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Column 109
Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 20 March 1991
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Birmingham Pub Bombings
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Attorney-General if he will place in the Library a transcript of the Birmingham pub bombings appeal hearing.
The Attorney-General : Arrangements are being made to have copies of the transcript placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Retail Prices
Mr. Ralph Howell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the prices of one pint of milk, 1lb of beef sirloin, one loaf of bread, 20 cigarettes, the average price of a three-bedroomed house and a medium-sized car, in 1970, 1980, 1985 and 1990 taking current prices as 100 ; and if he will show the percentage changes in each case.
Mr. Maples : Following is the available information.
|Index
|(January
|1991=100)
----------------------------------------------
Fresh milk
January 1970 |13.1
January 1980 |46.5
January 1985 |68.2
January 1990 |92.5
January 1991 |100.0
Beef, sirloin
January 1970 |10.6
January 1980 |54.3
January 1985 |75.5
January 1990 |98.9
January 1991 |100.0
Large white sliced loaf
January 1970 |15.1
January 1980 |56.0
January 1985 |69.6
January 1990 |91.9
January 1991 |100.0
Cigarettes
January 1970 |13.3
January 1980 |37.5
January 1985 |70.8
January 1990 |91.6
January 1991 |100.0
House prices<1>
January 1970 |7.2
January 1980 |34.8
January 1985 |48.8
January 1990 |104.8
January 1991 |100.0
Medium sized car<2>
<1> Based on national average price for all
house types. Specific figures for a
three-bedroomed house are not available.
<2> Information on new car prices is not
available.
Mr. Ralph Howell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish estimates for the length of time a married man with two children on average male earnings had to work in 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, and for the latest date available, after taking into account income tax liability and national insurance contribution, to pay for each of one pint of fresh milk, one pint of beer, 20 cigarettes, the weekly rent of a three-bedroomed council house and the running costs of a medium-sized car.
Mr. Maples : The lengths of time necessary to work to pay for one pint of milk, one pint of beer, and 20 cigarettes are shown in the table. Data for 1960 and data for the weekly rent of a
three-bedroomed council house and the running costs of a medium-sized car are not available.
The lengths of time necessary to work to pay for selected commodities and services are published annually in "Social Trends". Copies are available in the Library.
Length of time necessary to work to pay for selected
commodities
Great Britain Minutes
Married couple with husband
only working<1>
|1970<2>|1980<2>|1990<2>
|Minutes|Minutes|Minutes
--------------------------------------------------------------
Pint of fresh milk |5 |4 |3
Pint of beer (draught bitter) |16 |13 |11
20 cigarettes (filter tipped) |29 |18 |17
<1>Length of time necessary for a married man on average
hourly male adult earnings for all industries and services,
with a non-earning wife and two children under 11, to work so
that his net income pays for the various goods.
<2>At April.
EEC
Mr. Ralph Howell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for each year since 1973 what were (a) the overall payments by the Treasury to the European Economic Community, (b) the overall payment made by the European Economic Community to Britain in refunds and all other payments, (c) the total payments and refunds made to the Treasury and (d) the net cost to the Treasury.
Mr. Maude : The information requested concerning public sector contributions and receipts to and from the Community budget for 1973-1989 is set out in the following table. The Commission does not provide member states with details of payments made directly to the private sector. The overall payment made by the EC to the UK is therefore not available.
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£ million
Year |Gross payments |Public sector |Negotiated |VAT |Net contribution
|to the EC |receipts other |refunds |abatements |after refunds
|than refunds |and abatements<1>
|and abatements
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1973 |181 |79 |- |- |102
1974 |179 |150 |- |- |29
1975 |342 |398 |- |- |-56
1976 |463 |296 |- |- |167
1977 |737 |368 |- |- |369
1978 |1,348 |526 |- |- |822
1979 |1,606 |659 |- |- |947
1980 |1,767 |963 |98 |- |706
1981 |2,174 |1,084 |693 |- |397
1982 |2,863 |1,238 |1,019 |- |606
1983 |2,976 |1,522 |807 |- |647
1984 |3,204 |2,020 |528 |- |656
1985 |3,940 |1,905 |61 |166 |1,808
1986 |4,493 |2,220 |- |1,701 |572
1987 |5,202 |2,328 |- |1,153 |1,721
1988 |5,138 |2,182 |- |1,594 |1,362
1989 |5,585 |2,116 |- |1,154 |2,315
<1> Because of rounding the total with not necessarily equal the sum of the individual items.
