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Incentive Funding Scheme
32. Mr. Wareing : To ask the Minister for the Arts how many Liverpool arts projects, funded by Merseyside Arts Association, have made applications to the Arts Council under the incentive funding scheme.
Mr. Luce : Three Liverpool organisations funded by Merseyside Arts applied to the Arts Council for incentive funding ; one of these receives the majority of its funding from the Arts Council.
34. Mrs. Golding : To ask the Minister for the Arts how many west midlands arts companies, currently funded by the West Midland Arts Association have applied to the Arts Council for incentive funding.
Mr. Luce : A total of 14 organisations funded by West Midlands Arts applied to the Arts Council for incentive funding ; three of these are also funded by the Arts Council.
36. Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Minister for the Arts how many arts organisations in (a) Oxford and (b) the area covered by the Southern Arts Association, who are currently clients of Southern Arts, have applied to the Arts Council for incentive funding.
Mr. Luce : Six organisations funded by Southern Arts applied to the Arts Council for incentive funding ; one of these receives joint funding ; none are Oxford organisations.
37. Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Minister for the Arts how many arts companies in Wales, currently funded by the Welsh Arts Council, have applied to the Arts Council of Great Britain for help under the incentive funding scheme.
41. Mr. Battle : To ask the Minister for the Arts how many arts organisations in Leeds who are clients of the Yorkshire Arts Association have applied to the Arts Council for incentive funding.
48. Mr. Boyes : To ask the Minister for the Arts if he will list the photographic organisations who have applied to the Arts Council for help under the incentive funding scheme.
Mr. Luce : Eight applications were made by the following organisations :
Blackfriars Photography Project ;
Cambridge Darkroom ;
Camerawork ;
Creative Camera ;
F Stop Photography ;
Photographers' Gallery ;
The Photography Workshop ; and
The Untitled Gallery.
50. Ms. Mowlam : To ask the Minister for the Arts how many arts companies who are clients of Northern Arts have applied to the Arts Council for incentive funding.
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Mr. Luce : A total of 13 organisations funded by Northern Arts applied to the Arts Council for incentive funding ; three of these are jointly funded by the Arts Council and Northern Arts.
Young People (Books and Plays)
33. Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Minister for the Arts if he will run a competition for contemporary authors of books and plays for young people ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Luce : This is a very interesting idea which I hope might be taken up. I am concerned to increase access to the arts ; encouraging young people is an important part of this.
Museums and Galleries
35. Mr. Quentin Davies : To ask the Minister for the Arts how many new museums and galleries have been opened in the last 12 months ; and how many are expected to open in the next 12 months.
Mr. Luce : The Museums Association database indicates that at July this year there were 2,400 museums and galleries in the United Kingdom, and that 10 per cent. of those had opened since 1982, a rate of about 40 per year. There is every indication that interest in the creation of new and specialist museums continues.
Initiatives and Schemes
38. Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Minister for the Arts if he will publish a table listing all the initiatives and schemes launched by (a) the Office of Arts and Libraries and (b) the Arts Council in each of the last three years the administration of which has not been devolved to regional arts associations.
Mr. Luce : No. The Arts Council's annual reports for 1986-87 and 1987-88, its three-year plan and awards and schemes folder for 1988-89 have been placed in the Library. The council operates only schemes which are essentially national in character. The Office of Arts and Libraries administer only the business sponsorship incentive scheme and the arts marketing scheme.
Regional Arts Associations
39. Mr. Sedgemore : To ask the Minister for the Arts what plans the Arts Council has to devolve the responsibility for more clients to the regional arts associations.
Mr. Luce : The Arts Council constantly reviews the division of responsibility between itself and the regional arts associations.
Arts (Economic Importance)
40. Mr. Maclennan : To ask the Minister for the Arts whether he will make a statement on the findings of the report entitled "The Economic Importance of the Arts in Britain", from the Policy Studies Institute.
Mr. Luce : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. and learned Member for Fife, North-East (Mr. Campbell) on 19 October at column 879 .
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Mappa Mundi
42. Mr. Colin Shepherd : To ask the Minister for the Arts if he will use his powers to prevent the departure from the United Kingdom of the Hereford Mappa Mundi in the event of its purchase by a buyer who seeks to export it.
Mr. Luce : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I have given this afternoon to the hon. Member for Southwark and Bermondsey (Mr. Hughes). Should a sale prove necessary, and an application for an export licence be made, this will be dealt with under our existing procedures. I cannot anticipate decisions on export applications.
