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Political Parties (Talks)
18. Mr. Flannery : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress he has made in holding talks with the political parties in Northern Ireland since 14 February.
22. Ms. Short : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what responses he has received to his call for talks with the political parties in Northern Ireland.
26. Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what response his appeal to the political parties in Northern Ireland to engage in talks with him has received.
Mr. Tom King : In my speech in east Belfast on 14 February, I said that we would be seeking to explore with all in Northern Ireland who have a contribution to make, what possibilities may now exist for political progress. This process has now started.
Charitable Donations
19. Rev. Martin Smyth : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what information he has as to the level of donations to charities and voluntary organisations in Northern Ireland ; and whether any patterns can be discerned over the last three years.
Mr. Needham : The information held by the Government about donations from the public to charities and voluntary organisations in Northern Ireland is limited to returns from Provincewide house-to-house collections. These do not enable general conclusions to be drawn about patterns of giving.
The Government have taken steps over the past three years to encourage giving in the workplace, through the payroll giving scheme. The scheme in Northern Ireland has been growing steadily, and expects to handle some £100,000 in the 1988-89 financial year. Over 200 employers are now enrolled with the scheme.
Auxiliary Oiler Vessel
20. Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if the financial arrangements with potential acquirers of Harland and Wolff for meeting existing liabilities or for meeting losses on existing contracts will exclude any liabilities or losses in respect of the AOR1, contract.
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Mr. Viggers : The financial arrangements with potential acquirers of Harland and Wolff will involve a complex range of factors. I can confirm, however, that they will include provision for meeting losses on existing contracts.
Irish Sea (Pollution)
21. Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Conference will consider the implications for the environment and health of Northern Ireland of current levels of pollution in the Irish sea.
Mr. Tom King : Discussions between the United Kingdom and Irish Governments about pollution in the Irish sea have hitherto been conducted by the Ministers and officials directly concerned rather than through the Intergovernmental Conference. I am sure that this remains the right approach.
South Down (Investment)
25. Mr. McGrady : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list for each year from 1984 to 1988 the number of occasions when the Industrial Development Board and Local Enterprise Development Unit brought potential investing companies to South Down for the purposes of new development and job creation ; and to what bodies or persons they were introduced.
Mr. Viggers : Since 1984, the industrial development board has accompanied potential inward investors on 15 visits to the hon. Gentleman's constituency as follows :
|Number
---------------------
1984 |1
1985 |3
1986 |1
1987 |4
1988 |4
In 1989 there have so far been two such visits. The visitors met local business men, and inspected industrial estates, port, training and employment service facilities in the area. The role of the local enterprise development unit is to support locally based projects.
Housing Executive (Public Liability Claims)
27. Mr. Tim Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the total of public liability claims paid by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (a) in 1979-80, and (b) in 1987-88.
Mr. Needham : This is a matter for the chairman of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive who has advised me that the information is not available in the form requested.
He has informed me that during 1979-80 the Housing Executive insured against public liability risk and the amount paid out by the insurance company is not known.
During 1987-88 the executive paid out £1.4 million in respect of public liability claims.
Local Government Reforms
29. Mr. Bill Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he has any proposals to introduce local government reforms in Northern Ireland.
Column 625
Mr. Needham : The Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland published a consultative paper on local government last November, setting out proposals with regard to the conduct of district council business, the administrative structure of environmental health and building control services, and the introduction of compulsory competitive tendering for certain services. Comments were requested by 1 March 1989 and are now being considered.
Extradition
30. Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons have been extradited from the Republic of Ireland to Northern Ireland during the last three months ; and of these how many were charged with terrorist-type offences.
Mr. Tom King : No persons have been extradited from the Republic of Ireland during the last three months. One application has been made and 18 applications are pending. There is no differentiation in the applications between terrorist and non-terrorist cases.
Cross-border Security
31. Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on improvements in cross-border co- operation on the frontier between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland since the signing of the Anglo-Irish Agreement on 15 November 1985.
