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Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department why Mr. Ali El Salem, of 69 Hamble road, Bedford, has been detained and considered for deportation ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has decided that Mr. El Salem should be served with notice of intention to deport him from the United Kingdom on the grounds that his deportation would be conducive to the public good for reason of national security. He has been detained pending any representations which he may wish to make as to why he should not be deported. He may, if he wishes, appear before an independent advisory panel and make representations to it before it tenders its advice to my right hon. Friend. If it is decided to make a deportation order he will have a right of appeal against destination to the independent immigration authorities.
Mr. Mullins : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list Iraqi nationals resident in Sunderland who have been detained within the last 10 days ; and what decisions have been taken about their future in each case.
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Mr. Peter Lloyd : Three Iraqi nationals resident in Sunderland have been detained in the past 10 days pending deportation on grounds of national security. I am not prepared to comment on individual cases.
SCOTLAND
AIDS
Mr. Galbraith : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people have been infected by the AIDS virus through the infusion of whole blood or platelets.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Up to 31 December 1990 the total number of reports in Scotland of people who have contracted AIDS as a result of their having received whole blood transfusions/platelets within the United Kingdom and abroad is five.
Farm Assurance Scheme
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has had any discussions concerning the Scottish farmers farm assurance scheme ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : My right hon. Friend is aware of this initiative by the National Farmers Union of Scotland.
Details of the scheme have still to be developed. In his view, however, the aims of this proposal, which are to secure consumer confidence in and demand for Scottish farm produce by developing and applying on a voluntary basis codes of best farming practice, are to be commended.
Salmon
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he has any plans to introduce further controls in respect of the salmon farming industry ; and if he will make a statement ; (2) if he has any plans to introduce a long-term strategy to control salmon farming.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The Government recognise the importance of the marine salmon farming industry in bringing economic and social benefits to communities in Scotland. Equally they acknowledge that the longer-term existence of the industry can be assured only if the natural resource base on which the industry is dependent can be used in a sustainable manner. In conjunction with the Crown Estate Commissioners the Government have therefore strengthened the procedures for open and independent consideration of the more contentious seabed lease applications for marine fish farming through the establishment of an advisory committee. The Scottish Office is currently engaged in drawing up revised guidelines covering the location and siting of marine fish farms and will consult widely before these guidelines are introduced.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any plans to meet representatives of Scottish Wildlife and Countryside Link to discuss salmon farming ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : I met representatives of Scottish Wildlife and Countryside Link for this purpose on
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21 January. We welcome the involvement of voluntary conservation bodies in the debate on the future of the salmon farming industry and plan to consult Scottish Wildlife and Countryside Link members as part of a wide-ranging consultation exercise on the establishment of revised guidelines covering the siting and location of marine fish farms.Cervical Smear Tests
Mr. McMaster : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a table showing the average time that patients wait for the results of cervical smear tests in (a) Britain, (b) Scotland and (c) each of the health board areas ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Figures are not available on a Great Britain basis. The average time taken to report results to patients across Scotland for the latest figures available (January to June 1990) was 30 days.
Information for each health board is as follows :
Health Board |Average
|time in
|days
------------------------------------------------
Argyll and Clyde |31
Ayr and Arran |21
Borders |21
Dumfries and Galloway |3
Fife |33
Forth Valley |29
Grampian |77
Greater Glasgow |<1>4-7
|<2>28
Highland |32
Lanarkshire |35
Lothian |15
Orkney |<3>-
Shetland |48
Tayside |14
Western Isles |<4>-
<1>high risk
<2>low risk
<3>Tests processed by Grampian HB
Separate figures not readily available
<4>Tests processed by Highland HB
Separate figures not readily available
I regard those averages of more than 14 days as unacceptable and I instructed health boards on 13 December 1990 to achieve this average turnround time for all results by no later than 31 May 1991. Boards have already indicated that they are making progress towards this and the position will be monitored.
