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Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 25 July 1990
PRIME MINISTER
Nuclear Weapons
Mr. Strang : To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to her oral reply to the hon. Member for Leyton (Mr. Cohen), Official Report, 12 June, column 146, what is the acceptable ratio between the number of Soviet nuclear weapons and the number of the United Kingdom nuclear weapons necessary to provide a minimum nuclear deterrent.
The Prime Minister : The United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent is not based on any specific numerical correlation with Soviet nuclear weapons. Rather, it has long been United Kingdom policy to maintain only the minimum number of weapons necessary to deter aggression. In this respect the need to ensure that our nuclear deterrent remains effective against improving Soviet defences is of overriding importance when considering the size of our force.
Diego Garcia
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to her reply to the hon. Member for Linlithgow (Mr. Dalyell), Official Report, 9 July, column 36, if she will make a statement on the nature of the security contribution made to the United Kingdom by the British Indian Ocean territory defence facilities on Diego Garcia.
The Prime Minister : The joint United Kingdom-United States defence facilities on Diego Garcia make a vital contribution to the maintenance of peace and stability and to the protection of western interests in the area.
Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty
Mr. Strang : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list those occasions since 1 January on which she personally raised the issue of nuclear non-proliferation and the nuclear non-proliferation treaty with foreign Governments or Heads of State.
The Prime Minister : I have not personally had occasion to raise the subject of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty although we have frequent contacts with other interested parties at official level, and the matter was part of the final conclusion of the economic summit at Houston. Nevertheless, I have spoken in general terms about the future of proliferation to several people.
THE ARTS
British Library
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Minister for the Arts if he will make a statement on the planned use for the northern area of the British library site at St. Pancras.
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Mr. Mellor : Any land at the British library site at St. Pancras which may ultimately be surplus to requirements will be sold. The area of land which will be surplus and the optimum timing and method of its disposal are still being examined.
TRANSPORT
Roll on/Roll off Ferries
Mr. Terry Davis : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the result of the meeting of officials from several European countries in London on 24 July to discuss the application and timing of a higher standard of residual stability to existing roll on/roll off passenger ferries.
Mr. McLoughlin : Officials from the Department's marine directorate had a successful meeting with officials from Belgium, Denmark, France, West Germany, the Republic of Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden.
The application and timing of a higher standard of residual stability to existing roll on/roll off passenger vessels was discussed. Officials are considering the very constructive and substantial comments made with the view to submitting further information to the next International Maritime Organisation meeting.
Stockport Council (Land Conveyance)
Mr. Favell : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 26 April, Official Report, column 264, if he will make a statement on the progress made on conveying land near the M63 from Stockport borough council to his Department.
Mr. Chope : The Treasury Solicitor is waiting to hear further from Stockport borough council in response to his requisitions on title.
M62
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much of the M62 has been subject to roadworks in each of the past two years, to date ; what distance of the M62 has been subject to lane restrictions as a consequence ; what roadworks are scheduled over each of the next two years ; what distance will be subject to lane restrictions ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Chope : During the last two financial years 24 km of the 180 km of the M62 have been subject to major roadworks--13 km in 1988-89 and 11 km in 1989-90.
Lane closures have been necessary over a distance of 15 km and 14 km in both directions in each of the last two years. Next year (1991-92) 14.5 km of major roadworks are planned and this will involve lane closures over about 18 km in each direction. Works of this nature are essential if the network is to be kept in good condition.
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received about persistent congestion and delays to traffic using the M62 over the past year to date ; what action he proposes to alleviate such congestion and delays ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Chope : Several complaints have been received about congestion and delays on the M62.To reduce delays and congestion, routine work is carried out during off- peak periods during the day, at weekends or overnight. Considerable effort goes into the pre-planning of traffic management measures for major roadworks and once the work is under way we give every encouragement for the contractor to complete it as quickly as possible by offering substantial bonuses for early completion or charging for over-running.
When delays caused by major works are unavoidable every effort is made to give advance warning to the public.
Thames Craft (Safety)
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has any plans to review the regulations governing look-outs on (a) pleasure boats and (b) non-pleasure boats using the Thames.
