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Written Answers to Questions
Monday 13 February 1989
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Overseas Students
Mr. Speller : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps to increase the number of students from west Africa who are offered places in further education or higher education in the United Kingdom ; what is the present total of such students ; and if he has any target figures for future years.
Mr. Eggar : In 1986-87, the latest year for which there are complete figures, there were almost 4,000 students from west African countries studying at universities and public sector institutions of higher and further education in the United Kingdom. Her Majesty's Government gave, under various schemes, financial support to a large proportion of these students. The number of students receiving such support will be nearly 1,700 in the current financial year. We expect this figure to increase in future years.
Rudolf Hess
Sir Michael McNair-Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish in full all post mortem reports on the body of Rudolf Hess.
Mrs. Chalker : No. Publication is a matter for Hess's family.
PRIME MINISTER
Meetings
Mr. Wray : To ask the Prime Minister how many times she has met Mr. Rupert Murdoch at 10 Downing street in the last 12 months.
The Prime Minister : As I have told the House before, my normal practice is neither to confirm nor deny whether meetings with private individuals have taken place, even in those cases where no such meeting has occurred.
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Top-up Loans
Mr. Batiste : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will put his proposals for a student top-up loan scheme out for competitive tendering by banks and building societies.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : I am exploring with a variety of private sector financial institutions and other potential agents the most cost-effective approach to the administration of top-up loans. The scheme offers the financial institutions access to over 2 million graduate accounts : I expect there to be competition for this opportunity.
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Creche Service
Ms. Richardson : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has on the number of children of pre-school age in inner London cared for in a creche within an ILEA adult education institute ; and what plans have been made to ensure that resources are made available to individual boroughs to maintain and expand this service.
Mrs. Rumbold : The information requested is not available centrally. The provision of creches for adult education students and staff will be a matter for the inner London boroughs to consider, in the light of the overall resources available to them.
National Curriculum (Documents)
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what are the standing arrangements for the distribution of documents relating to the national curriculum to (a) schools, (b) parents and (c) others ; and whether he has any plans to change those arrangements.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : Arrangements for the distribution of particular documents are made in the light of their nature and status. Circulars, statutory orders and regulations which concern the curriculum responsibilities of head teachers and school governing bodies are sent direct to all schools. Under regulations to be made under section 22 of the Education Reform Act, parents will have access at the school to all such documents. Copies are sent to LEAs and representative bodies, which are also consulted on draft documents ; such drafts are available to others on request.
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list in the Official Report the titles of documents relating to the national curriculum which have been made available to schools ; and in respect of each document (a) how many have been sent to each school and over what period following publication, (b) whether any charge has been made, and (c) whether any delays in dispatch have occurred.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : My Department has sent out two final circulars relevant to chapter 1 of the ERA--circular 1/89 on local arrangements for the consideration of complaints, and circular 3/89 on religious education and collective worship. Both were sent free of charge to all maintained schools--two copies to every head teacher and one for each governing body. The full circulation took just over two weeks in each case, because of heavy pressure on the dispatch services. The National Curriculum Council is responsible for the distribution of proposals for statutory attainment targets and programmes of study. It has sent copies of such proposals covering mathematics, science and primary English to all maintained schools.
A number of draft documents and consultation papers relevant to chapter 1 of the ERA have been sent to LEAs and representative organisations, but made available free of charge to schools and others on request. There have been no delays in dispatching these documents, but postal delays may have affected delivery of some.
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Grant-Maintained Schools Trust
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the non-financial assistance being given to the Grant-Maintained Schools Trust.
Mrs. Rumbold : My Department provides information on the Government's grant-maintained schools policies to anyone who seeks it : the Grant-Maintained Schools Trust has from time to time sought and received such information.
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has made any representations to the Charity Commission about the application by the Grant-Maintained Schools Trust for charity status.
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has given any financial support to the Grant-Maintained Schools Trust.