Mr. Tom King : A number of steps have been taken in the field of co- operation, intelligence, communication and other related aspects which are all directed towards improving cross-border co-operation.
Single European Act
32. Mr. Litherland : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress he has made in preparing Northern Ireland for the implementation of the Single European Act.
Mr. Ian Stewart : We have set in train action on a broad front to prepare Northern Ireland for the implementation of the Single European Act. This action includes gearing up the private sector for the challenges and opportunities of the single European market, ensuring that the public sector is alert to changing requirements on such matters as standards and public purchasing arrangements, and preparing the necessary development plan and programmes to take advantage of the Province's objective 1 priority status under the reformed structural funds.
Royal Ulster Constabulary (Traffic Accidents)
Mr. McCusker : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many motor accidents involving members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the Royal Ulster Constabulary Reserve there have been in Northern Ireland during 1986, 1987 and 1988 ; and in how many cases the police officers were to blame in each case.
Mr. Ian Stewart : Records are not maintained on the number of police officers involved in road traffic accidents whilst driving private vehicles. However, the number of accidents involving police vehicles is summarised as follows :
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|1986|1987|1988
-----------------------------------------------------------
Total number of accidents involving
police vehicles |864 |736 |696
Accidents in which police drivers were
adjudged to be blame worthy |275 |293 |209
A substantial number of these accidents were of a minor nature, many of them occurring within police property. Further information may be found in the Chief Constable's annual reports.
Mr. McCusker : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many fatalities, other than police officers, there have been as a result of motor accidents involving members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and Royal Ulster Constabulary Reserve in which police officers were held responsible for the accident.
Mr. Ian Stewart : The information requested is not available from current records.
Police Officers (Driving Training)
Mr. McCusker : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what driving skills training is available to police officers in Northern Ireland ; what encouragement is offered to them to take up this training ; and how many police officers have taken the advanced driving test in 1986, 1987 and 1988, respectively.
Mr. Ian Stewart : All qualified drivers who join the Royal Ulster Constabulary are given a four-week initial standard driving course as part of their initial training. On passing this course to the required standard they are appointed as police drivers. No officer may drive a police vehicle unless appointed as a police driver. Throughout an officer's career he or she may at any time apply to become an advanced driver or motor cyclist. Each application is considered on its merit and a high percentage are so trained. Numbers trained were as follows :
|c|Advanced driving courses|c|
|1986|1987|1988
-----------------------------------------------
Number of officers trained |102 |90 |70
Number passed |97 |86 |67
Police Officers (Traffic Offences) Mr. McCusker : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many prosecutions for road traffic offences were taken against police officers in 1986, 1987 and 1988 ; and how many were for (a) driving whilst under the influence of alcohol, (b) speeding and (c) dangerous or reckless driving.
Mr. Ian Stewart : Information is not available as to the number of police officers prosecuted for all road traffic offences. However, the number prosecuted for drunken driving and reckless driving was as follows :
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|c|Royal Ulster Constabulary officers prosecuted under Article 141(1)|c|
|c|and 145(1) of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1981|c|
|c|(Drunken Driving)|c|
Year |Number of officers |Number convicted |Number acquitted |No result of hearing yet
|received
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1986 |24 |23 |1 |-
1987 |27 |25 |2 |-
1988 |37 |28 |- |9
-
|c|RUC officers prosecuted under article 139(1) and (2) of the Road|c|
|c|Traffic (NI) Order 1981 (Reckless Driving)|c|
Year |Number officers |Number convicted |Number acquitted |No result of hearing yet
|received
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1986 |12 |11 |1
1987 |11 |10 |1
1988 |9 |6 |3
Note: Ten officers appear in both tables, having been prosecuted in the same proceedings for both an offence of reckless driving and an offence of
drunken driving.
