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North west region
Filled places by training occupational classification at 31
December
1988
|Number
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Administrative and clerical occupations |13,409
Creative, and educational and recreational service
occupations |1,650
Health, community and personal service occupations |7,009
Selling and storage occupations |7,262
Scientific occupations |473
Catering, and food preparation and processing
occupations |2,550
Agricultural and related occupations |2,109
Fishing occupations |19
Transport operating occupations |667
Construction and civil engineering occupations |10,350
Mining, oil extraction and quarrying occupations |62
Electrical and electronic engineering occupations |2,992
Mechanical engineering, and metal production and
processing occupations |6,315
Motor vehicle repair and maintenance occupations |4,181
Non-metal processing occupations |1,143
Printing occupations |393
Clothing and textiles manufacturing occupations |1,924
Security service occupations |16
Others |3,382
|------
Total |65,906
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish the most recent details, in the north-west region, of (a) the number of young people who have been referred by the careers service for failing or refusing to take up a YTS place, (b) the number of young people who have waited more than eight weeks for a suitable YTS place, and in which occupational sector, and (c) the financial arrangements which have been made for young people in (b) .
Mr. Cope : I am not aware of any case where the careers service has referred a young person to the benefit service for failing or refusing to take up a YTS place.
It is not possible to provide information on the number of young people who may be waiting for a YTS place, as young people are not required to report what they are doing once bridging allowance expires. Provided they had made early contact and kept in regular touch with their local careers office they would have been offered a YTS place before the eight weeks bridging allowance period ends. A young person who is still actively seeking a YTS place when his bridging allowance runs out and who, if benefit were not paid, would suffer severe hardship, may be eligible for income support.
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on proposals to review the YTS, in particular if he will give details of the date and scope of the review, and of the parties likely to be involved in such a review.
Mr. Cope : I have nothing to add to the reply my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave to the hon. Member for Leicester, South (Mr. Marshall) on 17 January 1989 at column 197.
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if the YTS allowances will be increased in the current year.
Mr. Cope : I refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire, West (Mr. McLoughlin) on 18 January at column 253.
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish the most recent details of (a) the number of YTS schemes and work placements which have been referred to the Training Agency in regard to allegations of racial discrimination, sex discrimination and discrimination against people with disabilities, (b) the outcome of the above allegations and (c) the number of YTS schemes and work placements which have had their contracts with the Training Agency cancelled because of evidence of discrimination in the three categories referred to in (a) .
Mr. Cope : Within the past year there have been three cases of racial discrimination drawn to the attention of the Training Agency head office, which have been the subject of a Commission for Racial Equality investigation. In one, a potential work experience provider was found guilty of unlawful discrimination. In the others, two managing agents are currently being investigated by the Commission for Racial Equality.
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Allegations of discrimination in YTS are handled initially at local level by the Training Agency, where most are resolved and do not need to be reported to head office.Five YTS managing agents have failed to achieve approved training organisation status on grounds which included an unsatisfactory equal opportunities policy.
Equal Opportunities
Mrs. Ray Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if he will meet the chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission to discuss the advancement of equal opportunities in the workplace ; (2) if he will discuss plans for the provision of childcare facilities to ensure equality of opportunity in the workplace with the chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission.
Mr. Nicholls : Department of Employment Ministers have frequent discussions with the chairman of the Equal Opportunities Commission about equal opportunities in employment. The EOC chairman will be leading a discussion on child care for working parents at a meeting on 2 February of the advisory committee on women's employment chaired by me.
Co-operative Development Agency
Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the future of the Co-operative Development Agency.
Mr. Cope : The Co-operative Development Agency was set up in 1978, with the aim of promoting co-operative ventures and representing the interests of the co-operative movement. Since that time and with the help of the CDA, many co-operative support agencies have been established, offering advice and assistance to anyone wanting to start or develop a co- operative business.
The CDA was originally set up with a finite ceiling of financial support. Its life was extended under the 1984 Co-operative Development Agency and Industrial Development Act and the financial ceiling increased to £3 million. We estimate that this ceiling will be reached in the 1990-91 financial year.
The CDA has done the job it was asked to do by Parliament and there is now a good national network of local co-operative development agencies. There is also a wider network including the small firms service and local enterprise agencies able to offer business advice to small firms of all kinds ; the local training and enterprise councils announced in the White Paper "Employment in the 1990s" will be asked to take account of the needs of all small and developing businesses in their localities including co- operatives.
