| Home Page |
Column 811
Written Answers to Questions
Friday 10 February 1989
WALES
Health Authorities (Land)
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give for each health authority (a) the square footage of unused properties and (b) the square footage or acreage of unused land and the estimated value of each category as a percentage total land and property and as a percentage of the total land and property value of each authority ; and if he will make a statement as to his Department's policy on the sale of unused land and property.
Mr. Grist : This information is not recorded in the form requested and it could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Information about the acreage of the land held by the National Health Service in Wales including the surplus land no longer needed for health purposes is available and is summarised in the following table :
District health authority |Total estate (acres) |Surplus area (acres) |Percentage surplus
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clwyd |113.0 |20.80 |18.40
East Dyfed |189.0 |1.65 |0.87
Gwent |369.0 |28.50 |7.72
Gwynedd |358.0 |107.00 |29.89
Mid Glamorgan |694.0 |48.00 |6.92
Pembrokeshire |41.6 |4.50 |10.82
Powys |236.0 |77.00 |32.63
South Glamorgan |500.0 |48.00 |9.60
West Glamorgan |81.0 |23.00 |28.40
|------- |------- |-------
Total |2,581.6 |358.45 |13.90
The Department's policy is that surplus land will be sold in a publicly acceptable manner for the best possible price and the sale proceeds will be used for the benefit of health care in Wales. The chief valuer of the Inland Revenue estimated the open market value of all National Health Service land and property in Wales in March 1988 to be approximately £219 million.
Further Education
Ms. Quin : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many fifth form pupils have moved into full-time education in each of the last three academic years giving the figures in numerical and percentage terms and for each standard planning region.
Mr. Wyn Roberts : The information is not available in the form requested. The figures in the following table relate to leavers aged 15 at the beginning of the academic year who intended to proceed to a course of full-time further education.
Column 812
16-year-old pupils<1> from Welsh schools moving into full-time further
education<2>
Year |Number ('000) |Percentage of all leavers
|aged 16<1>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1984-85 |6.4 |21.7
1985-86 |5.8 |20.6
1986-87 |6.8 |22.8
<1> Aged 15 at 31 August ie the beginning of the academic year.
<2> The figures shown relate to school leavers only and as such do not include those pupils who
continue their education in schools. Students on higher education courses are also excluded.
Curriculum and TVEI
Mr. Rowlands : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people are employed in the Training Commission in Wales dealing with the curriculum in schools and the extension of the technical and vocational education initiative ; and of those so employed how many have teaching or education training qualifications.
Mr. Wyn Roberts : There are currently 10 staff employed by the Training Agency to support the development of TVEI in Welsh local education authorities. This team includes three specialist advisers who are head teachers on secondment to the Training Agency, and who have considerable experience in curriculum development.
All three have a range of professional qualifications in education. The remaining seven members of the TVEI unit provide administrative support.
Training Agency advisers work closely with HMI Wales, the WJEC and the Welsh Office education department in all matters concerning the development of TVEI in Wales.
Tourism
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will place a contract for educational research to promote tourist visits to Wales with the countryside interpretation unit, presently located at the Open university, Milton Keynes.
Mr. Wyn Roberts : I have no plans to do so.
Public Appeals
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will specify each donation made by his Department in response to public appeals for financial aid during each financial year since 1979-80.
Mr. Peter Walker : Since 1979-80 the Department has made no such donations.
History Curriculum
Mr. Rowlands : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will list those he has appointed to the working party on the history curriculum in Wales.