Housing
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people live in (a) public sector housing, (b) the private sector rented, and (c) owner-occupied housing in the Province expressed in figures and as percentages of the total ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Needham : This information is not available in the form requested. However, details of tenure of occupied housing stock at October 1988 are as follows :
|Number |Percentage
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Owner Occupied |322,000 |61.7
Public Sector (Northern Ireland
Housing Executive) |171,000 |32.7
Private Rented Sector)including
Housing Associations) |29,000 |5.6
|------- |-------
Total |522,000 |100
Devolution
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent information he has on the extent of popular support in favour of devolved government for Northern Ireland.
Mr. Tom King : I am anxious to establish more precisely the degree of support in the Province for political progress. For that reason and with the assistance of my hon. Friend the Member for Peterborough (Dr. Mawhinney) I am exploring with the parties and interested groups the possibilities for political movement. A copy of my speech given to the Belfast East Rotarions on 14 February has been place in the Library.
Prisoners
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many prisoners there are in Northern Ireland who have served more than 10 years in prison, and were under 21 years when convicted.
Mr. Ian Stewart : Seventy-four.
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FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Vietnam
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has any proposals for the removal of restrictions upon trade and overseas aid to Vietnam ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Eggar : There are no restrictions on trade with Vietnam. We ceased aid to Vietnam in 1979 following the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia. We welcome the Vietnamese announcement of intention to withdraw from Cambodia and are following developments closely, but we have no immediate plans to change our policy.
Hong Kong (Refugee Camps)
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what levels of grant were made by Her Majesty's Government for UNHCR's English language training programmes in refugee camps in Hong Kong in each of the years 1986 to 1988 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Eggar : We contributed £100,000 in March 1988 and £1 million in October 1988 to UNHCR's programme in Hong Kong. This programme includes their English language training schemes for Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong.
TRANSPORT
Airports
Mr. Bright : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has as to which local authorities are currently conducting negotiations for the sale of their airports to the private sector in whole or in part.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : None. Such information would be a commercial matter for the authorities and those with whom they were negotiating.
Rolling Stock Technicians
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received from British Rail regarding the costing of the rolling stock technicians, grade two, on stations ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Portillo : None. These are management matters for the British Railways Board.
Belgian Trawler (Sinking)
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has about the location, time, weather conditions and other circumstances regarding the sinking of a Belgian trawler in the Irish sea on 6-7 March ; whether the sinking was in United Kingdom territorial waters ; what information he has on whether any submarines were in the vicinity ; what arrangements have been made for an inquiry into the cause of the sinking ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Portillo : The Belgian-registered trawler Tijl Uilenspiegel sank approximately 25 miles south-east of the
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Isle of Man on Sunday 5 March 1989. No distress signal was received from the vessel by Her Majesty's Coastguard. The precise time of the casualty if not known--it is thought to have sunk after noon. Her Majesty's Coastguard were alerted to the incident when another Belgian trawler, Drakkar, recovered a body at 8.18 pm that evening. A subsequent major full scale search was mounted all that night and on Monday 6 March 1989, but no further bodies or any liferaft have been recovered. The sea condition was moderate, with a south east wind of 17 to 21 knots, with visibility at seven miles.The casualty occurred outside United Kingdom territorial waters and no investigation will be undertaken by the Department. Department officials have contacted the Belgian maritime authorities to ascertain whether Belgium will be undertaking an investigation into the cause of this tragedy.
I am advised that no United Kingdom or allied submarine was operating in the area at the time of the incident.
Roads (Hampshire)
Mr. Hunter : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has spent on roads in Hampshire for which it is the highway authority each year since 1979, expressed (a) in cash terms, (b) in real terms based on 1979 and (c) as a percentage increase or decrease on each preceding year.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : The information in the form requested is not available. It could be assembled only at disproportionate cost.
Manchester Airport
Mr. Franks : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much Manchester city council has received as a contribution to rates from Manchester international airport for the years 1979 to 1989.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : We do not have this information. I suggest that my hon. Friend contacts the local authority.
