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Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 7 May 1991
CIVIL SERVICE
Non-governmental Organisations
Mr. Grocott : To ask the Minister for the Civil Service what was the total cost of running the Government quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations in the two most recent years for which figures are available.
Mr. Renton : Details of total expenditure by non-departmental public bodies can be found in "Public Bodies 1990", copies of which are available in the Library of the House.
ENERGY
Renewable Energy Programmes
Mr. Wallace : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list his Department's current and planned renewable energy programmes in Scotland by type, cost, site location and capacity.
Mr. Moynihan : A total of 38 renewable energy projects currently being carried out under my Department's research, development and demonstration programme have a contractor or site located in Scotland. They comprise :
Technology |Projects |Contract Value
|£ million
------------------------------------------------------------
Wind |14 |15.5
Biomass |13 |2.8
Solar |6 |0.8
Geothermal |1 |0.6
Wave/Hydro |4 |0.3
Wind
3MW Aerogenerator at Burgar Hill
60 WTG performance monitoring phase 4
Additional monitoring of Shetland HWP 750
Wind turbine control systems modelling and design
The influence of noise on wind turbine design
Yaw system loads of HAWTS
Evaluation of the concept of a stall limited rotor
Fast acting control of wind turbines
Wind energy resource in Caithness and Sutherland
MS-3 for NEL test site
Feasibility of testing WT incorp advanced tip cont rotor
Aerodynamic braking and control devices HAWTS
Development of MW-rated WTS using WEG LS-1 orkney
Design/test controller for variable speed turbine
Biomass
Elucidation of interspecies interactions
Peat as fuel
RDF combustion
Straw ash chemistry study
Straw combustion-Fluid bed boiler
Harvesting processing and storing trials
Support services in forestry for energy
Development of fuelwood harvesting systems
Forest residue communition and screening
Single stem trees as energy crops
Large scale trials of short rotation coppice
Trials of single stem energy plantations
Trials of short rotation coppice phase 2 and 3
Solar
Development bredem for passive solar application
Consultancy for the CEC Passys test cell project
Internal convective heat transfer coefficients
Continued participation with CEC Passys project
ESP support and enhancement
Operation of an extended pilot DAS
Geothermal
Seismic monitoring in South West England
Wave/Hydro
Telemetry demonstration
Small scale low cost wave power device phase 2
Transfer of PDP2 tapes
Consultancy on review of NEL-OWC
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy how much has been allocated in research and development moneys by his Department to cover (a) nuclear power and (b) renewable energy in each year from 1979.
Mr. Moynihan : The figures are given in the table :
|Nuclear |Renewables
|energy
|£ million |£ million
--------------------------------------------
1979-80 |145.5 |8.2
1980-81 |188.0 |11.3
1981-82 |203.2 |15.3
1982-83 |212.4 |12.7
1983-84 |203.8 |11.9
1984-85 |196.2 |14.9
1985-86 |189.6 |13.6
1986-87 |159.7 |12.5
1987-88 |141.0 |16.1
1988-89 |159.3 |16.3
1989-90 |135.9 |17.9
1990-91 |133.5 |20.3
<1>1991-92 |93.4 |24.5
<1>Estimate.
Nuclear Reactors (Decommissioning)
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what research is under way to establish the cost and feasibility of full decommissioning of nuclear reactors ;
(2) how many nuclear reactors are fully decommissioned ; and at what cost ;
(3) what information he has as to whether Nuclear Electricity has a fully costed strategy for decommissioning its remaining Magnox reactors.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : No commercial reactors in the United Kingdom have yet been fully decommissioned. Nuclear Electric and AEA Technology have programmes of research relating to the
decommissioning of nuclear reactors which have the objectives to ensure the continued safety of the public, work force and the environment ; to minimise environmental impact ; to release land for other use as appropriate ; and, consistent with the foregoing, to minimise expenditure.
AEA Technology is proceeding with a programme to fully decommission the prototype advanced gas-cooled reactor at Windscale by 1998 to demonstrate both decommissioning capabilities and costs involved. Nuclear Electric's current strategy for decommissioning its nuclear power stations is set out in its report and
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accounts for 1989-90, which also identified the accounting provisions made for future decommissioning costs, which were based upon Nuclear Electric's estimates of those costs.Windfarm Developments
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make it his policy to introduce revised procedures and modify the requirements for detailed site-specific information for windfarm developments of less than 5 MW.
Mr. Moynihan : The procedures to select projects to be contracted in fulfilment of a non-fossil fuel obligation are a matter for the Non-Fossil Purchasing Agency Ltd.--NFPA--as the agent of the regional electricity companies on which the obligation is placed. The procedures adopted by the NFPA take into account the statutory requirement to make arrangements which "will secure" the specified amounts of non-fossil generating capacity and the need for advice from the Office of Electricity Regulation on whether the draft contracts available to the NFPA would be likely to meet this requirement.
