Written Answers To Questions
Wednesday 25 February 1981
Attorney-General
Courts (Operating Costs)
asked the Attorney-General if he will give the average cost per hour of the operation of (a) a Crown court and (b) a magistrates' court.
The average cost per hour of the operation of the Crown court in 1979–80 is estimated at about £160. Magistrates' courts are a locally administered service and I understand that the relevant information is not available centrally.
Trade
Steel Imports
asked the Secretary of State for Trade what was the amount of steel imported into the United Kingdom in each year for the last 10 years; and what were the countries of origin.
The available information is as follows:
| Imports of Steel into the United Kingdom, 1971–80 | |
| million tonnes | |
| 1971 | 2·03 |
| 1972 | 2·66 |
| 1973 | 2·78 |
| 1974 | 3·82 |
| 1975 | 3·74 |
| 1976 | 4·10 |
| 1977 | 3·72 |
| 1978 | 3·68 |
| 1979 | 3·78 |
| 1980 | 4·63 |
Notes:
( a)Figures correspond to SITC (R2) Groups 672, 673, 674 and 675, subgroups 678.2. 678.3, 678.4 and 679.3, Items 676.01 (part), 67602 (part), 679.42 and 791 99 (part).
( b) The 10 countries from which the highest value of United Kingdom imports of steel was consigned in 1980 were the Federal Republic of Germany, Belgium-Luxembourg, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Japan, Italy, Austria, Spain and Norway.
( c)Details for earlier years and details of country of origin could be provided only at disproportionate cost owing to the large number of statistical headings and countries involved.
Excise Duty Index Linking (Canada)
asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will make representations to the Canadian Federal Government concerning the effects of their proposed introduction of excise duty index linking for alcoholic beverages with effect from 21 March 1981.
I am aware of the concern of United Kingdom producers and exporters of alcoholic beverages about the Canadian Federal Government's proposals with respect to excise duties, and am in touch with the industry. Negotiations with the Canadian Government would be a matter for the European Commission, with whom we are already in contact.
Liquefied Petroleum Gas
asked the Secretary of State for Trade when the Monopolies and Mergers Commission report on the supply of liquefied petroleum gas is to be published; and if he will make a statement.
The report is published today. The commission concluded that the scale monopoly situation existing in favour of the Calor Group Ltd. and its subsidiaries Calor Gas Ltd. and Calor Kosangas Northern Ireland Ltd. did not operate against the public interest. The commission did, however, conclude that two practices previously pursued by Calor, but now discontinued, operated against the public interest, and recommended that they should not be reintroduced by Calor.The commission found that Calor's dominant position in the reference LPG market seemed unlikely to be seriously eroded in the foreseeable future. This was mainly due to the difficulty which other suppliers had in competing on other than a relatively minor scale; but there were other circumstances which, although they were justifiable in themselves, particularly on grounds of safety, or were of only minor significance individually, when taken together tended to reinforce Calor's dominant position. Exclusive dealing, the cost to a user of switching to another supplier, the refusal to allow other suppliers to refill Calor cylinders, the fact that Calor Gas was widely thought to be a commodity rather than a brand name—and that some Calor sales literature appeared to support this belief—and the undoubted commercial advantages to be gained from the unique position of the Calor Laboratories were all examples of this.The commission considered complaints that Calor had been unable on occasions to supply domestic users with butane. However, the commission recognised that there were special reasons for supply difficulties during the winter of 1978–79. which was the main period for complaints, and that Calor had taken steps to enable it to cope more effectively in the future with similar conditions. It did not think that Calor could be criticised for encouraging the increasing use of appliances without regard to the availability of butane to fuel them.The commission considered that Calor's system of charging for the use of cylinders appeared equitable. The retail price differential between small and large cylinders, which was a source of complaint, was justified in the light of the different costs involved in each case. The uniformity of its refill authority charge, that is the initial charge for use of a cylinder, irrespective of the size of cylinder was also reasonable since the differential cost of cylinders was taken into account in determining the price of gas refills. The general level of Calor's prices, and the frequency of increases, had been the subject of complaint, but the commission did not regard prices as excessive or unreasonable. Retail price increases for LPG had been substantially less than rises in the cost of gas to Calor and had not been far out of line with the general index of retail prices. Calor was an efficient and cost-conscious company and its prices were not set at such a level as to enable it to make unduly high profits.
The commission considered the stipulation imposed by Calor in its agreements with distributors that the latter should not deal in LPG from any other supplier. A similar provision was included in the agreements of other suppliers and the commission considered that if such exclusive dealing prevented, restricted or distorted competition a complex monopoly situation would exist in favour of these suppliers. It thought that, in principle, exclusive dealing could shut out potential competitors in localities where there was only a single suitable outlet, but it found that since in general there were a very large number of existing businesses which were suitable for distributing LPG any such restriction on competition would be minimal. At the retail level, it thought that competition between different brands would be keener where distributors were committed to the sale of a single brand because competition between them was likely to be on the basis of brand image and service rather than price, butane and propane being homogenous commodities. It considered that exclusive dealing on balance did not have any material adverse effect on competition.
The commission made some criticisms of Calor, partly in connection with practices it had now abandoned and partly in connection with forms of words used in sales literature which it considered to be misleading. However, these criticisms were not in its view of sufficient importance, taken together, to merit a finding that the dominant position of Calor was itself against the public interest, bearing in mind particularly that Calor was an efficient company, its profits had not been unreasonably high and its concern for safety had been an important factor in the growing use of LPG by the public.
However, it found that two practices previously operated by Calor and attributable to the existence of the monopoly situation did operate against the public interest: these were the requirement that distributors of Calor LPG should buy appliances only through Calor, and of including in its agreements a provision which prevented distributors from handling other suppliers' LPG for various periods after ceasing to buy Calor's. The commission recommended that Calor should not reintroduce these practices.
In addition, the commission suggested that conditions relating to the initial charge for having a cylinder should be set out more prominently, that adequate information on the significance of the term "Calor Gas Approval" should be provided to users, and that certain expressions in Calor's sales literature which might lead customers to think that an appliance should not be used with brands of butane other than Calor's should be amended.
Finally, the commission drew attention to the fact that Calor might be able to increase its profitability significantly in the event of substantial future rises in gas and electricity prices, to the desirability of ensuring that a standard cylinder valve was adopted in the LPG industry, and to the unsatisfactory situation arising from the fact that Calor Laboratories were not wholly independent of Calor commercial interests.
The Government accept the commission's recommendations. I am asking the Director General to seek undertakings from Calor not to reintroduce the two practices which have been the subject of adverse findings. I am also asking him to discuss with Calor what action it might take in response to suggestions made by the commission for giving greater prominence to the conditions relating to the refill authority charge and for clarifying certain misleading statements used by the company in its advertising material and sales literature.
I have further asked him to consider possible ways of dealing with the unsatisfactory situation arising from the fact that Calor Laboratories, which tests appliances for the purpose of "Calor approval", is not an independant body and its criteria are not readily ascertainable by the public.
Education And Science
Student Loans
asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) in his evaluation of a student loans system, what analysis he has made of the high wastage rates and interrupted studies which have been the result of the introduction of a student loans system elsewhere;(2) if, in view of the fact that the total costs to the Government of servicing student loans in the United States of America and Canada range between 40 and 60 cents for every dollar loaned, he will make a statement indicating how the Government would restrict costs in the event of an introduction of a loans system in the United Kingdom;(3)whether, in his consideration of a student loans system, he has any particular proposals in mind to remove the disincentive effects of a loans system on young people from working-class backgrounds and ethnic minority and immigrant groups in particular proposing to enter upon a course of higher education;(4) what regard he has paid in his evaluation of a student loans system to any experience in the United States of America and Canada that a loan system tends to establish a cultural and economic barrier which inhibits workingclass, ethnic minority, and immigrant groups from entering higher education.
My right hon. and learned Friend and I have not yet reached conclusions in our study of student loans. We are taking into account experience with such schemes overseas, in so far as it is relevant to circumstances here. We are paying particular regard to the possible effects on participation, both generally and on the part of particular sections of the community.
Public Expenditure
asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what action he intends to take as a result of the report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate on the effect of public expenditure cuts.
The report makes it clear that in many respects and in many places the quality of service observed continues to be satisfactory. The final report is being published today so that all those who have an interest in education, including parents, can study its findings; and I hope that local authorities will take account of the weaknesses shown by the report in assessing their priorities within the resources available to them. I shall be consulting the local authority associations about further action on the report when we next meet to continue our discussions on educational expenditure. Copies of the published report have been placed in the Vote Office and Library of the House.
Adult Education And Literacy
asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) if he will list the amounts given by each education authority towards the provision of basic adult education and adult literacy in each year since 1975;(2) which organisations concerned with basic adult education and literacy were funded by his Department in 1979–80 and 1980–81; and how much each organization will receive in 1981–82.(3) how much has been allocated by his Department to organisations concerned with basic adult education and adult literacy in each year since 1975; and how much will be allocated in 1981–82 at constant prices.
The funds provided by my Department to support work on adult literacy and basic skills have been distributed by successive central agencies, details of our grants to which were given in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Kensington (Sir B. Rhys Williams) on 23 February 1981—[Vol. 999, c. 264–65]—for the period 1974–75 to 1980–81. The level of grant for 1981–82, which we hope to increase significantly, is subject to the approval by Parliament of the public expenditure plans for that year. Information on the level of expenditure by local authorities in this area is not available.
School Buildings (Repairs)
asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he is satisfied that there will be sufficient funds to carry out necessary major repairs to school buildings in the current and next financial years; if he will be prepared to make extra funds available if necessary; and if he will make a statement.
The rate support grant (RSG) settlement for the current financial year, 1980–81, allowed for a 2 per cent. real improvement in standards of school building maintenance. The RSG report for England for 1981–82, which set out the Government's decisions on the total and distribution of grant to local authorities, has been approved by the House. It implies a volume cut of some 1½ percent., compared with previous plans, in schools current expenditure as a whole. It is for each local authority to determine the distribution of its expenditure between individual items.
D'oyly Carte Opera Company
asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received in respect of the Arts Council's refusal of grant to the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company; and if he will make a statement.
The right hon. Member for Huyton (Sir H. Wilson) has sent me a copy of a petition to the Arts Council. I have also had letters from other hon. Members and from members of the public. Decisions on individual grants are a matter for the Arts Council and I know that it gave a great deal of thought to this case, but decided on artistic grounds that it could not offer a grant to the company.
Home Department
Burglary, Theft And Handling Offences
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convicted sentenced prisoners are serving sentences for burglary, for theft and for handling stolen property, respectively.
Information relating to 30 June is published each year in "Prison Statistics: England and Wales"—tables 1.5, 1(b) and 1(c) of the issue for 1979, Cmnd 7978.
Concessionary Television Licences
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will seek to amend Statutory Instrument No. 548 of 1970 to allow all retired persons of pensionable age living in group dwellings to be eligible for a concessionary television licence; and if he will make a statement.
No.
Unfit Meat
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assistance is being provided by the Metropolitan Police to Hammersmith and Fulham council's investigation into the alleged sale of unfit meat and horsemeat; and if he will make a statement.
The enforcement of legislation governing the sale of unfit meat and horsemeat is a matter for local authorities. I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that allegations concerning the sale of unfit meat and horsemeat have been brought to his attention and that he is considering whether it is appropriate for him to take any action on the allegations.
Fire Prevention (Places Of Entertainment)
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is satisfied with the present state of the law relating to fire prevention in places of musical entertainment.
In the light of the tragic fire in Dublin, my right hon. Friend will be seeking the views of fire authorities and fire service interests on the adequacy of the existing controls and standards relating to fire safety in places licensed for music and dancing.
Prison Cells (Calendars)
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if there is any limitation on the size of calendars hung in cells in Her Majesty's prisons; and, if so, to what size and for what reason.
The size of calendars is left to the discretion of governors, but normally they should be no larger than will enable them to fit on display boards provided in cells.
Probation Service (Education Facilities)
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department further to his answer to the hon. Member for Chichester on 5 February 1981, what was the estimated cost of the education services provided by the probation service; and what percentage of the probation budget this represented in the last year for which figures are available.
It is not the usual practice for probation and after-care committees to identify expenditure on the provision of education facilities in financial information submitted to the Home Office.
Prison Population
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current capacity of prisons and the number of prisoners held in prison; and what were the comparable capacity and occupation figures on the same date in each of the previous 10 years.
Comparable information on the total certified normal accommodation as against the total number of inmates of all prison department establishments in England and Wales is available only for 31 December each year, and is set out in the following table:
| 31 December | Certified normal accommodation | Total number of inmates |
| 1970 | 32,992 | 38,982 |
| 1971 | 35,605 | 37,835 |
| 1972 | 36,236 | 37,692 |
| 1973 | 36,391 | 35,010 |
| 1974 | 35,342 | 37,275 |
| 1975 | 36,404 | 39,211 |
| 1976 | 36,675 | 40,391 |
| 1977 | 36,520 | 40,158 |
| 1978 | 37,735 | 40,523 |
| 1979 | 38,494 | 41,152 |
| 1980 | 38,930 | *35,825 |
| * In addition, 932 persons were detained in approved places under the Imprisonment (Temporary Provisions) Act 1980. and about 3,200 were exceptionally detained in police cells. | ||
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he has taken to reduce prison overcrowding; and what further initiatives he plans to deal with the problem.
