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Written Answers to Questions
Friday 13 January 1989
WALES
National Curriculum
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he has any plans to accommodate history in Wales within the national curriculum ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Walker : I am establishing a History Committee for Wales (HCW) to advise me on the overall curriculum for history in Welsh schools. The history committee will work within the broad framework to be devised by the history working group which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science has announced today.
The HCW will take account of the working group's recommendations, and will report to me by April 1990 on the attainment targets and programmes of study for history in Wales. I expect the committee to give weight to the essential core of British history which should be common to all children in England and Wales, as well as covering the history of Wales. The committee will be chaired by Professor Robert Rees Davies, professor of history at University College of Wales, Aberystwyth. I will announce the rest of the committee's membership shortly.
Terms of reference of the committee are as follows :
Backgound
1. The Education Reform Act 1988 provides for the establishment of a National Curriculum of core and other foundation subjects for pupils of compulsory school age in England and Wales. The Act empowers the Secretary of State to specify, as he considers appropriate for each foundation subject, including history, that there should be clear objectives-- attainment targets--for the knowledge, skills and understanding which pupils of different abilities and maturities should be expected to have acquired by the end of
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the academic year in which they reach the ages 7, 11, 14 and 16 ; and to promote them, programmes of study describing the content, skills and processes which need to be covered during each key stage of compulsory eduction. Taken together, the attainment targets and programmes of study will provide the basis for assessing a pupil's performance, in relation both to expected attainment and to the next steps needed for the pupil's development.2. Both the objectives (attainment targets) and means of achieving them (programmes of study) should leave scope for teachers to use their professional talents and skills to develop their own schemes of work, within a statutory framework which is known to all. It is the task of the Working Group on History to advise on that framework for history.
3. The History Committee for Wales is asked to liaise closely with the History Working Group and to submit preliminary advice to the Secretary of State by 10 June 1989 outlining :--
i. the contents of Welsh history which should be incorporated into the history curriculum in Wales ;
ii. its preliminary views on the extent to which Welsh perspectives should influence the wider study of history. 4. By April 1990 the History Committee for Wales is to submit to the Secretary of State a final report setting out and justifying a balanced and complete curriculum for history in Wales, in the light of the final recommendations of the History Working Group. Approach
5. In carrying out its task the Committee should consult informally and selectively with relevant interests and have regard to : i. the terms of reference, supplementary guidance, ongoing work and Interim and Final Reports of the History Working Group ; ii. the broad framework for assessment and testing announced by the Government on 7 June 1988 and subsequent development of it in the light of advice from the School Examinations and Assessment Council ;
iii. the contributions which history can make to learning about other subjects and cross-curricular themes, and which they in turn can make to learning in history ; and
iv. best practice and the results of any relevant research and development.
M4 (Tenders)
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish in the Official Report for each year since 1979 those sections of the M4 for which tenders have been invited specifying the sections and the actual dates.
