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Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 14 February.
Mr. Yeo : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 14 February.
The Prime Minister : This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House I shall be having further meetings later today. This evening I hope to have an audience of Her Majesty The Queen.
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Capital Allocations (Nottinghamshire)
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received from Nottinghamshire county council regarding (a) the adequacy of the 1989 capital allocations and (b) a meeting to discuss the above.
Mr. Butcher : My right hon. Friend has received a letter from the chairman of the education committee of
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Nottinghamshire county council setting out the committee's views on the capital allocation for 1989-90 and seeking to bring a deputation to discuss this allocation covering both county and aided schools. I will be writing shortly to arrange a meeting with interested parties from Nottinghamshire.Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is capital allocation to Nottinghamshire county education authority for (a) county schools, (b) aided schools and (c) any other categories ; and what is the total allocation for each of the years since 1979 indexed using 1979 prices as a base of 100.
Mr. Butcher : Nottinghamshire's total prescribed capital allocation for education for the financial year 1989-90 is £3,215,000. Of this, £3,128,000 was notionally allocated for county and controlled schools. In addition, £237,000 was allocated for governors' expenditure at aided and special agreement schools within Nottinghamshire.
The information requested for the total allocations from 1981-82 to 1989-90 is set out on the table. Before 1981-82 local education authorities did not receive block allocations but were notified annually, in the context of a rolling programme, of a limit on the value of building starts in the following year.
|c|Table: Capital allocations<1> to Nottinghamshire for 1981-82 to|c| |c|1989-90|c| (all figures in £ thousands) Year Allocations for Prescribed expenditure Governors'expenditure at allocations (schools and aided and special further and higher agreement schools education) |Cash prices |Constant prices<2>|Cash prices |Constant prices<2> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1981-82<3> |- |- |6,756 |6,756 1982-83 |259 |242 |4,903 |4,576 1983-84 |619 |553 |2,493 |2,225 1984-85 |190 |161 |2,666 |2,265 1985-86 |22 |18 |3,421 |2,758 1986-87 |66 |51 |3,043 |2,374 1987-88 |322 |239 |2,379 |1,763 1988-89 |203 |142 |2,461 |1,716 1989-90 |237 |157 |3,215 |2,136 Notes: <1> The allocations shown are those announced before the start of the financial year in question and do not include subsequent revisions. <2> Calculated at 1981-82 prices using the GDP deflator. <3> Allocations for aided schools in 1981-82 were made on a different basis from those for later years and have therefore been omitted.
School Meals
Mr. Ralph Howell : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish figures showing the estimated cost of providing free school meals to (a) pupils and (b) teachers in (i) 1970-71, (ii) 1979- 80 and(iii) 1984-85.
Mr. Butcher : The available information is given in the table.
|c|Estimated cost<1> of free school meals-England|c| £ million 1970-71 1979-80 1984-85 |cash terms |1984-85 real terms|cash terms |1984-85 real terms|cash terms ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Net cost of all meals |82 |396 |409 |626 |432 Cost of free meals to pupils |n/a |n/a |106 |163 |198 teachers |n/a |n/a |25 |38 |30 <1> The gross expenditure by local education authorities on all meals has been apportioned to the two categories in the ratio of the number of meals taken by each group to the total number of meals taken by paying and free pupils and adults. Note: The figures for the earlier years have been converted to 1984-85 real terms using the gross domestic product (market prices) deflator.
It is not possible to give a full set of figures for 1970-71 because the number of meals served to adults, including teachers, is not available.
Leigh and Bransford School
Mr. Temple-Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to be able to announce his conclusions regarding the public inquiry concerning access and other matters relating to Leigh and Bransford primary school, Worcester, held on 12 September 1988.
Mr. Butcher : My right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Education and Science and for Transport are in the final stages of consideration of the public inquiry concerning compulsory purchase orders relating to the new site for and access to the combined Bransford primary school and Leigh Sinton Church of England (voluntary controlled) school and they expect to announce a decision very shortly.
Council of Europe Anniversary
Mr. Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science in what ways his Department is intending to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Council of Europe in schools during 1989 ; and if the Council of Europe's special teaching kit is to be used.