Chapel-en-le-Frith/Whaley Bridge Bypass
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Stretford of 2 March, Official Report, column 294, he will give the dates on which different sections of the report of Allet and Lomax, consulting engineers, as to the performance of the consulting engineers employed on the Chapel-en-le- Frith/Whaley Bridge bypass, were received at his Department ; when he expects to receive further sections of the report ; what is the content of those sections ; and when he estimates he will be in a position to consider whether to place the full report in the Library.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : The scheme took longer and cost more than expected. The report, which will deal with the geotechnical difficulties encountered on the scheme, is being prepared in phases. A summary of the first two phases was received by the Department on 3 March 1989. This is under consideration. Various interim technical statements received prior to 3 March form appendices to the summary report. The amount of work in the later
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phases depends on earlier findings, and it is difficult to give firm completion dates. When it is complete, we will consider whether it is appropriate to place it in the Library.Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what has caused delays in announcing further road improvement works beyond the Chapel-en-le-Frith/Whaley Bridge bypass ; whether re-appraisals have taken place in the light of the cost overspend on this section ; and whether particular routes have now been ruled out because of doubts about the geology of the area.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : The response to the public consultation on the adjoining A6 Disley-High Lane bypass proposal was exceptional. It included suggestions for 18 alternative routes which have had to be evaluated.
Our estimates for all routes have allowed for dealing with geological conditions. At this stage, no route has been ruled out on geological grounds.
Manchester Airport (Accident)
Mr. Ken Hargreaves : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action has been taken to improve passenger safety arising out of the lessons learned during the course of the Manchester aircraft accident investigation.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : The CAA has in fact already actioned many of the AAIB's recommendations. In the weeks and months following the accident changes were made to the maintenance procedures for the Pratt and Whitney JT8D engines fitted to this aircraft, and to methods of assessing the effect of repair schemes based on operators' fleet experience with this engine.
Other significant recommendations which have been acted upon include amendments to cabin materials certification to limit smoke and toxic gas emission in the event of fires.
In consultation with the industry, the authority has formulated requirements for the provision of smoke hoods and masks for passenger protection during fires, issuing a specification for passenger protection breathing equipment-smoke hoods, which defines both equipment performance and installation requirements. I understand that, at this stage, the CAA will not be making the provision of passenger smoke hoods mandatory.
The CAA has, in response to a safety recommendation, initiated a comprehensive research programme to investigate the introduction on civil aircraft of cabin water spray systems.
Channel Tunnel
Miss Widdecombe : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has taken any decisions on British Rail's proposal for a new rail link between London and the Channel tunnel.
Mr. Portillo : I welcome the fact that blight has now been removed from large stretches of Kent ; that British Rail's intentions on compensation and the alleviation of blight have been made clear ; and that in formulating its route proposal British Rail has clearly been guided by the environmental criteria set out by Kent county council. The Government will need to consider between now and November whether they will support the introduction of a private Bill by British Rail for the necessary powers to construct and operate the proposed route.
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In reaching our decision, we shall be considering two main factors. First, we shall need to be satisfied that the route has been subjected to a full environmental assessment and that any Bill can be accompanied by a satisfactory environmental statement. Secondly, we shall want to satisfy ourselves that British Rail investment would be likely within a reasonable time to earn a proper commercial return. This means that British Rail will need to consider further the uncertainties about the traffic forecasts, the costs of the project and the revenues. In doing so, it will be considering proposals from the private sector for building and financing the line.Settle-Carlisle Railway Line
Mr. Curry : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will make a statement on the future of the Settle-Carlisle railway line.
Mr. Portillo : My right hon. Friend will make a statement when he has fully considered all the evidence. We are, however, conscious that the continuing uncertainty may cause difficulty to businesses in the area of the line. We therefore wish to make it clear that, whatever decision my right hon. Friend reaches on the closure case, he will not permit British Rail to withdraw its services at least until mid-October, when the timetable for all British Rail services changes.