Welsh Arts Council
44. Mr. Wigley : To ask the Minister for the Arts when he last met the chair of the Welsh Arts Council and what matters were discussed.
Mr. Luce : I met the chairman of the Welsh Arts Council on 9 November when we discussed matters of mutual concern.
Dramatic Arts
45. Mr. Bowis : To ask the Minister for the Arts when he next intends to visit a drama college to discuss funding of the dramatic arts.
Mr. Luce : I visited the Guildford school of acting and dance on Friday 18 November. I have no plans to visit other drama colleges at present.
Statues
Mr. Nicholas Baker : To ask the Minister for the Arts if he will encourage the erection of statues to prominent public figures of the past in inner cities.
Mr. Luce : I see this as a matter for local communities to decide.
Rural Arts Centres
47. Miss Emma Nicholson : To ask the Minister for the Arts if he has visited any rural arts centres ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Luce : I have visited the Piers art centre in the Orkneys and the Brewery arts centre in Kendal and the Eden court theatre in Inverness this year ; I have previously visited the Beaford centre in the hon. Member's constituency and also met its director in my office this year ; all are good examples of arts centres which make a vital contribution to the life of rural communities. In March this year I visited the Newent library which doubles as an arts venue for small scale performances.
Library Services
52. Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Minister for the Arts if his Department has undertaken any research into the link between the quality and availability of free library services and the needs of the unemployed or low-waged undertaking part-time study.
Mr. Luce : No. Some research in this area has been supported by the British Library research and development department.
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Touring
Mr. Jack : To ask the Minister for the Arts what moneys for touring have been set aside by the Arts Council for the next financial year.
Mr. Luce : I have made £6 million available for incentive funding and additional touring in the United Kingdom in 1989-90. The Arts Council will be determining the precise allocation of this sum in due course. In the current financial year the sum set aside for additional touring is £1.5 million.
Private Funding
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Minister for the Arts if he will make a statement about the current level of private funding for the arts.
Mr. Luce : [holding answer 30 November 1988] : There are no precise figures available, but the most important source of private funding for the arts remains the box office. The PSI report on the economic importance of the arts indicates a figure of some £433 million spent on admission to arts venues (museums and galleries ; built heritage ; theatres and concerts ; and cinemas). In addition, business sponsorship brings in around £30 million annually to the arts and I expect this figure to grow in the future. Information is not held centrally on private donations but evidence suggests that some are substantial.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS British Subjects (Murder)
Mr. Bradley : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British subjects were murdered in foreign countries in 1986, 1987 and 1988 to date, by country.
Mr. Waldegrave : Not all deaths of British citizens who die overseas, whether in suspicious or other circumstances, are reported to British consular officers. However, according to records held by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 80 British citizens have been murdered, or are suspected to have been murdered, overseas between 1 January 1986 and 30 November 1988. The breakdown by year and country is as follows :
|1986|1987|1988
---------------------------------------
Afghanistan |- |1 |-
Antigua |- |- |1
Australia |- |4 |-
Belgium |- |1 |-
Bermuda |- |- |1
Botswana |- |1 |-
Canada |1 |- |1
Colombia |1 |- |-
Cyprus |- |- |1
Djibouti |- |1 |-
Dominican Republic |- |1 |-
France |3 |1 |-
Germany
(Federal
Republic) |2 |1 |1
Greece |1 |1 |-
Indonesia |- |- |1
Israel |1 |1 |-
Jamaica |1 |- |-
Jerusalem |1 |- |-
Kenya |- |- |1
Malta |- |- |1
Netherlands |- |- |1
Pakistan |- |- |2
Philippines |1 |2 |2
Saudi Arabia |- |1 |1
South Africa |2 |1 |1
Spain |3 |3 |3
St. Lucia |- |- |1
Sudan |- |- |5
Thailand |- |1 |3
Turkey |- |1 |1
Uganda |- |2 |-
USA |2 |3 |3
Zaire |- |1 |-
Zimbabwe |1 |1 |-
|- |- |-
Total: |20 |29 |31
Hong Kong (Vietnamese Refugees)
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what response he intends to give to the recent urgent representations from Miss Lydia Dunn, senior member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, concerning the situation of Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Waldegrave : We are urgently considering, with the Home Secretary, all aspects of the problem, including those raised by Miss Dunn. The reply will inter alia emphasise the priority that we attach to achieving a comprehensive solution to the problem as soon as possible and the considerable efforts that we are devoting to this end.
