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Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 9 June 1993
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Statute Law Database
Mr. Garnier : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what progress is being made with the development of the statute law database ; and what effect that work will have on the range of printed material published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office for the Statutory Publications Office.
Mr. John M. Taylor : Good progress is being made with the development of the database, which is due to provide immediate access to up -to-date statute law by April 1995. In order to meet this target, the Lord Chancellor has authorised the suspension of work done by the Statutory Publications Office in providing certain material for publication by Her Majesty's Stationery Office. Newly enacted Acts in the "Statutes in Force" series will continue to be available as at present, as will the annual volumes of public general acts and measures and of statutory instruments. However, work has been suspended on revised material for "Statutes in Force" and on other tables and indexes. The Lord Chancellor and Her Majesty's Stationery Office will keep under review the balance between printed material and information available from the database, having regard to the potential for improved facilities which the database is expected to provide.
Departmental Cash Limits
Mr. Garnier : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what changes will be made to the cash limit and running costs limit of class IX, vote 1, administration of justice in England and Wales.
Mr. John M. Taylor : Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary revised estimate, the cash limit for class IX, vote 1 will be decreased by £1,389,000 from £796,918,000 to £795,529,000 and the running cost limit will be decreased by £1,389,000 from £431,979,000 to £430,590,000.
The revised estimate gives effect to a decrease of £1,466,000 in running costs, to allow for an increase in the external financing limit of the Land Registry Trading Fund.
It is also required to give effect to running cost transfers of £77,000 from other Government Departments in relation to the Lord Chancellor's responsibilities in respect of the magistrates courts.
Social Security Commissioners
Mr. Hanson : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the average length of time taken by the office of the Social Security Commissioners to determine individual cases referred to them.
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Mr. John M. Taylor : The average time is 5.5 months from the date a case is referred to a commissioner as ready for determination.
NATIONAL HERITAGE
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what plans he has to visit Durham city in 1993 for the ninth centenary of Durham cathedral.
Mr. Brooke [pursuant to his reply, 12 March 1993, c. 752] : I had the pleasure of visiting the Durham cathedral ninth centenary celebrations on 5 June, coinciding with the 60th annual general meeting of the Friends of Durham Cathedral.
HOME DEPARTMENT
EC Home Affairs Ministers
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the outcome of the meeting of EC Home Affairs Ministers in Copenhagen on 2 and 3 June.
Mr. Michael Howard : The meeting of immigration and police Ministers took place in Copenhagen on 1 and 2 June.
Ministers considered progress in relation to the implementation of free movement of persons in accordance with article 8A of the treaty of Rome, and in pursuance of the conclusions of the European Council in Edinburgh, they considered the terms of their report to the European Council in Copenhagen.
Ministers took note of several papers submitted by the ad hoc group of immigration concerning the asylum work programme and preparation for the implementation of the Dublin convention on asylum, and the draft external frontiers convention. They approved a resolution on the reception of particularly vulnerable groups of people from the former Yugoslavia.
Ministers adopted a resolution on the harmonisation of national policies on family reunification, and a recommendation on checks on and the expulsion of third country nationals residing or working in member states without authorisation.
Discussion at the meeting of Trevi Ministers on 2 June focused on the establishment of EUROPOL and in particular the EUROPOL drugs unit. Ministers signed the ministerial agreement on the establishment of the EUROPOL drugs unit and invited the forthcoming European Council in Copenhagen to come to a decision on its location. They also discussed reports and proposals from working groups on matters including terrorism, organised attacks on foreigners, environmental crime, international motor cycle gangs, money laundering and co-operation with eastern Europe.
I am placing in the Library of the House copies of the recommendations and resolutions approved by the Immigration Ministers, together with the ministerial agreement on EUROPOL and the press communique s issued following the meetings.
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Firearms
Mrs. Helen Jackson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what restrictions exist on membership of gun clubs for persons who have had a licence to hold a gun withdrawn by the police.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Unless the club is one which my right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary has approved under the terms of section 15 of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988, members of a rifle or pistol club require a firearm certificate in order to shoot. Revocation of their certificate by the police would effectively debar a person from membership. A rifle or pistol club which wishes to be approved by my right hon. and learned Friend so that its members may shoot without holding a firearm certificate must satisfy him that the members are of good character. Any club which had among its members a person who had had a firearm certificate revoked would be unlikely to satisfy this test.