Mr. Wyn Roberts : My right hon. Friend has appointed the following to serve as members of the history committee for Wales :
Column 813
Members |Designation --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mr. Peris Jones-Evans |Head of history, Ysgol y Berwyn, Bala, Gwynedd Mrs. Ruth Powell |Deputy head teacher, Cwmtawe secondary school, Pontardawe, West Glamorgan Mr. Richard Waller |Head teacher, Overmonnow junior school, Monmouth, Gwent Mrs. Gill Foley |School teacher, Cyfartha junior school, Merthyr Tydfil, Mid Glamorgan Mr. David Maddox |LEA Adviser, Mid Galmorgan Dr. Gareth Evans |Lecturer, Department of Education, University College of Wales, Aberystwyth Dr. Gareth Elwyn Jones |Reader in education, Department of Education, University College of Wales, Swansea Mr. Malcolm Jones |Assistant principal, Education Department, Trinity College, Carmarthen Dr. William Lambert |Deputy examination secretary, WJEC Mr. Robert Morris |Senior lecturer, Bangor Normal College, Gwynedd Mr. Jon Vodden |Senior producer, BBC Radio Wales (Schools) Mr. Roy Harrison |Head of staff training, education and development, British Coal plc Note: Professor Rees Davies, Professor of History and Vice Principal of University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, will chair the committee.
Trunk Roads
Mr. Roy Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the trunk road construction contracts (a) that will have been let by his Department during 1988-89 and (b) that his Department expects to let during 1989-90.
Mr. Wyn Roberts : In 1988-89, the following contracts were let : Structural renewal
A48 Earlswood-Lonlas resurfacing
A48 Chepstow old bridge repainting
A465 Llandarcy-Aberdulais salting viaduct
A470 Bridge waterproofing
A55 Penmaenbach resurfacing
Small schemes
M4/A449 filter lane at Coldra interchange
A55 Pen-y-Clip anchored retaining wall
A487 Aberaeron-Aberarth improvement
A483 Beulah improvement
A470 Carno bridge reconstruction
A483 Dolfor road improvement
A44 Aberystwyth area, milestones 15-16
I expect to let the contract for the A483 Chirk bypass and the A55 Travellers Inn improvement shortly.
Details of the major scheme contracts to be let in 1989-90 will be announced in the Welsh commentary on the public expenditure White Paper and in the forthcoming edition of "Roads in Wales." Further contracts will be let under the structural renewal and small schemes programmes.
Welsh Language
Mr. Rowlands : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessments he has made of the availability of trained teachers of the Welsh language.
Mr. Wyn Roberts : A survey of secondary school teachers' qualifications and deployment was conducted in January 1984 the results of which were published in 1986 in Welsh Education Statistics Bulletins Nos. 1 and 2. A new secondary school staffing survey is being undertaken at present.
A survey of the staff in primary schools was carried out in March 1987 and the results published in Welsh Education Statistics Bulletin No. 5 in 1988. The surveys were designed to assess the numbers of Welsh speakers amongst teachers in Wales as well as those who have qualifications in Welsh. The above publications are available in the Library of the House.
Column 814
Tourism
Dr. Owen : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the total of Government support for the tourist industry in 1988 prices for each year from 1960 to 1988 for Wales ; and what is the projected amount for the next five years.
Mr. Wyn Roberts : The principal tourism agency in the Principality is the Wales tourist board. Information on the board's net expenditure at 1988 prices is set out in the following table. Future plans are set out in the 1989 Public Expenditure White Paper (Cm. 617).
Wales tourist board net
expenditure 1988 prices
|£000
-------------------------
1969-70 |0.413
1970-71 |1.909
1971-72 |5.187
1972-73 |7.727
1973-74 |14.258
1974-75 |4.641
1975-76 |4.776
1976-77 |4.855
1977-78 |5.037
1978-79 |6.374
1979-80 |6.407
1980-81 |6.519
1981-82 |5.869
1982-83 |7.176
1983-84 |6.245
1984-85 |7.524
1985-86 |8.753
1986-87 |8.648
1987-88 |9.165
<1>1988-89 |9.211
<1> Provisional.
ENVIRONMENT
Climate Change
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how his Department participated in the inter-governmental range on climate change held at Oxford between 24 and 26 January.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The Department of the Environment provided £8,751 to cover the costs of the first meeting of working group I of the inter-governmental panel on climate change. Additionally, the Department provided one member of staff for secretarial support and two officials attended as observers. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment attended during the first day.