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Mrs. Rumbold : No. My right hon. Friend is, however, currently considering an application by the Grant-Maintained Schools Trust for financial support in connection with the provision or proposed provision of educational services in grant-maintained schools.
Examinations
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list all local education authorities in England in rank order of expenditure per secondary pupil per year, starting with the highest spending authority, together with their position in the table of examination results for school leavers achieving five or more O-levels at grade A to C or CSE grade 1, in the latest year for which figures are available and in which these examinations were sat.
Mrs. Rumbold : The information is as follows
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|c|Secondary schools in England-1986-87|c|
Examination results
|Expenditure per pupil £|Percentage of leavers |Ranking
|attaining 5+ higher
|grades at O-level/CSE
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Local education authorities
ILEA |2,345 |14.7 |88
Waltham Forest |1,915 |6.2 |96
Brent |1,805 |19.6 |69
Manchester |1,660 |13.6 |92
Ealing |1,650 |21.3 |56
Harrow |1,600 |31.0 |11
Croydon |1,535 |19.6 |68
Kingston-upon-Thames |1,530 |32.6 |6
Newcastle-upon-Tyne |1,530 |17.4 |78
Hillingdon |1,520 |18.3 |74
Knowsley |1,515 |8.2 |95
Barnet |1,510 |41.4 |2
Havering |1,510 |23.7 |45
Hounslow |1,505 |23.5 |47
Sheffield |1,490 |17.8 |75
Coventry |1,485 |20.5 |61
Barking |1,470 |10.7 |94
Redbridge |1,465 |28.0 |17
Rochdale |1,460 |17.5 |77
Wigan |1,460 |28.5 |14
North Tyneside |1,455 |24.0 |42
Liverpool |1,445 |15.9 |84
Walsall |1,430 |19.3 |70
South Tyneside |1,430 |15.4 |87
Bromley |1,420 |33.2 |4
Sandwell |1,410 |12.5 |93
Wolverhampton |1,395 |17.1 |79
Leicestershire |1,390 |24.0 |43
Salford |1,385 |20.3 |62
Enfield |1,380 |20.1 |64
Bexley |1,370 |27.1 |23
Nottinghamshire |1,365 |21.0 |58
Gateshead |1,360 |19.8 |67
Cleveland |1,355 |27.9 |8
Dudley |1,350 |20.8 |59
Hertfordshire |1,350 |28.7 |13
Oxfordshire |1,350 |26.6 |26
Birmingham |1,345 |15.5 |86
St. Helens |1,340 |23.1 |50
Bury |1,340 |32.6 |5
Richmond-upon-Thames |1,330 |27.1 |22
Calderdale |1,330 |16.3 |81
Barnsley |1,325 |16.6 |80
Merton |1,325 |24.3 |41
Tameside |1,325 |24.3 |40
Doncaster |1,325 |19.0 |72
Buckinghamshire |1,320 |31.8 |9
Trafford |1,315 |32.1 |8
Cumbria |1,315 |25.9 |30
Avon |1,310 |24.7 |38
Sunderland |1,305 |19.3 |71
Derbyshire |1,305 |20.6 |60
Sutton |1,300 |42.3 |1
Wakefield |1,290 |17.7 |76
Shropshire |1,285 |28.1 |16
Wirral |1,280 |23.8 |44
Solihull |1,280 |32.1 |7
Berkshire |1,280 |27.8 |19
Sefton |1,275 |24.7 |39
Stockport |1,270 |25.1 |33
Humberside |1,270 |21.9 |53
Gloucestershire |1,260 |27.6 |20
Surrey |1,260 |36.5 |3
Essex |1,255 |23.6 |46
Oldham |1,255 |14.4 |89
Staffordshire |1,255 |23.0 |51
Lancashire |1,255 |23.1 |49
Kirklees |1,250 |23.4 |48
Northamptonshire |1,250 |18.4 |73
Bedfordshire |1,250 |26.0 |29
North Yorkshire |1,240 |30.4 |12
Bradford |1,235 |16.1 |83
Cheshire |1,235 |26.7 |25
East Sussex |1,235 |24.7 |37
Leeds |1,230 |19.9 |66
Norfolk |1,230 |20.3 |63
Rotherham |1,230 |15.7 |85
Bolton |1,230 |25.2 |32
Wiltshire |1,230 |20.0 |65
Northumberland |1,230 |28.4 |15
Devon |1,225 |22.9 |52
Durham |1,225 |21.0 |57
Hampshire |1,220 |27.4 |21
Warwickshire |1,220 |24.8 |36
West Sussex |1,220 |31.5 |10
Cambridgeshire |1,205 |24.9 |35
Somerset |1,195 |21.9 |54
Dorset |1,190 |26.5 |27
