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Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 21 February.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 21 February.
Mr. Stern : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 21 February.
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Mr. McLoughlin : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 21 February.
Mr. Wakeham : I have been asked to reply.
This morning my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister was in Germany for an Anglo-German summit. This afternoon she is attending the memorial service in Belfast for those who died in the air crash at Kegworth.
University Teachers (Pay)
Mr. Hannam : To ask the Prime Minister if she will give the figures for university academic pay increases for the years 1986-87, 1987-88 and 1988-89 and the comparative figures for the police, doctors and dentists, local authority clerical staff, National Health Service administrative and clerical, primary and secondary teachers and university clericals.
Mr. Wakeham : I have been asked to reply.
The information is set out in the table below.
Percentage settlements Period 1 August to 31
July in
|1986-87 |1987-88 |1988-89
--------------------------------------------------------------------
University non-clinical
academics |<1>16.6 |7.4 |<4>-
University clinical academics |8.25 |8.1 |<4>-
University clerical staff |5.8 |5.1 |<4>-
Police |7.5 |7.75 |8.5
Doctors and Dentists |7.7 |7.9 |8.2
Local authority clerical staff |<2>6.04 |5.4 |<4>-
NHS administrative and clerical
staff |5.0 |5.5 |<4>-
School teachers |<3>10.25|4.73 |<5>6.3
<1> To cover 1985-86 as well as 1986-87.
<2> Equates to 7.5 per cent. over full year.
<3> Equates to 16.4 per cent. over full year.
<4> Not yet available.
<5> The overall pay bill in the financial year 1989-90 will
rise by about 7.5 per cent. as a result of changes made to the
structure of teachers' pay in 1987 and 1988.
DEFENCE
Rear-Admiral Sir Anthony Miers
Mr. Cyril D. Townsend : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department is going to carry out an internal inquiry into the actions of the late Rear-Admiral Sir Anthony Miers, VC, DSO, when in command of the submarine Torbay in the Mediterranean in 1941.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : No. I am advised that all records relating to this case are already accessible to the public.
Condor Base (Hospital Facilities)
Mr. Andrew Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on proposals to develop hospital facilities at Condor Base, Arbroath.
Mr. Neubert : As stated on 6 May 1986 at column 102 of the Official Report , we have made part of the Royal Marine base, Condor at Arbroath available to the United States Navy for development of facilities for storage of medical supplies and equipment in peacetime and to accommodate a hospital unit, which would be activated in the event of war.
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Racial Discrimination
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the complaints submitted to senior officers in the 10 military districts in the United Kingdom involved allegations of racial discrimination or abuse in the last five years.
Mr. Neubert : No complaints under section 181 of the Army Act 1955 involving racial discrimination or abuse are recorded as having been received at district level in the United Kingdom in the last five years.
United States Army (Munitions Store)
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will provide a list of the categories of munitions stored at the United States Army munitions store at Caerwent, Wales.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : I have nothing to add to the answer given to the hon. Member by my hon. Friend the Member for Kettering (Mr. Freeman) on 9 May 1988 at column 1.
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Schools (Opting-out)
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what assessment he makes when deciding whether to allow a school to opt out of local education authority control of the extent to which the school may be seeking to avoid the consequences of local education authority rationalisation programmes.
Mrs. Rumbold : My right hon. Friend judges applications for a school to become grant maintained at the same time as he considers any parallel statutory proposals, for example, to close the school in question. In such circumstances, both proposals or sets of proposals will be considered on their merits and each will be evaluated against the other.
Teachers (Convictions)
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish in the Official Report for each of the past 10 years and for each local education authority the number of serving teachers convicted of a criminal offence, separately distinguishing the type of offence, including those of a sexual nature.
Mr. Butcher : This information is not available.
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how his Department conveys information to local education authorities regarding serving teachers convicted of a sexual offence.
Mr. Butcher : When a serving teacher is convicted of a criminal offence it is the responsibility of the chief officer of police for the area in which the offence is committed to report the conviction both to the teacher's employer and to the Department. So it is not primarily a matter for the Department to inform the local education authority.
All cases reported to the Department by the police are, however, considered to determine whether action by the
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Secretary of State under the power conferred on him by the Education (Teachers) Regulations 1982 to bar or restrict a person's employment as a teacher is necessary, and in the case of a serving teacher the Department routinely informs his employer of the outcome of that consideration.Academic Staff
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science and if he will set out in the Official Report details of intakes and outflows of full-time wholly university financed academic staff from each year from 1979-80 to 1986-87.