Missing People
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list for the Strathclyde police force area how many (a) children and (b) adults are known to have gone missing for each of the last five years for which he has records ; and how many were subsequently traced.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : I understand from the chief constable of Strathclyde police that the available information is as follows :
Year |Missing person |Persons traced
|reports received by|(as at 31 December
|the police |1990)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(a) Children (aged under 16)
1986 |5,582 |5,582
1987 |5,701 |5,701
1988 |4,733 |4,732
1989 |4,411 |4,411
1990 |4,604 |4,592
(b) Adults (aged 16 or more)
1986 |3,139 |3,135
1987 |3,442 |3,440
1988 |3,767 |3,762
1989 |3,862 |3,854
1990 |3,559 |3,525
Notes:
1. The information given relates to reports rather than individuals. Thus if
the same person was reported missing on more than one occasion he will have
been the subject of more than one report.
2. The information given does not include reports of persons missing from local
authority residential establishments, prison establishments or the State
Hospital, Carstairs.
3. Of the children untraced at 31 December 1990, two had been missing for more
than 28 days.
Child Care Law
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any proposals to integrate the work of the Scottish Child Care Law Review Group with the work of law reform of the Adoption Law Review and the Scottish Law Commission ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The report of the Scottish child care law review recognised the interaction between child care and adoption law. The observations made in that report about adoption have been conveyed to the interdepartmental group which is currently reviewing adoption law in the United Kingdom. The Scottish Law Commission subsequently published its discussion paper, "Parental
responsibilities and Rights, Guardianship and the Administration of Children's Property". In considering the commission's final recommendations the Secretary of State will take into account the outcome of the two reviews.
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any plans to take forward the work of the Scottish Child Care Law Review Group ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : When the report of the Scottish child care law review was published on 19 October a wide range of organisations was invited to submit their comments on the recommendations by 14 December. A total of 79 responses have been received and are now being assessed. We shall carefully consider that assessment before deciding whether to accept the various recommendations and whether to promote legislation.
Recycling
Mr. Rost : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the plans announced on 9 November for a programme of investment in local authority recycling facilities will be implemented in Scotland.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : In Scotland capital expenditure allocations are not identified separately for local authorities' waste disposal and recycling activities. It is for local authorities to make my right hon. Friend aware of their intention to incur expenditure on recycling
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facilities through their financial plans. Where authorities have identified such projects in their plans, priority has been given to these projects when consent allocations have been determined.Conveyancing Research
Mr. Bill Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what progress has been made on conveyancing research by his Department.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : I am pleased to announce that a research report on factors influencing the market for conveyancing in Scotland has been published today. I have placed copies of the report, "The Market for Conveyancing in Scotland", in the Library. The research was carried out at Strathclyde university with Scottish Office funding.
The report concludes that there has been greater competition in conveyancing and house selling since 1985 when, with Government persuasion, the Law Society of Scotland introduced changes relating to advertising and fee quotations and abolished scale fees. The report also found that 40 per cent. of solicitors who responded were in favour of multi-disciplinary partnerships with non-lawyers. The statutory barriers to the formation of such partnerships were removed by the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990. A second study which looks particularly at fees charged for conveyancing before and after the abolition of scale fees is in progress.
Haemophilia
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many haemophiliacs in Scotland who require Factor VIII injections are given the new highly purified material from Armour
Pharmaceuticals ; how many are given the older material from Bio Products ; and if he will break down the figures for each health board.
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Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 22 January 1991] : Five patients, four in the Lothian health board area and one in Greater Glasgow, are being treated with Factor VIII produced by the Armour Pharmaceutical Company. A further 245 are being treated with intermediate potency Factor VIII concentrate produced by the Scottish national blood transfusion service (SNBTS).
The prescribing of Factor VIII is a matter for clinical judgment, but there is no reason to consider that the current SNBTS product is less efficacious than commercial products for those patients for whom it is prescribed.
The SNBTS keeps all its products under review, developing them in line with technological and scientific advances. I have today given my approval to the SNBTS to enter into agreement with the French blood transfusion service at Lille to exchange technological knowledge. This agreement will enable the SNBTS to produce a higher potency Factor VIII which will be available for clinicians to prescribe to haemophiliacs in Scotland in the course of 1991.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Community Charge
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish a table showing how many people in (i) England, (ii) Wales and (iii) Scotland are in receipt of (a) full community charge benefit and (b) partial community charge benefit, also giving these figures as a percentage of the total number of poll tax payers ; and if he will make a statement on his estimates of the number of people who are eligible but are not claiming community charge benefit for all poll tax payers and for all those aged under 25 years.
