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Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 2 December 1992
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Ozone Depletion
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Attorney-General if he will introduce a leakage prevention programme for all refrigeration and air conditioning equipment owned and operated by his departments ; if he will publish targets for reductions in leakages ; and if he will make a statement.
The Attorney-General : The premises occupied by the Law Officers' departments all form part of the estate of Property Holdings, which is part of the Department of the Environment, and is responsible for any refrigeration and air conditioning equipment incorporated in those premises.
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Attorney-General if he will implement a refrigerant recycling and reclaim policy covering all departmental equipment currently using chlorofluorocarbons and
hydrochlorofluorocarbons ; if he will publish targets for departmental reuse and recycling ; if he will implement an equipment conversion and replacement programme for all departmental uses of CFCs and HCFCs ; and if he will make a statement.
The Attorney-General : The Law Officers' departments have no current plans for introducing a refrigerant recycling and reclaim policy. However, the departments are replacing halon fire extinguishers with ozone-friendly alternatives. Consideration will be given to the phasing-out of equipment such as refrigerators using CFCs and HCFCs where practicable alternatives exist. Small items of equipment using CFCs and HCFCs, such as refrigerators, will be disposed of in an approved manner which ensures the secure recovery of the gas.
Matrix Churchill
Mr. Mike O'Brien : To ask the Attorney-General what precedents he considered in preparing his advice for Ministers to sign public interest immunity certificates in relation to the Matrix Churchill case.
The Attorney-General : I have already told the House of my legal advice on public interest immunity. The signing of the certificates falls within Lord Justice Scott's terms of reference and detailed questions about this matter are now a matter for his review.
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Bereavement Training
Ms. Abbott : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what training is made available to judges and magistrates in relation to defendants who may have suffered a bereavement ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. John M. Taylor : No specific training is given. However, all members of the professional and lay judiciary are encouraged to be sensitive to the needs of those appearing before them.
Ozone Depletion
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will implement a refrigerant recycling and reclaim policy covering all departmental equipment currently using chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons ; if he will publish targets for departmental reuse and recycling ; if he will implement an equipment conversion and replacement programme for all departmental uses of CFCs and HCFCs ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John M. Taylor : It is already departmental policy not to procure new or replacement equipment which uses CFCs, and for existing equipment which uses them to be disposed of by qualified contractors when it is replaced. It is also departmental policy to convert and replace this equipment as the opportunity arises. The Department is committed to the targets for the reduction and elimination of CFCs and HCFCs established by the Montreal protocol.
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will introduce a leakage prevention programme for all refrigeration and air conditioning equipment owned and operated by his Department ; if he will publish targets for reductions in leakages ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The operation and planned maintenance contracts for the Department's estate provide for the routine testing, including leak detection, of refrigeration and air conditioning equipment owned and operated by the Department. Since these arrangements are intended to reduce leakage to the minimum, ultimately the target is nil.
Land Registry
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, pursuant to his answer of 2 November, Official Report, column 26, what has been the cost to the Exchequer of the chief executive of Her Majesty's Land Registry's visits to Australia and New Zealand during the last 12 months.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The hon. Member's question concerns a specific matter on which the chief executive of Her Majesty's Land Registry is best placed to provide an answer and I have accordingly asked the chief executive to reply direct.
Letter from John Manthorpe to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 1 December 1992 :
The Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, has asked me to reply to your question concerning the cost of the Exchequer of my fact finding visit to land registries in Australia and New Zealand in October 1991.
The Land Registry is a self-financing agency that makes no call on the Exchequer. The visit, which was in response to an invitation to address the 19th Conference of Registrars of Title, was made at a total cost of £5,199.55.
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Records
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what assessment the Public Record Office has made of the contribution made by family historians and genealogists to the world of archives and records in the United Kingdom since 1979 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The hon. Member's question concerns a specific matter on which the chief executive of the Public Record Office is best placed to provide an answer and I have accordingly asked the chief executive, the Keeper of Public Records, to reply direct. Letter from Sarah Tyacke to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 30 November 1992 :
As Chief Executive of the Public Record Office I am answering your Parliamentary Question, since it is a matter delegated to me under the terms of the Agency's Framework Document.