Members of shot gun clubs should have a shot gun certificate. While individuals without such a certificate may, exceptionally, use a shot gun at a time and place approved by the local chief officer of police for shooting at artificial targets, this is not intended to provide opportunities for regular shooting by persons who do not possess a certificate. Before granting their approval to such shoots, chief officers must be satisfied that the arrangements involve no danger to the public.
Offender Support Organisations
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list all those organisations funded by him which give support and assistance to (a) perpetrators of crime and (b) their families ; and in each case state what funding from Government they have received in each of the last three financial years.
Mr. Maclean : The Home Office publishes each year a list of grants made by Government Departments to voluntary bodies. The list is broken down by subject area and includes a category comprising bodies working with offenders. The 1990-91 list has not yet been published, but I am placing in the Library, and sending the hon. Member, an extract setting out the Home Office's grants together with the index of categories. Full information about 1992-93 has not yet been collated, but I shall send the hon. Member the relevant extract as soon as it is available.
The main schemes for funding work with offenders are the probation supervision grants scheme and the probation accommodation grants scheme. The former provides for grants to voluntary bodies working in partnership with area probation services which run non-residential projects for offenders under supervision in the community. The latter scheme funds voluntary organisations which provide supervised accommodation for offenders. About 130 supervision projects and 5,000 bed spaces are funded under these schemes.
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TRANSPORT
Trans-Pennine Crossing
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the Trans-Pennine Consortium about the proposed private crossing of the Pennines along the A628 corridor ; and if he will make a statement on the criteria to be applied to the project.
Mr. Key : None. I would be willing to discuss any private sector proposal, but it would be considered in the light of current Government policy, including that on development in national parks.
EMPLOYMENT
Disabled People
Mr. Callaghan : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what further steps she intends to take to improve the employment prospects of disabled people.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State intends to announce as soon as possible the outcome of the review of the Employment Service's special schemes which will result in more effective arrangements for providing special employment help to disabled people. The Employment Service will also publish very shortly a document on the funding arrangements for sheltered employment with proposals which should increase the employment opportunities under the programme for severely disabled people.
Safety-at-Work Notices
Mr. Riddick : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proposals her Department has to introduce regulations which would require safety-at-work notices to be in a particular colour.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The Safety Signs Regulations 1980 require safety signs, which are defined as signs using shapes, symbols and colours to convey health and safety information, which are used at work, to conform to certain general rules regarding their shape and colour. These regulations implement EC directive 77/576/EEC. The Health and Safety Commission is currently preparing proposals to implement EC directive 92/58/EEC on the minimum requirements for health and/or safety signs at work. This directive replaces 77/576/EEC. It maintains the same general rules concerning the colour and shape of signs of the earlier directive. However, it also specifically requires safety signs to be used wherever there are risks to health and safety which cannot be controlled adequately by other means. The directive has to be implemented by 24 June 1994.
Golf Safety
Mr. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when the Health and Safety Executive expects to publish the guidance on golf course and range safety.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : We expect that this document will be published in autumn 1993.
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Passive Smoking
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what statutory provisions govern the extent to which or means by which a person can sue for damages or compensation for illness caused by passive smoking in the workplace ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 8 June 1993] : There are no statutory provisions expressly dealing with illnesses caused by passive smoking in the workplace. However,
--Regulation 6 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, section 4 of the Factories Act 1961 and Section 7 of the Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act 1963, which are in part repealed by the 1992 regulations, deal with the ventilation of workplaces ;
--Regulation 25(3) of the 1992 regulations deals with the provision of suitable arrangements in rest rooms and rest areas to protect non-smokers from discomfort caused by tobacco smoke.
Breaches of duty under these provisions are actionable in so far as they cause damage.
Labour Statistics
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of the work force has been employed in (a) service industries, (b) the construction industry, (c) manufacturing industry and (d) agriculture in each year since 1979 ; and if he will make a statement.
Miss Widdecombe : The available information is for Great Britain and covers employees in employment and the self-employed. Employees in employment data can be obtained from the NOMIS database in the Library. Historical data for self-employed people is available in the Library on page 54 of Historical Supplement Number 3, issued with the June 1992 edition of the Employment Gazette. Recent estimates for the self-employed are as follows :
Self-employed people-industrial analysis Thousands Great Britain |June1992 |<1>December1992 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Service industries |1,799 |1,799 Construction |585 |559 Manufacturing industry |279 |285 Agriculture, forestry and fishing |247 |236 <1> Latest date available.