Birmingham Heartlands (Spine Road)
Mr. Corbett : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will announce his decision on the application by Birmingham heartlands for approval for the heartlands spine road.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : We are considering the detailed case for a Birmingham heartlands spine road as part of our current review of the road programme. We will make an announcement when we can.
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Selby Bypass
Mr. Alison : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to publish the route line and draft side road orders for the Selby bypass ; and if he will make a statement on the overall progress of the project.
Mr. Bottomley : The additional preliminary investigations on this scheme are nearing completion.
We shall shortly commence preparation of the draft line and side roads orders. Present progress indicates that these orders should be published by the end of this year.
WALES
Local Authority Expenditure
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give for each county council (i) the net expenditure in each year since 1977-78, (ii) the domestic and business precept in each year since 1977-78, (iii) the percentage rise in the precept in each year since 1977- 78, (iv) the percentage rise in the precept in the periods 1977-78 to 1980- 81, 1981-82 to 1985-86, 1986-87 to 1989-90 and 1977-78 to 1989-90, (v) the change in the number of staff employed at the end of the periods 1977-78 to 1980-81, 1981-82 to 1985-86, 1986-87 to 1989-90 and 1977-78 to 1989-90 expressed in number and percentage terms, (vi) the political composition of the councils in 1977 to 1981, 1981 to 1985, 1985 to 1989 ; and if he will list the councils in rank order by largest increase in precept over the period 1985-86 to 1989-90 starting with the council with the highest increase in that period.
Mr. Grist : The information requested is shown in the following tables :
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|c|(i) Total net expenditure since 1981-82 is shown below. Information relating to total expenditure is not available on a consistent basis prior to|c| |c|1981-82|c| |c|Total expenditure<1>-by authority in £000|c| Counties |1981-82 outturn |1982-83 outturn |1983-84 outturn |1984-85 outturn |1985-86 outturn |1986-87 outturn |1987-88 revised estimates|1988-89 budgets -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Clwyd |130,321 |139,097 |146,678 |150,403 |156,895 |169,753 |179,940 |193,982 Dyfed |107,212 |113,391 |120,506 |126,488 |130,335 |147,245 |160,456 |176,591 Gwent |148,524 |153,730 |160,316 |166,119 |173,327 |184,342 |202,169 |219,701 Gwynedd |77,217 |81,993 |86,314 |91,214 |94,465 |101,560 |110,645 |120,437 Mid Glamorgan |183,315 |194,759 |207,517 |217,985 |218,722 |239,148 |256,992 |280,363 Powis |41,777 |46,954 |49,515 |51,026 |52,911 |56,186 |59,465 |64,861 South Glamorgan |121,462 |129,407 |138,750 |141,274 |147,716 |162,111 |174,693 |191,518 West Glamorgan |126,551 |137,196 |141,924 |144,826 |150,228 |164,292 |176,418 |193,130 <1> Total expenditure is based on the same definition as that for Rate Support Grant purposes, that is net of local income (fees, sales and charges etc.) and net of specific grants.
