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Column 341
Written Answers to Questions
Friday 19 February 1993
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Legal Aid
Mr. Olner : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what assumptions were made in the public expenditure survey figures published on 12 November 1992 for the average cost of criminal legal aid bills in the magistrates courts to be paid in 1993-94.
Mr. John M. Taylor : It is estimated that the average cost of criminal legal aid bills in the magistrates courts in 1993-94 would be £484 if the current rates and levels of fees were maintained.
Mr. Olner : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will provide a detailed breakdown of savings to be achieved from his proposed changes to legal aid eligibility.
Mr. John M. Taylor : It is estimated that the measures announced by the Lord Chancellor on 12 November 1992 will reduce legal aid expenditure by £43 million in 1993-94, £110 million in 1994-95, and £173 million in 1995-96. It is not possible to provide separate figures for all the individual proposals, since most of them are inter-dependent and can only be costed together.
Mr. Olner : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the estimate for the average cost of criminal legal aid bills in the magistrates courts paid in 1992-93.
Mr. John M. Taylor : On the latest information, the average cost of a criminal legal aid bill in the magistrates courts in 1992-93 is estimated to be £459.
Mr. Olner : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department (1) what was the cost to legal aid in each case prosecuted by the Metropolitan police fraud investigation group in which the legal bills were determined after 1 April 1992 ;
(2) what was the cost to legal aid for each case prosecuted by the Serious Fraud Office in which the legal aid bills were paid after 1 April 1992.
Mr. John M. Taylor It is not possible to identify individual cases prosecuted by the Metropolitan police fraud investigation group and the Serious Fraud Office from information held centrally by my Department. It is therefore not possible to identify the total amount paid from legal aid from 1 April 1992 in cases being brought by the Metropolitan police fraud investigation group or Serious Fraud Office.
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will state for each magistrates court in England and Wales what percentage of applications for criminal legal aid was refused on merit in the latest year for which figures are available.
Column 342
Mr. John M. Taylor : Information on the grant of criminal legal aid in magistrates courts for 1991, which is the latest year for which figures are available, was published on 4 August 1992. Copies are available in the Library. The figures do not distinguish between refusals on grounds of merits and on means.
Mr. Olner : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what assessment he has made of the effect on costs to the court system of changes in the numbers of litigants in person appearing before the civil and criminal courts resulting from the proposed changes in arrangements in legal aid elegibility.
Mr. John M. Taylor : Very little effect is expected on criminal legal aid as a result of the eligibility changes. So far as civil legal aid is concerned, the Department does not envisage that there will be any significant increase in the number of unrepresented litigants.
Mr. Olner : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will publish the advice tendered to the Lord Chancellor by his advisory committee on legal aid about the proposed changes to the arrangements for legal aid eligibility.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The legal aid advisory committee has already made public its advice to the Lord Chancellor on the proposed eligibility changes and the Lord Chancellor's response to its advice. I have placed copies of the correspondence in the Library.
Mr. Olner : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department (1) what was the number of grants of criminal legal aid for magistrates courts in (a) 1991 and (b) 1992 ;
(2) how many legal aid orders were granted for each magistrates court for which information is available (a) between October and December 1991 and (b) between October and December 1992.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The number of grants of criminal legal aid for magistrates courts in 1991, as published in the Lord Chancellor's Department "Judicial Statistics" (1991 edition, table 10.2), was 514, 000. The figure for 1992 is not yet available, but is estimated to be 513,000.
