quarry article 14 direction is still in place and the Secretary of State will, as he has been requested by a number of representations, consider whether he should call in the revised application for his own determination in due course.
Office of Water Services
Mr. Hain: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment which consultants, individuals and companies, have been employed by Ofwat since 1993 or are currently employed; on what tasks; how much retainer has been or is paid on a regular basis; and how much they have been paid otherwise for tasks completed or tasks under way. [31364]
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Sir Paul Beresford: This is a matter for the Director General of Water Services.
Mr. Hain: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the external directorships held and remuneration received by the water regulator. [31540]
Mr. Atkins: The Director General of Water Services holds no external directorships.
Buying Agency
Mr. Sykes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what change has been made to the financial target for the Buying Agency. [31652]
Sir Paul Beresford: The Treasury has today laid a minute setting the Buying Agency a target, from 1 July 1995, of 8 per cent. return on capital employed. This replaces the Buying Agency's previous target of a profit after interest in current cost terms of 1.5 per cent. of the total value of goods procured.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION
Indonesia
Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consultations took place before his Department agreed to fund the police management training project in Indonesia; if he consulted (a) the Overseas Development Administration geographical department, (b) the overseas post, (c) the development division and (d) the overseas police adviser; when the project was submitted to his Department for approval; if the submission to his Department was considered by the aid policy department; if the aid policy department considered the question of human rights; what view the aid policy department took of the record of the Indonesian national police in relation to human rights abuses; and on what date ministerial approval was given to the
project. [30760]
Mr. Baldry [holding answer 26 June 1995]: Appropriate advice, including that on the issue of human rights, was sought from all relevant quarters prior to the project's approval on 22 March 1990.
Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 13 June, Official Report columns 504-505, under which sub-division of the tropical forest management programme the local application of remote sensing techniques system was supplied to the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry; what was the value of the equipment supplied; how it was funded; and on what date his Department agreed to fund the project to supply the equipment. [30764]
Mr. Baldry [holding answer 26 June 1995]: The equipment was provided under sub-project 2, provincial forest management. It cost £30,000 and was financed from technical co-operation funds. Sub- project 2 was approved on 20 July 1993.
Mrs Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 13 June, Official Report , columns 504-505, under which
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sub-division of the tropical forest management programme the NASA satellite imagery equipment was supplied to the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry; what was the value of the equipment supplied; how it was funded; and on what date his Department agreed to fund the project to supply the equipment. [30765]Mr. Baldry [holding answer 26 June 1995]: The NASA satellite imagery, which is digital data used for map making, was provided under sub- project 5. No equipment was bought. The cost of the data was $8,000, and was financed from technical co-operation funds. Sub-project 5 was approved on 1 February 1991.
Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 15 June, Official Report, column 631 , and the ministerial letter of 31 May, in the case of steel bridging, phase 1 project in Indonesia, what was (a) the appraisal date for the Overseas Development Administration and (b) the submission date by the Department of Trade and Industry to the sub-committee on aid and trade; when the project was completed in July 1988; and if he will make a statement on (i) the relationship and (ii) the interval between these dates. [31157]
Mr. Baldry [holding answer 27 June 1995]: This project was appraised by the Overseas Development Administration in February 1983 and presented to the sub-committee on aid and trade in January 1983. There is nothing of significance in the relationship between these dates and the completion date of the project in July 1988.
Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the letter from his Minister of 31 May, what considerations made it necessary to refer to the radio studio's rehabilitation project in Indonesia to the sub-committee on aid and trade on four occasions; and what assessment of the project has been made. [31153]
Mr. Baldry [holding answer 27 June 1995]: When this project was presented to the sub-committee on aid and trade in June 1986, it was combined with that for the Bandung television studios project. Detailed negotiations between the supply company and the Government of Indonesia representatives led to delays as well as changes in the equipment specification. SCAT was apprised of these developments in November 1987 and was also advised that consideration was being given to separating
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the two projects. Formal notification of separation was conveyed to SACT in July 1989 and approval was sought for the radio studios project only. Between then and October 1989 negotiations between the contracting parties were completed and SACT was notified of the final contract costs.A project completion report was prepared in April 1992. It concluded that the outputs of the implementation phases of the project had largely been met.