A small reduction in the prison population will result from the Prison (Amendment) Rules 1981 which came into effect on 23 February and which allow remission to be earned on short sentences of imprisonment of more than five days.Within the prison system, adjustments are regularly made to reduce overcrowding by the best use of the available accommodation; and the Government hope, throughout the 1980s, to have a steady programme of starting the construction of two new prison establishments each year as well as continuing a programme of modernising and improving the existing estate.The prospect of a substantial reduction in overcrowding must, however, rest primarily on a renewed commitment to avoiding custody wherever possible and, where imprisonment is thought essential, a move towards shorter sentences for all except the violent offender. The Government have made clear their commitment to increasing the use of alternatives to custody for nonviolent offenders whenever possible, and we are supporting fully the new initiative sponsored by the Central Council of Probation and After-Care Committees and the Magistrates' Association, which will be exploring ways in which this can be achieved. In addition, the Court of Appeal has called for the imposition of shorter prison sentences on certain offenders for whom prison sentences are unavoidable, and the best prospect for an early reduction in the prison population lies in the exercise of judicial discretion in the manner indicated by the Court of Appeal.
Sentencing Policy
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what alternatives to imprisonment he has made available to courts; and what evidence exists on the deterrent effect of these alternatives.
Alternatives to immediate sentences of imprisonment available to the courts for offenders over the age of 17 comprise—besides absolute or conditional discharge—the fine, the probation order, the community service order, and the suspended sentence of imprisonment. In addition, male offenders aged between 17 and 21 can be made subject to attendance centre orders in areas where an attendance centre is available for this age group. The courts thus have a wide range of non-custodial alternatives to choose from. The Government are committed to encouraging their use whenever practicable and have made available a wide range of provision for hostels and other facilities within this sentencing framework.The available evidence does not demonstrate any marked differences in deterrent effect on individual offenders between the various sentences and orders, whether custodial or non-custodial. The evidence is considered in some detail in Home Office Research Study No. 35 "The effectiveness of sentencing" by S. R. Brody.
Crime Prevention
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to reduce the incidence of crime.
The Government will continue to support the police in the fight against crime.
Short Sharp Shock Treatment Experiment
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement outlining the scope, the scale and the effectiveness of the policy for dealing with young offenders described as the short sharp shock treatment; how many young offenders have been subjected to this treatment; and if he will describe differences in the new treatment as compared to the treatment given to young offenders before the launching of the initiative.
Information about the tougher regimes pilot project in the form of notes of guidance to staff is available in the Library. The project operates at New Hall and Send detention centres, which together provide 222 places. Between 21 April 1980 and 19 February 1981 about 1,150 offenders had served or were still serving their sentences in the two centres. Under the pilot project, work has been concentrated on the more physically demanding activities; physical education has been increased; parades and inspections have been increased and included with formal drill periods as separate activities in the timetable; time for association has been reduced; education, while being retained, has been reorganised to fit in with the new regime; time for "lights out" has been brought forward; staff strengths and the supervision of inmates have been increased; and increased emphasis has been placed on a more sustained pace and on tidiness, discipline, care and attention to detail. Staff uniforms have been introduced at Send—they were already worn at New Hall. It is too early to pronounce on the effectiveness of the project, but an evaluation is in hand.
Police Duties (Costs)
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for reports from the chief constables to determine the cost in each police authority in Wales of (a) policing fourth channel campaigners, (b) policing picketers in industrial disputes and (c) inquiries into the second home arson attacks.
No.
Public Buildings (Fire Risks)
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, in view of the statement by the Chief Fire Officer of Dublin that most of the deaths in the Stardust club fire were as a result of burns and asphyxiation from the ceiling and seats, he will review the use of furnishing materials in public buildings in the United Kingdom which are known to give off toxic fumes during fire.
Although fire prevention officers already take account of the fire risks of furnishing materials when making their inspections of public buildings, control of the use of such materials depends in the first instance on the development of appropriate standards and methods of test. In November 1978 a technical sub-committee of the Central Fire Brigades' Advisory Councils for England and Wales and for Scotland published a report on the fire risks of new materials, which recommended that first priority should be given to improving the fire resistance of upholstered furniture. Since then cigarette and match tests have been developed and these provided the basis for the Upholstered Furniture (Safety) Regulations 1980, which apply to most new domestic upholstered seating furniture. Tests for larger ignition sources are currently being developed under a programme of activity being undertaken jointly by Government Departments and the British Standards Institution.
Open Channel Radio
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received (a) from Gwynedd and (b) from Wales regarding the legalising of citizens band radio.
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to a question by my hon. Friend the Member for Brigg and Scunthorpe (Mr. Brown) on 13 February.—[Vol. 998. c. 445–46.] The information requested could not be obtained without disproportionate cost, since the representations we have received have not been recorded by geographical area.
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his estimate of the number of illegal users of citizens band radio in (a) Wales, (b) Scotland and (c) England.
Based on information supplied by the Post Office radio interference service, our current rough estimate is:
| Illegal Users | |
| (a) Wales | 6,000 |
| (b) Scotland | 9,000 |
| (c) England | 48,000 |
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements are being made for the distribution and discussion of the third report of the Home Office working party on citizens band radio; and how many copies of the report have been printed.
There is no working party on citizens band radio.The hon. Member may be referring to the third report of the Home Office local radio working party. When I announced publication of the third report on 18 December I said that I would reach a decision on its proposals in the light of comments, and after further consultations with the BBC and IBA I invited comments by 30 April. Copies of the report have been sent to organisations consulted by the working party and other organisations and individuals who have indicated their interest. So far about 750 copies have been distributed. Further copies can be obtained from my Department.
Boundary Commission For Wales
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Boundary Commission for Wales intends to begin its general review of parliamentary constituencies in Wales.
The commission has informed me that it intends to begin forthwith a general review of constituencies in Wales. The commission is required to report by May 1984, but I expect it to have completed its work well before that date.
National Finance
Mortgages (Tax Relief)
asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the increased tax revenue from reduced mortgage interest tax relief if the mortgage interest rate were to be reduced by 5 per cent.
On the assumption that a reduction in the mortgage interest rate of 5 per cent. would be accompanied by a corresponding reduction in the rate of interest paid to building society depositors, the net increase in the yield of income tax and corporation tax would probably be under £100 million.
asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what he estimates to be the cost of increasing the £25,000 mortgage interest tax relief to £30,000, £40,000 and £50,000, respectively.
I regret that the information on which to base a firm estimate is not available. But disregarding any new lending generated by the raising of the limit, the cost of an increase to £50,000 would probably not exceed £25 million in a full year at 1980–81 income levels. The smaller the increase in the limit the less the cost would be, but it is not possible to estimate the figures more precisely.
Company Taxation
asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the change in real terms of revenue from company taxation in the year 1980–81 compared with 1979–80.
An increase of 2½ per cent., due to revenues from North Sea oil.
North Sea Oil And Gas Production (Capital Outflows)
asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will provide a list of capital outflows from the United Kingdom as a result of North Sea oil and gas production for each year since production started.
the hon. Member have a reply as soon possible.
North Sea Oil And Gas-Related Industries (Corporation Tax)
asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the total amount of corporation tax paid by the following North Sea oil and gas-related industries, in each year, since the Continental Shelf Act was passed in 1964 (a) companies holding North Sea production licences, (b) companies holding North Sea exploration licences, (c) North Sea drilling rig operators, (d) companies fabricating deep-water platforms, (e) companies fabricating modules and skid mounted equipment and (f) North Sea diving companies.
I shall let the hon. Member have a reply as soon possible.
Home Counties Cleaning Group Services Limited
asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on the progress of the investigations carried out by his Department into the case of the three former employees of the Home Counties Cleaning Group Services Limited and alleged national insurance irregularities.
[pursuant to his reply, 16 February 1981, c. 38]: The Inland Revenue is responsible for collecting national insurance contributions in conjunction with the operation of the pay-as-you-earn tax scheme. Allegations of irregularities made in the press last autumn are being investigated by that Department. However, the rules of confidentiality which protect companies' and individuals' tax affairs do not permit disclosure of the details of these investigations.
North Sea Oil And Gas Developments (American Citizens' Earnings)
asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much tax has been paid on wages earned by American citizens employed in the United Kingdom North Sea oil and gas developments.
[pursuant to his reply, 19 February 1981, c. 210]: I regret that this information is not available. The Inland revenue does not keep records by reference to an individual's nationality.
European Community (Excise Duties)
asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect on sales and therefore on revenue of reducing duty on wine; and, pursuant to the Minister of State's statement on 3 December 1980, Official Report, c. 576, what reduction to ensure a fiscally neutral effect could be made in wine duty to secure a three to one ratio between the duties on wine and beer if duty on beer was left unchanged.
[pursuant to his reply, 24 February 1981, c. 312]: If the duty on wine were to be reduced, I would expect sales of wine to increase, but not sufficiently to offset the effect on the duty yield of the rate reduction. Reducing the duty on wine to achieve a three to one ratio between the wine and beer duties could not be fiscally neutral if the beer duty were to be left unchanged. As I said in the House on 3 December last—[Vol. 995, c. 576]—a three to one ratio could be achieved on a fiscally neutral basis by increasing the duty on beer by ½p a pint and reducing it on table wine by about 17p a bottle.
Civil Service
Retired Civil Servants (Re-Employment)
57.
asked the Minister for the Civil Service if she will take steps to reduce the number of staff who are in receipt of Civil Service pensions who are re-employed full-time or part-time in the Civil Service.
Where appropriate, Departments are already taking steps to reduce the number of re-employed Civil Service pensioners. I am considering whether further measures are desirable having regard to costs and operational efficiency.
59.
asked the Minister for the Civil Service if she is satisfied with the operation of the rules governing the acceptance of jobs in industry or commerce by serving or retiring members of the Civil Service.
Yes.
asked the Minister for the Civil Service if she will list the civil servants of principal grade and above who, during the last five years, have sought and obtained permission to leave the service or on retirement to join a company involved in dealings with their Department.
No. It has not been the practice of this or previous Administrations to publish the names of those who have made applications under the business appointment rules.
Calendars
58.
asked the Minister for the Civil Service how many calendars were issued by the Civil Service marked with the words "Remember that the ordinary telephone is not secure. Careless talk—keep what you know to yourself.
64,568 for 1981.
Stationery Office (Prices)
60.
asked the Minister for the Civil Service if he is satisfied that recent increases in Her Majesty's Stationery Office prices have been within the Government's counter-inflation strategy.
Her Majesty's Stationery Office as a trading fund has; a statutory obligation to meet a financial target settled with the Treasury. It is, therefore, necessary for it to recover full costs by charging adequately for its various goods and services. Nevertheless, Her Majesty's Stationery Office prices generally have been kept within the inflation rate and in some cases there have been reductions. But prices for publications, which last year accounted for only about 10 per cent. of Her Majesty's Stationery Office turnover, have needed to be increased more sharply to recover from past under-pricing and the withdrawal of subsidies for most parliamentary publications other than Hansard.
Scientific Officers
61.
MacKay asked the Minister for the Civil Service if she is satisfied that the relative standing of scientific officers in the Civil Service is being maintained.
Yes, and I acknowledge the high standing of Government scientists and the valuable contribution that they make. The Government are considering the recommendations of the recent review of the Scientific Civil Service with a view to enhancing that contribution still further.
Pay
62.
asked the Minister for the Civil Service if she will make a statement on the current position concerning negotiations over Civil Service pay.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave yesterday to my hon. Friend the Member for Brigg and Scunthorpe (Mr. Brown)—[Vol. 999, c. 354.]
Files And Records
63.
asked the Minister for the Civil Service if she has any plans to reduce the estimated 7½ million shelf-feet of files and records in Government Departments.
Efforts are continuously being made to keep the volume of paper in use to the necessary minimum. Files and records of no historical interest—over 90 per cent., of the total numbers—are destroyed when they are no longer needed by departments. And increasing use is being made of micro-film, magnetic tapes and discs and other modern systems of information storage and retrieval.
Departmental Management Framework
asked the Minister for the Civil Service if she will describe, in the Official Report, the activity of her Department referred to as constructing a management framework that prevents wasteful deployment in Cmnd. 8170, February 1981, paragraph 15.
The Civil Service needs not just the right number of staff but also the right kind of staff, equipped with suitable skills and experience, and organised in job and grading structures which allow them to be effectively deployed. Much of the personnel management in Departments is devoted to this end. It falls to the Civil Service Department to take the lead in constructing and revising the framework of rules, providing a measure of central management for certain groups, and giving guidance and assistance on personnel matters, as described in chapter 2 of the Introductory Factual Memorandum on the Civil Service, submitted to the Treasury and Civil. Services Committee in April 1980.
