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Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 26 October 1995
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Capital Building Programme
Mr. William Powell: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list each capital building programme, costing more than £1 million, completed in each year since 1979 80, by or on behalf of his Department or local magistrates committees, together with the cost expressed in 1995 96 prices. [38331]
Mr. John M. Taylor: A schedule of all Crown, combined court and county court schemes is attached at annexe A. The readily available information on magistrates courts schemes is attached at annexe B. Although it is completed for the last four years, the Department does not hold detailed records of all magistrates court schemes completed prior to 1992 which is when responsibility transferred from the Home Office.
Annexe A: Crown county and combined court building project
£ million
|Works cost
|Type of |Works cost |1995-96
Title of scheme |court |cash |prices
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1979-80 |0 |0
1980-81
Wood Green Phase 1 |Crown |1.25 |2.73
Leicester |Crown |4.42 |9.66
Romford |County |1.03 |2.24
Nottingham Phase 1 |Crown |2.23 |4.86
Birmingham Newton St |County |1.10 |2.40
Snaresbrook Phase 1 |Crown |2.78 |6.07
Total |12.80 |27.97
1981-82
Burnley |Crown |1.50 |2.99
Kings Lynn |Crown |1.12 |2.22
Bolton |Comb |4.00 |7.97
Total |6.61 |13.18
1982-83
Portsmouth |Comb |7.00 |13.02
Chelmsford |Crown |5.61 |10.43
Leeds |Comb |9.68 |18.00
Southwark |Crown |12.60 |23.44
Total |34.89 |64.89
1983-84
RCJCrypt |High |2.47 |4.38
Maidstone |Comb |10.20 |18.14
Total |12.67 |22.52
1984-85
Liverpool |Comb |43.44 |73.55
Snaresbrook Rebuild
(Fire) |Crown |1.40 |2.37
Total |44.84 |75.92
1985-86
Oxford |Comb |5.17 |8.29
Swindon |Comb |2.36 |3.79
Salisbury |Crown |1.18 |1.89
Total |8.71 |13.97
1986-87
Isleworth D.O.G. House |Crown |4.43 |6.91
Milton Keynes |County |1.17 |1.82
Guildford |Crown |4.70 |7.32
Manchester Wood St
Phase 1 |Crown |10.13 |15.78
Peterborough |Comb |3.96 |6.16
Southampton |Comb |7.08 |11.02
Total |31.46 |49.01
1987-88
Birmingham |Crown |8.87 |13.12
Newcastle Moot Hall |Crown |1.68 |2.48
Nottingham Phases 2&3 |Crown |6.18 |9.14
Norwich |Comb |7.02 |10.38
Swansea |Crown |5.15 |7.62
Total |18.90 |42.74
1988-89
Lambeth |County |1.14 |1.58
Coventry |Comb |5.25 |7..28
Telford |County |1.05 |1.46
Snaresbrook Phase 2 |Crown |2.50 |3.47
St. Dunstans House |High |1.67 |2.31
Truro |Comb |4.93 |6.84
Middlesex Guildhall |Crown |6.90 |9.56
Grimsby |Comb |4.84 |6.71
Derby |Comb |7.40 |10.26
Croydon |Comb |15.13 |20.97
Total |50.82 |70.44
1989-90
Doncaster |Crown |3.42 |4.44
RCJ 123 Additional |HC |11.36 |14.72
Manchester Cr Sq/Wd St
2/3 |Comb |4.97 |6.44
Taunton |Crown |2.79 |3.62
Wood Green Phase 2 |Crown |15.26 |19.77
Total |37.80 |48.99
1990-91
Wolverhampton |Comb |9.17 |11.00
RCJ Thomas More |High |2.54 |3.05
Newcastle Quayside |Comb |17.13 |20.56
Total |28.84 |34.61
1991-92
Northampton |Comb |11.49 |12.97
Teesside |Comb |15.09 |17.04
Hull |Co-loc |11.28 |12.73
Stoke |Comb |9.50 |10.72
Stafford |Comb |10.35 |11.68
Harrow |Crown |17.61 |19.88
Lincoln |County |2.31 |2.61
Luton |Crown |9.96 |11.25
Warrington |Comb |7.48 |8.44
Newport |Crown |10.90 |12.30
Total |105.96 |119.63
1992-93
Carlisle |Comb |9.29 |10.08
St. Albans |Crown |16.34 |17.73
Central London County
Court Phase 1 |County |1.62 |1.76
Bradford |Comb |18.85 |20.45
Chester |Crown |6.55 |7.10
Borough |Crown |19.06 |20.68
Dartford |County |2.16 |2.34
Total |73.87 |80.15
1993-94
Woolwich |Crown |31.15 |32.80
Bristol |Crown |33.49 |35.26
Total |64.64 |68.06
1994-95
RCJ East Wing |High |15.57 |16.08
Neath and Port Talbot |County |1.31 |1.35
Pontypridd |County |1.42 |1.46
Central London County
Phase 2 |County |6.43 |6.64
Newport (IOW) |Comb |2.23 |2.3-0
Leicester |County |3.47 |3.59
Birmingham |County |33.34 |34.44
Cardiff County |County |3.49 |3.61
Total |67.25 |69.47
1995-96
Canterbury |Comb |15.69 |15.69
Preston |Comb |24.84 |24.84
Worcester |Comb |7.80 |7.80
Total |48.33 |48.33
Grand Total |658.37 |849.87
Annexe B: Magistrates court building projects
£ million
|Cost at 1995-96
Scheme |Actual cost |prices
----------------------------------------------------------------
1981-82
Lancaster |1.925 |3.836
