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Taxi Licensing
Mr. David Marshall : to ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will seek to introduce legislation to permit a local authority to allow the transfer of taxi operators' licences.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : No.
Working for Patients" (Video)
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will place in the Library the video prepared for his Department explaining the proposals in the White Paper, "Working for Patients".
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Pupils
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many pupils in Scottish schools stay at hostels away from home ; and how many of these go home each weekend.
Mr. Rifkind : This information is not held centrally.
Scottish Education in the Nineties"
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list in the Official Report the total number of requests received for copies of the video, "Scottish Education in the Nineties" giving a breakdown per (a) school, (b) parent-teacher associations, (c) school councils, (d) education authorities and (e) other.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : To date requests have been made for 216 copies in addition to a wide initial distribution which included all schools. These requests break down as follows :
|Number
--------------------------------------------
Schools |2
Parent Teacher Associations |2
School Councils |0
Education Authorities |164
Others |48
|-------
|216
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the total cost in producing the video, "Scottish Education in the Nineties", and what was the total number of cassettes produced.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : For the cost of production I refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Fife, Central (Mr. McLeish) on 17 January at column 162 . A total of 5,000 copies of the video were made.
Cheese
Mr. Salmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what consultations have taken place between Ministers from his Department and the Association of Scottish Hard-Cheese Makers about the Government's attitude to unpasteurised milk cheese production.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : There have been no consultations with the Scottish Company of Cheese-Makers Ltd. which represents the major hard- cheese makers in Scotland. The manufacturers represented by the company do not use unpasteurised milk in making there cheeses.
Mr. Salmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will estimate the annual number of cases of listeria in Scotland involving (a) unpasteurised milk cheese production and (b) pasteurised milk cheese production, in each of the last five years ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Over the past five years there have been 112 cases of human listeriosis but in none of these has there been a positive association with cheese.
Mr. Salmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he intends to make an assessment of the effect
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of recent Government statements on the market prospects of Scottish-produced unpasteurised milk cheese ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Michael Forsyth : Informal soundings indicate that sales of cheese made in Scotland from unpasteurised milk remain steady.
Mr. Salmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many workers are directly employed in Scottish farm cheese production made from unpasteurised milk.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : At the end of 1988 there were 12 Scottish farm cheese production units using unpasteurised milk, employing some 30 people.
Potato Policy
Mrs. Ray Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what further representations he has received about the Government's consultation paper on potato policy in Scotland ; and if he will make a statement about plans to withdraw financial support from the potato sector in Scotland.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Representations on the proposals set out in the consultation paper have been received from interested organisations and individual potato producers. These are now under consideration ; decisions have yet to be taken about future arrangements for potato marketing in Scotland.
Waste Disposal
Mrs. Ray Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what regulations have been established for the transportation of domestic and commercial waste in Scotland from other areas of the country.
Lord James Douglas Hamilton : Controlled waste arising within the United Kingdom for disposal in Scotland is governed by the Control of Pollution (Licensing of Waste Disposal) (Scotland) Regulations 1977 and the Control of Pollution (Special Waste) Regulations 1980. The licence conditions determine, among other things, the nature of wastes which may be disposed of at a site. The Special Waste Regulations make provision for a system of consignment notes to be used by those who produce, transfer for disposal or dispose of special waste in order to notify the waste disposal authorities concerned.
Mrs. Ray Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what action he takes to prevent clinical waste beting transported for disposal in Scotland without public knowledge ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas Hamilton : Under the Control of Pollution Act 1974, all waste must be disposed of at a site which is being used in accordance with a licence issued by the waste disposal authority for the area (the district or islands council). Conditions prescribing the working practices are invariably attached to such licences ; these may include requirements relating to the type and quantities of waste which may be accepted. The waste disposal authority must keep a register of licences available for public inspection at its principal office, and every authority does so.
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The Special Waste Regulations 1980 control the movement of dangerous wastes, but clinical wastes are rarely considered to be so dangerous as to fall under the regulations.Mrs. Ray Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much and what type of clinical waste was transported from London to Scotland for disposal in Glasgow, as revealed by the London waste regulatory authority.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Information of this kind is not held centrally. Responsibility for monitoring the safe disposal of waste is a matter for the local waste disposal authority concerned.
Electronics
Mr. Jack : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the current level of output in the electronics industry in Scotland ; and what was the level in 1979.