My responsibilities as the Keeper of Public Records in the world of archives and records in the United Kingdom principally involve the supervision of the care and preservation of public records, as defined in the Public Records Acts and the management of the Public Record Office. The public records include those in places outside the Public Record Office appointed as places of deposit, for the most part local authority record offices. Such local places of deposit are under the management of the responsible local or other authority ; and they hold many other historical records which are used by family historians and benefit greatly from their voluntary activities in cataloguing and indexing such records. The wider ambit of local record offices and other repositories means that it would not be appropriate for the Public Record Office to make an assessment of the kind which you envisage.
Family historians and genealogists have since 1979, and earlier, represented an increasingly strong element in the readership of the Public Record Office as well as other record offices. The Office has well established links with the major societies and other institutions representing interests in this field. It takes into account these interests in its approach to the selection of records. The growing interest in using the records for these purposes has been a major factor in the making of improvements to the finding aids to the records, and in the planning of reader services both at Kew and Chancery Lane, most notably in the opening of new reading rooms at Chancery Lane for the population census returns in 1990, in their expansion in 1991, and their opening on Saturdays from July 1992. Family history interest is represented on the Advisory Council on Public Records and also among the Friends of the Public Record Office, set up in 1988, whose secretary is currently also a member of the Advisory Council. Much valuable work is being undertaken by volunteers, many of whom are family historians, under the aegis of the Friends, in indexing and listing records in the Public Record Office. The contribution made by family historians is thus of considerable benefit in the field of historical research.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what arrangements he is considering to safeguard county record offices for local historians and genealogists in the event of local government reorganisation ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John M. Taylor : No decisions have yet been made on local government reorganisation in either England or Wales. It is, therefore, too early to be able to assess the implications of reorganisation for county record offices. In the context of the Lord Chancellor's responsibility for public records, the Lord Chancellor will in due course be
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considering any advice offered to him by his Advisory Council on Public Records about any implications for the provision of archive services.Mortgage Repossessions
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the number of mortgage repossession orders in each local authority in England and Wales in each year since 1987.
Mr. John M. Taylor : Information cannot be provided on the basis of local authority areas. Mortgage possession statistics are collected from county courts the catchment areas of which cannot be easily related to the boundaries of local authority areas. The number of orders for each court, county and standard economic region are published quarterly and placed in the House of Commons Library.
Fraud Cases
Sir Thomas Arnold : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans he has to accept the recommendation of the Roskill report that complex fraud cases should be tried by a tribunal comprising a judge and two lay members.
Mr. Jack : Legislation would be required before this recommendation could be implemented. We have no current plans to introduce such legislation, but the procedures for serious fraud cases will be kept under review, taking into account any relevant conclusions or recommendations from the Royal Commission on criminal justice when it reports next year.
Jurors (Challenges)
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will introduce legislation to restore the right of defendants to challenge jurors without giving reasons.
Mr. Jack : I have been asked to reply.
We have no plans to do so.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Alerce Timber (Customs Seizure)
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he intends to take legal action following the Customs and Excise's seizure of a quantity of alerce timber in Oxfordshire in May ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir John Cope : Decisions on whether to institute legal proceedings are a matter for the Commissioners of Customs and Excise. I understand that the commissioners, on the basis of the evidence before them, do not feel that they would be justified in instituting criminal proceedings in this case.
Mortgage Interest Tax Relief
Mr. Tyler : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the costs to the Treasury of mortgage interest tax relief and its year-on-year projected costs through to 1995-96, displayed at current prices ; and what would be the effect on these costs of a 1 per cent. fall in interest rates.
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Mr. Dorrell : The cost of mortgage interest tax relief in 1992-93 is provisionally estimated to be £5.2 billion based on the conventional assumption of no further changes in interest rates. A further one percentage point fall in interest rates--if assumed to take effect from 1 January 1993--would reduce the cost to about £5.1 billion.
The cost in future years will depend on the pattern of borrowing, the eligibility of borrowers for mortgage interest tax relief, tax rates and interest rates.
Imports
Rev. Ian Paisley : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the United Kingdom percentage deficit total in trade of imports for the current and last financial year ; and what percentage of this deficit derives from EEC partners.