Column 815
Rats
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps his Department is taking to control and to reduce the rat population ; and what advice he has given on rat control strategies to local authorities and water authorities.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Duties to control rats rest with district councils, London borough councils, the common council of the city of London and port health authorities under the Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949. This legislation is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will increase the resources available to enable local authority environmental health officers and pest control officers to deal with rat infestations.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : It is for each local authority todecide what resources to make available to its environmental health department. The need for expenditure on public health is taken into account in assessing grant-related expenditure for the purposes of the rate support grant.
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what figures are available as to the number of rats in Derbyshire, the numbers for the previous two years, and the anticipated numbers.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : This information is not available.
Local Government Superannuation Regulations
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will amend the local government superannuation regulations so as to provide that employees of local authorities seeking early retirement on medical grounds have access to an independent medical examination.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Decisions about the retirement of employees currently in post are a matter for the employing authority and do not come within the scope of the superannuation regulations. A retired employee who believes that he or she should have been granted additional benefits on account of retirement on grounds of ill health would however have a right of appeal to my right. hon. Friend under the regulations. Such appeals are determined by reference to independent medical advice.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received on the operation by Gedling borough council of those parts of the local government superannuation regulations which relate to medical examination of those seeking early retirement on health grounds as they relate to Mrs. Elizabeth Laurence.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : I have received no representations relating to the case of Mrs. Elizabeth Laurence.
Mortgage Repossessions
Mr. George Howarth : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has as to how many
Column 816
families in the north west of England and each of the metropolitan boroughs in the north west of England have been admitted into local authority homeless accommodation from the year 1979 to the present due to repossession arising from mortgage arrears.Mr. Trippier : I have today placed in the Library a table giving the available information.
New Towns
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he intends to consult the tenants of the Commission for New Towns through a ballot on the question of the transfer of the management of their homes.
Mr. Trippier : The management of the rented housing stock is a matter for the Commission for New Towns.
Warrington
Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make an official visit to meet the residents of Grappenhall and Appleton in Warrington.
Mr. Trippier : I have no present plans to do so.
Sites of Special Scientific Interest
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment why a revised code of guidance is in preparation for sites of special scientific interest ; and what changes and new proposals he expects this to include.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : A revised code of guidance is being prepared to take account of the Wildlife and Countryside (Amendment) Act 1985 and the Wildlife and Countryside (Service of Notices) Act 1985. It is expected to be submitted for approval by Parliament later this year.
Mobile Homes
Mr. Shersby : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to introduce further legislation to provide adequate protection for the residents of mobile homes ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Trippier : I have no plans to do so.
CFC Refrigerants
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the report published by the Heating and Ventilating Contractors Association entitled, "Safe Disposal of CFC Refrigerants", which was presented to him on 23 January.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Gordon (Mr. Bruce) on 3 February, Official Report, column 427.
Drinking Water
Mr. Burt : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will announce proposals for regulations on drinking water quality, as provided for in the Water Bill.
Mr. Howard : Safeguarding the high standard of water supplied to consumers is a prime objective of the Government's Water Bill.
Column 817
This is why I publish today two consultation papers setting out a comprehensive new system for safeguarding and improving the quality of water supplies.The papers explain how we will meet the requirements of the EC Drinking Water Directive and go beyond that with additional measures of our own. The papers also point to more frequent and accurate sampling, a new procedure for approval of chemicals and other substances used in supplying water, and the technical details of how water suppliers should implement the regulations.
What is more, water suppliers will be required to provide full information to consumers on the quality of water coming from their taps.
Once these stringent regulations are in force both local authorities, and the Government's new drinking water quality inspectorate, will closely check that all requirements are being met.
All in all this adds up to a comprehensive system for safeguarding and improving supplies of drinking water.
I have placed a copy of the two papers with a summary of their contents in the Library of the House. We shall, of course, be glad to receive suggestions from local authority associations and other interested bodies.
Flow Country
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the cost to the Exchequer, through grants payable by the Nature Conservancy Council under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, of protecting areas of conservation value from afforestation in the flow country of Caithness and Sutherland.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley [holding answer 8 February 1989] : I understand that the Nature Conservancy Council has not received any applications for grant under section 38 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 related to possible afforestation in the flow country of Caithness and Sutherland. NCC's estimates for 1989-90 include a sum of up to £750,000 to pay both for possible compensation under management agreements in the flow country and for additional staff for work related to SSSI designations in the area. Provision of £1 million has also been made in the planned allocations to NCC for both 1990-91 and 1991-92 to cover similar expenditure.