Miss Widdecombe : The latest available estimates, based on benefit caseload processed by 31 August 1990, are as follows :
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Community Charge Percentage of
Benefit community charge
paying population
|With |Without |Total
|Income |Income
|Support |Support
|(000) |(000) |(000) |per cent.
----------------------------------------------------------------
England |3,190 |4,070 |7,260 |20
Wales |270 |240 |510 |23
Scotland |480 |470 |950 |25
Great Britain |3,950 |4,780 |8,730 |21
These figures are likely to underestimate the current position, because some authorities still had a number of unprocessed claims at the time. Not all community charge payers are eligible for community charge benefit, and it is not possible to give estimates of the eligible population for community charge benefit until the appropriate survey data becomes available.
Note : Total does not equal sum of components because of rounding.
Source : Housing and Community Charge Benefit Management Information System August 1990 quarterly count of claims ; and Family Expenditure Survey-based analyses.
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Severe Weather Payments
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what were (a) the total numbers of recipients and (b) the total values of the payments made in (i) cash and (ii) constant terms under the exceptionally severe weather payments under the single payments regulations in each year from 1980 to 1988 and subsequently under the social fund exceptionally cold weather payments in each subsequent year, in Scotland.
Mr. Scott : Figures for Scotland are not available for 1980-81, and in 1981-82, 1982-83, and 1983-84 no payments were made.
Figures for subsequent years are as follows :
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|Awards |Expenditure |Expenditure
|(Cash terms)|(At 1990-91
|prices)<1>
|£ |£
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1984-85 |1 |60 |85
1985-86 |84,235 |1,927,991 |2,591,741
1986-87 |291,177 |1,455,885 |1,892,421
1987-88 |84,631 |426,583 |525,846
1988-89 |502 |2,510 |2,884
1989-90 |43,782 |403,157 |435,410
<1>The Gross Domestic Product Deflator has been used to show
expenditure at 1990-91 prices.
Note-Awards up to and including 1986-87 relate to the number of
payments made, after then awards relate to the number of
recipients during the year.
Dangerous Loads
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what guidelines are issued to his Department's local offices regarding co- operation with other agencies in planning emergency liaison procedures in case of accident during the transportation of (a) radioactive waste, (b) nuclear warloads and (c) toxic waste.
Miss Widdecombe : Local offices have standing instructions on what to do in the event of local disasters. Action required includes liaison with local authorities and other appropriate agencies.
Household Incomes
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how a household of (a) below-average income and (b) above-average income is calculated.
Mr. Jack : In the technical annex to the publication "Households below Average Income A Statistical Analysis 1981-87", published in July 1990, pages 75 to 78 are details of the definition of income, of how income is equivalised across households, and of the calculation of average income.
Each household's income is calculated as the total net income of all household members, either before or after housing costs. This amount is then divided by the equivalence value of the household concerned, using the DSS'sequivalence scales. This produces "equivalised household incomes", and takes account of the different income levels required by households of different compositions to achieve the same overall living standard.
The average equivalised household income is then calculated across the whole population. Thus this average is the sum of the equivalised household incomes of all people in the survey, divided by the total number of people. Each household's equivalised income is then either above or below this average.
Disability
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the purpose of the functional test of disability that claimants of the disability working allowance will be expected to undergo ; and whether any duplication, in the evidence of disability required to be provided, will result from the new test.
Mr. Scott : In almost all first claims for disability working allowance (DWA) and about 60 per cent. of repeat claims the claimant's declaration that he has a
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disability which puts him at a disadvantage in getting a job will be accepted. The test of functional disability will be applied in other cases to provide evidence that the claimant still has a disability.Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will provide details of the functional test of disability that claimants of the disability working allowance will be expected to undergo in order to ascertain whether they are at a disadvantage in getting a job on account of a physical or mental disability where their own declaration is not accepted as sufficient proof ; in what percentage of cases his Department envisages the need for an additional test to provide proof of disadvantage ; and what are his Department's estimates of the additional cost this test will entail.
Mr. Scott : In almost all first claims for disability working allowance (DWA) the claimant's own declaration will be accepted. In addition, we estimate that about 60 per cent. of second and subsequent claims will be by people whose declaration will generally be accepted without further confirmation ; that is, those getting one of the higher rates of disability living allowance (the rates which are equivalent to the present attendance allowance and mobility allowance) or an analogous benefit or who were getting severe disablement allowance before claiming.