Mr. McLoughlin : The rules covering look-outs contained in the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972 are not under review at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). The Port of London Authority general directions for navigation that apply to all craft plying on the Thames were amended on 18 September 1989. Those amendments included a revision of the requirements for a look-out.
Fuel Trains, Port Talbot
Mr. John Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions during the last 12 and 24 months, respectively, loaded fuel trains have been stabled at Port Talbot station for more than two minutes.
Mr. Freeman : British Railways tell me that loaded fuel trains are not stabled, which implies being left for long periods, at Port Talbot station. They normally stop for about two minutes, the time taken to change crews, although there have been occasional instances of trains being delayed because the relief crew were not immediately available, or because a leak has been suspected in a fuel tanker. Trains were delayed for suspected leaks on three occasions in the last 12 months and six occasions in the 12 months before that. The details of trains which may have been delayed for more than two minutes for other operational reasons are not readily available.
Airport Runways
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport who are the members of his working group to examine the Civil Aviation Authority's additional runway options for the south-east ; and when they are expected to report.
Mr. McLoughlin : The membership of the working group, and possible time scales for its advice, are being considered. My right hon. Friend has said that he intends the group to include representatives of local and environmental interests, airport and airline operators, the tourism and travel industry, consumer interests and Government Departments.
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Channel Tunnel
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received from the Irish Government concerning the upgrading of (a) passenger and (b) freight services on the railway line between the port of Holyhead and the channel tunnel.
Mr. Freeman : I have received representations from the Minister for Tourism and Transport for the Republic of Ireland, Mr. Seamus Brennan, expressing his support for the electrification of the Crewe-Holyhead line as a means to improve Ireland's passenger and freight links with Europe via the channel tunnel.
Rail Electrification
Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has been given on the returns available from electrifying the British Rail line from Crewe to Holyhead.
Mr. Freeman : I understand that work done for Gwynedd, Clwyd and Cheshire councils shows that electrification of this line would not meet British Rail's normal investment criterion of an 8 per cent. financial return. The councils have commissioned further work to establish whether the inclusion of external benefits would secure the required return.
Transport Infrastructure (South-east Essex)
Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has any plan to visit south-east Essex to review the transport infrastructure in that part of the county.
Mr. Chope : No visit is planned at present.
North-western Railway Line
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the investment programme to speed up services on the main north-western railway line.
Mr. Freeman : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Lancashire, West (Mr. Hind) on 9 July at column 82.
Merchant Ships
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many British-owned merchant ships are currently operating under foreign flags.
Mr. McLoughlin : The information requested is given in the table.
United Kingdom owned trading vessels of 100 gross tons and above
at 31 March 1990
Registry |Number |Gross tons|Deadweight
|tonnes
|('000) |('000)
------------------------------------------------------------------
United Kingdom |507 |4,044 |4,490
Crown Dependencies<1> |79 |1,613 |2,933
ODTs (excluding Hong
Kong)<2> |48 |2,119 |4,016
Hong Kong |42 |981 |1,512
Foreign |125 |1,271 |2,104
|------- |------- |-------
Total |801 |10,029 |15,504
<1> The Crown Dependencies are the Isle of Man and the Channel
Islands.
<2> ODTs' are the Overseas Dependent Territories of Aguilla,
British Antarctic Territory, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean
Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland
Islands, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, Montserrat, St. Helena, Turks &
Caicos.
Radioactive Waste
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department intends to review the guidelines for the transport of low-level radioactive waste from (a) commercial sources, (b) nuclear industry sources and (c) military sources ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Chope : The transport of all radioactive materials must be made in compliance with regulations based on internationally agreed safety standards laid down by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). These standards are subject to continual review.
The Advisory Committee on the Safe Transport of Radioactive Materials (ACTRAM) recently carried out a study on the transport of this material. The results were published in 1988 entitled "The Transport of Low Level Waste in the UK". A copy has been placed in the Library.
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the total volume of radioactive waste transported by (a) road, (b) rail and (c) air in each year since 1983.
Mr. Chope : The information requested is not available.
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents involving the transport of low-level radioactive waste have occurred in each year since 1983.
Mr. Chope : There have been three accidents to vehicles carrying low -level radioactive waste since 1964.