TRANSPORT
Departmental Staff
Mr. Anderson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals he has for altering manning levels in the vehicle inspectorate and traffic commissioner enforcement sections of his Department.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : There are no such proposals for traffic examiners or in the vehicle inspectorate agency. Small reductions will be made in the number of clerical support staff in the traffic area offices following streamlining of duties and the introduction of new technology.
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has any plans to reduce the manpower levels in his Department's vehicle inspectorate and traffic commissioner enforcement sections.
Column 818
Mr. Peter Bottomley : There are no such proposals for traffic examiners or in the vehicle inspectorate agency. Small reductions will be made in the number of clerical support staff in the traffic area offices following streamlining of duties and the introduction of new technology.
Bus Lanes (London)
Sir Neil Macfarlane : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will review the purpose of bus lanes in London and take steps to ensure that they do not become parking places for coaches ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : Priority to buses can be justified when the benefit to bus users exceeds the cost to other road users. The Department has issued guidance in traffic advisory unit leaflet 2/88 on the use of with-flow bus lanes ; further advice is in preparation.
Violation of bus lanes--whether by parked or moving vehicles--is a matter for police enforcement.
One-man Operated Buses
Sir Neil Macfarlane : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department has conducted any studies to assess the effect of one-man operated buses on the free movement of other road users.
Mr. Portillo : TRRL studies have shown that lengthy boarding times can diminish potential savings from one-person operation of buses and add to general traffic delays. London Regional Transport takes into account congestion effects on bus services in their cost-benefit appraisals of conversions to one-person operation.
Toxic Wastes
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if, during the meeting of European Community Transport Ministers on 13 February in Murcia, he will make it his policy to initiate a European Communitywide survey of the hazards of transporting toxic and radiotoxic materials within and out of Community member states.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : No such survey is needed. The transport of dangerous goods, including radioactive materials, is required to comply with international standards laid down by United Nations bodies. The regulations are kept under continuous review.
Traffic Speeds (London)
Mr. Sedgemore : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his Department's estimate of the current average speed by road, of traffic in central London ; and by how much he hopes to increase this over the next five years.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : Current average speed is about 11 mph throughout the 7 am to 7 pm period. It is not expected that speeds will change significantly over the next five years.
Column 819
Public Vehicle Inspectors
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish in the Official Report the number of public vehicle inspectors his Department employed in (i) 1984 and (ii) at the current time.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : The number of vehicle examiners in May 1984 was 316 ; it is currently 472. Changes in the professional and technology grading structure and in the range of duties undertaken by the staff of the vehicle inspectorate mean that these two figures are not directly comparable.
PSO Licences
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if his Department has any plans to change the current requirements which operators of public service vehicles must satisfy before being granted an operator's licence.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : The Department is reviewing the operator licensing requirements for goods and passenger vehicles. There would be consultation on any proposals for change.
South Wales Traffic Commissioner
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy that the office of the South Wales traffic commissioner will not be moved from Cardiff.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : We have no intention of closing the traffic area office in Cardiff.
Escalators (London Underground)
Mr. Kaufman : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will call for a report from the chairman of London Underground on the number of escalators at London Underground stations currently not in operation ; how many such escalators have been out of action during the past 12 months ; what proportion each of these categories comprises of the total number of escalators in the London Underground system ; why one or more of the escalators at St. John's Wood station has been out of operation frequently and for prolonged periods ; what action he intends to take to remedy this situation ; and if he will publish the contents of this report in the Official Report.
Mr. Portillo : The operation, repair and maintenance of escalators is a matter for the board and management of London Underground to whom the right hon. Member should address his questions. However, I understand that the need to take escalators out of service to carry out safety-related works recommended in the Fennell report has been a factor in the reduced availability of escalators in recent weeks.
| Next Section
| Home Page |