| Home Page |
Column 619
Written Answers to Questions
Friday 28 February 1992
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Students (Concessionary Fares)
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) if he will re-introduce travel grants for students ;
(2) if, when he next meets the chairman of London Underground, he will raise the issue of concessionary fares for students.
Mr. Alan Howarth : Under the Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations, students who are disabled, who are attending a place away from their main college as part of a medical, dental or nursing course or who are attending an institution outside the United Kingdom as part of their course may have their travel costs reimbursed. The first part of any expenditure is disregarded in deciding claims. We have no plans to change these arrangements nor would we wish to raise the issue of concessionary fares for students with the chairman of London Underground.
London Docklands
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish his Department's expenditure in relation to projects aimed at regeneration and redevelopment in London docklands in each year from 1980-81 to 1990-91.
Mr. Eggar : Expenditure related to projects aimed at regeneration and redevelopment in London docklands is a matter for the Secretary of State for the Environment. This Department pays grant in respect of capital expenditure at voluntary-aided and grant-maintained schools. Records of such expenditure cannot easily be disaggregated to show spending only in the docklands area of the local education authorities concerned.
Pupil Statistics
Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many pupils in each local education authority are educated in special schools outside their own local education authority area.
Mr. Fallon [holding answer 19 February 1992] : The table shows the numbers of pupils belonging to the area of each authority who in January 1991 were attending maintained special schools outside that authority's area.
Pupils<1> belonging to the area of
each local education authority who
in January 1991 were attending
maintained special schools outside
that authority's area.
|Number
-------------------------------------
City of London |3
Camden |109
Greenwich |110
Hackney |172
Hammersmith and Fulham |89
Islington |123
Kensington and Chelsea |178
Lambeth |222
Lewisham |171
Southwark |200
Tower Hamlets |101
Wandsworth |144
Westminster |129
Barking |27
Barnet |78
Bexley |78
Brent |72
Bromley |20
Croydon |51
Ealing |60
Enfield |101
Haringey |91
Harrow |36
Havering |52
Hillingdon |40
Hounslow |25
Kingston |18
Merton |57
Newham |62
Redbridge |55
Richmond |30
Sutton |45
Waltham Forest |19
Birmingham |28
Coventry |17
Dudley |69
Sandwell |63
Solihull |20
Walsall |19
Wolverhampton |21
Knowsley |10
Liverpool |22
St. Helens |38
Sefton |21
Wirral |21
Bolton |56
Bury |51
Manchester |43
Oldham |22
Rochdale |47
Salford |19
Stockport |39
Tameside |82
Trafford |27
Wigan |23
Barnsley |19
Doncaster |14
Rotherham |33
Sheffield |6
Bradford |13
Calderdale |13
Kirklees |29
Leeds |12
Wakefield |49
Gateshead |19
Newcastle |10
North Tyneside |10
South Tyneside |17
Sunderland |5
Isles of Scilly |0
Avon |9
Bedfordshire |15
Berkshire |36
Buckinghamshire |73
Cambridgeshire |10
Cheshire |72
Cleveland |7
Cornwall |29
Cumbria |6
Derbyshire |53
Devon |5
Dorset |11
Durham |73
East Sussex |32
Essex |113
Gloucestershire |11
Hampshire |64
Hereford and Worcester |26
Hertfordshire |56
Humberside |27
Isle of Wight |1
Kent |67
Lancashire |84
Leicestershire |19
Lincolnshire |28
Norfolk |12
North Yorkshire |51
Northamptonshire |27
Northumberland |28
Nottinghamshire |18
Oxfordshire |12
Shropshire |22
Somerset |10
Staffordshire |48
Suffolk |26
Surrey |78
Warwickshire |53
West Sussex |27
Wiltshire |43
<1> Pupils aged 5 and over (as at 31
August 1990).
Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many pupils in each local education authority area in local education authority maintained special schools live in other local education authority areas.
Mr. Fallon [holding answer 19 February 1992] : The table shows the numbers of pupils attending maintained special schools in each authority in January 1991 who belonged to the area of other LEAs.