Mr. Jackson : The information is shown in the table.
|c|Intakes and outflows of full-time wholly university financed academic|c| |c|staff|c| Great Britain Academic year beginning |Total intake<1> |Total outflow<1> in ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1979 1980 |1,573 |1,629 1981 |1,182 |1,606 1982 |816 |2,187 1983 |1,365 |1,969 1984 |1,686 |1,635 1985 |1,595 |1,294 1986 |1,439 |1,435 1987 |1,336 |1,582 ..not available. <1> Figures exclude transfers between universities. "Intake" covers new recruits to university service or staff returning after a period in other employment. "Outflow" covers members of staff leaving university service.
Grant-maintained Schools
Mr. Latham : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will give further details of the criteria which he will adopt in deciding upon an application for grant-maintained status from a school which is full but for which a section 12 closure procedure is proposed as part of a wider secondary review arising from falling rolls and surplus places in other schools ; and whether he will make a statement.
Mrs. Rumbold : My right hon. Friend will consider proposals by a local education authority for the closure or reorganisation of a school in accordance with the Education Act 1980 at the same time as he considers any proposals by the governing body of the school to become grant-maintained under the Education Reform Act 1988 ; but he will determine the latter proposals first. He will consider and decide all such proposals on their merits, taking all relevant factors into account.
Mr. Latham : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will set out in tabular form the progress, since the initial resolution of the governors, of each individual school which has expressed the desire to his Department to transfer to grant-maintained status ; and how many firm inquiries have been made to his Department prior to an initial resolution of governors or a signed requisition by parents under the Education Reform Act 1988.
Mrs. Rumbold : The Department continues to receive a large number of inquiries from parents and governors
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about making an application for grant- maintained status. It receives formal notification of only two stages of such an application :the result of a ballot of parents ; and
where the parents have voted in favour of proceeding with an application, the subsequent publication of formal proposals by the governing body.
The Education Reform Act 1988 requires the Secretary of State in due course to determine any such proposals. The table shows the stage which individual schools have reached :
School and LEA |Ballot result "Yes/No"|Proposals published
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Skegness Grammar School, Lincs |- |Yes
Audenshaw County High School,
Tameside |- |Yes
St. James's CE School, Bolton |- |Yes
Wilson's School, Sutton |- |Yes
Hendon School, Barnet |- |Yes
Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School,
Alford, Lincs |- |Yes
Queensbury School, Beds |- |Yes
Wilmington Grammar School for
Girls, Kent |- |Yes
Sir James Altham School, Herts |- |Yes
London Oratory School, ILEA |- |Yes
Queen Elizabeth's Boys' School, Barnet |- |Yes
Blessed Hugh More RC School, Lincs |Yes |-
Castlemount School, Kent |Yes |-
Heckmondwike Grammar School,
Kirklees |Yes |-
South Park High School, Lincs. |Yes |-
London Nautical School, ILEA |Yes |-
Netherthorpe School, Derbyshire |Yes |-
Ramsden School for Girls, Bromley |Yes |-
Bankfield County High School,
Cheshire |Yes |-
The King's School, Grantham, Lincs |Yes |-
Southfield School for Girls, Northants |Yes |-
Baverstock School, Birmingham |Yes |-
Small Heath School, Birmingham |Yes |-
Colyton Grammar School, Devon |Yes |-
Foster's Grammar School For Boys,
Dorset |Yes |-
Lord Digby's Grammar School For
Girls, Dorset |Yes |-
Castle Hall Middle School, Kirklees |Yes |-
Ravensbourne School For Girls,
Bromley |No |-
Sale Grammar School For Boys,
Trafford |No |-
Queen Elizabeth High School,
Rochdale |No |-
Chesterfield School, Derbyshire |No |-
Millais School, West Sussex |No |-
Wilmington Grammar School For
Boys, Kent |No |-
Chichele School, Northants |No |-
Droylsden County High School,
Tameside |No |-
Siddal Moor High School, Rochdale |No |-
Hadham Hall School, Herts |No |-
In addition, I understand that the following schools have received a request from parents or passed governors' resolutions requiring that a ballot be held :
Hindley Park High School, Wigan
Gaynes School, Havering
Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School, Lancashire
Weald of Kent Grammar School For Girls, Kent
St. Francis Xavier's School, Liverpool
Beechen Cliff School, Avon
Claremont High School, Brent
St. Helena School, Derbyshire
Ribston Hall High School, Gloucestershire
Marling Grammar School, Gloucestershire
Stroud Girls' High School, Gloucestershire
Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School, ILEA
Knowsley Ruffwood Comprehensive School, Knowsley
Long Field High School, Leicestershire
Kettering Boys' School, Northamptonshire
The Guildford County School, Surrey
Secondary School Teachers
Mr. Evennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many vacancies exist for secondary school teachers in Greater London.
