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Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 24 March 1993
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Committee of the Regions
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what criteria will be used to select representatives of British local government to sit on the EC Committee of the Regions.
Mr. Garel-Jones : No final decisions have yet been taken, but clearly United Kingdom members on the Committee of the Regions should have a broad range of expertise in order to deal with the issues which the committee will address.
Korea
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish a pre cis of the non-proliferation treaty agreement covering the Korean peninsula ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Under the terms of the non-proliferation treaty both North and South Korea undertake not to manufacture or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons. The text of the separate joint North/South Korean declaration for a non-nuclear Korean peninsula has been deposited in the Library of the House. This declaration has not yet been implemented.
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of whether Team Spirit manoeuvres how being carried out in South Korea run counter to the spirit of the non-proliferation treaty ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Goodlad : Team Spirit is a routine defence training exercise, normally held annually, involving United States and Republic of Korea forces. It is misleading to try to link such exercises to the non- proliferation treaty and obligations arising therefrom.
Foreign Affairs Council
Mr. Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Esher (Mr. Taylor), 16 March, Official Report, columns 127-28, what were the voting figures recorded in the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council held on 8 March.
Mr. Garel-Jones : There were no votes at the Foreign Affairs Council on 8 March.
Diplomatic Posts
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British staff are employed in diplomatic posts in each of the member states of the European Community, with a separate number for each post.
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Mr. Goodlad : The numbers of United Kingdom-based staff are as follows :
|Number
-----------------------------------------------
Germany
Bonn |58
Berlin |27
Dusseldorf |11
Frankfurt |3
Hamburg |3
Munich |7
Stuttgart |1
|---
Total |110
|---
Greece
Athens |28
|---
Total |28
|---
Irish Republic
Dublin |21
|---
Total |21
|---
Luxembourg
Luxembourg |6
|---
Total |6
|---
Portugal
Lisbon |18
Oporto |1
|---
Total |19
|---
Belgium
Brussels Embassy |24
Brussels Joint Management Office |4
Brussels UK Representative to EC |64
Brussels UK Delegation to NATO |41
|---
Total |133
|---
Denmark
Copenhagen Embassy |20
|---
Total |20
|---
France
Paris Embassy |72
Paris OECD |7
Bordeaux |1
Lille |1
Lyons |1
Marseilles |1
Strasbourg |5
|---
Total |88
|---
Italy
Rome Embassy |37
Rome FAO |1
Holy See |2
Florence |1
Milan |6
Naples |2
|---
Total |49
|---
Netherlands
The Hague Embassy |21
Amsterdam |3
|---
Total |24
|---
Spain
Madrid Embassy |31
Barcelona |2
Bilbao |1
Malaga |1
Palma |1
|---
Total |36
Egypt (WENA Hotels)
Mr. Hunter : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations HM embassy in Egpt has made recently to the Egyptian authorities regarding the experiences in Egypt of the United Kingdom company WENA Hotels.
Mr. Douglas Hogg [holding answer 19 March 1993] : Her Majesty's ambassador discussed the affairs of WENA Hotels with the Egyptian Minister of Tourism on 27 January.
Mr. Hunter : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he proposes to take to safeguard the interests in Egypt of the United Kingdom company WENA Hotels.
Mr. Douglas Hogg [holding answer, 19 March 1993] : We understand that WENA Hotels is taking its dispute with the Egyptian Hotels Company to arbitration. We are in close touch with WENA Hotels, its Egyptian lawyer and the US embassy in Cairo, and will be in touch with the Egyptian authorities as necessary should WENA Hotels experience further difficulties.
Mr. Hunter : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will discuss with the United States Government the experiences in Egypt of the United Kingdom company WENA Hotels and the interests of its British and American shareholders ; and if he will make joint representations with the United States Government to the Egyptian Government.
Mr. Douglas Hogg [holding answer 19 March 1993] : We are in close touch with the US Embassy in Cairo on this matter. We understand that WENA Hotels is taking its dispute with the Egyptian Hotels Company to arbitration. We will be in touch with the Egyptian authorities as necessary, should WENA Hotels experience further difficulties.