Mr. Lang : The latest figures show electronics output in Scotland in the second quarter of 1988 to have been 134, based on 1985 equal to 100. This compares with an average annual figure for 1979 of 37. Since 1979 electronics output in Scotland has increased more than three-and-a-half fold.
Productivity
Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the growth in productivity in the Scottish (a) manufacturing, (b) agricultural and (c) mining industries for each year since 1979.
Mr. Lang : The average annual increase in productivity in these industries in Scotland since 1979 is set out in the table.
|c|Output per head: Percentage change on previous year|c|
|Manufacturing<1> |Agriculture<2> Class 01|Coal extraction<1><3>
|Divisions 2-4 |Class 11
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1980 |+1.0 |+14.5 |+3.5
1981 |+6.6 |+5.1 |+1.9
1982 |+8.0 |+13.3 |+0.8
1983 |+5.8 |-7.4 |+1.0
1984 |+6.5 |+20.7 |-41.6
1985 |+3.7 |-5.0 |+98.8
1986 |+2.7 |+13.0 |+35.1
1987 |+7.3 |+3.5 |+26.1
1988 |n/a |<4>-6.8 |n/a
<1>Output per employee in employment.
<2>In agriculture, output per full-time person employed, including the self-employed with part-time and casual
employees being converted to full-time equivalents.
<3>Coal extraction includes the manufacture of solid fuels as well as deep-mined and open-cast coal production.
<4>Provisional.
Research Projects
Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list all the research projects carried out with public funds, directly or indirectly, on the Scottish historical (a) cultural, (b) political, (c) economic and (d) social, institutions.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The Scottish Office has not supported, directly or indirectly, any research projects on Scottish historical institutions.
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Manufacturing
Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time jobs were created in the manufacturing industry for each year since 1975.
Mr. Lang : Figures are available only for full-time jobs from the regional data system which contains employment data for manufacturing units employing 10 or more people. The figures are the annual increases in number of jobs for the units which had increases. The figures after 1984 are likely to be under-estimates pending an up-date of the system using census of employment data for 1987.
Year |New Jobs (000's) --------------------------------------------------- 1975 |47.7 1976 |40.8 1977 |41.5 1978 |37.3 1979 |27.7 1980 |18.4 1981 |27.2 1982 |20.8 1983 |22.9 1984 |25.8 1985 |26.1 1986 |23.4 1987 |17.0 Source: Regional Data System.
Departmental Expenses
Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what were, for each year since 1978, the total expenses of the Scottish Office.
Mr. Rifkind : The table shows the departmental running costs of the Scottish Office, excluding the Scottish prison service, which are borne on class XVI vote 21 in 1988-89 and comparative outturn since 1983-84.
|c|Expenditure on text and library books<1>-Doncaster|c|
Primary Schools Secondary Schools
|Cash terms |1987-88 real terms<2>|Proportion of England|Cash terms |1987-88 real terms<2>|Proportion of England
|total |total
|£000s |£000s |Percentage |£000s |£000s |Percentage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1979-80 |132.5 |232.7 |0.7 |198.2 |348.0 |0.7
1980-81 |135.1 |200.3 |0.6 |173.7 |257.5 |0.6
1981-82 |144.8 |195.4 |0.6 |215.7 |291.1 |0.7
1982-83 |158.4 |199.5 |0.6 |253.9 |319.8 |0.7
1983-84 |144.1 |173.5 |0.5 |243.9 |293.9 |0.7
1984-85 |128.3 |147.1 |0.5 |235.5 |270.0 |0.7
1985-86 |168.0 |182.7 |0.6 |240.5 |261.7 |0.7
1986-87 |178.3 |187.8 |0.6 |306.7 |322.9 |0.7
<1> The figures are based on LEA expenditure returns to DOE.
<2> The cash figures for the earlier years have been repriced using the Gross Domestic Product (Market Prices) Deflator.
Comparable information for the years prior to 1983-84 could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Doncaster (Books Expenditure)
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will give the total expenditure on text and library books in the Doncaster local education authority for (a) primary schools and (b) secondary schools at the end of each year since 1978-79 in cash terms and in real terms, using 1987-88 prices ; and what were those figures as a percentage of the national average.