The number of legal aid orders granted for each magistrates' court for which information is available, from 355 courts, between October and December 1991 was as follows :
|Number
--------------------------------------------------------
Bristol |1,363
Long Ashton |57
Weston-Super-Mare |184
North Avon |490
Bath and Wandyke |291
Ampthill |24
Bedford |265
Biggleswade |46
Forest |151
Slough |215
Windsor |95
West Berkshire |245
Reading and Sonning |726
Burnham |85
Aylesbury |173
Buckingham |18
Wycombe |182
Chiltern |69
Chester |624
Ellesmere Port and Neston |0
Halton |310
Warrington |506
Hartlepool |308
Langbaurgh |124
Teesside |1,373
East Penwith |62
East Powder |128
Pydar |33
Bodmin |0
South East Cornwall |0
Truro and South Power |78
Falmouth and Kerrier |64
Dunheved and Stratton |89
Carlisle |356
Keswick |309
North Lonsdale |0
Whitehaven |0
Wigton |22
West Allerdale |0
Barrow with Bootle |180
South Lakes |14
Kendal and Lonsdale |43
Appleby |1
Penrith and Alston |26
Norwich |893
Diss |0
Wymondham |0
Great Yarmouth |279
Cromer |48
Thetford |213
North Walsham |38
Chesterfield |420
Glossop |74
High Peak |102
Ilkeston |374
Alfreton and Belper |137
Derby and South Derbyshire |916
West Derbyshire |82
Norwich |0
Axminster |0
Cullompter |0
Exeter |533
Exmouth |0
Honiton |0
Kingsbridge |18
Okehampton |50
Plymouth |632
Plympton |17
Tavistock |0
Teignbridge |157
Tiverton |0
Torbay |310
Totnes |28
Wonford |0
Bournemouth |624
Bridport |34
Christchurch |70
Dorchester |16
Poole |315
Sherborne |16
Wareham |72
Weymouth and Portland |216
Wimborne |83
Blandford and Sturminster |25
Shaftesbury |25
Chester-le-Street |122
Darlington |190
Derwentside |171
Durham |165
Easington |279
Sedgefield |278
Battle and Rye |46
Bexhill |65
Brighton |556
Crowborough |44
Eastbourne |259
Hailsham |47
Hastings |294
Lewes |116
Basildon |296
Brentwood |102
Dunmow |33
Freshwell and South Hinckford |49
Harlow |170
Harwich |74
Saffron Walden |37
Tendring |171
Thurrock |241
Halstead and Hedingham |19
Rochford and Southend |839
Maldon and Witham |101
Cheltenham |391
Tewkesbury |31
Gloucester |433
South Gloucestershire |188
North Cotswold |35
Forest of Dean |92
Bolton |846
Bury |426
Manchester |1,740
Oldham |541
Middleton and Heywood |154
Rochdale |553
Eccles |161
Salford |510
Stockport |731
Trafford |422
Leigh |242
Wigan |375
Havant |344
Odiham (Aldershot) |248
Portsmouth |782
Southampton |717
Alton and Petersfield |100
Havering |394
Bromsgrove |108
Redditch |201
Mid-Worcestershire |189
Worcester-City |213
Docorum |150
South Mimms |0
Watford |339
Barton-upon-Humber |6
Brigg |11
Epworth and Goole |77
Kingston-upon-Hull |1,083
Middle Holderness |4
Scunthorpe |326
South Holderness |7
Grimsby and Cleethorpes |599
Canterbury and St. Augustine |177
Dartford |118
Gravesham |0
Maidstone |164
Margate |132
Medway |520
Ramsgate |106
Sevenoaks |78
Tonbridge and Malling |137
Tunbridge Wells and
Cranbrook |139
Faversham and Sittingbourne |225
Blackpool |527
Burnley |289
Lancaster |241
Ormskirk |226
Preston |458
Rossendale |161
Hyndburn |215
Ashy-de-la-Zouch |58
Leicester (City) |657
Market Bosworth |102
Caistor |6
Gainsborough |126
Elloes |104
Wolds |57
Lincoln District |385
Sleaford |36
Market Rasen |11
Spilsby and Skegness |294
Knowsley |515
Liverpool |2,604
St. Helens |564
North Sefton |451
South Sefton |68
Corby |164
Daventry |50
Kettering |179
Northampton |434
Towcester |42