The information for 1990 is due to be published in April in the Statement on the 1991 Community Budget.
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Polytechnics
Mr. Madel : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans he has to make further polytechnic designations between now and 30 June 1992 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Alan Howarth : We have made clear that we see the designation of new polytechnics as a continuing process, and would be happy to receive advice from the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council at any time that an institution has met the criteria for designation as a polytechnic together with the supporting evidence.
Universities and Polytechnics
Mr. Madel : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what plans he has to create a joint funding council for universities and polytechnics ; and if he will make a statement ; (2) what plans he has to dissolve the binary line between universities and polytechnics ; and if he will make a statment.
Mr. Alan Howarth : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Oxford, East (Mr. Smith) on 25 February 1991, ( Official Report, columns 332-33 )
Kirklees Metropolitan Council
Mrs. Peacock : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many persons were employed in the Education department of Kirklees metropolitan council in each year since 1979.
Mr. Fallon : The figures in the table are taken from a table of joint staffing watch data, analysed by local education authority, which has previously been placed in the library.
The total employees of Kirklees metropolitan council education department in March 1990 were as follows :
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|Number
-----------------------------------------------
Full-time teachers and lecturers |4,040
Part-time teachers and lecturers |1,520
Full-time other employees |1,350
Part-time other employees |4,750
These figures include the nursery, primary and secondary schools sector, special and further education and central administration. Comparable figures for other years are not available.
Education and Training Costs
Mr. Anthony Coombs : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much in total, at constant prices, has been spent on the education and training of the average United Kingdom citizen by the time he or she reaches (a) 16 years, (b) 18 years, (c) 20 years, (d) 22 years and (e) 24 years ; and if he will give equivalent figures for the main OECD countries.
Mr. Alan Howarth : On the basis of 1988-89 unit costs for maintained schools in England, expenditure per pupil up to age 16 amounts to some £16,000. Information for the other ages requested, and for OECD countries, is not available in this form.
Ministerial Visits
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Darlington (Mr. Fallon), last paid an official visit to a school in Stockton, South ; and which county councillors he met.
Mr. Fallon : I visited Grangefield school in Stockton-on-Tees on 25 February 1991 and met County Councillor D. C. McReddie, chairman of the education committee.
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FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Mr. Crispin Rushworth-Lund
Mr. Harris : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps have been taken by Her Majesty's Government to persuade the Dutch authorities to investigate the murder of Mr. Crispin Rushworth-Lund in St. Maarten.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : On 7 December 1990 the British consul-general in Amsterdam put to the Netherlands authorities the suggestion made by my hon. Friend that detectives from the Netherlands should investigate the murder in St. Maarten of Mr. Rushworth-Lund. He wrote again about the case on 18 December. We are still waiting for a reply. The consulate-general sent a reminder on 15 March.
Virgin Islands
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what meetings he has arranged during his visit to the British Virgin Islands ; whom he will meet ; and what is the purpose of his visit.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : I hope to visit the British Virgin
Islands--BVI--from 20 to 22 April : I hope to meet the governor, the chief minister and executive council and leading members of the community. In particular I hope to look at BVI's capabilities to combat drug trafficking and see and discuss developments in the offshore finance sector.
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with Ministers from the British Virgin Islands about combating drugs trafficking ; what action he is now taking as a result ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : When I met the chief minister of the British Virgin Islands, the Hon. Lavity Stoutt, on 11 March we discussed the campaign to combat drugs trafficking through BVI. I informed the chief minister that the FCO had just purchased a drugs surveillance aircraft to be based in BVI and would fund a two man RAF team to operate it. I hope to be able to inspect anti-narcotics operations in the BVI during a visit from 20 to 22 April. Plastic Explosives
Mr. Ian Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made in international initiatives to make plastic explosives detectable.
