Written Answers To Questions
Monday 9 April 2001
Defence
Logistic Information Systems Agency
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future status of the Logistic Information Systems Agency [157803]
As part of the restructuring of the Defence Logistics Organisation, the Logistic Information Systems Agency will cease to be a Defence Agency with effect from 1 April 2001. Its functions will then become part of the unified Logistic Applications Integrated Project Team (IPT) within the Defence Communication Services Agency. The removal of Agency status will avoid potential complications in the management arrangements for the new IPT. This is largely an administrative measure and will not, in itself, result in any geographical relocation or redundancies for staff.
Porton Down
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will order a public inquiry into the programme of human experiments at the Chemical Defence Establishment at Porton Down.[157299]
No. A public inquiry could not answer the central question of whether volunteers had suffered unusual mortality or illness. Only an epidemiological study can do that. Advice from the Medical Research Council has been sought for the feasibility of such a study. Furthermore, Wiltshire Police are conducting an investigation into aspects of this programme. We already make available to the volunteers any information we possess which is relevant to their individual cases. We also plan to conduct further work as outlined in my answers to the hon. Member on 25 January 2001, Official Report, column 655W, 5 March 2001, Official Report, column 20W and on 26 March 2001, Official Report, column 525W.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if his Department has received a report from the Operation Antler team of the Wiltshire Police regarding its inquiries into allegations that the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment had experimented on NHS patients during the 1960s; and if he will make a statement.[157306]
Allegations dating from 1970 that the Chemical Defence Establishment conducted experiments during the 1960s on old and sick NHS patients who were subsequently put to death were thoroughly investigated at the time. The then Minister for Defence Equipment and the Prime Minister both refuted these allegations on 30 January and on 19 February 1970 respectively. Following inquiries by the Wiltshire police in January 2001, the Operation Antler inquiry advised my Department's officials that these allegations were in one case fabricated, and in another case did not involve Ministry of Defence staff.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many former service volunteers have visited the Chemical Defence Establishment at Porton Down to inspect records of their experiments and discuss their tests with member of staff since 1 January 1998.[157300]
All former service volunteers who inquire about their participation in studies at the Chemical Defence Establishment are invited to visit Porton Down to view the original record books and discuss their experiences with current members of Porton Down staff.In the period 1 January 1998 to 6 April 2001, 25 former service volunteers have visited to inspect the records of the studies they were involved in.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times since 1 March 1998 the Chemical Defence Establishment at Porton Down has supplied information about former volunteers to the War Pensions Agency in response to a claim by such.[157329]
Since 1 March 1998, the staff at the Chemical and Biological Defence Sector at Porton Down have supplied information in response to 29 requests from the War Pensions Agency.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer on 22 March 2001, Official Report, column 300W, regarding Porton Down, if he will request the Medical Research Council to consult the Operation Antler team of Wiltshire police regarding its advice on an independent epidemiological study for service personnel who took part in experiments at the Chemical Defence Establishment at Porton Down.[157342]
No. The Medical Research Council are aware of the Wiltshire police investigation and should they wish to consult the Operation Antler team, they will do so.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many individuals have contacted the Porton Down Volunteers Helpline since February 1998.[157345]
Since February 1998, the Porton Down helpline has received 626 inquiries in the form of telephone calls and letters.
Procurement
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will list the (a) original in-service date, (b) current in-service date, (c) estimated or actual cost, (d) years of peak expenditure and (e) prime contractor for (i) BOWMAN, (ii) Ptarmigan, (iii) Euromux, (iv) Cyprus Fixed Telecommunications System, (v) Fixed Telecommunications System (Germany), (vi) Falkland Islands Trunk System, (vii) BRINTON, (viii) Brunhilde, (ix) Telephone Exchanges Worldwide, (x) Cyprus Fixed Telephone System, (xi) Deployable Local Area Network, (xii), ADLBS MLU & IADS Interface, (xiii) UKADGE ICCS, (xiv) UKADGE CMP, (xv) P-JFACHQ Deployable Air C2, (xvi) P-JFACHQ Receive Only Link 11 System, (xvii) P-JFACHQ Deployable Air C2 Incremental Assessment Demonstration and Manufacture, (xviii) P-JFACHQ Deployable Shelter System, (xix) P-JFACHQ Quick Win 1, (xx) P-JFACHQ Increment, (xxi) Initiative Local Data Communications Network (LDCN), (xxii) Hourglass, (xxiii) Lambeth, (xxiv) PABX Transportable JAPNMS Facility, (xxv) Tactical Air Control Centre, (xxvi) Ship-Shore-Ship Buffer Tranche 2, (xxvii) Ship-Shore-Ship Buffer Tranche, (xxviii) HF Broadcast Modernisation, (xxix) ITACC LFS, (xxx) RN HF Ship-Shore-Ship Modernisation and NATO Interoperability Programme, (xxxi) Falcon, (xxxii) Saturn, (xxxiii) Cormorant, (xxxiv) Successor Interrogator Friend or Foe, (xxxv) VHF ICAO, and (xxxvi) Defence HF System;[157519]
The majority of the information requested is not held centrally and it could be provided only at disproportionate cost. I have already undertaken to provide the hon. Member with information on a number of the projects listed.
Qinetiq
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what inquiries were made about the ownership of the name Qinetiq before its acquisition by DERA; and with what results. [157556]
The naming process resulted in approximately seven candidate options, all of which were subjected to a series of high-level searches. For each candidate option, its Uniform Resource Locator (URL) availability was established and existing registrations of similar company name, trademarks and URLs investigated. A cultural name check was also undertaken. The results ruled out several options mainly on the basis of URL availability.The chosen name underwent a full and thorough examination by NewDERA's lawyers, Herbert Smith.The services they undertook included:
Full URL name check
Trademark search and registration in all relevant classes and countries including a third party rights research.
Company name search.
Trademark registrations have been filed in the UK, US, EU and a number of other countries During this period objections can be raised and the process is ongoing, expected to take several months. No notice of opposition has been received to date.
Hawk Jets (Exports)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what support his Department has given to British Aerospace with regard to that company's contract to supply Hawk jets to India; [156871](2) what Ministers from his Department have been involved in discussions with
(a) BAE and (b) the Indian Government regarding the contract to supply Hawk jets to India. [156872]
[holding answer 4 April 2001]: In accordance with the Ministry of Defiance's responsibility for promoting legitimate defence exports in co-ordination with industry, MOD has given full support to BAE Systems' bid to supply Hawk jets to India.In fulfilling this responsibility, the Secretary of State for Defence and the Minister for Defence Procurement have met with BAE Systems and the Indian Government to discuss the Hawk proposal.
Eurofighter
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the number of occasions (a) UK, (b) US, (c) Soviet and (d) other NATO aircrews in jet aircraft used cannon armament in his assessing the need for a Eurofighter cannon. [156973]
The historical pattern of operations, together with the improved short-range capability of the missiles with which Eurofighter will be armed, were taken into account in our assessment that the minimal value of a cannon on Eurofighter is more than outweighed by its considerable associated costs and disadvantages.The last occasion on which the UK used a cannon in air-to-air combat resulted in one successful hit during the Falklands conflict. Figures for other countries are not known, but historical success rates for fighter gun attacks suggest a 5 per cent. combat probability of kill for the Allies late in World War II, and perhaps 10 per cent. in the Korean War. While the probability of success with guns has advanced little over the years, the performance of air-to-air missiles is now far in excess of these statistics. Similarly, the modem precision-guided munitions with which Eurofighter will be armed make firing a cannon in Eurofighter's offensive support role difficult to justify, owing to the risk of collateral damage and the increased vulnerability of the aircraft.
Us Military Personnel (Compensation)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer on 22 March 2001, Official Report, column 300W, if he will request his Department's Liaison Officer in Washington to gather information on US arrangements for paying compensation to veterans who participated in chemical warfare trials in the US. [157305]
Yes, if there is a need to do so.
Canadian Military Personnel (Compensation)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will send a team of his staff to Canada to evaluate the system under which the Canadian Government provides compensation to former military personnel who have developed illnesses as a result of taking part in chemical warfare experiments. [157307]
I have no plans to do so.
Saville Inquiry
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent to date in support of former soldiers in connection with the Saville Inquiry; of that sum how much was attributable to lawyers' fees; and how much has been budgeted for 2001–02. [157559]
The total cost to date to the Ministry of Defence of supporting former and serving soldiers in connection with the Saville Inquiry is £9,600,428. Of this, £8,845,503 was attributable to payment to the legal teams, covering both fees and other related costs which have not been recorded separately.The amount budgeted by the Ministry of Defence for payments to legal teams for 2001–2 comes to approximately £3.5 million.
Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost to date has been of the bid by DERA Boscombe Down for the main operating base for the future strategic tanker aircraft. [157454]
The costs to date of the DERA Boscombe Down element of the bid for the main operating base for the future strategic tanker aircraft project are in the region of £240,000.
Environment, Transport And The Regions
Regeneration Funds
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many projects submitted to the Merseyside objective 1 programme have been approved; what is the total value of those projects; how many projected jobs are related to them; and if he will make a statement. [156233]
Priority Panels have approved 66 such projects, of which offer letters have been issued to 31 applicants and accepted by 22 of them. The total eligible value of these projects is £152 million and European Regional Development Fund grants of £59.75 million have been made towards these costs. The projects are expected to create 5,073 and safeguard 6,901 jobs.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how much funding has been made available to Liverpool for regeneration purposes since 1997. [156235]
Since 1997 £356.97 million has been made available to Liverpool for regeneration purposes. The table gives a breakdown of this figure.
| Source of funding | Amount (£ million) |
| Single Regeneration Budget | 80.87 |
| Estates Renewal Challenge Fund | 54 |
| Neighbourhood Renewal Fund | 145.2 |
| New Deal for Communities | 61.9 |
| Partnership Investment Programme | 113 |
| Land Reclamation Programme | 2 |
| Total | 356.97 |
| 1The Neighbourhood Renewal Fund figure is the total indicative allocation for Liverpool for 2001–04 | |
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 21 December 2000, Official Report, column 312W, how many of the Merseyside objective 1 projects referred to the State Aids Policy Unit at the Department of Trade and Industry have been assessed by the unit; when the Government Office North West was informed about those decisions; which projects have been cleared; what their total value is; how many projected jobs relate to them; and if he will make a statement. [156371]
The State Aids Policy Unit of the Department of Trade and Industry provided advice on 26 cases; Government Office for the North West was notified of the decisions between 22 January and 27 March 2001; 13 projects were cleared to proceed by the State Aids Unit. Of these only 10 projects will proceed through the appraisal process, with a total value of £16,806,303; they are expected to create 100 jobs.
Projects cleared by State Aids Policy Unit
- Empire Reconstruction Phase 3
- Crawford House
- Mersey Forest Phase 3
- King George Bootle Credit Union Action Plan
- Kirby Lets and Credit Union Development Programme
- Northwood Star Community transport
- Dingle Community Learning Programme Building
- Stanley Dock Action Plan
- Beatles Themed Hard Days Night Hotel
- Oakmere Conference and Multi-Media Centre
- Scotland Road Gateway
- National Wildflower Centre
- Training Workshop Facilities.
"Tiredness Can Kill"
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what role concessionaires at motorway service areas have in respect of the siting of "Tiredness Kills" notices. [156834]
The Highways Agency has occasionally provided "Tiredness Can Kill" signs at locations, like the main holiday routes, where motorists are especially likely to drive for long periods without a rest. Motorway service area (MSA) operators were not involved in these decisions.More recently, MSA operators have approached the Agency about providing these signs at their own expense. The Agency will normally agree unless there are site-Specific reasons for refusing. There are no formal rules, but we have sought to ensure that, where provided, these signs are placed no more than a mile or two ahead of an MSA where drivers can stop safely.
Child Road Deaths
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many child road deaths were caused by defective child car seats in each of the last three years. [157096]
[holding answer 5 April 2001]: Statistics on road accident fatalities in which defective child car seats were a contributory factor are not available.
Town And Country Planning (Control Of Advertisements) Regulations
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on his plans to strengthen enforcement action in relation to the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 1992. [157159]
In June I announced amendments we proposed to make to the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 1992. One of the proposals is an amendment to section 225 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to allow local authorities to act at their own discretion to remove posters where they consider them to be illegal. This would bring the legislation into line with current practice and protect the rights of property owners and those advertising legally. The amendment will be made when a suitable legislative opportunity arises.
Departmental Policies (Amber Valley)
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Amber Valley constituency, the effects on Amber Valley of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [157129]
| £million | |||||
| Nature of funding | 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 12001–02 |
| Amber Valley Borough Council | |||||
| Revenue Support Grant | 2.352 | 2.271 | 2.169 | 1.993 | 2.464 |
| Income from National Non-Domestic Rates | 3.647 | 3.696 | 3.993 | 4.441 | 4.437 |
| Housing Investment Programme | 1.293 | 1.355 | 1.419 | 3.476 | 4.7932 |
| Capital Receipts Initiative | — | 0.820 | 0.858 | — | — |
| Housing Revenue Account Subsidy (Management and | £689.50 per | £715.81 per | £741.62 per | £770.91 per | £768.67 per |
| Maintenance Allowance) | property | property | property | property | property |
| SRB funding3 | 0.117 | 0.449 | 0.619 | 0.564 | 0.264 |
| Derbyshire County Council4 | |||||
| Transport Supplementary Grant | 1.008 | 1.060 | 1.132 | — | — |
| Transport Annual Capital Guideline | 1.008 | 1.060 | 1.132 | — | — |
| Transport Block Supplementary Credit Approval | 0.970 | 0.891 | 2.371 | 5.939 | 18.008 |
| Rural Bus Challenge Grant (from 1999–2001) | — | — | 0.800 | 0.155 | 0.600 |
| Rural Bus Subsidy Grant (from 1998–99) | — | 0.714 | 0.714 | 0.714 | 0.912 |
| 1Where known. | |||||
| 2Includes Major Repairs Allowance. | |||||
| 3SRB scheme aims to improve industrial estates and enhance the environmental performance of the businesses, whilst tackling low levels of literacy and numeracy through training based projects. | |||||
| 4Figures for Derbyshire County Council exclude funds allocated for the Derby Local Transport Plan area. | |||||
Access Forums
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) when he will publish regulations on the establishment of access forums; [157155](2) if regulations to be made under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 will require local authorities to advertise locally and notify relevant groups which already exist before access forums are established; and if he will make a statement.[157156]
We expect to cons it on the proposed requirements for local access forums in England during the summer. Our proposals will include provision for the appointment of forum members and consultation by authorities with relevant interests prior to making appointments. We expect to lay regulations before Parliament before the end of the year.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and d e Regions if he will list those local authorities that have established an access forum; if, in each case, the proposed establishment of the body was (a) advertised locally and (b) notified to rights of way groups; and if he will make a statement. [157154]
No local access forums can be established under Part V of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 until regulations have, been made by the Secretary of State under section 94 of the Act. Some local authorities operate informal consultative groups to discuss issues relating to access and rights of way. No information
The principal funding that this Department has provided to Amber Valley Borough Council and Derbyshire County Council between 1997–98 and 2001–02 is shown in the tables. These include grants and borrowing approvals for revenue and capital expenditure.It is not possible to determine how much of this money Derbyshire County Council has spent on Amber Valley constituency. It is for the local authority to decide where within its boundary these resources are applied.is held centrally about which authorities have done so. We welcome initiatives by local authorities to set up such groups ahead of any statutory system, and the Countryside Agency has issued guidance to authorities on how best this might be done.
Motor Vehicle Repairs
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if the Vehicle Inspectorate routinely tests non-original equipment parts used in the motor vehicle body repair industry. [157122]
No. Testing and approval of components and vehicles prior to sale or registration is carried out by the Vehicle Certification Agency in the UK. However, there is no statutory approval standard for non original replacement body panels and so they are not tested or approved.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will take steps to require vehicles that have been repaired following a serious accident to be subjected to independent tests.[157126]
Under new provisions which have recently been approved by Parliament, such vehicles will, in future, need to be inspected by officials from the Department's Vehicle Inspectorate before they can legally be returned to the road.The objective of inspecting such vehicles will be to ensure that they are genuine, rather than having been stolen and disguised with the identity of similar accident-damaged ones. At present in the region of 40,000 stolen cars annually are sold on in this way to unsuspecting purchasers. The new inspection scheme will help to eliminate this criminal activity.The new inspection scheme is not intended to check on the adequacy of the accident repair—and this point will be made very clear to vehicle presenters. That would have made the scheme very costly and unnecessarily cumbersome. However, we are naturally very concerned to do all we can to see that only safe vehicles are used on the road and we will therefore be encouraging motorists to have vehicles independently checked by experts if there is any doubt at all about the quality of repair.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what regulations govern the disposal of vehicles that have been written off after accidents. [157123]
There are no regulations which deal specifically with this subject.In practice when a vehicle is written off after an accident it might either end up being crushed or broken for spare parts. Alternatively, where the damage is not so severe, it might be repaired and returned to the road.In all cases where a vehicle is crushed or broken the owner is required by Regulation 13 of the Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 1971 to notify the Secretary of State of that fact and at the same time to surrender the registration document to him. This requirement is to be strengthened by a European Directive concerned with the disposal of motor vehicles when they have reached the "end of life".In future, in all cases where a written-off vehicle is repaired and returned to the road it will firstly need to be inspected by officials from the Department's Vehicle Inspectorate. The objective of inspecting such vehicles will be to ensure that they are genuine, rather than stolen vehicles disguised with the identity of similar accident-damaged ones.
| £million | |||||||||||
| Nature of funding | 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | ||||||
| Revenue Support Grant1 | 100.6 | 108.6 | 113.9 | 111.7 | 117.6 | ||||||
| Income from National Non-Domestic Rates1 | 50.3 | 52.1 | 56.1 | 62.9 | 61.1 | ||||||
| Housing Investment Programme | 5.8 | 5.5 | 6.2 | 16.5 | 22.1 | ||||||
| Capital Receipts Initiative | — | 4.0 | 4.1 | — | — | ||||||
| Neighbourhood Renewal Fund | — | — | — | — | 2.7 | ||||||
| Challenge Fund2 | 3.9 | 4.9 | 1.7 | 0.2 | — | ||||||
| New Deal for Communities Funding3 | — | — | — | 0.2 | 0.1 | ||||||
| ERDF Funding4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| Transport Supplementary Grant | 2.9 | 0.8 | 0.3 | — | — | ||||||
| Transport Annual Capital Guideline5 | 2.9 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 1.6 | — | ||||||
| Transport Block Supplementary Credit Approval3 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 3.8 | — | ||||||
| Rural Bus Subsidy Grant6 | — | 0.02 | — | — | 0.2 | ||||||
| 1These figures have not been adjusted to make year on year comparisons possible | |||||||||||
| 2The Salford Partnership—Round 2. A five year strategy within City Pride context comlining city-wide programmes on economic development, removing barriers to employment, community safety and crime reduction with concentration on physical development in areas of need. Challenge Fund total—£16.7 million. Scheme total £60.5 million | |||||||||||
| 3 2000–01 includes both Phase 1 and 2. 2001–02 is Phase 2 carried over into this financial year. | |||||||||||
| 4Two wards of the Eccles constituency are part of the Inner Salford Action Plan area which has been awarded £1.3 million ERDF grant, of which £453,448 has been claimed since July 1998. The claims do not follow the financial year so cannot be broken down The rest of the Eccles constituency will be included in the City Pride area which includes all he eligible areas of Manchester, Salford and Trafford; it is therefore not possible to determine how much ERDF will have been of benefit to Eccles. The amount of ERDF/ESF awarded to City Pride is approximately £36 million | |||||||||||
| 5 The figures for 1999–2000 and 2000–01 include the Metrolink Eccles extension which was completed last year. Transport figures for 2001–02 are not yet available | 6These figures are for Greater Manchester | ||||||||||
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what annual usage of volatile organic compounds require motor vehicle body repair shops to register with their local authority. [157138]
The Environmental Protection (Prescribed Processes and Substances) Regulations 1991, as amended, made under Part I of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 set thresholds for annual usage of organic solvents in coating processes. The regulations include a requirement that the following processes be authorised by the relevant local authority:
Additionally, under the Solvent Emissions Directive (1999/13/EC) motor vehicle body repair shops that use between 0.5 and 1 tonne per annum of organic solvents will also be requited to be regulated to control volatile organic compound emissions. However, for existing processes, the provisions of the Directive will not fully apply until October. 2007."Any process for the repainting or respraying of or of parts of road vehicles if the process may result in the release into the air of particulate matter or of any volatile organic compound and the carrying on of the process by the person concerned at the location in question is likely to involve the use of 1 tonne or more of organic solvents in any 12 month period."
Departmental Policies (Eccles)
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will set out, including statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Eccles constituency, the effects on Eccles of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [157288]
The principal funding which this Department has provided to Salford in 1997–98 to 2000–01 is shown in the table. This includes grants and borrowings approvals for revenue and capital expenditure.It is not possible to determine how much money has been spent on Eccles. It is for the local authority to decide where within its boundary these resources are invested.
Traffic Calming Measures
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what guidelines and specifications he issues about the installation of speed ramps; [157291](2) what the specifications are for the size of speed bumps. [157292]
Road hump is the generic name for any vertical deflection for controlling vehicle speed. The Highways (Road Humps) Regulations 1999 state that a road hump should be between 25 and 100mm in height, with no vertical face higher than 6mm and have a minimum width in the direction of traffic not less than 900mm.The DETR has issued a range of traffic advisory leaflets to all local authorities in England and Wales giving guidance on the installation of road humps. Within the scope offered by the Regulations, it is for highway authorities to decide the most appropriate design and dimension of road hump for each of their roads.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what guidance he issues about traffic calming outside schools.[157290]
A wide range of advice, on traffic calming measures is available through the "Traffic Advisory Leaflet" series published by my Department and issued to all local authorities in England and Wales. The Road Safety Strategy, "Tomorrow' Roads—Safer for Everyone", published in March 2000, stated that local authorities are to be encouraged to use the increased powers they have available to them to introduce 20 mph zones and speed limits in residential areas, where appropriate. This should be a priority, particularly in areas where there are large numbers of children, such as in the vicinity of schools.
Carbon Dioxide Emissions
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what research his Department (a) has undertaken and (b) plans to undertake about the action required to achieve a reduction of 60 per cent. in carbon dioxide emissions in the UK; and if he will publish it. [157428]
The UK Climate Change Programme, published in November 2000, noted that the Government would review the options for longer term energy choices, considering the scale of emission reductions that might be needed in view of current projections for energy use and the scope and cost of low carbon on energy options that may exist to bridge the gap.The Government have recently published a report commissioned from AEA Technology, "Role of Technology in Emissions Abatement Under the UN-FCCC: the Medium to Long Term", and has placed a copy in the Library of the House. The study says that cuts of 70 per cent. to 90 per cent. in carbon dioxide emissions are technically feasible over the next 50 to 100 years, but supportive policy decisions will be needed to achieve this.
My Department also plans to commission a study this year to examine policy options for achieving cuts in greenhouse gas emissions beyond 2010, the time frame of the Climate Change Programme.
The findings of both studies will contribute towards the Government's response to the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution report 2: "Energy—the Changing Climate".
Fuel Poverty
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many households have been removed from fuel poverty by improvements to the energy efficiency of their home, referred to in paragraph 6.10 of The UK Fuel Poverty Strategy. [157427]
Provisional estimates suggest that the number of fuel poor households fell by nearly one million between 1996 and 1999, due to reductions in energy prices and improved incomes. Data are not yet available to estimate the effect of improvements made to the energy efficiency of homes during the period. These data will be collected as part of the 2001 English House Condition Survey to be carried out later this year.
Hydrogen Sulphide Leak (Southwark)
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what level of hydrogen sulphide was emitted at Southwark tube station on 8 March 2001; how many London Underground staff were advised to seek medical attention following the discovery of the hydrogen sulphide leak; how many members of the public were advised to seek medical attention following the discovery of the hydrogen sulphide leak; and what public statement was made to inform the public as to the reason for the closure of Southwark Underground station on that date. [157251]
[holding answer 6 April 2001]: London Underground (LUL) informs me that Southwark station was closed on 8 March 2001 and the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) alerted following a report from contractors that the gas monitoring equipment was showing toxic gases present in a non-public area of the station. The LFEPA discovered sewage which had blocked the drainage system and had as a result caused a build up of hydrogen sulphide, though the level of gas found was very low. The LFEPA cleared the sewage therefore removing the source of the gas.As a precautionary measure five members of LUL staff were taken to hospital for checks and later released without problems. LUL confirm that the public were not at risk at any time during this incident as the gas was found in a non-public area and upon its discovery they had instituted normal evacuation procedures and the station had been closed immediately. As the incident was quickly resolved without any ongoing problems London Underground felt that it did not merit a public statement to be released following it.
Abandoned Cars
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will estimate how many cars are abandoned illegally each year.[157256]
[holding answer 6 April 2001]: The Department holds no central records at present of the number of vehicles abandoned illegally each year but plans to collect information in the next Municipal Waste Management Survey later this year.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what measures the Government are proposing to address the problem of illegally abandoned vehicles. [157263]
[holding answer 6 April 2001]: The Government have improved registration arrangements to require the seller to notify the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) when ownership of a vehicle changes. DVLA are encouraging local authorities to link electronically with them so that vehicle keeper information can be obtained more quickly and will shortly issue a Circular to all local authorities on the procedures for dealing with abandoned vehicles.Two pilot schemes are due to start this month—in Lewisham and Newham, who will target unlicensed vehicles using DVLA's wheelclamping powers. The boroughs will retain the wheelclamp release fees and storage fees. Both pilots will run for 12 months.We are also working with the Local Government Association, police and DVLA to identify good practice and exploit opportunities for cross-agency working in tackling the related problems of vehicle theft, vehicle excise duty evasion and abandoned vehicles and will consider from this the need for any legislative change.
Local Government
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to delay the deadline for local authorities to submit proposals for new political arrangements under Part II of the Local Government Act 2000, following the postponement of annual council meetings. [157609]
Subject to the enactment of the Elections Bill, we intend to issue revised statutory guidance under the Local Government Act 2000 about the submission of proposals. We intend any such revised guidance to provide that those councils which are holding local elections on 7 June 2001, or where due to local circumstances the usual conduct of business has been disrupted, should submit proposals by 14 September 2001 instead of by the current guideline date of end of June 2001.
Windmills
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make it a condition of planning permission for new houses to be equipped with a small windmill to generate electricity. [157542]
It is for local planning authorities in the first instance to decide on specific planning conditions We are keen to encourage renewable energy initiatives that are feasible and effective.
East Thurrock Port
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Trans port and the Regions if, in advance of the visit of the Under-Secretary, my hon. Friend the Member for Streatham (Mr. Hill), to the C2C line in Thurrock, an examination will be made of anticipated additional freight movements consequent on the proposed new port development in East Thurrock, with particular reference to the impact on level crossing access to East Tilbury.[157361]
[holding answer 6 April 2001]: The Strategic Rail Authority has consulted with Railtrack and freight operators to make outline assumptions on extra freight traffic as a result of the potential development. This is to help facilitate their London Freight Routing Strategy, ensuring sufficient network capacity is provided. The actual number of extra freight services that will use the C2C route as a result of the new development cannot be accurately forecast at present. It will be for the developers of the project in association with the rail freight operators and Railtrack to make predictions. I understand that Thurrock Council has convened a meeting in May involving the SRA, Railtrack, C2C and freight operators to discuss the impact of the options for the proposal.
Millennium Dome
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions which consultants have been engaged to undertake market testing in connection with the future use of the Millennium Dome site; at what cost to public funds; and if he will make a statement. [157561]
The Government have asked English Partnerships to lodge and explore all expressions of interest, with a view to considering options and mechanisms for the future use of the Dome, before any announcement is made by the Government about the next process. English Partnerships, with Jones Lang LaSalle, are currently engaged in comprehensive market testing, to inform that process. The precise cost of this work is not currently known, as work is ongoing, but it is intended that these and any other costs incurred during the sale process will be deducted from the receipts generated by the disposal of the Dome site.
Gm Crops
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will set out his reasons for proposing GM trials in Mathry, Pembrokeshire and Sealand in north Wales; and if he will publish the baseline data on each site on which the impact assessment will be based. [157485]
The sites used in the Farm Scale Evaluations (FSE) are found by industry and are assessed against scientific criteria by the researchers carrying out the fieldwork. The sites are finally approved by the independent scientific steering committee overseeing the Farm Scale Evaluations on the basis of scientific criteria alone. Ministers do not take decisions on the choice of sites. The scientific steering committee selects sites to reflect the geographic range across the UK where the conventional varieties of the FSE crops are already grown. This ensures that a full range of habitats is evaluated.The design of the Farm Scale Evaluation experiment does not require a pre-experiment assessment of baseline data other than pre-sowing seed sampling, which gives an indication of the potential for weeds t o grow in the field. This is because the experiment is designed to compare effects of herbicide use between the two sides of each experimental field. One half is randomly selected and planted with the GM crop, while the other half is planted with the non-GM equivalent crop. This design allows for the effects of the herbicides on wildlife in the two halves of the field to be assessed more accurately than would be possible by comparison with wildlife in the crop before the start of the experiment.The purpose of the Farm Scale Evaluations is to examine whether there are any differences in the diversity and abundance of farmland wildlife associated with the use of GM herbicide tolerant crops with the herbicides to which they are tolerant, as compared with equivalent non-GM crops. The wildlife fount in crop fields is affected by factors such as the vegetation and crop type. Wildlife present in the bare field before sowing or in a previous, different crop the year before, will not be the same as that to be expected in the experimental crop. Measurements of differences in wildlife between a pre-trial audit and within the experimental crop during the experiment would therefore not allow the effects of the herbicide to be measured.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions who will be liable for providing compensation for farms in organic production or conversion if their (a) production and (b) status is damaged as a result of genetically mod fled farm scale trials being undertaken at Mathry, Pembrokeshire. [157571]
Liability for the use of GM crops is an important issue, which is being addressed both at European and UK levels. I will be considering this year a range of options for possible new liability provisions in respect of any damage from GM crops. In the meantime an individual who has suffered loss may be able to commence an action in the courts. Each case will turn on its own facts and the question of who is liable will be determined in the light of all the circumstances.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what the procedures are for informing (a) hon. Members representing Welsh constituencies. (b) the National Assembly for Wales and (c) local authorities about plans to use sites in their areas for genetically modified trial tests. [157569]
Releases of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are controlled under European Union Directive 90/220. This recognises two types of release, those for research purposes (known as Part B releases) and those for commercial purposes (known as Part C releases).Any Part B releases in Wales would have to be notified to the National Assembly before sowing and would have to be advertised in a paper circulating in the locality. GM crops holding a Part C release consent, like the GM maize to be grown in Wales this year, are assessed by all EU member states. The consent is valid in all member states and once granted there are no requirements for individual sowings of the crop to be notified to the Government or consulted upon.Under an agreement with SCIMAC, the farming and biotechnology industry body, DETR publishes site location details of all the FSEs in England and Wales on its website "www. detr. gov. uk" including those of crops holding Part C approval. DETR officials informed National Assembly officials of the locations of the sites in Wales once they had been notified of the locations by industry. With the agreement of Assembly officials they then wrote to community councils and local authorities in Wales in which a trial was planned in order to provide information about the Farm Scale Evaluation programme.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions who will be responsible for the monitoring of genetically modified trial test sites in the constituency of Preseli Pembrokeshire. [157567]
The ecological study monitoring is carried out by scientists from the research consortium comprising the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), the Institute of Arable Crops Research (IACR) and the Scottish Crops Research Institute (SCRI).Scientists visit study sites during and after the sowing of the GM crop and also in subsequent years to assess the effects of the herbicide on biodiversity. These site visits are supplemented by inspections from the Central Science Laboratory (CSL) to check that the release of the GM crop is being carried out in accordance with the release consent.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what key indicators will be monitored on each of the genetically modified farm scale trials sites on a case-by-case basis in the constituency of Preseli Pembrokeshire. [157566]
The Farm Scale Evaluations use a split field study design whereby half the field is sown with GM crops and half with conventional crops of the same type. The researchers compare key indicators of biodiversity between the GM and non-GM sides of the fields.The indicators being measured at each site are:
Soil seed bank;
Arable plant diversity, biomass and estimated seed return;
Field margin and boundary vegetation, noting species in flower and signs of unintentional spray drift of weed-killer during its application to the field;
Gastropods (slugs and snails): abundance, activity and diversity measures;
Arthropods (especially insects and spiders) on vegetation, concentrating on plant bugs (Heteroptera), spring tails (Collembola), and the caterpillars of butterflies, moths (Lepidoptera), and sawflies (related to wasps (Hymenoptera); diversity and biomass measures;
Ground (Carabid) beetles and other ground dwellings arthropods; abundance and diversity measures;
Bees and butterflies; observational studies;
Earthworm casts—observational studies.