Pupils<1> attending maintained
special schools in each local
education
authority in January 1991 who
belonged to the area of other
authorities
|Number
-------------------------------------
City of London |0
Camden |219
Greenwich |185
Hackney |180
Hammersmith and Fulham |265
Islington |100
Kensington and Chelsea |86
Lambeth |305
Lewisham |95
Southwark |147
Tower Hamlets |42
Wandsworth |349
Westminster |90
Barking |14
Barnet |49
Bexley |4
Brent |40
Bromley |36
Croydon |20
Ealing |14
Enfield |37
Haringey |55
Harrow |12
Havering |3
Hillingdon |2
Hounslow |18
Kingston |37
Merton |10
Newham |16
Redbridge |27
Richmond |18
Sutton |28
Waltham Forest |312
Birmingham |137
Coventry |30
Dudley |3
Sandwell |21
Solihull |6
Walsall |18
Wolverhampton |33
Knowsley |39
Liverpool |53
St. Helens |17
Sefton |14
Wirral |3
Bolton |36
Bury |32
Manchester |159
Oldham |92
Rochdale |12
Salford |62
Stockport |8
Tameside |6
Trafford |15
Wigan |57
Barnsley |19
Doncaster |7
Rotherham |8
Sheffield |83
Bradford |40
Calderdale |1
Kirklees |6
Leeds |52
Wakefield |9
Gateshead |15
Newcastle |56
North Tyneside |9
South Tyneside |1
Sunderland |37
Isles of Scilly |0
Avon |34
Bedfordshire |6
Berkshire |38
Buckinghamshire |13
Cambridgeshire |18
Cheshire |40
Cleveland |40
Cornwall |0
Cumbria |0
Derbyshire |22
Devon |26
Dorset |14
Durham |10
East Sussex |33
Essex |31
Gloucestershire |12
Hampshire |66
Hereford and Worcester |35
Hertfordshire |103
Humberside |12
Isle of Wight |0
Kent |41
Lancashire |25
Leicestershire |4
Lincolnshire |19
Norfolk |10
North Yorkshire |25
Northamptonshire |6
Northumberland |14
Nottinghamshire |34
Oxfordshire |35
Shropshire |11
Somerset |5
Staffordshire |26
Suffolk |19
Surrey |132
Warwickshire |144
West Sussex |28
Wiltshire |3
<1> Pupils aged five and over (as at
31 August 1990).
TRANSPORT
Cash Limits
Mr. Bevan : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what changes he proposes to his Department's non-voted cash limits for 1991-92.
Mr. Freeman : With the agreement of my right hon. and learned Friend the Chief Secretary, the cash limit DTp/LACAP--Department of Transport/local authorities capital--covering credit approvals issued by my Department will be increased from £269,081,000 to £272,081,000. This increase will be matched by a reduction in the cash limit on class VII, vote 2 from £237,614,000 to £234,614,000.
Midland Metro
Mr. Bevan : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on line one of the Midland metro.
Mr. Freeman : I strongly support the concept of the Midland metro line one. On present information, the scheme appears to meet the criteria for grant under section 56 of the Transport Act 1968. A decision on whether the project will be eligible for grant must await firm figures for capital costs based on tenders. I understand that the West Midlands passenger transport executive will be seeking tenders later this year. Provided the scheme meets the grant criteria in the light of these figures and provided sufficient resources are available, I can see no present reason why a grant for the construction of the project should not be made available at the appropriate time. The Government have already provided resources of £1.5 million for development work on the project. I am today authorising a further £3 million for development and preparatory work in the forthcoming financial year.
Blackwall Tunnel
Ms. Gordon : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will now keep, or request the Metropolitan police to maintain, a log of significant interruptions to free flow traffic conditions in and around the area of the Blackwall tunnel, and publish periodically the record of delays and their respective causes, together with any subsequent preventative action or investigation that is taken.
Mr. Freeman : Police controllers at the Blackwall tunnel keep a record of incidents. The Department's agents for the Blackwall tunnel also maintain an incident log. This ensures that information is readily available for those operating the system. Preventative action and investigation based on these logs and other information takes place as and when needed.
Ms. Gordon : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will set out the respective duties, responsibilities and functions, including those for capital and other expenditures, of his Department, the London borough of Greenwich and the Metropolitan police for the Blackwall tunnel and its immediate approaches, together with a statement of the regular system of consultation and co-ordination between those officials most immediately concerned with its efficient management and maintenance.