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Vietnamese refugees there are currently in Hong Kong ; and what are the comparable figures for the same period in each of the last 10 years.
Mr. Waldegrave : On 30 November there were 25,197 Vietnamese boat people in Hong Kong, of whom 15,323 were refugees. Figures at the end of November since 1979 are as follows :
Year |People --------------------- 1979 |53,236 1980 |23,980 1981 |13,135 1982 |12,787 1983 |12,950 1984 |12,254 1985 |9,577 1986 |8,047 1987 |9,331
Iraqi Diplomats (Expulsion)
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will set out the reasons for the recent expulsion of Iraqi diplomats ; and if he will place in the Library any copies of correspondence with the ambassador.
Mr. Waldegrave : On 18 October we requested the withdrawal of three diplomats from the Iraqi embassy and served an exclusion order on a fourth, all for activities
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incompatible with their status. It has been the invariable practice of successive Governments not to comment on details of security and intelligence matters.Palestine
Mr. Cummings : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if, in the light of the decisions taken at the Palestine National Council meeting in Algiers, the Government will now seek a meeting at the highest level with the Palestine Liberation Organisation in order to advance the peace process.
Mr. Waldegrave : We keep contact at official level with the PLO, which is aware that it must remove ambiguities in certain of its policies if further and wider contact is to be considered.
Namibia
Mrs. Ann Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what specific steps are being taken by his Department to establish in Namibia a system which will protect the rights and freedoms of the different ethnic and social groups in that country following its independence ;
(2) if he will make it his policy to promote the adoption of a pre- independence constitution in Namibia in order to protect the rights of minority ethnic and social groups following independence ; (3) if he will make a statement outlining his policy on and involvement in those current efforts in Namibia which are designed to bring about national reconciliation and a pre-independence constitution ;
(4) if he will make it his policy to discuss with leaders of all the different ethnic and political groupings in Namibia the possibility of bringing about in that country national reconciliation and a pre- independence constitution.
(5) what steps he is taking to ensure that ethnic and social groups other than SWAPO continue to be represented in the Government of Namibia following independence.
Mrs. Chalker : We continue to support Namibian independence on the basis of the UN plan endorsed by Security Council resolution 435. We are satisfied that the existing provisions of the plan, in particular the constitutional principles agreed in 1982, provide sufficient safeguards for all ethnic and social groups in Namibia. The UN plan also provides for a transition period before independence in which an elected assembly will draw up a constitution.
Ethiopia
Mr. Latham : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a statement on any diplomatic steps being taken by Her Majesty's Government to bring about an end to hostilities between the Government of Ethiopia and the guerrilla fighters in Tigray and Eritrea.
Mrs. Chalker : When my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State met the Ethiopian Foreign Minister on 11 September, he urged him to seek a negotiated settlement based on genuine regional autonomy. In the declaration on the Horn of Africa issued on 24 October, we and our EC partners called for such a settlement.
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Khmer Rouge
Dr. Moonie : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he intends to take to prevent the Khmer Rouge from occupying Kampuchea's seat in the United Nations.
Mr. Waldegrave : We see no reason to change our present policy, shared by the great majority of United Nations members, of supporting retention of Democratic Kampuchea's credentials at the United Nations. This policy signifies neither recognition of the coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea, nor support for the Khmer Rouge.
Convention Against Torture
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when Her Majesty's Government will ratify the United Nations convention against torture ; and whether the relevant declarations under article 21 and article 22 of this convention will also be made in order fully to recognise the competence of the committee against torture.
Mr. Waldegrave : We intend to ratify the United Nations convention against torture later this month. We are still considering what reservations/declarations we shall need to submit.
Zimbabwe
Dr. Glyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many former residents of Zimbabwe now resident in the United Kingdom are affected by the exchange controls imposed by the Government of Zimbabwe ; and what action he proposes to take to assist such people to regain control of their funds.
Mrs. Chalker : We cannot be sure of the number of former residents of Zimbabwe now resident in the United Kingdom who are affected by the existing controls. In their exchange control regulations the Zimbabwe authorities have made provision for special consideration of individual cases on hardship grounds. Whenever appropriate, we continue to make representations on individual cases in order to take advantage of this provision. I raised a number of cases with Zimbabwe Ministers during my visit there last month.