Electricity Privatisation
Mr. Salmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) if he will give details of the cost incurred in debt write-off prior to the privatisation of the electricity generation and distribution companies in England ; and what percentage of the total debt this is ;
(2) if he will give details of the cost incurred in debt write-off for the electricity generating and distribution companies prior to privatisation ; and what percentage of the total debt this is.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : No debt write-off occurred in connection with the privatisation of the electricity industry in England and Wales. On flotation, moreover, the companies bore new debt to Government totalling £3.583 billion overall, which will accrue to the taxpayer in addition to the proceeds from the sales.
Initial Nuclear Feasibility Study
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy on how many occasions since February 1989 officials from his Department have met representatives from British Nuclear Fuels to discuss the initial nuclear feasibility study ; and if he will make a statement on the outcome of these discussions.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : The study is still at an early stage. My officials have been kept informed of its progress in the course of their regular meetings with British Nuclear Fuels plc.
National Grid Company
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what consultations he has had with the chairman of the National Grid Company concerning the environmental health implications of electro-magnetic radiation from overhead supergrid lines on nearby residential properties.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : The Department's engineering inspectorate is in regular contact with the National Grid Company in respect of electromagnetic fields and keeps me fully informed on the matter.
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Power Failures
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the number of power failures that have occurred in the Doncaster area during the past 12 months giving (a) location, (b) reason for breakdown and (c) the duration of the breakdown until supply was resumed ; and what were the figures 12 months ago.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : Only supply interruptions of a major nature are required to be reported to the Secretary of State under regulation 35 of the Electricity Supply Regulations 1988. Essentially these interruptions involve 20 MW or more, or 5 MW for one hour or longer or more than 5,000 consumers for one hour or longer. During the past two years no such interruptions involving the Doncaster area have been reported by Yorkshire Electricity other than the blizzard of 8 and 9 December 1990 which affected major parts of Doncaster.
Oil Fires (Kuwait)
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on his talks in Kuwait in relation to British, American and Saudi action to extinguish oil fires.
Mr. Latham : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on his visit to Kuwait, including his meeting with the Kuwaiti Prime Minister on 27 April ; and what discussions were held regarding putting out the fires in oil wells caused by the Iraqi armed forces prior to the liberation of Kuwait.
Mr. Wakeham : I visited Kuwait on 26 to 28 April with a team of British business men. This visit was part of our response to the request made by the crown prince to my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister that Britain should play a substantial part in the reconstruction of Kuwait. My meetings with the crown prince and with Kuwaiti Ministers were very positive and encouraging and I believe that United Kingdom industry will be able to make a significant contribution both to solving the urgent problem of extinguishing the fires and capping the wells and to the reconstruction of Kuwait's oil industry. The most immediate effect of my visit is the Kuwait Oil Company's intention to commission the Kuwaiti British Fire Group, a joint venture of AMEC, Taylor Woodrow and Wimpey, to undertake a damage assessment survey of a number of wells in northern Kuwait. If the Kuwaiti authorities are satisfied with the findings of this survey the fire group is likely to be appointed to put out the fires and cap the wells in that part of Kuwait.
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what estimate he made of the ferocity and consequences of oil fires in Kuwait in (a) October 1990, (b) November 1990, (c) December 1990, (d) January 1991, (e) February 1991, (f) March 1991 and (g) April 1991, (i) pre and (ii) following his official visit to Kuwait to assess the extent of the conflagration.
Mr. Wakeham : The Government's latest view of the consequences of the oil fires in Kuwait remains as stated in the assessment by the Departments concerned, entitled "The Potential Impact of the Burning Oil Wells in Kuwait on the Environment and Human Health" a copy of which was placed in the Library of the House on 15 April 1991.
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The main purpose of my visit to Kuwait was part of the follow-up to the request made to the Prime Minister by the crown prince on 6 March that Britain should play a substantial part in the reconstruction. I led a team of business men, most of whom had specialist expertise in the oil and gas industries, to investigate opportunities for British industry, as a result of which I have every reason to believe that a group of United Kingdom companies will be awarded a contract to carry out a damage assessment of one of the oilfields.This is expected to lead to major opportunities for British industry to work on extinguishing and capping burning wells and restoring oil production.
TRANSPORT
Rail Freight
Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the level of United Kingdom use of rail for freight relative to other members of the European Community.