1987-88
Merton |3.196 |4.727
Lewes |2.394 |3.541
1988-89
Lowestoft |2.099 |2.909
Brighton |2.289 |3.172
Port Talbot |1.415 |1.961
Stockport |4.630 |6.417
Bath |2.098 |2.908
Dewsbury |2.394 |3.318
1989-90
Brent |7.782 |10.085
Cardiff |7.401 |9.592
Hertford |4.000 |5.184
Oldbury |2.795 |3.622
Woking |2.064 |2.675
Thames |5.086 |6.591
1990-91
Bootle |2.935 |3.522
Bury |3.541 |4.249
Chester |3.700 |4.440
Basildon |2.700 |3.240
Great Yarmouth |3.167 |3.811
Harrogate |2.351 |2.821
Lincoln |4.113 |4.935
Milton Keynes |4.587 |5.504
Newton Aycliffe |1.657 |1.988
Wigan |5.077 |6.092
City of London |3.990 |4.788
1991-92
Haywards Heath |2.576 |2.908
Kendal |1.552 |1.752
Wimbledon |3.196 |3.608
Leicester |7.432 |8.391
1992-93
Bedlington |2.848 |3.090
Woolwich |3.294 |3.574
Newport (IOW) |3.406 |3.695
Taunton |2.503 |2.716
1993-94
Fareham |2.637 |2.777
Leeds |18.132 |19.093
Llandudno |1.810 |1.906
North Shields |3.262 |3.435
Rotherham |5.400 |5.686
1994-95
Newham |11.747 |12.135
Shrewsbury |3.983 |4.114
Rhondda |1.678 |1.733
Barrow |3.072 |3.173
Bexley |1.208 |1.248
Milton Keynes |1.108 |1.144
1995-96
Nottingham |20.000 |20.000
Mansfield |5.127 |5.127
West London |8.335 |8.335
flag Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the acreage and percentage of land in each county in England which is unregistered. [38037]
Mr. John M. Taylor: The registration of land is the responsibility of Her Majesty's Land Registry which was established as an executive agency of the Lord Chancellor in July 1990. The question concerns a specific matter on which the chief executive of the agency is best placed to provide the answer. I have accordingly asked the chief executive of Her Majesty's Land Registry to reply direct.
Letter from E. Beardsall to Mr. Gordon Prentice, dated 26 October 1995:
Acreage and Percentage of land in each English County which is unregistered
In the absence of the Chief Executive, who is presently away from the office, I have been asked by the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, to reply to your recent question to
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him concerning the acreage and percentage of land in each county of England which is unregistered.I regret that statistics relating to unregistered land or to land acreage are not maintained by the Registry but I can tell you that out of an estimated 20 million titles in England, nearly 15 million are registered. The majority of registered titles relate to residential properties in urban areas.
I hope this information will be helpful.
Pay Bargaining
Mr. McAllion: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will provide in respect of his plan of pay delegation submitted to the Treasury (a) a description of the staff in each bargaining unit covered by the plan, distinguishing staff in HQ functions, agencies and agency candidates, and in other identifiable business units and (b) proposals for trade union recognition in each bargaining unit and the negotiating machinery to be put in place in each bargaining unit. [38271]
Mr. John M. Taylor: In addition to the headquarters of the Lord Chancellor's Department and associated offices, the Lord Chancellor has responsibility for four agencies: the Court Service, Her Majesty's Land Registry, the Public Record Office and the Public Trust Office. He is also responsible for the Legal Aid Board, which is an executive non-departmental public body.
The Public Trust Office and the Court Service became executive agencies in July 1994 and April 1995 respectively, but pay issues of common interest have continued to be subject to joint consultation with LCD HQ. From 1 April 1996, however, the headquarters of the Lord Chancellor's Department-- with associated offices--the Court Service and the Public Trust Office will each assume responsibility for the pay and grading of their staff and from that date will become separate units for collective bargaining purposes. The Legal Aid Board already has delegated responsibility in this area, from 1 April 1995. Staff in headquarters, the two agencies and the Legal Aid Board are primarily in senior management, executive, clerical, secretarial and office support grades. The Court Service also includes county court bailiffs, clerks to HM judges and a small number of domestic staff, the latter serving judges' lodgings.