Stockport Bypass
Sir Thomas Arnold : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to publish compulsory purchase orders in respect of the A6(M) Stockport north-south bypass.
Mr. Chope : I will write to my hon. Friend about this.
Rail Fares (Yorkshire)
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has as to by how much rail fares in south Yorkshire are due to be increased, from what date, and the reason for the increase.
Mr. Freeman : Fare levels on local rail services in south Yorkshire are a matter for the passenger transport authority and executive. I understand that an increase is planned but that the details have yet to be finalised.
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Property Sales
Miss Hoey : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many homes have been sold by his Department since the beginning of 1989 and in the last three months ; and what criteria are used in deciding to whom the properties will be disposed.
Mr. Chope : Since the beginning of 1989 159 residential properties have been sold, including 23 in the last three months. Where appropriate, a property is offered first to the tenant if the terms of the tenancy so require, then to the former owner depending on the circumstances under which it was acquired.
Miss Hoey : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps are taken to make available properties disposed of by his Department to housing associations or local authorities.
Mr. Chope : Local authorities and housing associations are able to bid for the properties when they are offered for sale on the open market.
Correspondence
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish in the Official Report his answer to the letter from Mr. Arthur Doe of Brockhurst, Maurys lane, West Wellow, Romsey, dated 29 April, which was sent to him on 4 May and again on 26 June under Department of Transport reference number A/P50/15174/89.
Mr. Chope : I have today written to my hon. Friend.
Speed Humps
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list those London boroughs and metropolitan areas where speed humps have been introduced so far as the information is available to him ; and what is the density of distribution of such humps in each case.
Mr. Freeman : The decision whether to install speed humps lies with local highway authorities. Information on installations is not collected centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has in regard to the numbers of accidents attributable directly to the introduction of speed humps in the Greater London area.
Mr. Freeman : None, nor am I aware of any such relationship. Our liaison arrangements with local authorities will alert us should any problem arise in future.
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the information he has on the effect on road safety of the introduction of speed bumps in urban areas.
Mr. Freeman : The Speed Hump Regulations 1990, making it easier for local highway authorities to instal speed humps, came into effect only three months ago. The prescribed designs are based on extensive research in the United Kingdom and overseas with safety as a key factor. We shall be monitoring their effects.
Slowing traffic down to safe speeds in residential areas will undoubtedly save many lives.
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NATIONAL FINANCE
Earnings
Mrs. Beckett : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) men and (b) women earn (i) over £25,000, (ii) over £30,000, (iii) over £35,000, (iv) over £40,000,(v) £45,000 and (vi) over £50,000 per year.
Mr. Ryder : Available information for 1990-91 is in the table. It is not possible to provide accurate estimates for the analysis by men and women for the categories of earnings over £35,000.
Earned income (£ pa)
(thousands)
------------------------------------------
More than £25,000
More than £30,000
More than £35,000
More than £40,000
More than £45,000
More than £50,000
Estimates are based on a projection of the 1987-88 survey of personal incomes and are therefore provisional.
Mrs. Beckett : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people who pay tax are below the upper earnings limit.
Mr. Ryder : It is estimated that, in 1990-91, there will be about 19 million taxpayers in employment and self-employment aged under 65 with earned income below £18,200, the upper earnings limit for national insurance contributions purposes.
Personal Equity Plans
Mrs. Beckett : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was, for each year that personal equity plans have been in operation (a) the number and proportion of people with personal equity plans who are on the higher rate of tax and (b) the cost to his Department in total of personal equity plans and per person with a personal equity plan.
Mr. Ryder : The latest available information is shown in the reply to the hon. Member for Islington, South and Finsbury (Mr. Smith) on 19 February, column 515.
Income Statistics
Mrs. Beckett : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the estimated average and median (a) original, (b) gross and (c) post-tax income in 1990-91.
Mr. Ryder : Estimates of original, gross and post-tax income are derived from the family expenditure survey. Latest figures are for 1987 and were published in the May 1990 edition of Economic Trends. Estimates for 1990 will be available in due course when the 1990 family expenditure survey is completed and processed.
