Written Answers
Boards Of Visitors (Clerks)
asked Her Majesty's Government:What decisions have been taken on the main recommendations of the report of the Working Party on Clerks to Boards of Visitors of Prison Department Establishments.
The working party's central recommendation was that, subject to certain transitional arrangements, the servicing of boards of visitors should become an integral part of the official work of their establishments instead of being undertaken on a fee payment basis by volunteers, most of whom are already members of the staff of those establishments.My right honourable friend shares the working party's view that it should be possible to provide a better and more consistent service for the valuable work done by boards of visitors if such servicing became part of official duties and that this will not detract from the independence of boards. Accordingly, and following consultation with boards and with staff, my right honourable friend has decided that the "official duty" system recommended by the working party should be adopted at each establishment as and when appointment of the present clerk comes to an end. He also accepts the working party's recommendation that where exceptionally a board of visitors wishes to recruit and appoint a clerk from outside the Prison Service it should retain the right to do so. My right honourable friend is sympathetic to the working party's recommendations for an expansion of training for clerks to boards, and will take decisions on those recommendations in the context of the general review of Prison Department training recommended by the May Committee which will shortly commence. I have placed a copy of the working party's report in the Library.
National Pensioners' Convention Demands
asked Her Majesty's Government:What reply has been given in each case to the demands of the National Pensioners' Convention, including the following:
The Government are determined to do the best they can for pensioners, within the limits of what the country can afford. As to the detailed points mentioned—
Diseases Of Animals: Legislation Amendment
asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they can now add to the Answer to PQ 9593 relating to the implications of the judgment of the House of Lords in the case of
Air India v. Wiggins ( Times Law Reports of 4th July 1980).
Consideration is now being given to the inclusion of the necessary amendment of the Diseases of Animals Acts in future legislation.
Legal Status Of Migrant Workers: Convention
asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they intend to ratify the European Convention on the Legal Status of Migrant Workers and, if not, what their reasons are for not doing so.
The Government do not intend to ratify this convention. The United Kingdom's migrants have traditionally come from outside Europe and tended to settle rather than come for short or seasonal stays. Consequently our policies, laws and practices in these matters differ from those of other European states. The convention does not take account of this country's special circumstances. The Government's position is well understood by other member states of the Council of Europe. Only two have ratified the convention.
Eton College: Charity Status
asked Her Majesty's Government:(1) Whether they will request the Charity Commissioners to reconsider the charity status of Eton College; (2) to state the amount the College saves per annum in subsidies on butter under the EEC scheme; and (3) to state whether the College still receives a subsidy on rates, and, if so, how much per annum, and, if not, when this subsidy ended and how much it was per annum.
1. The Government have no wish to question the charitable status of Eton College, but it is in any case an exempt charity and not subject to the jurisdiction of the Charity Commissioners.2. I cannot give a figure for the annual saving to the College from their participation in the EEC scheme for the sale of butter to non-profit making organisations. They will be paying roughly half the retail price, which is currently about 40p a 250 gramme-pack.3. As a charity Eton College is entitled to receive 50 per cent. relief from rates and may be given more at the discretion of the rating authority. The amounts in question are matters for the rating authority and are not notified to the Government,.
Equal Opportunities Commission: Code Of Practice
asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their response to the code of practice submitted by the Equal Opportunities Commission with the object of eradicating sex discrimination in employment, and whether they will publish their decisions on each of the many proposals made.
This draft code of practice has been published by the Equal Opportunities Commission in the form of a general consultative document. Copies have been circulated extensively to employers, trade unions and other organisations and it is open to all interested parties to submit observations. Section 56A of the Sex Discrimination Act provides that after considering any representations made to it, the commission may modify the draft code accordingly and formally submit it to my right honourable friend the Secretary of State, for his consideration. If he approves of it, he must lay it before both Houses of Parliament. If he does not approve of it, he must publish details of his reasons for withholding approval. No formal response or decision by the Government is therefore required at this stage.
| NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES | ||||||||||
| TABLE 1(a)—Current Grants | ||||||||||
| £ million Current (outturn) prices | ||||||||||
| 1970–71 | 1971–72 | 1972–73 | 1973–74 | 1974–75 | 1975–76 | 1976–77 | 1977–78 | 1978–79 | 1979–80 | |
| National Coal Board | 10·8 | 110·1 | 10·3 | 139·3 | 212·0 | 111·5 | 55·4 | 74·4 | 170·0 | 243·5 |
| Electricity (England and Wales) | 0·7 | 0·8 | 19·9 | 98·0 | 180·7 | 310·6 | 22·3 | 7·8 | 5·3 | 5·5 |
| Electricity (Scotland) | — | — | — | 11·3 | 14·4 | 23·0 | 57·0 | 13·2 | 6·6 | 10·9 |
| British Gas Corporation | 0·6 | — | — | 33·8 | 41·5 | 23·7 | 5·4 | — | — | — |
| British National Oil Corporation | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| British Steel Corporation | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Post Office | — | — | — | 9·7 | 123·6 | 322·0 | —5·8 | — | — | — |
| British Airways Board | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British Airports Authority | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British Railways Board | 73·5 | 74·2 | 153·6 | 187·3 | 458·2 | 491·1 | 450·7 | 476·9 | 495·0 | 654·7 |
| London Transport Board | 1·8 | |||||||||
| British Transport Docks Board | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British Waterways Board | 1·8 | 2·9 | 3·1 | 3·8 | 5·7 | 8·6 | 10·3 | 13·1 | 18·1 | 21·0 |
| National Freight Corporation | 12·4 | 8·0 | 3·7 | 1·6 | — | 8·0 | 30·0 | 30·6 | 7·6 | 6·3 |
| National Bus Company | — | 0·2 | 7·3 | 0·3 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Scottish Transport Group | 0·6 | 0·8 | 1·2 | 1·4 | 1·6 | 4·1 | 3·5 | 3·6 | 3·7 | 3·7 |
| British Aerospace | — | — | — | |||||||
| British Shipbuilders | 27·2 | 10·6 | 31·2 | |||||||
| *Including compensation for price restraint paid under the Statutory Corporations (Financial Provisions) Acts 1974 and 1975 to the Electricity and Gas industries and the Post Office. Amounts are shown in all cases against the year in which payment was made, although some payments relate to earlier years. | ||||||||||
Nationalised Industries And Trade Union Investments
asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether there are any statutory provisions governing the nationalised industries which would prevent trades unions from investing their superannuation funds in these industries while exchanging executives on each of their controlling bodies.
The present structure of nationalised industry financing would not in general permit investment of the kind the noble Lord has in mind but certain limited permissive powers have been added to the British Telecoms Bill.Appointments to the board of nationalised industries are the responsibility of the appropriate Minister. The Government see no reason why this position should be changed.
asked Her Majesty's Government:What has been the total cost for each year since 1970 of current subsidies, capital grants, writing off of capital and issues of public dividend capital for each nationalised industry; all figures to be expressed in 1979 survey prices and current prices.
