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Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 11 December 1991
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Fees Taxation
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Attorney-General what is the current average period between trial and taxation of counsel's fees in cases where the taxation is carried out by the central taxing unit ; and if he will make a statment.
The Attorney-General : The information is not available in the form requested. Under the regulations, legal aid claims may be submitted by solicitors or counsel up to three months after the trial has been concluded. Central taxing teams deal with heavy and complex cases, which often involve a number of claims. The cases are not treated as ready to tax until all those claims have been received.
The table related to claims by counsel and solicitors determined by the central taxing teams during November 1991. It shows the proportion of those claims falling into age bands from the date when they became ready to tax and that over 50 per cent. were determined between 16 and 20 weeks from the date when they were ready to tax. The Lord Chancellor is keeping the progress of the teams under close review and has recently increased the number of determining officers available to the central taxing teams by almost 40 per cent. This is expected significantly to reduce the delays in
determinations.
Age since |Percentage of
ready to tax |total claims
|determined in
Weeks |November 1991
------------------------------------------
0-4 |9.3
4-8 |9.6
8-12 |14.7
12-16 |12.7
16-20 |8.3
over 20 |45.4
Stipendiary Magistrates
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Attorney-General how many metropolitan stipendiary magistrates were in office on 1 December 1989, 1990 and 1991, respectively ; and if he will make a statement.
The Attorney-General : The number of metropolitan stipendiary magistrates in office on 1 December in each of the following years was :
Year |Number --------------------- 1989 |45 1990 |48 1991 |50
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Attorney-General how many provincial stipendiary magistrates were in office on 1 December 1989, 1990 and 1991, respectively ; and if he will make as statement.
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The Attorney-General : The number of provincial stipendiary magistrates in office on 1 December in each of the following years was :
Year |Number --------------------- 1989 |17 1990 |18 1991 |26
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Attorney-General if he will make a statement on his assessment of the cost-effectiveness of the stipendiary magistracy.
The Attorney-General : Stipendiary magistrates are appointed primarily to support the lay magistracy in dealing with heavy workloads and in reducing or avoiding delays. Their
cost-effectiveness arises from the generally greater speed with which they deal with cases, particularly complex ones, as compared with a purely lay bench in the circumstances in which it is appropriate to appoint them.
Crown Prosecution Service
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Attorney-General how many (a) solicitors and (b) barristers were employed by the Crown prosecution service on 1 October 1989, 1990 and 1991, respectively ; and if he will make a statement.
The Attorney-General : On 1 October 1989 the Crown prosecution service employed 1,018 solicitors and 514.5 barristers. On 1 October 1990 those numbers had risen to 1,134 solicitors and 521 barristers, and on 1 October 1991 to 1,278.5 solicitors and 596 barristers.
Negligence
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Attorney-General if he has any proposals for the reform of the law of negligence, in the light of the decision in Murphy v. Brentwood (1990) 3WLR414 ; and if he will make a statement.
The Attorney-General : The Government have no proposals to reform the law of negligence in the light of the decision in Murphy v. Brentwood District Council (1990 3 WLR 414).
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Baltic States
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the progress of relations between the United Kingdom and Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia respectively.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : We are making good progress in developing our close and friendly relations with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Since the re-establishment of diplomatic relations with the three states in September, we have set up an embassy in each capital and each of the three states has established an embassy in London. Several projects in the three states have received help from the know-how fund, and other projects are being considered for assistance.
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Disarmament
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will obtain for his departmental library the "Pugwash Monograph-Verification : Monitoring Disarmament", edited by Calogero, Goldberger and Kapitza, published in 1990 by Westview Press.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Yes. A copy has been ordered and will be added to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office departmental library in due course.
International Conference on Plutonium
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will obtain for his departmental library a copy of the speakers' appeal produced at the international conference on plutonium, held in Omiya, Japan, on 2 to 4 November.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : No. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office departmental library already has access to the text of the appeal through online news sources.
Turkey
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what response Her Majesty's Government have made to the announcement by the new coalition Government in Turkey that major progress is to be achieved in the areas of human rights, freedom of the press, access to education, and constitutional and legal reform ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We welcome the new Turkish Government's commitment to full democracy and human rights. Our views on the importance of achieving real progress are being made clear in contacts with the Turkish authorities.
Somalia
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contracts have been made with his Department by the administration in northern Somalia, operating under the title of the Republic of Somaliland ; and what requests for aid or recognition his Department has received.