Full details on the science of the Farm Scale Evaluations are available from a scientific paper on the DETR's website: www.detr.gov.uk
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what representations (a) he received from and (b) he made to (i) the National Assembly for Wales and (ii) the Wales Office prior to the decision to allow field trials of genetically modified crops on three farms in Wales; and if he will make a statement. [157601]
Meetings were held earlier this year with Ministers from the devolved administrations, including the National Assembly for Wales and the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales which discussed the Farm Scale Evaluation programme in general terms.Sites for GM crops under the Farm Scale Evaluations programme are found by industry and are assessed against scientific criteria by the researchers carrying out the fieldwork. They are finally approved by the independent scientific steering committee overseeing the evaluations. Ministers do not take the decisions on the choice of sites. Sites are selected on scientific criteria and the independent scientists on the steering committee have always been open about the need to have a range of sites across the UK representative of where maize is grown. This is to help ensure that a full range of habitats is evaluated.Carwyn Jones AM, the Minister for Rural Affairs, National Assembly for Wales. wrote to me on 23 March stating that he might issue a prohibition notice under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to stop releases of GM maize in Wales. He has asked that the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment undertake an urgent scientific assessment into the adequacy of separation distances between GM and non GM crops, particularly organic crops.
| 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–021 | |
| Housing Investment Programme | |||||
| Bid for | 2— | 2— | 2— | 2— | 2— |
| Allocated | 20,129,000 | 27,752,000 | 29 229,000 | 45,946,000 | 52,921,000 |
| Handed over | 20,129,000 | 27,752,000 | 29 229,000 | 45,946,000 | 52,921,000 |
| Spent | 3— | 3— | 3— | 3— | 3— |
| Housing Revenue Account Subsidy4 | |||||
| Bid for | 2— | 2— | 2— | 2— | 2— |
| Allocated | 130,861,916 | 122,044,327 | 115 504,573 | 5117,290,559 | 6— |
| Handed over | 130,861,916 | 122,044,327 | 115 504,573 | 5117,290,559 | 6— |
| Spent | 301,000,000 | 294,900,000 | 289 100,000 | 7273,700,000 | 6— |
| Cash Incentive Scheme | |||||
| Bid for | 3— | 3— | 2— | 2— | 2— |
| Allocated | 3,253,000 | 2,029,000 | 2— | 2— | 2— |
| Handed over | 3,253,000 | 2,029,000 | 2— | 2— | 2— |
| Spent | 3,253,000 | 2,029,000 | 2— | 2— | 2— |
| SRB Funding8 | |||||
| Bid for | 3— | 3— | 3— | 3— | 2— |
| Allocated | 15,979,290 | 16,105,921 | 12003,091 | 10,017,991 | 96,865,558 |
| Handed over | 16,052,336 | 15,848,064 | 11917,262 | 9,397,663 | 6— |
| Spent | 16,052,336 | 15,848,064 | 11.917,262 | 9,397,663 | 6— |
Railtrack
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what powers the Government directors on Railtrack have been given; and whom they will report to. [157701]
There are no Government directors on the Railtrack Board. On 2 April, Railtrack announced its intention to appoint a non-executive director to its main Board with a remit to provide a public interest and consumer voice within the Board. On reporting, normal corporate governance arrangements will apply, with the new director under the same obligations as other non-executive directors.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what discussions have taken place on Government shareholding in Railtrack in exchange for (a) Government funding and (b)subsidy. [157700]
The package of rail measures announced on 2 April included an agreed Statement of Principles setting out the basis for a new relationship between Railtrack and Government. The package did not include proposals for Government to acquire more shares in the company.
Housing (Southwark)
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how much money has been (a) bid for, (h) allocated, (c) handed over and (d) spent on (i) housing and (ii) regeneration schemes in the London borough of Southwark in each of the last five years. [157264]
The principal funding that this Department has provided to the London borough of Southwark for (i) housing and (ii) regeneration schemes are shown in the table. This includes grants and borrowing approvals for revenue and capital expenditure.These figures have been drawn together from a wide variety of sources and are the most accurate available at this time.
1997–98
| 1998–99
| 1999–2000
| 2000–01
| 2001–021
| ||
New Deal for Communities Funding Phase Two10
| ||||||
| Bid for | 2— | 2— | 2— | 2— | 2— | |
| Allocated | 2— | 250,313 | 294,711 | 2— | 2— | |
| Handed over | 2— | 13,050 | 11531,974 | 2— | 2— | |
| Spent | 2— | 13,050 | 11—531,974 | 2— | ||
New Deal For Communities Funding Phase Three12
| ||||||
| Bid for | 2— | 2— | 56,200,000 | 2— | ||
| Allocated | 2— | 2— | 56,200,000 | 2— | 2— | |
| Handed over | 2— | 2— | 2— | 2— | 370,768 | 6— |
| Spent | 2— | 2— | 2— | 6— | 6— | |
Neighbourhood Renewal Funding
| ||||||
| Bid for | 2— | 2— | 2— | 2— | 2— | |
| Allocated | 2— | 2— | 2— | 2— | 3,956,000 | |
| Handed over | 2— | 2— | 2— | 2— | 6— | |
| Spent | 2— | 2— | 2— | 2— | 6— | |
Capital Challenge (Supplementary Credit at d Basic Credit Approvals)13
| 2— | 2— | 2— | 2— | 2— | |
| Bid for | 2— | 2— | 2— | 2— | 2— | |
| Allocated | 2— | 2— | 2— | 2— | 2— | 2— |
| Handed over | 1,807,671 | 4,182,000 | 4,195,000 | 2— | 2— | |
| Spent | 1,807,671 | 4,182,000 | 4,195,000 | 2— | 2— | |
| Estate Action | ||||||
| Bid for | 3— | 3— | 2— | 2— | 2— | |
| Allocated | 7,049,933 | 2,873,089 | 2— | 2— | 2— | |
| Handed over | 6,653,316 | 3,200,627 | 2— | 2— | 2— | |
| Spent | 6,653,316 | 3,200,627 | 2— | 2— | 2— | |
1Where known | ||||||
2Not applicable | ||||||
3Not available | ||||||
4Spend figures are for the whole HRA account, including figures from rent rebates, and HRA revenue contributions to capital spending. Housing revenue account subsidy is just a contribution to the whole HRA account. | ||||||
5Provisional figures | ||||||
6Not known | ||||||
7Estimated | ||||||
8The figures are the most accurate currently available, but the LDA SRB database is currently in the process of verification. | ||||||
9Projected | ||||||
10Developmental phase for working up full bid for Phase Three. | ||||||
11Over two years | ||||||
12Actual bid made in 1999–2000 for £56.2 million over 10 years. | ||||||
13Actual bid made in 1996–97 for £9,945,000 million over three years. Allocation of £10,188,000 made in 1996–97 over three years, spend commencing from 1997–98. | ||||||
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what the outstanding debt is on Southwark council housing; and what his estimate is of the cost of the outstanding necessary capital works to Southwark council housing. [157265]
The Housing Revenue Account (HRA) credit ceiling is an assessment of the amount of an authority's outstanding debt that is attributed to its own housing stock. The 2000–01 mid-year HRA credit ceiling for Southwark borough council as at 30 September was £732,105,357.The Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) does not make estimates centrally of the outstanding necessary capital works to individual local authorities' housing stock. As part of the annual Housing Investment Programme local authorities are asked to provide estimates to the DETR of the amount they need to invest on capital works to their stock Southwark council estimated that at April 2000, they needed to spend £220 million to bring their own housing stock (of almost 48,000 units) into a satisfactory condition.
London Underground
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many staff days have been lost (a) in the last 10 years and (b) in the past 12 months due to industrial action on London Underground. [157478]
Information on the number of staff days lost due to industrial action could be provided only at disproportionate cost.However, information on the number of days when industrial action was taken which had at least a partial effect on service is available. In the last 12 months, industrial action took place on two days: 5 February 2001 and 29 March 2001.The following numbers of days of industrial action occurred in the last 10 years.
Year
| Days of industrial action
|
| 1991 | 1 |
| 1992 | 0 |
| 1993 | 1 |
| 1994 | 1 |
| 1995 | 3 |
| 1996 | 7 |
| 1997 | 0 |
| 1998 | 5 |
| 1999 | 2 |
| 2000 | 0 |
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many cases of graffiti have been reported on London Underground property in each of (a) the last 10 years and (b) the past 12 months; and how much money has been spent by London Underground in each of (i) the last 10 years and (ii) the past 12 months on removing graffiti. [157476]
This is an operational matter for London Underground (LUL) who have provided the following information in the table as recorded by the British Transport Police.
| Year/month | Number of graffiti cases reported |
| 1991 | 642 |
| 1992 | 421 |
| 1993 | 402 |
| 1994–95 | 366 |
| 1995–96 | 257 |
| 1996–97 | 216 |
| 1997–98 | 304 |
| 1998–99 | 206 |
| 1999–2000 | 156 |
| 2000–01 | 1122 |
| Total | 3,092 |
| 2000–01 | |
| April | 7 |
| May | 37 |
| June | 7 |
| July | 10 |
| August | 6 |
| September | 5 |
| October | 5 |
| November | 3 |
| December | 9 |
| January | 16 |
| February | 17 |
| March | tba |
| 1Excluding 1 March | |
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many signals were passed at danger by trains on the London Underground in (a) each of the last 10 years and (b) each of the last 12 months.[157692]
This is an operational matter for London Underground. However, since December 1999 a report on signals passed at danger (SPADs) prepared by London Underground has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses each month. This was flagged in a reply to the hon. Member on 11 November 1999, Official Report, columns 687–88W. The report includes a table of SPADs by month since March 1993, prior to which the data were recorded in a different way that does not allow for meaningful comparison. The most recent version of this report covers the period up to January 2001.The report also highlights that on the Underground, signals and the mechanical stops are (except in a few cases) set back to greater than braking distance from the danger that they protect. So very few SPADs result in actual danger of collision.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many (a) station staff and (b) train drivers were employed by London Underground in each of (i) the last 10 years and (ii) the past 12 months. [157477]
The number of station staff and train drivers in each of the last 12 months is as follows:
| 2000–01 | Station staff | Train drivers |
| April | 5,726 | 2,896 |
| May | 5,721 | 2,892 |
| June | 5,760 | 2,886 |
| July | 5,773 | 2,869 |
| August | 5,776 | 2,887 |
| September | 5,786 | 2,895 |
| October | 5,777 | 2,902 |
| November | 5,781 | 2,929 |
| December | 5,810 | 2,925 |
| January | 5,771 | 2,928 |
| February | 5,814 | 2,942 |
| March | 5,850 | 2,933 |
| Year | Station staff | Train drivers |
| 1995–96 | 4,568 | 2,216 |
| 1996–97 | 4,779 | 2,474 |
| 1997–98 | 4,815 | 2,621 |
| 1998–99 | 5,113 | 2,787 |
| 1999–2000 | 5,708 | 2,907 |
| 2000–01 | 5,850 | 2,933 |
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what the price was of (a) a zone one single fare on the London Underground and (b) a monthly zones one to six travelcard on the London Underground in January of each of the last 10 years. [157466]
Prior to July 2000, London Transport fares were the statutory responsibility of London Transport. Responsibility for fares policy for the Underground transferred to the Mayor for London in July 2000.
The fare prices for a zone one single fare on London Underground and for a monthly zones one to six travelcard (valid on buses, national rail and Docklands Light Railway as well as the Underground) for the last 10 years are:
| £ | ||
Zone 1 single
| Monthly Zl–6 travelcard
| |
| 2001 | 1.50 | 139.80 |
| 2000 | 1.50 | 136.00 |
| 1999 | 1.40 | 134.10 |
| 1998 | 1.30 | 130.60 |
| 1997 | 1.20 | 126.80 |
| 1996 | 1.10 | 124.50 |
| 1995 | 1.00 | 119.90 |
| 1994 | 0.90 | 113.30 |
| 1993 | 0.90 | 104.50 |
| 1992 | 0.80 | 91.40 |
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Legions how many arrests were made on the London Underground by British Transport Police in each of the last 10 years. [157475]
This is an operational matter for the British Transport Police who inform me that although it is not possible to provide arrest figures covering the last 10 years it is possible to supply crime analysis data as supplied to the Home Office. The table identifies the total number of offences reported over the last four financial years. It is not possible to provide information earlier than 1997, as the data are not kept in this format.
| Offences | |
| 1997–98 | 5,799 |
| 1998–99 | 12,949 |
| 1999–2000 | 18,220 |
| 2000–01 | 13,972 |
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many trains in use on the London Underground are (a) less than three years old, (b) between three and 10 years old, (c) between 10 and 15 years old and (d) more than 15 years old; and what the average age is of trains currently in use on the London Underground. [157474]
London Underground has provided the following information:
| Age of rolling stock | Number of trains |
| Less than 3 years | 165 |
| 3–10 years | 90 |
| 10–15 years | 0 |
| More than 15 years | 341.5 |
London Airport Rail Links
To ask the Secretary Environment, Transport and the Regions when he will take a decision on whether there should be a London airports rail franchise; when it is planned that London Heathrow airport will have direct rail connections to (a) Waterloo and (b) St. Pancras stations; and what the estimated cost is of the necessary work to complete these works. [157465]
The Strategic Rail Authority is currently investigating the possibility of a London airports franchise but an early decision as to whether or not to proceed is not expected. An airport service to St. Pancras will be dependent upon completion of CTRL Stage 2 and upon appropriate platform capacity being made available at the new St. Pancras station. A direct connection to Waterloo is a conceptual scheme currently being developed by BAA and Railtrack.
Railways (Upgrading)
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he will announce, with the Strategic Rail Authority, plans for improvements to the Great Western Main Line; when it is expected that upgraded signalling and junctions and new flyovers for the Great Western Main Line mentioned in the SRA' s Strategic Agenda will be delivered; and what the cost of these upgrades will be. [157464]
The SRA' s Strategic Agenda lists a range of schemes which it would be possible to pursue. No decisions have yet been taken as to the priorities attached to particular projects which are not yet in progress. The timscale for infrastructure upgrading on the Great Western main line is driven by principal resignalling works that must be completed by 2011. It is not yet possible to give specific costs.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what the projected cost is of the Joint Venture for the East Coast Main Line upgrade; what the projected amount is of public and private investment needed for this project; what the estimated start and finish dates are for this project; and how soon after revised bids are received he intends to make an announcement, together with the Strategic Rail Authority, on the preferred bidder for the East Coast Main Line franchise. [157462]
The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) is currently establishing a project development group to take forward the upgrade of the East Coast Main Line and to develop the project to a sufficiently advanced stage for its construction to be competitively tendered. It is not expected that the joint venture approach will alter significantly the overall costs or timing of the upgrade.In view of the change to the structure of the upgrade, the SRA has asked shortlisted counterparties for a replacement Inter City East Coast franchise to review their original bids. The SRA currently expects to receive any changes to their proposals by 17 April. Once the SRA has received and considered these it will decide whether to proceed with a request to the Secretary of State for a direction to authorise early replacement of the franchise. Any such request will be given appropriate and timely consideration.
Correspondence
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when the hon. Member for Walsall, North will receive a reply to his letter of 26 February regarding a constituent, Ref. P/B H/005818/01. [157457]
Due to an administrative error in the ministerial correspondence unit, there was a delay in processing the original letter and enclosures.I understand that my hon. Friend has now received a response from the unit explaining that as the issues raised cover a pending planning application, the correspondence has been transferred to the Planning Inspectorate and a direct reply will be sent by the Chief Executive of the Planning Inspectorate shortly.
Foot And Mouth
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions for what reasons the borough of Macclesfield is not included in the list of rural local authorities to which the emergency business rate relief scheme will be applied as a result of foot and mouth disease. [157496]
The borough of Macclesfield is not an authority which meets the criteria of rurality used for the targeting of this scheme.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he intends to review the list of rural local authorities to which the emergency rate relief scheme is applicable due to the outbreak of foot and mouth disease; and if he will make a statement. [157498]
I will keep the operation of the scheme under review in the light of the representations made to me.
Witney-Oxford Railway
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the proposed reopening of the Witney to Oxford railway line. [157120]
Neither the Department nor the Strategic Rail Authority have made any such assessment.
Foreign And Commonwealth Affairs
Diego Garcia
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make an estimate of the number of British subjects born in Diego Garcia who are still alive. [157504]
It is not practicable for HMG to make a realistic estimate of the number of such British Dependent Territories citizens as we do not know where they are nor do we have any means of knowing how many may have died over the past 30 years or so.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will discuss with the United States Government the numbers of (a) Filipinos, (b) Mauritians and (c) Ilois being employed by contractors on the Diego Garcia, air-base; and what steps he is taking to rectify imbalances in the numbers of different nationalities employed. [157501]
Under our arrangements with the United States Government it is agreed that the United States authorities and their contractors will use workers recruited in Mauritius and Seychelles to the maximum extent practicable. In recruiting workers there should be no discrimination between qualified Ibis workers and equally qualified other Mauritian workers.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Governor of Mauritius about the placement of anti-personnel mines in (a) Diego Garcia and (b) on 65 islands in the Chagos Archipelago designed to keep out Ilois people wishing to return to see ancestral graves. [157502]
There are no anti-personnel landmines on Diego Garcia or any of the other islands in the Chagos Archipelago.I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for Europe on 6 March 2000,
Official Report, column 504W.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to include Diego Garcia in the feasibility study in exercise of his Department's obligations to balance the needs of those who were born in Diego Garcia with the interests of the British-American defence forces. [157500]
Access to Diego Garcia is restricted in accordance with our treaty obligations with the United States and hence Die go Garcia is not included in the scope of the feasibility studies being conducted.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are being taken to estimate the economic losses suffered by Diego Garcia as a result of the closure by the Government of the plantations in 1971; and what stops will be taken to restore economic activity, indicating (a) the estimated consumption of coconuts by the residents of Diego Garcia, (b) the appropriate price thereof and (c) what funds can be raised from this source to restore facilities on the islands for the benefit of residents. [157574]
The establishments of defence facilities necessarily entailed the closure of the commercial coconut plantations in Diego Garcia. There is no prospect of the resinstatement of these plantations in the forseeable future.
National Missile Defence
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the Government's discussions with the United States on the potential use. of the islands (a) in the Chagos Archipelago and (b) in Diego Garcia for facilities for the US National Missile Defence. [157503]
We have had no discussions with the United States regarding the potential use of the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia, for facilities for National Missile Defence.
Chagos Archipelago
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made in the consideration of facilitating a temporary visit by the Ilois to the Chagos Archipelago, following the granting of permission to return there. [157517]
The question of a temporary visit to the territory for the Ilois has been discussed with their representatives who have undertaken to put forward proposals for consideration.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he is taking to encourage British subjects born in the Chagos Archipelago to co-operate with the Americans on Diego Garcia to establish areas of common interest. [157499]
I understand that representatives of a group of Ilois are in contact with the United states Government.
Overseas Territories
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on proposals to grant British citizenship to citizens of overseas territories. [157637]
As announced to Parliament by the Secretary of State in March 1999, we are committed to introducing legislation to give British citizenship to all British Dependent Territories citizens in the Overseas Territories. We will make parliamentary time available to introduce this legislation as soon as is practicable. Preparatory work to agree the principles of such a Bill along with drafting Instructions for Parliamentary Counsel has been completed.
Cayman Islands
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the UK has made in support of lifting OECD blacklisting from the Cayman Islands prior to the review of the blacklist in June. [157638]
The UK takes seriously its duty to represent the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies internationally. We take equally seriously efforts by the Financial Action Task Force—of which we are a leading member—to combat money laundering. Over the last year, we have therefore sought at all times to ensure that the FATF's information about the Cayman Islands is accurate and complete and that the Cayman Islands are treated on exactly the same basis as all the other jurisdictions examined by the FATF. We have also helped and encouraged the Cayman Islands authorities to make the necessary changes to their system in order to meet international standards in this area. It would be inappropriate to seek special treatment for the Cayman Islands from the FATF, but we will continue to ensure that the Cayman Islands are treated fairly and objectively when decisions are made.
Kyoto Treaty
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the Government plan to ratify the Kyoto treaty. [157140]
The UK aims to ratify the Kyoto Protocol in 2002, along with other EU member states.
Sierra Leone
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the Head of News Department saw a copy of the Foreign Affairs Committee's Second report of Session 1998–99 on Sierra Leone before its publication. [156824]
[holding answer 3 April 2001]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Spelthorne (Mr. Wilshire) on 16 March 2001, Official Report, column 775W, and to the evidence my officials gave to the Standards and Privileges Committee, whose report was published on 30 March 1999.
French Lamb Exports
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the French Government on the non-payment by French companies and individuals for lambs exported via Farmers Ferry to France in January and early February. [155942]
I have been asked to reply.Under the French legislation, published on 9 March, compensation will be paid to the exporter where sheep slaughtered by French authorities were still their property. The British Embassy in Paris has been actively pursuing the question of compensation, on behalf of some British sheep exporters, for sheep slaughtered in France. This has included passing documentary evidence of ownership of sheep to the French authorities. The British Embassy would be happy similarly to help other exporters.
Culture, Media And Sport
Departmental Policies (London)
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to London, the effects of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997; and if he will make a statement. [152274]
Since May 1997 my Department has introduced and developed a variety of initiatives which will impact on my hon. Friend's constituency which promote our objectives of access, excellence, education, and creativity and employment. We have published our strategies to take this forward in "Tomorrows Tourism" and "A Sporting Future for All", which was recently followed up by "The Government's Plan for Sport". We have tackled the issue of social inclusion taking forward the recommendations of Policy Action Team 10 on Arts and Sport and developing social inclusion policies across all our areas which is recognised within the most recent progress report "Building on PAT10".We have given more support to the cultural and sporting infrastructure. The Spending Review 2000 secured a doubling of the budget for sport and the largest ever increase for the arts: an increase of 80 per cent. from £186 million in 1997–98 to £336 million in 2003–04. In taking forward our aim to develop the educational potential of culture and sport, £40 million has been allocated to developing Creative Partnerships; we have established, through lottery funding, the £30 million National Foundation for Youth Music; and secured an additional £130 million for primary schools sports and arts facilities through the Space for Sport and the Arts programme. With £120 million of central Government and Lottery funding we will be providing a school sports co-ordinator in one in four secondary schools to work with local primary and special schools to improve sporting provision and physical education for children in the most deprived areas. We have delivered free access to national museums for children and the over 60's and additional money will be provided to allow this to be extended to everyone in December 2001. We have commissioned a Taskforce which is currently considering the issues facing non-national museums in the regions.We have made improvements in the way the Lottery is spent to ensure a fairer distribution. The introduction of the New Opportunities Fund for spending on health, education and the environment has made a real difference to communities everywhere. For instance it has invested £120 million to support the People's Network, which will enable all 4,300 public libraries to offer free public internet access through UK online learning centres; and a further £50 million to stimulate development of content to support the Network.We have established the Greater London Authority and an elected Mayor for London. The Mayor now has responsibility for most aspects of culture in London and has appointed a Cultural Strategy Group to advise him and to draw up a cultural strategy for London.We have published a Green Paper "Culture and Creativity: The Next Ten Years", setting out how individual creative talent can be given the support it needs from childhood to flourish; how artists and cultural institutions can be freed from bureaucratic controls; and how the freedom to explore and enjoy creativity and culture can be made available to all.Through their commitment to public service broadcasting, the Government have helped to foster an environment in which a creative, commercially successful broadcasting industry provides a wide range of UK-made, high quality, original programmes catering for all viewers and listeners. We have ensured a secure funding base for the BBC and S4C, while giving them the freedom to develop commercial operations which complement and support their public service remit. We have made it clear in the Communications White Paper that public service broadcasting will continue to have a key role to play in the digital future. The Government have introduced free television licences for people aged 75 or over from 1 November last year.My Department sponsors the British Tourist Authority (BTA) which continues to promote Britain effectively as an attractive tourist destination for overseas visitors. The BTA's successful marketing activities are aimed at bringing benefits to all parts of the UK, including London.In delivering these initiatives we aim to make cultural and sporting activities inclusive ones, boosting participation and improving the quality of life for all.
London
According to the information supplied to us by the distributing bodies for the national lottery awards database, there have been 7,381 national lottery awards to the London Region totalling £1,069,301,551. This includes £50 million for Tate Modern, 76 awards from the Millennium Festival totalling £11,456,514 and £550,000 from the National Foundation for Youth Music for a Youth Music Action Zone which will work with young people across the whole of London.
1,935 Millennium Award Winners have been identified from London and between them have received grants totalling £5,845,057.
Under the Space for Sport and the Arts scheme, Lambeth, Newham, Southwark, Hackney, Islington, Barking & Dagenham, Brent, Greenwich, Lewisham and Tower Hamlets to al education authorities have been allocated up to £16.75 million towards providing improved facilities for sport and arts in over 30 primary schools in London which can also be used by the wider community.
Significant additional resources were made available to museums and galleries in this country as a result of the Government's 1999–2002 Comprehensive Spending review. This additional funding has also allowed free admission for all but one of the DCMS sponsored museums in London from 1 April 1999 and, from 1 April 2000, free entry for the over 60s at most of them.
Additional funding will be offered to enable universal free access at nearly all of the DCMS sponsored museums and galleries from 1 December 2001.
The following London boroughs have a DCMS sponsored museum or gallery within its boundaries:
London borough of Camden
The British Museum
London borough of Greenwich
The National Maritime Museum
London borough of Hackney
The Geffrye Museum
London borough of Southwark
The Homiman Museum
London borough of Southwark
- The Design Museum
- HMS Belfast
- The Imperial War Museum
- Tate Modern
London borough of Tower Hamlets
The Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood
City of London
The Museum of London
City of Westminster
- Apsley House
- The Cabinet War Rooms
- The National Gallery
- The National Portrait Gallery
- Tate Britain
- The Theatre Museum
- The Wallace Collection
Royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea
- The Natural History Museum
- The Science Museum
- The Victoria and Albert Museum.
The benefits of extended access and the services provided by DCMS sponsored museums are available to the residents of all London boroughs and beyond.
An additional part of the package of museum measures arising from the 1999–2002 Review was the introduction of the Designated Museums Challenge Fund (DMCF) to support some of the country's leading non-national museums.
DMCF allocations of £581,000 were announced by London museums July 1999; a further £1,511,000 in May 2000 and £1,470,000 in March 2001 supporting a variety of projects in the institutions concerned.
Information from English Heritage (EH) is:
53 grants to churches, totalling £1,775,000;
152 grants to historic buildings and monuments, totalling £3,243,000;
contributions to 42 Conservation Area Partnership/Heritage Economic Regeneration schemes, totalling £4,135,000;
79 local authority conservation officer posts funded, at a total cost of £1,742,000.
Information on the number of beneficiaries of free television licences by constituency is not available, but estimates based on the 1991 Census indicate that there are approximately 442,000 people aged 75 or over living in London.
London Arts received £26,765,000 in 2000–01 from the Arts Council to support arts and cultural activity across its region. In 2001–02 this will increase to £29,886,048 or by 11.66 per cent.
Departmental Policies (Houghton And Washington, East)
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the constituency, the effects on Houghton and Washington, East of his Department's actions since 2 May 1997. [152986]
Since May 1997 my Department has introduced and developed a variety of initiatives which will impact on my hon. Friend's constituency which promote our objectives of access, excellence, education, and creativity and employment. We have published our strategies to take this forward in "Tomorrows Tourism" and "A Sporting Future for All", which was recently followed up by "The Government's Plan for Sport". We have tackled the issue of social inclusion taking forward the recommendations of Policy Action Team 10 on Arts and Sport and developing social inclusion policies across all our areas which is recognised within the most recent progress report "Building on PAT10".We have given more support to the cultural and sporting infrastructure. The Spending Review 2000 secured a doubling of the budget for sport and the largest ever increase for the arts: an increase of 80 per cent. from £186 million in 1997–98 to £336 million in 2003–04. In taking forward our aim to develop the educational potential of culture and sport, £40 million has been allocated to developing Creative Partnerships; we have established through lottery funding, the £30 million National Foundation for Youth Music; and secured an additional £130 million for primary schools sports and arts facilities through the Space for Sport and the Arts programme. With £120 million of central Government and Lottery funding we will be providing a school sports co-ordinator in one in four secondary schools to work with local primary and special schools to improve sporting provision and physical education for children in the most deprived areas. We have delivered free access to national museums for children and the over 60's and additional money will be provided to allow this to be extended to everyone in December 2001. We have commissioned a taskforce which is currently considering the issues facing non-national museums in the regions.We have made improvements in the way the Lottery is spent to ensure a fairer distribution. The introduction of the New Opportunities Fund for spending on health, education and the environment has made a real difference to communities everywhere. For instance it has invested £120 million to support the People's Network, which will enable all 4,300 public libraries to offer free public Internet access through UK online learning centres; and a further £50 million to stimulate development of content to support the Network.We have set up a Regional Cultural Consortium in each of the English regions outside London to champion culture and creativity, including heritage, sport and tourism, and to draw up regional cultural strategies identifying regional objectives and priorities.We have published a Green Paper "Culture and Creativity: The Next Ten Years", setting out how individual creative talent can be given the support it needs from childhood to flourish; how artists and cultural institutions can be freed from bureaucratic controls; and how the freedom to explore and enjoy creativity and culture can be made available to all.Through their commitment to public service broadcasting, the Government have helped to foster an environment in which a creative, commercially successful broadcasting industry provides a wide range of UK-made, high-quality, original programmes catering for all viewers and listeners. We have ensured a secure funding base for the BBC and S4C, while giving them the freedom to develop commercial operations which complement and support their public service remit. We have made it clear in the Communications White Paper that public service broadcasting will continue to have a key role to play in the digital future. The Government have introduced free television licences for people aged 75 or over from 1 November last year.My Department sponsors the British Tourist Authority (BTA) which continues to promote Britain effectively as an attractive tourist destination for overseas visitors. The BTA's successful marketing activities are aimed at bringing benefits to all parts of the UK, including Houghton and Washington, East.In delivering these initiatives we aim to make cultural and sporting activities inclusive ones, boosting participation and improving the quality of life for all.
Houghton and Washington, East
According to the information supplied to us by the distributing bodies for the national lottery awards database, there have been 78 national lottery awards to Houghton and Washington, East, totalling £2,147,172. This includes an award from the Millennium Festival of £30,000.
Forty Millennium Award Winners have been identified from Houghton and Washington, East and between them they have received grants totalling £79,993.
Information on the number of beneficiaries of free television licences by constituency is not available, but estimates based on the 1991 Census indicate that there were approximately 4,000 people aged 75 or over living in the Houghton and Washington, East constituency.
English Heritage have offered £48,874 for Freemason's Hall (Phoenix Lodge), Queen Street East, Sunderland; and £19,000 for St. Michael's & All Angels, Church Street, Houghton-Le-Spring.
There are of course other initiatives in the wider context of the region which may have an effect on the Houghton and Washington, East constituency. These are:
Northern Arts Board received £9,249,000 in 2000–01 from the Arts Council to support arts and cultural activity across its region. In 2001–02 this will increase to £10.170,654 or by 9.96 per cent.
Sunderland Library authority is a partner in the Information North consortium which received £498,000 in 1998–99 for an ICT project.
Under the Space for Sport and Arts scheme Sunderland local education authority has been allocated up to £2.2 million and Gateshead local education authority up to £1.75 million, towards providing improved facilities for sport and arts in primary schools which can also be used by the wider community.
All Northern constituencies will be influenced by the Youth Music Action Zone in Gateshead, who have been offered £350,878 for work across the whole region.
On 15 March Resource: The Council of Museums, Libraries and Archives announced a £470,000 Designated Museums Challenge Fund award for the joint Tyne & Wear Museums/Beamish. The North of England Open Air Museum project to create a new store to safely house large objects owned by the two partners. This follows previous allocations of £30,000 and £300,000 for this project in 1999 and 2000 respectively.
DCMS became the direct sponsors of Tyne & Wear Museums, succeeding the Museums and Galleries Commission, from 1 April 2000.
Departmental Policies (Jarrow)
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will set out, with statistical information, relating as directly as possible to the constituency, the effects on Jarrow of his Department's actions since 2 May 1997. [153565]
Since May 1997 my Department has introduced and developed a variety of initiatives which will impact on my hon. Friend's constituency which promote our objectives of access, excellence, education, and creativity and employment. We have published our strategies to take this forward in "Tomorrows Tourism" and "A Sporting Future for All", which was recently followed up by "The Government's Plan for Sport". We have tackled the issue of social inclusion taking forward the recommendations of Policy Action Team 10 on Arts and Sport and developing social inclusion policies across all our areas which is recognised within the most recent progress report "Building on PAT10".We have given more support to the cultural and sporting infrastructure. The Spending Review 2000 secured a doubling of the budget for sport and the largest ever increase for the arts: an increase of 80 per cent. from £186 million in 1997–98 to £336 million in 2003–04. In taking forward our aim to develop the educational potential of culture and sport, £40 million has been allocated to developing Creative Partnerships; we have established through lottery funding, the £30 million National Foundation for Youth Music; and secured an additional £130 million for primary schools sports and arts facilities through the Space for Sport and the Arts programme. With £120 million of central Government and lottery funding we will be providing a school sports co-ordinator in one in four secondary schools to work with local primary and special schools to improve sporting provision and physical education for children in the most deprived areas. We have delivered free access to national museums for children and the over 60's and additional money will be provided to allow this to be extended to everyone in December 2001. We have commissioned a taskforce which is currently considering the issues facing non-national museums in the regions.We have made improvements in the way the Lottery is spent to ensure a fairer distribution. The introduction of the New Opportunities Fund for spending on health, education and the environment has made a real difference to communities everywhere. For instance it has invested £120 million to support the People's Network, which will enable all 4,300 public libraries to offer free public internet access through UK online learning centres; and a further £50 million to stimulate development of content to support the Network.We have set up a Regional Cultural Consortium in each of the English regions outside London to champion culture and creativity, including heritage, sport and tourism, and to draw up regional cultural strategies identifying regional objectives and priorities.We have published a Green Paper "Culture and Creativity: The Next Ten Years", setting out how individual creative talent can be given the support it needs from childhood to flourish; how artists and cultural institutions can be freed from bureaucratic controls; and how the freedom to explore and enjoy creativity and culture can be made available to all.Through their commitment to public service broadcasting, the Government have helped to foster an environment in which a creative, commercially successful broadcasting industry provides a wide range of UK-made, high-quality, original programmes catering for all viewers and listeners. We have ensured a secure funding base for the BBC and S4C, while giving them the freedom to develop commercial operations which complement and support their public service remit. We have made it clear in the Communications White Paper that public service broadcasting will continue to have a key role to play in the digital future. The Government have introduced free television licences for people aged 75 or over from 1 November last year.