Lincolnshire |1,185 |26.2 |28
Hereford and Worcester |1,180 |26.7 |24
Cornwall |1,175 |25.0 |34
Suffolk |1,165 |21.4 |55
Isle of Wight |1,150 |16.2 |82
Kent |1,145 |25.8 |31
Haringey |n/a |13.7 |91
Newham |n/a |14.0 |90
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) if he will list the number of children sitting (a) CSE exams, (b) O-level exams, and (c) A-level exams in each local education authority in England as a percentage of the total number in the relevant year groups in each authority for the latest available year in which their examinations were sat ;
(2) if he will list by each local education authority in England the total number of children achieving (a) CSE grades 2-5, (b) O-level grades A-C and CSE grade 1, and (c) A-level grades A to E as a percentage of the total number of pupils in the relevant year group in each authority, for the latest available year in which these examinations were sat.
Mrs. Rumbold : The information is not available.
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WALES
Hospital Waiting Lists
Mr. Rowlands : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will list the average waiting times for the following operations at each of the district general hospitals in Wales (a) hip and knee replacements, (b) hernias, (c) cataracts, (d) ear, nose and throat and (e) varicose veins.
Mr. Grist : Information is not available for patients currently on waiting lists. The average waiting times given in the table relate to patients admitted on waiting list and booked or planned cases, and discharged during 1987. Information is given for each of the main general acute hospitals and each of the teaching hospitals in Wales.
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|c|Average waiting time (days)|c|
|Hip or Knee replacements|Hernias<1> |Cataracts |Ear, Nose and Throat |Varicose Veins
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ysbyty Glan Clwyd |<2> |83 |- |154 |-
Maelor General |110 |122 |121 |144 |284
Bronglais |129 |98 |<2> |50 |<2>
West Wales General |267 |85 |53 |112 |92
Nevill Hall |156 |178 |- |<2> |<2>
Royal Gwent/St. Woolos |355 |112 |179 |110 |194
Ysbyty Gwynedd |139 |65 |105 |102 |96
Princess of Wales |54 |78 |<2> |<2> |84
East Glamorgan |<2> |109 |- |212 |227
Prince Charles |<2> |209 |88 |220 |254
Morriston |186 |96 |- |<2> |<2>
Singleton |- |72 |228 |106 |250
Neath General |<2> |<2> |- |<2> |<2>
Withybush |<2> |209 |<2> |147 |464
University Hospital of Wales |274 |129 |131 |124 |501
Cardiff Royal Infirmary |- |48 |- |<2> |<2>
Llandough |- |120 |- |<2> |242
<1>Includes inguinal and femoral hernias, abdominal operations on diaphragmatic hernias, abdominal hernias and secondary repairs.
<2>Average waiting times have not been calculated for hospitals with less than 50 cases.
Surplus Food
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish in the Official Report details of the localities and the numbers of each qualifying group which obtained free butter and beef under the European Community free food scheme in each year during which the scheme was operated.
Mr. Peter Walker : The EC surplus food scheme has operated for one year and a list of the organisations designated to operate the scheme was placed in the Library of the House on 21 April 1988 by the then Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, my right hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk, Coastal (Mr. Gummer). The information on numbers of each qualifying group is not available.