Mr. Butcher : The latest vacancy figures, which are collected annually, relate to January 1988, when the total number of secondary teacher vacancies in Greater London was 660.
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Teacher Shortages
Mr. Evennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has regarding shortages of science and craft, design and technology teachers in Greater London.
Mr. Butcher : In general, teacher shortages are at a higher level in London and the south-east, partly reflecting the higher costs in housing in these areas. The number of unfilled posts reported by LEAs in maths, physics, chemistry and CDT in Greater London over the past two years was as follows :
|1987|1988
-------------------------
Maths |90 |71
Physics |31 |21
Chemistry |23 |12
CDT |75 |48
My Department and the teaching as a career unit are in regular touch with LEAs about measures to increase teacher supply
Further Education
Mr. Ken Hargreaves : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how further education courses provided at institutes within the new polytechnics and colleges funding council sector will be funded for 1989-90 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : The Education Reform Act 1988 places a duty on local education authorities to secure provision for their area of adequate facilities for further education. Consistent with this, the local authority associations have encouraged their member authorities to maintain support for further education courses, including those of national significance, provided now by polytechnics and colleges in the new sector. Practical steps are also being taken by the LEAs collectively to consider the reform of the existing arrangements under which local education authorities can mutually recoup the costs of places on the FE courses they provide which are taken up by students whose homes are in the area of other authorities. The Government have accordingly decided that the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council will not generally be put in funds to support further education provided in the institutions under its control. However, exceptionally for 1989-90 alone, we have put the PCFC in funds to support further education courses running now in the voluntary and other colleges currently grant-aided by the Department of Education and Science. This is in order to allow these institutions time to find local authorities to support the further education courses they provide.
Student Fees
Mr. Ken Hargreaves : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what guidelines have been issued about fees for students on courses of further and higher education in the academic year 1989-90.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : For the academic year 1989-90 I have indicated the following maximum amounts for the reimbursement of fees through the awards system for home students and for students from other European Community countries on full time courses (fees for 1988-89 are shown in brackets) :
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|£ |£
---------------------------------------------------------
Postgraduate courses |1,890 |(1,800)
First degree and diploma courses |607 |(578)
In relation to other courses, I understand that the Council of Local Education Authorities has recommended fees for 1989-90 for home and EC students as follows (fees for 1988-89 are shown in brackets) :
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Higher Education Further Education
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Full-time |£609 |(£578) |£429 |(£390)
Sandwich/block release (weekly rate) |£16.80 |(£16.00)|£12.00 |(£11.00)
Part-time per course hour |57p |(54p) |41p |(37p)
Part-time annual fee for one session per week |£60.90 |(£57.80)|£43.00 |(£39.00)
The Government's policy is that students from outside the European Community should pay fees that reflect the full cost of their education here. It is for the institutions and local authorities to determine the actual fees to be charged to overseas students in the light of this policy and of their own circumstances.
TRANSPORT
Railways (Electrification)
Mr. Heddle : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has yet received British Rail's submission for the electrification of the cross city line from Lichfield to Redditch via Birmingham New Street.
Pensioners
Mr. Roy Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will consider creating a standing committee of representatives of the pensioners' movement together with the Minister and senior civil servants dealing with the areas mainly affecting the retired in transport.
Mr. Portillo : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on Friday 17 February at column 404.
Channel Tunnel
Mr. Evennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received concerning route one of the proposed Channel tunnel high speed rail link.
Mr. Portillo : We have received a large number of representations about all of BR's route proposals for this link.
Buses (Greater London)
Mr. Evennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to establish a licensing and regulatory body for bus services in Greater London which has no direct or indirect commercial interest in the operation of such services.
Mr. Portillo : London Regional Transport has a statutory duty to provide or secure the provision of public transport services for London, and to consult the relevant authorities and persons when it proposes to introduce, vary or withdraw bus services. Operators of bus services other than these under the control of LRT must obtain a licence from the traffic commissioner, which is an independent statutory authority.