Mr. Jackson : My Department intends to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Council of Europe in schools by issuing a letter to chief education officers, drawing their attention to the programme of events which has been arranged and sending them sufficient copies of the materials now being prepared by the council for distribution to secondary schools and further education colleges in England and Wales.
Student Awards
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will publish tables to show the number of discretionary awards to students attending (a) drama schools, (b) dance schools, and (c) art colleges, made by each local education authority in England and Wales in each of the last five years.
Mr. Jackson : This information is not available centrally.
Theatre in Education
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has on the local education authorities in England and Wales which give financial support to theatre in education companies.
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Mrs. Rumbold : The information for England is not collected centrally. Provision in Wales is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.
Education Reform
Mr. Baldry : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what guidance he has given to local education authorities as to who is responsible for meeting legal costs of school governors involved in litigation relating to opting-out procedures or other litigation arising out of the Education Reform Act 1988.
Mrs. Rumbold : The Department wrote to the chief education officers of all local education authorities in England on 13 February on the question, inter alia, of costs relating to legal action against governors in connection with applications for grant-maintained status under the Education Reform Act 1988. The relevant paragraph stated : "This is a matter which could only be determined finally by the Courts. But the Secretary of State's view is that, where the governing body has acted in good faith in pursuance of its duties, any legal costs it may incur in such circumstances would qualify as part of the expenses of running the school to be defrayed by the local education authority in accordance with section 114(2) of the Education Act 1944. The costs would therefore fall to be met by the local education authority : there would be no personal liability on individual governors".
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the names, the areas and type of those schools in respect of which he has received a notification concerning a governors' resolution or parent petition for a ballot for a grant-maintained school.
Mrs. Rumbold : There is no duty on governors to notify the Department when ballots on grant-maintained status are pending. Ballots have been completed at 29 schools. In addition, the Department is aware that governors have passed the necessary two resolutions, or have received a written request from parents, in respect of the following schools :
School and LEA |Character (county school |unless otherwise |indicated) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Beechen Cliff School, Bath, Avon |Comprehensive Boys-11-18 Claremont High School, Harrow, Brent |Secondary Mixed-11-18 Chesterfield School, Derbyshire |Comprehensive Boys-13-18 St. Helena School, Chesterfield, Derbyshire |Comprehensive Girls-13-18 Foster's Grammar School for Boys, Sherborne, Dorset |Grammar Boys-11-18 Lord Digby's Grammar School for Girls, Sherborne, Dorset |Grammar Girls-11-18 Ribston Hall High School, Gloucester |Grammar Girls-11-18 Marling Grammar School, Stroud, Gloucester |Grammar Boys-11-18 voluntary-controlled Stroud Grammar School, Stroud, Gloucester |Grammar Girls-11-18 voluntary-controlled Gaynes Comprehensive School, Upminster, Havering |Comprehensive Mixed-11-18 Hadham Hall School, Herts. |Secondary Mixed-11-18 Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School, Hammersmith and Fulham (ILEA) |Secondary RC Boys-11-18 voluntary-controlled Weald of Kent Grammar School for Girls, Tonbridge, Kent |Grammar Girls-11-18 Castle Hall Middle School, Mirfield, Kirklees |Middle-9-13 Ruffwood Comprehensive School, Kirkby, Knowsley |Comprehensive Mixed-11-19 Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School, Lancs. |Grammar Mixed-11-18 St. Francis Xavier RC Comprehensive School, Liverpool |Comprehensive Boys-11-18 voluntary-aided Chichele School, Rushden, Northants. |Secondary Girls-11-18 Siddal Moor High School, Heywood, Rochdale |Secondary High Mixed-11-18 The Guildford County School, Surrey |Secondary Mixed-12-18 Droylsden County High School, Tameside |Comprehensive Girls-11-16 Hindley Park High Community School, Wigan |Comprehensive Mixed-11-16
Under-fives
Mr. Paice : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science, pursuant to his reply of 6 February to the hon. Member for Cambridgeshire, South-East, Official Report, column 462, what has been the total annual amount of grant related expenditure in respect of the additional educational needs of under-fives in each year from 1976-77 to 1988-89, in cash and real terms.