Mrs. Chalker : My officials maintain regular contact with the Somalia National Movement, the main party in northern Somalia. We have made clear that whilst we do not recognise the purported secession, humanitarian aid will continue. In response to requests from voluntary and multilateral agencies we have this year provided bilateral humanitarian aid worth £3.47 million to Somalia, including £1.46 million for the north.
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make it his policy to have a diplomatic presence or an informal presence in northern Somalia in order to (a) maintain contact with the de-facto administration, (b) assist the families and dependants of members of the Somali community in the United Kingdom and (c) assist non-governmental organisations in the delivery of humanitarian aid.
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Mrs. Chalker : We have no plans to establish any form of resident representation in northern Somalia. We maintain informal contacts with representatives of northern Somalia.
Maxwell Companies
Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Swiss Government for assistance in recovering any moneys belonging to (a) Mirror Group pensioners and (b) Maxwell Communication Corporation pensioners held or controlled by Maxwell family trusts or companies in either Switzerland or Liechtenstein.
Mr. Lilly : I have been asked to reply.
The Serious Fraud Office is conducting an investigation into the Maxwell companies. Action is being taken to secure and recover assets by IMRO, the provisional liquidator, administrators and receivers appointed to a number of Maxwell private companies. I have instructed my officials to maintain the closest consultation with the Serious Fraud Office and IMRO. I will also want to hear from the administrators, receivers and the provisional liquidator if they consider that the exercise of my investigative powers or other action is warranted.
I will not hesitate to use powers available to me to investigate any matter which may emerge from these consultations as requiring separate enquiry or to take any other action, so long as that would not impede work of the Serious Fraud Office or other action which is being taken.
TRANSPORT
Nuclear Waste (Transport)
Mr. Harry Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will meet Scottish chief constables to discuss arrangements for advising the public when nuclear waste material is being transported through their area.
Mr. McLoughlin : No. The safety regulations for the transport of all radioactive materials in this country are based on stringent internationally agreed standards laid down by the International Atomic Energy Agency. These require safety to be "built in" to the design of the container used for transport so that the contents would not present a significant radiological hazard even in the event of a severe accident. Safety of the containers is not therefore dependent on routing considerations. I do not therefore believe that prior notification of the kind suggested would serve any practical purpose as, in addition to the above, suitable emergency arrangements exist to provide a rapid expert radiological response to any incident involving readioactivity whatever its scale or location.
British Railways (Restructuring)
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will now publish the Stedeford report on the proposed restructuring of British Railways.
Mr. Freeman : I understand that papers on the recommendations by the special advisory group on the British Transport Commission, chaired by Sir Ivan Stedeford in 1960, are available for inspection at the Public Record Office in Kew, but that there was no formal report.
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ENERGY
Electricity Generation
Mr. Rost : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when he expects to make a decision on the works programmes concerning on-site generation and the electricity pool ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Wakeham : I have today announced my decision on the issue of the application of pool charges to on-site demand. The decision, in favour of the works programme submitted by the Office of Electricity Regulation and PowerGen with specified amendments, is contained in my letter to the chairman of the pool executive committee, copies of which I have placed in the Library.
ENVIRONMENT
Housing Capital Expenditure
Mr. George Howarth : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been, at 1991-92 prices, the total capital expenditure undertaken by local authorities and housing associations in England each year on housing since 1961, giving separately expenditure by local authorities and housing associations up to and including the estimated outturn expenditure for 1991-92 and 1992-93, specifying the price increase assumed between 1991-92 and 1992-93.
Mr. Yeo : The available information relates to gross capital expenditure on housing in England funded by local authorities and, since 1974-75, the Housing Corporation. Comparable information for spending by housing associations in earlier years is not available.
£ million at 1991-92 prices
|Local |Housing |Total
|authorities<1>|Corporation
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1974-75 |12,393 |573 |12,966
1975-76 |9,861 |723 |10,584
1976-77 |8,338 |877 |9,215
1977-78 |6,960 |874 |7,834
1978-79 |6,643 |887 |7,530
1979-80 |6328 |859 |7,187
1980-81 |4,952 |922 |5,874
1981-82 |4,355 |861 |5,216
1982-83 |4,997 |1,167 |6,164
1983-84 |5,274 |1,083 |6,357
1984-85 |4,920 |979 |5,899
1985-86 |4,361 |1,026 |5,387
1986-87 |4,215 |998 |5,213
1987-88 |4,334 |<2>1,070 |5,404
1988-89 |4,455 |<2>1,093 |5,548
1989-90 |5,947 |<2>1,260 |7,207
<3>1990-91 |3,361 |<2>1,269 |4,630
<4>1991-92 |2,991 |<2>1,930 |4,921
<1> Includes local authority funding of housing associations.