Wellingborough |206
Morpeth Ward |96
Wansbeck |192
Tynedale |100
Coquetdale |74
Berwick upon Tweed |42
Scarborough |174
Selby |109
Staincliffe |74
York |341
Northallerton |106
Easingwold |34
Richmond |66
Ryedale |47
East Retford |73
Worksop |181
Mansfield |550
Newark and Southwell |187
Nottingham |1,670
Guildhall |277
Bow Street MC |661
Clerkenwell MC |734
Marlborough Street MC |542
Marylebone MC |653
Old Street MC |399
South Western MC |851
Thames MC |552
Tower Bridge MC |656
West London MC
(Southcombe S) |492
Woolwich MC |410
Camberwell Green MC |1,147
Walton Street MC
(West London) |8
Horseferry Road MC |759
Highbury Corner MC |1,129
Bicester |62
Oxford |382
Abingdon |88
Woodstock |20
North Oxford and Chipping
Norton |124
Witney |47
Sedgemoor |206
Taunton Deane |162
West Somerset |25
Mendip |114
East Oxfordshire |49
Didcot and Wantage |52
Stratford MC (Newham) |682
Barnet |161
Bromley |552
Bexley |343
Croydon |713
Sutton |393
Ealing MC |870
Hampstead MC |52
Edmonton/Tottenham (Enfield) |601
Harrow MC |303
Willesden MC |651
Uxbridge |559
Richmond upon Thames |266
Barnsley |601
Doncaster |563
Sheffield |2,282
Burton-upon-Trent |246
Cheadle |121
Eccleshall |0
Leek |0
Lichfield |119
Newcastle-under-Lyme |276
Pirehill North |0
Stafford |260
Stoke-on-Trent |888
Stone |0
Tamworth |131
Uttoxeter |0
Kingston-upon-Thames |418
Barking |299
Beccles |318
Felixstowe |45
Mildenhall (Lackford) |51
Lowestoft |0
Newmarket |31
Risbridge |56
Sudbury and Cosford |61
Woodbridge |19
Ipswich |423
Saxmundham |0
St. Edmundsbury |116
Stow |51
Dorking |104
Epsom |103
Guildford |314
Staines and Sunbury |153
Gateshead |516
Newcastle-upon-Tyne |650
North Tyneside |489
South Tyneside |487
Houghton-le-Spring |180
Sunderland |704
Rugby |142
South Warwickshire |91
Mid-Warwickshire |201
Birmingham |2,563
Sutton Coldfield |325
Coventry |1,203
Dudley |533
Halesowen |81
Stourbridge |88
Warley |390
West Bromwich |311
Solihull |584
Aldridge and Brownhills |188
Wolverhampton |631
Horsham |102
Mid Sussex |169
Steyning |302
Worthing |0
Bradford |1,043
Keighley |315
Brighouse |44
Todmorden |43
Calder |434
Huddersfield |486
Leeds |1,874
Morley |0
Pudsey and Otley |0
Skyrack and Wetherby |0
Pontefract |330
Wakefield |361
Batley and Dewsbury |328
Salisbury |203
West Wiltshire |193
Berwyn |37
Colwyn |98
Dyffryn Clwyd |46
Rhuddlan |222
Wrexham Maelor |256
Llanelli |229
Ceredigion Ganol |35
Gogledd Ceredigion |65
De Ceredigion |21
Dinefwr |85
Bedwellty |255
Newport |389
East Gwent |235
Bangor |0
Eifionydd |0
North Anglesey |0
Pwllheli |0
South Anglesey |128
Caernarfon and Gwyrfai |228
Cynon Valley |293
Lower Rhymney Valley |190
Merthyr Tydfil |347
Miskin |663
Upper Rhymney Valley |26
Drayton |60
Oswestry |70
Shrewsbury |240
Machynlleth |99
Welshpool |0
Vale of Glamorgan |253
Newtown |0
Port Talbot |146
Lliw Valley |139
Swansea |675
|---
Total |96,863
The number of legal aid orders granted for each magistrates court for which information is available, from 219 courts, between October and December 1992 was as follows :--
|Number
---------------------------------------
Bristol |1,279
Bath and Wandyke |253
Woodspring |214
Ampthill |26
Bedford |195
Biggleswade |45
West Berkshire |202
Reading and Sonning |642
Burnham |75
Aylesbury |186
Buckingham |27
Chiltern |68
Huntingdonshire |248
Halton |294
Warrington |422
Hartlepool |302
Langbaurgh |107
Teesside |1,363
East Penwith |82