Mr. Freeman : The UIC's "International Railway Statistics 1989" gives the following figures for freight carried by rail.
|Rail traffic|Rail traffic
|lifted |moved
|Tonnes |Tonnes kms
|(millions) |(millions)
-----------------------------------------------------
Belgium |81.1 |9,400
Denmark |7.9 |1,700
France |153.8 |54,600
Germany |621.5 |121,500
Great Britain |143.1 |16,700
Greece |n/a |n/a
Holland |21.5 |3,300
Italy |66.7 |21,300
Luxembourg |17.8 |700
Portugal |7.3 |1,800
Republic of Ireland n/a n/a
Spain |38.3 |14,400
Train Accidents
Dr. Kim Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many people are recorded as having fallen from British Rail trains in each year from 1981 to 1991 ;
(2) how many people have died as a result of falling from British Rail trains, in each year since 1981. Mr. Freeman : The information requested is as follows. The figures for 1990 are provisional. Information for 1991 is not yet available.
Number of persons fallen from British
Rail trains
Year |Total |Killed|Major |Minor
|injury|injury
------------------------------------------
1981 |60 |16 |11 |33
1982 |55 |11 |7 |37
1983 |75 |13 |6 |56
1984 |82 |14 |11 |57
1985 |66 |16 |8 |42
1986 |61 |12 |15 |34
1987 |70 |26 |16 |28
1988 |64 |19 |13 |32
1989 |47 |19 |16 |12
1990 |31 |19 |4 |<1>8
<1>Provisional.
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LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL
CSCE
Dr. Cunningham : To ask the Lord President of the Council what part the United Kingdom Parliament played in the conference of parliamentary representatives from the member states of the conference on security and co -operation in Europe held on 1 to 3 April.
Mr. MacGregor : The President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Spanish Parliament, Senor Felix Pons, wrote to Mr. Speaker inviting six members of the United Kingdom Parliament to attend this conference. Following discussion through the usual channels, a delegation led by my right hon. Friend the Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Mr. Jopling) attended the conference. The other members of the delegation were :
Mr. Frank Cook
Mr. Patrick Duffy
Sir Geoffrey Finsberg
Sir Michael Marshall
Lord Montgomery of Alamein
Delegations from all 34 CSCE participating states attended the conference and agreed to establish a CSCE parliamentary assembly in which the United Kingdom Parliament will have 13 seats. I am placing in the Library of the House a copy of the final resolution agreed by the delegates.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Vagrants
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Don Valley on 29 January, Official Report, column 455, when the branding of vagrants was abolished from the Justices of the Peace Act 1361 ; what sections of this Act are still in force ; and if he has any plans to bring in new legislation within this Act.
Mr. John Patten : On the first part of the question, I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to him on 29 January at column 455. As to the remainder, the Justices of the Peace Act 1361 is not organised into sections. The extant power from the 1361 Act is for magistrates to make binding-over orders. We have no present plans for legislation in this area.
Data Protection
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the review committee exploring the wider use of police criminal records to report ; whether the committee explored the practice of employers and local authorities forcing data subjects, prior to employment, to exercise their right of subject access under the terms of the Data Protection Act with respect to personal data held by the police ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The report of the efficiency scrutiny into criminal records was received on 24 April. It deals with various aspects of the question of disclosure from the criminal records, including the issue of enforced subject access for the purpose of job applications. The report is being considered in accordance with the interdepartmentally agreed arrangements for the conduct of efficiency scrutinies.
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Prisons (Heating)
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those of Her Majesty's prisons that have coal-fired boiler heating.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : The list of prisons which have heating supplied via coal-fired boiler houses is as follows :
Ashwell, Nottingham
Deerbolt, Norwich
Feltham, Onley
Full Sutton, Rudgate
Gartree, Risley
Garth, Stoke Heath
Highpoint, Standford Hill (Part)
Hindley, Stocken
Long Lartin, Thorn Cross
Littlehey, Thorpe Arch
Lowdham Grange, Wayland
The Mount, Wymott
Police Cells
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list by police stations in South Yorkshire how many (a) males and (b) females were held in police cells for the latest date he has available ; and if he will show in his answer for each police station the longest length of stay a prisoner in each category has been held ;
(2) what is the longest period (a) a male and (b) a female has been held in a police cell in South Yorkshire due to shortage of prison space following the Strangeways prison riot.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : On Thursday 2 May a total of 24 prisoners were held in police cells in the South Yorkshire police area. All were male and all were held at Doncaster police station. No female prisoners have been held in South Yorkshire police cells as a consequence of the prison disturbances in April 1990. Information about the length of time which individual prisoners have spent in police cells is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Firearms Offences
Sir Eldon Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information is collected by (a) the Home Department and (b) police forces on the number of persons convicted of firearms offences who were in possession of a firearms certificate at the time when their offence was committed ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John Patten : Police forces would incur disproportionate cost in collating this information. It is, therefore, not available centrally.
Pucklechurch Remand Centre
Mr. French : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects Pucklechurch remand centre to be brought back into use.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : I am considering a range of prison estate planning issues, including the future of Pucklechurch remand centre. I hope to be in a position to reach a decision in the near future.