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Mr. Douglas Hogg : A new convention on the marking of plastic explosives for detection was opened for signature at the International Civil Aviation Organisation on 1 March. The United Kingdom, with 40 other countries, signed the convention. Among other things, the convention will require all plastic explosives manufactured by states parties to be "marked" through a chemical additive ; prohibit the import and export of unmarked plastic explosives ; and, subject to certain exceptions, require the destruction of commercial stocks of unmarked plastic explosives within three years, and certain military stocks within 15 years, after entry into force. The convention is the result of an Anglo-Czechoslovak initiative, launched after the Lockerbie bombing. We warmly welcome the rapid completion of the convention, in which British officials played a leading part. We hope to ratify the convention at an early date.
PRIME MINISTER
Uniform Business Rate
Mr. Gwilym Jones : To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the impact of the operation of the uniform business rate on (a) offices, (b) factories, (c) warehouses and (d) shops in Wales relative to England.
The Prime Minister : The uniform business rate poundage for 1990-91 has been set at 36.8p in the pound in Wales in order to raise broadly the same amount in real terms from private business and nationalised industries as in 1989-90. The same principle has been adopted in England.
The combined impact of the revaluation of non-domestic property and the introduction of the uniform business rate on the specified categories of property is shown in the tables :
Changes in aggregate rate bills<1>
between 1989-90 and 1990-91
Percentage change
Property type |Wales |England
--------------------------------------------------------
Offices |0 |12
Factories |-26 |-31
Warehouses |-17 |-22
Shops |21 |18
<1> After allowing for inflation as measured by the
retail prices index and for appeals against valuation.
Change in rate bills by property type, England and Wales
Reduction (-) Increase (+) in rate bill, per cent.
England Wales
Property type |Overall |Net change |Overall |Net change |Net change
|change |on UBR |on revaluation|change |on UBR |on revaluation
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Factories |-31 |-9 |-22 |-26 |-1 |-26
Warehouses |-22 |-6 |-15 |-17 |+1 |-17
Shops |+18 |-1 |+19 |+21 |- |+21
Offices |+12 |+20 |-8 |- |+7 |-8
Other properties |+12 |-5 |+16 |+12 |- |+12
Changes in rate bills by property type, England and Wales
Reduction ( )/Increase ( ) in rate bill, per cent.
England Wales
Property type Overall change Net change on UBR Net change on revaluation Overall change Net change on UBR Net change on revaluation
Factories 31 9 22 26 1 26
Warehouses 22 6 15 17 1 17
Shops 18 1 19 21 -- 21
Offices 12 20 8 -- 7 8
Other properties 12 5 16 12 -- 12
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TRANSPORT
Oil Spill Recovery Equipment
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much dispersant the marine pollution control unit keeps in stock expressed in (a) value in £ sterling, (b) weight and (c) volume ; what were the stocks in each of the last five years ; and what was the capital expenditure of the unit for each of the last five years.
Mr. McLoughlin : The marine pollution control unit--MPCU--current dispersant stock expressed in (a) value (b) weight and (c) volume is as follows :
(a) value
(a) value £1.68 million (b) weight 1,680 tonnes (c) volume 1,680 cubic metres
Further stocks are in the course of supply to maintain the level of about 1,800 tonnes which has been held for the last five years. Total capital expenditure by the MPCU, including the purchase of dispersant, for each of the last five years is as follows :
Year |£,000 -------------------- 1986-87 |282 1987-88 |130 1988-89 |215 1989-90 |333 1990-91 |397
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the contingency fund (a) held and (b) expended for oil spill recovery for the last five years.
Mr. McLoughlin : The Department has Treasury approval to spend whatever it deems reasonable to deal with a major pollution threat and there are arrangements for calling on the contingencies reserve as necessary. This is represented by a token provision of £1,000 in the Department's annual estimates.
Expenditure on dealing with oil spills in each of the last five years is as follows :
|£ thousands
------------------------------------
1986-87 |0
1987-88 |10
1988-89 |62
1989-90 |168
1990-91 |715
The figures for 1989-90 and 1990-91 include £29,000 and £200,000 respectively for the deployment of MPCU oil recovery equipment and hire and deployment of supplementary oil spill recovery resources. Reimbursement of all of this expenditure has been obtained, or is being sought, from the polluters.
Marine Pollution Control Unit
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the total budget of the marine pollution control unit for the last five years.