Departmental Support Services
asked the Minister for the Civil Service which departmental support services have been subjected to cost cutting exercises, referred to in Cmnd. 8170, February 1981, paragraph 14d.
Departmental support services which are under examination include messengers, telecommunications, post, typing and training. Exercises to be started include purchasing and store stockholdings, travel, reprographics and office services. These interdepartmental studies are supplemented by a cost consciousness campaign designed to bring home to individual civil servants the costs of items in everyday use. Efficiency studies are also conducted by individual Government Departments on a regular basis.
Civil Service College
asked the Minister for the Civil Service what decision she has taken on the report 'Charging For Some Courses At The Civil Service College'; and what is his estimate of the savings and costs of administering the college on a repayment basis.
None as yet. If a decision is taken to extend repayment to departments it will be taken in time to operate from April 1982, the earliest date from which the necessary information and accounting machinery can be established. The savings and costs cannot be quantified at all precisely since they depend upon likely consequences which, as the report indicated, arc essentially matters of judgment
Reviews
asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether there will be further service-wide reviews similar to the review of statistical services.
My right hon. and noble Friend the Lord President of the Council and I have put in hand two further reviews. The first is of supporting services in a wide range of Government research and development and allied scientific establishments. The aim will be to improve their efficiency and effectiveness. The second is of administrative forms. This will examine forms issued by selected Departments. The aim will be to reduce the burden on business and the public and make necessary forms simpler and more intelligible.Sir Derek Rayner, supported in each case by a small team in the CSD, will co-ordinate both reviews. A series of reports will be made to departmental Ministers, and Sir Derek Rayner will report on the reviews as a whole to the Prime Minister and the Lord President of the Council.
Foreign And Commonwealth Affairs
Shah Of Iran (Public Records)
asked the Lord Privy Seal whether, in view of the death of the Shah, he will request the Lord Chancellor, under the Public Records Acts, to suspend the 30-year rule on the following public documents concerning the Shah of Iran: (a) F.O. 248-1406, His Majesty King George VI's relations with the Shah, (b) F.O. 1407, (c) F.O. 1403, Royal Family's Affairs, (d) F.O. 1434, Isphahan, (e) F.O. 1435, Majlis, (f) F.O. 1445, Shah's Political Activities and (g) F.O. 1478, Royal Family's Affairs.
Item F.O. 248/1403 which is not entitled "Royal Family's Affairs" but Iran "Internal Political Situation" is available for public inspection at the Public Record Office in Kew. The other six items consist of documents the contents of which bring them within one or more of the categories approved for extended closure under the Public Records Acts 1958 and 1967. It would not be in the public interest to release them at the present time.
Albania
asked the Lord Privy Seal what steps have been taken during the past 12 months to try to establish diplomatic relations with Albania.
Last year we formally proposed to the Albanian Government that diplomatic relations should be restored without waiting for a resolution of the financial problems which had previously stood in the way. Regrettably the Albanians have not agreed, but the offer remains open and we remain ready for talks without preconditions.
asked the Lord Privy Seal what steps have been taken during the past 12 months by the United Kingdom in her capacity as an international trustee member of the tripartite Commission for the Restitution of Monetary Gold established at the end of the last war to secure the return of Albanian gold.
We have had discussions on this problem with the other governments represented in the tripartite commission. There are still several problems which must be settled before the three member Governments can instruct the commission to deliver to Albania its share of the gold recovered after the last war.
European Community
Council Of Ministers
asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will publish in the Official Report a statement of forthcoming business in the EEC Council of Ministers.
At present eight meetings of the Council of Ministers are planned for March. Heads of State and of Government will meet in the European Council in the Netherlands on 23–24 March. The usual written forecast was deposited in the House on 24 February.The Agriculture Council is expected to meet on 2–3 March and again on 30 March-1 April to discuss the common agricultural policy price proposals. The 2–3 March Council will also consider proposals for controlling the use of hormones in domestic animals and on the use of bioproteins in animal feeding-stuffs. Post-1980 arrangements for New Zealand butter, proposals on policy concerning agricultural structures, beef imports into the Community and the common organisation of the market for sugar may also be discussed if agreement is not reached in February.The Energy Council is expected to meet on 3 March to discuss the oil supply situation including various proposals for oil stocking arrangements in a supply shortfall, and progress on the guidelines for energy objectives for 1980 and member States' investment programmes.A Council of Ministers responsible for steel is expected to meet on 3 March to discuss the restructuring of the Community steel industry, the provision of State aids and social measures.The Fisheries Council is expected to meet on 9–10 March to continue discussions on proposals for a revised common fisheries policy and relations with third countries.The Finance Council is expected to meet on 16 March to discuss the financial implications of the Commission's 1981 agricultural price fixing proposals. Ministers are also likely to consider the Commission's first quarterly review of the economic situation in the Community and certain of the issues which need to be settled before the non-life insurance services directive can be adopted.The Foreign Affairs Council is expected to meet on 16–17 March to discuss proposals for a common format for the national passports of member States; preparations for the ACP—(African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States)—European Community Joint Council of Ministers of 9–10 April, and to consider developments in international discussions of North/South matters. Ministers will also discuss Commission proposals for the area of Greece to be eligible for the higher rate of intervention under the social fund; the adaptation of the 1980 European Community-Yugoslavia agreement to take account of Greek accession; the adoption of a draft fifth shipbuilding directive to replace the existing directive which expires on 31 March and possibly Community relations with the United States of America. There is likely to be a negotiating meeting with Spain about her accession to the Community in the margins of the Council.The Transport Council is expected to meet on 26 March to consider the Commission's 1981–83 priority programme for transport; proposals for Community support for transport infrastructure projects; measures to promote combined transport; Community railways policy; the Community road haulage quota and technical requirements for inland waterways vessels.
Prime Minister
Tate And Lyle Refinery Closure
asked the Prime Minister if she will list in the Official Report the names of hon. Members, other persons and bodies, who have written to her concerning the proposed closure of the Tate and Lyle refinery, Liverpool; and what reply she has sent.
A number of hon. Members and other persons and organisations have written to me about this closure. I have confirmed that the decision is one for the company itself and that it does not undermine commitments given to the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. I have referred all requests for meetings to my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food but agreed to meet the hon. Member as the Member in whose constituency the refinery is situated.
Benefits (Uprating)
asked the Prime Minister if it is Her Majesty's Government's intention to compensate (a) retirement pensioners, (b) other recipients of national insurance benefits and (c) recipients of means-tested social security benefits for price increases over the lifetime of the current Parliament.
As I have already made clear, the commitment we have given is to compensate pensioners fully for price increases over the lifetime of this Parliament. Decisions on benefits to others will be taken in the light of economic circumstances from time to time. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services announced in the House on 24 February that the power to abate certain benefits under section 1 of the Social Security (No. 2) Act 1980 would not be used this year.
Advisory Council For Applied Research And Development
asked the Prime Minister if she will list the membership of the Advisory Council for Applied Research and Development (ACARD).
I have appointed four new members to ACARD.The membership is now:Dr. A. Spinks, CBE (
Chairman)
Formerly Director of Research, ICI Limited.
Sir Henry Chilver ( Deputy Chairman)
Vice Chancellor, Cranfield Institute of Technology.
* Viscount Caldecote
Chairman, The Delta Metal Company Ltd.
* Sir Kenneth Corneld
Chairman and Chief Executive, Standard Telephones and Cables Ltd.
Dr. D. L. Georgala
Head of Laboratory, Unilever Research
Professor W. B. Heginbotham, OBE
Director-General, Production Engineering Research Association
* Mr. C. S. King, CBE
Deputy Chairman, BL Technology Ltd.
Dr. B. C. Lindley
Director of Research, Dunlop Ltd.
Mr. J. Lyons
General Secretary, Engineers' and Managers' Association
Sir Alec Merrison
Vice-Chancellor, University of Bristol. Chairman of the Advisory Board for the Research Councils.
Mr. A. M. Muir Wood
Senior Partner, Sir William Halcrow and Partners.
* Mr. D. H. Roberts
Research Director, GEC Ltd.
Dr. L. Rofherham, CBE
Formerly Vice-Chancellor, University of Bath.
Mr. J. L. van der Post
Chief Executive, Water Research Centre.
Mr. G. H. Wright
Regional Secretary for Wales, Transport and General Workers' Union.
* New members.
Industry
National Enterprise Board (Investments)
asked the Secretary of State for Industry what is the total amount of money invested by the National Enterprise Board in each of the following investments, the proceeds from the sale of these investments and the liability of loss to public funds in the event of their going into liquidation: Barrow Hepburn, Brown Boveri Kent. Negretti and Zambra Limited, A. Herbert Limited, Agemaspark, Aqualisa, ASR Sevotron Limited, Automation and Technical Services (Holdings) Limited. British Tanners Products Limited, CAP-CPP Group Limited, RR Chapman (Sub Sea Surveys) Limited. Computer & Systems Engineering Limited, Doyce Electronics Limited, The Energy Equipment Company. Exelare Engineering Company Limited, Hird Brown Limited and James Howorth & Co. (Holdings) Limited.
The details are as follows:
| NEB Investments (£000) company | Share investments | Loans |
| Barrow Hepburn Group | 450 | — |
| Brown Boveri Kent | 3,293 | — |
| Negretti and Zambra Limited | 1171 | — |
| Herbert Limited | 57,168 | — |
| Agemaspark Limited | 562 | 438 |
| Aqualisa Products Limited | 169 | 50 |
| ASR Servotron Limited | 318 | — |
| Automation and Technical Services (Holdings) Limited | 150 | — |
| British Tanners Products Limited | 2,000 | 2,500 |
| CAP-CPP Group Limited | 549 | 450 |
| RR Chapman (Sub Sea Surveys) Limited | 50 | — |
| Computer and Systems Engineering Limited | 930 | 900 |
| Doyce Electronics Limited | 117 | — |
| Energy Equipment Company Limited | 500 | 300 |
| Excelarc Engineering Company Limited | 70 | — |
| Hird Brown Limited | 250 | 150 |
| James Howorth & Company (Holdings) Limited | 116 | 125 |
| (Details as at 31 January 1981 or at date of disposal (where appropriate). | ||
asked the Secretary of State for Industry what is the total amount of money invested by the National Enterprise Board in each of the following investments, the proceeds from the sale of these investments and the liability of loss to public funds in the event of their going into liquidation: Muirhead Office Systems Limited, Newtown Securities (Northern) Limited, Pakmet International Limited, Q1 (Europe) Limited, Sinclair Radionics Limited, Systems Designers International Limited, Systems Programming Holdings Limited, United Medical Enterprises Limited, Vicort of London Limited, Legibus Twelve Limited, Middle East Building Services Limited, Microform Communications International, Technical Resources (Equipment) Limited, Ferranti Resin Limited and Wholesale Vehicle Finance Limited.
The details are as follows:
| NEB investments (£'000) | ||
| Company | Share investments | Loans |
| Muirhead Office Systems Limited | 210 | — |
| Newtown Securities (Northern) Limited | 125 | — |
| Pakmet International Limited | 247 | 75 |
| Q1 Europe Limited | 2,750 | — |
| Sinclair Radionics Limited | 5,350 | 2443 |
| Systems Designers International Limited | 184 | 325 |
| Systems Programming Holdings Limited | 600 | 1,000 |
| United Medical Enterprises Limited | 5774 | 450 |
| Vicort of London Limited | 140 | 100 |
| Nexos Office Systems (Holdings) Limited (formerly Legibus Twelve Limited) | 137 | — |
| Middle East Building Services Limited | 37 | — |
| Microform Communications Limited | 570 | — |
| Technical Resources (Equipment) Limited | 237 | 100 |
| Ferranti Resin Limited | 294 | 50 |
| Wholesale Vehicle Finance Limited | 7,246 | 3,602 |
| (Details as at 31 January 1981 or at date of disposal (where appropriate)). | ||
The extent of any loss of public funds in the event of any of the NEB's other investments going into liquidation would depend on the size of the NEB's investment and in the case of NEB subsidiaries on their trading position at the time. In deciding on its practice in relation to the debts of its subsidiaries the NEB is required under its guidelines to have regard to the practice of companies in the private sector in relation to the debts of their subsidiaries. There will be no Government guarantee to the creditors of a subsidiary of the board unless the Government have undertaken a specific commitment in relation to that company's debts.
asked the Secretary of State for Industry what is the total amount of money invested by the National Enterprise Board in each of the following investments, the proceeds from the sale of these investments and the liability of loss to public funds in the event of their going into liquidation: Hydraroll Limited, George P. Brown (Holdings) Limited, Duo Rubber and Engineering Co. Limited, Innotron Limited, J. & P. Engineering Limited, Logica Holdings Limited, Logica Securities Limited, Logica VTS Limited, Mayflower Packaging Limited, Monotype Holdings Limited and Momex (UK) Limited.