WALES
Agricultural Training Board
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects to make a statement concerning the future funding arrangements for the agricultural training board in Wales ; and what plans he has to increase funding levels.
Mr. John Redwood : The future funding arrangements for agricultural training in Great Britain were announced by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on 1 April 1993. My Department is having discussions with ATB-Land Base to establish whether additional support should be provided for agricultural training in Wales.
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Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the future composition and role of the Agricultural Training Board for Wales.
Mr. John Redwood : This is a matter for the directors of ATB-Land Base, who are considering it, in consultation with my Department.
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the current (a) budget and (b) staffing of the Agricultural Training Board for Wales.
Mr. Redwood : The direct administrative costs of the Agricultural Training Board-Land Base organisation in Wales in 1993-94 will amount to about £400,000 with additional overhead costs being borne centrally. There are currently 14 staff employed in Wales some of whom work on a part- time or short-term contract basis.
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many farming apprenticeships are generated by the Agricultural Training Board for Wales ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood : The agricultural apprenticeship scheme came to an end some years ago with the introduction of the youth training schemes. In Wales the board has continued to run a trainee of the year scheme, sponsored by National Westminster bank, and this draws on young people who are involved in YTS schemes, certificate courses and simply learning on the job interspersed with short courses.
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his policy to secure that the relationship between the Welsh Forum and the Agricultural Training Board in Wales is similar to the adopted arrangements in Scotland.
Nature Conservation
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to introduce legislation to enhance the protection of wildlife and to give local authorities in Wales new powers to protect sites of nature conservation interest.
Sir Wyn Roberts : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Pembroke (Mr. Ainger) on 26 May 1993, c. 553.
Newchurch Report
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will place in the Library a copy of the Newchurch report commissioned by the West Glamorgan health authority.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : Copies of the report "West Glamorgan and Environs Service Review" published by West Glamorgan health authority and West Glamorgan family health services authority have been placed in the Library of the House. The role of the consultants, Messrs. Newchurch, was to provide independent advice to assist the authorities in compiling their report. The only element of the report that reflects the consultants' own judgment is chapter 13, the critique.
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Diabetics
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 27 May, Official Report, column 711, how he assesses whether the target set in the St. Vincent declaration has been met without holding central information on the incidence of blindness among diabetics.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave him on 17 May. However, the Welsh Office is committed to collecting information on a broad range of conditions, including diabetes.
Water Pollution
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of pollution levels of rivers and streams in Wales in the last 12 months ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : Water quality of rivers and streams in Wales is regularly monitored by the National Rivers Authority and the results of samples obtained are recorded on public registers maintained by the authority. The authority publishes comprehensive river quality surveys every five years, and pollution incident reports annually, copies of which are placed in the Library of the House.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Plutonium
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the current weight of plutonium, stored under safeguards, arising from foreign reactors (a) in spent fuel, (b) under reprocessing and (c) in separated form at Sellafield ; what notifications to (i) the International Atomic Energy Agency and (ii) the European Atomic Energy Agency in regard to safeguards provision Her Majesty's Government have made regarding foreign origin plutonium at Sellafield ; and if he will set out the responsibilities British Nuclear Fuels plc has to his Department and the respective international authorities in regard to safeguards.
Mr. Eggar : Details of the civil plutonium stocks, broken down into the categories specified by the hon. Member, are given in the plutonium figures published on 4 February 1993 and placed in the Library of the House. As operator of the Sellafield site, British Nuclear Fuels plc meets the requirements of the Euratom safeguards authorities by supplying, via my Department, inventory change reports, material balance reports and physical inventory listings as laid down in Safeguards Regulation 3227/76. These reports are forwarded by Euratom to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what quantities of plutonium created in the Wylfa nuclear plant have been subject to application of export licences since 1975.
Mr. Eggar : I cannot answer for previous Administrations. Irradiated fuel from Britain's various civil Magnox reactors is reprocessed together and therefore the plutonium arising, whether in store or exported, is not linked to the specific power station in which it was created.