<2> Includes estimates of additional private finance on an approvals
basis.
<3> Provisional.
<4> Estimated.
The Government do not plan local authority gross expenditure and no forecast is yet available for 1992-93. The plan for local authority capital expenditure, excluding authorities' self-financed expenditure, is £1,877 million for 1992-93 at 1991-92 prices while Housing Corporation gross capital expenditure, excluding any additional private finance, is forecast at £1,633 million for 1992-93 at 1991-92 prices. This assumes a 4.5 per cent. increase in prices between 1991-92 and 1992-93.
Housing Statistics
Mr. George Howarth : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the number of all completions and starts for each year in England since 1979-80 by local authorities and by registered housing associations, including those not funded by the Housing Corporation, of additional housing including new build and dwellings resulting from conversion or renovation.
Mr. Yeo : The information for 1979 to 1990 is published in the annual volume of "Housing and Construction Statistics : Great Britain", 1979 in the 1979-1989 edition, and the rest in the 1980-1990 edition-- tables 6.1(a) and 7.1. Figures for the first and second quarters of 1991 appear in the Department's housebuilding and renovations information bulletin No. 604 published on 4 October 1991, tables 2, 4 and 5. Copies are in the Library.
Housing Investment Programme
Mr. George Howarth : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many dwellings have been provided by the private sector with financial or other assistance from the local authorities as defined in section E of the HIP2 returns by local authorities, for each year since 1979-80 up to 1991-92 broken down by his Department's regions.
Mr. Yeo : The total numbers of dwellings provided by private sector bodies, including registered housing associations, with financial or other assistance are as follows. They include the expected number of dwellings to be built on land sold to private developers.
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|1987-88|1988-89|1989-90|1990-91
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Northern |1,240 |1,440 |2,330 |2,120
Yorkshire and Humberside |1,430 |2,200 |2,830 |2,670
East Midlands |2,330 |1,370 |1,610 |790
Eastern |800 |660 |1,840 |1,150
London |1,030 |1,830 |2,860 |1,360
South East |1,020 |930 |820 |1,300
South West |1,200 |620 |1,060 |980
West Midlands |2,090 |1,860 |1,720 |1,750
North West |4,430 |3,010 |4,260 |3,470
-------
England |15,570 |13,920 |19,330 |15,590
These are local authorities' estimates of dwellings resulting from transactions that have taken place, as reported on their housing investment programme returns. Information in this form was not collected prior to 1987 -88 and outturn estimates for 1991-92 are not yet available.
Council Housing
Mr. George Howarth : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will list (a) the total number of households on council house waiting lists and (b) the total number of households on council house waiting lists and in need, for each local authority in England and Wales for 1979-80, 1989-90 and 1990-91 ; (2) if he will list for each local authority in England and Wales, the number of households (a) with more than 1 but less than 1.5 persons per room and (b) with more than 1.5 persons per room in 1979-80, 1989-90 and 1990-91.
Mr. Yeo : Local authorities provide estimates in their annual housing investment programme returns. The figures for 1 April 1990 and 1 April 1991 are in columns B51--B5, 1991--B6d, B1a1 and B1b1, respectively, of the "HIP1 All Items Print" for those years. Information on waiting list numbers in 1980 is not available centrally for all authorities. The 1980 "HIP1 All Items Print" has figures for numbers of households at one below the bedroom standard, column C1a1, and at two or more below the bedroom standard, column C1b1, both at 1 April 1980. Copies of all these documents are in the Library.
For information about Wales I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.
Priority Homeless Statistics
Mr. George Howarth : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list for each local authority and by his Department's regions in England and Wales, in 1979-80, 1989-90 and 1990-91, the total number of households accepted as homeless and in priority need.
Mr. Yeo : Local authorities report the number of households they accept as homeless and in priority need in their annual housing investment programme--HIP1--returns. The available figures for individual authorities for 1989-90 and 1990-91 are in column C2d1 of the "HIP1 All Items Print" for 1990 and 1991, respectively. For 1979-80 the available information relates to the total number of acceptances, including those not in priority need, which is at column C5 of the 1980 "HIP1 all Items Print". The corresponding total acceptances for the two later years are at column C11 of the documents. Regional totals are in the "HIP1 Regional Grossing" for each year. All of these documents are in the Library.
For information about Wales I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.