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the allocation to Wales of free butter and beef under the European Community free food scheme in each of the years during which the scheme operated.
Mr. Peter Walker : In Wales 176 tonnes of butter and 332 tonnes of beef were allocated to and distributed by designated organisations under the EC surplus food scheme in 1988.
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list in the Official Report the names and locations of charitable organisations who applied for free butter and beef under the European Community free food scheme in each year during which the scheme was operated and those who were designated to operate the scheme.
Mr. Peter Walker : Charitable and non-profit-making organisations were invited to apply to operate the EC surplus free food scheme in 1988 and 1989. The list of designated organisations has been placed in the House. As organisations and individuals submitted applications on a confidential basis it is not possible to release details of those who were unsuccessful.
Examinations Expenditure
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list all local education authorities in Wales in rank order of expenditure per secondary pupil per year,
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starting with the highest spending authority, together with their position in the table of examination results for school leavers achieving five or more O-levels at grades A to C or CSE grade 1 in the latest available year for which figures are available and in which these examinations were sat.Mr. Wyn Roberts : The information requested is available for the 1986-87 financial and academic years and is as follows :
|Expenditure per secondary|Examination result
|school pupil (£) |position<1>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
West Glamorgan |1,507 |4
Gwent |1,363 |6
Powys |1,332 |1
Gwynedd |1,296 |7
Dyfed |1,283 |2
Clwyd |1,282 |5
Mid Glamorgan |1,268 |8
South Glamorgan |1,268 |3
<1> Ranked in order of the percentage of school leavers with five or more O levels at grade A to C or
CSE grade 1.
Urban Investment Grant
Mr. Raffan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make an announcement about his plans to introduce a new urban investment grant in Wales.
Mr. Peter Walker : The consultation exercise which we conducted recently prompted a positive response from the public and private sectors alike. With very few exceptions, the proposal to simplify the grant regime aimed at stimulating private sector investment in rundown sites in all deprived urban areas of Wales was welcomed. As a result of the views expressed I have decided that the threshold for the new grant will be set at the lower level of £150,000 when the grant is introduced in April of this year. Detailed guidance notes setting out arrangements for the new scheme are now available. Copies of the notes have today been sent to all those who responded to the consultation.
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OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT
North Africa (Desertification)
75. Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's contribution to the combating of desertification in north Africa.
Mr. Chris Patten : We contribute to the fight against desertification through our participation in the work of a number of multilateral institutions. We also support measures to combat desertification in countries bordering the Sahara through our contribution to the European development fund ; our share of projects that have been approved so far under the sixth EDF amounts to some £24 million.
Zambia (Ministerial Visit)
77. Mr. Franks : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether, during the recent ministerial visit to Zambia, he held discussions regarding British aid.
Mr. Chris Patten : During her recent visit my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs held discussions which included reference to present and future British aid.
Pest Control
78. Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure co-operation between the Overseas Development Natural Resources Institute and national institutions concerned with pest control.
Mr. Chris Patten : The ODNRI has a long history of collaboration with centres of pest expertise in Britain and abroad. The role of such links is carefully considered when customer divisions in the ODA commission work from the institute. The £7 million special programme to support pest control in Africa, on which I instructed the institute to embark in 1987, is an excellent example. Under it the ODNRI is collaborating with eight institutions in Britain and 12 in developing countries.
Somalia
79. Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what practical steps are being taken by the Department to offer an aid package to help resettlement of refugees and economic recovery in northern Somalia in the light of Government moves to encourage an end to internal hostilities in Somalia.
Mr. Chris Patten : We have given some £275,000 in support of the relief activities of British voluntary agencies in the wake of the civil conflict in northern Somalia. We stand ready to give prompt and sympathetic consideration to further requests from such organisations for humanitarian assistance.
IMF and World Bank
80. Miss Lestor : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next expects to meet the managing director of the International Monetary Fund and the president of the World Bank ; and what matters they propose to discuss.