The details are as follows:
| NEB investments (£'000) | ||
| Company | Share investments | Loans |
| Hydraroll Limited | 115 | — |
| George P. Brown (Holdings) Limited | 575 | 600 |
| Duo Rubber & Engineering Company Limited | 160 | — |
| Innotron Limited | 244 | — |
| J. & P. Engineering Limited | 100 | 100 |
| Logica Holdings Limited | 1,196 | 100 |
| Logica Securities Limited | 1,000 | — |
| Logica VTS Limited | 1,805 | — |
| Mayflower Packaging Limited | 120 | — |
| Monotype Holdings Limited | 1,875 | 1,950 |
| Momex (UK) Limited | — | 35 |
| (Details as at 31 January 1981 or at date of disposal (where appropriate)). | ||
Return On Capital (Statistics)
asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will publish in the Official Report the average rate of return on capital employed for the following industries: shipbuilding, engineering, aerospace, textiles, oil and gas in the following years: 1965, 1970, 1975 and 1980.
I regret that estimates of real rates of return with an industrial breakdown are presently limited to the information provided in the tables on pages 632 and 633 of "Trade and Industry", 28 September 1979.
| £ million at outturn prices | ||||||||||
| 1971–72 | 1972–73 | 1973–74 | 1974–75 | 1975–76 | 1976–77 | 1977–78 | 1978–79 | 1979–80 | 1980–81 (forecast) | |
| Regional and General Industrial Support | 490 | 370 | 380 | 400 | 520 | 530 | 500 | 630 | 540 | 720 |
| Scientific and Technological Assistance | 40 | 40 | 50 | 70 | 90 | 100 | 100 | 110 | 140 | 180 |
| Support for Aerospace, Shipbuilding, Steel and Vehicle Manufacturing Industries | 180 | 190 | 270 | 350 | 590 | 350 | 350 | 330 | 380 | 610 |
| 710 | 600 | 700 | 820 | 1,200 | 980 | 950 | 1,070 | 1,060 | 1,510 | |
| £ million at 1980 survey prices | ||||||
| 1975–76 | 1976–77 | 1977–78 | 1978–79 | 1979–80 | 1980–81 (forecast) | |
| Regional and General Industries Support | 840 | 750 | 630 | 730 | 540 | 600 |
| Scientific and Technological Assistance | 140 | 140 | 120 | 120 | 140 | 160 |
| Support for Aerospace, Shipbuilding, Steel and Vehicle Manufacturing Industries | 940 | 520 | 440 | 380 | 380 | 520 |
| 1,920 | 1,410 | 1,190 | 1,230 | 1,060 | 1,280 | |
Notes:
(a) The tables include expenditure—rising from about £10 million in 1971–72 to about £40 million in 1980–81—which does not involve direct assistance to industry. This expenditure is included in the heading Scientific and Technological Assistance, and covers contributions to the European Space Agency, and the costs of work carried out by the Ministry of Defence and some work of the Department's research establishments.
(b) The tables do not include support within the general financing of nationalised industries.
(c) Records are not kept of the number of companies or organisations that have received aid.
Energy
North Sea Oil And Gas
asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will publish a list of the net value of contracts placed for North Sea oil and gas-related work for each year since 1965, together with the percentage in each case that British firms won in each of those years.
Aid To Industry
asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will list the total amount of aid given by his Department to industry out of public funds, listed under whatever categories of aid are appropriate for each of the last 10 years and for that part of the present year available, in actual money terms and expressed in financial terms of value of money in the first year of the series; and how many companies or organisations each year received this aid.
[pursuant to his reply, 18 February 1981, c. 137]: Aid provided at outturn prices by the Department under three main headings runs as follows:
The information requested is given in the table below for the period since 1974, when records were first kept. The figures for 1980 have not yet been finalised and will, as normal, be published in due course.
| Total value of orders £m | United Kingdom per cent. | |
| 1974 | 1,279 | 40 |
| 1975 | 1,185 | 52 |
| 1976 | 1,041 | 57 |
| 1977 | 1,295 | 62 |
| 1978 | 1,574 | 66 |
| 1979 | 2,679 | 79 |
asked the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what is his estimate of the net value, in £ sterling, of oil and gas reserves discovered in the North Sea to date at 1981 prices; and what are his Department's projections for this figure for each year up to 1990 at current prices;(2) if he will publish a list of the percentage uplift of oil that the British National Oil Company has taken of the total production of each North Sea oilfield in each year since the agreements were formalised.
I shall reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
House Of Commons
Register Of Members' Interests
asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will seek to amend the Standing Orders of the House of 18 July 1979 establishing the Select Committee on Members' Interests to require the regular publication and updating of a Register of Members' Interests.
I am not aware of any need to do so. The present Select Committee on Members' Interests stated in its second report that it had authorised the registrar to make copies of the Register of Members' Interests available for sale yearly.The present published version is of the register as at 5 June 1980. The register itself, maintained from day to day, is available for public inspection in the registrar's office, and a copy, revised each week, is placed in the Library.
Scotland
Antenatal Clinics
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give a statement of Government policy on the availability of antenatal clinics and their financing.
Antenatal care is an integral part of obstetric services, and it is for health boards to decide on the number and location of clinics within their areas in the light of local requirements, the resources available and other competing priorities.The cost of clinics is met by health boards from their financial allocations.
Chiropodists
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what progress has been made towards the founding of a school for chiropody in Tayside in view of the general and local shortages of chiropodists.
My Department is continuing to discuss with health boards how expected patterns of demand for chiropody services can best be met. A new school of chiropody in Tayside remains one of the options under consideration.
Mentally Handicapped Persons
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is satisfied with the provision in each health board area of hostel accomodation for the mentally handicapped to enable patients to leave hospital and return to the community.
The Government believe that mentally handicapped people should, in so far as this is possible, live in the community. In order to secure this objective, I recognise that there is a need for more residential accommodation in many areas. The provision of accomodation is the responsibility of local authorities and its geographical distribution reflects their assessment of the provision which should be made within their areas.
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give a response to the Peters and Jay report on the mentally handicapped in Scotland and indicate what recommendations have been accepted.
The Peters report was taken into account by the Scottish Health Service Planning Council in preparing its report "Scottish Health Authorities Priorities for the Eighties" (SHAPE). The latter report, which my right hon. Friend commended to the attention of health boards, included provision for the mentally handicapped in the group of services to which top priority should be given. In respect of the Jay report, I refer the hon. Member to the reply by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services to a question on 22 July 1980.—[Vol. 989, c. 218.]
Special Baby Care Unit (Dundee)
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether, in the light of the work of the special baby care unit in Dundee and the improved figures for baby survival, he will extend similar facilities to other parts of Scotland.
In June last year my Department drew the attention of health boards to a report on standards of perinatal care in Scotland prepared by a joint working party of the National Medical Consultative Committee, which makes recommendations for the improvement and development of services for the new-born, including special and intensive care units for babies.There are already combined intensive-special care units for babies in Glasgow (2), Edinburgh and Aberdeen, as well as in Dundee.
Tonsils And Adenoids (Surgical Operations)
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the reasons for the higher rate of operations for removal of tonsils and adenoids in Scotland.
None.
Education Standards
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will ask Her Majesty's Inspectorate to investigate the effects that reductions in public expenditure are having upon education standards in Scotland.
Education standards are already kept under review by Her Majesty's Inspectorate, and I see no need for a special investigation at present.
Registered Deaths
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many deaths have occurred in Scotland in each of the last five years from cancer, from heart disease and from diabetic conditions, respectively.
The figures for the years 1975 to 1979 are given in the table below. Data for 1980 are not yet available.
| Deaths, Selected Causes, Scotland, 1975–79 | |||||
| Cause | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 |
| Malignant neoplasms | 13,067 | 13,415 | 13,188 | 13,724 | 13,907 |
| Heart disease | 21,270 | 22,043 | 21,696 | 22,598 | 22,870 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 678 | 633 | 645 | 635 | 647 |
Insulin-Dependent Diabetics
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many insulin-dependent diabetics there are in Scotland now and in each of the last five years.
This information is not available.
Stornoway Airfield
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will extend the terms of reference of the inquiry into the proposed NATO extension at Stornoway airfield to include defence considerations.
No. Matters of national defence policy are not appropriate to a local public inquiry.
Farm Properties
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what records are retained by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food of the purchase of farm property in Scotland by institutional pension funds; and if he will make a statement.
The Northfield committee of inquiry into the acquisition and occupancy of agricultural land saw no case for restricting financial institutions' activities in land purchase on the ground that these were forcing up the general level of land prices. The committee did, however, recommend that financial institutions' acquisitions should be closely monitored, and since the committee reported in 1979 the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland has maintained records of such acquisitions, including those by pension funds. It is clearly too soon to establish any trend since the Northfield report, but information about sales reported in 1980 shows that financial institutions purchased approximately 13,000 hectares of agricultural land in Scotland at a cost of £10·7 million; this included 4,700 hectares purchased at a cost of £6·8 million by pension funds. This represents only a small proportion of all purchases of agricultural land.
Chief Inspector Of Prisons
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement about the work of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland.
Mr. D. A. P. Barry CBE took up the new Crown appointment of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland on 1 January 1981. The principles and procedures which he and his team will adopt in inspecting penal establishments in Scotland are set out in a document, copies of which have been placed in the Library.
Employment
Willesden And Wembley
asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many men and women, respectively, are on short-time working within the Willesden and Wembley travel-to-work areas; and what percentage of those in full-time employment this represents.
I regret that the information is not available. Statistics on short-time working are available nationally and regionally, but not for parts of regions.
Ashton
asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people in the Ashton travel-to-work area are currently being supported by the temporary short-time working compensation scheme; and what figures are available about the percentage of workers being made redundant at the end of the period of assistance.
There were 2,748 potentially redundant employees being supported under the temporary' short-time working compensation scheme in the Ashton-under-Lyne travel-to-work area in January 1981.In an evaluation survey carried out at the end of 1979 and summarised in the May 1980 edition of the
Employment Gazette it was shown that about a quarter of the firms consulted thought that they would still have to declare redundancies when their support under the scheme came to an end. A further survey is currently being commissioned.
Redundant Steel Workers (South African Employment)
asked the Secretary of State for Employment what assistance has been given by his Department to the South African authorities to help them in recruiting steel workers made redundant in the United Kingdom, for employment in South Africa.
None.
Youth Opportunities Programme (European Social Fund Assistance)
asked the Secretary of State for Employment how much money from the European social fund allocation of 1980 will be apportioned to the cost of the youth opportunities programme in the youth priority region of North-West England.
The 1980 allocations to the United Kingdom from the European social fund towards the cost of the youth opportunities programme included £39·46 million for the "youth priority regions" of North and North-West England and Scotland taken together. No separate allocation was made in respect of North-West England.
Stalybridge, Hyde And Glossop
asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many (a) men and (b) women regarded as disabled are registered unemployed in the areas covered by the Stalybridge, Hyde and Glossop unemployment offices.
The information requested is available only by jobcentres and employment offices and not unemployment benefit offices. At 15 January 1981, the latest date for which figures are available, the number of disabled men and women registered as unemployed at the Hyde employment office and Stalybridge and Glossop jobcentres were:
| (a) Men | (b) Women | |
| Stalybridge | 63 | 16 |
| Hyde | 199 | 65 |
| Glossop | 91 | 26 |
Household Expenditure
asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if pensioner households are excluded from the construction of the general index of retail prices;(2) what proportion of household expenditure by oneand two-person pensioner households is spent on
(a) housing, (b) fuel, light and power and (c) food—excluding meals bought away from home—what has been the latest annual increase in prices of these categories of expenditure; and if he will show comparisons for all households of these figures;
(3) why housing is excluded from the two special indices of retail prices used for one and two-person pensioner households;
(4) if, in order to ensure a more effective uprating of national insurance supplementary and other social security benefits, he will introduce a low-income family retail price index to reflect the special expenditure patterns of such families;
(5) how many members of one or two-person pensioner households are members of the retail price index advisory committee; what proportion of members of the committee this represents: and how this compares with the proportion of male and female pensioners in the population as a whole.
I shall reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
Wales
Non-Departmental Public Bodies
asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many cases have occurred in non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible, over the last 10 years, where compensation has been paid to any person who is a part-time member of the body who ceases to be a member otherwise than on the expiry of a term of office where he considered that there were special circumstances making it right that compensation should be paid; how much money was paid on each occasion; and what were the considerations in each case which caused him to make the decision to pay compensation.
Within the field of responsibility of the Secretary of State for Wales there has been in the past 10 years one application for compensation from a non-departmental public body, in respect of three members. It is not the practice to publish detailed information on the circumstances of individual cases, but the total compensation paid in these cases amounted to £758. As a general rule, compensation is payable only when a member is asked to leave early and cannot make good the resulting loss of income from alternative employment.
Farm Incomes
asked the Secretary of State for Wales how farm incomes in Wales have compared with other European Economic Community countries over the last five years; and if he will give comparative figures for each of those years.
The information is not available in the form requested but similar information is contained in Eurostat Economic Accounts, copies of which are in the Library.
Nursery Education
asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list (a) the nursery schools and (b) those maintained primary schools which have nursery classes in each local education authority in Wales.