My Department sponsors the British Tourist Authority (BTA) which continues to promote Britain effectively as an attractive tourist destination for overseas visitors. The BTA's successful marketing activities ones are aimed at bringing benefits to all parts of the UK, including Jarrow.
In delivering these initiatives we trim to make cultural and sporting inclusive activities ones, boosting participation and improving the quality of life for all.
Jarrow
According to the information supplied to us by the distributing bodies for the national lottery awards database, there have been 103 national lottery awards to Jarrow totalling £4,228,149. This includes three awards from the Millennium Festival totalling £130,000.
Twenty Millennium Award Winners have been identified from Jarrow and between them they have received grants totalling £43,060.
Under the Space for Sport and Arts SSA scheme, South Tyneside local education authority has been allocated up to £2.2 million towards providing improved facilities for sport and arts in primary schools which can also be used by the wider community.
The constituency of Jarrow is within the area served by Tyne and Wear Museums. On 15 March Resource: The Council of Museums, Libraries and Archives announced a £470,000 Designated Museums Challenge Fund award for the joint Tyne and Wear Museums/Beamish The North of England Open Air Museum project to create a new store to safely house large objects owned by the two partners. This follows previous allocations of £30,000 and £300,000 for this project in 1999 an(2000 respectively.
DCMS became the direct sponsors of Tyne and Wear Museums, succeeding the Museums and Galleries Commission from 1 April 2000.
South Tyneside Library authority was a partner in the Information North consortium which received £498,000 in 1998–99 for an ICT project.
Information on the number of beneficiaries of free television licences by constituency is not available, but estimates based on the 1991 Census indicate that there were approximately 4,700 people aged 75 or over living in the Jarrow constituency.
There are of course other initiatives in the wider context of the area which may have an elect on the Jarrow constituency. These are:
Northern Arts Board received £9,249,000 in 2001–01 from the Arts Council to support arts and cultural activity across its region. In 2001–02 this will increase to 10.170,654 or by 9.96 per cent.
The National Foundation for Youth Music has awarded £350,878 for a Youth Music Action Zone in Gateshead.
Departmental Policies (Truro And St Austell)
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will set out, including statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Truro and St. Austell constituency, the effects on Truro and St. Austell of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [154533]
Since May 1997 my Department has introduced and developed a variety of initiatives which will impact on the hon. Member's constituency which promote our objectives of access, excellence, education, and creativity and employment. We have published our strategies to take this forward in "Tomorrow's Tourism" and "A Sporting Future for All", which was recently followed up by "The Government's Plan for Sport". We have tackled the issue of social inclusion taking forward the recommendations of Policy Action Team 10 on Arts and Sport and developing social inclusion policies across all our areas which is recognised within the most recent progress report "Building on PAT10".We have given more support to the cultural and sporting infrastructure. The Spending Review 2000 secured a doubling of the budget for sport and the largest ever increase for the arts: an increase of 80 per cent. from £186 million in 1997–98 to £336 million in 2003–04. In taking forward our aim to develop the educational potential of culture and sport, £40 million has been allocated to developing Creative Partnerships; we have established through lottery funding the £30 million National Foundation for Youth Music; and secured an additional £130 million for primary schools sports and arts facilities through the Space for Sport and the Arts programme. With £120 million of central Government and lottery funding we will be providing a school sports co-ordinator in one in four secondary schools to work with local primary and special schools to improve sporting provision and physical education for children in the most deprived areas. We have delivered free access to national museums for children and the over 60's and additional money will be provided to allow this to be extended to everyone in December 2001. We have commissioned a taskforce which is currently considering the issues facing non-national museums in the regions.We have made improvements in the way the lottery is spent to ensure a fairer distribution. The introduction of the New Opportunities Fund for spending on health, education and the environment has made a real difference to communities everywhere. For instance it has invested £120 million to support the People's Network, which will enable all 4,300 public libraries to offer free public internet access through UK online learning centres; and a further £50 million to stimulate development of content to support the Network.We have set up a Regional Cultural Consortium in each of the English regions outside London to champion culture and creativity, including heritage, sport and tourism, and to draw up regional cultural strategies identifying regional objectives and priorities.We have published a Green Paper, "Culture and Creativity: The Next Ten Years", setting out how individual creative talent can be given the support it needs from childhood to flourish; how artists and cultural institutions can be freed from bureaucratic controls; and how the freedom to explore and enjoy creativity and culture can be made available to all.Through their commitment to public service broadcasting, the Government have helped to foster an environment in which a creative, commercially successful broadcasting industry provides a wide range of UK-made, high-quality, original programmes catering for all viewers and listeners. We have ensured a secure funding base for the BBC and S4C, while giving them the freedom to develop commercial operations which complement and support their public service remit. We have made it clear in the Communications White Paper that public service broadcasting will continue to have a key role to play in the digital future. The Government have introduced free television licences for people aged 75 or over from 1 November last year.My Department sponsors the British Tourist Authority (BTA) which continues to promote Britain effectively as an attractive tourist destination for overseas visitors. The BTA's successful marketing activities are aimed at bringing benefits to all parts of the UK, including Truro and St. Austell.In delivering these initiatives we aim to make cultural and sporting activities inclusive ones, boosting participation and improving the quality of life for all.
Truro and St. Austell
According to the information supplied to us by the distributing bodies for the national lottery awards database, there have been 205 national lottery awards to Truro and St. Austell totalling £8,690,170.
Forty-six Millennium Award winners have been identified from Truro and St. Austell and between them have received grants totalling £157,092.
On 21 February, I announced the 16 areas in which it is hoped Creative Partnership pilots will be developed. Cornwall is one of these areas. The Arts Council of England, which is delivering the initiative, will be consulting schools and creative organisations in each location over the next few months to establish which bodies will be involved. Details on how schools and cultural organisations can take part in Creative Partnerships will be available from the Arts Council from early May. Funding for the initiative will come on stream in April 2002.
Under the Space for Sport and the Arts scheme, Cornwall local education authority has been allocated up to £3.1 million towards providing improved facilities for sport and arts in primary schools which can also be used by the wider community.
School Sport Co-ordinators will be based in families of schools, in areas of greatest need, linked wherever possible through local education authorities to specialist sport colleges. They will provide opportunities for young people to compete regularly for their school and take part in a wide range of sports. By 2004, there will be about 250 families established, with 1,000 secondary schools and up to 6,000 primary schools benefiting directly from this programme. Truro and St. Austell was awarded £945,689 in the first round of awards. It has three Partnership Managers, 15 School Sports Co-ordinators and 68 Primary Link Teachers.
English Heritage have offered the following grants:
| £ | ||
Site
| Grant offer
| Payment made to date
|
| St. Mylors Church | 4,956 | 0 |
| St Just's Church | 21,062 | 20,194 |
| St. Sampson's Church | 17,608 | 0 |
| Caerhays Castle (two offers) | 115,341 | 114,911 |
| Cornwall Monument Management Scheme (three offers) | 29,830 | 19,421 |
Information on the number of beneficiaries of free television licences by constituency is not available, but estimates based on the 1991 Census indicate that there were approximately 8,900 people aged 75 or over living in the Truro and St. Austell constituency.
There are of course other initiatives in the wider context of Cornwall and the south-west which may have an effect on the Truro and St. Austell constituency. These are:
South West Arts received £6,694,000 in 2000–01 from the Arts Council to support arts and cultural activity across its region. In 2001–02 this will increase to £7,766,575 or by 16 per cent.
National Foundation for Youth Music has awarded £476,770 for a Youth Music Action Zone in Cornwall.
The Eden Project, a landmark Millennium project, which received £43,150,000 from the Millennium Commission.
Departmental Policies (Newbury And West Berkshire)
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will set out, including statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Newbury constituency, the effects on Newbury and West Berkshire of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [154569]
[holding answer 20 March 2001]: Since May 1997 ray Department has introduced and developed a variety of initiatives which will impact on the hon. Member's constituency which promote our objectives of access, excellence, education, and creativity and employment. We have published our strategies to take this forward in "Tomorrows Tourism" and "A Sporting Future for All", which was recently followed up by "The Government's Plan for Sport". We have tackled the issue of social inclusion taking forward the recommendations of Policy Action Team 10 on Arts and Sport and developing social inclusion policies across all our areas which is recognised within the most recent progress report "Building on PAT10".We have given more support to the cultural and sporting infrastructure. The Spending Review 2000 secured a doubling of the budget for sport and the largest ever increase for the arts: an increase of 80 per cent. from £186 million in 1997–98 to £336 million in 2003–04. In taking forward our aim to develop the educational potential of culture and sport £40 million has been allocated to developing Creative Partnerships; we have established through lottery funding, the £30 million National Foundation for Youth Music; and secured an additional £130 million for primary schools sports and arts facilities through the Space for Sport and the Arts programme. With £120 million of central Government and lottery funding we will be providing a school sports co-ordinator in one in four secondary schools to work with local primary and special schools to improve sporting provision and physical education for children in the most deprived areas. We have delivered free access to national museums for children and the over 60's and additional money will be provided to allow this to be extended to everyone in December 2001. We have commissioned a taskforce which is currently considering the issues facing non-national museums in the regions.
We have made improvements in the way the lottery is spent to ensure a fairer distribution. The introduction of the New Opportunities Fund for spending on health, education and the environment has made a real difference to communities everywhere. For instance it has invested £120 million to support the People's Network, which will enable all 4,300 public libraries to offer free public internet access through UK online learning centres; and a further £50 million to stimulate development of content to support the Network.
We have set up a Regional Cultural Consortium in each of the English regions outside London to champion culture and creativity, including heritage, sport and tourism, and to draw up regional cultural strategies identifying regional objectives and priorities.
We have published a Green Paper "Culture and Creativity: The Next Ten Years", setting out how individual creative talent can be given the support it needs from childhood to flourish; how artists and cultural institutions can be freed from bureaucratic controls; and how the freedom to explore and enjoy creativity and culture can be made available to all.
Through their commitment to public service broadcasting, the Government have helped to foster an environment in which a creative, commercially successful broadcasting industry provides a wide range of UK-made, high-quality, original programmes catering for all viewers and listeners. We have ensured a secure funding base for the BBC and S4C, while giving them the freedom to develop commercial operations which complement and support their public service remit. We have made it clear in the Communications White Paper that public service broadcasting will continue to have a key role to play in the digital future. The Government have introduced free television licences for people aged 75 or over from 1 November last year.
My Department sponsors the British Tourist Authority (BTA) which continues to promote Britain effectively as an attractive tourist destination for overseas visitors. The BTA's successful marketing activities are aimed at bringing benefits to all parts of the UK, including Newbury.
In delivering these initiatives we aim to make cultural and sporting activities inclusive ones, boosting participation and improving the quaky of life for all.
Newbury
According to the information supplied to us by the distributing bodies for the national lottery awards database, there have been 87 national lottery awards to Newbury, totalling £3,464,734.
Six Millennium Award Winners have been identified from Newbury and between them they have received grants totalling £11,980.
Information on the number of beneficiaries of free television licences by constituency is not available, but estimates based on the 1991 Census indicate that there were approximately 5,900 people aged 75 or over living in the Newbury constituency.
There are of course other initiatives in the wider context of the region which may have an effect on the Newbury constituency. These are:
Awards have been made to the Rural History Centre (Museum of English Rural Life), University of Reading.
Southern Arts received £8,026,000 in 2000–01 from the Arts Council to support arts and cultural activity across its region. In 2001–02 this will increase to £9,182,875 or by 14.4 per cent.
Departmental Policies (Lancaster And Wyre)
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Lancaster and Wyre constituency, the effect on Lancaster and Wyre of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [154687]
[holding answer 21 March 2001]: Since May 1997 my Department has introduced and developed a variety of initiatives which will impact on my hon. Friend's constituency which promote our objectives of access, excellence, education, and creativity and employment. We have published our strategies to take this forward in "Tomorrows Tourism" and "A Sporting Future for All", which was recently followed up by "The Government's Plan for Sport". We have tackled the issue of social inclusion taking forward the recommendations of Policy Action Team 10 on Arts and Sport and developing social inclusion policies across all our areas which is recognised within the most recent progress report "Building on PAT10".We have given more support to the cultural and sporting infrastructure. The Spending Review 2000 secured a doubling of the budget for sport and the largest ever increase for the arts: an increase of 80 per cent. from £186 million in 1997–98 to £336 million in 2003–04. In taking forward our aim to develop the educational potential of culture and sport £40 million has been allocated to developing Creative Partnerships; we have established through lottery funding, the £30 million National Foundation for Youth Music; and secured an additional £130 million for primary schools sports and arts facilities through the Space for Sport and the Arts programme. With £120 million of central Government and Lottery funding we will be providing a school sports co-ordinator in one in four secondary schools to work with local primary and special schools to improve sporting provision and physical education for children in the most deprived areas. We have delivered free access to national museums for children and the over–60's and additional money will be provided to allow this to be extended to everyone in December 2001. We have commissioned a taskforce which is currently considering the issues facing no-national museums in the regions.We have made improvements in the way the Lottery is spent to ensure a fairer distribution. The introduction of the New Opportunities Fund for spending on health, education and the environment has made a real difference to communities everywhere. For instance it has invested £120 million to support the People's Network, which will enable all 4,300 public libraries to offer free public internet access through UK online learning centres; and a further £50 million to stimulate development of content to support the Network.
We have set up a Regional Cultural Consortium in each of the English regions outside London to champion culture and creativity, including heritage, sport and tourism, and to draw up regional cultural strategies identifying regional objectives and priorities.
We have published a Green Paper "Culture and Creativity: The Next Ten Years", setting out how individual creative talent can be given the support it needs from childhood to flourish; how artists and cultural institutions can be freed from bureaucratic controls; and how the freedom to explore and enjoy creativity and culture can be made available to all.
Through their commitment to public service broadcasting, the Government have helped to foster an environment in which a creative, commercially successful broadcasting industry provides a wide range of UK-made, high-quality, original programmes catering for all viewers and listeners. We have ensured a secure funding base for the BBC and S4C, while giving them the freedom to develop commercial operations which complement and support their public service remit. We have made clear in the Communications White Paper that public service broadcasting will continue to have a key role to play in the digital future. The Government have introduced free television licences for people aged 75 or over from 1 November last year.
My Department sponsors the British Tourist Authority (BTA) which continues to promote Britain effectively as an attractive tourist destination for overseas visitors. The BTA's successful marketing activities are aimed at bringing benefits to all parts of the UK, including Lancaster and Wyre.
In delivering these initiatives we aim to make cultural and sporting activities inclusive ones, boosting participation and improving the quality of life for all.
Lancaster and Wyre
According to the information supplied to us by the distributing bodies for the national lottery awards database, there have been 99 national lottery awards to Lancaster and Wyre, totalling £8,858,790.
Nineteen Millennium Award Winners have been identified from Lancaster and Wyre and between them they have received grants totalling £55,572.
Information on the number of beneficiaries of free television licences by constituency is not available, but estimates based on the 1991 Census indicate that there were approximately 8,000 people aged 75 or over living in the Lancaster and Wyre constituency.
English Heritage input
| Offered £
| Comment
|
| Victoria Pavilion, Lancaster | 5,000 | None paid as yet |
| Leighton Hall, Lancaster | 1,145 | All paid |
| Leighton Hall, Lancaster | 14,957 | Paid £10,826 |
| St. Wilfred's Melling, Lancaster | 34,700 | All paid |
| Cockersand Abbey, Lancaster | 420 | All paid |
| Twetfield | 323 | All paid |
| Lancaster City Conservation Area Partnership Scheme | 144,000 |
There are of course other initiatives in the wider context of the region which may have an effect on the Lancaster and Wyre constituency. These are:
Under the Space for Sport and Arts scheme Lancashire local education authority has been allocated up to £1.75 million towards providing improved facilities for sport and arts in primary schools which can also be used by the wider community.
North West Arts Board received £14,061,000 in 2000–01 from the Arts Council to support arts and cultural activity across its region. In 2001–2002 this will increase to £15,491,266 or by 10.17 per cent.
More Music in Morecambe has worked with many school choirs. For Singing Challenge 1 there will be four open sessions as part of the local West End Festival to encourage new singers to participate. For Singing Challenge 2 there will be a set of linked local projects comprising workshops in the summer and autumn months.
North Lancashire Youth Music Action Zone: £145,000. More Music in Morecambe is running the Action Zone working across the north-west. The Zone will provide a range of music opportunities to young people throughout the north-west these include a range of music activities exclusively for under-18s, a singing project for under-5s and an expansion of More Music in Morecambe's national training programme for musicians.
Departmental Policies (North Devon)
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will set out, including statistical information relating as directly as possible to the North Devon constituency, the effects on North Devon of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [155901]
Since May 1997 my Department has introduced and developed a variety of initiatives which will impact on the hon. Member's constituency which promote our objectives of access, excellence, education, and creativity and employment. We have published our strategies to take this forward in "Tomorrows Tourism" and "A Sporting Future for All", which was recently followed up by "The Government's Plan for Sport". We have tackled the issue of social inclusion taking forward the recommendations of Policy Action Team 10 on Arts and Sport and developing social inclusion policies across all our areas which is recognised within the most recent progress report "Building on PAT10".We have given more support to the cultural and sporting infrastructure. The Spending Review 2000 secured a doubling of the budget for sport and the largest ever increase for the arts: an increase of 80 per cent. from £186 million in 1997–98 to £336 million in 2003–04. In taking forward out aim to develop the educational potential of culture and sport £40 million has been allocated to developing Creative Partnerships; we have established through lottery funding, the £30 million National Foundation for Youth Music; and secured an additional £130 million for primary schools sports and arts facilities through the Space for Sport and the Arts programme. With £ 120 million of central Government and Lottery funding we will be providing a school sports co-ordinator in one in four secondary schools to work with local primary and special schools to improve sporting provision and physical education for children in the most deprived areas. We have delivered free access to national museums for children and the over 60's and additional money will be provided to allow this to be extended to everyone in December 2001. We have commissioned a Taskforce which is currently considering the issues facing non-national museums in the regions.We have made improvements in the way the Lottery is spent to ensure a fairer distribution. The introduction of the New Opportunities Fund for spending on health, education and the environment has made a real difference to communities everywhere. For instance it has invested £120 million to support the People's Network, which will enable all 4,300 public libraries to offer free public Internet access through UK online learning centres; and a further £50 million to stimulate development of content to support the Network.We have set up a Regional Cultural Consortium in each of the English regions outside London to champion culture and creativity, including heritage, sport and tourism, and to draw up regional cultural strategies identifying regional objectives and priorities.We have published a Green Paper "Culture and Creativity: The Next Ten Years" setting out how individual creative talent can be given the support it needs from childhood to flourish; how artists and cultural institutions can be freed from bureaucratic controls; and how the freedom to explore and enjoy creativity and culture can be made available to all.Through their commitment to public service broadcasting, the Government have helped to foster an environment in which a creative, commercially successful broadcasting industry provides a wide range of UK-made, high-quality, original programmes catering for all viewers and listeners. We have ensured a secure funding base for the BBC and S4C, while giving them the freedom to develop commercial operations which complement and support their public service remit. We have made it clear in the Communications White Paper that public service broadcasting will continue to have a key role to play in the digital future. The Government have introduced free television licences for people aged 75 or over from 1 November last year.My Department sponsors the British Tourist Authority (BTA) which continues to promote Britain effectively as an attractive tourist destination for overseas visitors. The BTA's successful marketing activities are aimed at bringing benefits to all parts of the UK, including North Devon.In delivering these initiatives we aim to make cultural and sporting activities inclusive ones, boosting participation and improving the quality of life for all.
North Devon
According to the information supplied to us by the distributing bodies for the national lottery awards database, there have been 206 national lottery awards to North Devon totalling £4,867,877. This includes £20,000 from the Millennium Festival for a Millennium Celebrations Schools Pageant.
Twenty seven Millennium Award Winners have been identified from North Devon and between them they have received grants totalling £94,839.
Information on the number of beneficiaries of free television licences by constituency is not available, but estimates based on the 1991 Census indicate that there were approximately 8,300 people aged 75 or over living in the North Devon constituency.
Information from English Heritage (EH):
Nine grants have been offered totalling £221,079
Conservation Area Partnership Scheme
Ilfracombe 1997–98 offered £50,000.
There are of course other initiatives in the wider context of the area which may have an effect on the North Devon constituency. These are:
Devon Library authority, which includes the North Devon constituency, received an award of £113,647 from the DCMS/Wolfson Fund in 1997–98
South West Arts received £6,694,000 in 2000–01 from the Arts Council to support arts and cultural activity across its region. In 2001–02 this will increase to £7.766,575 or by 16 per cent.
Departmental Policies (Hazel Grove)
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will set out, including statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Hazel Grove constituency, the effects on Hazel Grove of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [156175]
Since May 1997 my Department has introduced and developed a variety of initiatives which will impact on the hon. Member's constituency which promote our objectives of access, excellence, education, and creativity and employment. We have published our strategies to take this forward in "Tomorrows Tourism" and "A Sporting Future for All", which was recently followed up by "The Government's Plan for Sport". We have tackled the issue of social inclusion taking forward the recommendations of Policy Action Team 10 on Arts and Sport and developing social inclusion policies across all our areas which is recognised within the most recent progress report "Building on PAT10".We have given more support to the cultural and sporting infrastructure. The Spending Review 2000 secured a doubling of the budget for sport and the largest ever increase for the arts: an increase of 80 per cent. from £186 million in 1997–98 to £336 million in 2003–04. In taking forward our aim to develop the educational potential of culture and sport £40 million has been allocated to developing Creative Partnerships; we have established through lottery funding, the £30 million National Foundation for Youth Music; and secured an additional £130 million for primary schools sports and arts facilities through the Space for Sport and the Arts programme. With £120 million of central Government and Lottery funding we will be providing a school sports co-ordinator in one in four secondary schools to work with local primary and special schools to improve sporting provision and physical education for children in the most deprived areas. We have delivered free access to national museums for children and the over 60's and additional money will be provided to allow this to be extended to everyone in December 2001. We have commissioned a taskforce which is currently considering the issues facing non-national museums in the regions.
We have made improvements in the way the Lottery is spent to ensure a fairer distribution. The introduction of the New Opportunities Fund for spending on health, education and the environment has made a real difference to communities everywhere. For instance it has invested £120 million to support the People's Network, which will enable all 4,300 public libraries to offer free public internet access through UK online learning centres; and a further £50 million to stimulate development of content to support the Network.
We have set up a Regional Cultural Consortium in each of the English regions outside London to champion culture and creativity, including heritage, sport and tourism, and to draw up regional cultural strategies identifying regional objectives and priorities.
We have published a Green Paper "Culture and Creativity: The Next Ten Years", setting out how individual creative talent can be given the support it needs from childhood to flourish; how artists and cultural institutions can be freed from bureaucratic controls; and how the freedom to explore and enjoy creativity and culture can be made available to all.
Through their commitment to public service broadcasting, the Government have helped to foster an environment in which a creative, commercially successful broadcasting industry provides a wide range of UK-made, high-quality, original programmes catering for all viewers and listeners. We have ensured a secure funding base for the BBC and S4C, while giving them the freedom to develop commercial operations which complement and support their public service remit. We have made it clear in the Communications White Paper that public service broadcasting will continue to have a key role to play in the digital future. The Government have introduced free television licences for people aged 75 or over from 1 November last year.
My Department sponsors the British Tourist Authority (BTA) which continues to promote Britain effectively as an attractive tourist destination for overseas visitors. The BTA's successful marketing activities are aimed at bringing benefits to all parts of the UK, including Hazel Grove.
In delivering these initiatives we aim to make cultural and sporting activities inclusive ones, boosting participation and improving the quality of life for all.
Hazel Grove
According to the information supplied to us by the distributing bodies for the national lottery awards database, there have been 39 national lottery awards to Hazel Grove totalling £2,440,915.
Seven Millennium Award Winners have been identified from Hazel Grove and between them they have received grants totalling £46,104.
Information on the number of beneficiaries of free television licences by constituency is not available, but estimates based on the 1991 Census indicate that there were approximately 6,100 people aged 75 or over living in the Hazel Grove constituency.
There are of course other initiatives in the wider area which may have an effect on the Hazel Grove constituency. These are:
£20,090,000 for the Manchester Millennium Quarter Project nearby.
North West Arts Board received £14,061,000 in 2000–01 from the Arts Council to support arts and cultural activity across its region. In 2001–02 this will increase to £15,491,266 or by 10.17 per cent.
Departmental Policies (Luton, South)
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the constituency, the effects on the Luton, South constituency of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [156164]
Since May 1997 my Department has introduced and developed a variety of initiatives which will impact on my hon. Friend's constituency which promote our objectives of access, excellence, education, and creativity and employment. We have published our strategies to take this forward in "Tomorrows Tourism" and "A Sporting Future for All", which was recently followed up by "The Government's Plan for Sport". We have tackled the issue of social inclusion taking forward the recommendations of Policy Action Team 10 on Arts and Sport and developing social inclusion policies across all our areas which is recognised within the most recent progress report "Building on PAT10".We have given more support to the cultural and sporting infrastructure. The Spending Review 2000 secured a doubling of the budget for sport and the largest ever increase for the arts: an increase of 80 per cent. from £186 million in 1997–98 to £336 million in 2003–04. In taking forward our aim to develop the educational potential of culture and sport £40 million has been allocated to developing Creative Partnerships; we have established through lottery funding, the £30 million National Foundation for Youth Music; and secured an additional £130 million for primary schools sports and arts facilities through the Space for Sport and the Arts programme. With £120 million of central Government and Lottery funding, we will be providing a school sports co-ordinator in one in four secondary schools to work with local primary and special schools to improve sporting provision and physical education for children in the most deprived treas. We have delivered free access to national museums for children and the over-60's and additional money will be provided to allow this to be extended to every one in December 2001. We have commissioned a taskforce which is currently considering the issues facing nun-national museums in the regions.We have made improvements in the way the Lottery is spent to ensure a fairer distribution. The introduction of the New Opportunities Fund for spending on health, education and the environment has made a real difference to communities everywhere. For instance it has invested £120 million to support the People's Network, which will enable all 4,300 public libraries to offer free public Internet access through UK online learning centres; and a further £50 million to stimulate development of content to support the Network.
We have set up a Regional Cultural Consortium in each of the English regions outside London to champion culture and creativity, including heritage, sport and tourism, and to draw up regional cultural strategies identifying regional objectives and priorities.
We have published a Green Paper "Culture and Creativity: The Next Ten Years" setting out how individual creative talent can be given the support it needs from childhood to flourish; how artists and cultural institutions can be freed from bureaucratic controls; and how the freedom to explore and enjoy creativity and culture can be made available to all.
Through their commitment to public service broadcasting, the Government have helped to foster an environment in which a creative, commercially successful broadcasting industry provides a wide range of UK-made, high-quality, original programmes catering for all viewers and listeners. We have ensured a secure funding base for the BBC and S4C, while giving them the freedom to develop commercial operations which complement and support their public service remit. We have made it clear in the Communications White Paper that public service broadcasting will continue to have a key role to play in the digital future. The Government have introduced free television licences for people aged 75 or over from 1 November last year.
My Department sponsors the British Tourist Authority (BTA) which continues to promote Britain effectively as an attractive tourist destination for overseas visitors. The BTA's successful marketing activities are aimed at bringing benefits to all parts of the UK, including Luton, South.
In delivering these initiatives we aim to make cultural and sporting activities inclusive ones, boosting participation and improving the quality of life for all.
Luton, South
According to the information supplied by the distributing bodies for the national lottery awards database, there have been 56 national lottery awards to Luton, South totalling £4,896,824.
Twenty Eight Millennium Award Winners have been identified from Luton, South and between them they have received grants totalling £39,779.
Under the Space for Sport and Arts scheme, Luton local education authority has been allocated up to £1.75 million towards providing improved facilities for sport and arts in primary schools which can also be used by the wider community. Farley, Foxdell and St Matthew's junior schools in the hon. Member's constituency have been chosen to develop schemes under the SSA.
English Heritage (EH) have awarded the following grants since 2 May 1997:
Heritage Economic Regeneration Scheme
Luton (Plaiter's Lea and High Town): 1999–2000–£100,000 offered. 2000–01–£100,000 offered.
Information on the number of beneficiaries of free television licences by constituency is not available, but estimates based on the 1991 Census indicate that there were approximately 5,000 people aged 75 or over living in the Luton, South constituency.
East England Arts received £6,202,000 in 2000–01 from the Arts Council to support arts and cultural activity across its region. In 2001–02 this will increase to £7,116,585 or by 14.74 per cent.
Departmental Policies (Great Grimsby)
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the constituency, the effect on the Great Grimsby constituency of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [156244]
Since May 1997 my Department has introduced and developed a variety of initiatives which will impact on my hon. Friend's constituency which promote our objectives of access, excellence, education, and creativity and employment. We have published our strategies to take this forward in "Tomorrows Tourism" and "A Sporting Future for All", which was recently followed up by "The Government's Plan for Sport". We have tackled the issue of social inclusion taking forward the recommendations of Policy Action Team 10 on Arts and Sport and developing social inclusion policies across all our areas which is recognised within the most recent progress report "Building on PAT10".We have given more support to the cultural and sporting infrastructure. The Spending Review 2000 secured a doubling of the budget for sport and the largest ever increase for the arts: an increase of 80 per cent. from £186 million in 1997–98 to £336 million in 2003–04. In taking forward our aim to develop the educational potential of culture and sport £40 million has been allocated to developing Creative Partnerships; we have established through lottery funding, the £30 million National Foundation for Youth Music; and secured an additional £130 million for primary schools sports and arts facilities through the Space for Sport and the Arts programme. With £120 million of central Government and lottery funding we will be providing a school sports co-ordinator in one in four secondary schools to work with local primary and special schools to improve sporting provision and physical education for children in the most deprived areas. We have delivered free access to national museums for children and the over 60's and additional money will be provided to allow this to be extended to everyone in December 2001. We have commissioned a Task Force which is currently considering the issues facing non-national museums in the regions.We have made improvements in the way the lottery is spent to ensure a fairer distribution. The introduction of the New Opportunities Fund for spending on health, education and the environment has made a real difference to communities everywhere. For instance it has invested £120 million to support the People's Network, which will enable all 4,300 public libraries to offer free public internet access through UK online learning centres; and a further £50 million to stimulate development of content to support the Network.We have set up a Regional Cultural Consortium in each of the English regions outside London to champion culture and creativity, including heritage, sport and tourism, and to draw up regional cultural strategies identifying regional objectives and priorities.
We have published a Green Paper "Culture and Creativity: The Next Ten Years", setting out how individual creative talent can be given the support it needs from childhood to flourish; how artists and cultural institutions can be freed from bureaucratic controls; and how the freedom to explore and enjoy creativity and culture can be made available to all.
Through their commitment to public service broadcasting, the Government have helped to foster an environment in which a creative, commercially successful broadcasting industry provides a wide range of UK-made, high-quality, original programmes catering for all viewers and listeners. We have ensured a secure funding base for the BBC and S4C, while giving them the freedom to develop commercial operations which complement and support their public service remit. We have made it clear in the Communications White Paper that public service broadcasting will continue to have a key role to play in the digital future. The Government have introduced free television licences for people aged 75 or over from 1 November last year.
My Department sponsors the British Tourist Authority (BTA) which continues to promote Britain effectively as an attractive tourist destination for overseas visitors. The BTA's successful marketing activities are aimed at bringing benefits to all parts of the UK, including Great Grimsby.
In delivering these initiatives we aim to make cultural and sporting activities inclusive ones, boosting participation and improving the quality of life for all.
Great Grimsby
According to the information supplied to us by the distributing bodies for the national lottery awards database, there have been 76 national lottery awards to Great Grimsby, totalling £2,640,333. This includes one grant from the Millennium Festival totalling £50,000.
