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Written Answers to Questions
Monday 25 November 1991
DUCHY OF LANCASTER
Parliamentary Duties
32. Mr. Skinner : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much time he has spent on parliamentary duties since he last answered oral questions.
Mr. Chris Patten : The parliamentary aspect of my official duties consists almost entirely of answering oral questions at the Dispatch Box. I have, however, answered six written questions since I last answered oral questions.
EC Issues
33. Mr. Cohen : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what consideration he has given to European Community issues in his capacity as Chancellor of the Duchy.
Mr. Chris Patten : The Duchy has several historical links with Europe. For example our coat of arms incorporates the fleurs de lys, sanctioned by Edmund Crouchback on his marriage to the Queen of Nevarre. Today, however, there are no strong links--most have lapsed with the passing of time.
Official Duties
34. Mr. John Evans : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he next proposes to visit the Duchy on official business.
35. Mr. Burns : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he next plans to pay an official visit to the Duchy.
36. Mr. Hind : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he plans to next visit the Duchy ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Chris Patten : I refer the hon. Gentleman and my hon. Friends to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Burnley (Mr. Pike) earlier today.
Interest Rates
37. Mr. Simon Coombs : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment he has made of the effect of falling interest rates on small and medium-sized businesses in the Duchy.
Mr. Chris Patten : I am sure that the fall in interest rates will be of enormous benefit to all businesses in the Duchy.
Taxation
38. Mr. Jacques Arnold : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the impact of taxation on tenants of the Duchy.
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Mr. Chris Patten : Like everyone else, Duchy tenants have gained tremendous benefits from the reductions in personal taxation brought about by successive Conservative Governments.
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Home Repossessions
Mr. Battle : To ask the Attorney-General whether he will take steps to ensure that where repossession proceedings are taken in the county court, information on debt counselling and housing advice services will be sent out with the summons.
The Attorney-General : The Government are keen to ensure that defendants in county court possession proceedings are informed that counselling and advice is available to them.
Consultations are taking place with the major advice agencies in order to identify a method of compiling a list of advice agencies that may accompany every county court possession summons.
Serious Fraud Office
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Attorney-General what percentage of cases brought to court by the Serious Fraud Office have resulted in a successful conviction.
The Attorney-General : In the current year from 6 April 1991 there have been 14 concluded trials. Twenty-three defendants have been convicted and six acquitted--a conviction rate of nearly 80 per cent.
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Attorney-General how many cases the Serious Fraud Office has brought to the courts in each year since its creation.
The Attorney-General : The figures are as follows :--
|Number
------------------------------------
April 1988-April 1989 |9
April 1989-April 1990 |17
April 1990-April 1991 |27
April 1991-to date |14
The numbers are based on cases that have been concluded in the court of trial during the relevant period. If currently unconcluded cases are added, the last figure becomes 19.
CHURCH COMMISSIONERS
Performance-related Pay
39. Mr. John Marshall : To ask the right hon. Member for Selby, as representing the Church Commissioners, whether the Church Commissioners have considered replacing the minimum stipend by performance-related pay.
Mr. Alison : Stipends have traditionally been regarded as remuneration which enables clergy to pursue their ministry and support themselves and their families, rather than rewards or salaries for a job of work. In this sense, stipends are not competitive remuneration for which performance-related pay might be an appropriate mechanism.
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The stipend levels of individual clergy are set by their dioceses within recommendations of the Commissioners, as central stipends authority.WALES
Wages Statistics
Mr. Martyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many employees in Wales are paid less than £3.40 an hour ; and how many of these employees are (a) women, (b) part-time and (c) in manual occupations.
Mr. David Hunt : It is estimated that 185,000 employees in employment on adult rates whose pay was not affected by absence earned less than £3.40 per hour in April 1991 ; 147,000 were women, of whom 103,000 worked part-time. 102,000 persons were employed in manual occupations. Data for part-time male employees are not available.
Sources : April 1991 New Earnings Survey and Quarterly Estimate Series of Employment, March 1991 ; Employment Department.
Welsh Development Agency Bill
Mr. Martyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received regarding the Welsh Development Agency Bill.
Nebulisers
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will place a copy in the Library of the guidance he has given to the Welsh health authorities concerning the supply of nebulisers free of charge and on long-term loan to those requiring them.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : The NHS Act 1977 clearly sets out the responsibilities of district health authorities. Section 1 of the NHS Act 1977 requires that NHS services provided under the Act to NHS patients must be free of charge, except where the making and recovery of charges is expressly provided for by legislation. Later legislation, including the NHS and Community Care Act 1990, does not alter this position, nor does it enable partial charges to be made to health service patients. Health authorities are fully aware of the position which has recently been confirmed to them.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proposals he has to effect refunds for those who have proof of payment for nebulisers prescribed by national health service consultants to national health service patients.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : Our officials have asked Welsh district health authorities to examine their existing policies and practices for the provision of equipment, including nebulisers. In addition, authorities have been asked to investigate and report on individual cases involving nebulisers that have been notified and to consider appropriate action.