Column 624
Mr. Freeman : The Secretary of State for Transport is the highway authority for trunk roads in England, including the Blackwall tunnels. The London borough of Greenwich is the Department's agent for the tunnels and the southern approach roads. The London borough of Tower Hamlets is the Department's agent for the northern approach roads. The traffic control systems unit is the Department's agent for installing and maintaining electrical and communication equipment. The Metropolitan police are responsible for managing the traffic flows, reporting offences and attending incidents. There is efficient co-operation and co-ordination between these parties who regularly discuss all the issues associated with day-to-day management of this section of the trunk road network.
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will set out schedules of expenditure relating to the annual maintenance and improvement, respectively, of the Blackwall tunnel and its immediate approaches which show the costs of recent and planned capital improvements, the annual costs of structural and highway maintenance, respectively, the estimated cost of police surveillance and contracts relating to the removal of vehicles, distinguishing between the liabilities of each public body concerned, and stating the actual or notional interest charges arising from major improvments, including that of the recently installed traffic control system.
Mr. Freeman : Through its agents the London borough of Greenwich and the traffic control systems unit, the Department has spent £5.5 million over the past three years on maintenance and capital improvements for the Blackwall tunnels. In addition £21 million is being spent over five years on refurbishing the northbound tunnel. The east London traffic control system was equipped by the Department at a cost of £3.4 million. I will write to the hon. member shortly with the more detailed information he has requested.
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the function of the new central traffic control system for the Blackwall tunnel and its surrounding area, together with the functions it is capable of performing additional to those of the system that it replaces, and the future functions that it could perform without significant further capital expenditure.
Mr. Freeman : The new east London traffic control system provides for the operation of tidal flow in the Blackwall tunnels, emergency tunnel closures, and the operation of signals on the tunnel approaches. It is easier to operate, maintain and repair than the old system, and provides additionally for the detection of incidents, queues or slow moving traffic. The system is capable of controlling traffic management on all major roads and tunnels in the east London area with additional expenditure only on roadside equipment.
London Docklands
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish (a) total expenditure on the docklands light railway, (b) total expenditure on all other new rail and bus transport projects directly related to docklands regeneration, (c) total expenditure on all road developments and improvements and (d) any other
Column 625
expenditure by his Department to assist in London docklands regeneration showing revenue and capital separately for each year from 1981-82 to 1991-92 (estimated) and plans for 1992-93 to 1994 -95.Mr. Freeman : Expenditure on the docklands light railway is :
£ million
|Investment|Revenue
--------------------------------------------
1984-85 |33.1 |0
1985-86 |33.0 |0
1986-87 |16.2 |0
1987-88 |60.6 |3.5
1988-89 |51.4 |4.6
1989-90 |93.1 |7.7
1990-91 |139.0 |10.4
1991-92 |<1>162.8 |<1>15.0
1992-93 to 1994-95 3 year total £115 million
<1> Forecast.
It is not possible to distinguish expenditure on docklands by London Buses Ltd. and London Underground Limited's core business from their expenditure on other parts of London. The table gives investment on the Jubilee line extension :
|£ million
------------------------------
1990-91 |40
1991-92 |<1>101
1992-93 |<1>393
1993-94 |<1>614
1994-95 |<1>454
<1> Forecast
British Rail plans to spend £20 million refurbishing Stratford by 1996 when the docklands light railway and Jubilee line extensions are expected to be open.
The following schemes in the national road programme which serve the London docklands area have been completed or are expected to be under construction by 1994-95.
A2 Rochester Way Relief Road
A13 Improvements Tower Hamlets/Newham
A13 Heathway to M25 Improvements
A12 Hackney to M11 Link
East London River Crossing
A406 South Woodford-Barking Relief Road
East London Traffic Control System
Expenditure on those schemes is :
|£ million
-------------------------------
<2>1987-88 |119
1988-89 |11
1989-90 |10
1990-91 |15
1991-92 |<1>14
1992-93 |<1>50
1993-94 |<1>170
1994-95 |<1>310
<1> Forecast
<2> Up to
The Department is also responsible for maintenance and minor improvements to trunk roads in this area, and for the operation of the Woolwich ferry. Expenditure is as follows. Detailed figures for years prior to 1987-88 are not readily available.
Column 626
|£ million
------------------------------
1987-88 |3
1988-89 |6
1989-90 |11
1990-91 |<1>10
1991-92 |<1>9
1992-93 |<1>10
1993-94 |<1>10
1994-95 |<1>10
<1> Forecast.