NATIONAL FINANCE
11 Downing Street (Catering)
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 10 March, Official Report, column 576 , how many outside contractors have been used for functions at 11 Downing street since 1987 ; if he will list them ; and whether the contracts were put out to public tender.
Mr. Nelson : Information going back to 1987 is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The contractors engaged to provide catering services for official functions at 11 Downing street are selected from an approved list of contractors who have the necessary security clearance. For security reasons, these contracts are not usually put out to public tender.
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Council Tax
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many farms have been placed in each council tax band in each of the local authority areas of Wales.
Mr. Nelson : The information is not readily available and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Smoking
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the estimated number of smokers in the United Kingdom ; and what are the total projected tax revenues from each tax applied to tobacco products in 1992- 93.
Sir John Cope : Estimates for the numbers of smokers in Great Britain in 1990 indicate that there were around 15 million smokers. Our latest estimate for total receipts from tobacco duties in 1992-93 is £6.1 billion. Within this total, the likely yield from cigarette duties (specific and ad valorem) is £5.6 billion ; from cigars is £0.1 billion ; from hand-rolling tobacco is £0.3 billion ; and from other smoking and chewing tobacco is £0.£1 billion. Latest consumers' expenditure data suggest that the VAT yield from tobacco products is likely to be around £1.5 billion in 1992-93.
Value Added Tax
Mr. Alan W. Williams : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much he expects to raise from value added tax in each year from 1992-93 to 1995-96 levied on (a) industry's fuel costs, (b) domestic electricity supply, (c) domestic gas sales and (d) other domestic fuels.
Sir John Cope : Separate forecasts of value added tax yield from industrial fuel costs, domestic electricity supply, domestic gas sales and other fuels are not available. "The Financial Statement and Budget Report 1993-94" shows the estimated yield from applying value added tax to domestic fuel and power as zero in 1993-94, £950 million in 1994-95 and £2,300 million in 1995-96. There is no current estimate of revenue raised from applying value added tax to industrial fuel costs.
EC Directive
Mr. Haselhurst : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he intends to implement article 27 of the Council directive 92/50/EEC.
Mr. Portillo : The Government intend to implement Council directive 92/50/EEC as a whole by 1 July 1993, together with Council directive 89/665/EEC insofar as it is relevant, by means of legislation under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972.
Finance (No. 2) Bill
Mr. Burns : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Finance (No. 2) Bill will be published.
Mr. Dorrell : The Finance (No. 2) Bill will be published on Wednesday 14 April.
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GDP and Purchasing Power
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will provide for each county (a) a figure for gross domestic product per head and (b) a purchasing power standard per head compared with the EC average.
Mr. Nelson [holding answer 22 March 1993] : The latest available information relating to gross domestic product by county for 1989 was published in the November 1991 issue of "Economic Trends". Eurostat, in its "Rapid Reports" series on the regions, publishes estimates on purchasing power standards. The latest report to appear showing detail below regional level for 1989 was published in 1991. Copies of both publications are available in the House of Commons Library.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Research Expenditure
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what are the annual figures for spending by the Northern Ireland Office on commissioning research from the higher education sector for each year from 1989-90 to 1993-94.
Mr. Mates : The figures requested are as follows :
|£
---------------------------------------
1989-90 |366,642
1990-91 |759,123
1991-92 |1,079,305
1992-93 |<1>1,015,527
1993-94 |<1>597,469
<1> Estimate.
Religious Affiliations
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the annual cost of monitoring the religious affiliation of the employees of the Fire Authority for Northern Ireland.
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the annual cost of monitoring the religious affiliation of the employees of the Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights.
Mr. Mates : Monitoring of the religious affiliation of Northern Ireland civil service employees of the Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights is undertaken centrally by the equal opportunities unit in the Department of Finance and Personnel. I therefore refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave him on 23 March.
The cost of monitoring home civil service employees is negligible.
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the annual cost of monitoring the religious affiliation of the employees of the Probation Board for Northern Ireland.