Mr. Butcher : The available information is given in the table :
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|c|Expenditure on text and library books<1>-Doncaster|c|
Primary Schools Secondary Schools
|Cash terms |1987-88 real terms<2>|Proportion of England|Cash terms |1987-88 real terms<2>|Proportion of England
|total |total
|£000s |£000s |Percentage |£000s |£000s |Percentage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1979-80 |132.5 |232.7 |0.7 |198.2 |348.0 |0.7
1980-81 |135.1 |200.3 |0.6 |173.7 |257.5 |0.6
1981-82 |144.8 |195.4 |0.6 |215.7 |291.1 |0.7
1982-83 |158.4 |199.5 |0.6 |253.9 |319.8 |0.7
1983-84 |144.1 |173.5 |0.5 |243.9 |293.9 |0.7
1984-85 |128.3 |147.1 |0.5 |235.5 |270.0 |0.7
1985-86 |168.0 |182.7 |0.6 |240.5 |261.7 |0.7
1986-87 |178.3 |187.8 |0.6 |306.7 |322.9 |0.7
<1> The figures are based on LEA expenditure returns to DOE.
<2> The cash figures for the earlier years have been repriced using the Gross Domestic Product (Market Prices) Deflator.
School Leavers (Doncaster)
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish a table in the Official Report, showing the proportion of school leavers in Doncaster who continued into (a) university education and (b) other higher education for each year since 1979 ; and what was the national average in each year.
Mr. Jackson : The information is not readily available in the form requested. The table gives for the Doncaster local education authority and for England, the proportion of school leavers from maintained schools who intended to proceed to a course of further or higher education. The figures are drawn from a 10 per cent. sample of pupils at each school. Sampling error is a major consideration where a local education authority, such as Doncaster, has a relatively small cohort of school leavers. Such error alone could be the cause of fluctuations in the figures from year to year.
|c|Proportion of school leavers intending to proceed to a course of|c|
|c|further or higher education|c|
Maintained schools Percentages
Academic years |Doncaster local education|England
|authority
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1978-79 |11.2 |18.9
1979-80 |10.5 |20.0
1980-81 |14.1 |24.5
1981-82 |14.1 |25.7
1982-83 |14.1 |25.0
1983-84 |16.1 |25.9
1984-85 |16.1 |25.9
1985-86 |15.4 |26.5
1986-87 |15.9 |26.4
Pupil Expenditure
Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will provide a table showing for (a) England and (b) Cheshire the level of expenditure in constant terms per child in (i) primary education and (ii) secondary education for each year from 1978 to the latest available year.
Mr. Butcher : The available information is given in the table :
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|c|Net institutional expenditure<1> per pupil|c|
|c|1986-87 real terms<2>|c|
Year Primary schools Secondary schools
|Cheshire|England |Cheshire|England
|£ |£ |£ |£
------------------------------------------------------
1978-79 |685 |710 |1,015 |1,035
1979-80 |680 |710 |1,000 |1,010
1980-81 |725 |765 |1,065 |1,075
1981-82 |740 |790 |1,050 |1,110
1982-83 |760 |810 |1,065 |1,125
1983-84 |775 |830 |1,080 |1,160
1984-85 |775 |830 |1,100 |1,185
1985-86 |785 |840 |1,135 |1,215
1986-87 |810 |900 |1,235 |1,340
<1> The figures are based on LEA expenditure returns
to DOE and pupil number returns to DES.
<2> The cash figures for the earlier years have been
repriced to 1986-87 real terms using the Gross
Domestic Product (Market Prices) Deflator.
Schools (Opting-out)
Mr. McLoughlin : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if any schools in Derbyshire have had ballots in schools to opt out of local education authority control.
Mrs. Rumbold : To date two schools in Derbyshire have held ballots on grant-maintained status. The parents at Netherthorpe school voted in favour of an application to seek grant-maintained status ; the parents at Chesterfield school voted against.
Secondary Schools (Home Economics)
Mr. Cartwright : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what advice he is giving to local education authorities about the teaching of home economics in secondary schools ; (2) what representations he has received about the absence of home economics from the national curriculum foundation subjects in secondary schools.
Mrs. Rumbold : My right hon. Friend has received a large number of representations from organisations, parents and teachers about the place of home economics in the school curriculum. Home economics is a valuable subject and is expected to remain a popular choice, outside the national curriculum, for many pupils. Within the national curriculum, home economics can contribute to teaching the attainment targets and programmes of study for science, to be finalised next month. Home economics can also contribute to design and technology (D & T). The
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D & T working group has been asked to take this into account in advising on attainment targets and programmes of study for D & T.Secondary Schools (Classics)
Mr. Cartwright : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what advice he is giving to local education authorities about the teaching of classics in secondary schools ;
(2) what representations he has received about the absence of classics from the national curriculum foundation subjects in secondary schools.