In addition, there is expenditure on refurbishment of the Blackwell tunnel as follows :
|£ million
------------------------------
1991-92 |<1>10
1992-93 |<1>7
1993-94 |<1>5
<1> Forecast.
The Thames RiverBus service received a £500,000 grant in 1989-90 to promote and improve the service in recognition of its road decongestion and docklands regeneration benefits.
Supplementary credit approvals totalling £200,000 were given in February to the London borough of Newham in respect of bus priority schemes. Further resources are being held for possible allocation to Tower Hamlets when details are provided of their firm proposals.
Subsidies
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the total of revenue subsidy given to (a) London Underground, (b) London Buses, (c) Network SouthEast and (d) British Rail in each year from 1980-81 to 1994-95 (estimated), showing the financing sources for such subsidy in each year.
Mr. Freeman : Government grant is not paid separately to London Underground and London Buses. London Transport makes a claim for block grant each year on the basis of the external financing limit announced in the previous year's autumn statement. It is not possible, in advance of the claim, to apportion the grant for future years between revenue and capital. Over the next three years, Government grant to LT will be about £3.7 billion.
Subsidy is paid by the Government to the British Railways Board in the form of the public service obligation grant under EC regulation 1191/69 and section 3 of the Railways Act 1974, which compensates BR for maintaining loss-making passenger services. Grant is paid as a total to the board and the Government do not formally allocate it between sectors or geographical areas. However, estimates on the split for future grant allocations are now produced by the Department of Transport. Previous figures for NSE have been produced by BR in its document "Network Factfile 1991". The table shows BR's and NSE's PSO grant and LT revenue grant.
1990-91 prices (£000m)
|PSO |PSO (NSE) |LT revenue
|grant |grant |grant
-------------------------------------------------------
1980 |1,039 |n.a. |<4>166
1981 |1,231 |n.a. |<4>135
1982 |1,249 |<1>471 |<4>286
1983 |1,250 |<1>359 |<4>257
1984-85 |1,487 |<1>326 |208
1985-86 |1,085 |<1>65 |166
1986-87 |883 |<1>184 |85
1987-88 |925 |<1>214 |56
1988-89 |606 |<1>141 |44
1989-90 |541 |<1>92 |51
1990-91 |600 |<1>153 |84
<3>1991-92 |850 |325 |<5>114
<3>1992-93 |900 |350 |-
<3>1993-94 |700 |275 |-
<3>1994-95 |500 |75 |-
<1> Source: NSE document "Network Factfile 1991".
<2> 1984-85 was a 15-month period. The figure quoted
is the
12-month equivalent.
<3> Estimates-source: Department of Transport Report
1992.
<4> LT was the responsibility of GLC in these years.
<5> Forecast outturn.
Liverpool-London Air Service
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport is he will ensure that the landing slots made available in London through the withdrawal of British Midland Airways of its Liverpool-London service are allocated only to an airline providing a similar service.
Mr. McLoughlin : No. An airline is free to decide how to use the take-off and landing slots that it holds. It is a matter for British Midland's commercial judgment whether to use the slots on another route, or to return them to the airport co-ordinator for re-allocation.
Coaches
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will meet representatives of London local authorities to raise the issue of improving coach parking facilities.
Mr. Freeman : I have already chaired a working group considering initiatives to improve tourist coach parking facilities for the 1992 season. Representatives from London boroughs have been members of this group. I am also chairing meetings with London Transport and some of the central London boroughs most affected by coach traffic to discuss coach terminal and off-street parking facilities. I hope that an announcement can be made shortly about measures to improve coach parking facilities in central London.
Thames River Bus
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what conditions for public funding for the Thames Riverbus service were set with respect to requirements for information to be available to help visitors at landing stages.
Mr. Freeman : None ; but at the piers at which their vessels call, Riverbus provides a real-time passenger information system giving the expected time of arrival of the next service which is updated at minute intervals based on the position of vessels. Leaflets, posters and timetables are also provided.
Column 628
PRIME MINISTER
South Africa
Mr. Caborn : To ask the Prime Minister if he raised at the meeting with Mr. De Klerk on 1 February, the proposition of giving the white electorate a veto on any agreement reached at the Conference for Democratic South Africa or otherwise over the negotiating process.