Mr. McLoughlin : The total budget of the marine pollution control unit for each of the last five years, excluding the cost of dealing with major oil spills, was as follows :
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Year |£,000 -------------------- 1986-87 |3,076 1987-88 |2,781 1988-89 |2,805 1989-90 |3,308 1990-91 |5,974
Buses
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if, pursuant to the statement of Monday 11 March, Official Report, column 722, he will indicate any information available to him on the maximum percentage reduction in scheduled bus mileage on any bus route in east London.
Mr. Freeman : London Transport expects scheduled bus mileage in 1990 -91 to rise to 182 million miles--an increase of 4 per cent over last year. I have no information on the performance of individual London bus routes. That is a matter for London Transport.
British Railways Board
Mr. Gregory : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many British Railways Board members receive pay related to train punctuality ; what percentage of the board's total remuneration such payments represent ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : Under the terms of the British Railways Board members' bonus scheme, the six full-time executive members are eligible for bonus payments based on, among other things, train punctuality. Board members can earn payments of up to 4 per cent. of annual salary if British Rail meets the agreed train punctuality targets, and up to 7 per cent if the targets are exceeded. In 1989-90 board members earned a bonus of 1.5 per cent. for exceeding the punctuality target for the provincial sector.
Coastguard Service
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he intends to announce his decision on the future of the auxiliary coastguard service, arising from the recent review.
Mr. McLoughlin : After there has been time to consider the advice of regional controllers and the Chief Coastguard, following consultation that is now in progress. It is expected that this process will be concluded during the summer.
Vehicle Inspectorate
Mr. Roger King : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the vehicle inspectorate business plan for 1991-92 will be published.
Mr. Chope : The business plan has been published today. Copies are available in the House Libraries.
Trains
Mr. Snape : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he received an investment submission from British Rail to place an order for 200 new Networker electric trains for Kent link services ; when he will be in a position to reply to the application ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Freeman : My right hon. and learned Friend received an investment submission for British Rail, requesting approval for 274 class 465 vehicles, in a letter dated 29 January. British Rail provided additional information on 26 February and 13 March. My right hon. and learned Friend will respond as soon as possible.Mr. Snape : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he received an investment submission from British Rail to place an order for 60 vehicles to be used on London Paddington/Oxford services ; when he will be in a position to reply to the application ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : My right hon. and learned Friend received an investment submission from British Rail, requesting approval for 59 class 165 vehicles, in a letter dated 29 January. British Rail provided additional information on 19 February. My right hon. and learned Friend will respond as soon as possible.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Badgers
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what advice he has given to private forestry companies to ensure against disturbance or destruction of active badger setts during forestry operations ;
(2) what steps he has taken to protect active badger setts from disturbance or destruction by planting, timber harvesting or other operations on Forestry Commission land.
Mr. Curry : Badger setts are not on the whole vulnerable to damage from forestry operations, since they are characteristically large, subterranean and in well-drained soils. The Forestry Commission nevertheless endeavours to locate all the badger setts on its land so that they can be protected from any possible damage. It has also published forest nature conservation guidelines, for use by its own forest managers and those in the private sector, which emphasise the importance of good management in protecting animal populations.
Cereal Farmers
Mr. Ralph Howell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the average income of a cereal farmer in each of the last five years.
Mr. Curry : The information is not available in the form requested. About one third of the total area of cereals in England is on specialist cereal farms and over a half is on general cropping farms. The following table provides estimates of the net farm income from a sample of these types of farm in England as recorded by the farm business survey.
Average net farm income of specialist cereal and general
cropping
farms in England
£ per farm
|Specialist |General
|cereal farms |cropping farms
------------------------------------------------------------
1985-86 |3,800 |6,100
1986-87 |9,700 |17,700
1987-88 |1,600 |8,400
1988-89 |2,100 |8,500
1989-90 |8,700 |21,800
Note: The figures shown relate to samples of farms which
change somewhat each year. The movement in incomes from
year to year is more accurately measured by a comparison of
the results from an identical sample for each year which
are published annually in "Farm Incomes in the United
Kingdom".
Infant Formulae
Mr. Mans : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the recent adoption of the European Commission directive on infant formulae and follow-on formulae.