We are therefore inviting comments from interested bodies on whether the agency is still needed and on our proposal to bring it to an end. We will consider any comments carefully. If, after doing so, we conclude that the agency should be wound up we will do so by order under the affirmative resolution procedure in accordance with the provisions of the 1984 Act.
60
Safety at Work
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many prosecutions have been brought
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under the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974 and associated legislation in England and Wales in each year from 1982 to 1988 ; and if any estimate has been made of the inspection days saved if all proceedings had been conducted by the Crown Prosecution Service.Mr. Nicholls [holding answer 23 January 1989] : The figures requested are given in the table.
Number of informations laid by Her Majesty's Factory and
Agricultural Inspectorates and local authorities England and Wales<4>
Year |Factory and Agricultural|Local Authorities
|Inspectorates
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1982 |2,099 |<3>468
1983 |1,971 |<3>511
1984 |1,978 |<3>585
1985 |1,898 |394
1986-87<2> |1,892 |560
1987-88<1><2> |2,103
=not available.
<1> Provisional.
<2> Year commencing 1 April.
<3> Informations laid relate to Great Britain. Data for England and Wales alone is not readily
available.
<4> Data for the small number of prosecutions taken by other enforcing authorities is not readily
available.
No estimate has been made of the effects of proceedings being conducted by the Crown Prosecution Service. Since health and safety cases are frequently highly technical, and the expertise of HSE inspectors is required to explain them to the court, it is highly unlikely that many inspector days would be saved.
Labour Statistics
Ms. Quin : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many firms in percentage terms have a work force of (a) 1 to 50 persons, (b) 51 to 100 persons, (c) 101 to 250 persons, (d) 251 to 500 persons, (e) 501 to 1,000 persons, (f) 1,001 to 2,500 persons, (g) 2,501 to 5,000 persons, (h) over 5,001 persons and (i) broken down by sector and standard planning region.
Mr. Maude : I have been asked to reply.
Expressed as a percentage of all firms, that is companies, partnerships and sole proprietors, the numbers registered for VAT are :
Sector |Per cent. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Agriculture, forestry and fishing |11.1 Production |10.1 Construction |14.8 Transport industries |4.4 Wholesaling and dealing |8.0 Retail |16.5 Finance, property and professional services |8.3 Catering |8.0 Motor trades |4.9 Other services |13.9
Employment figures are available solely for manufacturing industries to the following bands :
% Percentage of total firms in manufacturing Employment |Per cent. ------------------------------------- 1 to 49 |90.9 50 to 99 |4.1 100 to 199 |2.4 200 to 499 |1.6 500 to 999 |0.5 1,000 and over |0.4
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These figures relate to 1988 which are the latest available and are derived from tables 1 and 6 of Business Monitor PA1003 "Size analyses of United Kingdom businesses", which is available in the House of Commons Library. Because corporate businesses may have widely dispersed local sites, an analysis by standard planning region is not produced.ENVIRONMENT
Houses in Multiple Occupation
8. Mr. Sedgemore : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he intends to include provisions covering houses in multiple occupation in the forthcoming Housing and Local Government Bill ; and whether he will make a statement.
Mr. Trippier : We are still considering possible changes to the legislation on houses in multiple occupation in the light of the 200 responses to our consultation paper.
Urban Regeneration
13. Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the progress of urban development corporations in carrying out the regeneration of the areas for which they are responsible.
Mr. Ridley : The corporations are making very good progress indeed.
Water Company Land
16. Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received on the case for the code of practice on conservation and access to the countryside to apply to water company land which is sold or transferred.
Mr. Howard : My right hon. Friend has received a number of representations on this matter. I published the draft code yesterday.
Litter
17. Mr. Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to introduce new legislation to control litter.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : No, the Government are vigorously pursuing a series of initiatives within the existing legal framework.
Mr. Gordon Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will estimate the spending on litter collection for each year from 1979.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Details of local authority expenditure on litter collection are not available centrally.
Strategic Planning (London)
18. Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has for improving the quality of strategic planning in Greater London.
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Mr. Howard : My right hon. Friend is preparing strategic planning guidance for London which will be published in draft for consultation in the near future.
Housing (Torbay)
19. Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the proposed transfer of council housing stock in Torbay.
Mr. Ridley : Torbay borough council applied to me on 17 November for consent to dispose of its housing stock to two housing associations. My Department replied on 10 January saying that I am minded not to give consent to the disposals, and inviting the council to consider conducting a further ballot of tenants to establish more clearly both the extent of the opposition and the extent of positive support.