Following is the information:
NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES
| ||||||||||
TABLE 1(b)—Current Grants*
| ||||||||||
| £ million 1979 survey prices | ||||||||||
| 1970–71 | 1971–72 | 1972–73 | 1973–74 | 1974–75 | 1975–76 | 1976–77 | 1977–78 | 1978–79 | 1979–80 | |
| National Coal Board | 30 | 285 | 25 | 303 | 395 | 158 | 69 | 83 | 170 | 209 |
| Electricity (England and Wales) | 2 | 2 | 48 | 213 | 336 | 458 | 30 | 9 | 5 | 5 |
| Electricity (Scotland) | — | — | — | 24 | 26 | 34 | 72 | 15 | 7 | 9 |
| British Gas Corporation | 2 | — | — | 73 | 76 | 35 | 7 | — | — | — |
| British National Oil Corporation | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| British Steel Corporation | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Post Office | — | — | — | 22 | 231 | 477 | —7 | — | — | — |
| British Airways Board | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British Airports Authority | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British Railways Board | 205 | 189 | 363 | 404 | 842 | 714 | 580 | 541 | 495 | 577 |
| London Transport Board | 5 | |||||||||
| British Transport Docks Board | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British Waterways Board | 5 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 18 |
| National Freight Corporation | 34 | 20 | 9 | 3 | — | 11 | 38 | 34 | 8 | 5 |
| National Bus Company | — | 1 | 17 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Scottish Transport Group | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| British Aerospace | — | — | — | |||||||
| British Shipbuilders | 30 | 11 | 27 | |||||||
*Including compensation for price restraint paid under the Statutory Corporation (Financial Provisions) Acts 1974 and 1975 to the Electricity and Gas industries and the Post Office. Amounts are shown in all cases against the year in which payment was made, although some payments relate to earlier years. | ||||||||||
NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES
| ||||||||||
TABLE 2(a)—Capital Grants
| ||||||||||
| £ million Current (outturn) prices | ||||||||||
| 1970–71 | 1971–72 | 1972–73 | 1973–74 | 1974–75 | 1975–76 | 1976–77 | 1977–78 | 1978–79 | 1979–80 | |
| National Coal Board | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Electricity (England and Wales) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Electricity (Scotland) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British Gas Corporation | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British National Oil Corporation | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| British Steel Corporation | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Post Office | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British Airways Board | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British Airports Authority | — | — | — | 0·6 | 3·6 | 4·8 | 9·0 | 4·6 | 0·7 | 0·4 |
| British Railways Board | 1·0 | 1·2 | 11·1 | 17·0 | 22·4 | 8·0 | 8·8 | 4·3 | 1·6 | 1·0 |
| British Transport Docks Board | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British Waterways Board | 1·2 | 0·7 | 1·2 | 1·3 | 1·3 | 1·5 | 1·7 | 2·1 | 1·8 | 1·6 |
| National Freight Corporation | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6·0 | 5·0 |
| National Bus Company | 1·9 | 3·8 | 5·7 | 6·1 | 8·0 | 11·9 | 14·1 | 19·0 | 19·4 | 23·0 |
| Scottish Transport Group | 0·3 | 0·5 | 1·1 | 1·2 | 1·6 | 2·5 | 3·1 | 3·4 | 5·4 | 6·1 |
| British Aerospace | — | 50·0* | — | |||||||
| British Shipbuilders | 0·3 | 0·3 | 0·1 | |||||||
*Provided as a grant to BAe, but converted to public dividend capital in 1979–80. | ||||||||||
NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES
| ||||||||||
TABLE 2(b)—Capital Grants
| ||||||||||
| £ million 1979 survey prices | ||||||||||
| 1970–71 | 1971–72 | 1972–73 | 1973–74 | 1974–75 | 1975–76 | 1976–77 | 1977–78 | 1978–79 | 1979–80 | |
| National Coal Board | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Electricity (England and Wales) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Electricity (Scotland) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British Gas Corporation | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British National Oil Corporation | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| British Steel Corporation | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Post Office | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British Airways Board | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British Airports Authority | — | — | — | 1 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 5 | 1 | — |
| British Railways Board | 3 | 3 | 26 | 36 | 41 | 12 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| British Transport Docks | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British Waterways Board | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| National Freight Corporation | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 4 |
| National Bus Company | 5 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 21 | 19 | 20 |
| Scottish Transport Group | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| British Aerospace | — | 50* | — | |||||||
| British Shipbuilders | — | — | — | |||||||
*Provided as a grant to BAe, but converted to public dividend capital in 1979–80. | ||||||||||
NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES
| ||||||||||
TABLE 3(a)—Capital Write-offs
| ||||||||||
| £ million Current (outturn) Prices | ||||||||||
| 1970–71 | 1971–72 | 1972–73 | 1973–74 | 1974–75 | 1975–76 | 1976–77 | 1977–78 | 1978–79 | 1979–80 | |
| National Coal Board | — | — | 449·6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Electricity (England and Wales) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Electricity (Scotland) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British Gas Corporation | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British National Oil Corporation | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| British Steel Corporation | — | — | 350·0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Post Office | — | — | 130·6 | 46·8 | — | 29·7 | — | — | — | — |