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THORP
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what communications he has received from British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. regarding the future strategy for handling radioactive wastes from the thermal oxide reprocessing plant.
Mr. Eggar : I receive communications from British Nuclear Fuels plc on a wide range of issues, including the arrangements for the management of waste arising from reprocessing at Sellafield.
European Safeguards and Development Association
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 20 May, Official Report , column 288 , what benefits and new information accrued to his Department as a result of the departmental representation at the European Safeguards and Development Association meeting ; how many personnel from the Atomic Energy Authority were present at the meeting ; and if he will make a statement on the costs incurred by the attendance at the meeting.
Mr. Eggar : The 15th symposium of the European Safeguards Research and Development Association included, inter alia, sessions on challenges and trends in modern safeguards, safeguards concepts and national programmes. These provided information important in the development of international safeguards policy, for which my Department has a responsibility. Other sessions dealt with technical aspects of safeguards implementation and technology. Full proceedings of the symposium will be published shortly.
In connection with the United Kingdom's programme of safeguards research and development my Department funded participation in the symposium of four AEA personnel and contributed to that of a fifth. The cost of this and departmental attendance was approximately £9, 000. Attendance of other AEA personnel at the symposium is a matter for AEA.
Nuclear Decommissioning
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what action he proposes to take following the National Audit Office report on decommissioning civil nuclear facilities.
Mr. Eggar : The National Audit Office report of 4 June is being considered by the Public Accounts Committee. The Department's accounting officer will be giving oral evidence to the Committee on 30 June. The Government will give a detailed response to the subsequent PAC report in the usual way through a Treasury minute.
Waste Incineration
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to examine the proposals put forward in the 17th report of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (Cm 2181) on the use of waste as fuel for energy in incineration plants.
Mr. Eggar : I welcome the 17th report of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (CM 2181) and note its view that incineration will prove to be the best
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practicable environmental option for municipal waste requiring disposal. Energy recovery is accepted as a legitimate means of recycling and I have already agreed with my hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment and Countryside that we should re-examine the idea of setting waste-to-energy targets. The Government will be making a full response to the Royal Commission's report in due course.Firework Injuries
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how long after 5 November estimated figures for the number of firework injuries are made available to his Department.
Mr. McLoughlin [holding answer 27 May 1993] : Returns are usually received by the Consumer Safety Unit by the end of February the following year.
North Sea Licences
Mr. Page : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if consortia from the 14th licensing round who withdraw will be given the opportunity to resubmit their applications.
Mr. Eggar : No consortium has withdrawn as a whole from any application made under the 14th offshore licensing round.
Mr. Page : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what account his Department takes of withdrawal of consortia from one bid for North sea licences when considering granting approval to that consortia for other bids.
Mr. Eggar : No account will be taken of the withdrawal of a company from one or more of its sole or consortium applications under the 14th offshore licensing round when considering any other applications it has made.
Assisted Areas
Mr. Milburn : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what weighting he will give to factors other than statistical measures of unemployment in determining the outcome of his Department's review of the assisted areas.
Mr. Sainsbury [holding answer 27 May 1993] : The factors, other than statistical measures of unemployment, which will be taken into account in the review were set out in the review consultation document issued last year. A range of weights will be applied to these factors in determining the resulting status of the travel-to-work areas.
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Inward Investing Firms
Mr. Milburn : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many inward investing firms that had received financial assistance closed ; how much grant they had received ; and what was the total employment at the date of closure, in each region in each year since 1987-88.
Mr. Sainsbury [holding answer 8 June 1993] : Since the beginning of April 1987 to date 651 projects by foreign owned companies supported by either regional selective assistance or regional development grant, were completed. £95.8 million was paid in grant in support of 18,269 jobs. A check on whether all these companies now continue to trade since their projects were completed would involve disproportionate cost.
Offshore Oil
Mr. Ainger : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make it his policy to make public the base line surveys carried out by oil companies in Cardigan Bay, St. George's channel and the Bristol channel prior to commencing exploratory drilling activities.
Mr. Eggar [holding answer 7 June 1993] : Any surveys carried out by oil companies are provided to the Government in confidence. Any further dissemination is a matter for the companies.
Gas and Electricity
Mr. Nicholls : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to make regulations relating to price indications given in connection with the resale of gas and electricity.