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Mr. Chris Patten : Relations with the International Monetary Fund are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer. As regards a meeting with the president of the World Bank, I can add nothing to the reply which I gave to the hon. Lady on 23 January, at column 370 .
Caribbean Countries
81. Mr. Jack : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on British aid to the Caribbean countries.
Mr. Chris Patten : In the most recent year for which figures are available (1987), British bilateral aid to the Caribbean amounted to £29.06 million. I recently visited several countries in the Caribbean and heard for myself the appreciation with which our aid programme is received.
Bangladesh
82. Mr. David Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the current level of official development assistance to Bangladesh.
Mr. Chris Patten : Net official development assistance from the United Kindom to Bangladesh in 1987--the latest year for which figures are available--was £34.8 million. I anticipate that in the current financial year total expenditure will be about £50 million.
International Fund for Agricultural Development
83. Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the current United Kingdom contribution to the international fund for agriculture development, and on current negotiations on future funding.
Mr. Chris Patten : Since its establishment in 1977, the United Kingdom has committed some £47 million to IFAD, including £7 million to its special programme for sub-Saharan African countries affected by drought and desertification. Disbursements against these pledges total roughly £28 million to date. Negotiations for the third replenishment of IFAD's resources are in progress. A statement is awaited from OPEC donors on their intended level of support.
Malawi
84. Dr. Michael Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will indicate the assistance offered to Malawi during the last three years and how it was used.
85. Mr. Couchman : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on British aid to Malawi.
Mr. Chris Patten : British bilateral aid to Malawi in the latest three years for which figures are available was as follows :
£'000
|1985 |1986 |1987
----------------------------------------------------------
Total |14,008|15,019|24,868
Projects |3,134 |3,168 |2,342
Aid and Trade Provision |143 |87 |1,657
Programme Aid and Debt Relief |3,153 |2,657 |7,573
Commonwealth Development
Corporation |1,092 |1,976 |5,478
Technical Cooperation |6,486 |7,131 |7,807
Disaster Relief |- |- |11
Southern Africa Development Co-ordination Conference
86. Mr. Hind : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the annual meeting of the Southern Africa Development Co-ordination Conference.
Mr. Chris Patten : I attended the annual consultative conference of the Southern Africa Development Co-ordination Conference (SADCC) in Luanda on 2 and 3 February. As my right hon. Friend the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, informed the House on 2 February, at column 333, I was able to announce continued British support for SADCC. Both SADCC member states and donor representatives considered the conference a success.
Overseas Development Administration (Relocation)
87. Mr. Ingram : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he is considering the relocation of further London- based posts with the Overseas Development Administration to the administration's offices in East Kilbride.
Mr. Chris Patten : I have recently decided that 15 posts concerned with personnel issues and the engagement of consultants should be relocated from London to East Kilbride. I have at present no plans for the relocation of further London based posts, although the position will be kept under review.
The Overseas Development Administration already has over 40 per cent. of its headquarters staff in East Kilbride and by the end of 1990 will have nearly 60 per cent. of its total staff outside London.
Lome IV
88. Mr. Tom Clarke : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on current progress on the Lome IV negotiations.
Mr. Chris Patten : Negotiations on a successor to the third Lome convention, which expires in February 1990, were opened formally in October last year. The first EC-ACP ministerial negotiating meeting, which I shall be attending, is in Brazzaville later this week.
Tropical Rain Forests
89. Mr. Jacques Arnold : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further assistance he is giving to efforts to preserve the tropical rain forest in Brazil.
Mr. Chris Patten : We are supporting research in forest regeneration through the Maraca rain forest project. As I told the hon. Member for Glasgow, Provan (Mr. Wray) on 19 January, we also support the efforts of the World Bank and other international organisations to strengthen the application of environmental considerations in Brazil.
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Colombia (Rural Development)
90. Sir Russell Johnston : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he plans to meet representatives of the Colombian Government to discuss rural development programmes involving alternative crops for areas where narcotics are grown.