Mr. Mates : I am informed by the Probation Board for Northern Ireland that, at current costs and based on
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current practice, it estimates, to the nearest £500, the annual cost to the board representing the input of staff to monitoring work in relation to religious affiliation, gender and disability, to be £4,500. The board is not able to disaggregate the respective proportions of the total accounted for by these three components.Education
Mr. Peter Robinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what were the main proposals of the report commissioned from Coopers and Lybrand in 1986 into the operation of the Department of Education in Northern Ireland ; what actions have been taken by the Department in light of its recommendations ; and if he will publish the report.
Mr. Hanley : The internal top structure review of the Department of Education for Northern Ireland, carried out in 1986 by Coopers and Lybrand, recommended that : a "top management" support group be established ; the finance and personnel functions of the Department be grouped into a single Division ; a separate policy planning division be established ; and the divisional structure of the Department should reflect the regional structure of education administration in Northern Ireland rather than the functional areas of educational activity.
All but the last of these recommendations were accepted and implemented.
The report was an internal administration document and will not be published.
Electricity Privatisation
Mr. Molyneaux : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects to complete the privatisation of the electricity supply industry in Northern Ireland ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Atkins : It is the Government's intention to proceed straight away with the necessary preparations to allow Northern Ireland Electricity to be floated in the early summer.
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Civil Appeals Office
Mrs. Anne Campbell : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the procedure for complaints to the civil appeals office ; and how these complaints are dealt with.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The chief clerk at the civil appeals office generally replies to formal complaints about the civil appeals office.
More complex matters are referred to the court administrator at the royal courts of justice to investigate.
Mrs. Anne Campbell : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many complaints there have been in the last three years to the civil appeals office about erroneous advice given to members of the public.
Mr. John M. Taylor : Four complaints have been made to the civil appeals office in the last three years about erroneous advice given to members of the public.
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Mrs. Anne Campbell : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many complaints there were in 1990, 1991 and 1992 about the civil apeals office ; and what was the subject matter of the complaints in each year.
Mr. John M. Taylor : There were 36 complaints about the civil appeals office in 1990, 32 in 1991, and 49 in 1992. The categories of subject matter were :
|1990|1991|1992
--------------------------------------
Listing |6 |7 |12
Judicial decision |14 |11 |18
Staff error |12 |12 |11
Erroneous advice |2 |- |2
Other |2 |2 |6
-------
|36 |32 |49
Of these, three were found to be justified in 1990, three in 1991 and five in 1992.
Cash Limits
Mr. Milligan : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans there are to change the cash limit for class X, vote 1--Administration of Justice : England and Wales.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The cash limit on class X, vote 1 will be reduced by £11,885,000 from £756,376,000 to £744,491,000. This reflects provision for current and capital grants to local authorities for magistrates courts which will not be required, largely because audited claims for the balance of 1991-92 expenditure, which are submitted and paid during 1992-93, have proved to be lower than expected.
Legal Aid
Mr. Stern : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what target his Department has set for reducing the rate of growth in the unit cost of legal aid cases.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The rapid rise in the unit cost of legal aid cases in recent years is a major cause for concern. Reducing the rate of growth in unit cost is one of my Department's top priorities. Our target is to contain the unit cost growth in legal aid remuneration so that by March 1996 it does not exceed the rate of inflation.
PRIME MINISTER
Government Hospitality Fund
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer, of 9 March, Official Report, column 517, if he will list the number and names of outside contractors used by the Government hospitality fund for official functions ; how many and which caterers were used at official functions other than those arranged by the Government hospitality fund ; and, in each case, whether the contract was put out to tender.
The Prime Minister : There are three caterers (Crown Catering Group, Leiths Good Food and Ring and Brymer) employed by the Government hospitality fund for
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functions at 10 Downing street. Only one caterer (Lady Blennerhassett) is employed for official functions other than those arranged by the Government hospitality fund. For every GHF function at 10 Downing street, quotations are called for from the approved caterers.Royal Prerogative
Mr. Mackinlay : To ask the Prime Minister which clauses of the European Communities (Amendment) Bill affect the royal prerogative ; and if he will list the extent to which each of those clauses limits the current extent of the royal prerogative.