The Prime Minister : For President de Klerk to continue with his reforms, he has to have the support of the whole electorate. I discussed these reforms with President de Klerk on 1 February. I believe that the path of reform on which South Africa has embarked under President de Klerk's leadership is the only course which will allow her reintegration into the international community and enable her to attract the investment she needs for economic growth. That economic growth is in the interest of all South Africans.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Parole
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether a prisoner's continued denial of his or her guilt is a factor taken into account in deciding whether or not to accept a recommendation by the Parole Board to grant parole.
Mrs. Rumbold : When my right hon. Friend considers Parole Board recommendations to release prisoners, his principal concern is the risk involved. Denial of guilt per se does not dictate the outcome of the decision.
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many recommendations of the Parole Board in each year since 1986 were (a) accepted, and (b) rejected in England and Wales.
Mrs. Rumbold : The information requested is given in the table.
Recommendations<1> for the release
of prisoners on parole or licence
by the Parole Board: by the outcome
of recommendation 1986-90
|Accepted|Rejected
------------------------------------
1986 |3,651 |29
1987 |3,636 |35
1988 |3,811 |29
1989 |4,688 |45
1990 |3,282 |77
<1> Excluding release on licence of
prisoners detained for a period
other than life under section 53(2)
Children and Young Persons Act
1933.
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many parole decisions were referred by the Parole Board to him in each year since 1986 in England and Wales.
Mrs. Rumbold : The information requested is given in the table. Under the provisions of section 60(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1967 only recommendations for release on parole are referred to the Secretary of State by the Parole Board.
Column 629
Recommendations for the release of
determinate sentence prisoners
on parole by the Parole Board: 1986-1990
|Recommended
|for parole by
|the Parole
|Board
------------------------------------------
1986 |3,560
1987 |3,524
1988 |3,749
1989 |4,614
1990 |3,221
Column 630
Crime Statistics
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish figures for (a) total recorded offences, (b) all violent crimes, (c) burglaries and (d) murders in (i) England and Wales and (ii) the Metropolitan police area, including the City of London, for each year from 1980-81 to 1991-92.
Mr. John Patten : The available information is given in the table :
Column 629
Notifiable offences recorded by the police
Metropolitan Police District
(including City of London)
12 months ending |Total |Violent |Burglary |Homicide<1>
|crime
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
September 1981 |625,646 |29,256 |142,682 |173
September 1982 |675,501 |31,436 |154,206 |184
September 1983 |677,548 |33,187 |154,100 |161
September 1984 |703,686 |34,640 |166,212 |181
September 1985 |738,574 |38,003 |158,238 |170
September 1986 |774,898 |41,432 |158,173 |186
September 1987 |746,658 |42,780 |150,664 |210
September 1988 |739,437 |48,658 |147,596 |164
September 1989 |745,354 |53,042 |145,143 |172
September 1990 |812,285 |57,421 |166,863 |182
September 1991 |916,648 |64,644 |188,999 |181
England and Wales
September 1981 |2,895,403 |138,228 |700,714 |606
September 1982 |3,174,843 |147,088 |774,109 |614
September 1983 |3,252,585 |153,250 |810,582 |553
September 1984 |3,418,609 |156,554 |868,561 |623
September 1985 |3,587,206 |166,856 |874,380 |615
September 1986 |3,793,368 |177,691 |915,582 |637
September 1987 |3,891,364 |192,451 |914,078 |682
September 1988 |3,788,107 |212,267 |841,127 |651
September 1989 |3,778,544 |236,411 |804,402 |654
September 1990 |4,326,357 |245,582 |944,996 |643
September 1991 |5,135,595 |261,409 |1,169,713 |690
<1> Includes murder, manslaughter and infanticide.
Mandatory Life Imprisonment
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons sentenced to a mandatory term of life imprisonment have served (a) more than 10 years, (b) 15 years or more, (c) 20 years or more and (d) 25 years or more, in each year since 1987 in England and Wales.
Mrs. Rumbold : The readily available information is published annually in "Prison Statistics England and Wales" (Table 8.3 of the latest volume, for 1990, Cm. 1800), copies of which are in the Library.
Column 630
Asylum
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will publish a table showing the number of applications for asylum in the United Kingdom by country of origin of the applicants in 1991 ;
(2) how many applications for asylum in the United Kingdom were received in each month in 1991 ; and how many were received in January 1992.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The information requested is given in the table.