The present pay and grading structures are, however, now under review. It is not envisaged that, in the immediate term, there will be any significant changes in the present recognition arrangements with the trade unions, who have been invited by headquarters and the two agencies to be party to interim pay agreements which would remain in place pending the outcome of the pay and grading reviews. Changes in pay, structure and collective bargaining arrangements may follow, after consultation and negotiation, as a result of these reviews. The chief executives of Her Majesty's Land Registry and the Public Record Office have been asked to reply direct.
Letter from Sarah Tyacke to Mr. John McAllion, dated 26 October 1995:
I have been asked by the Lord Chancellor's Parliamentary Secretary to reply to your question about pay delegation.
(a) The Public Record Office, a small Government Department and an Executive Agency of the Lord Chancellor's Department, is making its own arrangements for pay
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delegation. All staff, comprising the unified (administrative and curatorial), secretarial, conservator and support grades, are covered in the bargaining unit.(b) The office is proposing to continue current trade union recognition (FDA, NUCPS, CPSA and IPMS), and is seeking single table bargaining arrangements.
Letter from E. Beardsall to Mr. John McAllion dated 26 October 1995:
In the absence of the Chief Executive, who is presently away from the office, I have been asked by the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, to reply to your recent question to him concerning pay delegation in HM Land Registry.
As a separate department, the Registry has always dealt directly with HM Treasury and, since 1 April 1994, has been responsible for its own pay and grading systems. Agreed negotiating machinery is in place which involves three trade unions representing all groups of Land Registry staff.
I do hope that this answers the points raised with the Parliamentary Secretary but please contact me if I can be of any further assistance.
TREASURY
Less-developed Countries (Debt)
Mr. Denham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a table projecting, for each less-developed country, the total debt stock and annual debt service obligation if the Trinidad and Madrid terms were to be implemented in full. [38396]
Mrs. Angela Knight: I regret that the figures are not available to produce meaningful projections as requested.
Our objective in proposing the Trinidad terms for bilateral debt, and the multilateral debt initiative launched in Madrid, is to reduce the debt burden of the poorest, most indebted countries to sustainable levels. We continue to pursue this objective.
Tobacco Industry
Mr. Parry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the latest figures of people employed in the tobacco industry at the latest available date and the figures for 1990. [39286]
Mrs. Angela Knight: Available information closest to that requested is for employees in employment in the tobacco manufacturing industry at September 1989, 1991 and 1993. The information is provided in the following table.
Year |Employees
|(thousands)
------------------------------------
1989 |11.4
1991 |8.7
1993 |8.0
Source: CSO.
Labour Statistics
Mr. Fisher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many jobs, created in the last year, were in (a) small and medium-sized companies, (b) manufacturing industries and (c) service industries. [39376]
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Mrs. Angela Knight: The information requested for small and medium- sized companies is not available. Information for manufacturing and services is available only for the net change in jobs and is provided in the following table.
Employment in Great Britain: June (thousands)<1>
|1994 |1995 |Net change
----------------------------------------------------------
Manufacturing |4,052 |4,086 |34
Services |17,832 |18,145 |313
Note:
<1> Includes employees and self-employed.
Source: CSO.
Private Finance Initiative
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures he is proposing to reduce tendering costs for public finance initiative schemes. [37162]
Mr. Jack: This is, of course a private not a public finance initiative--although the Government want to keep costs down for both the private and public sectors. I am keen to see an increase in the use of the private finance initiative for the scouring of public projects. However, I am aware of concerns about the costs involved in this exercise and plan shortly to meet with representatives of the construction industry to discuss the matter. However, as experience of the PFI grows costs will continue to fall as Government and business improve their expertise in making contracts in this way. The Government are also encouraging the spread of best practice among Departments, for example by avoiding over- prescriptive
specifications.
Income Tax
Mr. Barry Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the rate of higher rate of income tax necessary to counterbalance the effect of (a) abolition of the lower rate of income tax and (b) the abolition of the lower rate of income tax and national insurance contributions for the lowest band tax payers. [37959]
Mr. Jack: It would be inappropriate to comment about the range of possible changes to tax rates and thresholds being assessed for the Budget statement. The direct revenue effects of illustrative tax changes are shown in "Tax Ready Reckoner and Tax Reliefs" published by HM Treasury in July, a copy of which is in the Library.
Tax Evasion
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many cases of evasion of payments of (a) income tax and (b) other tax have been discovered in each of the last five years; and what has been the value of the revenue recovered in both categories. [37922]
Mr. Jack: The information requested for taxes administered by the Inland Revenue is as follows:
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