|c|(ii) The county council precepts since 1977-78 are shown below. There are no separate business or domestic precepts as each
county precepts for the amount that it|c|
|c|requires. (Domestic Rate Relief Grant is paid to districts rather than counties.)|c|
Counties |1977-78 |1978-79 |1979-80 |1980-81 |1981-82 |1982-83 |1983-84 |1984-85 |1985-86 |1986-87 |1987-88 |1988-89
|(p) |(p) |(p) |(p) |(p) |(p) |(p) |(p) |(p) |(p) |(p) |(p)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clwyd |71.5 |79.0 |99.5 |124.0 |148.0 |148.0 |148.0 |162.0 |172.0 |189.0 |198.0 |210.0
Dyfed |64.1 |67.9 |87.0 |111.3 |122.2 |122.3 |130.7 |142.7 |170.6 |195.3 |208.9 |219.9
Gwent |73.9 |79.0 |98.0 |117.0 |129.0 |135.0 |141.0 |141.0 |146.0 |173.0 |192.0 |208.0
Gwynedd |63.5 |70.0 |96.5 |111.0 |128.0 |123.0 |136.0 |145.0 |150.0 |168.0 |183.0 |203.0
Mid Glamorgan |72.4 |73.4 |95.7 |119.4 |144.9 |144.8 |154.1 |180.4 |187.4 |205.9 |215.8 |228.4
Powys |54.0 |57.0 |81.0 |108.0 |124.0 |128.0 |128.0 |134.0 |154.0 |177.0 |188.0 |201.0
South Glamorgan |66.5 |72.5 |90.0 |101.9 |116.4 |133.4 |124.8 |132.4 |147.4 |183.2 |190.7 |204.9
West Glamorgan |73.9 |79.5 |109.6 |133.0 |156.0 |161.0 |165.0 |175.0 |184.0 |197.0 |225.0 |263.0
|c|(iii) The percentage rise in the precept in each year since 1977-78 is shown below.|c|
Percentage change
Counties |1977-78 |1978-79 |1979-80 |1980-81 |1981-82 |1982-83 |1983-84 |1984-85 |1985-86 |1986-87 |1987-88
|to |to |to |to |to |to |to |to |to |to |to
|1978-79 |1979-80 |1980-81 |1981-82 |1982-83 |1983-84 |1984-85 |1985-86 |1986-87 |1987-88 |1988-89
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clwyd |10.5 |25.9 |24.6 |19.4 |0.0 |0.0 |9.5 |6.2 |9.9 |4.8 |6.1
Dyfed |5.9 |28.1 |27.9 |9.8 |0.1 |6.9 |9.2 |19.6 |14.5 |6.9 |5.3
Gwent |6.9 |24.1 |19.4 |10.3 |4.7 |4.4 |0.0 |3.5 |18.5 |11.0 |8.3
Gwynedd |10.2 |37.9 |15.0 |15.3 |-3.9 |10.6 |6.6 |3.4 |12.0 |8.9 |10.9
Mid Glamorgan |1.4 |30.4 |24.7 |21.4 |-0.1 |6.4 |17.1 |3.9 |9.9 |4.8 |5.8
Powys |5.6 |42.1 |33.3 |14.8 |3.2 |0.0 |4.7 |14.9 |14.9 |6.2 |6.9
South Glamorgan |9.0 |24.1 |13.2 |14.2 |14.6 |-6.4 |6.1 |11.3 |24.3 |4.1 |7.4
West Glamorgan |7.6 |37.9 |21.4 |17.3 |3.2 |2.5 |6.1 |5.1 |7.1 |14.2 |16.9
|c|(iv) The percentage rise in county council precepts for
the periods requested is shown below. Information for
1989-90 is not yet available.|c|
Percentage change
Counties |1977-78 |1981-82 |1986-87 |1977-78
|to |to |to |to
|1980-81 |1985-86 |1988-89 |1988-89
-------------------------------------------------------------
Clwyd |73.4 |16.2 |11.1 |193.7
Dyfed |73.7 |39.6 |12.6 |243.0
Gwent |58.3 |13.2 |20.2 |181.5
Gwynedd |74.8 |17.2 |20.8 |219.7
Mid Glamorgan |64.9 |29.3 |10.9 |215.4
Powys |100.0 |24.2 |13.6 |272.2
South Glamorgan |53.2 |26.6 |11.8 |208.1
West Glamorgan |80.0 |17.9 |33.5 |255.9