Column 629
Applications<1><2> received for asylum in the United Kingdom, by nationality: January to
December 1991 and January 1992
|January |February|March |April |May |June |July
|1991 |1991 |1991 |1991 |1991 |1991 |1991
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Europe and Americas
Bulgaria |15 |45 |40 |40 |55 |45 |30
Colombia |20 |15 |15 |10 |15 |- |5
Romania |25 |65 |80 |50 |35 |25 |40
Turkey |370 |205 |180 |205 |145 |160 |205
USSR |10 |35 |10 |25 |25 |10 |10
Others |* |5 |15 |15 |10 |25 |10
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total |440 |370 |340 |350 |285 |260 |295
Africa
Angola |420 |370 |600 |940 |530 |440 |520
Congo |30 |15 |30 |40 |- |20 |20
Ethiopia |245 |150 |130 |195 |195 |120 |165
Ghana |195 |225 |245 |330 |370 |230 |230
Somalia |240 |190 |170 |260 |190 |180 |160
Sudan |70 |40 |35 |40 |40 |35 |135
Togo/Ivory Coast |65 |50 |80 |200 |175 |50 |190
Uganda |305 |225 |275 |200 |80 |25 |55
Zaire |435 |375 |615 |1,150 |550 |520 |625
Others |20 |25 |155 |355 |270 |180 |360
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total |2,020 |1,665 |2,330 |3,715 |2,395 |1,805 |2,460
Middle East
Iran |65 |55 |35 |65 |35 |35 |35
Iraq |125 |75 |110 |70 |55 |25 |45
Lebanon |295 |145 |65 |40 |25 |15 |15
Others |- |- |25 |45 |30 |20 |40
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total |485 |275 |235 |225 |145 |95 |135
Asia
China |20 |50 |45 |60 |55 |40 |55
India |230 |185 |160 |165 |170 |175 |165
Pakistan |350 |255 |305 |320 |305 |290 |245
Sri Lanka |585 |450 |385 |355 |360 |275 |255
Others |- |- |85 |85 |90 |55 |115
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total |1,185 |940 |980 |990 |975 |835 |830
Other nationalities<3> |240 |195 |- |- |- |- |-
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Grand total |4,370 |3,445 |3,885 |5,275 |3,805 |3,000 |3,725
|August |September|October |November |December |1991 |January
|1991 |1991 |1991 |1991 |1991 |Total |1992
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Europe and Americas
Bulgaria |20 |30 |15 |20 |15 |375 |25
Colombia |10 |20 |5 |15 |15 |140 |30
Romania |65 |60 |30 |45 |35 |555 |35
Turkey |155 |145 |125 |125 |95 |2,110 |205
USSR |20 |25 |25 |20 |25 |245 |20
Others |25 |50 |70 |110 |110 |450 |130
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total |295 |335 |275 |335 |300 |3,875 |440
Africa
Angola |360 |360 |600 |465 |170 |5,780 |40
Congo |25 |70 |50 |65 |15 |370 |10
Ethiopia |110 |150 |115 |65 |45 |1,685 |65
Ghana |145 |145 |115 |105 |70 |2,405 |140
Somalia |140 |145 |135 |110 |80 |1,995 |125
Sudan |160 |155 |175 |150 |120 |1,150 |100
Togo/Ivory Coast |185 |185 |360 |315 |45 |1,910 |35
Uganda |15 |55 |65 |50 |90 |1,440 |15
Zaire |420 |555 |725 |625 |410 |7,010 |105
Others |345 |500 |745 |625 |155 |3,740 |95
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total |1,900 |2,320 |3,090 |2,580 |1,205 |27,490 |730
Middle East
Iran |35 |50 |35 |50 |35 |530 |50
Iraq |75 |55 |70 |110 |85 |915 |125
Lebanon |35 |20 |35 |30 |35 |755 |35
Others |30 |35 |50 |35 |30 |340 |40
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total |175 |170 |190 |225 |180 |2,540 |250
Asia
China |25 |50 |50 |35 |45 |525 |35
India |155 |160 |190 |135 |165 |2,045 |245
Pakistan |240 |235 |290 |210 |150 |3,195 |160
Sri Lanka |285 |205 |225 |235 |135 |3,750 |255
Others |265 |50 |65 |40 |35 |890 |55
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total |970 |700 |815 |655 |530 |10,405 |745
Other nationalities<3> |- |- |- |- |- |435 |-
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Grand total |3,340 |3,525 |4,375 |3,790 |2,210 |44,745 |2,165
<1> Excluding dependants.