EMPLOYMENT
Voluntary Organisations
Miss Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many voluntary sector organisations his Department has (a) paid grants to or (b) entered into contracts with in (i) 1993 94 and (ii) 1994 95; and what was the total value of these grants and
contracts. [31312]
Miss Widdecombe: Information held centrally indicates that in 1993 94 the Department of Employment entered into contracts with 187 voluntary sector organisations. The total value of these contracts was £50,057,200. Figures for 1994 95 will not be available until later this year when I will write to the hon. Member with details.
Social Fund
Mr. Robin Cook: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list by each objective and by each other Community initiative, including Rechar and Interreg, the value of assistance received under the European social fund both nationally and for each standard region of the United Kingdom for each year since 1989. [31360]
Miss Widdecombe [holding answer 29 June 1995]: European social fund allocations to the United Kingdom for the period 1989 to 1994 are given in the following table. Figures on individual Community initiatives by standard region are not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Included in the figures for 1994 are those community initiatives which have so far been approved by the Commission, with the exception of EMPLOYMENT and ADAPT for which no expenditure will be recorded for 1994.
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European social fund allocations to the United Kingdom (including Community
initiatives)
£ million, 1994 prices
|1989 |1990 |1991 |1992 |1993 |1994<1>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Objective 1
North West England |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |36
Scotland |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |6
Northern Ireland |56 |54 |53 |59 |61 |39
Total objective 1 |56 |54 |53 |59 |61 |81
Objective 2
North of England |13 |19 |19 |23 |23 |21
Yorkshire and Humberside |12 |17 |17 |20 |20 |19
East Midlands<2> |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |5
South East |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |5
South West |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |1
West Midlands |8 |13 |13 |16 |16 |23
North West England |24 |36 |36 |44 |44 |25
Scotland |12 |17 |17 |21 |21 |22
Wales |8 |11 |11 |15 |15 |12
Total objective 2 |77 |112 |112 |140 |140 |133
Objective 5B
North of England<3> |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |1
East Midlands<4> |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |1
East Anglia |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |1
South West |5 |2 |2 |2 |2 |3
West Midlands |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |1
Scotland |5 |3 |3 |2 |2 |2
Wales |5 |2 |2 |2 |2 |3
Total objective 5B |16 |7 |7 |6 |6 |13
Total objective 3/4 |354 |255 |262 |309 |457 |389
Total United Kingdom |503 |429 |434 |515 |665 |616
<1> The figures shown for 1994 include allocations from the following Community
initiatives only:
Interreg (Northern Ireland)
Leader (Northern Ireland, Highlands and Islands and Wales)
Urban (Northern Ireland)
SMEs (Northern Ireland)
Allocations for all other Community initiatives are not yet decided.
<2> The 1989-93 allocations are included with those for Yorkshire and
Humberside.
<3> The Northern uplands SPD also covers parts of Yorkshire and Humberside and
north-west England.
<4> The Midlands uplands SPD also covers parts of the west midlands.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Income Support
Mr. David Martin: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the cost to public funds of increasing the £8,000 capital limit for income support and family credit purposes to (a) £15,000, (b) £20,000, (c) £25,000 and (d) £50,000. [27936]
Mr. Roger Evans: Information concerning people with capital above the upper capital limit is not sufficiently reliable to enable accurate estimates of the cost of increasing the limit to be provided.
It is not possible, even if an estimate were made in these premises, to give an answer with meaning because the question does not contain any alternative premise for the tariff income rule.
Dr. Marek: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 27 June, Official Report , column 586 , on claims by way of arrears of supplementary benefit, what are the reasons the information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. [31995]
Mr. Evans: The district of Wrexham and North Wales Coast constitutes the offices of Wrexham, Rhyll, Deeside and Colwyn bay. In June 1994, the office at Wrexham was part of the Mid-Wales and Maelor district. The offices at Rhyll, Deeside and Colwyn bay formed the totally separate district of North Wales Coast.
To obtain the information requested would involve the offices in recovering their giro records for June 1994; identifying the claimants and locating their clerical records; identifying those cases where the payment issued was supplementary benefit; and, as appropriate, identifying the sums involved.