Mr. Wyn Roberts : Since 1979 tenders have been invited for major works on sections of the M4 in Wales as follows :
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Year |Section of M4 motorway |Title |Date tenders invited ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1980 |Coldra to Tredegar Park junctions 24-28 |Widening to 3 lanes |7 January 1980 1981 |Newhouse to Coldra junctions 22-24 |Installation of communications cable |27 July 1981 1981 |Lonlas to Pont Abraham junctions 44-49 |Renewal of traffic signs |8 September 1981 1985 |Newhouse to Coldra junctions 22-24 |Television surveillance system |18 February 1985 1985 |Newhouse to Coldra junctions 22-24 |Major resurfacing |14 March 1985 1985 |Miskin to Pencoed junctions 34-35 |Resurfacing |1 June 1985 1986 |Castleton and Llandarcy junctions 29-43 |Advance direction signing |1 August 1986 1987 |Pontardulais bypass junctions 44-48 |Surface dressing |10 March 1987 1987 |Newhouse to Pont Abraham junctions 22-49 |Signalling and communications maintenance|29 June 1987
National Parks
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the percentages of planning applications were, in each of the Welsh national parks, which were (a) allowed,
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(b) dismissed, (c) withdrawn and (d) undetermined for each of the last five years for which information is available.Mr. Wyn Roberts : The information requested is as follows :
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Planning applications
Planning activity within the Welsh National Parks
percentage
|1983-84|1984-85|1985-86|1986-87|1987-88
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brecon Beacons National Park
Allowed |70.1 |63.7 |62.6 |54.2 |54.2
Dismissed |11.2 |13.8 |15.2 |16.7 |16.2
Withdrawn |2.8 |4.2 |2.6 |5.3 |3.4
Undetermined |15.9 |18.3 |19.5 |23.8 |26.2
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park
Allowed |67.8 |76.1 |73.8 |75.2 |76.1
Dismissed |9.1 |7.3 |8.9 |6.6 |12.6
Withdrawn |1.2 |1.5 |1.1 |1.5 |2.8
Undetermined |21.9 |15.1 |16.2 |16.7 |8.5
Snowdonia National Park
Allowed |65.7 |59.0 |60.5 |n/a |n/a
Dismissed |8.6 |12.8 |14.3 |n/a |n/a
Withdrawn |2.8 |6.9 |6.8 |n/a |n/a
Undetermined |22.8 |21.2 |18.3 |n/a |n/a
The "undetermined" column gives a "snapshot" figure of those applications awaiting decision at the end of March in each financial year.
Figures for the latest two years are not compatible with earlier years, because the definition of "planning applications" used on the WOPS1 and WOPS2 general development control forms has been widened.
Roads
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether a line of route and a date for commencement of work have been agreed for the proposed Robeston Wathen, Pembrokeshire, by-pass ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Wyn Roberts : A route for this scheme has not yet been agreed. Information on its timing will be included in the forthcoming edition of "Roads in Wales".
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects to publish the next edition of "Roads in Wales."
Mr. Wyn Roberts : Before the end of the current financial year.
Water Act 1973
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on how many occasions since the coming into force of the Water Act 1973 disputes have been submitted to him for determination under the provisions of section 11(4) of that Act ; and if he will specify the local authority area in which such disputes have risen.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on how many occasions since the coming into force of the Water Act 1973 he has issued directions under the provisions of section 4(10) of that Act to the National Water Council ; and what was the purpose of each such direction.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on how many occasions since the coming into force of the
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Water Act 1973 he has issued directions under the provisions of section 17(5) of that Act to water authorities ; and for which estuary each such direction was made.Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on how many occasions since the coming into force of the Water Act 1973 he has issued directions under the provisions of section 5(1) of that Act to water authorities ; and for what purpose each such direction was made.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on how many occasions since the coming into force of the Water Act 1973 he has issued directions under the provisions of section 5(2) of that Act to water authorities ; and for what purpose each such direction was made.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Channel 5
Mr. Ron Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has received recent representations from the Scottish Trades Union Congress regarding the location of main offices for Channel 5 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Renton : No representations have been received. Paragraph 6.21 of the Government White Paper "Broadcasting in the '90s" proposes that Channel 5 licences should be national in their scope. It would be for licencees to decide where to locate their headquarters.
Viraj Mendis
Sir Russell Johnston : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy that no action will be taken to deport Viraj Mendis before his Department replies to solicitors' letters dated 21 and 30 December 1988 concerning the changed situation in Sri Lanka.
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if there is intention to take any
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action against Mr. Viraj Mendis in Manchester before all domestic legal remedies have been applied ; and if he will make a statement : (2) if it is his intention to reply to the two letters from Mr. Viraj Mendis concerning the situation in Sri Lanka, dated 21 and 30 December 1988 respectively, before any action is taken against him ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Renton : The decision to deport Mr. Mendis has been reviewed and endorsed by the independent appellate authorities, the Divisional Court and the Court of Appeal. His petition for leave to move to the House of Lords has also been rejected. On 28 December, the court rejected a subsequent application for judicial review of my right hon. Friend's refusal to give assurances to his solicitors, first, that no steps would be taken to remove Mr. Mendis pending a substantive response to their representations and, secondly, that no steps would be taken to remove him for at least 48 hours following notification of the response.