Mr. Nelson : Information about visible trade is published regularly in the Central Statistical Office's "Monthly Review of External Trade Statistics", and is also available on the Central Statistical Office database, which may be accessed by the House of Commons Library.
Manufacturing Output
Rev. Ian Paisley : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the percentage rise in the United Kingdom's manufacturing output during 1990-91 and 1991-92.
Mr. Nelson : Indices of United Kingdom manufacturing output can be found on the CSO databank, which can be accessed by the House of Commons Library. Information is currently available for months up to September 1992.
Public Expenditure
Mr. Straw : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the planned real terms increases in the following components of public expenditure for 1993-94 compared with the latest estimates for 1992-93 of (a) general Government expenditure excluding privatisation proceeds, (b) the new control total, (c) central Government expenditure, (d) central Government support for local authorities in England, (e) local authorities' self-financed expenditure in England and (f) total standard spending for local authorities in England.
Mr. Portillo [holding answer 27 November 1992] : The information requested, consistent with the autumn statement, is set out in the table.
|c|Per cent. real growth in 1993-94 on 1992-93|c| Public expenditure |Estimated outturn plans and projections -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- General Government expenditure (excluding privatisation proceeds) |3.75 New control total |2.30 Central Government expenditure within the new control total |<1>0.40 Support to local authorities in England |<2>n/a Local authorities' self-financed expenditure in England |<3>n/a Local authorities' standard spending in England |<4>0.4 <1> Growth rate after adjusting for transfers and classification changes. <2> Figures for total central Government support for local authorities in England are not available at this stage. A detailed break-down will be published in the Statistical Supplement to the Autumn Statement. <3> Local authorities self-financed expenditure is projected on a United Kingdom basis, and no figures are available for England alone. <4> Growth on TSS set in 1992-93, after allowing for transfers of functions.
Independent Taxation
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many new offices were built to accommodate staff handling the work flowing from the changes introduced in 1990 in relation to independent taxation for married women and the associated changes relating to bank and building society interest ; where these new offices are located ; what the cost of these offices was ; and how many of these offices have subsequently been closed.
Mr. Dorrell [holding answer 30 November 1992] : Twenty-four Inland Revenue offices were set up to deal with the very substantial growth in claims for tax repayments that was expected to follow the introduction of independent taxation in 1990 and the abolition of composite rate tax on bank and building society interest in 1991. These offices are located in Barnsley ; Barnstaple ; Belfast (two offices) ; Birkenhead ; Bolton ; Bootle ; Dundee ; Falkirk ; Glenrothes ; Great Yarmouth ; Hull ; Leicester ; Manchester ; Middlesbrough ; Nottingham (two offices) ; Plymouth ; St. Austell ; Southampton ; Sunderland ; Swansea ; Telford ; and Wrexham. Eleven of the buildings that house these offices were purchased, for a total cost of some £55 million, with the remainder being rented. Nineteen offices are to be closed, because tax repayment claims have not been received on the scale we expected. In all but four cases, the Inland Revenue is to re-use the buildings for other work.
HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION
Health and Safety
Mr. David Shaw : To ask the right hon. Member for Berwick-on-Tweed, as representing the House of Commons Commission what steps have been taken to implement new health and safety measures in the Palace of Westminster in respect of the provision of suitable office furniture, lighting and ventilation as well as eye tests in respect of VDU users for (a) staff employed by the Commission and (b) staff employed by hon. Members.
Mr. Beith : All possible steps are being taken to ensure that the House complies with the new health and safety measures in respect of the provision of suitable office furniture, light and ventilation in the Palace of Westminster and the parliamentary outbuildings. All office furniture being purchased for use in conjunction with VDUs in the Palace of Westminster complies with the minimum requirements set out in European Community Council directive 9/270/EEC.
An expanded occupational health service has been in place in the Palace of Westminster since September 1991, to deal with health and safety issues with particular emphasis on pending legislation including the EC directive on VDU users. The occupational health adviser is available to all staff employed by the House of Commons Commission and staff employed by right hon. and hon. Members to assess and advise on working environments,
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light and ventilation, the ergonomics of individual work stations and work patterns, with a view to making recommendations as appropriate. In addition, VDU eye tests are freely available to all the above staff ; appointments for these should be made direct with the occupational health adviser.Official Report (CD-ROM)
Ms. Gordon : To ask the Chairman of the Information Committee when the Official Report for 1991-92 will be available to hon. Members on CD- ROM.