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Prisons (Baby Food)
Miss Lestor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department is he will take steps to ensure that women in mother and baby units in prisons are allowed to prepare fresh foods for their babies.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list by women prison establishment those that (a) do and (b) do not allow mothers who are in prison with their babies to prepare fresh food for their babies other than manufactured baby food.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : The provision of food in the three mother and baby units varies with the nature of the accommodation and the age of the children.
At HM prison Askham Grange, where mothers may keep their babies with them to the age of 18 months, fresh food is prepared for all the babies by one of the mothers.
At HM prison Styal, where babies may stay until nine months old, a range of both proprietary baby food and fresh food is available and mothers may choose in consultation with the nursing sister how to feed their babies. The food is prepared by the cook on the unit. At HM prison Holloway, where the age limit is also nine months, mothers are provided with a range of propriety brands of food for their babies, supplemented by fruit juice and milk. Consideration is being given to extending the range of food available. Mothers may also purchase fresh fruit for their babies from the prison canteen.
Strip Searches
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give details of the number of strip searches carried out on females sentenced category A and remand prisoners being held in Her Majesty's prisons Durham and Brixton since November 1989 ; if any prison contraband, smuggled item or illegal correspondence was discovered in any search, indicating which items ; in how many cases prisoners refused to be searched and had to be restrained while the search was being conducted ; and what were the reasons for the search.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : Between 1 November 1989 and 30 April 1991, category A women prisoners held in Durham and Brixton prisons were strip- searched on a total of 244 occasions. No unauthorised article was found. On no occasion did the prisoners refuse to be strip-searched. Strip searching is a routine security measure to which all prisoners--male and female--are subject, both for its deterrent effect and as a means of discovering unauthorised articles.
Press and Public Relations
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give for each year from 1979-80, including 1991-92, the number of staff actually employed on 1 April and the full complement of staff including vacant posts in the press and public relations office of the Office of the Data Protection Registrar.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : I understand that the Office of the Data Protection Registrar does not have a press and public relations office. The registrar is advised by a public relations agency on public relations matters generally.
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Motoring Offences
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions there have been in each of the past five years for offences committed by motorists in yellow box junctions ; and what evaluation his Department has made of their effectiveness.
Mr. John Patten : Separate figures for offences committed in yellow box junctions are not available centrally. The Home Office has not carried out any evaluation of yellow box junctions recently.
Squatters
Mr. Burns : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 6 February, Official Report, column 143, what conclusions he has reached on plans to revise the law relating to squatters and second homes ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John Patten : We expect to announce the outcome of our review as soon as possible.
Thamesmead Estate
Mr. Soley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan police on the policing of the Thamesmead estate, with particular reference to the police response to allegations of racial harassment.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : No. The Metropolitan police continue to give a priority response to racial incidents, as the 1991 strategy statement makes clear.
Mr. Soley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will obtain for his Department's Library a recording of the LWT "London Programme" broadcast on Friday 26 April, about law and order in Thamesmead ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The Home Office monitors recordings or transcripts of all television programmes dealing with substantive law and order issues. The specific policing matters raised in the LWT "London Programme" broadcast on 26 April are for the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis.
Forensic Science Services
Dr. Kim Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how long it takes on average for forensic science laboratories to analyse blood samples from the date of arrival at the laboratories concerned.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The information is not readily available in the form requested. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
Dr. Kim Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list, by police authority in England and Wales, the average time in 1990-91 for forensic science laboratories to analyse blood samples from the date of arrival at the laboratories concerned.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The information is not available in the form requested.
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Drug Trafficking
Sir John Wheeler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to receive a report from the working group set up to review the provisions on the confiscation of drug traffickers' assets.
Mr. John Patten : I am pleased to announce that the working group has now completed its consideration of the provisions of the Drug Trafficking Offences Act 1986. Its report, a copy of which has been placed in the Library, was published today. It contains a number of important proposals designed to make it easier for the courts to apply the confiscation provisions and to enforce confiscation orders once they are made. In view of the innovatory nature of some of these proposals, it is important that we should give the public and key interest groups an opportunity to comment on what has been proposed. We shall therefore welcome comments on any of the issues raised. In the light of responses to the document, which we are seeking by 12 June, we shall consider what legislative measures need to be taken to strengthen the existing procedures.
The working group is now examining the parallel confiscation provisions contained in part VI of the Criminal Justice Act 1988.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Capital Gains Tax
Mr. Gerald Howarth : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the yield for capital gains tax for the years 1987-88, 1988-89, 1989-90 and 1990-91 ; and what is the anticipated yield for 1991-92.
Mr. Maude : The following table shows the receipts of capital gains tax and the estimated total liability to capital gains tax arising on gains realised in each of the years since 1987-88. Capital gains tax receipts in any year reflect liabilities for the previous and earlier years.
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