EMPLOYMENT
Worker Representatives
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the current European Economic Community discussions on worker representatives on the boards of companies ; and whether such measures fall to be dealt with under the majority voting procedures set out in the Single Act.
Mr. Cope : The Government are opposed to European Community proposals which would require statutory employee participation as such participation is more effective on a voluntary basis. The only relevant European Community proposal currently under discussion for which a legal base has been proposed is the fifth company law directive. The proposed legal base would entail qualified majority voting.
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Coal Industry (Accidents)
Mr. Illsley : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has received any representations regarding the accident rate of companies contracted to British Coal ; and whether he will make a statement.
Mr. Nicholls : I have received no direct representations on this subject. However, accident trends are regularly discussed at meetings between British Coal, trade unions and Her Majesty's inspectorate of mines and quarries and the proposed new legislation to replace the Mines and Quarries Act 1954 is intended to improve safety standards for all persons employed at mines, including contractors.
Mr. Illsley : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the total of underground fatal and major accidents among (a) British Coal employees and (b) employees of companies contracted to British Coal.
Mr. Nicholls : The information requested is tabled for the years 1986-87 and 1987-88.
|1986-87|1987-88
-----------------------------------------------
British Coal employees
Fatal |13 |8
Major injuries |727 |560
Contracted employees
Fatal |- |1
Major injuries |45 |52
Source: British Coal. Accidents reported under
the Reporting of Incidents, Diseases and
Dangerous Occurrence Regulations 1985 do not
distinguish between British Coal Corporation
employees and those of contractors.
Redundancy Payments (Women)
Ms. Richardson : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether legislation will be introduced this session to increase the age limit up to which women can receive a statutory redundancy payment from 60 to 65 years, as announced by the Minister of State on 29 October 1987.
Mr. Cope : Yes. The proposal is included in the Employment Bill.
Tourism
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many tourism development action programmes were established in the last two years ; and where.
Mr. Lee : During this period 12 new tourism development action programmes have been established covering the following areas : Bridlington, Carlisle, Cornwall, Forest of Dean, Isle of Wight, Lancaster, Nottingham, Norwich, Portsmouth, Shropshire, Torbay and Tyne and Wear.
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will set out the numbers of hotels and tourism-related establishments that have benefited from receiving section 4 grants in the year 1987 and the amounts of those grants as applied through each tourist board region.
Mr. Lee : Offers of section 4 assistance by regional tourist board region for 1978-88 are given in the table. Figures for the 1987 calendar year could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
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Tourist board |Number of projects |Total value of S4 offers
|(£ thousand)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cumbria |39 |469
East Anglia |34 |502
East Midlands |31 |759
Heart of England |47 |1,049
London |12 |1,030
Northumbria |26 |1,480
North West |73 |2,062
South East England |44 |1,221
Southern |52 |922
Thames and Chilterns |30 |880
West Country |157 |3,125
Yorkshire and Humberside |64 |1,346
|------- |-------
Total |609 |14,845
Health and Safety
Mr. Terry Patchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether the Government will ratify International Labour Organisation convention 161 and recommendation 177 on occupational health services.
Mr. Cope [holding reply 2 December 1988] : The Government have deferred a decision on whether to ratify International Labour Organisation convention 161 and to accept recommendation 171 on occupational health services for a period of three years because of anticipated developments in this field. At the end of that time we expect to receive further advice from the Health and Safety Commission.
SCOTLAND
Mental Illness
Mr. Goodlad : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department spent on research into (a) mental disorders and (b) schizophrenia in the last year.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The figure for research into mental disorders funded by the Scottish Home and Health Department in 1987-88 is £176, 300. Of this amount £21,950 is for projects specifically related to schizophrenia.
Mr. Goodlad : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he gives any guidance to mental illness hospitals on the retention of patients whose condition is unlikely to improve similar to the other advice contained in the Department of Health's policy paper on mental illness services, Cmnd. 9674 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Decisions about the treatment of individual patients involve issues of clinical judgment. Nearly all NHS mental illness hospitals in Scotland have facilities for those patients who require long- term care in conditions of medium security. My right hon. and learned Friend has not issued any specific guidance in this area.
Psychiatric Nurses
Mr. Goodlad : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many community psychiatric nurses there have been in Scotland in each of the last two years.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : This information is not held centrally, but arrangements are under discussion to make it available for the first time next year.
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Civil Defence
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the numbers of members of staff employed for emergency planning in district authorities whose salary costs are funded either wholly or partly by Scottish Office civil defence grant.
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