We are further considering the representations received from Mr. Mendis' solicitors.
New Year Celebrations (Arrests)
Mr. Pendry : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests were made in the Trafalgar square area during new year's eve and new year's day ; how many police and members of the public were injured ; and what was the estimated size of the gathering.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that a total of 120 arrests were made during the new year celebrations in Trafalgar square. Eleven police officers were injured and 148 injuries to members of the public were reported, of whom 64 were taken to hospital. It is estimated that around 65,000 people were present.
Mr. Pendry : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests were made during new year celebrations on drunk and disorderly grounds in England and Wales ; and how many police officers were injured.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Reading Rock Festivals
Mr. Pendry : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests were made at the 1987 and 1988 Reading rock festivals.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : I understand from the chief constable of the Thames Valley police that the number of arrests was 146 and 178 respectively.
Prevention of Terrorism Act
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act since 1 January 1988 have been (a) allowed and (b) refused legal representation during questioning.
Mr. Hurd : This information is not held centrally.
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what communications he has had with the European Court of Justice concerning the operation of the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
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Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act since 1 December 1988 ; what areas of the United Kingdom and other countries they were from ; for what period they were held before being charged ; and how many were subsequently charged.
Mr. Hurd : Information on the operation of the prevention of terrorism legislation is compiled quarterly and published in Home Office statistical bulletins at the end of the month following the quarter covered, or as soon as possible thereafter. I will reply to the hon. Member when the statistics for the fourth quarter of 1988 have been published.
Independent Television Commission
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether the Independent Television Commission will have a statutory duty (a) to draw up a code governing standards and practice of advertising and prescribing the advertisements and methods of advertisements to be prohibited and (b) to secure compliance with the code ;
(2) whether the Independent Television Commission will be required to draw up television programme guidelines on (i) expression of opinion by programme companies, (ii) legal matters, (iii) promotion and presentation, (iv) sponsorship and indirect advertising, (v) competition and reward shows, (vi) charitable appeals and publicity for charities and (vii) communication with the public ;
(3) whether the Independent Television Commission will be required to draw up television programme guidelines on (a) decency and the portrayal of violence, (b) feature films, (c) technical quality, (d) accuracy, (e) privacy and gathering of information, (f) fairness and impartiality, (g) party politics, politicians and programmes and (h) crime, anti-social behaviour, etc.
Mr. Renton : The general responsibility of the proposed Independent Television Commission for oversight of programme content, advertising and sponsorship was described in paragraph 5 of annex A to the White Paper "Broadcasting in the '90s : Competition, Choice and Quality" (November 1988, Cm. 517). We will bring forward draft legislation in the light of the comments that we have invited on the White Paper.
Ashford Remand Centre
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will outline the nature and extent of catering and canteen services provision at Ashford remand centre ; by whom such provision is made ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg [holding answer 16 December 1988] : As my right hon. Friend announced last March, Ashford remand centre has been reopened on a temporary basis to enable prisoners to be moved from police cells.
Because of a shortage of trained prison officer caterers, catering for inmates is being provided by a contractor, Sutcliffe Catering South-East, whose contract requires it to provide meals to the standards and dietary scales laid down for the prison service as a whole.
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In the light of experience at the two temporary camps closed recently, the inmates canteen is being operated by the NAAFI ; the range of stocks is based on those held in other prison canteens.EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
National Curriculum
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what are his plans for establishing the complete national curriculum.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales and I are establishing forthwith a working group to make recommendations on attainment targets and programmes of study for history within the national curriculum in England and Wales. The working group's terms of reference are set out in the table. I have also sent supplementary guidance to the group's chairman, a copy of which I have placed in the Library. We are grateful to Commander Saunders Watson, until recently the president of the Historic Houses Association, and currently the chairman of the Heritage Education Trust, for agreeing to chair the history working group. The other members are :
Mr R M Guyver, Wembury primary school, Plymouth ;
Mr J Hendy, Director of Education, Stockport ;
Mr H Hobhouse, author ;
Mr P Livsey, adviser in history and geography, county Durham ; Mrs A Low- Beer, Bristol university ;
Dr A Prochaska, secretary and librarian, Institute of Historical Research ;
Dr J M Roberts, Merton college, Oxford university ;
Mrs C White, Garth Hill comprehensive school, Bracknell ; and Dr G Elwyn Jones of University College, Swansea, who will also be a member of the History Committee for Wales announced today by my right hon. Friend.