Five Millennium Award Winners have been identified from Great Grimsby and between them they have received grants totalling £36,114.
Information on the number of beneficiaries of free television licences by constituency is not available, but estimates based on the 1991 Census indicate that there were approximately 6,100 people aged 75 or over living in the Great Grimsby constituency.
There are of course other initiatives in the wider context of the area which may have an effect on the Great Grimsby constituency. These are:
£18,746,000 for the Deep Millennium Project nearby.
Yorkshire Arts received £9,288,000 in 2000–01 from the Arts Council to support arts and cultural activity across its region. In 2001–02 this will increase to £10,315,832 or by 11 per cent.
Foot And Mouth (Tourism)
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with (a) the British Tourist Authority and (b) other tourist bodies regarding the impact of foot and mouth disease on the tourist trade. [157027]
Close contact is being maintained with the British Tourist Authority on the impact of foot and mouth disease on the tourism trade. In addition, we have been in frequent contact with tourism industry representatives both at formal meetings and through visits around the country; for example, on 5 April 2001 my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State hosted a summit meeting of industry representatives to discuss foot and mouth.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the impact of foot and mouth disease on non-rural tourism in Britain. [157030]
We are making inquiries of a range of tourism-related bodies to determine the impact of foot and mouth disease on both rural and non-rural tourism businesses. This research is at an early stage but it would seem that while the responses are very variable, it is clear that many businesses have been affected.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions his Department has had with official veterinary agencies of foreign Governments on the giving of advice on travel to the United Kingdom. [157029]
My Department has not had discussions with any official veterinary agencies of foreign Governments.The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, through its posts overseas, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food have been in close contact with veterinary authorities, agriculture ministries and other parts of government worldwide to reassure them that, provided individuals observe the standard guidance on travel to the countryside, there is no reason why visitors should not travel to the UK.
Lindisfarne Gospels
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport m hat discussions he has had with the British Museum about exhibiting the Lindisfarne Gospels in the north of England: and if he will seek the inclusion of Holy Island in any future programme to exhibit the Gospels outside London. [156969]
The Lindisfarne Gospels are a national treasure. They are the property of the British Library under the British Library Act 1972. We appreciate the particular importance of the Gospels to the people of the North-East where they have been exhibited recently. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State recently met a delegation, led by the Bishop of Durham. Following that meeting, my right hon. Friend has written to the Chairman of the British. Library inviting them to discuss with the delegation the feasibility of exhibiting the Gospels in the North-East on a mare regular basis. No doubt the question of an exhibition of the Gospels on Holy Island could form part of such a discussion.
Music Librarians
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media And Sport what measures he is taking to encourage the recruitment and retention of music librarians by public libraries; and if he will make a statement. [157562]
My responsibility under the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 is to ensure that library authorities in England meet their statutory duty to provide a "comprehensive and efficient" public library service. The day-to-day management of library services, however, is for library authorities, who must make their own decisions about the detailed nature of the library service they provide, based on local resources and priorities. This includes such matters as the numbers, grading and qualifications of staff, and where they are employed within the library service.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many local authorities employ full-time music librarians; and how many did so in 1996–97. [157563]
This information is not collected centrally. The CIPFA Public Library Statistics, which are available in the Library of the House, provide information on the numbers of professional, other non-manual and manual posts in public libraries but do not identify the numbers of posts in the various libraries and departments of any library authority.
Concessionary Television Licences
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has to amend the regulations governing the Accommodation for Residential Care concessionary television licence scheme to prevent residents losing their entitlement to the concession following changes introduced by then housing managers. [157854]
A number of hon. Members have expressed concern about residents in sheltered accommodation losing their entitlement to the £5 Accommodation for Residential Care television licence fee concession, as the result of changes to the way their accommodation is provided or managed. The Government share these concerns. We propose to introduce measures to preserve the rights of beneficiaries a the concessionary scheme who remain in a sheltered housing complex or residential home provided or managed by a local authority, a housing association or a development corporation, when the social mix or the level of warden cover change. We are consulting with the BBC on the formulation of the necessary amendments to the regulations governing the concessionary scheme.
Uk Standards Authority For Sport
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress has been made on the establishment of the UK Standards Authority for Sport; and what the membership is of the authority. [156487]
Over recent months I have been in discussion with sporting and medical experts over whether there is a need for a UK Standards Authority for Sport and Exercise Medicine which could ensure that adequate standards are in place to minimise the risk of injury or illness through sport.In order to consider current provision, and whether such an authority should be established, I have convened a working group who will meet over the next few months to explore the key issues involved. The working group will then make recommendations to me on whether there is a need for a UK Standards Authority for Sport and Exercise Medicine, and if so what its role and remit might be, and how it might be established.
Under the chairmanship of Sir Oliver Popplewell, the group met for the first time on 27 March and have now begun a process of consultation with experts from a range of medical and sporting backgrounds.
The other members of the working group are David Oxley, OBE, Chairman of the Central Council for Physical Recreation; Peter Hamlyn, consultant neurosurgeon; Professor Donald Macleod. Vice President of the Royal College of Surgeons; Dr. Stephanie Cook, MBE, modern pentathlon gold medal winner at Sydney 2000; Dr. Nick Webborn, Medical Adviser for the National Sport Medicine Institute; and Karen Hambly, Sports Medicine Co-ordinator for the UK Sports Institute.
International Development
India
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement about the (a) medical supplies and (b) other help the UK sent to India following the recent earthquake there. [157411]
During my statement in the House on Monday 29 January I announced an overall allocation of up to £10 million to support the emergency relief effort in Gujarat without reducing spending in other parts of India. To date nearly £9 million of the total allocation has been spent.We provided immediate support to the Search and Rescue effort with a UK team of 69 personnel as well as supporting the Russian Ministry of Emergencies to deploy a team of 75 with an airmobile hospital. In addition we transported numerous relief items to the region (on behalf of agencies such as the Red Cross and Save the Children Fund) including medical supplies, tents and plastic sheeting. We have also channelled funds through a number of agencies for the provision of essential relief items such as tents, blankets, medical supplies, food, water and sanitation. We also established an Emergency Field Office in Gujarat to monitor DFID funded projects and ensure effective targeting of relief assistance.
Treasury
Homosexual Couples
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to treat inheritance tax for homosexual couples in the same way as for heterosexuals. [157486]
The inheritance tax rules make no special provision for couples, whatever their sexual orientation. Spouse relief is available for transfers between partners in a marriage; we have no plans to alter the scope of this relief.
Office Of Government Commerce
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what targets have been set for the OGCbuying.solutions trading fund for 2001–02.[158058]
I am pleased to announce that the new Office of Government Commerce trading fund, OGCbuying.solutions, came into being on 3 April 2001. The new trading fund is based on The Buying Agency, but includes certain managed services provided in the past by the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency. I announced the creation of OGCbuying.solutions in a written answer on 19 December 2000, Official Report, column 162W.have set the following challenging targets for the trading fund for 2001–02.
OGCbuying.solutions: Targets for 2001–02
A copy of the new framework document for GCbuying.solutions has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. A copy of their business plan for 2001 can be found on their website: http://ogcbuyingsolutions.gov.uk.
Valuation Office Agency
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what targets for the Valuation Office Agency will be set for the year 2001–02. [158060]
I have set the following key targets for the Valuation Office Agency.
Operational
To clear by 31 March 2002 90 per cent. of 1995 list rating appeals and 45 per cent. of the 2000 rating appeals outstanding on 30 September 2000.
To clear by 31 March 2002 council tax appeals equal to the number received in the 12 months to 31 December 2001 up to a maximum of 42,000 in England and 3,700 in Wales.
To generate income of at least £13.5 million from "land services".
To clear by 31 March 2002 no fewer than the number of cases received from Inland Revenue in the 12 months to 31 December 2001 up to a maximum of 49,000 within the agreed performance timetable set out in the Agency's Forward Plan.
Customer service and quality
To achieve specified standards for valuation accuracy and timeliness in 90 per cent. of cases.
To secure Charter Mark awards for 50 per cent. of our Groups by 31 March 2002.
Finance and efficiency
To recover full resource costs, including a return on capital of 6 per cent., from fees and charges.
Further details are contained in the Valuation Office's Forward Plan, copies of which will be placed in the Library of the House on publication.To achieve an increase in the VOA's efficiency index to 1.175 (1998–99 = 1.00).
Uk Debt Management Office
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the UK Debt Management Office's targets and business plan for 2001–02. [158059]
The DMO's targets for 2001–02 are as set out. The range of targets has been extended somewhat since 2000–01 to reflect the development of the DMO's responsibilities. The DMO is today also publishing its Business Plan for 2001–02. Copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Targets for the Debt Management Office 2001–02
To ensure full compliance with the Government's remit for the DMO as set out in he Debt and Reserves Management Report 2001–02, within the tolerances and subject to the review triggers notified separately to the Office and consistent with the objectives of monetary policy.
To ensure that the maximum time taken to issue the results of gilt auctions does not exceed 40 minutes, that for structured Treasury Bill tenders does not exceed 30 minutes, and that for ad hoc Treasury Bill or other tenders does not exceed 15 minutes, while achieving complete accuracy.
To achieve complete accuracy, within agreed accounting tolerances, in the recording and reporting or transactions through the Department Management Account (DMA). and in delivering money (and reconciling payments) to the National Loans Fund (NLF).
To acknowledge all letters and e-mail inquiries from the public within five working days and for at least 95 per cent. to be sent a substantive reply within two weeks.
To achieve less than eight breaches of the operational market notices (excluding any breaches that the Treasury accept were beyond control of the Office).
To ensure that the qualifications that the National Audit Office (NAO) have made in respect of the accounts of the Gilt-edged Official Operations Account are satisfactorily addressed in the running and presentation of the DMA; and that the 1999–2001 DMA accounts are presented to the NAO by the statutory deadline.
To ensure that the statutory constraint on DMO market borrowing (not to exceed its deposits with the NLF and Bank of England) is always met.
To ensure that, where there is a late change in the forecast, any necessary use of end-of-day borrowing or lending facilities is notified by the due time.
To ensure that instructions to counterparties, agents and external systems are complete, accurate and timely, and that monitoring of the progress of transactions through to settlement is effective, so that DMO achieves at least 99 per cent. (by value) successful settlement of agreed trades on the due date.
To achieve 100 per cent. accuracy in material published on the DMO website (in so far as the material is under the control of the DMO and not third parties).
Tax Credits (Fraud)
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people have been (a) subjected to a financial penalty and (b) prosecuted because of a fraudulent claim for the Working Families Tax Credit. [157081]
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many prosecutions for fraud it claiming Working Families Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit have taken place; and how many are pending. [157137]
To date, there have been 16 prosecutions in respect of Working Families Tax Credit, two of which have been concluded through the courts. Approximately 300 financial penalties have been levied.
Northern Ireland
Johnny Adair
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the result war of his inquiry into an attempt to poison Mr. Johnny Adair in Maghaberry Prison; and what actions have been taken as a result. [156154]
Following receipt of information from the Forensic Science Agency on 6 March 2001 that the sample of Mr. Adair's protein supplement powder, sent away for analysis, was contaminated. Mr. Adair and the RUC were notified immediately. Due to the potentially serious nature of the incident the RUC was then requested to carry out an investigation, which is still on-going.It would be inappropriate to comment on the circumstances surrounding the incident at this stage.
Trade And Industry
General Mediterranean Holdings Ltd
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will provide details of the (a) grants and (b) export credits awarded to.(i)General Mediterranean Holdings Ltd. and (ii) its associate companies. [156884]
[holding answer 4 April 2001]: ECGD has no record of any dealings with this company or any other of its listed subsidiaries.
Selective Assistance (Blyth Valley)
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what selective assistance grants he has provided to Blyth Valley since May 1997. [157294]
The two main forms of selective assistance available to business in Blyth Valley are Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) and the new Enterprise Grant (EG) launched in January 2000. Details of take up in Blyth Valley are given in the tables.
| Applications | Grant (£) | Capital expenditure (£) | Jobs | |
| 1997–98 | ||||
| RSA | 6 | 2,220,000 | 12,012,300 | 678 |
| 1998–99 | ||||
| RSA | 14 | 2,739,000 | 16,042,700 | 387 |
| 1999–2000 | ||||
| RSA | 11 | 1,960,000 | 16,452,000 | 374 |
| 2000–01 | ||||
| RSA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EG | 3 | 41,150 | 275,400 | 19 |
Supermarkets
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress he has made towards publishing a code of practice for supermarket chains to regulate their dealings with suppliers in the farming sector. [157578]
The Office of Fair Trading is currently consulting with supermarkets and the representatives of suppliers and farmers on a draft Code of Practice. The Director General will advise my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on the terms of the Code of Practice on the completion of this consultation.
Departmental Policies (Manchester, Gorton)
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the constituency, the effects on the Manchester, Gorton constituency of his Department's policies and actions since 20 November 2000. [154495]
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, answered my right hon. Friend's similar question on 20 November 2000, Official Report, column 70W, explaining that the DTI does not maintain such statistical information.My right hon. Friend may wish to be aware that in the north-west region the DTI's policies have contributed to growth in employment by 107,000 and a fall in unemployment by 63,000; reductions in youth unemployment by 75 per cent. and long-term unemployment by 54 per cent. since 2 May 1997.
Miners' Compensation
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations (a) he has made to Healthcall Ltd. and (b) he has received from other organisations, concerning the fee paid to consultants by Healthcall Ltd. for the medical assessment of ex-miners. [157581]
Following discussions with the solicitors representing the miners, and in light of the need to attract more Respiratory Specialists to undertake medical assessments, the Department asked the Medical Reference Panel (MRP), the panel of respiratory specialists that advises the Department and claimants' solicitors on the Coal Health Compensation Scheme, to advise on appropriate rates for the work done. They proposed a rate based on the British Medical Association (BMA) scales. Healthcall has revised its rates accordingly. The rate for centre—based assessments has been increased significantly.Rates for domiciliary visits and deceased assessments were already in line with the proposed new rates and have not changed. The revised rate, which has been agreed by the MRP, will be effective from 1 April, and will be reviewed in three months' time. Healthcall is also investigating how doctors can be used more flexibly to get greater volumes of MAPs completed.
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the waiting list is for ex-miners awaiting first appointments for their assessment for compensation in each assessment centre in Wales; and what was the corresponding figure on 30 October 2000. [155641]
| Test centre | ||||||
| 28 February 2001 | Newport | Cardiff | Swansea | Mountain Ash | Wrexham | Ammanford1 |
| Claimants mailed | 5,425 | 316 | 4,698 | 5,127 | 570 | — |
| Claimants to be mailed | 35 | 33 | 223 | 633 | 11 | 121 |
| Total appointments made | 4,776 | 221 | 4,138 | 4,645 | 463 | — |
| No reply to Healthcall appointment letter | 273 | 22 | 251 | 280 | 9 | — |
| Claimants awaiting appointment/to be tested2 | 684 | 128 | 783 | 1,115 | 118 | 121 |
| 1Ammanford did not open until 1 March 2001. | ||||||
| 2Claimants awaiting appointments = (claimants mailed - total appointments made) + claimants to be mailed. | ||||||
Note:
New claims are currently still being received at over 1,000 per week. For week commencing 5 March 2001, 1,600 new claims were received.
Figures on the numbers of claimants waiting to be mailed are calculated only at the end of each month in a continuously updated format and not stored. Therefore the number of claimants waiting to be mailed on 30 October
Test centre
| ||||||
30 October 2000
| Newport
| Cardiff
| Swansea
| Mountain Ash
| Wrexham
| |
| Claimants mailed | 5,399 | 305 | 4,508 | 4,806 | 479 | |
| Claimants to be mailed | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Total appointments made | 4,724 | 214 | 3,872 | 4,083 | 348 | |
| No reply to Healthcall appointment letter | 255 | 28 | 370 | 521 | 121 | |
| Claimants awaiting appointment/to be tested1 | 675 | 91 | 636 | 723 | 131 | |
1Claimants awaiting appointments = claimants mailed - total appointments made. | ||||||
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the performance of the contractor managing British Coal's employment records in relation to mineworkers' compensation claims. [156224]
The Department continually monitors the performance of Hays Information Management, the company contracted to provide copies of miners' employment records.Getting copies of employment records has proved difficult because British Coal records are stored on very antiquated microfiche and in paper systems. The volumes of records returned have been less than planned and the Department therefore embarked on two major projects to scan the earnings records from microfiche into a database and to scan the whole of the employment records pack.Unfortunately, there have been problems with scanning but these have now been addressed and the volume of records scanned is rising. Hays will provide an increased level of photocopied records until scanned records hit their required targets.
Post Office Counters (Tribunals)
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many employment tribunals involving Post Office Counters are awaiting hearing; how many employment tribunal cases are unresolved in the Manchester area; and what steps he is taking to resolve these cases. [157004]
[holding answer 27 March 2001]: The number of claimants awaiting their first assessment appointment to be made on 28 February 2001 was as follows:2000 is not available. Of those claimants that had been mailed by 30 October 2000, the following numbers were awaiting their first assessment appointment to be made:
[holding answer 5 April 2001]: I understand that there are currently 18 employment tribunal cases involving Post Office Counters Ltd. that are awaiting hearing. These concern either Post Office Counters Ltd.'s directly employed staff or subpostmasters and other agents. Post Office Counters Ltd.'s legal agents in Manchester are currently dealing with six cases in the North West. A further employment tribunal case in the Manchester area has gone to appeal. Legal decisions on how the law applies in particular circumstances are for the tribunals and courts.
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the legal costs were for 2000 to Post Office Counters in representation at employment tribunals. [157005]
[holding answer 5 April 2001]: Details of the legal costs of Post Office Counters Ltd. are commercially confidential, under Exemption 13 of the Code of Practice on Access to Public Information.
Fish Genetics
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the research programmes into fish genetics that his Department has been involved with in the last 10 years. [157274]
The Department is supporting the FISHSENSE project in the LINK Cell Engineering programme. The aim of this project is to develop a bioassay for environmental toxicity testing using cell lines from the bluegill sunfish which have been successfully transfected with the luciferase gene from the firefly. These transfected cells are used to assay for the presence of various toxicants by measuring the light produced by the luminescent luciferase protein.In addition, I understand that the Research Councils, supported by this Department, have been and are funding a number of relevant projects.
Britain-Israel Trade Missions
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many Britain/Israel trade missions have taken place in each of the last six years. [R][156893]
The table summarises the supported trade missions from the UK to Israel that have taken place in each of the last six years.
| Year | Number of missions |
| 1995 | 6 |
| 1996 | 8 |
| 1997 | 8 |
| 1998 | 8 |
| 1999 | 11 |
| 2000 | 7 |
Note:
There have also been other trade missions that were not supported by my Department.
Advantage West Midlands
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what funding for April 2001 to March 2002 is unallocated by Advantage West Midlands; and if he will make a statement on the single regeneration budget. [157115]
The information requested is as follows:
Advantage West Midlands' total programme budget for the 2001–02 financial year is £148,135,000 gross. In addition, in its Corporate Plan it has identified £10,823,000 committed expenditure from the last financial year which will be transferred into the 2001–02 financial year. The Corporate Plan identifies £143,665,000 expenditure already committed and sets out the Agency's plans for using the uncommitted funding in support of the Regional Strategy.Funding during the 2001–02 financial year
Single Regeneration Budget
In the Spending Review 2000, RDAs were given considerable additional funding and flexibilities to deliver their regional strategies, whose primary purpose is to enhance the region's competitiveness through sustainable economic development, regeneration and business growth. A key flexibility is the introduction of a single budget from April 2002, which will subsume all current RDA funding streams. There will not, therefore, be a national SRB bidding round for new schemes in 2001–02.
Those RDAs with sufficient resources, after commitments from earlier SRB rounds are taken into account, have been invited to put forward proposals for using funds from their SRB expenditure line in their Corporate Plans for 2001–02. Each RDA will be able to decide on its own approach, which will contribute to the development of the RDAs' regional Strategies.
RDAs will be expected to meet their commitments to schemes from SRB Rounds 1–6 from their single budget.
Motor Vehicle Repairs
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what regulations govern the use of non-original equipment parts in motor vehicle body repairs. [157124]
I have been asked to reply.None. However some other vehicle parts, such as tyres, brake linings and lamps have to meet minimum European safety standards. These standards are applied equally to both original equipment parts and non-original equipment parts.
Church Commissioners
Foot And Mouth
To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, if the Commissioners will suspend rent payments on those farms which they own on which cases of foot and mouth disease have been confirmed. [157147]
The Commissioners fully recognise the seriousness of the foot and mouth crisis, not least in Cumbria where they have a number of confirmed cases and much of their land is subject to exclusion orders.Any request to help in case of hardship will be considered on its merits. Tenants who have had cases of foot and mouth confirmed among their livestock, as well as those who are subject to consequential losses, will be given sympathetic consideration in accordance with the Church Commissioners' long standing policy.
Scotland
Single European Currency
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent representations she has made to the Chancellor of the Exchequer regarding the impact of a single European currency on the Scottish economy. [145642]
I have regular discussions with my right hon. Friend on a wide range of issues. The determining factor underpinning any Government decision to join the single currency is whether the economic case is clear and unambiguous. The Government have said that they will make another assessment of the five economic tests early in the next Parliament.
Drug Deaths
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what action her Department is taking in relation to the increase in the number of drug deaths in Scotland. [145643]
The Government work in partnership with the Scottish Executive to combat the menace of drugs in Scotland.
Reduction of drug-related deaths is a key objective of the Scottish Executive's drug strategy "Tackling Drugs in Scotland: Action in Partnership" which was published in March 1999.
Winter Deaths
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if she will make a statement on the (a) number of and (b) trends in excess winter deaths in Scotland since May 1997. [145663]
The collection of statistics on excess winter deaths in Scotland is a devolved matter.Fuel poverty contributes to the number of excess winter deaths among pensioners. The UK Government and the Scottish Executive have been working together to tackle fuel poverty and the Government and the devolved Administrations recently published a UK Fuel Poverty Strategy. The Government have taken direct action to help older households with their fuel bills by increasing the Winter Fuel Allowance to £200. The Allowance is paid to over 700,000 eligible households in Scotland. We have also taken other action, such as reducing the level of VAT on domestic fuel to 5 per cent.
Govan Shipyard
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if she will make a statement on the employment impact of recent orders won by Govan shipyard. [145941]
Subject to agreement on satisfactory terms and conditions, the Ministry of Defence intends to place orders for two Alternative Landing Ships Logistics with BAE Systems at Govan. I understand that the yard has also secured other commercial and defence contracts. These orders further help the position of the yard until potential work on the First of Class for the Type 45 Destroyers materialises. Management and unions at the yard recognise the need to secure further short-term work.
Special Advisers
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many special advisers have been employed by the Scotland Office in (a) 1997–98, (b) 1998–99, (c) 1999–2000, and (d) 2000–01; and what the total costs were. [150060]
[holding answer 12 February 2001]: In the Scottish Office in 1997–98 there were two special advisers and during 1998–99 there were three special advisers in post at any given time. The costs for each year were: 1997–98 £166,933; 1998–99 £295,676.The Scotland Office was established in its present form on 1 July 1999. In 1999–2000 and 2000–01, there were three special advisers in post at any one time, one of whom was unpaid. The costs for 1999–2000 were £76,367 and the costs in 2000–01 (to end of March) are £92,379.
Gm Trials
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what safety tests genetically modified crops being grown on UK farm scale trials have been subjected to in order to establish their safety for (a) human consumption and (b) use as animal fodder; if he will provide details of these tests, including studies of toxicity; and if she will make a statement; [156770](2) what monitoring of herbicide use is included in the on-going genetically modified farm scale trials; if such monitoring includes studies of
(a) run off, (b) leaching, (c) groundwater, (d) the effect on the marine environment and (e) the impact on weeds and wild plants adjacent to the trial crop; and if she will make a statement. [156767]
In Scotland, these matters are devolved.
Cablnet Office
Anti-Drugs Strategy
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if she will make a statement on funding being made available to support young people as part of the anti-drugs strategy. [157947]
In addition to the £220 million announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Budget, new funding of £5 million will also be made available to expand and develop the "Positive Futures" initiative. "Positive Futures" is a partnership between the UK Anti-Drugs Co-ordination Unit, the Youth Justice Board and Sport England designed to divert youngsters away from drug misuse and crime through the provision of sporting and educational programmes.
Duchy Of Lancaster
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if she will list the assets of the Duchy of Lancaster in the county of Yorkshire and the income they generated in each of the last three years. [157703]
The Duchy of Lancaster's Yorkshire Survey consists of 7,012 hectares including 4,221 hectares of Goathland Moor. The Duchy owns Tickhill, Pontefract and Pickering Castles, the last two of which are under the guardianship of Wakefield district council, and English Heritage respectively. Under its Urban Survey the Duchy owns property in Harrogate, Knaresborough, York and Doncaster. These include shop and business properties and 103 hectares of open space known as Harrogate Stray. Knaresborough Castle is leased to Harrogate borough council.Gross income generated in the last three years was:
| £ | |
| Year to March 1998 | 1,057,000 |
| Year to March 1999 | 1,192,000 |
| Year to March 2000 | 1.318,000 |
Education And Employment
Nursery Places (Wansbeck)
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many free nursery places have been created for three and four-year-olds in Wansbeck since 1997. [153144]
As figures are not held for each individual constituency, the information provided relates to Northumberland local education authority area.Since September 1998, all four-year-olds in Northumberland have been able to access a free, part-time, early education place. By March 2004, we expect all three-year-olds in Northumberland will have this entitlement.The following table shows how many free early education places have been made available for three and four-year-olds since 1997 in Northumberland.
| Year | Number of places available | Percentage of children |
| 1997–98 | 5,,902 | 83 |
| 1998–99 | 5,833 | 83 |
| 1999–2000 | 5,000 | 81 |
| 2000–01 | 5,713 | 83 |
Child Care Places (Shrewsbury And Atcham)
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many child care places there were in Shrewsbury and Atcham on (a) 1 May 1997 and (b) the latest available dates for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [154647]
Details of the number of child care places are not available by constituency. Between May 1997 and March 1999, the National Childcare Strategy created 7,855 child care places in the West Midlands. Since April 1999 local Early Years Development and Childcare Partnerships have provided details of the new child care places that have opened by constituency. Between April 1999 and December 2000 Shropshire Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership have reported the creation of 142 new child care places in the Shrewsbury and Atcham area.
Since 1997, 1,639 new early education places have been created for three and four-year-olds in the Shropshire area1 .
1Shropshire split into two authorities from April 1998. The figure for early education places for three and four-year-olds relates to the combined Shropshire authority area that existed in April 1997.
Child Care Places (Leeds, Central)
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what has been the total number of (a) new early education places for three year olds and (b) new child care places created in the Leeds, Central parliamentary constituency since May 1997. [156747]
[holding answer 3 April 2001]: As figures for early years education places are not held by individual constituencies, the information provided relates to Leeds local education authority.The overall proportion of three-year olds in the Leeds area able to access a free, part time, early education place was 66 per cent. in May 1997. All three-year olds in Leeds will be able to access a free early education place from this month. 1,621 additional early education places were created for three-year olds in Leeds local education authority between May 1997 and March 2001.Child care figures by constituency are only available from April 1999. 208 new child care places have been created in Leeds, Central since April 1999. Between May 1997 and March 1999 the National Childcare Strategy created 7,759 child care places in Yorkshire and Humberside.
Lea Funding
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on local education authority funding for 2001–02. [156859]
The overall increase in Education Standard Spending (ESS) in 2001–02 is over billion. In addition to the increase in ESS, the Government are also increasing Standards Fund grant by over £400 million; and following the recent budget announcement schools will also benefit from an increase of £350 million in direct grants. Taken together all these increases represent an 8 per cent. cash increase in revenue support for authorities and their schools next year, a real terms increase of £200 per pupil.The schools' capital allocation for 2001–02 is £2.2 billion: this is part of an allocation of £8.5 billion over the three years covered by the Year 2000 Spending Review.Since 1997, funding has increased by £540 per pupil in real terms. Under the last Government, funding per pupil fell by £80 in real terms between 1994–95 and 1997–98. The total increase following the Year 2000 Spending Review will be around £750 between 1997–98 and 2003–04.While we have been increasing resources to education authorities, we have been reviewing the formula for allocating funds to local authorities. We are currently working on a reformed system, with the aim of moving towards it in 2002–03.
Early Years Education (Amber Valley)
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what has been the total number of (a) new early years education places for three year olds and (b) new child care places created in Amber Valley since May 1997. [157119]
Between spring 1998 and spring 2001 3,435 additional, free, early years places have been created for three-year-olds in the Derbyshire local education authority area1. These places were funded either through Nursery Education Grant funding or from the Authority's own resources.Between May 1997 and March 1999, the National Childcare Strategy created 5,901 child care places in the East Midlands. Since April 1999 local Early Years Development and Childcare Partnerships have provided information by constituency of all new child care places except for child minder places. Between April 1999 and December 2000 Derbyshire Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership have reported the creation of 548 new child care places in Amber Valley. During that same period 261 new child minder places were created across the Derbyshire local education authority area.
1As a result of boundary changes and the creation of a new unitary authority in Derby City, meaningful figures are only available from January 1998 onwards.
Classroom Of The Future Roadshows
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment on what dates, and at what locations, his Department has held Classroom of the Future roadshows in the last year; what criteria are used for determining locations; and what roadshows are planned for the next two months. [157378]
[holding answer 6 April] 14 Classroom of the Future roadshows were held in total in the last year, eight for teachers and head teachers and six for school governors. The roadshows for teachers and heads were held on the following dates and locations:
| Date (2000) | Location |
| 7 March | Heathrow, London |
| 9 March | Leeds |
| 13 March | Newcastle |
| 15 March | Axbridge |
| 6 March | Manchester |
| 22 March | Dudley, Birmingham |
| 23 March | Leicester |
| 3 April | Central London |
| Date | Location |
| 30 October 2000 | Chelmsford |
| 8 November 2000 | Chiswick, London |
| 29 January 2001 | Manchester |
| 1 February 2001 | Bristol |
| 12 February 2001 | Solihull, Birmingham |
| 14 February 2001 | Darlington |
General Teaching Council
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what percentage of his nominees to the General Teaching Council have declared political activity for (a) the Labour party, (b) the Conservative party, (c) the Liberal Democrats and (d) other parties. [157509]
Of the Secretary of State's 13 appointees to the General Teaching Council only one declared political activity and in this instance it was for the Labour party.
Teaching Awards Ceremony
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what preparation has been made for the 2001 teaching awards ceremony; and what venue has been chosen. [157510]
The Teaching Awards 2001 are run by an independent charity, The Teaching Awards Trust, in partnership with BT and other private sponsors. I understand that me national ceremony is due to take place on 28 October after a series of good practice workshops on 27 October. The Teaching Awards Trust has not yet secured a venue for this event, although it is likely to be in central London.
Nurseries (Funding)
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the eligibility for additional funding of nurseries and playgroups designed to enable them to extend their hours and service: 4, announced by the Prime Minister on 26 March. [157712]
My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister specifically announced that an extra £15 million over three years is being made available for maintained nursery schools to extend the services they offer to include out of hours child care facilities, services for a wider age range of children, and family services. This will help around 45,000 children and their families.My right hon. Friend also announced that £4 million over 12 months will be made available to provide support for playgroups and other early years or child care providers in England intending to expand their services from the traditional two and a half hours early education and/or care session to provide a longer day care facility. This will help around 15,000 children and their families by creating more child care places and providing greater choice, flexibility and quality child care facilities.Through the Neighbourhood Nursery initiative, Early Excellence Centre, Sure Start and other programmes we will create, and encourage others to create, by 2004, up to 100,000 new full-time integrated nursery education and child care places. These initiatives are available to a range of providers, including nurseries and playgroups.
By March 2004 we plan to have spent over £1 billion on child care initiatives, as well as helping lower income working parents to pay for child care through the Working Families Tax Credit, and these resources will contribute to the extension of services for children, including nurseries and playgroups extending their hours.
Lord Chancellor's Department
Jps (Chorley)
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many justices of the peace there are in Chorley, broken down by party political affiliation. [157715]
I have been asked to reply.There are currently 71 magistrates assigned to the Chorley Bench. Of these, 25 give their political views as being Conservative; 18 Labour, and five Liberal Democrat. A further 22 magistrates indicate that they are uncommitted.
Health
Gelatine
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what sorts of gelatine are used in the manufacture of hard and soft capsules for drugs used in Britain. [143100]
The measures are laid down in the Note for Guidance on minimising the risk of transmitting animal spongiform encephalopathy a gents via medicinal products. This guideline has been a force of law by virtue of a Commission Directive 1999/82 and has been incorporated into the United Kingdom domestic law. This guidance note focuses on the cumulative contribution of three factors to the safety of gelatine: the origin of the animals, type of tissue and manufacturing process. It is also recommended that appropriate quality system, such as ISO 9000 certification and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point, should be put in place for monitoring of the production process and batch delineation. Procedures should also be in place to ensure tractability and to audit suppliers of starting materials.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps he has taken to ensure that gelatine used in soft and hard drug capsules is not contaminated with BSE prions; [143098](2) what recent tests his Department has
(a) carried out and (b) commissioned to ensure that gelatine used in drug capsules does not contain the prion for BSE. [143099]
Gelatine used for formulating medicines can be sourced from porcine and bovine hides (skin) and bovine bones. Acid process is applied to bovine bones, hides and porcine skins. An alkaline process is used to produce soft gelatine.There are no tests designed specifically to detect BSE agent in gelatine.