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Officials estimate that a minimum of 15 minutes would be required to carry out these tasks in respect of each of the 2,720 clerical giro payments issued by these offices in June 1994, at an overall cost of over £8,000.Pensioners' Incomes
Mr. Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the average pensioner income on retirement in (a) 2010 and (b) 2020, relative to average earnings, broken down into the contributions from (i) the state retirement benefit, (ii) state earnings-related schemes, (iii) appropriate personal pension schemes and (iv) occupational pensions; and if he will indicate the assumptions made in these calculations. [30788]
Mr. Arbuthnot: The information is not available in the form requested.
Child Support Agency
Ms Gordon: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the expenditure of the Child Support Agency in each year since its inception on legal fees incurred in defending actions by non-resident parents. [31205]
Mr. Burt: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Islington, North (Mr. Corbyn) on 25 November 1994, Official Report , columns 889-90 .
Benefit Offices (Play Areas)
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the current plans and facilities in Doncaster and Mexborough district benefit offices in respect of providing play areas. [31094]
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Mr. Roger Evans: At present, there are no play areas in any of these offices, although baby changing facilities are provided at each location.
A new benefit office for Doncaster is currently under construction. There is insufficient space within the planned Benefits Agency caller facility for inclusion of a separate play area at this stage. However, the Child Support Agency will be providing toys in its interview rooms at the new office.
At Mexborough, all caller inquiries are dealt with by BA staff and there are no dedicated CSA interviewing facilities. There are no plans to provide a play area in the BA facility due to insufficient space.
TRANSPORT
Channel Tunnel Rail Link
Ms Hodge: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what arrangements he is making for revised submissions in the event of changes to the alignment, tunnelling or stations currently proposed for the channel tunnel rail link. [31726]
Mr. Watts: The Government have no plans to change the route or stations of the channel tunnel rail link. If the House required any change, the procedures set down in Standing Orders would apply.
Rail Privatisation
Mr. Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will set out the current timetable for privatising (a) Railtrack, (b) British Rail's infrastructure maintenance units, (c) British Rail's track renewal units, (d) Signalling Control UK, (e) Interlogic Control Engineering and (f) British Rail Telecoms. [31593]
Mr. Watts: Railtrack is to be privatised within the lifetime of this Parliament. BR's infrastructure maintenance units and track renewal units are expected to be sold by the end of the year. Signalling Control UK, Interlogic Engineering and British Rail Telecoms have recently been offered for sale to the private sector; BR aims to complete the sales as soon as possible.
Mr. Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will set out the timetable for privatising each of the British Rail train operating units. [31594]
Mr. Watts: In December 1994, the franchising director invited interested parties to prequalify in respect of eight franchises; Great Western LTS Rail, South West Trains, Gatwick Express, Network South Central, Intercity East Coast, Midland Main Line and ScotRail. Invitations to tender in respect of Great Western, LTS Rail and South West Trains were issued in May. The franchising director aims to let the first franchises by the end of 1995. He aims to issue further invitations to tender later this year. The remaining franchises are being prepared in accordance with the franchising director's view of their readiness of sale.
Mr. Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer on 21 April, Official Report , column 299 , if he will set out the current timetable for privatising the British Rail civil engineering design
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offices in (a) Birmingham, (b) Croydon, (c) Glasgow, (d) Swindon and (e) York; and if the BR vendor unit expects to sell all the offices to the same bidder. [31641]Mr. Watts: The BR board's negotiations with bidders for these offices are well advanced. The board hopes to complete most of them shortly; it does not envisage selling all the offices to the same bidder.
Motorways
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made on the effectiveness of concrete crash barriers on motorways. [30491]
Mr. Watts: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend for Meriden (Mr. Mills) on 29 June, Official Report , column 745 .
Design, Build, Finance and Operate Schemes
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the DBFO schemes in operation. [31836]
Mr. Watts: No DDFO schemes are in operation.