Housing Associations (Bolton)
21. Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many homes were provided by housing associations in Bolton in 1987 ; and what is the estimated figure for 1988.
Mr. Trippier : Bolton metropolitan district has reported that housing associations completed 259 new dwellings and renovation work on a further 57 dwellings in their area in 1987. In the first nine months of 1988, 91 new dwellings were completed, whilst in the first half of the year there were 12 renovations.
Rating Reform
22. Mr. Franks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what measures he has taken to assist local authorities with the implementation of the community charge.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The Government are working closely with local authorities to ensure that they are fully prepared to implement the community charge in April 1990, in terms both of advice and resources. We are also helping local authorities by ensuring that the public are fully informed about the community charge.
23. Mr. Bellingham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the latest available estimate for the levels of community charges in Norfolk after April 1990.
Mr. Ridley : The illustrative figures for Norfolk, based on 1988-89 expenditure, are in the range £173 to £206 with no safety net and £178 to £215 with the full safety net.
30. Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what a typical ward sister would pay (a) in rates, (b) in community charge and (c) in a system of capital value rates plus local income tax paid in the proportions of 80:20, respectively, if she lived in a typical one-bedroom flat in Ealing.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : A ward sister earning £15,000, living in a flat in Ealing worth £70,000 and with a rateable value of £300, would pay a rates bill of £537, a community charge of £234 (disregarding the transitional safety net), and £695 under a system of capital value rates plus local income tax.
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33. Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimates he has made of the cost to the average household in London of a system of local government finance based on (a) the community charge and (b) a local income tax combined with a local domestic rate based on capital values of property.
Mr. Gummer : Illustrative figures, published on 23 June 1988, show that the average household in London would be considerably worse off under a system of local income tax combined with capital value rates than with the community charge.
56. Mr. Rooker : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any proposals to change the date at which registration for the poll tax will begin in England.
Mr. Gummer : The Government have no plans to introduce a poll tax. We intend that the regulations enabling community charges registration officers to request information from members of the public will come into force on 22 May.
110. Mr. Wood : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the progress of local authorities in preparing for the introduction of the community charge.
Mr. Gummer : Many local authorities are clearly making good progress in preparing for the introduction of the community charge. I intend to monitor progress carefully in the months ahead.
Unleaded Petrol
24. Mr. Burns : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what percentage of car refuellings now take place at garages which stock unleaded petrol.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : About 25 per cent. of refuellings are now estimated to take place at petrol stations where unleaded petrol is available.
70. Mr. Mans : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the percentage increase in demand for unleaded petrol over the last 12 months.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The demand for unleaded petrol has increased by over 1,500 per cent. during the last year. We hope the demand will increase substantially further in the next 12 months.
99. Mr. Andrew MacKay : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is satisfied with the current availability of unleaded petrol ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Encouraging progress has been made with about 3,000 petrol stations around the country now selling unleaded petrol. This is growing by some 60 stations a week.
Drinking Water
25. Mr. Riddick : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he has to change the law in relation to drinking water.
Mr. Howard : The Water Bill contains proposals for a new and substantially strengthened system for setting drinking water quality standards and ensuring compliance with those standards.
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Waste (North Sea)
26. Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received concerning the dumping of waste into the North sea.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : We have continued to receive a large number of representations about a wide range of marine environment issues including the dumping of waste from ships and discharges from land-based sources.
Planning Applications
27. Mr. Ian Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many planning applications were allowed in 1988 after appeal and where only minor modifications were necessary ; what proportion these constituted of the total number of applications made ; and what was the estimated average length of time between submission and final approval of applications allowed after appeal and with only minor modification.
Mr. Howard : Information in the form requested is not available. Generally, the number of appeals allowed is estimated to represent some 1 per cent. of over 600,000 planning applications submitted in a year. Between 1 January and 31 October 1988 (the latest date for which information is available), 16,977 planning appeals were determined, of which 6,375 were allowed. The average length of time between the date the application was made to the local planning authority and final approval following the appeal, for these 6,375 cases, was 54 weeks.
Football Clubs (Membership Scheme)
28. Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received about the proposed football membership scheme.
Mr. Moynihan : I have received over 1,800 representations on a wide range of issues relating to the idea of a scheme, most of them against the idea. In addition, I have received a large number of proposals to implement the scheme from computer companies and others.