Departmental Policies (Slough)
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Slough constituency, the effects on Slough of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [146928]
Detailed information on the impact of Department of Health policies nationally is set out in the Department of Health Annual reports. A copy of the most recent report "Department of Health—Government Expenditure Plans 2000–01" is available in the House of Commons Library and on the Department of Health website at www.doh.gov.uk/dhreportThe impact of policies is not examined by constituency and statistics collected centrally by the Department are not collected on a constituency basis.My hon. Friend's constituency falls within the geographical area covered by Berkshire health authority and Slough social services.The increases in allocations between 1996–97 and 2001–02 for Berkshire health authority are set out in the table:
| Increases in allocations between 1996–97 and 2001–02 | |
| Increase | |
| £ million (cash) | 144.9 |
| million (real terms) | 95.6 |
| Percentage (cash) | 41.65 |
| Percentage (real terms) | 25.51 |
Note:
Increases for 1999–2000 onwards are for unified allocations which cover hospital and community health services, prescribing and discretionary family health services. Those for previous years cover hospital and community health services only.
Berkshire health authority has also received additional funding for certain policies. This includes: £1.2 million for accident and emergency modernisation in 2000–01; £144,000, £279,000, £418,000 and £283,000 for improving cancer services (breast, colorectal, lung and cancer outpatients) in 1997–98, 1999–2000 and 2000–01 respectively.
Berkshire health authority has also received £1.4 million for investment in cancer equipment that has already been delivered and is now in use; £5.3 million, £0.4 million and £0.3 million to reduce waiting lists and times in 1998–99, 1999–2000 and 2000–01 respectively; £1.6 million to expand critical care services in 2000–01; £2.5 million and £1.6 million to deal with winter pressures in 1998–99 and 2000–01 respectively; £254,000 for heart disease services in 2000–01; £340,000 invested in dentistry in 2000–01
In addition, my hon. Friend's constituents will benefit from the new £74.0 million major hospital development that is being developed at Royal Berkshire and Battle Hospitals National Health Service Trust.
Slough local authority came into existence on 1 April 1998. Its personal social services standard spending assessment for 2001–02 is £22.383 million.
In addition to its SSA, Slough has received additional funding in the form of a number of special and specific grants as set out in the table.
£000
| |||||||||
1998–99
| 1999–2000
| 2000–01
| 2001–02
| ||||||
| Special Transitional Grant1 | 758 | — | — | — | |||||
| Partnership grant2 | — | 577 | 493 | 654 | |||||
| Prevention grant2 | — | 46 | 70 | 654 | |||||
| Carers grant3 | — | 45 | 123 | 173 | |||||
| Children's grant3 | — | 250 | 389 | 946 | |||||
| MH Core grant | 116 | 199 | 230 | 4261 | |||||
| Training Support Grant | 60 | 137 | 147 | 4173 | |||||
1The special transitional grant ended in 1998–99 | |||||||||
2The partnership and prevention grants have been combined in 2001–02 and called the promoting independence grant | |||||||||
3The carers' and children's grants were introduced in 1999–2000 | 4Indicative allocation | ||||||||
Departmental Policies (Morecambe And Lunesdale)
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set out, including statistical information, the effect on the Morecambe and Lunesdale constituency of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [149120]
Detailed information on the impact of Department of Health policies nationally is set out in the Department of Health Annual Reports. A copy of the most recent report, "Department of Health—Government Expenditure Plans 2000–01", is available in the Library and on the Department of Health website at www.doh.gov.uk/dhreport.The impact of policies is not examined by constituency and statistics collected centrally by the Department are not collected on a constituency basis.My hon. Friend's constituency falls within the geographical area covered by Morecambe Bay health authority and Lancashire social services authority.Increases in allocations between 1996–97 and 2001–02 for Morecambe Bay health authority are shown in the table.
| Increases in allocations between 1996–97 and 2001–02 | |
| Increase | |
| £ million (Cash) | 58.5 |
| £ million (Real terms) | 35.2 |
| Percentage (Cash) | 34.0 |
| Percentage (Real terms) | 18.7 |
Note:
Increases for 1999–2000 onwards are for unified allocations which cover hospital and community health services, prescribing and discretionary family health services. Those for previous years cover hospital and community health services only.
Morecambe Bay health authority has also received additional funding for certain policies. This includes: £550,000 for accident and emergency modernisation at Morecambe Bay Hospitals National Health Service Trust; £27,000, £117,000. £197,000 and £130,000 for improving cancer services (breast, colorectal, lung and cancer outpatients) in 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000 and 2000–01 respectively; £2.1 million recurrently in 1999–2000 and £1.7 million recurrently to reduce waiting times and lists; £18,000 in 1997–98; £2.5 million in 1998–99; £232,000 in 1999–2000 and £296,000 in 2000–01 non recurrently to reduce waiting times and lists; £820.000 to expand critical care services in 2000–01; £1.1 million in 1997–98, £1.3 million in 1998–99 and £0.8 million in 2000–01 to deal with winter pressures; £492,000 in 2000–01, and a further £392,000 in 2001–02, for developing intermediate care services; £126,000 for heart disease services in 2000–01. For 2001–02, the authority plans to spend £1.9 million more on heart disease services, including drugs, from the real terms funding increase shown; add £129,000 invested in dentistry in 1998 in Morecambe.
In addition, my hon. Friend's constituents will benefit from £33.2 million investment at Morecambe Bay Hospitals and Bay Community NHS Trusts.
Lancashire local authority's personal social services standard spending assessment for 2001–02, compared with 1996–97, is set out in the table.
Percentage increase
| |||
£ million
| Real
| Cash
| |
| 1996–97 | 187.309 | — | — |
| 2001–02 | 186.291 | -11.9 | -0.5 |
Note:
The SSA has decreased because of boundary changes resulting from local government re-organisation.
In addition to the SSAs referred to, Lancashire local authority received additional funding in the form of a number of special and specific grants as set out in the table.
£000
| ||||
1998–99
| 1999–2000
| 2000–01
| 2001–02
| |
| Special Transitional Grant1 | 8,064 | — | — | — |
| Partnership grant2 | — | 5,5552 | 4,700 | 6,412 |
| Prevention grant2 | — | 436 | 650 | 6,412 |
| Carers grant3 | — | 435 | 1,050 | 1,452 |
| Children's grant3 | — | 1,366 | 2,167 | 5,433 |
| Mental Health Core grant | 1,045 | 1,763 | 2,085 | 2,600 |
| Training Support Grant | 644 | 654 | 616 | 4399 |
1The special transitional grant ended in 1998–99 | ||||
2The partnership and prevention grants have been combined in 2001–02 and called the promoting independence grant | ||||
3The carers' and children's grants were introduced in 1999–2000 | ||||
4Indicative allocation |
Departmental Policies (Bolton, West)
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Bolton, West constituency, the effects on Bolton, West of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997.[150607]
[holding answer 5 February 2001]: Detailed information on the impact of Department of Health policies nationally is set out in the Department of Health Annual Reports. A copy of the most recent report, "Department of lit alth—Government Expenditure Plans 2000–01", is available in the Library and on the Department of Health website at www.doh.gov.uk/dhreport.The impact of policies is not examined by constituency and statistics collected centrally by the Department are not collected on a constituency basis.
My hon. Friend's constituency falls within the geographical area covered by Wigan and Bolton health authority and Wigan and Bolton social services authorities.
Increases in allocations between 1996–97 and 2001–02 for Wigan and Bolton health authority are shown in the table.
Increases in allocations between 1996–97 and 2001–02
| |
Increase
| |
| £ million (Cash) | 122.7 |
| million (Real terms) | 80.3 |
| Percentage (Cash) | 40.9 |
| Percentage (Real terms) | 24.8 |
Note:
Increases for 1999–2000 onwards are for unified allocations which cover hospital and community health services, prescribing and discretionary family health services. Those for previous years cover hospital and community health services only
Wigan and Bolton health authority has also received additional funding for certain polices. This includes: £3.1 million for accident and emergency modernisation between 1997–98 and 2000–01: £456,000, £210,000, £347,000 and £239,000 for improving cancer services (breast, colorectal, lung and cancer outpatients) in 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000 and 2000–01 respectively; £3.7 million recurrently in 1999–2000 and £3.4 million recurrently in 2000–01 to reduce wailing times and lists; £4.5 million in 1998–99, £165,000 in 1999–2000 and £333,000 in 2000–01 non recurrenty to reduce waiting times and lists; £0.9 million to expand critical care services in 2000–01; £1.2 million in 1997–98, £2.4 million in 1998–99, and £0.8 million in 2000–01 to deal with winter pressures; £2.1 million in 2000–01 and £0.1 million in 2001–02 for developing intermediate care services; £183,000 for heart disease services in 2000–01. For 2001–02, the health authority plans to spend £1.3 million more on heart disease services, including drugs, from the real terms funding increase highlighted.
In addition, my hon. Friend's constituents will benefit from redevelopment of the Roya1 Albert Edward Infirmary in Wigan at a cost of £24 million.
Bolton local authority's personal social services standard spending assessment for 2001–02 compared with 1996–97 is set out in the table.
Percentage increase
| |||
£ million
| Real
| Cash
| |
| 1996–97 | 37.958 | — | — |
| 2001–02 | 50.460 | 17.7 | 32.9 |
In addition to the SSAs referred to, Bolton local authority received additional funding in the form of a number of special and specific grants as set out in the table:
| £000 | ||||
1998–99
| 1999–2000
| 2000–01
| 2001–02
| |
| Special Transitional Grant1 | 2,043 | — | — | — |
| Partnership grant2 | — | 1,464 | 1,241 | 1,674 |
| Prevention grant2 | — | 109 | 163 | 1,674 |
| Carers grant3 | — | 108 | 269 | 373 |
| Children's grant3 | — | 397 | 625 | 1,536 |
| Mental Health Core grant | 280 | 472 | 562 | 4816 |
| Training Support Grant | 279 | 301 | 381 | 4372 |
| 1The special transitional grant ended in 1998–99 | ||||
| 2The partnership and prevention grants have been combined in 2001–02 and called the promoting independence grant | ||||
| 3The carers' and children's grants were introduced in 1999–2000 | ||||
| 4Indicative allocation | ||||
Departmental Policies (Bristol, East)
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Bristol, East constituency, the effects on Bristol of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [150554]
Detailed information on the impact of Department of Health policies nationally is set out in the Department of Health Annual reports. A copy of the most recent report "Department of Health—Government Expenditure Plans 2000–01" is available in the House of Commons Library and on the Department of Health website at www.doh.gov.uk/dhreport.The impact of policies is not examined by constituency and statistics collected centrally by the Department are not collected on a constituency basis.My hon. Friend's constituency falls within the geographical area covered by Avon health authority and City of Bristol social services.The increases in allocations between 1996–97 and 2001–02 for Avon health authority are set out in the table:
| Increases in allocations between 1996–97 and 2001–02 | |
| Increase | |
| £ million (cash) | 184.5 |
| £ million (real terms) | 118 |
| Percentage (cash) | 38.57 |
| Percentage (real terms) | 22.78 |
Note:
Increases for 1999–2000 onwards are for unified allocations which cover hospital and community health services, prescribing and discretionary family health services. Those for previous years cover hospital and community health services only.
Avon health authority has also received additional funding for certain policies. This includes: £2.521 million for accident and emergency modernisation in 2000–01; £158,000, £368,000, £535,000 and £366,000 for improving cancer services (breast, colorectal, lung and cancer outpatients) in 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000 and 2000–01 respectively; £4.677 million and £8.035 million to reduce waiting lists and times in 2000–01 and 2001–02 respectively; £3.191 million to expand critical care services in 2000–01; £4.677 million to deal with winter pressures in 2000–01, of this £2.043 million went to social services; £2.847 million and £722,000 for developing intermediate care services in 2000–01 and 2001–02 respectively; £350,000 and £1.9 million for heart disease services 2000–01 and 2001–02 respectively; and £70,000 invested in dentistry in 2000–01.
In addition, my hon. Friend's constituents will benefit from an award of £68 million for Avon and Western Wiltshire Mental Health NHS Trust's scheme to replace dilapidated and outdated facilities in unsuitable locations in order to deliver responsive mental health services to the local communities. Work to develop this scheme is due to start in 2001.
My hon. Friend's constituents will also benefit from UBHT scheme of £104 million which will enable them to reconfigure acute and critical care facilities on the main site, together with a diagnostic and treatment centre and development of intermediate care centres in Keynsham Hospital and at the Bristol General.
Bristol local authority's personal social services standard spending assessment (SSA) for 2001–02 compared with 1996–97 is set out in the table.
Percentage increase
| |||
£million
| Real
| Cash
| |
| 1996–97 | 59.599 | — | — |
| 2001–02 | 76.203 | 13.2 | 27.9 |
In addition to the SSAs referred to, Bristol local authority received additional funding in the form of a number of special and specific grants as set out in the table.
| £000 | |||||
1998–99
| 1999–2000
| 2000–01
| 2001–02
| ||
| Special Transitional Grant1 | 2,837 | — | — | — | — |
| Partnership grant2 | — | 2,103 | 1,801 | 2,423 | |
| Prevention grant2 | — | 165 | 248 | 2,423 | |
| Carers grant2 | — | 164 | 423 | 584 | |
| Children's grant3 | — | 714 | 1,134 | 2,778 | |
| Mental Health Core grant | 412 | 695 | 802 | 4121 | |
| Training Support Grant | 373 | 427 | 518 | 4501 | |
1The special transitional grant ended in 1998–99 | |||||
2The partnership and prevention grants have been combined in 2001–02 and called the promoting independence grant | |||||
3The carers' and children's grants were introduced in 1999–2000 | |||||
4Indicative allocation | |||||
Departmental Policies (Blackpool, North And Fleetwood)
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set out, including statistical information, the effect on the Blackpool, North and Fleetwood constituency of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [150719]
Detailed information on the impact of Department of Health policies nationally is set out in the Department of Health Annual Reports. A copy of the most recent report "Department of Health—Government Expenditure Plans 2000–01" is available in the House of Commons Library and on the Department of Health website at www.doh.gov.uk/dhreport.The impact of policies is not examined by constituency and statistics collected centrally by the Department are not collected on a constituency basis.My hon. Friend's constituency falls within the geographical area covered by North West Lancashire Health Authority and Blackpool social services authority.Increases in allocations between 1996–97 and 2001–02 for North West Lancashire Health Authority are shown in the table.
Increases in allocations between 1996–97 and 2001–02
| |
Increase
| |
| £ million (cash) | 100.8 |
| £ million (real terms) | 64.3 |
| Percentage (cash) | 38.7 |
| Percentage (real terms | 22.9 |
Note:
Increases for 1999–2000 onwards are for unified allocations which cover hospital and community health services, prescribing and discretionary family health services. Those for previous years cover hospital and community health services only.
North West Lancashire health authority has also received additional funding for certain policies. This includes: £450,000 for accident and emergency modernisation at Blackpool Victoria Hospital NHS Trust; £25,000, £147,000. £296,000 and £199,000 for improving cancer services (breast, colorectal, lung and cancer outpatients) in 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00 and 2000–01 respectively; £27000, £3.8 million, £160,000 and £345,000 in 1997– 98, 1998–99, 1999–00 and 2000–01 respectively to reduce waiting times and lists; £1.8 million to expand critical tare services in 2000–01; £0.6 million in 1997–98; £1.9 million in 1998–99 and £0.7 million in 2000–01 to deal with winter pressures; £1.3 million in 2000–01 and £4.4 million in 2001–02 for developing intermediate care services; and £178,000 for heart disease services in 2000–01. For 2001–02, the authority plans to spend £1.9 million more on heart disease services, including drugs, from the real terms funding increase highlighted.
In 1997–98, dental practices in the Blackpool, North and Fleetwood areas received more than £160,000 through the Investing in Dentistry initiative. In 2001, Blackpool town centre will receive funding for a personal dental services pilot aimed at improving access across the town.
In addition, my hon. Friend's constituents will benefit from the new £30 million Phase V development at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.
Blackpool local authority came into existence on 1 pril 1998. Its personal social services standard spending assessment for 2001–02 is £31.646 million.
In addition to its SSA, Blackpool has received additional funding in the form of a number of special and specific grants as set out in the table.
£000
| ||||
1998–99
| 1999–2000
| 2000–01
| 2001–02
| |
| Special Transitional Grant1 | 1,422 | — | — | — |
| Partnership grant2 | — | 944 | 793 | 1,071 |
| Prevention grant2 | — | 72 | 106 | 1,071 |
| Carers' grant3 | — | 72 | 175 | 240 |
| Children's grant3 | — | 237 | 379 | 979 |
| Mental Health Core grant | 173 | 293 | 350 | 4444 |
| Training Support Grant | 86 | 197 | 270 | 4311 |
1The special transitional giant ended in 1998–99 | ||||
2The partnership and prevention grants have been combined in 2001–02 and called the promoting independence grant | ||||
3The carers' and children's grants were introduced in 1999–2000 | ||||
4Indicative allocation | ||||
Departmental Policies (Stroud)
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the constituency, the effects on the Stroud constituency of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [152402]
Detailed information on the impact of Department of Health policies nationally is set out in the Department of Health Annual Reports. A copy of the most recent report "Department of Health—Government Expenditure Plans 2000–2001" is available in the Library and on the Department of Health website at www.doh.gov.uk/dhreport.The impact of policies are not examined by constituency and statistics collected centrally by the Department are not collected on a constituency basis.My hon. Friend's constituency falls within the geographical area covered by Gloucestershire health authority and Gloucestershire social services.The increases in allocations between 1996–97 and 2001–02 for Gloucestershire health authority are set out in the table:
| Increases in allocations between 1996–97 and 2001–02 | |
| Increase | |
| £ million (cash) | 93 |
| £ million (real terms) | 55.3 |
| Percentage (cash) | 33.29 |
| Percentage (real terms) | 18.10 |
Note:
Increases for 1999–2000 onwards are for unified allocations which cover hospital and community health services, prescribing and discretionary family health services. Those for previous years cover hospital and community health services only.
Gloucestershire health authority has also received additional funding for certain policies. This includes: £1.479 million for accident and emergency modernisation in 2000–01; £123,000, £210,000, £308,000 and £205,000 for improving cancer services (breast colorectal, lung and cancer outpatients) in 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000 and 2000–01 respectively; £2.632 million to reduce waiting lists and times in 2000–01; £1.314 million to expand critical care services in 2000–01; £1.508 million to deal with winter pressures in 2000–01, of this £536,000 went to Gloucestershire social services; £1.551 million and £389,000 for developing intermediate care services in 2000–01 and 2001–02 respectively; £172,000 and £1.034 million for heart disease services in 2000–01 and 2001–02 respectively; and £95,000 invested in dentistry in 2000–01.
Gloucestershire local authority's personal social services standard spending assessment (SSA) for 2001–02 compared with 1996–97 is set out in the table.
Percentage increase
| |||
Year
| million
| Real
| Cash
|
| 1996–97 | 61.579 | — | — |
| 2001–02 | 81.227 | 16.8 | 31.9 |
In addition to the SSAs referred to, Gloucester local authority received additional funding in the form of a number of special and specific grants as set out in the table.
£000
| ||||
1998–99
| 1999–2000
| 2000–01
| 2001–02
| |
| Special Transitional Grant1 | 2,402 | — | — | — |
| Partnership grant2 | — | 2,465 | 2,097 | 2,914 |
| Prevention grant2 | — | 197 | 294 | 2,914 |
| Carers grant2 | — | 199 | 467 | 654 |
| Children's grant3 | — | 524 | 821 | 2,044 |
| Mental Health Core Grant | 457 | 771 | 890 | 41,168 |
| Training Support Grant | 310 | 405 | 337 | 4338 |
1The special transitional grant ended in 1998–99 | ||||
2The partnership and prevention grants have been combined in 2001–02 and called the promoting independence grant | ||||
3The carers' and children's grants were introduced in 1999–2000 | ||||
4Indicative allocation | ||||
Departmental Policies (Warrington, North)
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Warrington, North constituency, the effects on Warrington, North of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [152317]
[holding answer 6 March 2001]: Detailed information on the impact of Department of Health policies nationally is set out in the Department of Health Annual Reports. A copy of the most recent report "Department of Health—Government Expenditure Plans 2000–01" is available in the House of Commons Library and on the Department of Health website at www.doh.gov.uk/dhreport.The impact of policies is not examined by constituency and statistics collected centrally by the Department are not collected on a constituency basis.My hon. Friend's constituency falls within the geographical area covered by North Cheshire health authority and Halton and Warrington social services authorities.Increases in allocations between 1996–97 and 2001–02 for North Cheshire health authority are shown in the table.
| Increases in allocations between 1996–97 and 2001–02 | |
| Increase | |
| £ million (cash) | 57.6 |
| £ million (real terms) | 34.7 |
| Percentage (cash) | 34.20 |
| Percentage (real terms) | 18.91 |
Note:
Increases for 1999–2000 onwards are for unified allocations which cover hospital and community health services, prescribing and discretionary family health services. Those for previous years cover hospital and community health services only.
North Cheshire health authority has also received additional funding for certain policies. This includes: £864,000 for accident and emergency modernisation between 1997–98 and 2000–01; £31,000, £125,000, £192,000 and £129,000 for improving cancer services (breast, colorectal, lung and cancer outpatients) in 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000 and 2000–01 respectively; £2.1 million in 1999–2000 recurrently and £1.7 million recurrently in 2000–01 to reduce waiting times and lists; £75,000 in 1997–98, £2.5 million in 1998–99, £90,000 in 1999–2000 and £226,000 in 2000–01 non recurrently to reduce waiting times and lists; £1.5 million to expand critical care services in 2000–01; £1.2 million in 1997–98, £1.2 million in 1998–99, and £1.1 million in 2000–01 to deal with winter pressures; £0.6 million in 2000–01 and 2001–02 for developing intermediate care services; £122,000 for heart disease services in 2000–01. For 2001–02, the authority plans to spend £0.6 million more on heart disease services, including drugs, from the real terms funding increase given; and £110,000 has been invested in dentistry between 1997–98 and 2000–01.
In addition, my hon. Friend's constituents will benefit from the new purchase of the Daresbury Wing (a private hospital facility on the Warrington Hospital) by the National Health Service in 1999–2000 which cost £1.8 million. A further £1.2 million has been provided by the North West Regional Office of the Department of Health to equip the facility so that it can carry out orthopaedic surgery for the residents of Warrington and the surrounding areas.Warrington local authority came into existence on 1 April 1998. Its personal social services standard spending assessment for 2001–02 is £28.699 million.
In addition to its SSA, Warrington has received additional funding in the form of a number of special and specific grants as set out in the table.
£000
| ||||
1998–99
| 1999–2000
| 2000–01
| 2001–02
| |
| Special Transitional Grant1 | 1,179 | — | — | — |
| Partnership grant2 | — | 847 | 726 | 984 |
| Prevention grant2 | — | 65 | 98 | 984 |
| Carers grant3 | — | 65 | 157 | 218 |
| Children's grant3 | — | 195 | 306 | 766 |
| Mental Health Core grant | 157 | 265 | 312 | 4373 |
| Training Support Grant | 106 | 175 | 198 | 4225 |
1The special transitional grant ended in 1998–99. | ||||
2The partnership and prevention grants have been combined in 2001–02 and called the promoting independence grant | ||||
3The carers' and children's grants were introduced in 1999–2000 | ||||
4Indicative allocation. | ||||
Departmental Policies (Newbury)
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set out, including statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Newbury constituency, the effects on Newbury and west Berkshire of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [154573]
Detailed information on the impact of Department of Health policies nationally is set out in the Department of Health Annual Reports. A copy of the most recent report "Department of Health—Government Expenditure Plans 2000–01" is available in the House of Commons Library and on the Department of Health website at www.doh.gov.uk/dhreport.The impact of policies are not examined by constituency and statistics collected centrally by the Department are not collected on a constituency basis.The hon. Member's constituency falls within the geographical area covered by Berkshire health authority and West Berkshire social services.The increases in allocations between 1996–97 and 2001–02 for Berkshire health authority are set out in the table.
Increases in allocations between 1996–97 and 2001–02
| |
Increase
| |
| £ million (cash) | 144.9 |
| £ million (real terms) | 95.6 |
| Percentage (cash) | 41.65 |
| Percentage (real terms) | 25.51 |
Note:
Increases for 1999–2000 onwards are for unified allocations which cover hospital and community health services, prescribing and discretionary family health services. Those for previous years cover hospital and community health services only.
Berkshire health authority has also received additional funding for certain policies. This includes: £1.2 million for accident and emergency modernisation in 2000–01; £144,000, £279,000, £418,000 and £283,000 for improving cancer services (breast, colorectal, lung and cancer outpatients) in 1997–98, 1999–00 and 2000–01 respectively.
Berkshire health authority has also received £1.4 million for investment in cancer equipment that has already been delivered and is now in use; £5.3 million, £0.4 million and £0.3 million to reduce waiting lists and times in 1998–99, 1999–2000 and 2000–01 respectively; £1.6 million to expand critical care services in 2000–01; £2.5 million and £1.6 million to deal with winter pressures in 1998–99 and 2000–01 respectively; £254,000 for heart disease services in 2000–01; £340,000 invested in dentistry in 2000–01.
In addition, the hon. Gentleman's constituents will benefit from the new £74.0 million major hospital development that is being developed at Royal Berkshire and Battle NHS Trust.
West Berkshire local authority came into existence on 1 April 1998. Its personal social services standard spending assessment for 2001–02 is £16.331 million.
In addition to it SSA, West Berkshire has received additional funding in the form of a number of special and specific grants as set out in the table.
£000
| ||||
1998–99
| 1999–2000
| 2000–01
| 2001–02
| |
| Special Transitional Grant1 | 669 | — | — | — |
| Partnership grant2 | — | 491 | 416 | 581 |
| Prevention grant2 | — | 42 | 62 | 581 |
| Carers grant3 | — | 42 | 97 | 137 |
| Children's grant3 | — | 112 | 187 | 412 |
| Mental Health Core grant | 106 | 179 | 820 | 4236 |
| Training Support Grant | 57 | 121 | 123 | 4153 |
1The special transitional grant ended in 1998–99 | ||||
2The partnership and prevention grants have been combined in 2001–02 and called the promoting independence grant | ||||
3The carers' and children's grants were introduced in 1999–2000 | ||||
4Indicative allocation | ||||
Departmental Policies (Truro And St Austell)
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set out, including statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Truro and St. Austell constituency, the effects on Truro and St. Austell of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [154529]
Detailed information on the impact of Department of Health policies nationally is set out in the Department of Health Annual Reports. A copy of the most recent report "Department of Health-Government Expenditure Plans 2000–01" is available in the House of Commons Library and on the Department of Health website at www.doh.gov.uk/dhreportimpact of policies is not examined by constituency and statistics collected centrally by the Department are not collected on a constituency basis.The hon. Member's constituency falls within the geographical area covered by Cornwall and Isles of Scilly health authority and Cornwall social services.The increases in allocations between 1996–97 and 2000–01 for Cornwall and Isles of Scilly health authority are set out in the table.
| Increases in allocations between 1996–97 and 2001–02 | |
| Increase | |
| £ million (cash) | 94 |
| £ million (real terms) | 58.3 |
| Percentage (cash) | 36.25 |
| Percentage (real terms) | 20.72 |
Note:
Increases for 1999–2000 onwards are for unified allocations which cover hospital community health sell ices, prescribing and discretionary family health services. Those for previous years cover hospital and community health services only.
Cornwall health authority has received funding for certain policies. This includes: £99,000, £193,000, £266,000 and £192,000 for improving cancer services (breast, colorectal, lung and cancer outpatients) in 1997–98, 1998–99 1999–2000 and 2000–01 respectively; £2.499 million and £4.198 million to reduce waiting lists and times in 2000–01 and 2001–02 respectively; £1.407 million to expand critical care services in 2000–01; £580,000 to deal with winter pressures in 2000–01, of this £125,000 went to social services; £1.488 million and £377,000 for developing intermediate care services in 2000–01 and 2001–02 respectively; £785,000 and £1.002 million for hart disease services 2000–01 and 2001–02 respectively; and £80,000 invested in dentistry in 2000–01.
Pecentage increase
| |||
Year
| £ million
| Real
| Cash
|
| 1996–97 | 60.814 | — | — |
| 2001–02 | 83.924 | 22.2 | 38.0 |
In addition to the SSAs referred to, Cornwall local authority received additional funding in the form of a number of special and specific grants as set out in the table.
£000
| ||||||
1998–99
| 1999–2000
| 2000–01
| 2001–02
| |||
| Special Transitional Grant1 | 3,598 | — | — | — | ||
| Partnership grant2 | — | 2,537 | 2,184 | 3,086 | ||
| Prevention grant2 | — | 198 | 298 | 3,086 | ||
| Carers grant3 | — | 204 | 476 | 669 | ||
| Children's grant3 | — | 488 | 764 | 41,917 | ||
| Mental Health Core grant | 454 | 766 | 885 | 41,191 | ||
| Training Support Grant | 266 | 229 | 297 | 4315 | ||
| 1The special transitional grant ended in 1998–99 | ||||||
| 2The partnership and prevention grants have been combined in 2001–02 and called the promoting independence grant | ||||||
| 3The carers' and children's grants were introduced in 1999–2000 | 4Indicative allocation | |||||
Departmental Policies (Lancaster And Wyre)
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Lancaster and Wyre constituency, the effect on Lancaster and Wyre of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [154682]
[holding answer 21 March 2001]: Detailed information on the impact of Department of Health policies nationally is set out in the Department of Health Annual reports. A copy of the most recent report "Department of Health—Government Expenditure Plans 2000–01" is available in the Library and on the Department of Health website at www.doh.gov.uk/dhreport.The impact of policies is not examined by constituency and statistics collected centrally by the Department are not collected on a constituency basis.My hon. Friend's constituency falls within the geographical area covered by Morecambe Bay health authority and Lancashire social services authority.Increases in allocations between 1996–97 and 2001–02 for North West Lancashire health authority are shown in the table.
| Increases in allocations between 1996–97 and 2001–02 | |
| Increase | |
| £ million (Cash) | 58.5 |
| £ million (Real terms) | 35.2 |
| Percentage (Cash) | 34.0 |
| Percentage (Real terms) | 18.7 |
Note:
Increases for 1999–2000 are for unified allocations which cover hospital and community health services, prescribing and discretionary family health services. Those for previous years cover hospital and community health services only.
Morecambe Bay health authority has also received additional funding for certain policies. This includes: £550,000 for accident and emergency modernisation at Morecambe Bay Hospitals National Health Service Trust; £27,000, £117,000, £197,000 and £130,000 for improving cancer services (breast, colorectal, lung and cancer outpatients) in 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000 and 2000–01 respectively; £2.1 million recurrently in 1999–2000 and £1.7 million recurrently in 2000–01 to reduce waiting lists and times; £18,000 in 1997–98, £2.5 million in 1998–99, £232,000 in 1999–2000 and £296,000 in 2000–01—non recurrently to reduce waiting times and lists; £820,000 to expand critical care services in 2000–01; £1.1 million in 1997–98, £1.3 million in 1998–99 and £0.8 million in 2000–01 to deal with winter pressures; £492,000 in 2000–01 and £392,000 in 2001–02, for developing intermediate care services; £126,000 for heart disease services in 2000–01; for 2001–02, the authority plans to spend £1.9 million more on heart disease services, including drugs, from the real terms funding increase shown; and £12,000 invested in dentistry in 1998 in Lancaster.
In addition, my hon. Friend's constituents will benefit from £33.2 million investment at Morecambe Bay Hospitals and Bay Community NHS Trusts.
Lancashire local authority's personal social services standard spending assessment for 2001–02 compared with 1996–97 is set out in the table.
Percentage increase
| |||
£ million
| Real
| Cash
| |
| 1996–97 | 187.309 | — | — |
| 2001–02 | 186.291 | -11.9 | -0.5 |
Note:
The SSA has decreased because of boundary changes resulting from local government re-organisation.
In addition to the SSAs referred to, Lancashire local authority received additional funding in the form of a number of special and specific grants as set out in the table.