Homelessness
Mr. George Howarth : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the number of households in temporary accommodation for the years 1979-80, 1989-90 and 1990-91, in each local authority in England and Wales.
Mr. Yeo : Information on homeless households for whom local authorities have accepted responsibility to secure permanent accommodation under the provisions of
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the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act 1977 and part III of the Housing Act 1985 is reported quarterly to the Department.The available information on the numbers of such households who were resident in temporary accommodation, including some on whom homelessness inquiries had not yet been completed, can be found in the following publications :-
"Local Housing Statistics : England and Wales", Edition no 54 (Table 14), position at 31 December 1979 (England only) ; "Local Housing Statistics : England and Wales", Edition no 94 (Table 9(a)), position at 31 March 1990 ;
"Households found accommodation under the homelessness provisions of the 1985 Housing Act : England. Results for the first quarter 1991. Supplementary Tables" (Table 7), position at 31 March 1991. Copies are in the Library.
For further information about Welsh local authorities I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.
Public Rights of Way
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how he proposes to apply the principles of the citizens charter to the way his Department handles opposed public path orders and definitive map modification orders.
Mr. Baldry : Opposed public path orders and definitive map orders are subject to statutory procedures which lead to consideration of objections by inspectors through a written representations procedure or more commonly at public inquiries. To a very large measure these procedures already reflect the principles of the citizens charter. However, if there is an identified conflict between the current procedures and the principles of the citizens charter the planning inspectorate will be pleased to address it.
London Docklands Development Corporation
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will state, for each year since its establishment, the area of land that has been disposed of by the London Docklands development corporation to public and private bodies respectively, together with the related income with annual and other totals.
Mr. Key : The information is as follows :
Financial |Land |Income<1>
year |Disposed |£ million
|(acres)
----------------------------------------
1981-82 |- |2
1982-83 |33
1983-84 |54 |-
1984-85 |178 |5
1985-86 |185 |13
1986-87 |85 |22
1987-88 |43 |41
1988-89 |22 |133
1989-90 |25 |32
1990-91 |36 |27
|--- |---
Total |661 |275
<1>Income from disposals are generally
phased over a number of years. The
totals shown in column 3 may not
therefore relate directly to the
acreage disposed of in column 2.
It is not possible to disaggregate disposals between public and private sector bodies.
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Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will state for each year since its establishment the area of land acquired by the London Docklands development corporation by vesting orders, compulsory purchase orders, by agreement or other methods respectively, with appropriate annual category and grand totals.
Mr. Key : This information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
London Docklands Development Corporation
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will state, for each year since its establishment, the amount spent by the London Docklands development corporation on (a) land acquisition and (b) land improvement and reclamation, together with respective totals.
Mr. Key : The information is as follows :
|(a) £ million|(b) £ million
Financial |Land |Improvements
year |acquired |to land/
|reclamation
--------------------------------------------------------
1981-82 |35 |13
1982-83
1983-84 |17 |16
1984-85 |4 |20
1985-86 |5 |21
1986-87 |13 |29
1987-88 |23 |33
1988-89 |16 |51
1989-90 |30 |47
1990-91 |12 |25
|-- |--
Total |155 |255
Coventry City Council
Mr. Butcher : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the percentage change in the total external support for Coventry city council between financial years 1990-91 and 1991-92.
Mr. Key : The total external support for Coventry city council has increased by 26.2 per cent. between the years 1990-91 and 1991-92. In 1990- 91 total external support consisted of revenue support grant, after safety net adjustment, non-domestic rate income, specific grants inside aggregate external finance, community charge benefit grant and transitional relief grant.
In 1991-92 total external support consisted of revenue support grant, non- domestic rate income, specific grants inside aggregate external finance, community charge benefit grant, community charge reduction scheme grant and community charge grant.
Chemicals
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the latest production and consumption figures for the United Kingdom for (a) chlorofluorocarbons, (b) carbon tetrachloride, (c) halons, (d) HCFCs, (e) methyl chloroform and (f) HFCs.
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Mr. Baldry : The production figures for these chemicals are commercially confidential as there are one or two United Kingdom manufacturers. The latest estimated consumption figures available are :
Tonnes
---------------------------------------------------
Chlorofluorocarbons |33,000 |(1989)
Carbon tetrachloride |40-50,000|(1989)
Methyl chloroform |30-35,000|(1989)
Halons |1,500 |(1990)
Estimates of United Kingdom HCFC and HFC consumption are not currently available.