The group will begin work at once. It will give interim advice by 30 June 1989 and final advice by Christmas 1989. This will enable attainment targets and programmes of study in history to begin to be introduced in schools from the autumn of 1991.
Our outline timetable for the development as appropriate of attainment targets, programmes of study and guidelines in other foundation subjects, and for their implementation in schools, is as follows :
Geography : working group to be established, Easter 1989 ; implementation to begin in schools--autumn 1991.
Modern foreign languages : working group to be established, July 1989 ; implementation to begin in schools--autumn 1992 at the latest. Music, art and physical education : arrangements set up for considering the content of guidelines--June 1990 ; implementation in schools--autumn 1992.
This timetable will secure that either agreed requirements, or proposals, relating to the full national curriculum are publicly availalbe by mid- 1991.
National Curriculum Working Group on History : Terms of Reference Background
1. The Education Reform Act 1988 provides for the establishment of a National Curriculum of core and other foundation subjects for pupils of compulsory school age in England and Wales. The Act empowers the Secretary of State to specify, as he considers appropriate for each foundation subject, including history, that there should be clear objectives-- attainment targets--for the knowledge, skills, and understanding which pupils of different abilities and maturities should be expected to have acquired by the end of the academic year in which they reach the ages of 7, 11, 14 and 16 ; and
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to promote them, programmes of study describing the content, skills and processes which need to be covered during each key stage of compulsory education. Taken together, the attainment targets and programmes of study will provide the basis for assessing a pupil's performance, in relation both to expected attainment and to the next steps needed for the pupil's development.2. Both the objectives (attainment targets) and means of achieving them (programmes of study) should leave scope for teachers to use their professional talents and skills to develop their own schemes of work, within a statutory framework which is known to all. It is the task of the Working Group on History to advise on that framework for history.
The Task
3. The Working Group is asked to submit an interim report to the Secretaries of State by 30 June 1989 outlining and, as far as possible, exemplifying :
(i) the contribution which history should make to the overall school curriculum and how that will inform the Group's thinking about attainment targets and programmes of study ;
(ii) its provisional thinking about the knowledge, skills and understanding which pupils of different abilities and maturities should be expected to have attained and be able to demonstrate at key ages ; and the profile components into which attainment targets should be grouped ;
(iii) its thinking about the programmes of study which would be consistent with the attainment targets provisionally identified ; and
(iv) the key elements within those programmes of study that it considers to be essential at each key stage for children throughout England and Wales, bearing in mind the need for a balanced history curriculum for all pupils and, in Wales, the need to allow room within that curriculum for appropriate attention to the history of Wales.
4. By Christmas 1989 the Working Group is to submit a final report to the Secretaries of State setting out and justifying its final recommendations on attainment targets and the programmes of study for history.
Approach
5. In carrying out its task the Group should consult informally and selectively with relevant interests and have regard to the work of other subject groups, in particular those on English, Welsh and, in due course, on geography. Additionally the Group should take account of :
(i) the broad framework for assessment and testing announced by the Government on 7 June 1988 and subsequent development of it in the light of advice from the School Examinations and Assessment Council ;
(ii) the contributions which history can make to learning about other subjects and cross-curricular themes, and which they in turn can make to learning in history ;
(iii) best practice and the results of any relevant research and development ;
(iv) the work of the History Committee for Wales (HCW) ; and (v) the issues covered in the supplementary guidance to the Group's Chairman.
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Pets
Mr. Allen : To ask the Lord President of the Council what is his policy towards the admittance of pets to the House of Commons.
Mr. Wakeham : Only pets belonging to residents are permitted in the House of Commons area of the Palace of Westminster.
In the House of Commons outbuildings, pets are permitted provided that they are kept under proper control and cause no nuisance.
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