The table below shows, for each local education authority in Wales, the number of nursery schools and the number of maintained primary schools having nursery classes in January 1980.
| Maintained Nursery Schools and Primary Schools with Nursery Classes—January 1980 | ||
| Number of schools | ||
| Nursery schools | Primary schools with nursery classes | |
| Clwyd | 4 | 66 |
| Dyfed | 4 | 49 |
| Gwent | 18 | 35 |
| Gwynedd | — | 41 |
| Mid Glamorgan | 24 | 129 |
| Powys | — | 25 |
| South Glamorgan | 12 | 30 |
| West Glamorgan | 7 | 115 |
| Wales | 69 | 490 |
Severn Bridge (Heavy Lorry Use)
asked the Secretary of State for Wales, in considering the recommendations of the Armitage report, what assessment he has made of the change in pattern of road use which would result from lorries over 32 tons being unable to use the Severn bridge.
No assessment of the effects of such a restriction has been made. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport stated in his reply to the hon. Member for Truro (Mr. Penhaligon) on 3 February 1981—[Vol. 998, c. 97]—the findings of the Armitage report were that weight restrictions would not be needed under normal traffic flow conditions, subject to appropriate axle spacings being adopted. The effect of possible queues of heavier vehicles is being studied.
Northern Ireland
Civil Servants (Pay)
asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what procedures are followed in determining the pay of Northern Ireland civil servants.
The pay of non-industrial and a few industrial grades in the Northern Ireland Civil Service follows that of equivalent grades in the Home Civil Service. The pay of other industrial staff follows that of workers in appropriate parts of the public sector in Great Britain in some cases; in others it is based on local Northern Ireland pay settlements.
Civil Service Manpower
asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish figures showing the size of the Northern Ireland Civil Service on 1 January of each year since 1971
Figures at 1 January are not readily available prior to 1977. The size of the Northern Ireland Civil Service at the nearest available date is as follows:
| Number | |
| June 1971 | 16,873 |
| June 1972 | 18,331 |
| June 1973 | 20,591 |
| June 1974 | 30,154 |
| June 1975 | 33,537 |
| June 1976 | 33,153 |
| January 1977 | 33,455 |
| January 1978 | 32,929 |
| January 1979 | 33,287 |
| January 1980 | 32,553 |
| January 1981 | 31,904 |
Transport
Railways (Investment)
20.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport how public expenditure on the operation and investment in railways compares between the United Kingdom and other Community countries.
Useful comparisons are very difficult to make because of variations in accounting systems, treatment of public expenditure and arrangements for financial support in each of the Community countries.
Barmouth Viaduct
21.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport what money he proposes to make available to British Railways for the reconstruction of the Barmouth viaduct on the Cambrian coast railway line.
I welcome the Railways Board's decision to spend £300,000 on immediate repairs to Barmouth viaduct to ensure that it is open to trains this summer. I am discussing with the board the additional repairs needed to secure the long-term future of the line.
Advanced Passenger Train
22.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport what are the problems affecting the starting date of the advanced passenger train; and what will be the effect of this on future investment programmes for commuter services.
The advanced passenger train project has suffered from a variety of delays since the construction of the prototypes was approved in 1974, the most recent being the need to make modifications to the tilt mechanism and the braking system. The choice of investment priorities is a matter for the board but I see no reason why the delays with the APT should affect future investment programmes for commuter services.
35.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the total financial spending involved in the current advanced passenger train development programme.
I understand from the Railways Board that the expenditure to date on the advanced passenger train project amounts to about £42 million.
Concessionary Bus Fares
23.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will now give further consideration to (he question of a national system of concessionary bus fares.
It remains my view that local authorities are best placed to decide what concessions to provide having regard to their local needs and priorities.
Express Bus Services
24.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many express bus services have started as a result of the Transport Act 1980; and if he will make a statement.
We estimate that over 100 new express services have already developed and a further 100 are due to start in the spring or summer. Not only have new services developed, but fares have fallen and more people are travelling by coach.
Ely Bypass
25.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will make a statement on progress with the Ely bypass.
The bypass remains in the Government's trunk road programme in the reserve list for 1982–83. Detailed designs were published in October 1979, but we are still considering the objections that were then received.
Car Sharing
26.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will consider further action in order to encourage car sharing schemes.
The leaflets and posters we have issued have been widely welcomed and I am now building on this with a campaign of sponsored advertising in the national press and on local radio stations. This will be followed next month by a local campaign in two areas—Suffolk and South Lincolnshire—encouraging drivers to share their cars with neighbours who have no access to public transport.
Railways (Eastern Region)
27.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to make more money available to British Railways through the public service obligation to continue operating branch and rural lines in the Eastern region.
My right hon. Friend has already announced in December that the ceiling on central Government payments of public service obligation grant for 1981 will be £678 million, which is £23 million more than previously planned. This grant is paid towards the passenger railway as a whole. Moreover, my right hon. Friend and I have made it clear on many occasions that we are not prepared to agree to substantial cuts in the rail passenger network—in Eastern region or anywhere else. We believe that the future of rural services and branch lines will best be secured by increased efficiency and productivity, and by the adoption of low-cost methods of operation.
Trunk Roads (Construction)
28.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport how the proportion of the proposed 1981–82 roads budget spent on trunk road construction compares with the proportion of the 1980–81 roads budget spent on the same item.
The amount allocated for investment in motorways and trunk roads in 1980–81 is £407 million. That is 74 per cent. of the revised cash limit of £548 million. The Estimates for 1981–82 will be published at the time of the Budget.
Central Line (Epping To Ongar)
29.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he has yet reached a decision on the future of the Epping to Ongar branch of the Central line.
I shall do so very shortly.
Railways
asked the Secretary of State for Transport when he next expects to meet the chairman of British Railways to discuss the future financing of the railways.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport when he next expects to meet the chairman of British Railways to discuss the future structure of the railways.
32.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport when he next expects to meet the chairman of British Railways to discuss rail services and investment programmes.
I meet the chairman of British Railways frequently to discuss a wide range of topics, including financing of the railways.
Railways (Electrification)
33.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport when he will next meet the chairman of British Railways to discuss plans for further electrification.
I am considering the report of the joint review of main line electrification and keep closely in touch with the chairman of BRB on it.
Transport Act 1962 (Consultation Procedures)
34.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he has any plans to amend sections 54, 55 and 56 of the Transport Act 1962 on consultation procedures.
No.
British Railways Hotels
36.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether any progress has been made by British Rail Holdings on the sale of British Railways hotels.
The Railways Board and its subsidiary, British Rail Investments Ltd., is considering a number of options for the future of British Transport Hotels Ltd. I expect it in due course to propose to me an action plan for introducing private capital into this and other BRB subsidiaries.
Road Schemes (1981 Reserve List)
37.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the seven road schemes in the 1980–81 reserve list to start.
We intend to start the Heckington bypass definitely, and the A6 Elstow bypass, the A49 Brimfield bypass, the A66 Troutbeck diversion and the A590 Greenodd diversion probably, this year.Ipswich Eastern bypass will not be ready until 1982, and the A69 Rosehill to Scotby Road in Cumbria is being transferred to the regional programme of smaller improvements and will go ahead when resources are available.
Rail Exports
38.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport what recent action has been taken to promote rail exports.
We are doing all we can to help United Kingdom firms in the export field. During 1980 a total of between £28 million and £31 million was provided from Government sources to assist the industry in winning overseas contracts, compared with £22 million in 1979. Officials of several Government Departments are engaged in discussions with the firms which sent representatives to China last year, with a view to furthering their interests in negotiations with the Chinese Minister of Railways under the agreement concluded in 1979. We are also consulting industry and British Rail on how firms in the transport field can be assisted in winning orders in other markets.
Heavy Lorries
39.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport what relationship he foresees between maximum heavy lorry weights and sizes in the future and physical control over the areas where such vehicles may move and park.
Most such controls are imposed for reasons of amenity or to protect bridges. The Armitage report does not envisage any additional controls being required for the types of lorry recommended, on the grounds that these would not be environmentally worse or more damaging to bridges than existing vehicles.
Channel Tunnel
40.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the number of proposals he has received in connection with the Channel tunnel project.
To date I have received six proposals following my statement last March. Several more proposals are expected. And I look forward to the report to the House next month of the Select Committee on Transport.
Defence
Nuclear Explosions
asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is his estimate of the radius and depth of the crater that would be created by a 1 megaton device blasted on the ground.
For representative geology, it is estimated that a one megaton explosion at ground level would produce a crater approximately 900 ft in diameter and 200 ft deep.
asked the Secretary of State for Defence what are the radioactive half-lives of the principal components in nuclear blast fall-out.
Nuclear fall-out contains many radioactive isotopes. Most of these have half-lives of less than one day. Of the longer lived isotopes, three of the most important biologically are iodine-131, strontium-90 and caesium-137 whose half-lives are eight days, 27·7 years and 30·0 years respectively.
asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is his estimate of the destructive force of a 1 megaton nuclear device upon buildings within a 5-mile radius from the centre of the blast.
For a 1 megaton surface burst, in typical atmospheric conditions, reinforced concrete buildings would be destroyed to a radius of about 1 mile and severely damaged to about 1½ miles, brick buildings would be destroyed and severely damaged to radii of about 3 and 4 miles respectively.
asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is his estimate of (a) blast deaths and (b) severe casualties in the following radii from the centre of a 1 megaton nuclear device (i) 2 miles and (ii) 5 miles.
It is estimated that up to 90 per cent. of the population would be killed within 2 miles of a 1 megaton surface burst and a further 5 per cent. would be severely injured; at distances between 2 and 5 miles, up to 40 per cent. would be killed and 20 per cent. severely injured.
asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is his estimate of the wind speeds that would be induced within a 5-mile radius from the centre of a 1 megaton nuclear device.
A 1 megaton surface burst in typical atmospheric conditions would produce maximum wind velocities of about 200 and 60 miles per hour at 2 and 5 miles respectively, although the winds would decrease to small fractions of these speeds in a few seconds.
Rapier
asked the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects that the memorandum of understanding on the purchase of Rapier by the United States Air Force will be signed.
The memorandum of understanding was signed on 13 February 1981, and we have authority from the United States to initiate the programme with British Aerospace. The value of the project to British industry is assessed at £140 million.
Recruitment Statistics
asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many people in Scotland have joined the Armed Forces in each of the past five years.
The information requested is as follows:
| Royal Navy | Army | Royal Air Force | Total | |
| 1975–76 | 896 | 2,867 | 705 | 4,568 |
| 1976–77 | 872 | 2,547 | 698 | 4,027 |
| 1977–78 | 607 | 2,240 | 816 | 3,663 |
| 1978–79 | 579 | 2,641 | 1,058 | 4,278 |
| 1979–80 | 727 | 3,170 | 1,166 | 5,063 |
| 1980–81* | 588 | 2,796 | 927 | 4,311 |
| * (April-December) | ||||
Expenditure And Procurement Policy
asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish in the Official Report his reply to a letter from the hon. Member for Eccles on Government policy on defence expenditure and procurement; if he will give a measure of his Department's support for British firms; and if he will make a statement.
My letter to the hon. Gentleman is reproduced below:
"Thank you for sending me a copy of the letter of 6th February which you received from Mr. A. Southern, Production Director of Magnesium Elektron Ltd.
I am afraid that Mr. Southern has got most of his facts wrong. First, on the question of defence expenditure, I would draw your and his attention to the statement that I made in the House on 20 January. You will see from that that we are not in fact reducing defence expenditure. On the contrary, our expenditure on defence in the coming financial year is expected to be of the order of £12¼ billion, representing a real increase of about 8 per cent. since the Government took office, and a much higher proportion of GDP spent on defence than by any of our main European allies, and close to the proportion spent by the United States. It remains the Government's determination to give a very high priority to defence, and our aim to continue, from the revised 1981–82 base line, an annual increase in defence expenditure in real terms in the region of 3 per cent.; and we spend a bigger proportion of our defence budget on major equipment than any other NATO country.
These are very real achievements but they do not mean that adjustments are not required in the defence programme. Some of the changes I announced on 20 January followed from the normal annual appraisal of the programme, others from the decision taken last November to slow down the rate of growth in defence spending next year as part of the effort to reduce the total of public expenditure. The effect of this is not a cut but rather a slight reduction in the planned rate of growth by a very small part of our overall defence effort; and I have sought to achieve the necessary savings as far as possible by accelerating the phasing out of some older equipment, the deferment rather than the cancellation of equipment procurement, the trimming of works and training programmes, and further reduction of overheads. With so much of the programme already committed, it is not easy to make adjustments quickly, but the changes that have had to be made were selected to ensure the maximum possible maintenance of our defence industrial and technological capabilities and to cause the least difficulty consistent with our defence aims and financial circumstances.