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library the full report of the latest
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survey of personal incomes ; and if he will make it his policy that the sample size in future surveys be sufficiently large to provide county-level estimates of the number of taxpayers, the number of higher-rate taxpayers, and of taxable income which are statistically reliable.Mr. Ryder : A range of tables compiled from the latest survey of personal incomes will, as is now the practice, be published in the next edition of "Inland Revenue Statistics" before the end of the year. Other information has been extracted from the survey as needs arose, some of which has already been published.
All sample surveys are subject to some degree of statistical variation. The size of the sample of surveys of personal incomes must continue to be set with a view to meeting efficiently its primary purpose of providing information relevant to the costing of income tax proposals affecting the United Kingdom as a whole. As explained in the reply to the hon. Member for Sheffield, Brightside (Mr. Blunkett) on 12 June, column 152, investigation is continuing into the reliability of information at the county level. Publication of county data will be resumed as soon as possible.
Mrs. Beckett : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the latest estimates of (a) original, (b) gross and (c) post-tax income, by decile.
Mr. Ryder : The information for 1987, the latest available year, is given in the table :
Average household income per year<1>
Decile groups of |Original |Gross |<2>Post-tax
equivalised disposable |income |income | income
income
|£ a year |£ a year |£ a year
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bottom |958 |3,975 |2,367
2nd |1,489 |4,819 |3,187
3rd |2,573 |5,503 |3,630
4th |5,131 |7,752 |4,896
5th |7,944 |10,082 |6,236
6th |11,002 |12,604 |7,725
7th |12,865 |14,088 |8,649
8th |16,145 |17,065 |10,459
9th |19,975 |20,694 |12,764
Top |30,955 |31,571 |20,345
|------ |------ |------
All households |10,904 |12,816 |8,026
Source:
Central Statistics Office.
<1>Equivalisation is used only for ranking the households. The figures shown above refer to unequivalised income.
<2>Post-tax income is after the deduction of direct taxes (eg income tax) and indirect taxes (eg VAT, petrol duty).
Note:
The figures are extracted from an article "The effects of taxes and benifits on household income, 1987" published in the May 1990
edition of Economic Trends.
The figures are extracted from an article "The effects of taxes and benefits on household income, 1987" published in the May 1990 edition of Economic Trends.
Ms. Abbott : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the average, and distribution of, household income of households which contain at least one person earning above the upper earnings limit who is on the basic rate of tax.
Mr. Ryder : I regret that the information requested is not readily available and would be disproportionately expensive to provide.
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Gross Domestic Product
Mr. Neil Hamilton : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the gross domestic product of the member states of the European Community in the latest convenient year.
Mr. Ryder : Following is the information requested.
GDP at purchasing power parities 1989
|United States
|dollars
|(billions)
-------------------------------------------
United Kingdom |818.4
Germany |941.7
France |817.4
Italy |801.9
Belgium |135.2
Denmark |73.8
Greece |72.7
Ireland |31.2
Luxembourg |6.3
Netherlands |205.0
Portugal |72.9
Spain |396.9
Source: OECD.
Foreign Exchange Transactions
Mr. Neil Hamilton : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the total cost of transactions between European Community member states in foreign exchange in the latest convenient year.
Mr. Ryder : The Government have not made such an estimate.
Trade Statistics
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing for each year since 1960 consumption of goods other than food and fuel as a percentage of gross domestic product together with the balance of trade in manufactures.
Mr. Norman Lamont : The information can be derived from data on the CSO's database, which may be accessed through the Library. The database indentifiers are :
Consumers' expenditure other than food and energy products Sum of :
Durable goods (AIIL)
Alcohol and tobacco (CDFH)
Clothing and footwear (CDDE)
Other goods (CCED)
GDP at market prices (CAOB)
Balance of trade in manufactures (BPJF)
(available only from 1970).
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish a table showing in May
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1990 prices the balance of trade in manufactures, less erratics on a balance of payments basis, in 1977, 1978, 1988 and 1989.Mr. Norman Lamont : Information from which the balance of trade in manufactures less erratics at May 1990 prices may be derived can be found in the monthly review of external trade statistics and its mid-year supplement, and also through the Central Statistical Office database, which may be accessed through the Library of the House.
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