Pollution
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the levels of pollution from each incinerator operating in Wales ; and to what extent they comply with EC legislation.
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Mr. Nicholas Bennett : Information on levels of pollution from individual incinerators is not held centrally. Current emission limits and controls for waste incineration processes under 1 tonne per hour are set out in process guidance notes PG1-25/5(91) issued by the Secretaries of State for the Environment, for Scotland and for Wales and published by HMSO. Operators of incineration processes over 1 tonne per hour are subject to individual authorisation by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution. Emission limits and other control standards are included in the specific authorisation documents. The only incinerators covered by EC legislation at the moment are municipal waste incinerators--and there are none of these in Wales.
Orimulsion
Dr. Kim Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what applications have been received by the Welsh Office to test-burn the imported fuel Orimulsion in Wales or to burn that fuel on a commercial basis.
Mr. David Hunt : No applications, in either category, have been received by the Welsh Office. The Secretary of State for Energy is currently considering an application from National Power to extend Pembroke power station to enable it to burn orimulsion. The company is also applying to Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution under the provisions of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 for authorisation to burn this fuel at Pembroke.
Health Service Statistics
Dr. Marek : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will obtain statistics showing the number of midwives, district nurses and health visitors practising within Wales.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : As I indicated in my reply on 18 November, at column 34, to the hon. Gentleman's question on the number of midwives, district nurses and health visitors on 18 November, complete information on staff numbers is not available at present for occupational groups such as these. The Department is working with district health authorities to improve the information on the manpower information system from which detailed breakdowns of nursing and midwifery manpower are derived, and progress is being made. Once we are satisfied that the system is a fully reliable source of occupationally disaggregated information, such as numbers of midwives, district nurses and health visitors, such information will be made available.
Harbours
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the lengths of long-distance routes approved under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 which pass through harbours regulated under the Harbours Act 1964.
Sir Wyn Roberts : It is likely that parts of the Pembrokeshire coast path, which runs for 269 km between Amroth and Cardigan, pass through harbours regulated under the Harbours Act 1964. However, detailed information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
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Local Government Finance
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his latest estimate of the amount of money owed in the poll tax in Wales in the last financial year ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave him on 17 October 1991, at columns 206-7. No further information is available.
Offloading Facilities
Dr. Kim Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what applications have been received by the Welsh Office to refurbish or extend existing facilities or to construct new facilities, for offloading from seagoing vessels (a) bulk oil, (b) natural gas, (c) liquified gas or (d) coal.
Mr. David Hunt : My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Transport has under consideration no applications from harbour authorities in Wales seeking statutory authorisation by means of a harbour order under the Harbour Act 1964 to carry out such works which they do not otherwise have statutory powers to carry out under their local legislation.
ENERGY
Coal Reserves
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make it his policy to include estimates of United Kingdom coal reserves in the departmental Brown Book ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : Under the terms of the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, British Coal is charged with the development of the coal-mining industry and it publishes estimates of total United Kingdom coal reserves in its annual report. My Department does not keep separate figures.
Onshore Petroleum Licensing
Mr. David Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement about further onshore petroleum licensing.
Mr. Moynihan : I have placed in the Libraries of both Houses the text of a notice, which will be published as soon as possible in the Official Gazette, inviting companies to apply for exploration licences in respect of unlicensed areas in Great Britain and certain near shore waters. The notice specifies that applications should be made on Wednesday 19 February, 1992. Application forms and guidance notes will be available from my Department.
I shall separately be inviting holders of production licences to apply to transfer exploration acreage within their existing licences to the new style exploration licences, subject to agreement being reached on a satisfactory work programme for the area.
Successful applicants will be offered exploration licences containing the conditions set out in the Petroleum (Production) (Landward Areas) Regulations 1991. The licences will grant rights for a term of six years and entitle the licensee to carry out seismic surveys and deep drilling
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subject to the need to obtain the requisite permission from the appropriate mineral planning authorities and land owners and occupiers.Electricity
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is his calculation of United Kingdom electricity consumption in each of the next five years ; and if he will give his estimate of the generating capacities that will be available from (a) oil, (b) gas, (c) nuclear, (d) coal and (e) renewable sources.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : My Department does not routinely forecast electricity consumption. That, and decisions on capacity and fuel choice, are the job of the electricity industry, taking into account the commercial and regulatory environment. When specific needs arise, projections are produced, as, for example, in the UK's submission to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which was published as energy paper 58 and is available in the Library of the House.