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Lockerbie Air Disaster
Mr. Wilshire : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has raised aviation security aspects of the Lockerbie disaster with the International Civil Aviation Organisation ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Channon : On 15 and 16 February I attended a special ministerial meeting of the council of the International Civil Aviation Organisation in Montreal. The meeting was the result of a joint United Kingdom and United States initiative, to discuss aviation security following the Lockerbie disaster.
The meeting was successful. It was attended by Ministers (in most cases the Transport Minister) from 12 member states of the 33-strong ICAO council, and by senior officials from seven other member states. Our immediate objectives were all achieved ; they were :
(i) to register concern at the sabotage of PAN AM 103,
(ii) to call upon states to ensure that existing international security standards were being fully implemented,
(iii) to gain agreement to the strengthening of the ICAO security secretariat, and
(iv) to set in progress work in ICAO under an eight-point plan to establish tighter standards to counter sabotage.
My eight-point plan calls for international action on the following :
(i) New standards for the screening of checked passengers' baggage both at check-in and when transferred between flights ;
(ii) A requirement that airline baggage reconciliation procedures should be 100 per cent. reliable ;
(iii) New higher standards for screening cargo and mail, including that placed on flights by courier companies ;
(iv) New higher standards for controlling access to sensitive areas at airports, including searches of people and vehicles entering these areas and searches of aircraft, particularly for high risk flights ;
(v) A new approach to the carriage of items which cannot be searched, such as radios, computers and other electronic and electric equipment that cannot be easily opened ;
(vi) A new drive to develop equipment for the reliable detection of explosives and explosive devices ; those countries with the scientific and industrial capabilities should now redouble efforts to develop equipment in this field ;
(vii) Continuing consideration of proposals for building security into the design of aircraft, such as inexpensive modifications to make it harder to hide a bomb and easier for security staff to search cabins, toilets and galleys ;
(viii) The strengthening of the powers and organisation of ICAO to enable it to play a more active part in implementing these new standards ; this would include developing the provision of training for administrators and managers ; the provision of advice to states on the formulation of aviation security regulations ; the setting up of an inspectorate for the systematic checking of standards at airports.
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A joint United Kingdom and United States resolution was unanimously agreed at the meeting. The resolution condemned the destruction of Pan American flight 103 on 21 December 1988 called upon states to intensify their efforts for the implementation of existing standards and set out a plan of action for ICAO embracing all the points in my eight-point plan.Light Dues
Sir David Price : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what decisions he has taken concerning light dues in 1989-90 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Channon : I am pleased to report that the general lighthouse authorities continue to make progress in containing and reducing their costs. This will permit a further reduction of just over 10 per cent. in the overall amount of light dues collected in the coming year ; this includes the abolition of deck cargo dues. This means that light dues will be 40 per cent. lower in real terms than eight years ago.
I am grateful for the constructive comments received from bodies consulted about the possible reforms of light dues, which I announced on 7 November last. Some of these reforms, including a change from net to gross tonnage for assessment purposes, require further consideration before they are implemented, but I am able to announce the following changes effective from 1 April 1989 :
(a) Abolition of deck cargo dues on foreign-going voyages, to bring foreign trade ships into line with those in the home trade. This will be particularly welcome to shipping engaged in container and other part-cargo traffic.
(b) A merging of the tariffs for home trade and foreign going ships based on a standard charge of £3.06 per 10 net registered tons up to a maximum of seven voyages. This represents a 2 per cent. cash reduction in the basic tariff.
(c) A new separate tariff for roll-on/roll-off ferries, which will be charged on the same number of voyages as other ships at the following rates : £3.06 per 10 net registered tons on the first 1,000 NRT and £6.12 per 10 NRT on any excess over 1,000 NRT. The objective here is to secure a modest increase in the very small contribution currently made by such vessels to the general lighthouse fund. The change will less than double the ferries' present contribution of around 1.5 per cent. to light dues.
Other minor changes will be introduced. The payment period for fishing vessel dues will be brought into line with the financial year, and a half- yearly charge will be introduced for this class. The concessionary light dues scale for visiting cruise ships will be terminated. A minimum payment of £25 per voyage will be introduced for vessels paying on a voyage basis. Home trade vessels will be given the option of paying light dues on no more than two voyages a month (currently three voyages). I am minded to extend this facility to foreign-owned ships in 1990 and at the same time to replace the present complex rules defining chargeable voyages in this sector. These changes represent a continuing reduction of the burden of light dues combined with a first round of constructive reforms to simplify the light dues system. The necessary order will be laid shortly.
I have previously stated that the British Ports Federation is conducting a feasibility study into possible ways in which owners of pleasure crafts might contribute
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