Truro and South Powder |47
Falmouth and Kerrier |53
Carlisle |243
Whitehaven |220
Wigton |16
South Lakes |17
Kendal and Lonsdale |72
Appleby |3
Penrith and Alston |40
Chesterfield |582
Glossop |47
High Peak |84
West Derbyshire |78
Central Norfolk |0
Norwich |688
South Norfolk |163
Plymouth |558
Teignbridge |110
Torbay |205
Bournemouth |695
Bridport |34
Christchurch |62
Dorchester |31
Poole |236
Sherborne |9
Wareham |40
Weymouth and Portland |162
Wimborne |55
Blandford and
Sturminster |52
Shaftesbury |18
Chester-le-Street |91
Darlington |259
Durham |216
Easington |297
Sedgefield |289
Teesdale and Wear Valley |257
Brighton |361
Crowborough |45
Eastbourne |177
Hailsham |51
Hove |85
Lewes |93
Basildon |192
Brentwood |54
Thurrock |198
Rochford and Southend |822
Cheltenham |411
Tewkesbury |31
South Gloucestershire |150
North Cotswold |37
Forest of Dean |90
Manchester |1,409
Oldham |678
Rochdale |343
Salford |400
Leigh |150
Wigan |254
Odiham (Aldershot) |210
Portsmouth |779
Alton and Petersfield |108
Dacorum |138
Watford |275
South and Middle
Holderness |7
Scunthorpe Brigg and
Barton Division |257
Epworth and Goole |80
Grimsby and Cleethorpes |433
Maidstone |229
Margate |82
Ramsgate |74
Tunbridge Wells and
Cranbrook |130
Faversham and
Sittingbourne |162
Burnley |344
Lancaster |153
Ormskirk |142
Preston |289
Hyndburn |218
Ashby-de-la-Zouch |64
Leicester |658
Market Bosworth |106
Market Harborough and
Lutter |28
Caistor |9
Gainsborough |122
Wolds |60
Lincoln District |345
Market Rasen |7
Spilsdy and Skegness |227
Knowsley |312
Liverpool |2,464
St. Helens |454
North Sefton |396
South Sefton |240
Daventry |66
Kettering |161
Northampton |359
Towcester |36
Wellingborough |163
Morpeth Ward |87
Berwick upon Tweed |59
Scarborough |162
Selby |43
Staincliffe |72
York |210
Northallerton |124
Easingwold |37
Richmond |49
Ryedale |36
East Retford |65
Worksop |154
Mansfield |523
Newark and Southwell |140
Nottingham |1,654
Bow Street MC |493
Clerkenwell MC |525
Marylebone MC |380
Old Street MC |500
South Western MC |772
Thames MC |572
Tower Bridge MC |547
West London MC
(Southcombe S) |367
Woolwich MC |380
Camberwell Green MC |849
Walton Street MC (West
London) |9
Horseferry Road MC |481
Henley |61
Oxford |271
Abingdon |89
Witney |42
Sedgemoor |130
Mendip |113
Didcot and Wantage |63
Stratford MC (Newham) |473
West Ham MC |0
Bromley |380
Bexley |186
Croydon |726
Sutton |229
Ealing MC |631
Hampstead MC |84
Harrow MC |253
Uxbridge |352
Richmond upon Thames |274
Barnsley |674
Doncaster |544
Sheffield |1,828
Mid-Staffordshire |265
Staffordshire Moorlands |107
Newcastle-under-Lyme
and Pirehill |224
Barking |223
Mildenhall (Lackford) |43
Newmarket |32
Risbridge |28
Sudbury and Cosford |59
St. Edmundsbury |75
Stow |21
Dorking |99
Epsom |95
Esher and Walton |78
Guildford |201
Staines and Sunbury |120
Gateshead |543
North Tyneside |432
Birmingham |1,899
Sutton Coldfield |336
Coventry |871
Dudley |411
Halesowen |76
Stourbridge |72
Warley |296
West Bromwich |194
Solihull |475
Horsham |65
Bradford |994
Keighley |250
Brighouse |38
Todmorden |32
Calder |337
Huddersfield |448
Pontefract |250
Wakefield |347
Batley and Dewsbury |292
Salisbury |671
West Wiltshire |178
Berwyn |17
Rhuddlan |189
Wrexham Maelor |207
Gogledd Preseli |16
South Pembrokeshire |101
Bedwellty |221
East Gwent |203
Caernarfon and Gwyrfai |203
Cynon Valley |159
Lower Rhymney Valley |204
Merthyr Tydfil |270