Mr. Chris Patten : I have no plans to do so. My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs discussed the problem of drug control with Colombian Ministers and officials during his visit to Colombia last August. Her Majesty's Government are already assisting Colombia in the control of drugs.
Aid Projects (Assessment)
91. Mr. Patrick Thompson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the field tests of the new manual to help project managers decide how much environmental assessment is required in the case of each aid project.
Mr. Chris Patten : The draft manual was field tested by Overseas Development Administration staff on visits to a number of countries and was found to be a useful tool for helping to assess environmental concerns. Comments and suggestions for improvements in substance and format, from staff and from over 50 international bodies and non-governmental organisations, are being incorporated in the final version.
Tanzania (Aid)
92. Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last met Ministers of the Tanzanian Government to discuss future aid projects in that country ; and what projects were discussed.
Mr. Chris Patten : My right hon. and learned Friend visited Tanzania last September. He discussed a number of potential aid projects in the transport and natural resources sectors. He also signed an agreement for a further £6 million of project aid. He stressed the importance of Tanzania's economic reform programme in support of which Britain has pledged over £80 million in the last two years.
Development Assistance
93. Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects to announce the 1988 level of United Kingdom official development assistance as a proportion of gross national product.
Mr. Chris Patten : I hope to be able to provide this information before the end of June.
Crown Agents
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the Crown Agents holding and realisation board last met, and what was discussed.
Mr. Chris Patten : The Crown Agents holding and realisation board last met on 27 April 1988. At that
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meeting, members noted a report on the status of CAHRB loans and investments and approved the annual accounts for 1987.Conservation
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consideration he gives, when allocating aid, to projects which safeguard and provide for the development of natural resources.
Mr. Chris Patten : Helping to develop natural resources has long been an important part of our aid programme, the prime aims of which are poverty alleviation and sustainable development. We are currently pursuing an initiative to commit more of our resources to forestry.
ODA
Voluntary Agencies (Funding)
Mr. Hayward : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has any plans to increase the financial support available to voluntary agencies for their long-term development work.
Mr. Christ Patten : Subject to parliamentary approval, I propose to make a total of £16 million available to British voluntary agencies in 1989-90 under our joint funding scheme. This represents an increase of 43 per cent. on this year's allocation of £11.2 million. Our total support for the voluntary agencies last year came to more than £42 million, approximately half of which was spent on long-term development work. The increases I am announcing today are in recognition of the important role that many voluntary agencies play in promoting economic and social development at a grassroots level amongst some of the poorest communities in developing countries.
AIDS
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what research his Department has commissioned into the socio-economic impact of AIDS on developing countries.
Mr. Christ Patten : My Department has commissioned three research projects into the socio-economic impact of AIDS in developing countries : "A review of sources on sexual behaviour" ; "Traditional Health practitioners and the spread of the HIV virus" ; and "Community coping mechanisms in circumstances of exceptional demographic change". In addition, we are funding a major research project on the demographic and economic impact of AIDS in developing countries.
EMPLOYMENT
Restart
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment why the restart interview form in section 7 dealing with qualifications ignores Scottish educational qualifications.
Mr. Lee : Question 7 of the restart interview form contains a space in which details can be inserted of qualifications held which are not included on the form.
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Scottish educational qualifications can be shown in this box. The hon. Member's point about Scottish educational qualifications will be considered when the form is reviewed.Adjudication Officers
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what number of adjudication officers were in post at the end of each reporting year since 1983 ; and what proportion of such officers had over 12 months' experience of adjudication work.
Mr. Lee : Three annual reports of the chief adjudication officer have been published, covering the years 1984-85, 1985-86 and 1986-87. The information given in these reports is as follows :
Year |Adjudication officers in
|post
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1984-85 |334
1985-86 |345
1986-87 |505
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 26 January 1988 at column 159 , showing 524 adjudication officers in post at that time.
Information about the levels of experience amongst adjudication officers is not routinely collected.
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