Mrs. Rumbold : The information is not available in the form requested. The table shows the grant-related expenditure for nursery education in England from the start of the current local government finance system. The additional educational needs element of nursery education forms approximately half of the control total. Expenditure on under-fives in primary classes does not fall within the control total for grant related expenditure for nursery education, but is contained within the overall grant related expenditure for primary education.
|c|Grant related expenditure assessment for nursery education|c| £ million |Cash |At 1987-88 prices ------------------------------------------------------------------------1981-82 |129.3 |174.5 1982-83 |122.6 |154.4 1983-84 |134.6 |162.1 1984-85 |153.4 |175.9 1985-86 |152.2 |165.6 1986-87 |160.3 |168.8 1987-88 |185.0 |185.0 1988-89 |220.6 |207.6 1989-90 |262.0 |234.8
Private Sector (Grant-aid)
Mr. Salmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the total cost to his Department of grant-aid schemes to the private education sector for the latest year for which figures are available.
Mr. Butcher : My Department's Votes cover expenditure in England on the assisted places scheme and the music and ballet scheme. The information requested is as follows :
|c|Total Department of Education and Science expenditure|c| |c|Financial year 1987-88|c| |£ million --------------------------------------------Assisted Places Scheme |46.04 Music and Ballet Scheme |3.56 |------- Total |49.60
University Grants Committee
Mr. Moss : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will announce the recurrent grants allocated to universities for the academic year 1989-90 by the University Grants Committee.
Mr. Jackson : The University Grants Committee's initial allocation of recurrent grant to universities in the academic year 1989-90 is shown in the table. Responsibility for making the payments will fall to the UGC's successor body, the Universities Funding Council, whose chairman has accepted the announced distribution. Copies of the general letter of guidance that the chairman of the UGC has sent to all universities have been placed in the Library of the House. The general letter will be followed within the next few weeks by a set of institutional annexes providing further details for individual universities. The annexes will also be placed in the Library. The total grant distributed by the UGC as announced in the table does not include items which it is the UGC's practice to allocate separately, such as local authority rates and the overseas research student awards scheme. These items amount to £140 million. Nor does the distribution include provision which is to be allocated separately in the targeted programme of restructuring for which my right hon. Friend has provided £184 million over four years. The distribution does not include the £67 million third instalment of additional funding in the financial year 1989-90 towards the cost of the 1987 academic pay restructuring settlement. The release of this funding will be subject to continued satisfactory progress on staff appraisal, probation and promotion arrangements.
University or college |Basic distribution |Recurrent grant 1989-90 |1989-90 |£ million |£ million ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Aston |15.457 |15.763 Bath |17.198 |17.349 Birmingham |40.828 |42.114 Bradford |16.063 |16.480 Bristol |35.770 |36.649 Brunel |14.262 |14.458 Cambridge |49.336 |50.662 City |12.673 |12.759 Durham |17.751 |18.303 East Anglia |14.364 |14.586 Essex |9.573 |9.702 Exeter |18.321 |18.572 Hull |15.384 |15.900 Keele |8.426 |8.732 Kent |12.827 |13.254 Lancaster |15.009 |15.188 Leeds |45.884 |46.841 Leicester |20.250 |20.711 Liverpool |40.376 |41.221 London Business School |1.732 |1.739 London |274.003 |294.042 (of which Imperial College) |(33.810) |(35.039) Loughborough |22.108 |22.618 Manchester Business School |0.866 |0.872 Manchester |54.226 |55.754 UMIST |18.532 |18.874 Newcastle |33.825 |34.776 Nottingham |31.094 |32.222 Oxford |50.272 |51.784 Reading |20.579 |20.811 Salford |14.407 |15.314 Sheffield |34.136 |35.313 Southampton |30.542 |31.716 Surrey |14.387 |14.976 Sussex |16.774 |17.096 Warwick |23.134 |24.426 York |14.108 |14.619 |------- Total England |1,074.477 |1,116.196 |------- |------- Aberystwyth |10.722 |10.916 Bangor |10.859 |11.476 Cardiff |27.867 |28.247 St. David's |2.195 |2.202 Swansea |13.877 |14.597 UWCM |7.755 |8.094 Welsh Registry |2.601 |2.601 |------- Total Wales |75.876 |78.133 |------- |------- Aberdeen |21.677 |21.889 Dundee |14.265 |14.656 Edinburgh |47.713 |49.477 Glasgow |49.040 |50.295 Heriot-Watt |12.112 |12.598 St. Andrews |12.264 |12.294 Stirling |8.306 |8.681 Strathclyde |26.704 |28.222 |------- Total Scotland |192.081 |198.112 |------- Total Great Britain |1,342.434 |1,392.441 |------- |------- Queen's Belfast |30.630 |30.976 Ulster |34.877 |35.007
Lecturers (Pay)
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the average university lecturer's rise in salary for each of the last 10 years (a) in absolute cash terms, (b) in real terms and (c) in relation to the rise in average earnings.