Mr. Waller : A CD-ROM version of the Official Report for 1991-92 is expected to be available for purchase by individuals later this month and will be made accessible to hon. Members via the Library in early 1993. The question of supply through the Vote Office to those hon. Members who wish to receive it, as an alternative to the bound volumes, is under consideration.
ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE
Early-day Motions
Mrs. Lait : To ask the Chairman of the Administration Committee what was the estimated cost to the House of printing and publishing early-day motions in (a) Session 1991-92 and (b) Session 1992-93 up to the summer adjournment.
Mr. Michael Martin : The estimated cost to the House of printing and publishing early-day motions in : (a) Session 1991-1992 is £860, 000, and (b) Session 1992-1993 up to the summer adjournment is £485,000.
TRANSPORT
Passenger Rail Services
Mr. Matthew Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received concerning the consultation document "The Franchising of Passenger Rail Services" ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : Over 100 responses have been received to the consultation document, including more than 50 expressing interest in operating passenger rail services under franchise. The replies are being considered and various points are being pursued and clarified with some of the respondents. We hope to be able to announce early next year the first services or groups of services that will be prepared for franchising.
Citizens Charter
Mr. Robert Ainsworth : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the progress made by his Department on setting targets under the citizens charter.
Mr. Norris : The Department has made significant progress in establishing an effective framework of targets across its areas of responsibility. These are detailed in the recently published White Paper "The Citizen's Charter, First Report : 1992" (Cm 2101). Nationalised industries and executive agencies sponsored by the Department have published their targets in individual charters and service guides ; further details can be found in the bibliography of the White Paper.
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Employee Transport Schemes
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to establish pump priming funds for companies wishing to establish company employee transport schemes.
Mr. Freeman : No. Transport to places of employment is a matter for the individuals and companies concerned.
A5
Mr. Robert Ainsworth : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action has been taken by his Department in connection with the rate assessment and scheme identification study into the A5 from Old Stratford to the M42 announced in the "Roads for Prosperity" White Paper of May 1989.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : The report on the scheme identification study for the length of A5 between Old Stratford in Buckinghamshire and the M42 near Tamworth is under consideration.
Road Humps
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received from (a) resident's associations, (b) local highways authorities, (c) individual members of the public and (d) bus operators on the effect of road humps on traffic in (i) the streets where they are sited and (ii) the nearest streets without road humps which provide alternative routes.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : No central record is kept of the number of such representations and it would not be economic to produce such figures. Road humps are installed on local roads, for which local authorities have responsibility. For this reason, the majority of the approaches I received on road humps are from local highway authorities seeking technical advice.
M1
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects contracts to be placed for the widening of the M1 from junction 1 to its junction with the M6.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : Apart from the scheme for widening between junctions 9 and 10 (northbound) on which work will start next year, it is too early to predict with any certainty when contracts might be placed for the other four schemes which make up the proposed widening of the M1 between the M25 (junction 6A) and the M6 (junction 19). Preparation work is proceeding satisfactorily. The public were consulted on proposals for widening the length between the M25 and junction 10 in September and on the length between junctions 10 and 15 earlier this month. Consultations on proposals for junction 19 and for the length between junctions 15 and 19 are expected to take place around the middle of next year. We will make every effort to announce our preferred option for each scheme within as short a time as possible.
Emergency Telephones, Motorways
Mrs. Golding : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to eliminate traffic noise from the emergency telephones on motorways.
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Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : It is not possible totally to eliminate the effects on motorway telephones of noise generated by passing traffic. All new telephones are equipped with noise-cancelling microphones to reduce the effects of noise.
Mrs. Golding : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to reduce the distance between emergency telephones on motorways.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : I have no plans to reduce the distance between emergency telephones on motorways.
A1
Mr. Hague : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to announce whether the new policy on motorway service areas will apply to the A1 when it has been upgraded to motorway standard.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : I hope to make an announcement before Christmas.