The Prime Minister [holding answer 22 March 1993] : As appears from the Order Paper, the Queen's consent to the Bill is to be signified on Third Reading. Her Majesty's consent has been sought because of clause 2 of the European Communities (Amendment) Bill. That clause limits the exercise of the royal prerogative in foreign affairs by preventing the United Kingdom from moving to the third stage of economic and monetary union until the move has been approved by Act of Parliament.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Paving Stones (Sales)
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to provide that when sales of paving stones take place to a dealer the vehicle registration number and driver's name and address are required to be recorded with other details of the transaction and that such records are available for police inspection ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Charles Wardle : My right hon. and leaned Friend has no plans to do so. If the hon. Member is aware of any particular problem, my right hon. and learned Friend would be grateful if he would bring it to his attention.
Immigration (Carriers' Liability)
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many prosecutions of airlines under the Immigration (Carriers' Liability) Act 1987 have taken place in each year since its entry into force.
Mr. Jack : The Act creates no criminal offence, and therefore could not give rise to prosecutions. Proceedings against four carriers for the recovery of charges under the Act were initiated in the civil courts in 1990. The cases were settled out of court.
Police Complaints Authority
Sir John Wheeler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes he has made in the membership of the Police Complaints Authority.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : Brigadier John Pownall will be retiring from his post as deputy chairman of the Police Complaints Authority on 31 July this year, having accepted my invitation to delay his departure for three months beyond his current term of appointment. I wish to take this opportunity to thank him for his service to the authority. As the last of its original members, Brigadier Pownall has made a distinguished contribution to the establishment of the authority as an accepted part of the police complaints system.
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Mr. John Cartwright, the former Labour and Social Democrat Member for Woolwich, who has been a member of the authority since October last year, has accepted my invitation to succeed to the vacant deputy chairman post on 1 August.Previous Convictions
Lady Olga Maitland : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has had regarding the Criminal Justice Act 1991 in relation to the ability of the courts to take into account all previous convictions when sentencing a defendant.
Mr. Jack : A substantial number of representations have been received from right hon. and hon. Members, sentencers, practitioners and members of the public about the sentencing provisions of the Criminal Justice Act, many of them concentrating on section 29. All representations will receive careful consideration, and my right hon. and learned Friend made clear to this House on 2 March in column 147, that he is prepared to re-examine the 1991 Act in due course.
Car Crime
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received about the levels of car crime ; what were the figures for such crimes in each of the last four quarters for which figures are available ; what conclusions he has drawn from the most recent monthly figures ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jack : We continue to receive many representations about car crime, which is rightly a matter of continuing concern to the public. The latest period for which recorded car crime statistics have been published is April-June 1992, and these figures are as follows, together with those for the three preceding quarters :
|Theft from |Theft of |Total Car Crime
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3rd Quarter 1991 |220,536 |141,324 |361,860
4th Quarter 1991 |235,411 |145,333 |380,744
1st Quarter 1992 |240,399 |147,840 |388,239
2nd Quarter 1992 |234,912 |137,734 |372,646
|---- |---- |-----
Total |931,258 |572,231 |1,503,489
The figures for April-June 1992 show a reduction in car crime of some 2 per cent. on the corresponding quarter of 1991. Looking at the change over a longer period, car crime rose by 7 per cent. in the 12 months to June 1992 compared with the previous 12 months, whereas in 12 months to June 1991 it had risen by 23 per cent. The figures therefore suggest that car crime is rising at a significantly lower rate than before.
The themes of Car Crime Prevention Year continue to play a significant part in encouraging action to combat car crime. The advisory committee which I have set up to further inform policy development in this area recently met for the second time. In addition, we are actively promoting schemes such as the secured car parks initiative.
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Drugs and Health Education
Mr. Rathbone : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to publish the report on drugs and health education in schools from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs.
Mr. Jack : We hope to publish the report, which is entitled "Drug Education in Schools : the Need for New Impetus", in June.
Young Offenders, London
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young offenders in the Metropolitan police district were (a) cautioned by the police and (b) prosecuted ; and what orders were made in respect of them in the last three available years.
Mr. Jack [holding answer 23 March 1993] : The information available centrally is given in the table.