Mrs. Rumbold [pursuant to her reply, 9 February 1989, c. 749] : The average salary of full-time lecturers in universities for each of the last 10 years for which data are available is given in the table. The actual percentage increase is also tabulated for each year, as well as the percentage increase relative to the retail prices index at April each year and average non-manual earnings. The index used covers employees in professional and related, administrative, clerical, managerial, selling, security, literary, artistic and sporting occupations.
The average is calculated by dividing the aggregate salary by the number of lecturers in universities. The annual increases thus reflect other factors as well as pay settlements, such as any change in the proportions of lecturers in the various grades.
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As at December Average salary Annual increase Annual percentage increase: |Actual |In real terms (RPI-based)|In relation to non-manual |average earnings --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1976 |5,578 |- |- |- |- 1977 |6,209 |631 |11.3 |-5.2 |1.8 1978 |7,220 |1,011 |16.3 |7.7 |3.6 1979 |8,458 |1,238 |17.1 |6.4 |4.5 1980 |9,979 |1,521 |18.0 |-3.1 |-5.7 1981 |11,187 |1,208 |12.1 |0.1 |-3.2 1982 |11,936 |749 |6.7 |-2.5 |-2.5 1983 |12,543 |607 |5.1 |1.0 |-3.7 1984 |13,342 |799 |6.4 |1.1 |-1.7 1985 |13,964 |622 |4.7 |-2.1 |-2.7 1986 |14,242 |278 |2.0 |-1.0 |-6.4 1987 |16,592 |2,350 |16.5 |10.6 |7.3
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the average polytechnic lecturer's rise in salary for each of the last 10 years (a) in absolute cash terms, (b) in real terms and (c) in relation to the rise in average earnings.
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Mrs. Rumbold [pursuant to her reply, 9 February 1989, c. 749] : The average salary of full-time lecturers in polytechnics for each of the last 10 years for which data are available is given in the table. The actual percentage increase is also tabulated for each year, as well as the percentage increase relative to the retail prices index at April each year and average non-manual earnings. The index used covers employees in professional and related, administrative, clerical, managerial, selling, security, literary, artistic and sporting occupations.
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The average is calculated by dividing the aggregate salary by the number of lecturers in polytechnics. The annual increases thus reflect other factors as well as pay settlements, such as any change in the proportions of lecturers in the various grades.Column 123
Annual percentage increase: As at March |Average salary |Annual increase |actual |in real terms (RPI-based)|in relation to non-manual |average earnings --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1976 |5,909 1977 |6,358 |449 |7.6 |-9.5 |-10.7 1978 |6,684 |326 |5.1 |-10.5 |-3.8 1979 |7,462 |778 |11.6 |3.4 |-0.6 1980 |9,016 |1,554 |20.8 |9.7 |7.8 1981 |11,399 |2,383 |26.4 |3.8 |1.0 1982 |12,359 |960 |8.4 |-3.2 |-6.4 1983 |13,152 |793 |6.4 |-2.7 |-2.7 1984 |13,842 |690 |5.2 |1.2 |-3.6 1985 |14,516 |674 |4.9 |-0.3 |-3.1 1986 |15,459 |943 |6.5 |-0.4 |-1.0
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the average college of further education lecturer's rise in salary for each of the last 10 years (a) in absolute cash terms, (b) in real terms and (c) in relation to the rise in average earnings.