Europe-United Arab Emirates Flights
Sir Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many air flights per day take place between the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom, France and Germany respectively. [31532]
Mr. Norris [holding answer 29 June 1995]: On average, the total number of non-stop flights per day between the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom, France and Germany respectively is as follows:
United Kingdom/United Arab Emirates--15
France/United Arab Emirates--3
Germany/United Arab Emirates--5
HEALTH
Hepatitis C
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research has been conducted by her Department on Hepatitis C in the last 10 years; and at what cost. [30466]
Mr. Sackville: The Department of Health is funding two pieces of work at the public health laboratory service. One is a feasibility study to develop a programme of surveys to determine and monitor the prevalence of hepatitis C infection in England and Wales and the approximate cost is £78,000. The other is a project to investigate the economic detection of antibody to hepatitis C virus in pooled serum samples and the approximate cost is £48,000.
The main agency through which the Government support bio-medical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council which receives a grant in aid from the office of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
The MRC has the following programme of research on hepatitis C: Hepatitis C; protein crystallography; HSV and bunyavirus suppressor mutations.
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Virological and immunological determinants of liver disease in haemophiliacs infected with hepatitis C virus.Hepatitis C infection and blood exposure incidents: preliminary seroprevalence studies.
Molecular epidemiology of hepatitis C virus in intravenous drug users in West Suffolk.
Detection and quantitation of hepatitis C virus in vivo. Cloning, sequence analysis and expression of divergent genotypes of hepatitis C virus.
Hepatitis C virus 5 untranslated region as a novel antiviral target.
Cell and molecular virology of hepatitis C virus/Dengue type 4 chimaeric particles.
Hepatitis C virus infection: the molecular basis of virus/host interaction.
Hepatitis C virus in saliva and salivary glands.
In consultation with the MRC, my Department will be considering the need for further research on hepatitis C.
Alcohol
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the safe limit recommended by her Department for men and women for alcohol use daily and weekly in units; and what plans she has to change these recommended limits. [31351]
Mr. Bowis: The current sensible drinking message is that drinking less than 21 units per week by men and 14 units per week by women is unlikely to damage health.
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The message is currently being reviewed, in the light of the latest scientific evidence, by the interdepartmental group on sensible drinking.Glaucoma
Mr. Jon Owen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many glaucoma sufferers there are in Britain. [31402]
Mr. Sackville: The information is not available centrally.
Termination Payments
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 19 June, Official Report , column 36 , on health authority termination payments, if she will indicate (a) the number, (b) the rank and (c) the amount paid to each individual. [32022]
Mr. Malone: Each of the 12 payments listed was to an individual health authority manager: 11 general managers and one senior manager.
NHS Expenditure
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of the NHS budget was spent on (a) wages, (b) drugs, (c) equipment, (d) vehicles and (e) other items in each of the last 15 years. [28640]
Mr. Malone [holding answer 15 June 1995]: The available information on revenue expenditure is shown in the table.
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Breakdown of total NHS revenue expenditure 1979-80 to 1993-94<1>
|Total revenue
|Percentage |Percentage |Percentage |Percentage |Percentage |expenditure
Year |Wages<2> |Drugs<3> |Transport<4> <5>|Equipment<4> <6>|Other<7> |£ million
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1979-80 |57.7 |11.4 |- |- |31.0 |6,925
1980-81 |59.2 |10.7 |- |- |30.1 |8,864
1981-82 |57.9 |11.0 |- |- |31.1 |9,891
1982-83 |56.6 |11.7 |0.5 |4.8 |24.4 |10,739
1983-84 |56.3 |12.3 |0.5 |4.5 |26.5 |11,397
1984-85 |55.6 |12.1 |0.4 |4.5 |27.4 |12,191
1985-86 |55.5 |12.2 |0.5 |4.6 |27.3 |12,873
1986-87 |55.9 |12.3 |0.4 |4.6 |26.8 |13,810
1987-88 |56.1 |12.5 |0.4 |4.4 |26.6 |15,162
1988-89 |56.5 |12.5 |0.4 |4.2 |26.5 |17,005
1989-90 |56.5 |12.9 |0.5 |4.2 |25.9 |18,236
1990-91 |56.1 |12.6 |0.5 |3.9 |26.9 |20,102
1991-92 |49.9 |11.5 |0.4 |3.7 |34.5 |25,302
1992-93 |48.1 |11.5 |0.4 |3.7 |36.4 |28,551
1993-94 |46.2 |12.0 |0.4 |3.9 |37.5 |30,364
Source:
Annual accounts-1979-80 to 1990-91-and annual financial returns-1991-92 to 1993-94-of regions, districts and special health authorities
for the London postgraduate hospitals and family health services authorities, and annual financial returns of NHS trusts-1991-92 to
1993-94.