| British Airways Board | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British Airports Authority | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British Railways Board | — | — | — | — | 188·7 | — | — | — | — | — |
| British Transport Docks Board | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British Waterways Board | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| National Freight Corporation | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 53·1 | — |
| National Bus Company | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Scottish Transport Group | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British Aerospace | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| British Shipbuilders | — | — | — | — | ||||||
NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES
| ||||||||||
TABLE 3(b)—Capital Write-offs
| ||||||||||
| £ million 1979 survey prices | ||||||||||
| 1970–71 | 1971–72 | 1972–73 | 1973–74 | 1974–75 | 1975–76 | 1976–77 | 1977–78 | 1978–79 | 1979–80 | |
| National Coal Board | — | — | 1,056 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Electricity (England and Wales) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Electricity (Scotland) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British Gas Corporation | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British National Oil Corporation | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| British Steel Corporation | — | — | 822 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Post Office | — | — | 308 | 100 | — | 44 | — | — | — | — |
| British Airways Board | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British Airports Authority | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British Railways Board | — | — | — | — | 350 | — | — | — | — | — |
| British Transport Docks Board | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British Waterways Board | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| National Freight Corporation | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 53 | — |
| National Bus Company | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Scottish Transport Group | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British Aerospace | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| British Shipbuilders | — | — | — | — | ||||||
NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES
| ||||||||||
TABLE 4(a)—Issuse of public Dividend Capital†
| ||||||||||
| £ million Current (outturn) prices | ||||||||||
| 1970–71 | 1971–72 | 1972–73 | 1973–74 | 1974–75 | 1975–76 | 1976–77 | 1977–78 | 1978–79 | 1979–80 | |
| National Coal Board | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Electricity (England and Wales) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Electricity (Scotland) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British Gas Corporation | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British National Oil Corporation | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| British Steel Corporation | — | — | — | — | 45 | 345 | 490 | 445 | 850 | 905 |
| Post Office | — | — | — | — | — | 13 | — | — | 4 | — |
| British Airways Board | — | — | 60 | 11 | 80 | 64 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| British Airports Authority | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British Railways Board | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British Transport Docks Board | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British Waterways Board | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| National Freight Corporation | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| National Bus Company | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Scottish Transport Group | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British Aerospace | 27 | 50* | 33 | |||||||
| British Shipbuilders | — | — | 236 | |||||||
| †Including, from 1978–79, subscriptions of capital issued to BSC under Section 18 of the Iron and Steel Act 1975. | ||||||||||
*Provided as a grant to BAe in 1978–79, but converted to PDC in 1979–80. | ||||||||||
NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES
| ||||||||||
TABLE 4(b)—Issues of Public Dividend Capital†
| ||||||||||
| £ million 1979 survey prices | ||||||||||
| 1970–71 | 1971–72 | 1972–73 | 1973–74 | 1974–75 | 1975–76 | 1976–77 | 1977–78 | 1978–79 | 1979–80 | |
| National Coal Board | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Electricity (England and Wales) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Electricity (Scotland) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British Gas Corporation | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British National Oil Corporation | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| British Steel Corporation | — | — | — | — | 80 | 486 | 610 | 489 | 850 | 772 |
| Post Office | — | — | — | — | — | 18 | — | — | 4 | — |
| British Airways Board | — | — | 137 | 23 | 142 | 90 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 |
| British Airports Authority | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British Railways Board | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British Transport Docks Board | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British Waterways Board | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| National Freight Corporation | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| National Bus Company | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Scottish Transport Group | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| British Aerospace | 30 | 50* | 28 | |||||||
| British Shipbuilders | — | — | 201 | |||||||
| †Including, from 1978–79, subscriptions of capital issued to BSG under Section 18 of the Iron and Steel Act 1975. | ||||||||||
*Provided as a grant to BAe in 1978–79, but converted to PDC in 1979–80. | ||||||||||
The Reserve Forces: Disarmament Activities By Serving Members
asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether ex-officers or ranks serving in the reserves are permitted to participate in activities for world disarmament.
There is no regulation preventing such activities provided that they are consistent with reserve obligations.House adjourned at a quarter before eight o'clock.