Mrs. Rumbold [pursuant to her reply, 9 February 1989, c. 749] : The average salary of full-time lecturers in colleges of further education excluding polytechnics for each of the last 10 years for which data are available is given in the table. The actual percentage increase is also tabulated for
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each year, as well as the percentage increase relative to the retail prices index at April each year and average non-manual earnings. The index used covers employees in professional and related, administrative, clerical, managerial, selling, security, literary, artistic and sporting occupations.The average is calculated by dividing the aggregate salary by the number of lecturers in colleges. The annual increases thus reflect other factors as well as pay settlements, such as any change in the proportions of lecturers in the various grades.
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Annual percentage increase: As at March |Average salary |Annual increase |Actual |In real terms (RPI-based)|In relation to non-manual |average earnings --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1976 |5,058 |- |- |- |- 1977 |5,463 |405 |8.0 |-9.2 |-10.4 1978 |5,710 |247 |4.5 |-11.0 |-4.4 1979 |6,321 |611 |10.7 |2.6 |-1.4 1980 |7,608 |1,287 |20.4 |9.3 |7.4 1981 |9,559 |1,951 |25.6 |3.2 |0.4 1982 |10,325 |766 |8.0 |-3.6 |-6.7 1983 |10,924 |599 |5.8 |-3.3 |-3.3 1984 |11,486 |562 |5.1 |1.1 |-3.7 1985 |12,128 |642 |5.6 |0.4 |-2.4 1986 |12,990 |862 |7.1 |0.2 |-0.5
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the average rise in salary for each of the last 10 years, expressed in relation to the rise in average professional earnings, for (i) university lecturers, (ii) polytechnics lecturers and (iii) college of further education lecturers.
Mr. Jackson [holding answer 10 February 1989] : The percentage rise in the average salaries of full-time lecturers in universities, polytechnics and other colleges of further education, relative to the index of non-manual earnings, for the most recent years available are as given in the table. There is no recognised index for average professional earnings. The index used covers employees in professional and related, administrative, clerical, managerial, selling, security, literary, artistic and sporting occupations. The average has been calculated by dividing the aggregate salary by the number of lecturers. The annual
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increases thus reflect other factors as well as pay settlements, such as any change in the proportions of lecturers in the various grades.
|Universities |Polytechnics |Colleges of further |education (excluding |polytechnics) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1976-77<1> |-<2> |-10.7 |-10.4 1977-78 |1.8 |-3.8 |-4.4 1978-79 |3.6 |-0.6 |-1.4 1979-80 |4.5 |7.8 |7.4 1980-81 |-5.7 |1.0 |0.4 1981-82 |-3.2 |-6.4 |-6.7 1982-83 |-2.5 |-2.7 |-3.3 1983-84 |-3.7 |-3.6 |-3.7 1984-85 |-1.7 |-3.1 |-2.4 1985-86 |-2.7 |-1.0 |-0.5 1986-87 |-6.4 |- |- 1987-88 |7.3 |- |- <1> Universities data is as at December of the earlier year named and the other data as at March of the later year. <2> Not available.
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ENERGY
British Coal (Redundancies)
124. Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will consult British Coal on the implications for policy on redundancy of arrangements and promises made to its employees over the age of 50 years who were persuaded to accept redundancy from 1984.
Mr. Michael Spicer : My right hon. Friend and I consult British Coal regularly on all aspects of the coal industry.
Nuclear Power Stations
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make it his policy to ask Her Majesty's nuclear installations inspectorate to conduct a review of corrosion and cracking problems at the Central Electricity Generating Board nuclear plants at Heysham, Hartlepool and Dungeness B.
Mr. Michael Spicer : These are issues which the Health and Safety Executive takes fully into account as part of its duties.
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will request Her Majesty's nuclear installations inspectorate to conduct a study of the tolerability of risk to United Kingdom citizens of the French nuclear power programme, in particular those plants sited on the Channel.
Mr. Michael Spicer : No. The safety of French nuclear installations is a matter for their regulatory authorities. I have no reason to doubt that French nuclear safety standards are as high as those in the United Kingdom. Nevertheless, in proposing a stringent level for societal risk, HSE was fully aware of the possibility of accidents outside the United Kingdom.