Miskin |663
Newcastle and Ogmore |311
Upper Rhymney Valley |28
Oswestry |58
Shrewsbury |201
Lliw Valley |0
Swansea |790
|---
Total |60,188
Mr. Olner : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is his Department's estimate of the number of (a) contributory civil legal aid certificates and (b) non-contributory civil legal aid certificates to be issued in 1993-94 if (i) the financial conditions remain unchanged and (ii) the Lord Chancellor's proposals announced on 12 November are introduced.
Mr. John M. Taylor : It is estimated that in 1993-94 283,000 civil legal aid certificates will be issued of which 198,000 will be non- contributory and 85,000 contributory. If eligibility conditions had not been changed, it is estimated that 410,000 certificates would have been issued in 1993-94 of which about 330,000 would have been non-contributory and 80,000 contributory.
Women Judges
Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many (a) Lords of Appeal, (b) heads of division, (c) High Court, for each of its three divisions, (d) Crown court, (e) circuit and (f) district judges and stipendiry magistrates there are in total ; and how many in each category are women.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The total number and the number of women in these categories as at 1 February 1993 were as follows :
|Men |Women|Total
-------------------------------------------------------------
Lords of Appeal in Ordinary |10 |0 |10
Lords Justices of Appeal |27 |1 |28
Heads of divisions |4 |0 |4
(excluding the Lord Chancellor)
High court judges |79 |4 |83
of whom: Chancery Division |13 |0 |13
Family Division |13 |2 |15
Queen's Bench Division |53 |2 |55
Circuit judges |463 |24 |487
District judges |250 |19 |269
Metropolitan stipendiary magistrates |41 |7 |48
Provincial stipendiary magistrates |28 |2 |30
Circuit judges sit in both county courts and the crown court.
Tribunals
Mr. Gerrard : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what action he intends to take to ensure that more people from ethnic minority communities in the London borough of Waltham Forest are appointed to all tribunals under the independent tribunal service ; and what is the present composition of all tribunals serving Waltham Forest.
Mr. John M. Taylor : To encourage more ethnic minority practitioners to come forward for consideration, the Lord Chancellor has made widely available to ethnic minority practitioners and representative groups the booklet which sets out the requirements for each appointment and describes the judicial appointments system generally.
The Lord Chancellor's policy is to appoint to judicial office those best qualified, regardless of sex, ethnic origin, political affiliation or religion and appointments must be justified on merit. The Lord Chancellor appoints only the legal chairmen of the tribunals under the independent tribunal service.
Information held on the ethnic origin of 18 members of the social security appeal tribunal in Walthamstow, which serves Waltham Forest, shows that three out of the 18 are from ethnic minorities. Figures are not kept separately for that area for the other tribunals under the service. For the whole South Eastern region, one out of 105 members of the medical appeal tribunals/vaccine damage tribunals and 66 out of 454 members of the disability appeal tribunals are from the ethnic minorities.