Nor is it by any means true, as Mr. Southern says, that when consideration is given to purchasing equipment from abroad the Defence Procurement Office's decisions are made simply on the basis of the cheapest negotiable price or that employment, industrial and technological factors are ignored in reaching decisions whether to purchase in this country or abroad. On the contrary, overseas purchases are an exception, approved only after most rigorous scrutiny of all factors, and only where the British product fails by a substantial margin on grounds of cost, performance or timescale. In fact, in recent years about 75 per cent. of our defence equipment expenditure has gone to national contracts placed with British industry; our share of collaborative projects has taken another 15 per cent.; and only 10 per cent. is spent on contracts placed overseas where there has been good reason to do so. Our expenditure with British industry will amount to nearly £4½ billion this year. This is a substantial real increase over last year, and in cash terms is nearly £ 1,000 million more. Defence can hardly be criticised for failing to support British industry.
Finally, Mr. Southern mentioned the Trident programme as an example of work which might have gone to British industry. I am afraid that to develop and produce in this country an alternative ballistic missile with an equivalent operational capability would have been a great deal more costly and have involved much more uncertainly than adopting the proven Trident system, particularly as we left this area of technology in the early 1960s. Nor would it have made economic sense to set up a production line to manufacture Trident under licence given the very small production run. Despite that, we estimate that at least 70 per cent. of the total cost of the Trident programme will be spent in this country on submarines, on warheads and on capital construction.
In short, we buy British whenever it is practicable and reasonable to do so, but we cannot afford to pay significantly over the odds simply in order to buy British, and it is consequently just as important now as ever before—indeed, if anything, more so—for our defence industry, and our industry as a whole, to maintain an effective competitiveness in the world market.
(signed) John Nott."
Social Services
Unemployed Persons
asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish figures on the basis of his Department's cohort study of the unemployed, showing what percentage of the sample were (a) registered disabled, (b) not registered disabled but with health problems likely to affect the work which they could do, (c) in receipt of redundancy payments, (d) occupational pensioners, (e) waiting to take a job already arranged, (f) casual workers, for instance those with previous jobs in the holiday or fruit industries and (g) part-time workers.
The information requested, from the Department's cohort study of a national sample of men registering as unemployed, and claiming benefits in the Autumn of 1978, is as follows:Of those interviewed about one month after registration:
(a) 4 per cent. reported being registered disabled; (b) 15 per cent. said that, although not registered disabled, they did have a disability which affected the sort of work they could do; (c) 7 per cent. reported receiving a redundancy payment from their last employer; (d) 6 per cent. reported receiving an occupational pension.
Information was not collected in the form which would be required to answer the remaining questions. Relevant information available is:
- (e) 3 per cent. said that their main reason for leaving their last job was that they expected to start another;
- (f) 19 per cent. said that their main reason for leaving their last job was that the job was temporary or that their contract ran out.
- (g) 2 per cent. reported being in part-time work—that is, under 30 hours per week—in the week prior to registering as unemployed.
Analysis and writing up of the cohort study data are still in progress.
asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many of the unemployed interviewed in the cohort study were without entitlement to national insurance unemployment benefit; and, of those, how many had been self-employed.
The cohort study collected information on benefit receipt, not on benefit entitlement. About one-third of the sample did not receive national insurance unemployment benefit during their short period of unemployment, or during the first 13 weeks of a longer spell. The reasons will have included previous exhaustion of entitlement, contribution deficiencies, and self-employment. It is currently not known how many of these people had been self-employed.
asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will publish figures, on the basis of the cohort study of the unemployed, showing the average number of job applications made per week (a) by the percentage of the sample who were still unemployed at the second interview and (b) by those who returned to work between interviews one and two;(2) how many of the unemployed men taking part in his Department's cohort study made no job application between interviews one and two.
Information is not available in the form requested. Analysis of the data is still in progress, and some information will become available on the total number of job applications made by those who reported being continuously unemployed until the second interview. Fifty-four per cent. of the sample had had no full-time work between registration and the time of the second interview, although they were not necessarily registered as unemployed throughtout this period—for example, they might have been sick. Of these, 77 per cent were seeking work at the second interview; and for those seeking work, the median number of job applications made between registration and second interview was four. Eighteen per cent. of those still seeking work reported that they had not made a job application between registration and the time of the second interview. No information was collected on the job applications made earlier in the study by those not seeking work at the second interview.
asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, of the 80 per cent. at the second interview of the cohort study of the unemployed who reported that they were looking for work; what was the average amount of (a) money, and (b) time spent per week on job search, by (i) the over 50-year-olds, (ii) married men with children and (iii) single men under 25 years.
The average (mean) amounts of time and money spent on job search are not available. The median amounts are shown in the table below for those registered as unemployed at the second interview—although not necessarily continuously registered as unemployed since the start of the study—who were still seeking work.
| Median amount of money spent per week on job search | Median time spent per week on job search | |
| Aged over 50 | under 50p | under 5 hours |
| married man with children | £1–2 | 6–9 hours |
| Aged under 25* | 50p£l | 6–9 hours |
| *The information is not currently available for single men under 25. However, over 80 per cent. of those aged under 25 were single. | ||
asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many of the unemployed taking part in the cohort study undertook some form of training or further education in order to improve their marketable skills.
Information on training was collected at the third interview in the cohort study, but the data have not yet been fully analysed.
asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what was the average length of time taken by unemployed people, taking part in the cohort study and who were in receipt of redundancy payments, to find new employment; and how this compared with the length of time taken by other people of similar age, family circumstances, and with similar skills, but who did not have redundancy money;(2) how many and what percentage of the unemployed taking part in the cohort study were in receipt of earnings-related supplement; and, of these, how many were back at work within less than one, two, four and six months.
The relevant analyses have not yet been completed.
asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many and what percentage of the 25 per cent. of the unemployed identified in the cohort study who reported three or more spells of unemployment during the previous five years had been employed in the holiday or fruit industries.
The industrial coding was not sufficiently detailed to enable those who had worked in the holiday or fruit industries to be separately identified.
asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish a table on the basis of information from the cohort study of the unemployed showing duration of unemployment by family type.
The information is not yet available in the form requested. However, the following table shows the proportion who reported that they had been continuously registered as unemployed up to the time of the second interview. This took place four to five months after registration.
| Percentage reporting continuously registered as unemployed to 2nd interview | |
| Single men | 44 |
| Married men without children | 53 |
| Married men with one child | 50 |
| Married men with two children | 47 |
| Married men with three children | 43 |
| Married men with four of more children | 59 |
| Single men with children* | 45 |
| *based on very small sample | |
asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how he accounts for the fact that 30 per cent. of the unemployed interviewed as part of the cohort study of the unemployed were unclear about the level of their previous earnings.
My hon. Friend has not fully appreciated the published evidence. Data are not available on the usual earnings in the last full-time job of 29 per cent. of the sample for the following reasons:
(i) 12 per cent. were not asked about their previous earnings in the immediate year past because they had not had a full-time job in that year—eg. because they were sick; (ii) 4 per cent. were self-employed and the information collected from them was not directly comparable with that collected from employees; (iii) 9 per cent. were not able—eg. because their earnings were irregular—to provide information on usual earnings; (iv) 3 per cent. were not willing to provide information on earnings.
Note: Numbers do not add up exactly to 29 per cent, due to rounding.
Health Education
asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what proposals he now has for increasing the effectiveness of health education.
The Department has just published "Care in Action", a handbook of policies and priorities in the health and personal social services, which emphasises the important part that health education plays in preventing ill health. Ministers will continue to take every opportunity to emphasise this in the future.The Health Education Council has been provided with additional funds of £500,000 this year, which will be increased to £1 million in 1981–82, for a new anti-smoking initiative specially directed at children.
Insulin-Dependent Diabetics
asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many insulin-dependent diabetics there are in England now and in each of the last five years.
There are no central statistics of the number of diabetics requiring insulin in England, but I understand that the British Diabetic Association has estimated that there are some 200,000 in Great Britain as a whole.
Family Planning
asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many family planning clinics there are; and what has been the cost to public funds of running them over the past five years.
The latest information available is that at 31 December 1979 there were 1,743 family planning clinics in England providing a service for NHS patients. The cost to public funds of running such clinics, including the cost of contraceptives issued to patients, has been:
| (Outturn prices) | |
| £ million | |
| 1975–76 | 7·6 |
| 1976–77 | 11·5 |
| 1977–78 | 12·8 |
| 1978–79 | 14·4 |
| 1979–80 | 16·2 |
Stalybridge, Hyde And Glossop
asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) whether, pursuant to his reply on 28
| Grant £ million | Overspent £ million | Underspent £ million | |
| (a) Training and refresher courses for general medical practitioners (including traveling expenses of doctors attending courses). | 1·140 | — | 0·045 |
| Council for post-graduate medical education and training | 0218 | 0·011 | — |
| Attachment scheme for overseas doctors | 0·134 | 0·026 | — |
| (b)The General Nursing Council. Mainly for the administration and other expenses of regional nurse training committees | 35·563 | — | 1·109 |
| (c)The Health Education Council (United Kingdom figures) | 4·572 | — | 0·030 |
| (d)Supplies and equipment, Mainly for the supply and repair etc. of artificial limbs, appliances and vechicles for the disabled. (The grant excludes an amount of 23·614 millions for central purchases recharged to health authorities | 52·879 | 1·496 | — |
| (e)Training and refresher courses for dentists, pharmacists, opticians and ancillary workers | 0·200 | — | 0·015 |
| Training services for NHS members and staff | 3·100 | — | 0·585 |
| Support of occupational therapy students | 3·025 | — | 0·014 |
| Miscellaneous training grants | 0·256 | — | 0·071 |
| Joint Board of Clinical Nursing Studies | 0·352 | 0·002 | — |
| School for Dental Auxiliaries | 0·574 | — | 0·001 |
| Midwife Teachers Training College (Grant in Aid) | 0·022 | — | — |
| Council for Education and Training of Health Visitors | 0·364 | — | 0·004 |
I shall write to the hon. Member.
Disciplined Consultants (Merit Awards)
asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if a consultant who has been disciplined by a health authority and whose personal file holds a note of a formal warning for a specified number of years remains eligible for merit awards.
Yes, provided he is under the age of 65.
Health And Hospital Services
asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how much was allocated in the financial year 1979–80 for (a) training programmes for doctors, (b) the General Nursing Council, (c) the Health Education Council, (d) supplies and equipment and (e) health service staff training programmes; and by how much the allocations were overspent or underspent in each case.
The following figures relate to payments made centrally by the Department in 1979–80:
Health Authorities (Expenditure)
asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how much was allocated to each health authority for capital programmes in 1979–80: and what was the outturn in each case.
The capital cash limits allocation and outturn for each regional health authority in 1979–80 was as follows:
| £000 | ||
| Regional Health Authority | Cash Limits 1979–80, | Outturn 1979–80 |
| 1. Northern | 28,295 | 25,076 |
| 2. Yorkshire | 32,108 | 30,340 |
| 3. Trent | 45,328 | 45,130 |
| 4. East Anglia | 22,823 | 21,603 |
| 5. N W Thames | 23,313 | 24,303 |
| 6. N E Thames | 30,830 | 29,678 |
| 7. S E Thames | 24,544 | 25,905 |
| 8. S W Thames | 21,401 | 21,475 |
| 9. Wessex | 21,415 | 21,152 |
| 10. Oxford | 12,602 | 11,905 |
| 11. South-Western | 23,083 | 23,380 |
| 12. West Midlands | 32,838 | 35,890 |
| 13. Mersey | 26,049 | 25,142 |
| 14. North-Western | 45,718 | 46,825 |
asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how much was allocated to each health authority in 1979–80; and what was the outturn in each case.
The revenue cash limit allocation and outturn for each regional health authority in 1979–80 was as follows—
| £000 | ||
| Regional Health Authority | Cash Limits 1979–80, | Outturn 1979–80 |
| Northern | 331,882 | 330,112 |
| Yorkshire | 376,079 | 372,595 |
| Trent | 437,607 | 438,074 |
| E Anglia | 182,967 | 181,141 |
| NW Thames | 438,776 | 437,146 |
| NE Thames | 480,181 | 476.613 |
| S E Thames | 451,820 | 453,428 |
| S W Thames | 354,414 | 354,505 |
| Wessex | 268,211 | 266,289 |
| Oxford | 216,710 | 216,251 |
| South-Western | 328,933 | 327,775 |
| West Midlands | 522,974 | 522,583 |
| Mersey | 283,871 | 282,163 |
| North-Western | 456,857 | 457,738 |
Health And Personal Social Services
asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he intends to publish guidance on his policies and priorities for the health and personal social services.
1 have today published "Care in Action"—a handbook of policies and priorities for the health and personal social services in England. Copies of the handbook are available in the Vote Office.The Government's immediate concern on taking office was to streamline the administration of the National Health Service, along the lines recommended by the Royal Commission. This is now under way and the new district health authorities to be appointed during 1981 will, in most parts of England, assume responsibilty in April 1982.It is, therefore, timely that the Government should set out for the new health authorities, for local government and for the voluntary movement, the policies and priorities which should guide them in their work.