Aerogenerators
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will initiate a departmental assessment of the study by the Swedish energy consultancy VBB into the feasibility of the offshore siting of aerogenerators at sea.
Mr. Michael Spicer : As part of its wind energy research programme my Department is investigating the feasibility of siting wind turbines offshore. I hope to be able to obtain a copy of the VBB report so that its findings can be taken into account in our own studies.
Hinkley Point
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will submit evidence for cross examination on the tolerability of nuclear plant risk to the Hinkley C nuclear inquiry.
Mr. Michael Spicer : No. The Health and Safety Executive has given evidence on the tolerability of risk from nuclear power stations to the Hinkley Point C inquiry.
Coal Production (Costs)
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will publish the marginal costs of coal production of
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both opencast and deep mined coal for each year from 1981-82 to 1988-89, or for which the latest figures are available.Mr. Michael Spicer : This is a matter for the British Coal Corporation. I have asked the chairman to write to the hon. Member.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Health Authorities (Land)
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give for each health board (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 of total land and property and as a percentage of the total land and property value of each board ; and if he will make a statement as to his Department's policy on the sale of unused land and property.
Mr. Needham : The information requested is not collected routinely by either the Department of Health and Social Services or by the four health and social services boards and could be obtained only at disproportionate costs. The total acreage of the health and personal social services estate and the acreage and estimated value of property (that is both land and buildings) which have been declared surplus to the requirements of each health and social services board at 6 February 1989 is as follows :
< Board Total estaSurplus estate Estimated value of surplus estate £ million |(Acres) |(Acres) |Per cent. ------------------------------------------------------------Eastern |1,428.11 |196.305 |13.74 |2.9 Northern |634.82 |194.232 |30.59 |0.8 Southern |332.29 |30.154 |9.07 |0.75 Western |1,018.28 |12.72 |1.25 |1.4 |---- |---- |---- |---- Total |3,413.50 |433.411 |12.70 |5.85
The policy on the sale of land and property which has been declared surplus to requirements is that it should be disposed of in a publicly acceptable manner, and for the best price which in the opinion of the Valuation and Lands Office can reasonably be obtained.
Land Registry
Mr. Beggs : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the extent of monthly backlog of cases over each of the last three years in the Land Registry Office in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Needham : Details of the stocks of work held are as follows :
|1986 |1987 |1988 --------------------------------------January |11,964|13,461|15,181 February |11,851|13,233|15,410 March |12,245|13,198|15,020 April |12,306|12,919|14,306 May |12,097|14,250|14,343 June |12,979|14,568|14,015 July |13,075|14,965|13,951 August |13,625|14,577|14,006 September |14,903|14,375|14,613 October |14,294|15,062|14,636 November |14,718|14,844|14,764 December |14,864|15,289|14,686
Mr. Beggs : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many cases at present await clearance at the Land Registry Office in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Needham : 14,766 at the end of January 1989.
Mr. Beggs : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish an indicative list of charges made by the Land Registry in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Needham : The information requested is contained in the Land Registry (Fees) Order (Northern Ireland) 1988 (SR 1988 No. 410), a copy of which is available in the Library.
Mr. Beggs : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he has any proposals to speed up Land Registry transactions in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Needham : A comprehensive efficiency review of the Land Registry functions in Northern Ireland is to be undertaken. It is anticipated that the review will be under way by mid-1989.
Housing
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much extra funding has been provided so far to implement the findings of the Policy Studies Institute report on housing in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Tom King : As I indicated in my reply to the hon. Member of 23 January, at column 396, I am advised that the research to which he refers, commissioned by the Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights, is not yet complete.
Social Security Payments
Mr. Hume : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the measures the Government are using to monitor the effects of the new social security system on those claimants who were targeted by the new legislation and on the Government's assessment of the position of single parents since the benefit changes of April 1988.
Mr. Needham [holding answer 13 February 1989) : Monitoring of the effects of the new system is based on a range of statistical information and will also have regard in due course to various research findings. It is estimated that the large majority of single parents were better off or no worse off in cash terms as a result of the changes in their weekly benefits. Estimates are not available of the overall impact taking account of the introduction of the social fund.
Mr. Hume : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what information he has on the number of social fund applications made by single parents, the numbers which are successful, and the amounts given in loans and payments to these applicants.