DUCHY OF LANCASTER
Royal Family (Publicity)
Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what, for the latest available year, was the cost to his Department of expenditure in support of the royal family in respect of publicity services.
Mr. Waldegrave : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answers given on 11 December 1992, Official Report , column 801 , and 14 January 1993, Official Report , columns 767-78 . The cost of work undertaken for the royal household by the Central Office of Information in 1991-92 for press facilities totalled £318,260, excluding VAT.
Column 352
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Recycling
Mr. Robathan : To ask the Chairman of the Accommodation and Works Committee what proportion of waste from the Houses of Parliament is currently recycled ; and what plans he has to improve that proportion.
Mr. Ray Powell : It is not possible to say precisely what proportion of total waste from the Houses of Parliament, which includes kitchen refuse, is recycled, but all paper and glass is collected by a contractor and recycled. Arrangements have been made during the past year for metal cans to be collected and sorted off site so that they, too, can be recycled. The Parliamentary Works Department also retains reusable timber and metal from building projects. Proposals are currently being sought for the collection and recycling of plastics, although it is too early to say whether any of these will prove viable.
Stationery
Mr. Dowd : To ask the Chairman of the Administration Committee what arrangements are in hand to secure the supply of stationery to hon. and right hon. Members following the receivership of one of the suppliers.
Mr. Michael J. Martin : This is a matter for the Serjeant at Arms.
EMPLOYMENT
Training Expenditure
Mr. Hunter : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what has been the expenditure on participants in (a) employment action and (b) employment training in each year of operation ; (2) what has been the expenditure on providers in (a) employment action and (b) employment training in each year of operation ; (3) what has been the total expenditure, including administrative costs, on (a) employment action and (b) employment training, in each year of operation.
Mr. McLoughlin : The information is not available in the form requested. The Department contracts with training and enterprise councils (TECs) to provide agreed numbers of training weeks for employment action and employment training and outputs for employment training at agreed unit prices.
Total expenditure on both programmes, excluding administrative costs, in each year of operation is shown in the following table. The Department does not record separate administrative costs on a programme basis.
Expenditure on employment training and employment action Great Britain £ million Year |Employment training|Employment action -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1988-89 |425 |- 1989-90 |1,107 |- 1990-91 |1,076 |- 1991-92 |842 |16 1992-93<1> |807 |178 <1> Figures for 1992-93 show planned provision.
Tourism
Mr. Tyler : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what steps her Department has taken to implement the recommendations of "Tourism in the United Kingdom : Realising the Potential" as it applies to her Department's responsibilities ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. McLoughlin : A healthy tourism sector is vital to the United Kingdom economy. The Employment Department, TECs, industry training organisations and the National Council for Vocational Qualifications are working together to ensure that individuals have the necessary skills to support the industry's needs.
National vocational qualifications and Scottish vocational qualifications are now available for most occupations in the tourism and leisure sector. Following the introduction of general national vocational qualifications (GNVQs) last year 56 centres are now offering the GNVQ in tourism and leisure with 19 per cent. of all candidates undertaking the Leisure and Tourism option. A tourism and leisure consortium was formed in April 1992 with representatives from a wide range of organisations and this group is considering industrywide approaches to qualifications in the sector and how their implementation might best be achieved.
Voluntary Sector
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people have been employed in the voluntary sector in the United Kingdom in each year since 1979.
Mr. McLoughlin : Neither the Employment Department nor the Home Office, which is generally responsible for liaison with the voluntary sector, records data on the number of waged people employed in voluntary organisations.
Construction Industry Training Board
Mr. Spellar : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when she will reach a decision regarding the future of the construction industry training board ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. McLoughlin : I hope to make an announcement shortly.
Wages
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many companies in (a) Strathclyde and (b) Scotland as a whole have been found to be paying below minimum rates set by wages councils in each of the past seven years ; and what is the amount of money calculated to be owed to employees in each of these years.