Mr. Eggar : We have carefully considered this matter. There appears to be insufficient evidence to suggest that there is significant abuse. We therefore do not believe that there is a strong case for making regulations at this time. Nonetheless, we will keep the situation under review and we remain ready to reconsider the position at any time in the light of new evidence.
MV Braer
Ms Walley : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish in full the details of all water samples analysed by Warren Spring Laboratory following the Braer disaster, together with the dates each sample was taken.
Mr. Norris : I have been asked to reply.
The Department of Transport's marine pollution control unit was the customer for the sampling work carried out by Warren Spring Laboratory during the Braer spill.
The information is as follows :
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Date |Sample time |Location |Sample depth M. |Parts per million ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 8 January |1200 |Quendale |Surface |100 8 January |1300 |Garth's Ness |Surface |10,000 8 January |1430 |Loch of Spiggie |Surface |Not analysed 9 January |0900 |Ireland |Surface |715 9 January |1020 |May Wick |Surface |18 9 January |0230 |Hamnavo |Surface |115 9 January |1400 |Papil |Surface |28 10 January |1200 |Quendale |Surface |43 10 January |1400 |Garth's Ness |Surface |10,000 11 January |1000 |Vatnabrek |1-10 |0.00 11 January |1400 |The Nev |Surface |0.00 11 January |1300 |Vaila Sound |1-10 |0.00 11 January |1600 |Scalloway | 1 |2.15+ 12 January |1000 |Oxna | 1 |0.18 12 January |1015 |Oxna | 5 |0.25 12 January |1040 |Hildasay | 1 |0.81 12 January |1040 |Hildasay | 5 |0.81 12 January |1045 |Hildasay | 1 |0.96 12 January |1045 |Hildasay | 5 |0.96 12 January |1110 |Papa | 1 |1.12 12 January |1110 |Papa | 5 |1.44 12 January |1115 |Papa | 1 |1.44 12 January |1120 |Papa | 1 |1.59 12 January |1125 |Papa | 5 |1.52 12 January |1125 |Papa | 1 |1.67 12 January |1155 |Bur Wick | 1 |1.75 12 January |1155 |Bur Wick | 5 |1.75 12 January |1200 |Bur Wick | 1 |1.91 12 January |1200 |Bur Wick | 5 |1.91 12 January |1230 |Inner Harbour | 1 |0.57 12 January |1230 |Inner Harbour | 5 |0.73 12 January |1510 |Oxna | 1 |0.57 12 January |1520 |Oxna | 1 |0.73 12 January |1530 |Oxna | 2.5 |0.81 12 January |1530 |Oxna |15 |0.81 12 January |1530 |Oxna |10 |0.89 12 January |1530 |Oxna | 5 |0.96 12 January |1530 |Oxna | 2.5 |0.96 12 January |1530 |Oxna | 2.5 |0.89 13 January |1110 |West Hildasay | 2 |0.69 13 January |1115 |West Hildasay |10 |0.45 13 January |1221 |Clift Sound | 2 |0.77 13 January |1222 |Clift Sound |10 |1.00 13 January |1244 |Clift Sound |10 |0.85 13 January |1246 |Clift Sound | 1 |1.11 13 January |1302 |Clift Sound | 1 |0.52 13 January |1311 |Clift Sound | 1 |0.41 13 January |1315 |Clift Sound |10 |0.44 13 January |1318 |Clift Sound | 1 |0.24 13 January |1344 |Clift Sound |10 |0.27 13 January |1354 |Clift Sound | 1 |0.36 13 January |1356 |Clift Sound |10 |0.45 13 January |1418 |Clift Sound | 1 |0.26 13 January |1430 |Clift Sound | 1 |0.36 13 January |1432 |Clift Sound | 1 |0.67 13 January |1435 |Clift Sound | 1 |0.84 Note: After 13 January, the Scottish Office Agriculture and Fisheries Department assumed responsibility for all sampling.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Domestic Energy (VAT)
Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the impact on the retail prices index (a) during the 1994-95 financial year and (b) during the 1995-96 financial year, of increasing the rate of VAT on domestic fuel and power to 8 per cent. and 17.5 per cent. respectively.
Mr. Nelson : The extension of VAT to domestic fuel and power is estimated to add just under 0.4 per cent. to the retail prices index in 1994-95, and just over 0.4 per cent. further in 1995-96.
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