Civil Servants
Mr. Raymond S. Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many civil servants are currently employed by his Department (a) in London and (b) elsewhere.
Mr. Norris : Sixteen thousand and seventy six civil servants are currently employed by the Department, including its executive agencies ; 2,594 are in inner London, 695 in the intermediate and outer London area, and 12,787 elsewhere.
Railway Viaduct, Colne
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the annual cost to British Rail of maintaining the railway viaduct at Colne, Lancashire.
Mr. Freeman : Detailed costs of the maintenance of individual structures on lines are a matter for British Rail.
Foreign Underground Systems
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what studies he has commissioned of foreign underground transport systems as a means of improving (a) the operational efficiency (b) the number of passengers carried by and (c) the financial outturn of London Transport.
Mr. Norris : None. London Underground Ltd. has close links with other metro systems worldwide, and draws on their experience, where appropriate, to improve its own performance.
Highway Authorities (Liaison)
Mr. Clifton-Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the level of liaison between highway authorities when one highway authority is proposing a road scheme that has an indirect effect on a neighbouring authority.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : The level of liaison is a matter for authorities themselves to determine. In deciding whether to accept a particular scheme for transport supplementary
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grant support, the Secretary of State considers all aspects including the supporting information provided in the authority's transport policies and programme submission.London Transport (Passengers Charter)
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the improvements which have been made by London Transport as a result of the passengers charter provisions on (a) avoidance of delays and disruption of passengers, (b) paying of compensation to passengers whose journeys have been delayed or disrupted and (c) providing timely information to passengers about delays and disruption.
Mr. Norris : London Underground's customer charter introduced a refund scheme for customers whose journeys are delayed for 20 minutes or more for reasons within LUL's control. The number of such delays is now lower than it was when the scheme was launched in July. On information, my Department has set London Underground targets to improve by 1 April 1993 the quality of information provided on trains and at stations, so that 78 per cent. and 76 per cent. of customers respectively rate it as acceptable or better. Both these targets are now being met.
M66 (Middleton-Denton)
Mr. Callaghan : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what future date it is proposed to start construction on the Middleton-Denton section of the M66 motorway.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : I expect work at the northern end of the scheme from the River Irk to the junction of the existing M66 with the M62 motorway to start next March. My right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for the Environment and for Transport are considering the inspector's report of the public inquiry into revised orders and compulsory purchase orders for the central and southern sections of the scheme which ended last February. Subject to that, work could start on the Tameside section south of the River Medlock in 1995 and on the final section between the River Medlock and the River Irk in 1996.
A38 (Departmental Survey)
Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he now expects to publish the survey of the A38 undertaken by his Department ; when the survey was originally intended to be published ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle [holding answer 1 December 1992] : The study into the long-term needs of the A38 between Exeter and Plymouth, which was announced in the White Paper "Roads for Prosperity", was always regarded as a longer-term project, and no date for its commencement or completion was set.
I now intend to invite fee competition bids for this study early next year.
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Village Bypass Schemes
Mr. Moate : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many village bypass schemes not on primary routes have been accepted for transport supplementary grant during the most recent five years for which information is available.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle [holding answer 1 December 1992] : Following is the information :
Year |Number of schemes ------------------------------------------------------ 1988-89 |13 1990-91 |10 1991-92 |7 1992-93 |11
Mr. Moate : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport in what circumstances his Department could be expected favourably to consider for transport supplementary grant a village bypass scheme which is not on a designated primary route ; what guidance he has issued to local highways authorities about this matter beyond the published criteria for transport supplementary grant ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle [holding answer 1 December 1992] : My Department receives annual bids for eligible schemes from the 108 English local highway authorities. They are considered on their overall merits in competition. The number accepted for TSG depends on the level of resources available.
The Department issues an annual circular explaining the operation of the TSG system. The latest edition is local authority circular 3/92. It contains details of the eligibility criteria. All roads which are of more than local importance are eligible for TSG. In addition, guidance notes on the completion of the finance forms used to support bids for TSG are issued to each local highway authority. These notes include particulars of information required to support bids for TSG on individual major schemes.
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