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 17 February 1993] : Separate statistics for Strathclyde are not available. The information for Scotland is provided in the table :
Column 354
Part 2 of Wages Act 1986: Wages inspectorate statistics
Scotland
Year |Number of |Amount of arrears
|establishments |assessed
|underpaying
|(£)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1985 |849 |238,422
1986 |656 |187,914
1987 |323 |86,872
1988 |509 |128,514
1989 |547 |166,578
1990 |619 |175,993
1991 |737 |184,001
PRIME MINISTER
Cayman Islands
Mr. Rogers : To ask the Prime Minister what are the statutory and administrative links between the Bank of England and the monetary authority for the Cayman Islands.
The Prime Minister : There are no statutory links. Administratively, the Cayman Islands has since 1962 invited one of the Bank of England's London-based staff to serve as a member of its board of commissioners of currency. The Cayman Islands inspectorate of banks and trust companies has also since 1978 engaged a succession of International Monetary Fund secondees who all have been employees of the Bank. Some training has also been given.
Publicity
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 2 June 1992 to the hon. Member for Holborn and St. Pancras (Mr. Dobson), Official Report, column 390, what is the Cabinet Office's (a) current outturn estimate for publicity expenditure for 1992-93 and (b) budgeted publicity expenditure for 1993-94.
The Prime Minister : The current estimate for press and public relations expenditure by the Cabinet Office for 1992-93 is £366,000. In addition, it is expected that expenditure on publicity and public information associated with the citizens charter in 1992-93 will be some £700,000. Budgets for 1993-94 have not yet been finalised.
Unincorporated Bodies (Accounts)
Mr. Rogers : To ask the Prime Minister if he will bring forward proposals to require unincorporated bodies to produce audited accounts ; and if he will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : The Charities Act 1992 requires the accounts of unincorporated registered charities with an income of over £100, 000 per annum to be audited. I have no plans for extending to unincorporated bodies generally the Companies Act requirement to prepare audited accounts.
Mr. Rogers : To ask the Prime Minister what steps he proposes to take to ensure that all bodies in the United Kingdom, with turnover over £5 million, produce full audited accounts.
The Prime Minister : I have no plans to take such steps.
Column 355
Mr. Rogers : To ask the Prime Minister what steps he has taken to ensure that all external funds received by unincorporated bodies in the United Kingdom from abroad are fully taxed ; and if he will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : The Inland Revenue takes all reasonable steps to ensure that, where appropriate, funds received from abroad by unincorporated bodies are properly taxed.
Political Parties (Finance)
Mr. Rogers : To ask the Prime Minister (1) what steps he will take to investigate the origin of overseas funds paid to United Kingdom political parties ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) if he will introduce legislation to require all political parties to account for (a) all donations over £500 and (b) donations received from abroad ;
(3) if he will introduce legislation to require political parties to disclose to the public the full extent of overseas donations received ; and if he will make a statement ;
(4) if he will introduce legislation to require all political parties in the United Kingdom to produce full audited accounts ; and if he will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : I have no plans to take any such steps.
Disabled Employees
Miss Lestor : To ask the Prime Minister what percentage of employees in his Office are registered disabled.
The Prime Minister : None. For recruitment purposes, my office is part of the Cabinet Office. The percentage of registered disabled persons employed by the Cabinet Office is 1.1 per cent. The Cabinet Office is an equal opportunities employer and seeks to encourage the employment of people with disabilities.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Land Mines
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contact he has had with the United States Government regarding the United States moratorium on the export of land mines.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has had no discussions with the United States Government on this issue.
Mr. Faisal Mahmood
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will arrange for instructions to be sent to the post in Karachi concerning the entry clearance application made by Mr. Faisal Mahmood, born on 23 August 1969, to join his wife in the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Mr. Faisal Mahmood was refused entry clearance on 31 December 1992 by the deputy high commission in Karachi as the entry clearance officer was not satisfied, as he is required to be under the immigration
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rules, that the primary purpose of the marriage was not to gain entry to the United Kingdom. Notice of the refusal was sent to Mr. Mahmood at the address given on his visa application form.Royal Family
Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what, for the latest available year, was the cost to his Department of expenditure on support of the royal family in respect of (a) the marshal of the diplomatic service and (b) overseas visits at the request of Government Departments.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave to him on 1 February, Official Report, column 31. The cost to the Foreign Office was £67,000 in 1991-92.