Mrs. Rumbold : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to my hon. Friend, the Member for Basingstoke (Mr. Hunter) on 31 January at columns 171-72. My right hon. Friend has received a large number of representations from organisations, parents and teachers about the place of classics in the school curriculum.
Nursery Schools
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what regulations or guidance concerning school premises and pupil-teacher ratios have been issued in respect of nursery schools and classes.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : Premises for maintained nursery schools and classes are subject to the Education (School Premises) Regulations, 1981. The last central guidance on the staffing of this provision was issued 16 years ago, by way of circular 2/73 and administrative memorandum 21/73. The Government have no plans to update this. They look to authorities to determine the appropriate levels of staffing for this provision in the knowledge that the prevailing ratios--a pupil : teacher ratio of 22.9 : 1 within an overall pupil : adult ratio of 10.2 :1 --are better than those envisaged in 1973.
Audenshaw High School, Tameside
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many representations he has received (a) in favour and (b) against Audenshaw high school, Tameside, opting out of the local education system.
Mrs. Rumbold : My right hon. Friend has received 21 statutory and two non-statutory objections to Audenshaw high school's application for grant-maintained status. No letters of support have been received. There is no formal provision for such representations.
Institut Laue Lange, Grenoble
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on British participation in the research of the Institut Laue Lange at Grenoble.
Mr. Jackson : The level of British participation in the Institut Laue Langevin after 1992 will be considered in the light of advice received in due course from the SERC.
School Trips (Supervision)
Dr. Glyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has any plans to improve the existing
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machinery for the control of supervision by teachers on school trips and the enquiries which are made in the case of fatal accidents on these trips ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Butcher : Detailed arrangements for these matters are the responsibility of the local education authorities. My Department has provided guidance for them in the booklet "Safety in Outdoor Pursuits" (HMSO). A new and fuller document will be available shortly, incorporating new material prepared in the light of recent accidents. It will be sent free to all schools, colleges and local education authorities.
Church-aided Schools, Lancashire
Mr. Jack : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what studies his Department has undertaken of capital spending on church- aided schools in Lancashire.
Mr. Butcher : Each year my right hon. Friend invites governors of aided schools in Lancashire and other LEAs to assess the need for new school building projects, and to formulate and submit appropriate plans through the LEA. Five new major building projects at aided schools in Lancashire were recently approved for a start in 1989-90 ; this was the largest number of new starts approved for any LEA.
Assessment of Performance Unit
Mr. Franks : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement about the future of the assessment of performance unit.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : Responsibility for the assessment of performance unit (APU) will be transferred from my Department to the School Examinations and Assessment Council (SEAC) with effect from 1 April 1989. This will allow the APU's programme of work to be closely integrated with SEAC's wider programme of monitoring and evaluation, on which I have invited the council's advice by the end of July.
Human Genetics
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will outline any proposals to attract funding from agencies or other sources towards international co-ordination within the community to organise research into the mapping of the human genome, and in particular the application of work resulting from a human genetics programme ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jackson [holding answer 15 February 1989] : As part of the allocation of science budget funds announced on 7 February 1989, the MRC was allocated £11 million over three years for the United Kingdom human genome mapping project. This project will serve as a national focus for activities in this field, and will link with related international research. In additon to the newly allocated funds, the MRC already spends £9 million annually on genetics research of relevance to the project, and it is estimated that the United Kingdom medical research charities spend a similar sum.
The European Commission has prepared a formal proposal for a programme entitled "Predictive Medicine : Human Genome Analysis" and this will be considered by the Council later this year.
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CIVIL SERVICE
Creche Facilities
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Minister for the Civil Service what steps he is taking to encourage more creche facilities in the Civil Service.
Mr. Luce : I outlined new arrangements for financing Civil Service child care schemes in my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Batley and Spen (Mrs. Peacock) on 16 February at column 311. Departments now have the freedom, within overall running cost provisions, to support child care schemes which can be justified in value for money terms. A part-time child care development officer has been appointed to the Cabinet Office, equal opportunities division to offer advice and practical help to Departments as required. A number of Departments are already developing plans for childcare provision for the under-fives. These include my own Department, the Ministry of Defence and the Home Office. The Civil Service college at Sunningdale is planning a creche which will be available to both staff and students.