Mr. John Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received from football authorities on the proposed football membership scheme ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Moynihan : The football authorities contributed fully to the working party I chaired on the national membership scheme and agreed the report which the working party produced. They have made it clear that they are opposed to the principle of the scheme but have confirmed that they will co-operate with the Government in producing a workable scheme.
I wrote to the president of the Football league and the chairman of the Football Association on 17 January inviting them to confirm that the football authorities would wish to take on responsibility for the FMA. I understand that the president of the League has said they will do so and I welcome this.
63. Mr. Wareing : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the latest meeting held between his Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and the chairmen of Football League clubs.
Mr. Moynihan : I had a useful and constructive meeting about the Football Spectators Bill with the chairmen of
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many of the league clubs on 17 January. I have accepted an invitation from the Football League to meet club chairmen again on 26 January.73. Mr. John Carlisle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he intends to meet the chairman of the Football League to discuss proposed legislation on a football membership scheme.
Mr. Moynihan : I wrote to the president of the Football League and the chairman of the Football Association about the Bill on 17 January, I look forward to meeting them soon.
97. Mr. Pendry : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he next intends to meet representatives from the Football Supporters Association and the National Federation of Football Supporters Clubs to discuss identity cards.
Mr. Moynihan : At the meeting I held with the FSA and NFFSC on 6 December about the proposed national membership scheme I said that any further views that both organisations wished to express would be welcomed. I also said that I would be happy to meet both organisations again following the introduction of the Football Spectators Bill.
100. Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has had any discussions with the chairman of the Sports Council since the publication of the report of the working party on the proposed national football supporters membership scheme. Mr. Moynihan : I have not discussed the proposed national membership scheme for football supporters with the chairman of the Sports Council. I have, however, seen the council's press release of 9 January. I welcome the chairman's comments about the commercial opportunities that the scheme would provide.
Local Authorities (Enforcement Powers)
29. Mr. Key : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has any plans to seek to amend local authorities' enforcement powers in relation to planning, air pollution and waste disposal.
Mr. Howard : We hope shortly to receive the report of the review of local authorities' planning enforcement powers, now being carried out by Mr. Robert Carnworth QC, and the need to amend existing powers will be considered in the light of the report's recommendations. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has already announced our intention to introduce, in the lifetime of this Parliament, legislative proposals to improve waste management. We hope to provide for new controls over air pollution which will give local authorities powers of prior authorisation (and associated enforcement powers) over certain industrial processes as announced in consultation papers issued in December 1986 and December 1988.
Local Authority Land
31. Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether any application for the sale of local authority land in Bradford has been made since September 1988 ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Trippier : No applications have been received.
Global Environment (Research)
32. Dr. Bray : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what responsibility he has for research into the global environment supported from public funds ; and what support he is giving to it on the Votes for which he is responsible in 1988-89 and 1989-90.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The Department supports research into the global environment where this will provide a sound scientific basis for its policy and statutory responsibilities. Climate change and ozone layer depletion are currently the principal issues of global significance. Expenditure on these areas is expected to rise from £191,000 this year to about £950,000 in 1989-90.
Council Properties (Transfers)
34. Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will introduce legislation to ensure that a tenant who moves into a council property after a landlord has made a bid for that property will not have his home transferred without his consent.
Mr. Trippier : Where a dwelling is let by the existing landlord after a tenant's choice application has been made, regulations under Section 101 of the Housing Act 1988 will provide for vacant possession to be given on transfer. Such lettings will therefore be temporary and will not involve the transfer of dwellings over a tenant's or licensee's head. Existing landlords will be required to make the temporary nature of any such lettings clear at the time to the tenants or licensees.
Beijing (Ministerial Visit)
35. Mr. Clay : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on his visit to Beijing to discuss the effects of chlorofluorocarbons on the global environment.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State had very useful discussions in December and was impressed by the understanding of the Chinese Government of the effects of chlorofluorocarbons on the ozone layer and by their appreciation of the gravity of the possible effect of CFCs on world climate. China has given an enthusiastic and positive response to our initiative in holding a major international conference in March on "Saving the Ozone Layer" and is considering the most appropriate senior level of representation.
Nirex
36. Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he next expects to meet representatives of UK Nirex.
48. Mr. Andrew Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he next expects to meet representatives of UK Nirex.
52. Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he next expects to meet representatives of UK Nirex.
68. Mr. Salmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he next expects to meet representatives of UK Nirex.
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Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has no plans at present to meet representatives of UK Nirex.
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