<2> Figures rounded to the nearest five, with * = less than three.
<3> Includes applications in January and February 1991 from nationalities not specifically identified
above. From March 1991 these are
included in the "other" category for the relevant geographical area.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Nellist : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce regulations to require magistrates to use the power to remit the community charge in full or in part for those people who cannot pay as determined by the means inquiry at committal stage.
Dangerous Dogs
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions have been made under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Rumbold : Criminal statistics are compiled annually. None are yet available in respect of prosecutions under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 which came into force on 12 August last year.
Immigration
Mr. Nellist : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes he proposes to make to entry qualifications for settlement from Pakistan after April ; whether he will still accept applications for settlement on the basis of marriage from that date ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has no plans to make any changes in the immigration rules relating to the admission of Pakistani nationals.
Election Expenses
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he now expects to publish and bring into force an order on the variation of limits of candidates' election expenses.
Column 634
Mrs. Rumbold : The draft Representation of the People (Variation of limits of Candidates' Elections Expenses) Order 1992 was laid before Parliament on Friday 21 February, and will come into force following approval by both Houses. It will increase the permitted levels of candidates' expenses at parliamentary elections throughout the United Kingdom, and at local elections in Great Britain.
ENVIRONMENT
Local Government Finance
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the statutory provisions relating to the levying by local authorities of a poll tax non-payment surcharge ; and what is the total national cost of the non-payment surcharges levied by local authorities in England and Wales for 1991-92.
Mr. Key : To comply with section 32 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988, an authority must make adequate allowance for estimated non- collection when setting its charges.
Before the £140 general reduction, local authorities had made provision for £600 million for non-collection in 1991-92 when setting their charges.
Mr. Squire : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the total of local government (a) revenue and (b) capital expenditure by local government within each region, showing Greater London separately, for each year from 1978-79 to 1991-92 (estimated).
Mr. Key : The available information is as follows :
Column 633
Revenue Expenditure<1> £ million
Region |1981-82 |1982-83 |1983-84 |1984-85 |1985-86 |1986-87 |1987-88 |1988-89 |1989-90 |<2>1990-91|<3>1991-92
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greater London |3,854 |4,111 |4,677 |5,000 |4,676 |5,128 |5,408 |5,553 |5,969 |6,467 |6,987
South East (excluding GL) |3,284 |3,541 |3,691 |3,768 |3,933 |4,201 |4,582 |5,162 |5,395 |6,245 |6,934
South West |1,425 |1,549 |1,595 |1,613 |1,683 |1,879 |2,047 |2,211 |2,397 |2,735 |3,008
East Anglia |593 |659 |675 |693 |720 |776 |839 |941 |1,034 |1,179 |1,306
West Midlands |1,894 |2,015 |2,126 |2,146 |2,243 |2,377 |2,675 |2,907 |3,112 |3,617 |3,974
East Midlands |1,303 |1,478 |1,523 |1,528 |1,577 |1,754 |1,943 |2,118 |2,203 |2,550 |2,802
North West |2,644 |2,836 |2,921 |2,954 |3,085 |3,427 |3,719 |3,984 |4,261 |4,695 |5,085
Yorkshire and Humberside |1,902 |2,146 |2,165 |2,181 |2,271 |2,561 |2,689 |2,897 |3,048 |3,411 |3,727
North |1,271 |1,402 |1,438 |1,429 |1,472 |1,657 |1,784 |1,895 |1,986 |2,243 |2,435
|--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |---
Total |18,171 |19,737 |20,809 |21,312 |21,661 |23,760 |25,686 |27,667 |29,404 |33,142 |36,256
Column 635
Capital expenditure<4>
£ million
Region |1986-87 |1987-88 |1988-89 |1989-90 |<5>1990-91|<6>1991-92
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greater London |1,362 |1,433 |1,592 |2,593 |1,431 |1,369
South East (excluding Greater
London) |1,147 |1,265 |1,648 |2,103 |1,450 |1,457
South West |429 |448 |543 |744 |578 |608
East Anglia |196 |205 |263 |364 |263 |275
West Midlands |585 |603 |705 |964 |703 |693
East Midlands |401 |415 |456 |586 |448 |491
North West |801 |846 |856 |1,098 |893 |910
Yorkshire and Humberside |514 |591 |695 |872 |644 |677
North |411 |417 |447 |497 |379 |410
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total |5,846 |6,224 |7,206 |9,822 |6,788 |6,891
<1> Total expenditure figures are given for 1981-82 to 1989-90. Net revenue expenditure figures are given
for 1990-91 and 1991-92. Although
both are net of specific and supplementary grants, direct comparisons cannot be made as they derive from
two different systems.