Retail Prices Index (Error)
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Minister for the Civil Service pursuant to his answer of 13 January, Official Report, columns 773-74 , if he will list the number of organisations entitled to receive funds in respect of the RPI error ; what are the individual amounts involved ; which of these organisations received a payable warrant and on what date ; which of these organisations were asked to repay the warrant pending parliamentary approval ; whether a motion has yet been tabled for parliamentary approval for authorisation of payment ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Luce : The organisations benefiting funds from the error in calculation of the RPI and the amounts awarded to them on 1 August 1988 are :
|£
-----------------------------------------------------------
Civil Service Benevolent Fund |1,229,000
Civil Service Retirement Fellowship |330,000
Civil Service Club |150,000
Civil Service Sports Council |44,000
Post Office and CS Sanatorium Society |150,000
Civil Service Pensioners' Alliance |35,000
Occupational Pensions Advisory Service |20,000
Payable warrants were sent to each of the organisations on 3 August 1988. The Civil Service pensioners alliance, occupational pensions advisory service and the Post Office and Civil Service Sanatorium Society were asked to repay the awards pending authorisation of a supplementary estimate for funds which has been submitted for parliamentary approval.
THE ARTS
Sir Douglas Bader (Memorabilia)
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Minister for the Arts what action is being taken to preserve for the nation wartime memorabilia that belonged to Sir Douglas Bader ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Luce : Owners are free to dispose of their property as they wish. In the event that an owner wishes to enjoy the
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property abroad, items over 50 years of age and worth certain monetary values would require an export licence in the normal way.Scientific Periodicals
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Minister for the Arts, pursuant to his answer of 8 February, Official Report, column 994, what discussions he has had with the British Library about the pricing of scientific periodicals.
Mr. Luce : The British Library draws my attention to the cost of scientific periodicals and other materials when it presents its financial forecasts, and I take these into account when making my arts budget allocation.
Disabled People
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Minister for the Arts (1) what advice the Arts Council gives to its clients on fulfilling their statutory obligations to employ people with disabilities ;
(2) what information he has on the expenditure of the Arts Council on developing policy on disability and the arts ;
(3) how many people who are registered disabled have been employed by the Arts Council in each of the last five years ;
(4) what information he has on the percentage of the Arts Council's training budget spent on arts and disability ;
(5) what information he has on the provision of access for the disabled at the Arts Council's offices with regard to (a) ramps, (b) induction loops, (c) signers and (d) Braille signs ; (6) what information he has on the expenditure of the Arts Council on facilities for people with disabilities at its offices at 105 Piccadilly ;
(2) what information he has on the number of job applications received by the Arts Council from people with disabilities in each of the past five years.
Mr. Luce : As I explained to the hon. Member in my reply earlier today, the Arts Council is committed to equal opportunities for disabled people both in its own employment and throughout the arts world. The council actively seeks to recruit staff with disabilities and currently employs six people who consider themselves to be disabled. This represents over 3 per cent. of its total staff. The council has also actively endorsed the same positive approach in its clients, as set out in the council's code of practice on the arts and disability. The council monitors the implementation of the code through its regular evaluation of client organisations. For more detailed information about the implementation of the council's policy at its headquarters and in the field, the hon. Member may wish to write to the chairman of the Arts Council.
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Minister for the Arts (a) how many employees and (b) what percentage of employees of the Arts Council were registered disabled, in each of the last five years.
Mr. Luce [holding answer 14 February 1989] : The Arts Council is committed to equal opportunities for disabled people and actively seeks to recruit staff with disabilities. As part of this policy, it has conducted a number of surveys amongst its staff. Since these began in December 1986, only one employee has been found to be formally
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registered as disabled. However, six existing employees consider themselves to be disabled although they have chosen not to register. This represents over 3 per cent. of the Arts Council's total staff.Northern Ballet
Mr. Jack : To ask the Minister for the Arts what representations he has received about the Arts Council's proposed funding arrangements for Northern Ballet ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John Evans : To ask the Minister for the Arts what representations he has had about the future of Northern Ballet theatre.
Mr. Luce [holding answer 16 February 1989] : I have received a number of representations from interested parties. The funding of northern ballet is, however, entirely a matter for the Arts Council.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Labour Statistics
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is his estimate of how many firms, businesses and employers in the East Londonderry constituency employ more than 25 persons.
Mr. Viggers : The information is not available in the form requested.
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is his estimate as to how many firms, businesses and employers there are in the areas covered by the Department of Social Security offices at (a) Strabane, (b) Londonderry, (c) Limavady, (d) Magherafelt, and (e) Coleraine which employ more than 25 persons ; what is his estimate of the total number of persons employed by all those firms in those areas ; and what is the total number of employees in those areas.
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