The handbook is intended to be a practical document. It deals with national policies reflecting, for example, the emphasis we place on prevention and on the priority to be given to certain groups and services. It also emphasises that decisions affecting a particular locality, and the way to achieve them, are best made locally. This blend of national policy with local responsibility for decision-taking is the theme of the current reorganisation of the National Health Service, and it is carried forward in the handbook.
The priorities set out in the handbook in general follow those of sucessive Governments in recent years. As well as prevention, they include services for the elderly, the mentally handicapped, the mentally ill and the physically and sensorily handicapped; other priority services are those for maternity care, neonatal care, primary care, and services related to the care of young children at risk and to the care and treatment of juvenile offenders. We also emphasise the individual's responsibility for his own health; the importance of the family and of the whole network of support available within the community and through the voluntary services; and also the importance of a proper partnership with the private health sector.
We want to see close collaboration between health authorities and local government and with the voluntary sector.
Another theme in the handbook is the need to improve efficiency. Until the economy improves, we cannot afford to spend more than already planned. This makes it doubly important to secure the best value we can for the money spent.
The provision of health and personal social services at a time of economic difficulty presents a challenge to us all I hope that "Care in Action" will help us to meet that challenge.
Perinatal Mortality
asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give the perinatal mortality rates for 1979 and early 1980 for babies weighing (a) under 1,000 grams, (b) 1,001 to 1,500 grams, (c) 1,501 to 2,000 grams, (d) 2,001 to 2,500 grams and (e) over 2,500 grams for England and each area health authority; and if he will make a statement.
[pursuant to his reply, 3 February 1981. c. 90–91]: Perinatal mortality rates for 1979 in the categories specified have now been calculated by the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit, as part of a larger study, from data supplied by the Department and the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, and are set out in the following table. Information for 1980 is not yet available. The rates shown, particularly for birthweights of 1,500 grams and below, are based on very small numbers and need to be interpreted with great caution. They can vary considerably from year to year and fairly large differences between rates for two area health authorities may still be within the bounds of chance variation.
1979 Perinatal Mortality Rates per 1,000 Total Births: for Babies weighing
| |||||
Area Health Authority
| (a) 1,000 grams or less
| (b) 1,001–1,500 grams
| (c) 1,501–2,000 grams
| (d) 2,001–2,500 grams
| (e)Over 2,500 grams
|
| England | 772 | 415 | 152 | 38·7 | 5·3r |
| Northern Region | |||||
| Cleveland | 774 | 422 | 186 | 58·5 | 6·9 |
| Cumbria | 824 | 611 | 200 | 42·2 | 5·8 |
| Durham | 958 | 653 | 215 | 33·2 | 4·9 |
| Northumberland | 917 | 500 | 143 | 51·0 | 5·4 |
| Gateshead | 909 | 682 | 177 | 32·1 | 5·7 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 846 | 400 | 100 | 47·0 | 8·5 |
| North Tyneside | 1,000 | 563 | 125 | 42·7 | 7·8 |
| South Tyneside | 1,000 | 500 | 207 | 37·4 | 5·3 |
| Sunderland | 1,000 | 500 | 154 | 56·5 | 5·3 |
| Yorkshire Region | |||||
| Humberside | 780 | 492 | 147 | 49·3 | 4·8 |
| North Yorkshire | 828 | 397 | 227 | 44·5 | 3·9 |
| Bradford | 824 | 453 | 144 | 28·2 | 6·1 |
| Calderdale | 800 | 571 | 250 | 46·1 | 4·7 |
| Kirklees | 786 | 441 | 132 | 29·7 | 7·5 |
| Leeds | 813 | 429 | 162 | 42·5 | 5·2 |
| Wakefield | 1,000 | 727 | 196 | 30·2 | 4·0 |
| Trent Region | |||||
| Derbyshire | 818 | 439 | 161 | 33·5 | 5·4 |
| Leicestershire | 612 | 372 | 122 | 36·6 | 6·2 |
| Lincolnshire | 833 | 293 | 194 | 50·8 | 5·7 |
| Nottinghamshire | 679 | 444 | 183 | 55·6 | 3·8 |
| Barnsley | 778 | 211 | 237 | 86·3 | 4·5 |
| Doncaster | 778 | 300 | 231 | 34·9 | 4·7 |
| Rotherham | 733 | 458 | 140 | 15·4 | 7·3 |
| Sheffield | 688 | 372 | 212 | 43·3 | 2·8 |
1979 Perinatal Mortality Rates per 1,000 Total Births
| |||||
for Babies weighing
| |||||
Area Health Authority
| (a) 1,000 grams or less
| (b) 1,001to1,500 grams
| (c) 1,501to2,000 grams
| (d) 2,001to2,500 grams
| (e)Over 2,500 grams
|
| East Anglia Region | |||||
| Cambridgeshire | 808 | 465 | 93 | 14·1 | 6·0 |
| Norfolk | 714 | 414 | 208 | 35·3 | 5·1 |
| Suffolk | 867 | 361 | 107 | 60·0 | 4·0 |
| North West Thames Region | |||||
| Bedfordshire | 784 | 500 | 128 | 62·3 | 6·7 |
| Hertfordshire | 816 | 423 | 107 | 38·1 | 3·8 |
| Barnet | 611 | 310 | 100 | 30·8 | 2·8 |
| Brent/Harrow | 650 | 333 | 116 | 22·2 | 5·9 |
| Ealing/Hammersmith/Hounslow | 740 | 301 | 102 | 34·3 | 3·9 |
| Hillingdon | 1,000 | 455 | 174 | 16·4 | 5·2 |
| Kensington/Chelsea/Westminster | 619 | 333 | 89 | 24·4 | 3·8 |
| North East Thames Region | |||||
| Essex | 667 | 374 | 158 | 49·1 | 4·6 |
| Barking/Havering | 867 | 533 | 186 | 59·3 | 2·7 |
| Camden/Islington | 467 | 361 | 160 | 29·4 | 5·4 |
| City/Hackney/Newham/Tower Hamlet | 725 | 412 | 151 | 38·0 | 6·3 |
| Enfield/Haringey | 750 | 195 | 92 | 21·7 | 5·0 |
| Redbridge/Waltham Forest | 720 | 477 | 102 | 36·3 | 3·3 |
| South East Thames Region | |||||
| East Sussex | 667 | 489 | 222 | 27·7 | 3·3 |
| Kent | 768 | 400 | 128 | 34·1 | 5·4 |
| Bexley/Greenwich | 790 | 353 | 157 | 18·8 | 5·6 |
| Bromley | 750 | 278 | 179 | 58·1 | 4·8 |
| Lambeth/Lewisham/Southwark | 750 | 380 | 124 | 31·5 | 4·5 |
1979 Perinatal Mortality Rales per 1,000 Total Births
| |||||
for Babies weighing
| |||||
Area Health Authority
| (a) 1,000 grams or less
| (b) 1,001–1,500 grams
| (c) 1,501–2,000 grams
| (d) 2,001–2,500 grams
| (e)Over 2,500 grams
|
| South West Thames Region | |||||
| Surrey | 750 | 321 | 102 | 27·3 | *6·l |
| West Sussex | 864 | 521 | 226 | 56·9 | 4·6 |
| Croydon | 833 | 393 | 159 | 58·5 | 6·1 |
| Kingston/Richmond | 600 | 381 | 91 | 61·9 | 2·3 |
| Merton/Sutton/Wandsworth | 690 | 308 | 150 | 22·3 | 4·8 |
| Wessex Region | |||||
| Dorset | 733 | 394 | 123 | 41·7 | 5·0 |
| for Babies weighing | |||||
Area Health Authority
| (a) 1,000 grams or less
| (b) 1,001–1,500 grams
| (c) 1,501–2,000 grams
| (d) 2,001–2,500 grams
| (e)Over 2,500 grams
|
| Hampshire | 614 | 355 | 144 | 41·1 | *2·3 |
| Wiltshire | 840 | 433 | 167 | 31·7 | 6·8 |
| Isle of Wight | 1,000 | 800 | 267 | 83·3 | 4·3 |
* Unreliable, low weight births to West Surrey residents included in Hampshire return not Surrey. | |||||
1979 Perinatal Mortality Rates per 1,000 Total Births
| |||||
for Babies weighing
| |||||
Area Health Authority
| (a) 1,000 grams or less
| (b) 1,001to1,500 grams
| (c) 1,501to2,000 grams
| (d) 2,001to2,500 grams
| (e)Over 2,500 grams
|
| Oxford Region | |||||
| Berkshire | 862 | 380 | 150 | 34·6 | 3·3 |
| Buckinghamshire | 737 | 320 | 96 | 46·2 | 5·4 |
| Northamptonshire | 917 | 357 | 128 | 47·2 | 5·7 |
| Oxfordshire | 667 | 487 | 97 | 20·7 | 31 |
| South Western Region | |||||
| Avon | 850 | 301 | 92 | 44·9 | 5·3 |
| Cornwall/Isles of Scilly | 813 | 464 | 167 | 31·1 | 6·6 |
| Devon | 792 | 345 | 177 | 28·8 | 5·2 |
| Gloucestershire | 750 | 333 | 90 | 24·7 | 5·8 |
| Somerset | 909 | 500 | 102 | 52·3 | 7·5 |
| West Midlands Region | |||||
| Hereford and Worcester | 783 | 465 | 212 | 19·9 | 6·5 |
| Salop | 783 | 447 | 141 | 46·6 | 6·0 |
| Staffordshire | 881 | 398 | 199 | 52·4 | 5·4 |
| Warwickshire | 857 | 414 | 115 | 37·0 | 7·5 |
| Birmingham | 750 | 518 | 139 | 30·1 | 5·2 |
| Coventry | 760 | 177 | 114 | 30·8 | 10·2 |
| Dudley | 929 | 706 | 232 | 34·3 | 7·3 |
| Sandwell | 857 | 500 | 229 | 37·3 | 7·2 |
| Solihull | 667 | 667 | 167 | 29·1 | 4·2 |
| Walsall | 800 | 406 | 161 | 31·3 | 6·8 |
| Wolverhampton | 778 | 611 | 120 | 40·5 | 4·7 |
1979 Perinatal Mortality Rates per 1000 Total Births
| |||||
for Babies weighing
| |||||
Area Health Authority
| (a) 1,000 grams or less
| (b) 1,001to1,500 grams
| (c) 1,501to2,000 grams
| (d) 2,001to2,500 grams
| (e)Over 2,500 grams
|
| Mersey Region | |||||
| Cheshire | 929 | 466 | 124 | 60·7 | 7·1 |
| Liverpool | 542 | 488 | 143 | 18·3 | 7·6 |
| St. Helens/Knowsley | 704 | 304 | 175 | 32·6 | 10·8 |
| Sefton | 539 | 320 | 104 | 48·3 | 4·6 |
| Wirral | 1000 | 360 | 115 | 48·5 | 5·8 |
| North Western Region | |||||
| Lancashire | 820 | 392 | 224 | 35·8 | 5·2 |
| Bolton | 824 | 714 | 100 | 55·6 | 8·2 |
| Bury | 600 | 409 | 167 | 38·2 | 4·0 |
| Manchester | 757 | 274 | 137 | 29·6 | 4·6 |
| Oldham | 1000 | 308 | 96 | 26·0 | 9·2 |
| Rochdale | 722 | 500 | 76 | 34·5 | 4·6 |
| Salford | 950 | 400 | 161 | 65·9 | 5·0 |
| Stockport | 667 | 552 | 133 | 33·1 | 5·1 |
| Tameside | 1000 | 364 | 177 | 44·6 | 9·4 |
| Trafford | 875 | 333 | 269 | 59·8 | 4·3 |
| Wigan | 667 | 522 | 351 | 60·1 | 4·5 |
Food Allergies (Research)
asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in the Official Report a list of research centres on food allergies and of the centres at which specialised treatment for food allergies may be received through the National Health Service.
[pursuant to his reply, 16 February 1981, c. 37]: The Medical Research Council is the main Government·funded body supporting research into food allergies, from support by the Department of Education and Science and the Health Departments. Such research is being supported in the department of bacteriology and virology at the University of Manchester, the department of pathology at the University of Cambridge, the department of immunology at the Institute of Child Health in London; and in the division of clinical sciences at the Clinical Research Centre, Harrow. Detailed information on facilities for treatment for food allergies within the National Health Service is not available centrally and the cost of obtaining such information would be disproportionate.
asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the maximum number of widows who could benefit from the abolition of the overlapping benefits rule; what the estimated cost of such a change would be; and if he will make a statement.
[pursuant to her reply, 23 February 1981, c. 303]: There are half a million widow beneficiaries under retirement age and 2·7 million widows who are retirement pensioners. The abolition of restrictions on the payment of overlapping entitlements could benefit any of them. The eventual cost of such a change, when the 1975 Pensions Act arrangements become fully effective, cannot be estimated with any degree of precision, but would be likely to be of the order of £3 billion at current benefit rates. If the overlapping benefits rule were abolished there would be a further large cost in the case of married couples, who may also have duplicate entitlements.
Transport
Breath Test Machines
41.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has as to the number of countries overseas that use breath test machines as part of their driving regulations.