Persons aged under 21 cautioned, prosecuted and
sentenced<1> by type
of sentence or order for all offences, excluding
summary motoring in
the Metropolitan police district<2>, 1989 to 1991
|1989 |1990 |1991
----------------------------------------------------
Cautioned
10-13 |2,661 |3,061 |2,777
14-16 |7,231 |8,756 |8,048
17-20 |12,110|12,934|11,500
Prosecuted
10-13 |707 |638 |561
14-16 |5,946 |5,018 |1,789
17-20 |26,803|24,676|23,519
Sentenced<1> by type of sentence or order
Discharge
10-13 |228 |194 |157
14-16 |1,179 |1,047 |971
17-20 |3,340 |3,149 |3,405
Fine
10-13 |64 |55 |52
14-16 |1,094 |782 |595
17-20 |12,165|10,359|8,091
Community penalty<3>
10-13 |129 |99 |85
14-16 |1,239 |1,120 |1,077
17-20 |3,892 |3,883 |4,031
Detention in a young offender institution
10-13 |- |- |-
14-16 |319 |194 |200
17-20 |2,226 |1,730 |1,701
Otherwise dealt with
10-13 |43 |21 |23
14-16 |257 |191 |154
17-20 |530 |457 |458
All sentences or orders
10-13 |464 |369 |317
14-16 |4,088 |3,334 |2,997
17-20 |22,153|19,578|17,686
<1> Includes persons sentenced at the Crown court.
<2> Includes the City of London.
<3> Attendance centre orders, community service
order, probation order or supervision order.
Column 603
Police Doctors
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who is responsible for receiving and investigating complaints against police doctors.
Mr. Charles Wardle [holding answer 22 March 1993] : Complaints against police surgeons are normally made to the chief officer of the force concerned in the first instance. Where the complaint relates to specific matters of professional misconduct, it may be referred to the General Medical Council.
EDUCATION
Lip Reading
Mr. Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he has received seeking an amendment to schedule 2 to the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, chapter 13, to allow lip-reading classes to be funded by the further education funding councils ; and how he has responded.
Mr. Boswell : My right hon. Friend has received a number of representations about the arrangements under the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 for the provision of lip-reading classes for adults. Schedule 2 to the Act specifies the scope of the duty on the Further Education Funding Councils to secure further education for adults, including courses in lip reading and other communication skills. Under section 11 of the Act, LEAs' duty is to secure the availability of such provision where it does not fall within schedule 2. The requirement on both the funding councils and LEAs is to ensure that adequate provision is available, in their respective spheres of responsibility.
Student Grants
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he intends to increase mandatory student grants to take account of the additional expenditure on gas and electricity bills due to the imposition of value added tax on domestic fuel.
Mr. Boswell : It is my right hon. Friend's policy to review annually the overall level of mandatory support available to students through the basic grant and loan, in the light of forecast cost movements. Any increase is applied only to the loans element and to the supplementary allowances within the award, leaving the basic grant fixed at its present cash level. The rates for the 1993-94 academic year will be announced in due course.
Teachers' Salaries
Mr. Douglas French : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what percentage of each education authority's budget is spent on teachers' salaries.
Mr. Forth [pursuant to his reply, Official Report, 15 March, c. 19- 20] : The table referring to the percentage of local education authorities' budgets spent on teachers' salaries should have included a figure of 56 per cent. for 1990-91 for Hereford and Worcester and not for Herefordshire as stated.
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Education Expenditure
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list details of funds expended per pupil in each local education authority in 1991-92 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth [pursuant to his reply, Official Report, 9 March, c. 520- 21] : The table referring to unit costs in local education authorities should have included a figure of £1,520 for 1990-91 for Hereford and Worcester and not for Herefordshire as stated.
DUCHY OF LANCASTER
Research
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will give the annual total costs of the four largest European science and social science research projects.
Mr. Jackson : Several of the largest European collaborative science organisations fund a variety of projects and programmes from within a single core budget. Available information on specific projects, covering 1993 in-year capital and research costs, indicates that the largest research projects will be four European Space Agency programmes, as follows :
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