Mr. Needham [holding answer 13 February 1989] : Information for the period 11 April 1988 to 31 December 1988 (the latest for which it is available) is as follows :
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w |(a) |(b) |(c) |Applications received|Number allowed |Amount awarded -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Loans |12,682 |11,163 |£2,443,294.62 Community Care Grants |2,396 |1,614 |£556,315.99 Funeral and Maternity payments |1,558 |1,504 |£199,001.83 |--- |--- |--- Total |16,636 |14,281 |£3,198,612.44 The balance of applications in each category were withdrawn by the applicant, or refused, or are still to be considered.
Mr. Hume : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what information he has on the numbers of single parents who are having deductions made from their benefits in respect of social fund loans, rent arrears, fuel arrears or overpayments.
Mr. Needham [holding answer 13 February 1989] : The information is not available in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
WALES
Chlorofluorocarbons
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what support his Department is giving to local authorities which wish to reduce or eliminate their use of CFC's.
Mr. Grist : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given to him earlier today by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment, the hon. Member for Surrey, South-West (Mrs. Bottomley).
Mental Handicap Nurses
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will list, for each health authority, the number of mental handicap nurses from each of the old grades who have been assimilated to each of the new grades.
Mr. Grist : This information is not held centrally.
DEFENCE
Torpedoes
Sir Peter Hordern : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what United States supplied alternatives to the Spearfish and Stingray torpedoes were considered at the time of the decision to proceed with those programmes ; and what were their costs.
Mr. Sainsbury : The United States MK46 and MK48 torpedoes were evaluated as alternatives to Stingray and Spearfish respectively. The estimated total programme cost for the MK46 was £200 million (at September 1979 prices) and for the MK48 it was £475 million (at September 1980 prices).
Sir Peter Hordern : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the original estimate of the cost of the Spearfish torpedo ; what was the value of the joint fixed price contract with Marconi for the completion of development and initial production of Spearfish and Stingray torpedoes ; and what has been the expenditure on Spearfish and Stingray torpedoes to the latest convenient date.
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Mr. Sainsbury : The original estimated total programme cost of Spearfish was £155 million (at current prices). The fixed price contract for the development and initial production of Spearfish and Stingray was let in 1981 at a value of £496 million.
Total programme expenditure to 31 January 1989 was £594 million on Spearfish and £1,443 million on Stingray, both figures at current prices.
Tigerfish
Sir Peter Hordern : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the original estimate for the cost of the Tigerfish torpedo ; what was the estimate when Marconi became principal contractor ; and what was the final cost when Tigerfish came into service.
Mr. Sainsbury : The original estimate of the cost of Tigerfish MOD "O" was calculated in 1959 ; records of this estimate are not immediately available. The MOD "O" Tigerfish entered service in 1974 when its total programme cost was £450 million (at current prices). Marconi became principal contractor for the improved MOD 1 Tigerfish torpedo in 1972 ; the estimated programme cost at that time was £226 million (at current prices).
Sir Peter Hordern : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when development of the Tigerfish torpedo was begun ; when was it originally expected to come into service ; when it received fleet weapon acceptance ; and when Marconi became principal contractor for the programme.
Mr. Sainsbury : Development of Tigerfish began in 1959 with a view to an in-service date of 1967. The MOD "O" torpedo entered service in 1974 and received fleet weapon acceptance in 1979.
Marconi became principal contractor for Tigerfish MOD 1 in 1972.
Foxhunter
Sir Peter Hordern : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the original estimate of the cost of the Foxhunter radar system ; when it was due to come into service in full ; when it came into service in full ; and what was the final cost on delivery.
Mr. Sainsbury : The original forecast in-service date for the Foxhunter radar was 1982. Radars to an agreed
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interim standard entered service in 1985. Final deliveries under the programme of work placed under firm price contractual arrangements with Marconi Defence Systems last year will take place in the early 1990s.It is not normal practice to publish a detailed breakdown of costs for defence equipment. Total estimated costs of the Foxhunter radar programe were given in the 1988 "Statement on Defence Estimates (Volume 2)" as some £800 million ; on the same basis, the original estimate for Foxhunter would be some £600 million.
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