Evidential breath testing machines are used in parts of the United States, Australia, Canada, in Japan and in New Zealand.
Railways (Investment)
42.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport when he next plans to meet the chairman of British Railways to discuss future investment plans.
53.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport when he next anticipates meeting the chairman of British Railways to discuss the level of investment.
I refer the hon. Members to the answer I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Harlow (Mr. Newens).
asked the Secretary of State for Transport what weighting he gives to environmental and infrastructural relevance in assessing the level of funding to rail investment vis-a-vis other investment.
Decisions in the investment ceiling of the British Railways Board are taken in the light of the board's view of its requirements and of the overall constraints on public expenditure. As a rule, some 40 per cent, of rail investment is in infrastructure.
Heavy Lorries (Residential Areas)
43.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to introduce night and weekend bans on heavy lorries in residential areas.
Local authorities already have adequate powers to control the movement and parking of heavy lorries in their areas. It is for them to decide on the measures which best suit local circumstances.
Departmental Staff
44.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on hisplans to reduce staff in his Department.
I plan to reduce the number of staff in my Department to 10,700 by 1 April 1984—a reduction of 23 per cent, in the period since 1 April 1979. I am also making a saving of a further 10 per cent.—1,600 public sector staff—by phasing out the road construction sub-units. Taking this into account, the overall effect will be to reduce the number of staff working directly for my Department and on its payroll by about a third.
Railways (Electrification)
45.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has received proposals from British Railways for the electrification of the East Coast main line.
The East Coast main line is included in all the electrification options evaluated in the final report of the joint review of main line electrification, which I am currently considering.
51.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport what criteria are used for deciding the lines suitable for electrification and the timetable of the programme.
In drawing up the options to be evaluated in the joint electrification review, British Rail used its commercial and operating judgment to determine which lines should be electrified and their relative priorities. Generally, the heavier the traffic on a line, the stronger the financial case for electrification will be. The construction programmes established for each of the options took account of a number of operational and engineering constraints on the rate of progress, notably the output of construction teams and the need to minimise the premature replacement of diesel traction.
52.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to authorise a rolling programme for British Railways main line electrification.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave to the hon. Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. Bagier) earlier today.
Railways (Track Sleepers)
46.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will set up a working party to investigate, on the basis of British Railways investment plans and maintenance programme, the potential demand for track sleepers and the extent to which this could be met by the adoption of steel manufactured track sleepers from United Kingdom sources.
47.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will issue a general direction to British Railways to use steel sleepers manufactured in the United Kingdom wherever possible in the construction of new track and in track maintenance.
These are operational matters for which the British Railways Board has sole responsibility. I understand, however, that the board is currently experimenting with the use of steel sleepers manufactured and supplied by the British Steel Corporation.
Bus Services
48.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport what collaboration has taken place between local authorities in England and Wales on how the provisions of the Transport Act 1980 can be used to bring bus services to their scattered and isolated areas; and how many such services this has produced.
I have drawn the attention of local authorities to the new opportunities which the Transport Act 1980 provides for meeting transport needs, especially in rural areas. It is now easier for licences to be obtained for conventional buses, for school buses to be used to carry adult passengers, and for community-based car schemes to be set up. It is for local authorities, operators and voluntary groups to take advantage of these opportunities and to collaborate amongst themselves in order to serve their areas in the best way possible.
Channel Tunnel
49.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to make an announcement on the Government's preferred Channel tunnel scheme.
I hope to be able to reach decisions of principle before the end of this year.
Trunk Roads (Expenditure)
50.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport if, in view of the results of the latest road condition survey, he is satisfied with the adequacy of the reduced maintenance expenditure on non-motorway trunk roads.
Yes. Results of the road condition survey so far do not indicate any deterioration in the general condition of non-motorway trunk roads.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will examine the creation of a financial mechanism by which an increased level of trunk road spending could be instituted without affecting the public sector borrowing requirement, as is being contemplated for the Channel tunnel and British Railways' electrification.
I am always ready to consider practical ways of increasing the level of trunk road construction without an increase in the planned levels of public expenditure or the public sector borrowing requirement. As I said in my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Bexleyheath (Mr. Townsend) on 11 February, no decision has yet been made on the case for a programme of main line railway electrification.—[Vol. 998, c. 370.]
Non-Departmental Public Bodies
asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many cases have occurred in non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible over the last 10 years where compensation has been paid to any person who is a part-time member of the body who ceases to be a member otherwise than on the expiry of a term of office where he considered that there were special circumstances making it right that compensation should be paid; how much money was paid on each occasion; and what were the considerations in each case which caused him to make the decision to pay compensation.
So far as I am aware, no such cases have occurred within my Department's area of responsibility during the past 10 years.
Freight Containers
asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he proposes to permit American-type freight containers which require a 4·2 metre height clearance on British roads; if such height would remain impossible on British Railways; and if he will make a statement.
Standard international containers 8' 6" in height are now used extensively in international trade with all parts of the world, and are moved by road and by rail in this country. Any height limit imposed on road vehicles would have to be at least 4·2 metres to accommodate the carriage of these containers by road.
Disabled Drivers
asked the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he will now take to deal with abuses of the scheme allowing disabled drivers to display special discs.
Following wide consultation with interested organisations I recently discussed with members of the all-party disablement group a number of possible measures designed to improve the orange badge scheme and to cut down abuse. We hope to announce our conclusions on possible changes in the scheme soon.
Motorway Accidents
2. Mr.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will study the effects of motorway repair and maintenance work on the number of motorway accidents, with a view to identifying the steps necessary to reduce the number of accidents.
We are continually reviewing repair techniques and methods of traffic management during motorway maintenance work in order to provide safe conditions.
Trans-Pennine Lines (Maintenance Costs)
asked the Secretary of State for Transport what was the comparative cost of maintenance over the period of 1973 to 1980 between all trans-Pennine lines.
As the maintenance of individual railway lines is an operational matter for which the British Railways Board has sole responsibility, my Department does not hold information of this sort.
Coal-Burning Steam Locomotive
asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will investigate the research and investment currently in progress by American Coal Enterprises Inc. into a new coal-burning steam locomotive, in the light of its relevance to British Railway's future investment programme, specifically to lines not likely to be electrified.
I am not aware of the research referred to by my hon. Friend, but I will have inquiries made in the context of the development of a programme of co-operation with the United States in rail technology, which is currently in hand.
M54 (Telford Motorway)
asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library a copy of the works commitment report for the M54 Telford motorway, Priorslee to Essington section, prepared by his Department.
No. This document contains detailed estimates of cost which it would not be in the public interest to release because it might prejudice competitive tendering.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library a copy of the appraisal documents prepared for him and taken into account by his Department in the decision to go ahead with the M54 Telford motorway, including any appraisal documents prepared by the Midland road construction unit or others in his Department assessing the alternative proposal for improving the A5 trunk road to dual carriageway submitted by the M54 joint action group together with a detailed plan.
It is a long-standing convention that advice tendered to Ministers by their officials should not be made public and I see no justification for departing from it in this case. The reasons for my right hon. Friends' decisions have already been publicly announced.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport what are the reasons for the M54 Telford motorway joining the M6 in the area where major reconstruction and repair works will be under way at the time that the M54 is opened to traffic.
We intend to complete the M6 works south of Essington before the M54 is open to traffic.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will review the timing of the construction of the M54 in the light of the difficulties with the structures of the M6 Midland links and the likely effect on traffic on the M6.
Work on the M6 Midland links structures should be substantially completed before the M54 is open. It has always been recognised that the M54 will lead to some increase in traffic on the M6 in the short term, but this would not justify delaying construction.
Heavy Goods Vehicles (Driving Licences)
asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many applicants for a heavy goods vehicle licence were tested at the Aberdeen office of his Department during 1980; and what percentage of these applicants failed to gain the driving certificate.
606 applicants for a heavy goods vehicle driving licence were tested at Aberdeen in 1980. 268–44 per cent.—failed.
Environment
Current Cost Accounting
64.
asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether, in view of the effect on water charges of the introduction of current cost accounting methods, he will now withdraw the relevant rules forthwith.
No. The introduction of current cost accounting has not itself affected the level of water charges.
Bath District Works Office
asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the cost, and what were the savings, from the Rayner maintenance economy review of the Bath district works office.
The cost of the review was £12,100. The main savings will come from the disposals of surplus land and property which are now in hand. Annual savings of about £73,000 have already been secured, with a further £95,000 expected in the coming year.
Reservoirs And Dams (Bury)
asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in the Official Report the locations and sizes of reservoirs and dams situated within the Bury metropolitan district authority; what is the ownership and latest inspection dates under the Reservoirs Safety Provisions Act 1930; what is the frequency of inspection; and how much capital is allocated for this work by the statutory authorities.
No. Under the 1930 Act the power lies with the Bury metropolitan borough council to satisfy itself about these matters.
Rate Rebates
asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will now review his decision not to extend rate rebates to include water charges.
There are no plans to change the existing arrangements whereby if help needs to be given it is done through the supplementary benefit system.
Farm Accommodation
asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will seek to relax the planning rules relating to the building of additional houses on any farm where this is required as family accommodation, particularly on the retirement of the fanner and the hand-over to the next generation.
Strict policies are needed to protect agricultural land, but family circumstances may be taken into account in appropriate circumstances. The policy is set out in the annex to DOE circular 24/73. I shall send my hon. Friend a copy.
Northumbrian Water Authority
asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions his Department has had with the Northumbrian water authority about its proposed increase in water charges; what conclusions were reached; and whether loan charges on the Kielder reservoir were discussed.
In view of the economic pressures on both industrial and domestic users, my right hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government and Environmental Services has recently met the water authority chairman. The authority subsequently agreed to look again at its proposals for charges in 1981–82. The loan charges on the Kielder reservoir were not specifically discussed.
Housing Insulation Standards
asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has yet completed his consultations on improved insulation standards for new houses; and when he intends to lay before the House regulations specifying new standards.
I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire, South-East(Mr. Rost)on 18February.—[Vol. 999,c. 168.]
Richmond Avenue, Islington (Greater London Council Houses)
asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether his Department has yet received from the Greater London Council a request for consent to dispose of houses in Richmond Avenue, Islington, to the Richmond Avenue Co-operative; and, if so, when he expects to be able to reply to the request.
The Department received the Greater London Council's request last week and is discussing with the council the costs involved. A decision is likely to be issued next month.
Telford New Town (Population Target Estimates)
asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the latest population target estimates for Telford new town prepared by his Department; what is the calculation on which these are based; and what other estimates have been communicated to him by Shropshire county council.
In his statement on 4 February on the future of the third generation new towns my right hon. Friend indicated that by the late 1980s the population of Telford was likely to be of the order of 130,000. This is not a target. The level reached will depend essentially on the rate of demand for private housebuilding and of private sector investment. I understand that in monitoring its county structure plan the Shropshire county council has suggested that by 1991 the population of Telford will be between 121,000, based on an estimate of recent trends, and 140,000, based on previous targets.
asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will place in the Library a copy of the study examining options for a range of target populations and their implications carried out by Telford development corporation in 1977 as part of the review of new towns conducted by his predecessor.
Yes.
Agriculture, Fisheries And Food
Groundnuts And Cottonseed
asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when the temporary ban on imports of groundnuts and cottonseed will be ended; and when trade will be resumed.
We are at present considering, with interested organisations, suggestions for alternative ways of protecting the public. Meanwhile, the ban on imports of groundnuts and cottonseed if they contain a detectable level of aflatoxin must be continued.
Unfit Meat
asked the Minister of Agriculture. Fisheries and Food (I) what representations he has received urging a review of the law relating to the sale of unfit meat and horsemeat; and if he will make a statement;(2) if he will seek to amend the law to provide stronger penalties for those convicted of selling unfit meat.
We have received some representations from organisations involved in enforcement. Other interested organisations will also be invited to comment on how the legislation is working. The possibility of making amendments will then be considered in the light of all relevant factors. Meanwhile, we favour firm enforcement of existing legislation.
Seven Mile-Berney (Norfolk Broads)
asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has commissioned a study of the effect on wildlife habitat and amenity of the proposal to improve the Seven Mile-Berney area of the Norfolk Broads with a grant from his Department.
The proposals, which have only recently been received, together with the views of the Nature Conservancy Council, the Countryside Commission and other bodies, are now being examined with a view to deciding what action we shall take.
Common Agricultural Policy
asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if any discussions took place on the renegotiation of the common agriculture policy at the meeting of the Council of Ministers in Brussels on 23-24 February 1981; and if he will make a statement.
I refer my hon. Friend to the statement which I made in the House today.
Eggs And Poultrymeat
asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give urgent consideration to the introduction of a price stabilisation scheme for eggs and poultrymeat, in view of the present serious situation in that sector of the agriculture industry.
The common agricultural policy does not provide for price stabilisation measures in the eggs and poultry sector. However, the Commission has announced that it is preparing proposals for interprofessional organisations in the poultry sector. It is expected that these will be discussed in the context of this year's price proposals.