£000
| ||||
1998–99
| 1999–2000
| 2000–01
| 2001–02
| |
| Special Transitional Grant1 | 8,064 | — | — | — |
| Partnership grant2 | — | 5,552 | 4,700 | 6,412 |
| Prevention grant2 | — | 436 | 650 | 6,412 |
| Carers grant3 | — | 435 | 1,050 | 1,452 |
| Children's grant | — | 1,366 | 2,167 | 5,433 |
| MH Core grant | 1,045 | 1,763 | 2,085 | 2,600 |
| Training Support Grant | 644 | 654 | 616 | 4399 |
1The special transitional grant ended in 1998–99 | ||||
2The partnership and prevention grants have been combined in 2001–02 and called the promoting independence grant | ||||
3The carers' and children's grants were introduced in 1999–2000 | ||||
4Indicative allocation | ||||
Departmental Policies (Chichester)
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Chichester constituency, the effects on Chichester of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [155288]
Detailed information on the impact of Department of Health policies nationally is set out in the Department of Health Annual reports. A copy of the most recent report "Department of Health—Government Expenditure Plans 2000–01" is available in the House of Commons Library and on the Department of Health website at www.doh.gov.uk/dhreport.The impact of policies is not examined by constituency and statistics collected centrally by the Department are not collected on a constituency basis.The constituency falls within the geographical area covered by West Sussex health authority and West Sussex social services.The increases in allocations between 1996–97 and 2001–02 for West Sussex health authority are set out in the table:
| Increases in allocations between 1996–97 and 2001–02 | |
| Increase | |
| £ million (cash) | 146.0 |
| £ million (real terms) | 92.9 |
| Percentage (cash) | 38.35 |
| Percentage (real terms) | 22.59 |
Note:
Increases for 1999–2000 onwards are for unified allocations which cover hospital and community health services, prescribing and discretionary family health services. Those for previous years cover hospital and community health services only.
West Sussex health authority has also received additional funding for certain policies. This includes: £2.2 million for accident and emergency in 2000–01; £144,000, £308,000, £438,000 and £293,000 for improving cancer services (breast, colorectal, lung and cancer outpatients) in 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000 and 2000–01 respectively; West Sussex health authority has also received £296,000 for investment in cancer equipment that has already been delivered and is now in use. £5.8 million, £0.4 million and £0.3 million to reduce waiting lists and times in 1998–99, 1999–2000 and 2000–01 respectively; £1.8 million to expand critical care services in 2000–01; £2.9 million and £1.2 million to deal with winter pressures in 1998–99 and 2000–01 respectively; £1.8 million for heart disease services in 2000–01; £255,600 invested in dentistry in 2000–01.
In addition, constituents will benefit from the new £24.0 million major scheme for the reprovision of services relating to Grayling well Hospital.
West Sussex local authority's personal social services standard spending assessment for 2001–02 compared with 1996–97 is set out in the table:
Percentage increase
| |||
£ million
| Real
| Cash
| |
| 1996–97 | 94,602 | — | — |
| 2001–02 | 118.454 | 10.9 | 25.2 |
In addition to the SSAs referred to, West Sussex local authority received additional funding in the form of a number of special and specific grants as set out in the table.
£000
| ||||
1998–99
| 1999–2000
| 2000–01
| 2001–02
| |
| Special Transitional Grant1 | 5,151 | — | — | — |
| Partnership Grant2 | — | 3,575 | 3,071 | 4,484 |
| Prevention Grant2 | — | 314 | 474 | 4,484 |
| Carers Grant3 | — | 317 | 725 | 1,033 |
| Children's Grant3 | — | 676 | 1,062 | 2,682 |
| MH Core Grant | 767 | 1,197 | 1,381 | 41,784 |
| Training Support Grant | 396 | 542 | 677 | 4607 |
1The special transitional grant ended in 1998–99 | ||||
2The partnership and prevention grants have been combined in 2001–02 and called the promoting independence grant | ||||
3The carers' and children's grants were introduced in 1999–2000 | ||||
4Indicative allocation | ||||
Departmental Policies (North Devon)
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set out, including statistical information relating as directly as possible to the North Devon constituency, the effects on North Devon of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [155898]
Detailed information on the impact of Department of Health policies nationally is set out in the Department of Health Annual Reports. A copy of the most recent report 'Department of Health—Government Expenditure Plans 2000–01" is available in the House of Commons Library and on the Department of Health website at www.doh.gov.uk/dhreport.The impact of policies is not examined by constituency and statistics collected centrally by the Department are not collected on a constituency basis.The hon. Member's constituency falls within the geographical area covered by North and East Devon health authority and Devon Social Services.The increases in allocations between 1996–97 and 2000–01 for North and East Devon health authority are set out in the table.
| Increases in allocations between 1996–97 and 2001–02 | |
| Increase | |
| £ million (cash) | 84.7 |
| £ million (real terms) | 50.6 |
| Percentage (cash) | 33.60 |
| Percentage (real terms) | 18.37 |
Note:
Increases for 1999–2000 onwards are for unified allocations which cover hospital and community health set vices, prescribing and discretionary family health services. Those for previous years cover hospital and community health services only.
North and East Devon health authority has received funding for certain policies. This includes: £1.352 million for accident and emergency modernisation in 2000–01; £157,000, £211,000, £273,000 and £186,000 for improving cancer services (breast, colorectal, lung and cancer outpatients) in 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000 and 2000–01 respectively; £3.186 million and £3.994 million to reduce waiting lists and times in 2000–01 and 2001–02 respectively; £1.333 million to expand critical care services in 2000–01; £804,000 to deal with winter pressures in 2000–01, £368,000 of this went to Devon Social Services; £1.422 million and £359,000 for developing intermediate care services in 2000–01 and 2001–02 respectively; £470,000 and £954,000 for heart disease services 2000–01 and 2001–02 respectively; and £50,000 invested in dentistry in 2001–01.
Devon local authority's personal social services standard spending assessment (SSA) for 2001–02 compared with 1996–97 is set out in the table.
Percentage increase
| |||
£ million
| Real
| Cash
| |
| 1996–97 | 138.497 | — | — |
| 2001–02 | 110.339 | -29.4 | -20.3 |
Note:
The SSA has decreased because of boundary changes resulting from local government re-organisation
In addition to the SSAs referred to Devon local authority received additional funding in the form of a number of special and specific grants as set out in the table.
£000
| ||||
1998–99
| 1999–2000
| 2000–01
| 2001–02
| |
| Special Transitional Grant1 | 4,890 | — | — | — |
| Partnership Grant2 | — | 3,407 | 2,917 | 4,140 |
| Prevention Grant3 | — | 280 | 420 | 4,140 |
| Carers Grant3 | — | 289 | 662 | 923 |
| Children's Grant3 | — | 624 | 986 | 2,471 |
| Mental Health Core Grant | 667 | 1,1446 | 1,207 | 41,408 |
| Training Support Grant | 381 | 450 | 484 | 4473 |
| 1The special transitional grant ended in 1998–99 | ||||
| 2The partnership and prevention grants have been combined in 2001–02 and called the promoting independence grant | ||||
| 3The carers' and children's grants were introduced in 1999–2000 | ||||
| 4Indicative allocation | ||||
Departmental Policies (North Cornwall)
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set out, including statistical information relating as directly as possible to the North Cornwall constituency, the effects on North Cornwall of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [156123]
[holding answer 30 March 2001]: Detailed information on the impact of Department of Health policies nationally is set out in the Department of Health Annual Reports. A copy of the most recent report "Department of Health—Government Expenditure Plans 2000–01" is available in the Library and on the Department of Health website at www.doh.gov.uk/dhreport.The impact of policies is not examined by constituency and statistics collected centrally by the Department are not collected on a constituency basis.The hon. Member's constituency falls within the geographical area covered by Cornwall and Isles of Scilly health authority and Cornwall Social Services authority.The increases in allocations between 1996–97 and 2001–02 for Cornwall health authority is set out in the table.
| Increases in allocations between 1996–97 and 2001–02 | |
| Increase | |
| £ million (cash) | 94.0 |
| £ million (real terms) | 58.3 |
| Percentage (cash) | 36.25 |
| Percentage (real terms) | 20.72 |
Note:
Increases for 1999–2000 onwards are for unified allocations which cover hospital and community health services, prescribing and discretionary family health services. Those for previous years cover hospital and community health services only.
Cornwall health authority has received funding for certain policies. This includes: £99,000, £193,000, £266,000 and £192,000 for improving cancer services (breast, colorectal, lung and cancer outpatients) in 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000 and 2000–01 respectively; £2.499 million and £4.198 million to reduce waiting lists and times in 2000–01 and 2001–02 respectively; £1.407 million to expand critical care services in 2000–01; £580,000 to deal with winter pressures in 2000–01, of this £125,000 went to social services; £1.488 million and £377,000 for developing intermediate care services in 2000–01 and 2001–02 respectively; £785,000 and £1.002 million for heart disease services 2000–01 and 2001–02 respectively; and £80,000 invested in dentistry in 2000–01.
In addition, the hon. Member's constituents will benefit from a new major capital investment of £101 million major hospital development due to start in 2002 at Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust.
Cornwall local authority's personal social services standard spending assessment (SSA) for 2001–02 compared with 1996–97 is set out in the table.
Percentage increase
| |||
£ million
| Real
| Cash
| |
| 1996–97 | 60.814 | — | — |
| 2001–02 | 83.924 | 22.2 | 38.0 |
In addition to the SSAs referred to, Cornwall local authority received additional funding in the form of a number of special and specific grants as set out in the table.
£000
| ||||
1998–99
| 1999–2000
| 2000–01
| 2001–02
| |
| Special Transitional Grant1 | 3,598 | — | — | — |
| Partnership grant2 | — | 2,537 | 2,184 | 3,086 |
| Prevention grant2 | — | 198 | 298 | 3,086 |
| Carers grant3 | — | 204 | 476 | 669 |
| Children's grant3 | — | 488 | 764 | 1.917 |
| Mental Health Core grant | 454 | 766 | 885 | 41.191 |
| Training Support Grant | 266 | 229 | 229 | 4315 |
1The special transitional grant ended in 1998–99. | ||||
2The partnership and prevention grants have been combined in 2001–02 and called the promoting independence grant. | ||||
3The carers' and children's grants were introduced in 1999–2000. | ||||
4Indicative allocation. | ||||
Independent Advocacy Services
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the Independent Advocacy Services will be (a) commissioned, (b) funded and (c) provided. [155953]
Subject to legislation in the Health and Social Care Bill, Independent Advocacy Services will be commissioned to assist patients who are making complaints about National Health Service organisations. Patients will be able to access the service directly or may be referred to it by Patient Advocacy Liaison Service or NHS Direct.The Bill requires that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State consult the Patients' Council and other relevant bodies on the best approach for a locality before commissioning and funding a service.
Beef Imports
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to review the Fresh Meat (Beef Controls) Regulations 1996; and if he will list the countries from which over-30-month beef may be imported. [156484]
The Fresh Meat (Beef Controls) (No 2) Regulations 1996 set out the generally applicable ban on the sale for human consumption of beef from cattle aged over thirty months at slaughter (OTM rule).As far as United Kingdom slaughterings are concerned, I am advised by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) that, as recommended in its review of BSE controls, it intends to review in August 2001 the effectiveness of the tightened animal feed controls introduced in August 1996 and the evidence of BSE incidence five years after that time. Depending on the outcome of that review, it is anticipated that it may be possible in early 2002 for the FSA to advise the date of birth of cattle that need not enter the OTM scheme and which could be sold for human consumption. This date of birth could not be earlier than August 1996 when the enhanced feed ban was implemented. Such a change could not be introduced unilaterally but would require the agreement of the European Commission and other member states.Beef from cattle aged OTM at slaughter may be imported from any country but it may only be sold for human consumption if it comes from animals that were born, reared and slaughtered in Argentina, Australia, Botswana, Brazil, Mauritius, Namibia, New Zealand, Paraguay, Poland, South Africa. Swaziland, Uruguay. United States of America and Zimbabwe. These are countries that historically supplied the UK and in which there was no history of BSE. The review of BSE controls recognised the need to keep up to date the list of countries that are considered to be BSE free and I am advised by the FSA that it is being reviewed in the light of recent European Union assessments of geographical risk.Copies of the FSA's review of BSE controls are available in the Library.
Urologist Consultants
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many urologist consultants are projected to be in post in 2005. [157086]
Figures from the specialty workforce advisory group show that the number of consultants in the urology specialty in England and Wales is set to increase from 442 in 1999 to 570 in 2005, an increase of nearly a third.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many consultant urologist posts there were in the NHS in (a) 1990, (b) 1995 and (c) 2000; and how many of those posts were vacant. [157109]
The number of consultant urologists in each year mentioned is set out in the table.
| Hospital medical urology consultants | |
| At 30 September | Number |
| 1990 | 220 |
| 1995 | 310 |
| 2000 | 380 |
Notes:
1. Figures rounded to the nearest 10
2. Figures exclude locums
3. These are headcount figures
Source:
Department of Health medical and dental workforce census
We are unable to provide vacancy information for consultant urologists. Vacancy information for the surgical group, which includes urology, is set out in the table.
Department of Health vacancies survey: Number of consultant vacancies in the surgical group three month vacancy figures 1
| |
England
| |
Year
| Vacancies
|
| 1999 | 60 |
| 2000 | 62 |
1Posts that had been vacant for three months or more at 31 March each year. | |
Notes:
1. Figures are whole-time equivalents rounded to the nearest whole number.
2. Vacancy information has been collected only since 1999.
Source:
Department of Health vacancies survey
Eu Tobacco Directive
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if it is his intention to apply for a derogation until 2007 for the EU Directive on the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco products. [156798]
[holding answer 4, April 2001]: The Directive on manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco products, once adopted, will permit member states to delay applying new tar, cat bon monoxide and nicotine limits to cigarettes intended for export outside the European Community until January 2007. We will consult in due course on the details of transposing the Directive into United Kingdom law, including the length of the transitional period for third country exports. Ministers will take a final decision in the light of that consultation.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if it is the intention of the Government to publish its preferred position on derogation of the implementation of the EU Directive on the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco products prior to consultations on the transposition of the directive into UK law. [156799]
[holding answer 4 April 2001]: We will consult on the policy options for transposing this Directive into United Kingdom law in due course, including the length of any derogations. Ministers will then take final decisions in the light of that consultation.
Care Homes
To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to publish the national minimum standards for care homes for adults; and if he will make a statement. [157280]
We hope to be able to publish the consultation document on the care homes regulations and the national minimum standards for care homes for younger adults and adult placements in the next few weeks.
Child Sex Abuse
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 12 March 2001, Official Report, column 423W, how many local authorities have access within their local areas to specialist services for children who sexually abuse other children. [157363]
[holding answer 6 April 2001]: The information requested is not held centrally.Under section 17 of the Children Act 1989 it is the duty of every local authority to safeguard and promote the welfare of children within their area who are in need. Children who sexually abuse other children are likely to have considerable, often complex, needs.Consequently, children who sexually abuse other children may receive a whole range of services from several different agencies including social services, Youth Offending Teams, health authorities and voluntary organisations.
Consultancy Payments
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total gross running costs were to his Department of fees and disbursements paid to consultants (a) in the period February 1996 to January 1997 and (b) in the financial year 1996–97.[157614]
The Department's expenditure on external management consultants in the financial year 1996–97 was £15.789 million.The Department does not hold the 1996 data in a form that would allow us to calculate the consultancy spend over the specific period February 1996 to January 1997.
Newcastle City Health Trust
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what deficit he expects in respect of (a) elderly and (b) rehabilitation services of the former Newcastle City Health Trust; if (i) bridging and (ii) brokerage finance has been agreed; and if the successor trusts will receive similar support. [157100]
The Newcastle City Health National Health Service Trust is forecasting a revenue breakeven position for 2000–01. Information on the financial position of individual service components of the trust is not held centrally.The trust received £1 million assistance in respect of the Newcastle strategic review (NSR) bridging arrangements, which was partially funded from national special assistance funding. This funding is non-repayable. In addition, the trust received £1.8 million cash in March 2001, which will become repayable in April 2001 from successor organisations as part of the management of year end balances in the local health economy. Newcastle and North Tyneside health authority is to receive £2.5 million national special assistance in 2001–02.
Bed Closures (Newcastle)
To ask the Secretary of State for Health when, and by whom, it was decided to close beds at Hunters Moor Hospital, Newcastle; on what grounds the decision was taken; and when those beds will be reopened. [157102]
Northgate and Prudhoe National Health Service Trust agreed in October 2000 to upgrade the facilities for patients as soon as possible after they began to manage the rehabilitation services provided at Hunters Moor Hospital, as requested by both Newcastle and North Tyneside health authority and Newcastle community health council. Work to upgrade facilities began in December and five beds were closed at that time. Three beds reopened as work progressed and as of 4 April all beds were open.
Newcastle, North Tyneside And Northumberland Trust
To ask the Secretary of State for Health who has been appointed Chair and non-executive directors of the Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland Neuro-rehabilitation Trust. [157101]
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has appointed Ms Sue Whittaker to chair the new Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland Mental Health National Health Service Trust until 30 November 2004. An announcement on the appointment of four of the non-executive directors of the new trust will be made very shortly.
Newcastle (Strategic Review)
To ask the Secretary of State for Health when decisions were taken to (a) establish the Newcastle Acute Services Review, (b) replace the present Northern Centre for Cancer Treatment, Newcastle and (c) replace the present Hunters Moor Hospital, Newcastle; when the outline business cases were submitted for (b) and (c); and when he will invite bids for the work. [157015]
The Newcastle strategic review (NSR), as a strategy, was approved by Ministers in December 1993. The first support to its capital investment implications commenced in 1995, with the start of an allocation of £8.4 million of "fast track" capital to commence movement of acute services off the Newcastle General Hospital site. Confirmation of the support to larger scale capital investment was provided by the approval of the second wave strategic outline case (SOC) in April 1998, revisions to which were approved in September 1999.The 1993 NSR strategy document did not include provision for the relocation of the northern centre for cancer treatment (NCCT) from the Newcastle General Hospital site. It became subsequently apparent as acute services were relocated off the Newcastle General Hospital site that the NCCT would become increasingly isolated from access to surgery, medicine, anaesthetics, critical care and other clinical services. Consequently, the subsequent SOC (approved in April 1998) included the reprovision of the NCCT on the Freeman Hospital site.Public consultation was undertaken during Summer 2000 on the reconfiguration of neuro-disability services for the northern part of the region. In September 2000 Newcastle and North Tyneside health authority supported the option to reprovide the services including those currently provided at Hunters Moor Hospital with new facilities on the Walkergate Hospital site.The business cases for the main elements of the NSR (which includes reprovision of the NCCT) were received on 14 February 2001. The date for when bids for the work will be sought is dependent on the completion of the refinement of the outline business cases, which is now being undertaken by the trust and health authority.Although a business case for the development at Walkergate is in preparation, a definitive version has not yet been submitted to the regional office of the National Health Service Executive for approval. Consequently it is not yet possible to say when bids for this scheme will be invited.
Nhs Vacancies
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS vacancies there were for (a) doctors, (b) nurses, (c) midwives, (d) health visitors, (e) professions allied to medicine and (f) management and administration staff for each of the last 10 years for which figures are available; how many posts in each category have been vacant for longer than three months; and if he will make a statement. [157323]
The Department has collected data on the number of posts that have been vacant for three months or more as at 31 March in 1999 and 2000. The information is in the table.
| Department of Health Vacancies Survey Three month vacancy figures1 in England as at 31 March for each year | ||
| 1999 | 2000 | |
| Consultants | 530 | 760 |
| Qualified nurses | 7,150 | 9,870 |
| Of which | ||
| Midwives | 370 | 490 |
| Health visitors | 95 | 191 |
| Professions allied to medicine2 | 860 | 1,510 |
| Administration and estates3 | 640 | 1,740 |
| 1Posts that had been vacant for three months or more at 31 March each year. | ||
| 2Professions allied to medicine staff include the following occupation groups: Chiropody, dietetics, occupational therapy. orthoptics/optics, physiotherapy, diagnostic radiography, therapeutic radiology, art/music/drama therapy. | ||
| 3Management and administration staff are part of administration and estates staff group, and cannot be separately identified. | ||
Note:
Figures are whole time equivalents rounded to the nearest 10.
Source:
Department of Health Vacancies Survey
Locum Doctors
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost was to the NHS of employing locum doctors in (a) general practice and (b) hospital medicine in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [157324]
This information is not collected or held centrally.
Epilepsy
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what change there has been in recorded cases of epilepsy between 1 November 1999 and 28 February 2001. [157555]
The information is not available in the format requested. The table shows the number of admissions by month to National Health Service hospitals in England for epilepsy in 1999–2000. Data for 2000––01 are not yet available. The figures do not reflect the numbers of individuals involved, neither do they include cases of epilepsy that do not result in admission to hospital.
| Admissions to NHS hospitals in England where the main diagnosis was epilepsy, 1999–2000 | |
| Year/month | Admissions |
| 1999 | |
| April | 3,030 |
| May | 3,163 |
| June | 3,110 |
| July | 3,071 |
| August | 3,282 |
| September | 3,234 |
| October | 3,104 |
| November | 3,020 |
| December | 2,783 |
Admissions to NHS hospitals in England where the main diagnosis was epilepsy, 1999–2000
| ||
Year/month
| Admissions
| |
2000
| ||
| January | 2,929 | |
| February | 2,873 | 2,847 |
Notes:
1. The main diagnosis is the first of seven diagnosis fields in the HES data set, and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital
2. Figures have not yet been adjusted for shortfalls in data
Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health
Correspondence
To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the hon. Member for Broxbourne will receive a reply to her letters of 12 January, 8 February, 8 March and 4 April relating to a constituent, Mrs. Ruth Cooper of Hoddesdon. [157458]
A reply to the hon. Member's letters was sent 19 February 2001.
Home Department
Private Security Industry Bill
11.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whit proposals he has for licensing wheel-dampers. [156030]
The Private Security Industry Bill, which was introduced in the Houselast month, sets out proposals to regulate private wheel-clampers. Under the Bill anyone engaged in wheel-clamping by way of business or employment or for monetary gain will need to obtain a licence from the regulatory authority which is also being set up under the legislation.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received regarding the Private Security Industry Bill. [156054]
We have received representations from a number of organisations and individuals including:
companies and individuals working in the private security industry;
local authorities and their associations;
Members of Parliament;
Members of the House of Lords;
representative bodies in the leisure industry;
the police;
trade and professional associations;
trade unions; and
The representations related to a number of provisions of the Bill, including the regulation of in-house manned guards and other sectors of the industry, wheel-clamping and the licensing of security companies.members of the public.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his plans for regulation of club and pub doormen. [156038]
The Private Security Industry Bill provides for the establishment of a Security Industry Authority which will have responsibility for licensing individuals employed in designated sectors of the security industry, including door supervisors.The Authority will be responsible for establishing a licensing regime for all door supervisors. This will involve setting national criteria, in consultation with the police, industry and local authorities, which will be used in deciding whether to grant a licence. Initially the criteria will involve a criminal record check, but it is envisaged that over time additional criteria relating to training and similar issues will be imposed. This aim is to ensure that only fit and proper people receive licences to operate as door supervisors. Those who do not meet the published criteria will be refused licences.
Clubbers (Safe Havens)
12.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to encourage safe havens for clubbers. [156031]
Following the sad deaths of three young men in Norwich, we welcome and support the local initiative to provide a refuge for vulnerable young people who are affected by alcohol on busy clubbing nights; we will see what wider lessons can be learned from it.
Hilda Murrell
13.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 9 March 2001, Official Report, column 386W, on Hilda Murrell, if he will make a statement on the staged examinations of samples being carried out by the Forensic Science Service. [156032]
West Mercia constabulary and the Forensic Science Service are working together on a structured approach to the examination of all potential DNA-bearing material relating to this case. This has involved setting up a staged process applying the DNA techniques in a priority order so as to conserve as far as possible samples for future analysis if the current tests are unsuccessful. The examinations have been carefully prioritised and are being undertaken in a sequential manner using the latest DNA techniques such as Second Generation Multiplex Plus and the more sophisticated Low Copy Number.As I indicated in my answer of 9 March 2001,
Official Report, column 386W, so far the test results have provided no positive results. The samples currently under examination are being processed as a Major Crime Service priority using the Low Copy Number method. The results of these tests are expected in the week beginning 23 April.
Disorderly Licensed Premises
14.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has had with the police regarding powers to close disorderly licensed premises. [156033]
15.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has had with licensees and pub managers about police powers to close disorderly licensed premises. [156034]
We have discussed on a number of recent occasions with both the Association of Chief Police Officers and the licensed trade the relevant provisions of the Criminal Justice and Police Bill.
Drugs (Tower Hamlets)
16.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what initiatives his Department has supported in Tower Hamlets to combat the drugs problem. [156035]
We have supported the work of the Drugs Action Team with:
some £36,000 last year and this, for support and co-ordination;
some £64,000 for this year as the Home Office contribution to supporting services for young people under Drugs Action Team planning requirements;
£180,000 over the next three years for a community development project on the Ocean Estate;
over £76,000 last year and likely the same this for arrest referral schemes;
In addition, there will be a Tower Hamlets allocation—yet to be decided—from the £220 million announced for action against local drugs markets.some £580,000 this year for treatment provision, to which the Home Office has made significant contribution.
Business Watch Schemes
17.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice and assistance his Department offers to business watch schemes; and if he will make a statement. [156036]
We do not provide any direct formal or financial assistance to business watch schemes, and there are no central records available as to the number of such schemes. We do, of course, welcome any such initiatives to combat crime. Among the projects to assist business to reduce crime is Business Crime Check which seeks to create, maintain and promote a database of information relevant to those who wish to reduce crime against business.The Home Department is also intending to launch later this month a Business and Retail Crime Toolkit. This is one of 22 Toolkits that are designed to help provide local crime and disorder partnerships, and the wider community, with information about different crimes and ways to help tackle them. As well as outlining the main crimes affecting business this will include a guide to best practice in combating such crimes. It will also include information on how to go about setting up a project to tackle a problem as well accessing possible sources of funding.
Severe Personality Disorders
18.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on progress made in agreeing protocols between health authorities and police on information exchange regarding individuals with severe personality disorders. [156037]
It is vital for the effective protection of the public that there should be effective arrangements for information-sharing, between all the agencies involved, about anyone who may pose a serious risk to others because of a personality disorder or other mental disorder. In some parts of England and Wales health authorities do take part in the work of Multi-Agency Risk Panels and Public Protection Panels. In others, concerns about breaking professional codes of practice relating to patient confidentiality have prevented them from doing so. In the White Paper "Reforming the Mental Health Act", published on 20 December last year, we made it clear that new mental health legislation will create a statutory duty covering the disclosure of information between agencies in these circumstances.
Human Rights Act
19.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the implications of the Human Rights Act 1998 for the maintenance of law and order. [156039]
The Human Rights Act will help the maintenance of law and order by the development of a culture of rights and responsibilities across the United Kingdom.
Robberies
20.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he is taking to reduce the number of robberies committed in England and Wales. [156040]
We are determined to reduce the number of robberies. That is why we have given the five metropolitan forces an additional £20 million specifically to assist their efforts in tackling robbery, and have set them the challenging target of a 14 per cent. reduction of robbery in our principal cities by March 2005. The additional funds have enabled those forces to introduce a number of new initiatives and to reinforce good practice.My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has also launched a separate initiative with the police and the mobile phone industry to crack down on robbery of mobile phones. We have also published a Robbery Toolkit which is available to all forces and those involved in crime reduction and community safety and will help them to work as effectively as possible in tackling robbery.
Drugs Education Programmes
21.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make extra funds available to police forces to advise on drugs education programmes. [156042]
Drugs education in schools is a matter for the Secretary of State for Education and Employment. The police can, and do, support schools, but this must come from existing and planned provision.
Asylum Seekers
22.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the number of applications for political asylum in the last 12 months. [156043]
There were 75,720 asylum applications made from March 2000 to February 2001.
25.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers who were refused asylum were deported in 2000. [156046]
8,980 failed asylum seekers were removed or left voluntarily in 2000.
30.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received on the criteria for assessing asylum applications. [156051]
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department receives a number of representations on a wide range of asylum issues, including the application of the 1951 Convention criteria for determining asylum claims.Each application for asylum is considered on its individual merits to determine whether the applicant can demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution in a particular country for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.
31.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the numbers of asylum seekers in the United Kingdom whose addresses are not known by his Department. [156052]
The precise number of asylum applicants whose address is not known could only be determined by examination of individual case files at disproportionate cost. However, in most cases a contact address is likely to have been given.
32.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is on choice of area for the placement of asylum seekers on the basis of local economic conditions. [156053]
Areas that are to be used as clusters are researched centrally by the National Asylum Support Service and there is a full consultation process to enable local authorities, usually through the Regional Consortia, to have input into the decision making process. Each area is considered on its own particular merits and factors such as economic conditions are taken into account. It is not the intention to exacerbate local economic difficulties but to achieve a fair and equitable dispersal.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers there are in the United Kingdom who have not yet had their application accepted. [156041]
The number of outstanding asylum applications awaiting an initial decision at the end of February 2001 was 49,690.
Crime Reduction
23.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the Government's strategy to reduce crime. [156044]
The Government are committed to reducing crime, tackling its causes, ensuring proper punishment of those who break the law and providing the resources necessary to tackle crime. As a result, the British Crime Survey showed that crime fell by 10 per cent. between 1997 and 1999. In addition, the number of police officers rose by 444 in the six months to September 2000.
Crime Statistics
26.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the level of crime in England and Wales. [156047]
The British Crime Survey (BCS), published on 17 October, shows an overall fall of 10 per cent. in crimes measured by the BCS between 1997 and 1999. The most recently published recorded crime statistics show that in the 12 months to September 2000 there was a fall in recorded crime of 0.2 per cent. In the same period, domestic burglary fell by 10 per cent. and vehicle crime by 7 per cent.
Surrey Police Force
26.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the funding of Surrey police force. [156048]
Under the police funding settlement for 2001–02 Surrey Police Authority will receive £111 million in central Government supported funding. It will also continue to benefit from the Crime Fighting Fund and Rural Policing Fund. Surrey will receive £2.3 million from the Crime Fighting Fund and £11,048 from the Rural Policing Fund. £220,000 has also been allocated to Surrey under the Targeted Policing Initiative.The budget set by Surrey Police Authority for 2001–02 is £122.4 million, an increase of 2.1 per cent. (+£2.5 million) over the previous year.In addition, commencing 1 April the Home Office has agreed to fund 75 per cent. of the cost of the new allowance of £2,000 per annum to be paid to officers serving in the Surrey Police who were appointed on or after 1 September 1994 and who are not in receipt of housing allowance.
Police Recruitment And Retention
28.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he is taking to improve recruitment and retention of police officers. [156049]
We have established the Crime Fighting Fund (CFF) to enable forces to recruit 9,000 officers over and above the number they had previously planned in the three years 2000–01 to 2002–03. Forces report that about 2,800 CFF officers were recruited in 2000–01.We have launched the first national police recruitment advertising campaign. There had been over 129,000 responses to the campaign by 25 March 2000 and over 27,000 expressions of interest had been passed to forces.We are reviewing entry requirements for the Police Service to ensure consistency across forces and a good supply of quality candidates.
In order to improve retention of police officers, we have been considering how we might be able to encourage more officers who have completed 30 years' service but not reached compulsory retirement age, to remain, where they have key skills and experience. Measures to address sickness rates and medical retirement are set out in my answer to the hon. Member for Southwark, North and Bermondsey (Mr. Hughes) on 18 December 2000, Official Report, column 59W.
Measures to improve both retention and recruitment are:
£3,327 per annum increase in London Allowance for officers in the Metropolitan and the City of London police who joined on or after 1 September 1994 and receive no housing allowance;
provision (at a cost of £2.45 million next year) of free rail travel within a 70 mile radius of London for Metropolitan police officers;
allowances for officers serving in the south-east, as set out in my answer to the hon. Member for Banbury (Mr. Baldry) on 12 March 2001, Official Report, column 485W;
the Government's Starter Homes Initiative under which £250 million will be made available over the next three years. Bids covering a number of police force areas have proceeded to Stage 2 of the bidding round.
Violence Against Women
29.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his plans to combat violence against women. [156050]
The Government are determined to reduce all crimes of violence including violence against women. We set out our strategy for doing so in "fighting violent crime together: an action plan" which was published in January.In support of the action plan, we announced on 23 March an extra £3.7 million to fund a further 24 projects addressing violence against women. This funding is on top of the £7 million announced last summer which provides funding for 34 projects as part of our Crime Reduction Programme. These projects are helping to identify what works best in tackling violence against women, including domestic violence.In addition to the increased funding, our programme against domestic violence includes, within the last year, guidance to agencies dealing with domestic violence, along with specific guidance to health service professionals; a Home Office circular to the police to build on the progress made in addressing domestic violence and reducing repeat victimisation; inclusion of this issue within police Best Value performance indicators; £120 million additional capital funding for a new Safer Communities Supported Housing Fund for specified vulnerable groups, which includes the survivors of domestic violence; and increased funding for Victim Support.We are also working with the Association of Chief Police Officers on a circular to the police on the effective use of provisions in the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 with particular regard to domestic violence and violence against women; we are evaluating probation service domestic violence perpetrator programmes; developing a domestic violence toolkit as part of the programme of toolkits on the crime reduction website; and we shall be including a special module on domestic violence as part of the British Crime Survey 2001.
Prison Education Service
35.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to improve the prison education service. [156056]
I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Stockport (Ms Coffey) on 14 February 2001, Official Report, column 172W.
Local Elections
36.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to extend the pilot schemes on alternative voting arrangements for the local elections. [156057]
None at present. After only one round of pilots we believe that there is insufficient evidence on which to base an extension of any piloted arrangements. Notices of the local elections for 3 May have now been issued but we look forward to further pilot schemes taking place in the future.