In other cases where the claimant is applying for a repeat award of disability working allowance, the claimant will be asked to complete a questionnaire about their functional disabilities. We estimate that the cost of administering the test for these claimants will be about £0.5 million per annum.
Social Fund
Mr. Tom Clarke : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to revise social fund loan arrangements in order to reduce the amount of staff time committed to calculating repayment schedules.
Mr. Scott : There are no plans to revise social fund loan arrangements at present. The microcomputer system was recently enhanced to provide more assistance to staff in the calculation of repayment terms.
Attendance Allowance
Miss Emma Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security in how many cases the six-month waiting period for attendance allowance has been waived since the relaxation of the rule for terminally ill people.
Mr. Scott : From 1 October to 31 December 1990 there were 14,200 awards of attendance allowance under the special rules for people with a terminal illness. This figure includes awards made on review.
Local Office, Glasgow
Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what options are currently under consideration by his Department in relation to the site of the planned Glasgow, Pollok local office ; and if he will make a statement.
Miss Widdecombe : I have nothing to add to my reply to the hon. Member on 20 December 1990 at column 318.
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Respite Care
Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if his Department will consider expanding the categories of claimant service providers to whom payments of benefit may be made directly rather than to the user to include those respite care projects administered by the archdiocese of Glasgow ; and if he will make a statement.
Miss Widdecombe : No. Individual cases are considered on their merits.
Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if his Department will consider directing offices to inform administrators of respite care projects of payments made to user claimants and carers in those cases where the authority of the recipient has been obtained ; and if he will make a statement.
Miss Widdecombe : All personal information held in social security records is regarded as confidential and is not normally disclosed to third parties without the consent of the person concerned. Where the benefit recipient has given his consent, information on benefit payments can be given to the administrators of respite care projects. This is reflected in the procedural instructions issued to staff in DSS local offices.
Carers
Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if his Department will consider undertaking a review of the presentation of explanatory information accompanying payments of benefit to carers ; and if he will make a statement.
Miss Widdecombe : Invalid care allowance is paid by order book. The information pages in the Department's order books are kept under review.
The Department is currently engaged in producing a new version of the invalid care allowance explanatory leaflet and claim form which we expect will be available from April. A new leaflet, containing general advice about benefits and services of interest to carers, is being developed at present and will be available in the summer.
Direct Payments
Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if his Department will consider undertaking a review of the categories and criteria under which claimant service providers may receive payments of benefits direct ; and if he will make a statement.
Miss Widdecombe : We have no plans to do so at present.
Care Homes
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security in what ways the arrangements for the provision of income support for residents entering local authority trust care homes differ from the arrangements for a resident entering a private care home.
Miss Widdecombe : Eligibility for income support is defined by regulations. They provide that income support is available in respect of fees, up to certain limits, to
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residents of registered residential care homes and in certain other types of homes. Independent adjudication officers decide on benefit payable and are provided with guidance on the interpretation of the regulations by the chief adjudication officer in the published adjudication officer's guide, a copy of which is available in the Library.Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what steps he has taken to ensure that prior to the implementation of the National Health Service and Community Care Act income support payments towards the cost of residential care are only made available to those individuals who actually require such care.
Miss Widdecombe : The level of income support payable depends on the type of care the residential care home is providing for the claimant. The adjudication officer must be satisfied that the home is recognised by the registration authority as able to provide a level of care and that the resident is receiving such care. We have no evidence to suggest that residents of registered care homes do not need to be there.
Care Allowance
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what guidelines he has issued regarding the payment of care allowance for those already entitled to the married woman's share of her husband's invalidity benefit.
Mr. Scott : Regulations govern both the award of invalid care allowance and invalidity benefit as well as the treatment of overlapping benefits. Decisions under those regulations are made by independent adjudication officers.
Guidance to adjudication officers is the responsibility of the chief adjudication officer and is published in the adjudication officers' guide.
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Car Parking
Mr. Corbett : To ask the Lord President of the Council whether he will arrange for a report on the feasibility of using the courtyard at the rear of the Norman Shaw North parliamentary building for parking by members and their staff.