Ozone Depletion
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions he has had in the last year with representatives of ICI in relation to ozone depletion ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Baldry : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had a number of discussions with Sir Denys Henderson and other ICI board members on a wide range of environmental issues. Earlier this year the possibility was discussed of his opening the world's first commercial plant for the ozone friendly refrigerant HFC 134a at ICI's Runcorn site. In the event, the plant was opened by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister.
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on current scientific knowledge regarding ozone depletion over the United Kingdom ; and whether his Department is taking any extra measures in the light of recent scientific findings.
Mr. Baldry : The fourth report of my Department's stratospheric ozone review group, published in July 1991, copies of which have been placed in the Library of the House, reported satellite evidence for ozone column depletion at the latitudes of the United Kingdom and Europe of up to 8 per cent. over the past decade during the late winter and early spring. Further satellite data presented in the Montreal protocol scientific assessment report, due to be published early next year, suggest that for the period 1978 to 1990, the trend in average annual total ozone over the United Kingdom was between 4 and 6 per cent. per decade, consistent with a recent re-analysis of Dobson Spectrophotometer measurements made at Bracknell and Lerwick by the Meteorological Office.
In the forthcoming international negotiations towards the revision of the Montreal protocol, the United Kingdom will be pressing for the earliest possible phase out for all ozone depleting substances.
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many staff in his Department are currently working full-time on stratospheric ozone issues ; and at what grades they are employed.
Mr. Baldry : Six staff work full time on ozone layer policy issues ; one each at grade 7, senior executive officer, higher executive officer, executive officer, administrative officer and administrative assistant level. Management of the stratospheric ozone component of my Department's research programme will amount to approximately two man years in 1991-92. It is led at grade 6.
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Local Government Finance
Mr. William Powell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the total of usable capital receipts held by each local authority in Northamptonshire on 31 March 1991.
Mr. Key : The usable capital receipts held on 31 March 1991 for all local authorities in Northamptonshire are given in the table.
Authority |Total Usable
|Receipts as at
|31 March
|1991
|£'000s
------------------------------------------------
Northamptonshire |12,131
Corby |1
Daventry |8,728
East Northampton |3,144
Kettering |2,543
Northampton |20,874
South Northampton |2,729
Wellingborough |14,075
Source: Departmental Returns.
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has had over the Standard Community Charge and Non- Domestic Rating (Definition of Domestic Property) (Amendment) Order 1991 (S.I., 1991, No. 474) ; and if he will review the order.
Mr. Key [holding answer 9 December 1991] : We have had a number of representations about the six-person test of exemption from rates for small bed-and-breakfast properties set out in the order. Most have come from the occupiers of properties which do not qualify for exemption under the new test. We remain of the view that small properties used for bed and breakfast should not be liable for rates when the main use of the property is domestic. The six-person test is a practicable compromise and we have decided to retain it.
Mr. Ralph Howell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give details of the total expenditure on (a) the preparation of the community charge prior to April 1990, (b) collection of the community charge (i) in 1990-91 and (ii) 1991-92, (c) expected cost of collection of the community charge in 1992-93, and if he will give details of (d) how much has already been spent, or budgeted for, on council tax before 1992 and (e) his estimate of expenditure on council tax in 1992-93.
Mr. Key [holding answer 10 December 1991] : Local authorities in England have reported that in 1988-89 they spent £101 million on the capital and revenue costs of preparing for the introduction of the community charge and a further £261 million in 1989-90. Local authorities have estimated that the cost of collecting the community charge in 1990-91 was £444 million and in 1991-92 £498 million. We expect collection costs in 1992-93 to be of a similar order in real terms. The Government commissioned CSL Group Ltd. Management Consultants to estimate the additional costs to local authorities of preparing for the council tax. They estimate that local authorities would need to spend £156 million broken down as follows :
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|1991-92 |1992-93 |Total
|£ million|£ million|£ million
--------------------------------------------------
Revenue |4.8 |109.8 |114.6
Capital |0.3 |41.2 |41.5
|--- |--- |---
Total |5.1 |151.0 |156.1
Global Warming
Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions he has had with the telecommunications industry regarding naturally occurring holes in the ozone layer.
Community Charge
Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table showing for each local authority the maximum possible increase in community charge from 1991-92 to 1992-93 before capping is applied.
Mr. Key : My right hon. Friend announced his provisional capping criteria for 1992-93 on 26 November. Once authorities have set their budgets he will take his capping decisions having regard to all appropriate considerations, including those budgets. On the basis of our proposed settlement the community charge for standard spending will be about £257, but efficient authorities should be able to set charges which are even lower.
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