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when he expects nuclear fusion to be commercially viable for the generation of electricity.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : Nuclear fusion is unlikely to be available as an energy source before 2050 at the earliest. Even if fusion were technically available at that date, its economic prospects are uncertain.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Police Records
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many national indexes are held by the police or his Department, other than those relating to drugs and football hooliganism.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : The Department holds the following national indexes (including all national police indexes) :
Prison service
Inmate information system (a national register of prison inmates) Category A prisoners
Life sentence prisoner index
Immigration service
Suspect index (contains details of people whom it is considered essential to identify at the ports because, for example, they have been deported or are involved in criminal activity, or because they have an adverse immigration history)
Port precautions index (used in embarkation control to assist in prevention of children being removed in contravention of a court order or against the wishes of one parent)
Intelligence unit index (contains details of people known or suspected of abuses of the immigration laws and details of suspect documents. It also includes details of people refused leave to enter or refused entry clearance)
Police department
Criminal names index (index to the criminal records)
Index to the national fingerprint collection
Wanted/missing persons index
Disqualified drivers index
Vehicle owners index
Vehicles reports index (stolen, suspect vehicles)
Stolen property index (mainly plant, vehicles)
Obscene publications squad index (persons convicted of offences under the Obscene Publications Act 1959, the Protection of Children Act 1978, the Criminal Justice Act
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1988, the Sexual Offences Act 1956 and the Customs Consolidation Act 1876. The index also includes information regarding persons suspected of being associated with child pornography. The index is held by the Metropolitan police)Animal rights national index (collates and disseminates information on animal rights extremism)
Statistical department
Offenders index (record of offenders convicted of standard list offences recorded since 1963)
Homicide index (a record of each case of reported homicide) Probation index (persons subject to supervision by the probation service--including those subject to community service orders) Mentally disordered offenders index (a record of persons in psychiatric hospitals who are subject to hospital orders with restrictions on discharge or who have been transferred from prison service establishments)
United Kingdom Passport agency
United Kingdom passports index (record of all passports issued by the United Kingdom passport offices and by Foreign and Commonwealth Office posts overseas)
Warning list (to ensure that certain passport applications receive particular attention)
Others
Voluntary organisations (those in receipt of Government funding) Index of exempted dogs (owners of pit bull terriers and other specified breeds which have their dogs exempted from the controls of the Dangerous Dogs Act (1991)).
Applies only to England and Wales.
Police (Racial Abuse)
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the amount of money paid by way of compensation to ethnic origin members serving with the Metropolitan police force as a result of claims for racial abuse and harassment from fellow police officers.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Since the beginning of 1990, £21,000 has been paid as compensation to ethnic minority officers in the Metropolitan police as a result of claims for racial abuse and harassment in respect of two cases.
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussion he has had with the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis as to the
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allegations of racial abuse followed up by officers in the Metropolitan police force following the case of police constable Franklyn Asumah ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Peter Lloyd : I understand from the commissioner that these matters are being investigated by the complaints unit.
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis on the number of Metropolitan officers dismissed from the service in each of the last five years, for racial abuse to fellow officers.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : There have been no Metropolitan police officers dismissed from the service in the last five years for racial abuse to fellow officers.
Neighbourhood Watch
Mr. Lawrence : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many neighbourhood watch schemes now operate in the East Staffordshire district in the Burton constituency.
Mr. John Patten : Information is not available in the form requested. I understand from the Staffordshire police that, in the Burton police subdivision, which includes East Staffordshire district, there were 73 neighbourhood watch schemes at the end of September 1991, covering nearly 17,000 households.
Police (Ethnic Origin)
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of ethnic origin police officers (a) men and (b) women serving in each of the Metropolitan police divisions ; and what ranks these officers hold.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The information is as follows :
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Ethnic minority officers in the Metropolitan Police by area, broken down into rank and gender
Areas SuperintenChief InspInspector Sergeant Police Constable
|(all men)|(all men)|(all men)|Men |Women |Men |Women
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 |- |- |1 |3 |- |46 |13
2 |- |- |2 |5 |2 |50 |20
3 |- |- |- |2 |- |40 |13
4 |- |1 |1 |2 |- |53 |17
5 |- |- |- |2 |- |14 |4
6 |- |1 |1 |4 |1 |54 |11
7 |1 |- |1 |5 |- |43 |14
8 |- |- |2 |3 |- |44 |14
Headquarters |1 |- |- |10 |- |14 |8
Police training centre |- |- |- |- |- |21 |7
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