Closed Circuit Television (Nottingham)
37.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment has been made of the benefits of CCTV in the suppression of crime in Nottingham. [156058]
Crime Concern have recently published a City-wide strategy for Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) for the Nottingham Community Safety and Youth Justice Partnership. This report is being used to assess the effectiveness of current CCTV systems installed in Nottingham and to decide future deployment.More generally, police operational experience and general research studies show that CCTV has considerable crime reduction and detection potential, particularly when used as part of a wider strategy.Schemes funded under the Crime Reduction Programme CCTV Initiative will be evaluated to build up the knowledge bast of what works best in what context. Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships will also be evaluating schemes locally.
Police Suspensions
38.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the (a) duration and (b) scale of police officers' suspensions, and the costs of suspensions and subsequent out-of-court settlements made in compensation. [1560591
This information is not held centrally and it could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Alcohol Misuse (Young People)
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the misuse of alcohol by young people. [156045]
We are taking decisive action to minimise the impact of alcohol on young people's lives. In the Criminal Justice and Police Bill, we have sought to introduce provisions placing a positive duty on licensees not to sell alcohol to minors and by placing test purchasing of alcohol on a statutory footing for the first time.
Mot Certificates
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to review the penalties for failing to obtain a valid MoT certificate. [156055]
The maximum penalty for the offence of driving a motor vehicle without a valid Ministry of Transport (MoT) certificate under section 47 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 is a fine of up to £2,500 in the case of a vehicle adapted to cary more than eight passengers and £1,000 for any other motor vehicle. The maximum penalty for the related, but more serious offence, of forgery of an MoT certificate, under section 173 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, is two years imprisonment. We are conducting a review of Road Traffic Penalties and have now received responses to our consultation paper published last December. In relation to the fraud offence the consultation paper proposes that the existing anomaly whereby imprisonment is not available where the offence is tried in the magistrates court is removed so that a sentence of imprisonment of up to six months is available for summary disposal of these cases. We made no express proposals in respect of the driving
| Police force net expenditure (England) and percentage change in cash and real terms, 1990–91 to 2000–01 | |||||||||
| 1990–91 | 1991–92 | 1992–93 | |||||||
| Percentage change | Percentage change | Percentage change | |||||||
| £000 | cash terms | real terms | £000 | cash terms | real terms | £000 | cash terms | real terms | |
| Avon and Somerset | 107,282 | 10.9 | 2.9 | 116,004 | 8.1 | 1.9 | 127,928 | 10.3 | 6.8 |
| Bedfordshire | 36,053 | 11.2 | 3.1 | 40,027 | 11.0 | 4.6 | 45.036 | 12.5 | 9.0 |
| Cambridgeshire | 43,173 | 11.2 | 3.1 | 48,001 | 11.2 | 4.8 | 51,126 | 6.5 | 3.1 |
| Cheshire | 63,620 | 7.6 | (0.2) | 68,496 | 7.7 | 1.4 | 74,058 | 8.1 | 4.7 |
| City of London | 38,288 | 7.5 | (0.3) | 41,919 | 9.5 | 3.1 | 45,151 | 7.7 | 4.3 |
| Cleveland | 52,889 | 11.3 | 3.2 | 58,690 | 11.0 | 4.5 | 62,269 | 6.1 | 2.7 |
| Cumbria | 41,312 | 13.4 | 5.2 | 46,548 | 12.7 | 6.2 | 50,736 | 9.0 | 5.6 |
| Derbyshire | 62,086 | 4.2 | (3.3) | 66,686 | 7.4 | 1.2 | 76,554 | 14.8 | 11.2 |
| Devon and Cornwall | 107,378 | 13.0 | 4.8 | 119,619 | 11.4 | 5.0 | 129,634 | 8.4 | 4.9 |
| Dorset | 50,150 | 15.0 | 6.7 | 54,239 | 8.2 | 1.9 | 57,639 | 6.3 | 2.9 |
| Durham | 45,673 | 10.2 | 2.2 | 49,517 | 8.4 | 2.1 | 53,853 | 8.8 | 5.3 |
| Essex | 106,902 | 15.7 | 7.3 | 119,118 | 11.4 | 5.0 | 129,559 | 8.8 | 5.3 |
| Gloucestershire | 41,526 | 13.3 | 5.1 | 46,370 | 11.7 | 5.2 | 49,361 | 6.5 | 3.1 |
| Greater Manchester | 236,520 | 9.6 | 1.6 | 256,562 | 8.5 | 17.2 | 281,761 | 9.8 | 6.4 |
| Hampshire | 114,172 | 12.5 | 4.4 | 127,841 | 12.0 | 5.5 | 142,133 | 11.2 | 7.7 |
| Hertfordshire | 59,681 | 13.7 | 5.4 | 63,633 | 6.6 | 0.5 | 70,029 | 10.1 | 6.6 |
| Humberside | 71,151 | 10.6 | 2.6 | 78,591 | 10.5 | 4.1 | 86,795 | 10.4 | 6.9 |
| Kent | 107,675 | 10.2 | 2.2 | 128,118 | 19.0 | 12.1 | 136,307 | 6.4 | 3.0 |
| Lancashire | 114,195 | 13.7 | 5.5 | 127,076 | 11.3 | 4.8 | 132,092 | 3.9 | 0.7 |
| Leicestershire | 63,597 | 9.9 | 2.0 | 70,562 | 11.0 | 4.5 | 75,262 | 6.7 | 3.3 |
| Lincolnshire | 43,025 | 13.4 | 5.2 | 48,704 | 13.2 | 6.6 | 53,039 | 8.9 | 5.5 |
| Merseyside | 165,167 | 10.1 | 2.1 | 182,680 | 10.6 | 4.2 | 193,410 | 5.9 | 2.5 |
| Metropolitan police | 1,273,265 | 18.2 | 9.6 | 1,420,575 | 11.6 | 5.1 | 1,513,654 | 6.6 | 3.2 |
| Norfolk | 49,106 | 13.4 | 5.2 | 56,134 | 14.3 | 7.7 | 60,658 | 8.1 | 4.6 |
| Northamptonshire | 41,997 | 10.6 | 2.5 | 47,081 | 12.1 | 5.6 | 52,575 | 11.7 | 8.1 |
| Northumbria | 124,873 | 11.1 | 3.0 | 139,999 | 12.1 | 5.6 | 145,882 | 4.2 | 0.9 |
| North Yorkshire | 48.995 | 10.5 | 2.5 | 53.161 | 8.5 | 2.2 | 60,123 | 13.1 | 9.5 |
| Nottinghamshire | 79,305 | 14.1 | 5.9 | 85,209 | 7.4 | 1.2 | 92,856 | 9.0 | 5.5 |
| South Yorkshire | 101,200 | 12.0 | 3.9 | 108,676 | 7.4 | 1.2 | 122,395 | 12.6 | 9.1 |
| Staffordshire | 76,903 | 14.8 | 6.5 | 84,322 | 9.6 | 3.3 | 90,497 | 7.3 | 3.9 |
| Suffolk | 44,755 | 12.1 | 4.0 | 49,246 | 10.0 | 3.7 | 52,052 | 5.7 | 2.4 |
without a valid MoT certificate offence but the review continues and we will consider any representations received.
Schengen Agreement
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the nature of the partial declassification of the Schengen documentation. [156974]
The rules on the classification of Council documents, including Schengen documents, are set out in Council Decision 2000/527/EC of 14 August 2000. The vast majority of Schengen documents are categorised as "limite" and are not therefore classified within the meaning of the Decision. The Council considers it necessary to classify certain documents containing sensitive operational information. However, even classified documents are subject to the provisions of Council Decision 93/731/EC of 20 December 1993 on public access to Council documents. Any request for access to a classified document is considered on its merits. A decision to refuse access to classified documents is ultimately subject to review by the Court of Justice in Luxembourg.
Police
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for each police force area in England, what was the force's budget in (a) cash terms and (b) real terms for each year since 1990. [156173]
The information is set out in the table.
Police force net expenditure (England) and percentage change in cash and real terms, 1990–91 to 2000–01
| |||||||||
1990–91
| 1991–92
| 1992–93
| |||||||
Percentage change
| Percentage change
| Percentage change
| |||||||
£000
| cash terms
| real terms
| £000
| cash terms
| real terms
| £000
| cash terms
| real terms
| |
| Surrey | 59,126 | 11.2 | 3.1 | 64,426 | 9.0 | 2.7 | 71,426 | 10.9 | 7.4 |
| Sussex | 94,916 | 10.5 | 2.5 | 108,489 | 14.3 | 7.7 | 117,529 | 8.3 | 4.9 |
| Thames Valley | n/a | n/a | n/a | 156,072 | n/a | n/a | 165,443 | 6.0 | 2.7 |
| Warwickshire | 37,963 | 18.5 | 9.9 | 41,479 | 9.3 | 2.9 | 44,128 | 6.4 | 3.0 |
| West Midlands | 231,478 | 10.7 | 2.7 | 254,477 | 9.9 | 3.6 | 188,798 | 13.5 | 9.9 |
| West Yorkshire | 190,733 | 13.0 | 4.8 | 206,169 | 8.1 | 1.8 | 215,727 | 4.6 | 1.3 |
| Wiltshire | 41,547 | 15.3 | 7.0 | 46,907 | 12.9 | 6.4 | 51,912 | 10.7 | 7.2 |
| Total (England) | 4,308,157 | 9.2 | 1.3 | 4,931,259 | 14.5 | 7.8 | 5,323,895 | 8.0 | 4.6 |
1993–94
| 1994–95
| 1995–96
| |||||||
Percentage change
| Percentage change
| Percentage change
| |||||||
£000
| cash terms
| real terms
| £000
| cash terms
| real terms
| £000
| cash terms
| real terms
| |
| Avon and Somerset | 134,323 | 5.0 | 2.3 | 141,105 | 5.0 | 3.6 | 141,091 | 0.0 | -2.8 |
| Bedfordshire | 48,666 | 8.1 | 5.3 | 51,514 | 5.9 | 4.4 | 54,533 | 5.9 | 2.9 |
| Cambridgeshire | 56,879 | 11.3 | 8.4 | 58,553 | 2.9 | 1.5 | 60,917 | 4.0 | 1.1 |
| Cheshire | 79,971 | 8.0 | 5.2 | 82,804 | 3.5 | 2.1 | 86,786 | 4.8 | 1.9 |
| City of London | 50.920 | 12.8 | 9.9 | 52,185 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 55,851 | 7.0 | 4.0 |
| Cleveland | 66,289 | 6.5 | 3.7 | 69,007 | 4.1 | 2.7 | 67,861 | -1.7 | -4.4 |
| Cumbria | 51,699 | 1.9 | -0.7 | 53.981 | 4.4 | 3.0 | 53,196 | -1.5 | -4.2 |
| Derbyshire | 78,964 | 3.1 | 0.5 | 84,362 | 6.8 | 5.4 | 86,012 | 2.0 | -0.9 |
| Devon and Cornwall | 137,578 | 6.1 | 3.4 | 140,830 | 2.4 | 0.9 | 144,513 | 2.6 | -0.3 |
| Dorset | 59,345 | 3.0 | 0.3 | 66,285 | 11.7 | 10.1 | 63,040 | -4.9 | -7.6 |
| Durham | 57,825 | 7.4 | 4.6 | 59,237 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 62,432 | 5.4 | 2.4 |
| Essex | 136,952 | 5.7 | 3.0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Gloucestershire | 51,298 | 3.9 | 1.2 | 55,006 | 7.2 | 5.7 | 53,815 | -2.2 | -4.9 |
| Greater Manchester | 302,885 | 7.5 | 4.7 | 319,467 | 5.5 | 4.0 | 329,893 | 3.3 | 0.4 |
| Hampshire | 146,008 | 2.7 | 0.1 | 155,257 | 6.3 | 4.9 | 163,085 | 5.0 | 2.1 |
| Hertfordshire | 74,029 | 5.7 | 3.0 | 84,435 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 87,825 | 4.0 | 1.1 |
| Humberside | 90,194 | 3.9 | 1.2 | 92,365 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 96,418 | 4.4 | 1.5 |
| Kent | 142,749 | 4.7 | 2.0 | 153,757 | 7.7 | 6.2 | 155,223 | 1.0 | -1.9 |
| Lancashire | 142,518 | 7.9 | 5.1 | 144,420 | 1.3 | 10.1 | 151,646 | 5.0 | 2.1 |
| Leicestershire | 78,201 | 3.9 | 1.2 | 81,166 | 3.8 | 2.4 | 86,855 | 7.0 | 4.0 |
| Lincolnshire | 55,645 | 4.9 | 2.2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 58,974 | n/a | n/a |
| Merseyside | 207,217 | 7.1 | 4.4 | 215,139 | 3.8 | 2.4 | 219,547 | 2.0 | -0.8 |
| Metropolitan police | 1,545,265 | 2.1 | -0.6 | 1,581,975 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 1,635,386 | 3.4 | 0.5 |
| Norfolk | 63,907 | 5.4 | 2.6 | 68,392 | 7.0 | 5.5 | 70,233 | 2.7 | -0.2 |
| Northamptonshire | 55,136 | 4.9 | 2.2 | 59,983 | 8.8 | 7.3 | 56,742 | -5.4 | -8.0 |
| Northumbria | 158,758 | 8.8 | 6.0 | 174,700 | 10.0 | 8.5 | 177,760 | 1.8 | -1.1 |
| North Yorkshire | 62,805 | 4.5 | 1.8 | 63,166 | 0.6 | -0.8 | 62,846 | -0.5 | -3.3 |
| Nottinghamshire | 98,224 | 5.8 | 3.0 | 105,645 | 7.6 | 6.1 | 106,334 | 0.7 | -2.2 |
| South Yorkshire | 128,102 | 4.7 | 2.0 | 136,352 | 6.4 | 5.0 | 143,113 | 5.0 | 2.0 |
| Staffordshire | 96,404 | 6.5 | 3.8 | 99,778 | 3.5 | 2.1 | 98,286 | -1.5 | -4.2 |
| Suffolk | 55,237 | 6.1 | 3.4 | 56,751 | 2.7 | 1.3 | 55,724 | -1.8 | -4.6 |
| Surrey | 75,322 | 5.5 | 2.7 | 84,371 | 12.0 | 10.5 | 83,000 | -1.6 | -4.4 |
| Sussex | 122,444 | 4.2 | 1.5 | 130,124 | 6.3 | 4.8 | 137,785 | 5.9 | 2.9 |
| Thames Valley | 178,169 | 7.7 | 4.9 | 190,492 | 6.9 | 5.4 | 193,124 | 1.4 | -1.5 |
| Warwickshire | 47,139 | 6.8 | 4.1 | 49,517 | 5.0 | 3.6 | 47,553 | -4.0 | -6.7 |
| West Mercia | 91,372 | 8.1 | 5.3 | 98,032 | 7.3 | 5.8 | 95,815 | -2.3 | -5.0 |
| West Midlands | 296,973 | 2.8 | 0.2 | 311,337 | 4.8 | 3.4 | 329,194 | 5.7 | 2.8 |
| West Yorkshire | 224,987 | 4.3 | 1.6 | 234,588 | 4.3 | 2.8 | 237,084 | 1.1 | -1.8 |
| Wiltshire | 54,272 | 4.5 | 1.8 | 59,182 | 9.0 | 7.5 | 54,456 | -8.0 | -10.6 |
| Total (England) | 5,604,671 | 5.3 | 2.6 | 5,867,013 | 4.7 | 3.2 | 6,008,912 | 2.4 | -0.4 |
1996–97
| 1997–98
| 1998–99
| |||||||
Percentage change
| Percentage change
| Percentage change
| |||||||
£000
| cash terms
| real terms
| £000
| cash terms
| real terms
| £000
| cash terms
| real terms
| |
| Avon and Somerset | 152,087 | 7.8 | 4.4 | 152,673 | 0.4 | -2.4 | 162,726 | 6.6 | 3.6 |
| Bedfordshire | 56,627 | 3.8 | 0.6 | 58,570 | 3.4 | 0.6 | 61,778 | 5.5 | 2.5 |
| Cambridgeshire | 65,024 | 6.7 | 3.4 | 68,681 | 5.6 | 2.7 | 73,432 | 6.9 | 3.9 |
| Cheshire | 94,177 | 8.5 | 5.1 | 104,005 | 10.4 | 7.4 | 107,093 | 3.0 | 0.1 |
| City of London | 57,317 | 2.6 | -0.6 | 57,893 | 1.0 | -1.8 | 60,350 | 4.2 | 1.4 |
1996–97
| 1997–98
| 1998–99
| |||||||
Percentage change
| Percentage change
| Percentage change
| |||||||
£000
| cash terms
| real terms
| £000
| cash terms
| real terms
| £000
| cash terms
| real terms
| |
| Cleveland | 73,108 | 7.7 | 4.4 | 75,426 | 3.2 | 0.3 | 81,295 | 7.8 | 4.8 |
| Cumbria | 56,856 | 6.9 | 3.5 | 61,709 | 8.5 | 5.5 | 62,532 | 1.3 | -1.5 |
| Derbyshire | 90,420 | 5.1 | 1.8 | 95,641 | 5.8 | 2.9 | 100,064 | 4.6 | 1.7 |
| Devon and Cornwall | 150,392 | 4.1 | 0.8 | 155,435 | 3.4 | 0.5 | 166,330 | 7.0 | 4.0 |
| Dorset | 67,831 | 7.6 | 4.2 | 69,727 | 2.8 | 0.0 | 73,117 | 4.9 | 2.0 |
| Durham | 68,035 | 9.0 | 5.6 | 75,166 | 10.5 | 7.4 | 74,673 | -0.7 | -3.4 |
| Essex | 151,412 | n/a | n/a | 157,487 | 4.0 | 1.1 | 156,822 | -0.4 | -3.2 |
| Gloucestershire | 58,420 | 8.6 | 5.2 | 58,633 | 0.4 | -2.4 | 62,862 | 7.2 | 4.2 |
| Greater Manchester | 341,170 | 3.4 | 0.2 | 353,319 | 3.6 | 0.7 | 354,171 | 0.2 | -2.5 |
| Hampshire | 172,845 | 6.0 | 2.7 | 180,791 | 4.6 | 1.7 | 186,661 | 3.2 | 0.4 |
| Hertfordshire | 88,863 | 1.2 | -2.0 | 93,011 | 4.7 | 1.8 | 95,068 | 2.2 | -0.6 |
| Humberside | 99,719 | 3.4 | 0.2 | 106,220 | 6.5 | 3.6 | 112,571 | 6.0 | 3.0 |
| Kent | 161,625 | 4.1 | 0.9 | 174,211 | 7.8 | 4.8 | 175,577 | 0.8 | -2.0 |
| Lancashire | 161,865 | 6.7 | 3.4 | 169,275 | 4.6 | 1.7 | 177,310 | 4.7 | 1.8 |
| Leicestershire | 92,853 | 6.9 | 3.6 | 98,789 | 6.4 | 3.5 | 102,790 | 4.1 | 1.2 |
| Lincolnshire | 61,508 | 4.3 | 1.0 | 66,184 | 7.6 | 4.6 | 66,664 | 0.7 | -2.1 |
| Merseyside | 221,172 | 0.7 | -2.4 | 224,327 | 1.4 | -1.4 | 240,267 | 7.1 | 4.1 |
| Metropolitan police | 1,683,181 | 2.9 | -0.3 | 1,676,617 | -0.4 | -3.1 | 1,716,425 | 2.4 | -0.5 |
| Norfolk | 75,547 | 7.6 | 4.2 | 80,222 | 6.2 | 3.3 | 80,543 | 0.4 | -2.4 |
| Northamptonshire | 59,252 | 4.4 | 1.2 | 64,605 | 9.0 | 6.0 | 67,057 | 3.8 | 0.9 |
| Northumbria | 186,410 | 4.9 | 1.6 | 195,092 | 4.7 | 1.8 | 205,270 | 5.2 | 2.3 |
| North Yorkshire | 67,042 | 6.7 | 3.4 | 71,840 | 7.2 | 4.2 | 75,344 | 4.9 | 2.0 |
| Nottinghamshire | 113,591 | 6.8 | 3.5 | 120,556 | 6.1 | 3.2 | 127,018 | 5.4 | 2.4 |
| South Yorkshire | 150,949 | 5.5 | 2.2 | 166,027 | 10.0 | 7.0 | 167,159 | 0.7 | -2.1 |
| Staffordshire | 107,832 | 9.7 | 6.3 | 110,264 | 2.3 | -0.6 | 116,231 | 5.4 | 2.5 |
| Suffolk | 60,963 | 9.4 | 6.0 | 63,676 | 4.5 | 1.6 | 66,096 | 3.8 | 0.9 |
| Surrey | 85,345 | 2.8 | -0.4 | 90,976 | 6.6 | 3.7 | 91,425 | 0.5 | -2.3 |
| Sussex | 150,626 | 9.3 | 5.9 | 157,631 | 4.7 | 1.8 | 161,847 | 2.7 | -0.2 |
| Thames Valley | 201,397 | 4.3 | 1.0 | 210,333 | 4.4 | 1.6 | 209,675 | -0.3 | -3.1 |
| Warwickshire | 47,686 | 0.3 | -2.8 | 51,003 | 7.0 | 4.0 | 52,015 | 2.0 | -0.8 |
| West Mercia | 102,078 | 6.5 | 3.2 | 107,788 | 5.6 | 2.7 | 113,755 | 5.5 | 2.6 |
| West Midlands | 337,992 | 2.7 | -0.5 | 360,129 | 6.5 | 3.6 | 368,608 | 2.4 | -0.5 |
| West Yorkshire | 265,233 | 11.9 | 8.4 | 281,745 | 6.2 | 3.3 | 277,994 | -1.3 | -4.1 |
| Wiltshire | 59,993 | 0.2 | 6.7 | 58,535 | -2.4 | -5.1 | 68,811 | 17.6 | 14.3 |
| Total (England) | 6,298,443 | 4.8 | 1.6 | 6,524,212 | 3.6 | 0.7 | 6,719,426 | 3.0 | 0.1 |
1999–2000
| 2000–01
| |||||
Percentage change
| Percentage change
| |||||
£000
| cash terms
| real terms
| £000
| cash terms
| real terms
| |
| Avon and Somerset | 174,336 | 7.1 | 4.7 | 181,210 | 3.9 | 2.2 |
| Bedfordshire | 63,611 | 3.0 | 0.6 | 66,426 | 4.4 | 2.6 |
| Cambridgeshire | 75,052 | 2.2 | -0.1 | 79,244 | 5.6 | 3.8 |
| Cheshire | 113,280 | 5.8 | 3.3 | 114,576 | 1.1 | -0.6 |
| City of London | 57,852 | -4.1 | -6.3 | 58,947 | 1.9 | 0.1 |
| Cleveland | 85,256 | 4.9 | 2.5 | 85,600 | 0.4 | -1.3 |
| Cumbria | 64,786 | 3.6 | 1.2 | 67,400 | 4.0 | 2.2 |
| Derbyshire | 105,590 | 5.5 | 3.1 | 110,819 | 5.0 | 3.1 |
| Devon and Cornwall | 175,055 | 5.2 | 2.8 | 182,873 | 4.5 | 2.7 |
| Dorset | 76,957 | 5.3 | 2.8 | 80,996 | 5.2 | 3.4 |
| Durham | 79,662 | 6.7 | 4.2 | 85,775 | 7.7 | 5.8 |
| Essex | 167,969 | 7.1 | 4.6 | 184,485 | 9.8 | 7.9 |
| Gloucestershire | 65,755 | 4.6 | 2.2 | 68,695 | 4.5 | 2.7 |
| Greater Manchester | 374,804 | 5.8 | 3.4 | 400,004 | 6.7 | 4.9 |
| Hampshire | 197,483 | 5.8 | 3.4 | 202,527 | 2.6 | 0.8 |
| Hertfordshire | 104,448 | 9.9 | 7.3 | 120,945 | 15.8 | 13.8 |
| Humberside | 113,944 | 1.2 | -1.1 | 119,900 | 5.2 | 3.4 |
| Kent | 186,261 | 6.1 | 3.6 | 193,127 | 3.7 | 1.9 |
| Lancashire | 182,004 | 2.6 | 0.3 | 190,181 | 4.5 | 2.7 |
| Leicestershire | 107,262 | 4.4 | 1.9 | 110,150 | 2.7 | 0.9 |
| Lincolnshire | 69,378 | 4.1 | 1.7 | 72,725 | 4.8 | 3.0 |
| Merseyside | 248,414 | 3.4 | 1.0 | 257,114 | 3.5 | 1.7 |
| Metropolitan police | 1,838,888 | 7.1 | 4.7 | 1,837,571 | -0.1 | -1.8 |
| Norfolk | 87,182 | 8.2 | 5.7 | 91,514 | 5.0 | 3.2 |
| Northamptonshire | 69,148 | 3.1 | 0.7 | 73,076 | 5.7 | 3.9 |
| Northumbria | 212,704 | 3.6 | 1.2 | 218,387 | 2.7 | 0.9 |
| North Yorkshire | 78,178 | 3.8 | 1.4 | 83,750 | 7.1 | 5.3 |
1999–2000
| 2000–01
| |||||
Percentage change
| Percentage change
| |||||
£000
| cash terms
| real terms
| £000
| cash terms
| real terms
| |
| Nottinghamshire | 129,465 | 1.9 | -0.4 | 134,302 | 3.7 | 2.0 |
| South Yorkshire | 176,007 | 5.3 | 2.9 | 181,054 | 2.9 | 1.1 |
| Staffordshire | 127,000 | 9.3 | 6.7 | 126,964 | 0.0 | -1.7 |
| Suffolk | 70,506 | 6.7 | 4.2 | 74,061 | 5.0 | 3.2 |
| Surrey | 100,094 | 9.5 | 7.0 | 120,130 | 20.0 | 18.0 |
| Sussex | 165,564 | 2.3 | -0.1 | 172,513 | 4.2 | 2.4 |
| Thames Valley | 227,020 | 8.3 | 5.8 | 236,952 | 4.4 | 2.6 |
| Warwickshire | 55,164 | 6.1 | 3.6 | 59,011 | 7.0 | 5.1 |
| West Mercia | 111,446 | -2.0 | -4.3 | 125,700 | 12.8 | 10.9 |
| West Midlands | 381,484 | 3.5 | 1.1 | 395,102 | 3.6 | 1.8 |
| West Yorkshire | 286,088 | 2.9 | 0.5 | 304,125 | 6.3 | 4.5 |
| Wiltshire | 69,823 | 1.5 | -0.9 | 71,981 | 3.1 | 1.3 |
| Total (England) | 7,074,920 | 5.3 | 2.9 | 7,339,912 | 3.7 | 2.0 |
Notes:
1994–95 figures for Lincolnshire and Essex and 1995–96 figures for Essex were not available. The compilers adjusted the grand total for comparison.
From 1996–97, expenditure was recorded net of police loan charges grant on pre-April 1990 debt charges.
Loan charge grant for 1993–94 to 1995–96 has been deducted from forces' expenditure for comparative purposes.
Deductions for loan charge grants have been made at the grand total level only for 1990–91 to 1992–93 (ca. £30 million per annum).
Percentage changes have been calculated in real terms at 1999–2000 prices using GDP deflators (March 2001).
Source:
CIPFA Police Statistics: Actuals except for 2000–01 (estimates),
Damilola Taylor
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the level of compensation to the parents of Damilola Taylor; and if he will review the guidance relating to levels of compensation. [157440]
Under the terms of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme, the determination of individual applications is entirely a matter for the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority and the complementary Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeals Panel. Ministers do not comment on, or intervene in, decisions in individual cases.Under the terms of the Scheme, each qualifying relative of a murder victim receives a fixed fatal award (at level 10 of the tariff, or at level 13 if there is only one eligible claimant). Reasonable funeral expenses are also met, and additional (and sometimes very substantial) compensation is paid where there is financial dependency on the victim, or to replace the services of a murdered parent.Contrary to the impression conveyed by some recent press coverage of this tragic case, the fixed fatal award does not put a 'value' on the life of a victim. No sum of money could reasonably do that. The fatal award is in the nature of a gesture of condolence on behalf of society. And the award is in fact more generous than the amount payable under the fatal accidents legislation.We have just completed a thorough review of the Scheme based on the findings from a public consultation exercise that was launched in 1999. On 1 April 2001, having secured the necessary parliamentary approval in March, we brought in a wide-ranging package of improvements, worth £20 million in a full year, to what is already probably by far the most generous scheme in the world.
Responses to the consultation exercise were evenly split on whether there should be any increase to the fixed fatal award. On balance, we decided not to recommend changes to the tariff level at which the fatal award is fixed, although the actual amount payable went up by 10 per cent. from 1 April as a result of a general up-rating of most of the tariff bands.
Wrongful Convictions
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases are awaiting a decision by the (a) Criminal Cases Review Commission and (b) Appeal Court in respect of wrongful conviction. [157444]
I understand that at the end of February 2001, the latest date for which figures are available, 1,100 cases were awaiting a decision by the Criminal Cases Review Commission.
Forced Marriages
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he has taken as a result of the recent report on forced marriages. [157548]
'A Choice by Right', the report of the working group on forced marriage, was published in June last year. It made a number of recommendations for tackling the problem of forced marriage.Since then we have made progress on a number of fronts. Together with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office we have developed and published a Joint Action Plan to address the overseas dimension of forced marriage. This includes gaining a better understanding of the problem, forging links with agencies overseas and looking at our own procedures for handling these cases.
We are working with colleagues from other Government Departments and non-governmental organisations to develop a package of care for the victims of forced marriage—to give them a real choice and enable them to take appropriate action to address, or escape, the problem.
The work is being overseen by the Inter-departmental Group on Violence against Won en and Domestic Violence. The All-party Parliamentary Group on Domestic Violence have also agreed to take this issue within its remit. Many of the protocols and procedures aimed at tackling domestic violence are also appropriate for dealing with forced marriage.
I hope to be able to make a fuller announcement this month.
Freemasons (Police Service)
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to make a decision on the compulsory registration of freemasonry in the police service. [157152]
My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary will make a decision as soon as possible following his consideration of the outcome of consultation with the police service about ways of achieving an acceptable rate of registration.
Criminal Records Bureau
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of (a) the number of requests for checks, (b) the income from fees and (c) the expenditure associated with running the Criminal Records Bureau in the first two years of operation; and if he will make a statement. [157172]
[holding answer 6 April 2001]: The Criminal Records Bureau will begin to issue Standard and Enhanced Disclosures later in the current financial year. It is anticipated that demand will be at a low level initially, and will build up. Basic disclosures will not begin to be issued before the 2002–03 financial year. Cost and business projections have been based on the following levels of demand during this and the next financial year:
| 2001–02 | 2002–03 | |
| Enhanced disclosures | 1,216,751 | 3,182,690 |
| Standard disclosures | 109,526 | 296,590 |
| Basic disclosures | 0 | 2,786,350 |
| £ | ||
| 2001–02 | 2002–03 | |
| Estimated total revenues | 12,655,727 | 63,430,902 |
| Estimated total cost | 48,277,786 | 80,425,047 |
Lords-Lieutenant
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many deputy lords-lieutenant are members of political parties, broken down by party. [157716]
We do not hold this information. The deputy lieutenants of a county or area are appointed by the Lord-Lieutenant. Appointments are not based on political affiliation, but on place of residence and service to the community.
Former New Towns (Police Stations)
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assistance is provided for former new towns with a requirement for new police stations. [157702]
Police resources are allocated between all 43 forces in England and Wales according to a formula that allocates central Government supported funding to provide a standard level of service. The formula is weighted according to population, so that forces with larger populations receive more money. The socio-demographic nature of the population is also taken into account. Decisions relating to the location of police stations are operational matters for the chief constable of the force concerned.
Lay Magistrates
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the role of lay magistrates in reducing average time delays for dealing with persistent young offenders. [157565]
We welcome the valuable contribution that lay magistrates are making to reducing the time from arrest to sentence for persistent young offenders. The overall average has been cut from 142 days in 1996 to 89 days by January this year; and cases sentenced in the magistrates courts averaged 82 days. This represents significant progress thanks to the commitment, hard work and co-operation of all the agencies involved in youth justice.
Police Recruits
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many new police recruits there were in (a) the Thames Valley Police Force, (b) the Hertfordshire Constabulary, (c) the Essex Police Force, (d) the Kent County Constabulary, (e) the Surrey Police Force, (f) the Hampshire Constabulary, (g) the Sussex Police Force and (h) England and Wales in the period (i) 1 May 1994 to 30 April 1995, (ii) 1 May 1995 to 30 April 1996, (iii) 1 May 1996 to 30 April 1997, (iv) 1 May 1997 to 30 April 1998, (v) 1 May 1998 to 30 April 1999, (vi) 1 May 1999 to 30 April 2000 and (vii) since 1 May 2000. [151120]
Recruitment figures for constable recruits are available from January 1994 to January 2001, and are given in the table.