The cost to the Foreign Office of royal visits overseas at the request of Government Departments in 1991-92 was £620,000.
Mr. Mordechai Vanunu
Mr. Nigel Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what recent representations he has received regarding the case of Mordechai Vanunu : and if he will make a statement ;
(2) what representations Her Majesty's Government have made to the Israeli Government regarding the case of Mordechai Vanunu ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : We continue to receive some expressions of public concern. We have raised humanitarian aspects of this case privately with the Israelis, but we have no formal locus.
EC Social Protocol
Mr. Marlow : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his statement of 15 February, Official Report, columns 27-28, why he considers it desirable for the social protocol to be incorporated into domestic law, other than for reasons of completeness and tidiness.
Mr. Garel-Jones : The social protocol is an annex to the treaty of Rome, and is therefore an integral part of that treaty. It has been the United Kingdom's consistent legislative practice to incorporate all amendments to the Community treaties into domestic law. This avoids unnecessary complexity in the implementation of our Community obligations.
Mr. Marlow : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his statement of 15 February, Official Report, columns 27-28, why he decided to seek legal advice from the Law Officer on the impact of amendment No. 27 to the European Communities (Amendment) Bill.
Mr. Garel-Jones : The decision to consult the Law Officers on the impact of amendment No. 27 was taken in the light of discussion in the House of Commons and elsewhere which highlighted the importance of this question.
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Maastricht Treaty
Mr. Marlow : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those parts of the treaty which can be deleted from the European Communities (Amendment) Bill without inhibiting the Government's (a) prerogative powers of ratification and (b) intention to ratify the treaty.
Mr. Garel-Jones : The potential effect of amending the Bill in any way will be considered in the Committee stage, as is the standard practice.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Industrial Diseases
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will place in the Library the evidence submitted by Professor Morgan of the University of Ontario to the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council inquiry into bronchitis and emphysema.
Mr. Scott : A number of organisations and individuals, including Professor Morgan, submitted written evidence to the council which informed its report, "Chronic Bronchitis and Emphysema" [Cm. 2091]. The council, which is an independent body, often receives unpublished information which it treats in confidence. This is, therefore, a matter for the council and for the individual organisations and persons concerned.
War Pensions
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what communication he has made to the central advisory committee on war pensions in regard to arrears that may be payable to those awarded a war pension as a result of schizophrenia ; if he will publish the text ; and what response he has had from the committee.
Miss Widdecombe : A letter on the subject was sent to all members of the central advisory committee on war pensions on 25 November 1992 ; a copy of the letter has been placed in the Library. The committee undertook to publicise the matter.
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what reply is being sent by the war pensions directorate to the letter sent to it on 10 November 1992 by the legal director of MIND in regard to war pension entitlements ; and if he will make a statement.
Miss Widdecombe : The particular case referred to in the letter is being reviewed. A full reply to the legal director of MIND is being sent today.
DEFENCE
TA55
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has as to the time taken between the start of construction of the TA55 facility at Los Alamos and its being declared operational.
Mr. Aitken : This is a matter for the United States authorities.
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Trident
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 29 January, Official Report, column 898 , whether the bus being purchased from the United States for the United Kingdom Trident system will be the Mark IV, the Mark V bus, or a combination of the two.
Mr. Aitken : It will be the Mark IV bus.
Armed Forces (Sexual Offences)
Mr. Michael Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he will introduce the proposed legislation to repeal the relevant provisions of the Sexual Offences Act relating to the armed forces.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The necessary amendment to section 1(5) of the Sexual Offences Act 1967 to decriminalise homosexual acts illegal under service law but legal in civilian law will be introduced as soon as the legislative programme allows.
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