Mr. Gummer : The Government voted in favour of the adoption of this important directive. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health, and I warmly welcome the essential compositional and nutritional standards which this directive will provide for the first time to safeguard the health and safety of bottle-fed babies. During the negotiations in Brussels the United Kingdom succeeded in obtaining important changes that align the directive more closely with the principles and aims of the World Health Organisation international code on the marketing of breastmilk substitutes. In particular, improvements have been obtained in relation to the advertising controls on infant formulae and to the provisions covering the supply of these products to hospitals.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT
Virgin Islands
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what studies have been undertaken into the feasibility of extending the runway on the British Virgin Islands ; what cost is involved ; and what action he plans to take.
Mrs. Chalker : We have not undertaken or commissioned any studies into the feasibility of extending the airport runway on the British Virgin Islands ; nor have we been asked or have any plans to do so. We understand that consultants from Israel have undertaken preliminary feasibility studies at the request of and funded by the British Virgin Islands Government and that estimated costs of around US$30 million--£15 million to £20 million--have been mentioned.
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recommendations were made in the report he commissioned on education in the British Virgin Islands ; what plans he has to implement them ; and what funds will be made available for this.
Mrs. Chalker : The 1988 education sector review recommended improved access to primary and secondary education through the reorganisation of existing infrastructure and management, with the quality of primary and secondary schooling to be assured through strengthening monitoring systems and increased budget allocations for instructional materials and in-service training. The Overseas Development Administration has assisted with quality improvement through the provision of additional school buildings and equipment linked with staff development for primary and secondary training in-country, in the region and in the United Kingdom.
We have also assisted the British Virgin Islands Government in the formulation of its first five-year
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development plan for education. Initial Government reaction to the plan has been favourable and we have indicated our willingness to continue to provide further technical assistance in its implementation when the Government have determined their priorities.India (Property Projects)
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs over what period £175 million for property projects in India, referred to in the letter of 15 February from the Minister of Overseas Development, was committed ; and on what basis the decision was made not to include reference to the period involved in the letter.
Mrs. Chalker : My letter gave the total value of the British bilateral contribution to poverty alleviation projects in India against which our aid funds are currently being disbursed. Of that total, £130 million was committed to specific projects in the calendar years 1988 to 1990.
Aid Loans
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 28 February, Official Report, column 564, what criteria were used to determine the eligibility of developing countries for old aid loans to be converted into grants ; and whether these criteria remain the same in considering future conversions of aid loans to grants.
Mrs. Chalker : Britain decided to convert a numberr of outstanding aid loans into grants following a 1978 UNCTAD resolution. Eligibility was based on poverty
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and a satisfactory human rights record. In addition we now also seek evidence of a commitment to economic reform so that the resources provided through debt relief can be used effectively.Low-income Countries
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what percentage of bilateral aid went to low-income countries, as defined by the World bank, in 1990 ; and what percentage went to least-developed countries, as defined by the United Nations in 1990.
Mrs. Chalker : The percentage of United Kingdom gross bilateral aid to low-income countries, as defined by the World bank, was 71.2 per cent. in 1989, the latest year for which figures are available. The proportion going to the least-developed countries, as defined by the UN, was 31.7 per cent. in 1989.
Net Aid Programme
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish a table showing the size of the net aid programme, in cash and constant 1990-91 financial year terms, for the financial years 1978-79, 1990-91 and planned figures for 1993-94, showing the percentage change in real terms for each period.
Mrs. Chalker : Following is the Information ; figures for the net aid programme in 1990-91 will not be available until the autumn.
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Year |Net Aid programme|Percentage |Net Aid programme|Percentage
|in cash terms |change on |in 1990-91 prices|change on
|1978-79 |1978-79
|£ million |£ million
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1978-79 |715 |- |1,807 |-
Year |Expenditure plans|Percentage |Expenditure plans|Percentage
|change on |change on
|1978-79 |1978-79
|£ million |£ million
1990-91<1> |1,587 |+121.9 |1,587 |-12.2
1993-94 |1,860 |+160.1 |1,618 |-10.5
<1> Original planning figures. During 1990-91 the planned aid programme was increased to allow for
additional expenditure on Zambia and the Commonwealth Development Corporation.
Year Expenditure Plans Percentage change on 1978-79 Expenditure Plans Percentage change on 1978-79
£ million £ million
1990-91 1,587 121.9 1,587 12.2
1993-94 1,860 160.1 1,618 10.5
Original planning figures. During 1990-91 the planned aid programme was increased to allow for additional expenditure on Zambia and the Commonwealth Development Corporation.
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