Essex
| Hampshire
| Hertfordshire
| Kent
| Surrey
| Sussex
| Thames Valley
| England and Wales
| |
| January 1994 to March 19951 | 115 | 129 | 91 | 110 | 98 | 116 | 161 | 6,386 |
| April 1995 to March 1996 | 106 | 263 | 83 | 152 | 47 | 326 | 31 | 5,963 |
| April 1996 to March 1997 | 194 | 357 | 133 | 291 | 60 | 167 | 201 | 6,429 |
| April 1997 to March 1997 | 119 | 201 | 71 | 119 | 116 | 135 | 273 | 6,437 |
| April 1998 to March 1999 | 95 | 117 | 73 | 120 | 138 | 99 | 152 | 5,292 |
| April 1999 to March 2000 | 91 | 148 | 154 | 173 | 183 | 98 | 190 | 4,476 |
| April 2000 to January 2001 | 194 | 191 | 104 | 258 | 216 | 165 | 208 | 6,528 |
1Before April 1995 information was collated on a calendar year basis. The data cover the transitional 15 month period. | ||||||||
2The figures are as now provided in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin on Police Service Strength. Numbers are mainly new recruits, hut also include those who have previously been police constables in non-Home Office forces and any who may have previously left and subsequently rejoined the service. | ||||||||
Drug-Related Crime
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what new funding will be made available to tackle drug-related crime. [153893]
In addition to the £220 million announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Budget, new funding of £50 million will also be made available over the two years, 2002–03 to 2003–04, to accelerate the programme to extend drug testing within the criminal justice system. The initial pilot phase of the programme is due to start in the spring.Evidence of the effectiveness of these pilots will inform final decisions on where best to spend this new funding within the criminal justice system.
Agriculture, Fisheries And Food
Logos And Branding
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much has been spent by his Department on departmental and agency logos and associated branding since 1 May 1997. [152647]
The amount spent by my Department on logos or associated branding since 1 May 1997 is £25,773. Information relating to agencies is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Animal Disease (Planning)
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what arrangements his Department makes for conducting emergency planning exercises in relation to the possible outbreak of infectious diseases among animals; if such exercises (a) involve liaising with the (i) police and (ii) the armed forces; and are conducted periodically; by what grade of civil servant such exercises are authorised and supervised; if the type of the diseases concerned is specified to the suppliers in the case of materials to be used in connection with a real outbreak; if he will list the emergency planning exercises that have been conducted in the last two years; and if he will make a statement. [155927]
[holding answer 27 March 2001]: MAFF regularly holds emergency exercises which may involve liaison with the police, but not the armed forces. Such exercises are generally authorised and supervised by the Divisional Veterinary Manager or regionally, by a Veterinary Head of Service.
Animal Health Offices are required regularly to update their local contingency plans. This includes contacting potential suppliers of materials and services to be used in the event of an outbreak. The reason for any such inquiry should be explained fully. Detailed information on emergency exercises held over the last two years is not held centrally and can be collected only at disproportionate cost. However, between 1994 and 1999, MAFF carried out 84 separate exercises aimed at planning to control notifiable animal diseases.
Foot And Mouth
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when, and in what locations, (a) the epidemic strain of foot and mouth virus associated with the current outbreak and (b) its close relatives have been recorded in previous outbreaks. [155837]
[holding answer 27 March 2001]: The pandemic serotype O virus (now named the pan-Asian strain) was first isolated in northern India in 1990. Since then it has been found in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Iran, Iraq. Syria, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan and the Arabian peninsula, Nepal Bhutan, the People's Republic of China, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Korea, Japan and South Africa.
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in relation to the current foot and mouth epidemic, to what level of discrimination the specific epidemic strain of the Pan-Asia O virus has been identified; and what the strain classification is. [155850]
[holding answer 27 March 2001]: Analysis carried out by the Foot and Mouth Reference Laboratory in Pirbright has identified the strain responsible for the current outbreak as FMD virus serotype O. It was identified as the Pan-Asian using nucleotide sequence data obtained for the complete VPI gene. The same strain has been responsible for the outbreaks in different parts of Great Britain, and for those in the Netherlands and Northern Ireland.
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what average time it takes to answer callers to the foot and mouth helplines; and how many callers (a) were disconnected and (b) hung up before their call was answered. [156214]
[holding answer 30 March 2001]: During the period 22 February 2001 to 29 March 2001, 60,979 telephone calls to the foot and mouth disease helpline were answered successfully. The average call answer time was 35 seconds.
During the period 22 February 2001 to 25 March 2001, 2,140 calls were disconnected before entering the queue while 9,051 calls were abandoned while held in the queue.
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many vets from each EU member state he has employed since the start of the outbreak of foot and mouth. [156536]
[holding answer 2 April 2001]: This Department is receiving assistance from EU veterinarians, who receive travel and subsistence expenses from this Department but are employed by their respective Governments. We are also liaising with other member states and it is likely that veterinarians from these countries will soon join in the eradication of FMD. The following EU member states have already supplied vets.
| Member states | Number |
| ROI | 9 |
| Germany | 2 |
| Denmark | 3 |
| Holland | 2 |
| Finland | 3 |
| France | 6 |
| Temporary Veterinary Inspectors | Number |
| Holland | 3 |
| France | 1 |
| Greece | 1 |
| Portugal | 1 |
| Denmark | 1 |
| Austria | 1 |
| Italy | 2 |
| ROI | 3 |
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what support he will provide to farmers to manage lambing on split sites. [157393]
[holding answer 6 April 2001]: Farmers should, first of all, do everything possible to look after their sheep where they are. We have produced advice to help with the welfare issue. If this is not possible, the sheep may be moved under the available welfare movement schemes. Finally, when all other options have been explored, there is the Livestock Welfare (Disposal) Scheme.
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will take steps to speed up the process of slaughtering livestock under the animal welfare scheme for farmers in Lancashire. [157163]
[holding answer 6 April 2001]: The scheme has been slow to start due to the need to secure landfill disposal, as all bar one rendering plant is needed for what must be our top priority, the compulsory cull to control disease. We have arranged extra on-farm slaughters for acute welfare cases and will continue to do so, but cases must be prioritised. I can assure my hon. Friend that we are doing everything we can to speed the movement of livestock to slaughter through this scheme, under which we have now slaughtered over 19,500 animals.
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food from which organisations he has (a) sought and (b) received advice about animal welfare in respect of the options available to the Government for containing the outbreak of foot and mouth disease. [157224]
All the major welfare organisations, including the Farm Animal Welfare Council, have offered us advice on welfare aspects of the foot and mouth disease outbreak. I have also held a meeting, at my request, with representatives of the RSPCA, Compassion in World Farming and the Humane Slaughter Association.
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make arrangements for local veterinary inspectors' expenses arising from the welfare movement and welfare disposal schemes to be paid direct by his Department. [156921]
The expenses of LVIs undertaking inspections under the livestock welfare (disposal) scheme are met by the Department. The welfare movement schemes are supported by declarations given by the applicant's private veterinary surgeon.
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the consequential losses made by businesses in Gloucestershire due to (a) foot and mouth disease and (b) the cancelling of the Cheltenham Festival; and if he will make a statement. [154310]
[holding answer 19 March 2001]: The taskforce chaired by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment is considering the economic impact of foot and mouth disease generally, and the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions is collecting information from all parts of the country. We are aware that the cancellation of the Cheltenham Festival and other sporting events is having very serious consequences for many businesses. The measures announced by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment on 20 March are designed to alleviate these effects.
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what response he made to the letter from Mr. Lawrence of Ciel Logistics in May 2000 concerning the health risks associated with consignments of bush meat arriving at Heathrow from Africa. [155560]
[holding answer 26 March 2001]: None; the letter was passed to Her Majesty's Customs and Excise for reply. I replied on 28 March to a letter sent to me on 11 March 2001 by Mr. Lawrence.
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what discussions he has had with Commissioner Byrne and Commissioner Fischler on animal health, in particular the risk from imports from countries with infected animals; [156278](2) when he will reply to the question tabled by the hon. Member for Vale of York on 27 March relating to discussions with European Commissioners about animal health (ref: 156278). [157365]
[holding answers 2 April 2001 and 6 April 2001]: My right hon. Friend the Minister has spoken and written to both Commissioners Byrne and Fischler. In addition, the European Commission's Standing Veterinary Committee meets regularly to discuss all animal health matters, including the risk of importing disease from infected animals.
Social Security
Departmental Policies (Amber Valley)
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Amber Valley constituency, the effects on Amber Valley of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [157134]
The Department's policies and initiatives have made a significant contribution to the Government's overall objectives of: eradicating child poverty in 20 years, and halving it within 10; promoting work as the best form of welfare for people of working age while protecting the position of those in greatest need; and, combating poverty and promoting security and independence in retirement for today's and tomorrow's pensioners.These goals are being pursued nationwide and our achievements are set out in our annual "Opportunity for all" reports. Our second report, "Opportunity for all—One year on: making a difference" (CM4865, September 2000) sets out what progress has been made in the past year, as well as highlighting what more needs to be done. Nationwide statistical information is necessarily more complete than data at a local authority level, but the following provides a comparative guide to the effect of the Department's policies and actions in Amber Valley since May 1997.Measures in our five Budgets so far will lift over 1.2 million children nationally out of poverty. These include record increases to Child Benefit, the introduction of the Working Families Tax Credit, increases in the income-related benefits, the minimum wage and tax changes.Child Benefit will be worth £15.50 a week for the eldest child and £10.35 a week for other children from April 2001: nationally about 7 million families receive Child Benefit, and in Amber Valley 11,193 families benefit.We now have the lowest unemployment rate in 25 years. The New Deals have helped lone parents, the young unemployed, the long-term unemployed, the over-50s and partners of the unemployed to move from benefit into work. In the period since May 1997 the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance nationally has reduced from 1,562,400 to 960,600; in Amber Valley the number has reduced from 1,900 to 1,600. Since May 1997 the number of lone parents who claim Income Support has decreased from 1,013,500 to 894,100 nationally; in Amber Valley the number has increased from 900 to 1,000.
Older people are disproportionately affected by fuel poverty. So we have introduced Winter Fuel Payments to help with their heaviest fuel bill. This winter, the payment is £200 for households who qualify. Around 18,600 older people in Amber Valley have received a Winter Fuel Payment for this winter (2000–01).
To demonstrate our commitment to combating pensioner poverty, this year we will spend £4.5 billion extra in real terms on pensioners. Some 17,100 pensioners in Amber Valley will benefit from the substantial increases in the basic state pension this April and next; this year's increase is £5 a week for single pensioners and £8 for couples. In addition we have introduced free TV licences for the over-75s of whom we estimate there are about 7,600 in Amber Valley. 2,500 pensioner families in Amber Valley are receiving the Minimum Income Guarantee, which we introduced in April 1999 to help our poorest pensioners. From April they will be at least £15 a week, or £800 a year, better off in real terms as a result of Government measures since 1997.
Other reforms in the pipeline include: the new Pension Credit in 2003 designed to ensure that pensioners benefit from their savings; the launch of Stakeholder Pensions in April this year; and the introduction of the State Second Pension in April 2002 both of which will help provide greater security for tomorrow's pensioners.
Departmental Policies (Eccles)
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will set out, including statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Eccles constituency, the effects on Eccles of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [157289]
The Department's policies and initiatives have made a significant contribution to the Government's overall objectives of: eradicating child poverty in 20 years, and halving it within 10; promoting work as the best form of welfare for people of working age while protecting the position of those it greatest need; and combating poverty and promoting security and independence in retirement for today's and tomorrow's pensioners.These goals are being pursued nationwide and our achievements are set out in our annual "Opportunity for all" reports. Our second report, "Opportunity for all—One year on: making a difference" (CM4865, September 2000), sets out what progress has been made in the past year, as well as highlighting what more needs to be done. Nationwide statistical information is necessarily more complete than data at a local authority level, but the following provides a comparative guide to the effect of the Department's policies and actions in Eccles since May 1997.Measures in our five Budgets so far will lift over 1.2 million children nationally out of poverty. These include record increases to Child Benefit, the introduction of the Working Families Tax Credit, increases in the income-related be refits, the minimum wage and tax changes.
Child Benefit will be worth £15.50 a week for the eldest child and £10.35 a week for other children from April 2001: nationally about 7 million families receive Child Benefit, and in Eccles 11,761 families benefit.
We now have the lowest unemployment rate in 25 years. The New Deals have helped lone parents, the young unemployed, the long-term unemployed, the over 50s and partners of the unemployed to move from benefit into work. In the period since May 1997 the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance nationally has reduced from 1,562,400 to 960,600; in Eccles the number has reduced from 2,200 to 1,300. Since May 1997 the number of lone parents who claim Income Support has decreased from 1,013,500 to 894,100 nationally and in Eccles from 2,400 to 2,100.
Older people are disproportionately affected by fuel poverty. So we have introduced Winter Fuel Payments to help with their heaviest fuel bill. This winter, the payment is £200 for households who qualify. A round 18,400 older people in Eccles have received a Winter Fuel Payment for this winter (2000–01).
To demonstrate our commitment to combating pensioner poverty, this year we will spend £4.5 billion extra in real terms on pensioners. Some 17.500 pensioners in Eccles will benefit from the substantial increases in the basic state pension this April and next; this year's increase is £5 a week for single pensioners and £8 for couples. In addition we have introduced free TV licences for the over 75s of whom we estimate there are about 7,500 in Eccles. 3,900 pensioner families in Eccles are receiving the Minimum Income Guarantee, which we introduced in April 1999 to help our poorest pensioners. From April they will be at least £15 a week, or £800 a year, better off in real terms as a result of Government measures since 1997.
Other reforms in the pipeline include: the new Pension Credit in 2003 designed to ensure that pensioners benefit from their savings; the launch of Stakeholder Pensions in April this year; and the introduction of the State Second Pension in April 2002 both of which will help provide greater security for tomorrow's pensioners.
Council Tax Benefit
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what savings have been made from the council tax benefit restriction scheme in each year of its operation. [155590]
I refer my hon. Friend to my written answer on 23 November 2000, Official Report, column 320W.
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many and what percentage of residents in (a) band F, (b) band G and (c) band H are restricted to Council Tax Benefit at band E in (i) England, (ii) London and (iii) inner London. [155591]
The available information is in the table. Percentages are not provided as there are no data available to determine them. Data are not available for Inner London.
Council Tax Benefit cases restricted to band E by band in England and London—May 1999
| ||
England
| Greater London
| |
| Total of bands F, G and H | 18,000 | 7,000 |
Band
| ||
| F | 13,000 | 5,000 |
| G | 4,000 | 2,000 |
| H | 1— | 1— |
1Data nil or negligible | ||
Notes:
1. The data refer to households, which may be a family, a single person or a couple.
2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand.
3. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
Source:
Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System, Annual 1 per cent. sample, taken in May 1999.
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what the (a) total annual cost and (b) average annual cost borne by restricted households claiming Council Tax Benefit was in (i) England, (ii) London and (iii) inner London for (1) all bands, (2) band F, (3) band G and (4) band H. [155589]
The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the tables.
| Total annual cost for Council Tax—May 1999 | ||
| £ | ||
| Band | England | London |
| F | 528,000 | 358,000 |
| G | 287,000 | 74,000 |
| H | 36,000 | 1— |
| Total | 851,000 | 432,000 |
| Average annual cost borne by household by Council Tax band—May 1999 | ||
| £ | ||
| Band | England | London |
| F | 153.20 | 157.70 |
| G | 315.00 | 218.10 |
| H | 294.70 | 1— |
| Average | 190.00 | 165.50 |
| 1Insufficient data for statistically reliable estimates. | ||
Notes:
1. The data refer to households, which may be a family, a single person or a couple.
2. Total costs are rounded to the nearest thousand pounds. Average costs are rounded to the nearest ten pence.
3. The data exclude any cases where there is Transitional Protection in place, i.e. the Council Tax and Council Tax Benefit is not restricted to band E. Data are not available for Inner London.
Source:
Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System. Annual 1 per cent. sample, taken in May 1999.
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many Council Tax Benefit claims are restricted to band E in (a) England, (h) London and (c) Inner London broken down by (i) all property types, (ii) owner occupied properties, (iii) privately rented properties, (iv) properties rented from registered social landlords and (v) properties rented from local authorities. [155592]
The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is as follows.
| Council Tax Benefit recipients subject to council tax band restrictions split by tenure type—May 1999 | ||
| England | London | |
| All Properties | 18,000 | 7,000 |
| Owner-occupied properties | 8,000 | 2,000 |
| Privately rented properties | 8,000 | 3,000 |
| Registered Social Landlords/Housing Association properties | 1,000 | 1,000 |
| Local authority properties | 1,000 | 1,000 |
Notes:
1. The data refer to households, which may be a family, a single person or a couple
2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand
3. Data are not available for Inner London
Source:
Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System, Annual 1 per cent. sample, taken in May 1999
Departmental Expenditure (Scotland)
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what has been the annual expenditure on office equipment for his Department in Scotland in the (a) 1998–99, (b) 1999–2000 and (c) 2000–01 financial years; and what the planned expenditure for 2001–02 is; [155090](2) what has been the annual expenditure on
(a) fixtures and fittings and (b) general office expenses for his Department in Scotland for the (i) 1998–99, (ii) 1999–20(X) and (iii) 2000–01 financial years; and what the planned expenditure for 2001–02 is. [155092]
[holding answer 23 March 2001]: The information on expenditure by the Department on office equipment, fixtures and fittings and general office expenses in Scotland is not collected centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been the annual expenditure of his Department in Scotland on (a) buildings and (b) insurance of buildings and staff in the (i) 1998–99, (ii) 1999–2000 and (iii) 2000–01 financial years and what the planned expenditure for 2001–02 is. [155091]
[holding answer 23 March 2001]: The information is in the table. It covers only those activities of the Department located in Scotland. Many services provided by the Department to residents in Scotland are located elsewhere.
| Expenditure by the Department on buildings in Scotland | |||||||||
| £ | |||||||||
| Facilities price1 | Utilities2 | Rates | Total | ||||||
| 1998–99 | 23,039,436 | 1,638,672 | 4,173,952 | 28,852,060 | |||||
| 1999–2000 | 22,380,266 | 1,070,952 | 4,279,356 | 27,730,574 | |||||
| 2000–01 | 23,182,510 | 1,523.097 | 4,714,471 | 29,420,078 | |||||
| 2001–023 | 23,946,790 | 1,527,494 | 4,635,386 | 30,109,670 | |||||
| 1The Facilities Price is a single unitary charge, that varies for each building, and which is payable to Trillium, the PRIME contractor for the provision of serviced office accommodation. Services included in the Facilities Price are: | |||||||||
| Building Management and Maintenance (inc. Customer Service Centre) | |||||||||
| Equipment Maintenance | |||||||||
| Energy and Utilities Management | |||||||||
| External and Internal Cleaning | |||||||||
| Landscape Maintenance | |||||||||
| Security (inc. facilities and equipment) | |||||||||
| Catering (inc. facilities and equipment) | |||||||||
| Porterage | Waste Management | ||||||||
| 2Utilities include Standing charges for Gas, Electricity and Fossil Fuels. Actual charges for water and sewerage. | |||||||||
| 3Forecast | |||||||||
Official Report, column 265W.
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been the annual expenditure on vehicles for his Department in Scotland in the (a) 1998–99, (b) 1999–2000 and (c) 2000–01 financial years; and what the planned expenditure for 2001–02 is. [155089]
[holding answer 23 March 2001]: The information is not available in the format requested.
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been the annual expenditure on training and development for his Department in Scotland for the (a) 1999–2000 and (b) 2000–01 financial years; and what the planned expenditure for 2001–02 is. [155088]
[holding answer 23 March 2001]: The annual expenditure on training and development for the Department in Scotland for 1999–2000 was £6,719,482; for 2000–01 was £5,676,701; planned expenditure for 2001–02 will be known mid-April 2001. This expenditure supports the Department's work not only in Scotland but also elsewhere in the UK. Similarly, training undertaken elsewhere in the UK benefits the Department's work in Scotland.
Benefits Statistics
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much has been paid in (a) state retirement benefits to pensioners and (b) in Child Benefit to parents residing in each parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom in each of the past five years. [157395]
[holding answer 6 April 2001]: Information on annual benefit spending by parliamentary constituency is not available. For 1999–2000 and 2000–01, information is available from a point-in-time scan of administrative data which show numbers of recipients and average amounts of Retirement Pension received by constituency. Similarly, information on numbers of first and subsequent children in each constituency is available for 1999–2000 and 2000–01 from a point-in-time scan. This information has been placed in the Library.As the information is for a certain point-in-time in each year, any calculation based on the numbers and average amounts would not correspond to the actual annual expenditure in the t constituency. Nor would a total so derived match the total spending on the benefits shown in the accounts.
Foot And Mouth (Benefits)
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many additional benefit claims are expected as a result of the effects of foot and mouth disease, broken down into (a) Jobseeker's Allowance, (b) Housing Benefit, (c) Council Tax Benefit and (d) other benefits; and what extra support is being offered to the Benefits Agency and local authorities to ensure that these claims are processed quickly. [157078]
It is not possible to estimate with any degree of accuracy the number of claims to benefit that will result from the outbreak of foot and mouth disease.Details of the robust measures being taken to ensure that claims to benefit from people affected by the outbreak of foot and mouth disease are dealt with quickly and sensitively were set out by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State in his reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster, Central (Ms Winterton) on 30 March 2001,
Official Report, column 794W.
Housing Benefit
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessment he ha made of the effect of the repeal of Regulation 100 under the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 20110 on the ability of local authorities to seek recovery if overpayment of Housing Benefit. [156339]
Regulation 100 of the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations was revoked to simplify the procedure for local authorities to recover Housing Benefit overpayments. The regulation duplicated the primary power set out in section 75(1) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 and had caused some administrative confusion.The revocation did not alter the powers of local authorities to seek recovery of a Housing Benefit overpayment once it had been decided that the overpayment was recoverable.
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what the procedure is for appealing against the decision of a rent officer regarding the amount of Housing Benefit to be paid to an individual. [156340]
Rent Officers do not decide the amount of Housing Benefit payable to a person. The amount of Housing Benefit to be paid is determined by the relevant local authority after they have considered the claim under the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations. If a person disagrees with their award they may appeal against this decision.Where the Housing Benefit award against which an appeal is made is based on the level of rent set by a Rent Officer, or if the local authority believes the Rent Officer's decision may be erroneous, the local authority has the power to arrange for the Rent Service to revisit the decision. This action is carried out by a Rent Officer other than the one who made the original decision, and normally one from a different rent registration area.
Single Room Rent
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 23 March 2001, Official Report, column 370W on single room rent, what representations he has received concerning the impact of the single room rent in Brighton and Hove; what assessment he has undertaken of the likely impact of the proposed new young person's rent regulations in Brighton and Hove; and what consideration was given in drafting the proposed new young person's rent regulations to the submission sent to him by the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavillion on behalf of various agencies in Brighton and Hove. [156647]
I am aware of my hon. Friend's representations on behalf of Brighton and Hove to the effect that the current rules were too restrictive and that they should be eased. We gave full consideration to these representations as we did to others. The new rules from July this year are therefore designed to reflect better what the market generally has to offer on a national basis. Moreover, local authorities will have the discretion to provide additional support in individual cases under the new arrangements for Discretionary Housing Payments, which will also apply from July. We are considering how best to monitor their operation.Our objectives for the single room rent are to ensure that young people have access to accommodation so that they can concentrate on finding work, balanced against our aim of making sure that the benefit system does not provide out of work young adults with better housing than their working peers could afford. We made these objectives clear, including the option of broadening the definition of the single room rent, in our Housing Green Paper "Quality and Choice: A decent home for all" on which we consulted widely.
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 23 March 2001, Official Report, column 370W, how many organisations commented in response to the proposals in the Government's Housing Green Paper, "Quality and Choice: A decent home for all", on the single room rent; how many of these responses (a) supported abolition, (b) favoured abolition in preference to a broadening of the definition, (c) supported broadening the definition and (d) supported no change to the current definition; and if he will place these responses in the Library. [156714]
Two hundred and five respondents commented on the proposals to broaden the single room rent (SRR) set out in the Housing Green Paper. Information on the views of the respondents is not available in the format requested. However, a detailed analysis of all responses to the Housing Green Paper proposals was carried out by independent consultants. This analysis is available on the Internet at www.housing.detr.gov.uk/information/consult/responses/analysis/index.htm and a copy has been placed in the Library.
Winter Fuel Payments
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what representations he has received concerning the late payment of back-dated winter fuel allowance. [156342]
There have been a number of representations from hon. Members and the public. Statistics on these representations are not available.Our intention has always been to make payments for past winters as soon as practically possible. The first payments were issued in the week commencing 19 June last year, just two months after the claims process was up and running.
Claims for past winters are not subject to any time limits. As it is up to the individual to choose whether and when to claim, we are still receiving and processing new claims.
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the cost of the advertising campaign to inform men aged 60–64 of their eligibility for backdated Winter Fuel Payments. [157051]
The information is not available in the format requested. The total cost of the overall communication campaign for Winter Fuel Payments which ran from April 2000 was £1.1 million. The campaign, which featured national and regional press advertising, information leaflets and posters in outlets such as post offices, supermarkets and libraries, included messages for those seeking retrospective Winter Fuel Payments alongside information for people who get their payments automatically and for those who have to claim.
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to continue with the advertising campaign informing men aged 60–64 of their eligibility for backdated Winter Fuel Payments. [157052]
The communications strategy for delivery of Winter Fuel Payments for 2001 is currently being developed.
Home Visits (Benefit Claims)
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what information he collects on the number of home visits made by local authority employees in connection with social security claims. [156532]
[holding answer 2 April 2001]: Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit statistical returns collected by the Department include information about the number of home visits successfully made by local authority benefit fraud officers.
Minimum Income Guarantee
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many pensioners he expects to be eligible for the Minimum Income Guarantee following the introduction of the new capital limits; and what plans he has to contact them. [156978]
In March, some 102,000 pensioners were written to with information on the Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) and invited to make a claim. These consisted of pensioners who were part of the original take-up campaign but were not entitled due to excess income or capital and those pensioners who had been excluded from the original mailings because they held capital over £8,000. Some 140,000 pensioners will newly benefit as a result of this month's increase to the MIG rates and capital limits.
Fraud
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much he expects to pay to organisations who have provided information under the terms of the Social Security Fraud Bill in the first year after the Bill is enacted. [157083]
The costs to the Department of using the powers to obtain information are detailed in paragraphs 20 to 23 of the Regulatory Impact Assessment of the Fraud Bill. The exact amount paid to the information providers will depend upon detailed negotiations after the Bill has received Royal Assent.
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many telephone calls have been made to the National Benefit Fraud Hotline in each month since May 1997. [157075]
The information is in the table.
| Number of calls received by the National Benefit Fraud Hotline [NBFH] | |
| Month | Number |
| June 1997 | 16,272 |
| July 1997 | 18,808 |
| August 1997 | 14,755 |
| September 1997 | 16,236 |
| October 1997 | 13,202 |
| November 1997 | 11,770 |
| December 1997 | 10,829 |
| January 1998 | 17,206 |
| February 1998 | 15,780 |
| March 1998 | 15,345 |
| April 1998 | 19,007 |
| May 1998 | 13,149 |
| June 1998 | 13,692 |
| July 1998 | 15,512 |
| August 1998 | 11,104 |
| September 1998 | 13,694 |
| October 1998 | 12,805 |
| November 1998 | 14,285 |
| December 1998 | 12,160 |
| January 1999 | 13,925 |
| February 1999 | 13,798 |
| March 1999 | 16,901 |
| April 1999 | 11,996 |
| May 1999 | 11,303 |
| June 1999 | 13,415 |
| July 1999 | 10,491 |
| August 1999 | 10,336 |
| September 1999 | 12,971 |
| October 1999 | 9,291 |
| November 1999 | 14,683 |
| December 1999 | 10,906 |
| January 2000 | 14,272 |
| February 2000 | 19,285 |
| March 2000 | 23,118 |
| April 2000 | 12,815 |
| May 2000 | 21,674 |
| June 2000 | 18,212 |
| July 2000 | 17,440 |
| August 2000 | 20,289 |
| September 2000 | 15,851 |
| October 2000 | 13,980 |
| November 2000 | 15,243 |
| December 2000 | 9,073 |
| January 2001 | 17,340 |
| February 2001 | 18,191 |
| March 2001 | 28,093 |
Community Service Orders
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many benefit claimants have been subjected to sanctions under the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000 for failing to comply with community service orders. [157082]
None. These measures will be commenced on 15 October 200 Initially they will be piloted in four areas from that date.
Pensions Advertising Campaign
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 26 March 2001 to my hon. Friend the Member for Beckenham (Mrs. Lait), Official Report, column 481W, on the pensions advertising campaign, what subjects apart from pension education were included in the brief given to the agency responsible for the current advertising campaign. [157084]
The pensions education marketing brief covered all aspects of the future pens ion policy.
Personal Pension
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many new personal pension schemes were first made available; and how many personal pension products ceased to be open to new members for each year between 1988 and 2000. [157072]
The information is in the table.
| Number of personal pension schemes newly registered in each year between 1988 and 2000 | ||
| year | Number of schemes newly registered | Number of frozen or closed schemes |
| 1988 | 197 | n/a |
| 1989 | 47 | n/a |
| 1990 | 30 | n/a |
| 1991 | 37 | n/a |
| 1992 | 16 | n/a |
| 1993 | 6 | n/a |
| 1994 | 2 | n/a |
| 1995 | 9 | n/a |
| 1996 | 18 | n/a |
| 1997 | 16 | 33 |
| 1998 | 22 | 1 |
| 1999 | 14 | 4 |
| 2000 | 13 | 0 |
| Total | 427 | 38 |
Notes:
1. The information in the table is on schemes that are required to pay the Pension Schemes Registry levy.
2. Information on frozen and closed schemes was only required to be reported from 1997. "Frozen schemes" are schemes which admit no new members and do not permit existing members to make new contributions. "Closed schemes" are schemes that admit no new members but allow existing members to continue to contribute.
3. In addition there are 83 schemes that are no longer required to pay the Registry levy. These include schemes that have merged or wound up.
Source:
Pension Schemes Registry.
Stakeholder Pensions
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what the Government's estimate is of the fines likely to be imposed on employers who fail to offer access to a stakeholder pension; and what leeway will be offered to employers in the first year of the scheme. [157071]
The Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority (Opra) will have the power to impose fines, under the Pensions Act 1995, on an organisation for failure to provide employer access to a stakeholder pension. The level of any fine will depend upon the circumstances surrounding a breach, including how the employer has responded on being contacted about the breach.
Departmental Advertising
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security on what basis he calculated the figures for the costs of his Department's advertising campaigns in (a) his answer of 7 March 2001, Official Report, column 233W, (b) his answer of 19 March 2001, Official Report, column 75W and (c) the most recent departmental annual report. [157106]
The figures given in my answer on 19 March 2001, Official Report, column 75W, were for all estimated advertising related expenditure for current campaigns. These cover advertising and other marketing activity eg. leaflets, research, direct mail, etc.Figures given in my answer on 7 March 2001,
Official Report, column 233W, were estimated for spend solely on advertising to be consistent with figures given for previous years as requested in the question.
Lone Parents
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many lone parents, under the New Deal for Lone Parents, have (a) been issued with an initial invitation letter (b) requested information on the scheme, (c) booked initial interviews with personal advisers, (d) attended initial interviews, (e) agreed to participate in the programme, (f) been referred to Employment Service programmes or other training, (g) obtained jobs following participation and (h) increased hours of work following participation. [157076]
We are giving lone parents more choices and more help than ever before to move off welfare and into work.The latest information available about the New Deal for Lone Parents (NDLP) is in the table.
| Prototype phases 1 and 21 | National programme2 | |
| Initial invitation letters issued | 50,612 | 761,290 |
| Lone parents requesting information | —3 | —3 |
| Initial interviews booked | 30,826 | 4254,853 |
| Initial interviews attended | 23,300 | 212,490 |
| Number agreeing to participate | 20,191 | 188,500 |
| Number entering education/training | 2,944 | 20,450 |
| Jobs obtained (Number of these obtained by | 6,271 | 77,140 |
| part-time workers increasing their hours) | (842) | (2,470) |
| 1July 1997 to October 1998 | ||
| 2October 1998 to January 2001 | ||
| 3As lone parents may request further information about NDLP in a number of different ways it would be impossible to quantify this figure. | ||
| 4The number of initial interviews booked is taken from internal management information and so has not been validated in the same way as other figures for the National Programme | ||
Benefits Agency (Performance Targets)
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what performance targets he has set the Benefits Agency for 2001–02; and if he will make a statement. [158057]
The Benefits Agency in 2001–02 is continuing to improve performance on the ground while gearing up for the introduction of "Jobcentre Plus" and "The Pension Service".Further information, including performance targets is set out in the Benefits Agency's Business Plan for 2001–02, which has been published today. Copies have been placed in the Library.
President Of The Council
High Sheriffs
To ask the President of the Council how many high sheriffs appointed since 1990 were members of political parties, broken down by party. [157717]
This information is not collected. Sheriffs are, however, asked to refrain from party political activity during their year of office.