Notes:
<1> Figures since 1991-92 are not directly comparable with earlier years owing to changes in accounting policy-for example, the
introduction of capital charges-as a result of the NHS reforms.
<2> Gross pay costs of hospital and community health service staff and family health services authority administration staff, including
employers' national insurance and superannuation contributions, but excluding remuneration of FHS contractors.
<3> Drugs are based on the cost of HCHS and family health service drugs and appliances-after deduction of pharmaceutical price
regulation scheme receipts, etcetera-and costs met through prescription charges but do not include dispensing fees.
<4> Not separately identified in financial years 1979-80 to 1981-82 inclusive.
<5> Transport and moveable plant.
<6> Including associated maintenance costs. Excludes capital expenditure on items of equipment.
<7> Including capital charges from 1991-92 inclusive and remuneration of FHS contractors.
Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding.
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services Handbook
Mr. Faber: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the response to the recent publication of the handbook on child and adolescent mental health; and if she will make a statement. [32469]
Mr. Bowis: The handbook, copies of which are available in the Library, has been warmly welcomed by all those working in the field as providing a clear statement of the importance of child and adolescent mental health and the need for a variety of agencies to work together to provide a comprehensive and complementary range of services. It was issued in March as part of our programme to help in the development of mental health services for the young, under "The Health of the Nation" initiative, and it has proved to be such a success that we are already having to reprint it within weeks of its launch.
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Arms Embargo
Mr. Byers: To ask the Attorney-General on what dates in 1990 meetings were held with representatives of Customs and Excise to discuss the prosecution of Chris Cowley and Peter Mitchell for allegedly breaking the arms embargo with Iraq and Iran; and on what date senior Treasury counsel provided advice on the question of bringing a prosecution against Mr. Cowley and Mr. Mitchell. [29261]
The Attorney-General [holding answer 19 June 1995]: I reply in relation to meetings and advice involving the Law Officers or their officials. Detailed information relating to the conduct of an individual criminal case is ordinarily confidential but has in this particular case already been substantially disclosed.
I understand that between April and November 1990 there were a number of conferences between representatives of Customs and Excise and senior Treasury counsel. One member of the legal secretariat to the Law Officers was present at such a meeting held on 25 April 1990. Another member attended two meetings in October 1990.
My predecessor and I met with the Solicitor to Customs and Excise and counsel on 8 November 1990. I was at that time Solicitor-General. My predecessor also met the chairman of the commissioners of HM Customs and Excise together with their solicitor on 9 November 1990.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Nitrate Sensitive Areas
Mr. Steen: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he plans to announce the arrangements for the continuation of the pilot nitrate sensitive areas. [32577]
Mr. Waldegrave: I am pleased to announce that, following our consultations with farmers, details of the
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scheme for the continuation of the 10 pilot NSAs, originally designated in 1990, will be available from Monday 3 July. The necessary statutory instrument setting out the measures and associated payment rates will shortly be laid before Parliament. The pilot areas are being incorporated within the scheme for the 22 new NSAs launched under the Ministry's agri-environment programme last year, to form a unified scheme of 32 NSAs. Farmers in the areas will be invited to give five-year undertakings to change their farming practices to reduce nitrate leaching, based on the terms and conditions of that scheme.The pilot NSA scheme clearly demonstrated that NSA measures are effective in reducing nitrate losses from agricultural land and I look forward to renewing our partnership with farmers in these 10 areas. The level of uptake in the first year of the 22 new NSAs was very encouraging and I am confident that the Ministry's NSA programme will make a major contribution towards ensuring the future viability of the key sources of public drinking water covered by these areas. All farmers with land in the NSAs will automatically be sent an information pack about the scheme by their local Ministry regional service centre. Applications to join the scheme this year must be returned to regional service centres by 8 September 1995.
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