Mr. MacGregor : The arrangements for car parking in the Norman Shaw car park were considered by the Accommodation and Administration Sub- Committee in May 1988. However, I will arrange for the hon. Member's suggestion to be looked into.
Parliamentary Pension Scheme
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Lord President of the Council what are the terms of his reference to the Top Salaries Review Body of hon. Members' and Exchequer contributions under the parliamentary pensions scheme.
Mr. MacGregor : Following discussions with the trustees of the parliamentary pension fund, and subject to the views of the House, I propose to write to the chairman of the Top Salaries Review Body as follows :
"At the conclusion of the debate on Parliamentary Pensions held on 17 January 1990 my predecessor said that he would examine what hon. Members had said with a view to framing a future reference to the TSRB on Parliamentary
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pensions. He subsequently held discussions with the Trustees of the Parliamentary Pension Scheme and others on both the current shape of the scheme and the implementation of the recommendations made in the review body's last report (the 26th). You will have seen that I introduced a Bill to enact those recommendations and other matters this session and the Second Reading took place on [ ]. Because of acute Parliamentary concern about the state of the Fund, we have taken the unusual step of making some changes to the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund (PCPF), particularly on widows' benefit, without consulting you. Nonetheless, a number of issues remain on which we would welcome your guidance.As debates in the House have made clear, the principal issue on which we need your advice is the question of the so-called balance of contributions', that is the balance between the Exchequer and Member contributions.
The PCPF is a final salary scheme with the Member contribution determined on the basis necessary to fund benefits over the long term, leaving aside surpluses and deficits. Under section 3 of the Parliamentary and other Pensions Act 1987, the Government Actuary's Department (GAD), on the basis of the cost of known benefits, estimates the total contributions necessary to fund it in the long term (the total standard contribution). Since the Member contribution is fixed this yields the Exchequer contribution as a residual. Taking account of the performance of the Fund, the GAD then adjusts the Exchequer contribution to produce the rate actually paid. The effect is that the Exchequer funds deficits but, where there is a surplus, enjoys a contributions holiday. The financing system is in other words symmetrical.
The Trustees of the PCPF, amongst others, take the view that the character of the scheme in which the Exchequer makes contributions in this way-- taking the benefit of surpluses and making good any deficits--should be changed. Their preference would be for a system which held a fixed relationship between the Exchequer and Member contribution--say in the ratio of 5 : 3 or 60 : 40. To match the current system, such a system would need to be symmetrical with regard to both surpluses and deficits, implying that the Member and Exchequer contributions would move up or down together according to the state of the Fund.
We would therefore welcome your views on the short and long term financing arrangements of the scheme and in particular what role the GAD should play. I intend that your report be debated and that the eventual government decisions on it should establish a definitive position on this issue for some considerable time to come. On scheme benefits, as I have mentioned, we have decided to improve widows' and widowers' pensions from half rate to ate in response to the Trustees' request for an increase to n the light of the debate in the House on 17 January 1990. In consultation with the Trustees the Government concluded that this was the appropriate response to Members' immediate concerns over the surplus in the Fund and the level of Exchequer contributions. I have made it clear that when there is no longer any surplus in the Fund Members' contributions will have to rise to meet the cost of this new level of benefit. This should not influence you in determining the Government's policy towards the financing of the Fund nor to what we consider the proper use of surpluses, generally. It was a specific action to meet a specific need.
During the 17 January 1990 debate, however, Members also raised the question of the accrual rate. You last looked at this in 1983 when you recommended an improvement in the accrual rate from o would be grateful for your views on whether a further improvement is justified and if so on the implications for contributions.
I ought also to record some feeling among the Trustees and other Members that you should take account of experience in other Parliamentary schemes, both Commonwealth and European. Given the timescale, this might well need to be covered in a separate, subsequent Report.
I would like to consider and debate your report as soon as is practically possible so that any necessary changes can be implemented speedily. (As you will see, the Bill includes a power to make such changes by secondary legislation). So it would be of great assistance if you could report by this April.
I would like to conclude by thanking the Review Body for its last report under the chairmanship of Lord Plowden and
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thank you in advance for agreeing to examine these complex matters. The Trustees of the Parliamentary Pensions Scheme will join me, I am sure, when I say that we are fortunate to being able to call on the Review Body's objectivity in assisting our consideration of these difficult issues."
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