<2> Revised estimate.
<3> Budget.
<4> 1986-87 includes amounts charged direct to revenue or other funds and not capitalised, which are
excluded in later years. Figures for 1990-91
and 1991-92 are not strictly comparable to earlier years owing to the introduction of the new capital
finance system from 1 April 1990.
Polytechnics were transferred out of local government from 1 April 1989.
<5> Provisional outturn.
<6> Local authority forecast.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much money was paid to local authorities to cover the cost of the £140 reduction for poll tax bills.
Mr. Portillo : The sum of £4.374 billion of grant is being paid in 1991-92 under the Community Charges (General Reduction) Act 1991. The sum of £4.346 billion of this had already been paid in respect of charge income forgone, and represents 90 per cent. of the amount due, based on local authorities' own initial estimates of charge income to be collected for the year. Further payments are to be made, with effect from 1992-93, to bring the total amount paid into line with the total income forgone on charges actually collected for the year. In addition, I estimate the £28 million will have been paid by the end of the financial year to reimburse authorities for rebilling and other administrative costs directly resulting from the Act.
Council House Building
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Emvironment how many local authority permanent dwellings were started in Great Britain in each year since 1979.
Mr. Yeo : The latest information for 1980 and 1990 is published in table 6.1 of "Housing and Construction Statistics : Great Britain : 1980- 1990". Figures for 1979 appear in the 1979-1989 edition of the same publication. Provisional figures for 1991 were released in a departmental information bulletin (No. 87) on 5 February 1992--local authorities account for virtually all the starts by local authorities, new towns and Government Departments in 1991. Copies are in the Library.
Recycling
Mr. John Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assistance he has provided for the development of paper, plastics and glass recycling plants in the United Kingdom ; and if he has any plans to develop additional recycling plants.
Mr. Baldry : Our preferred approach is for industry to come up with recycling initiatives that will stand the test of
Column 636
time in a free market. The Government's role is to provide the appropriate legal and economic framework to encourage recycling. The legal framework is set out in the Environmental Protection Act 1990, certain provisions of which are designed to make recycling more attractive. The Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of the Environment have also commissioned a study of economic instruments having the potential to encourage higher recycling rates.Industry can seek funding for research and development through the environmental technology innovation scheme--ETIS--operated jointly by my Department and the Department of Trade and Industry, and the DEMOS--the Department of Trade and Industry's environmental management option scheme-- and Euroenviron schemes, administered by the Department of Trade and Industry.
Recent ETIS grants include £100,500 to British Glass and £835,100 to Anaplast Ltd. to support research into new methods of recycling waste glass and plastic respectively ; under the DEMOS scheme, a grant of £283,000 was awarded to Drinkwater Saby Ltd. as part of a collaborative project involving the collection of recyclable household waste and its sorting into marketable fractions ; and a grant of £700,000 under the Euroenviron scheme was given to a collaborative project, including a United Kingdom firm, Rosehill Polymers, which aims to research ways in which waste tyres and plastic bottles can be recycled into marketable higher grade products.
Unified Business Rate
Mr. Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the entitlement to hardship relief for the unified business rate ; and in what ways its availability is made known to businesses.
Mr. Key : Section 49 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 gives a charging authority discretion to reduce or remit the payment of non- domestic rates. But an authority may not give relief unless it is satisfied that the ratepayer would otherwise sustain hardship and it is reasonable to do so having regard to the interests of its community charge payers. Guidance has been issued to all authorities
Column 637
but it is for them to consider the merits of each case and how the availability of relief should be made known to businesses. Seventy-five per cent. of the cost of any relief granted will be borne centrally by the non-domestic rates pool with the remainder being met locally by charge payers.
| Next Section
| Home Page |