|c|(v) The change in numbers of staff employed in "general services" by county councils is shown below for the years where data is available.|c|
|c|Individual authority data is not held centrally prior to December 1978 or later than September 1988. In order to minimise the effect of seasonal|c|
|c|variation, March quarter returns for the appropriate years have been used.|c|
Counties Change Percentage change
|March 1979 |March 1981 |March 1986 |March 1988 |1979 to 1981|1981 to 1986|1986 to 1988|1979 to 1988|1979 to 1981|1981 to 1986|1986 to 1988|1979 to 1988
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Full time staff
Clwyd |9,007 |8,724 |8,460 |8,371 |-283 |-264 |-89 |-636 |-3.14 |-3.03 |-1.05 |-7.06
Dyfed |8,388 |8,091 |7,693 |7,856 |-297 |-398 |163 |-532 |-3.54 |-4.92 |2.12 |-6.34
Gwent |10,929 |10,516 |9,856 |9,734 |-413 |-660 |-122 |-1,195 |-3.78 |-6.28 |-1.24 |-10.93
Gwynedd |6,151 |6,120 |5,613 |5,550 |-31 |-507 |-63 |-601 |-0.50 |-8.28 |-1.12 |-9.77
Mid Glamorgan |14,770 |13,977 |13,276 |13,463 |-793 |-701 |187 |-1,307 |-5.37 |-5.02 |1.41 |-8.85
Powys |3,285 |3,208 |3,078 |3,005 |-77 |-130 |-73 |-280 |-2.34 |-4.05 |-2.37 |-8.52
South Glamorgan |8,670 |8,661 |8,249 |8,171 |-9 |-412 |-78 |-499 |-0.10 |-4.76 |-0.95 |-5.76
West Glamorgan |9,954 |9,228 |8,584 |8,616 |-726 |-644 |32 |-1,338 |-7.29 |-6.98 |0.37 |-13.44
Part time staff
Clwyd |6,045 |5,959 |6,933 |7,541 |-86 |974 |608 |1,496 |-1.42 |16.35 |8.77 |24.75
Dyfed |5,296 |4,996 |5,538 |6,296 |-300 |542 |758 |1,000 |-5.66 |10.85 |13.69 |18.88
Gwent |7,860 |7,839 |8,286 |9,390 |-21 |447 |1,104 |1,530 |-0.27 |5.70 |13.32 |19.47
Gwynedd |3,649 |3,607 |3,925 |4,201 |-42 |318 |276 |552 |-1.15 |8.82 |7.03 |15.13
Mid Glamorgan |8,689 |9,411 |10,704 |10,893 |722 |1,293 |189 |2,204 |8.31 |13.74 |1.77 |25.37
Powys |1,804 |1,762 |2,024 |2,340 |-42 |262 |316 |536 |-2.33 |14.87 |15.61 |29.71
South Glamorgan |6,038 |5,936 |6,361 |7,223 |-102 |425 |862 |1,185 |-1.69 |7.16 |13.55 |19.63
West Glamorgan |5,594 |5,349 |5,785 |5,871 |-245 |436 |86 |277 |-4.38 |8.15 |1.49 |4.95
|c|(vi) The political composition of the councils for the first and last year of the periods requested has
been extracted from the "Municipal Year|c|
|c|Book" for that year and is shown below.|c|
Counties |Independent |Conservative|Labour |Plaid Cymru |Other
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clwyd |1977 |27 |11 |23 |0 |5
|1981 |22 |21 |20 |0 |1
|1985 |21 |13 |28 |0 |4
|1989 |19 |15 |25 |0 |7
Dyfed |1977 |42 |0 |29 |1 |6
|1981 |43 |0 |25 |6 |5
|1985 |40 |0 |28 |5 |5
|1989 |34 |0 |29 |5 |9
Gwent |1977 |1 |12 |59 |0 |4
|1981 |4 |26 |38 |2 |3
|1985 |0 |12 |65 |0 |1
|1989 |0 |9 |67 |1 |1
Gwynedd |1977 |56 |0 |5 |5 |0
|1981 |44 |8 |3 |9 |2
|1985 |45 |2 |5 |8 |6
|1989 |40 |3 |5 |10 |7
Mid Glamorgan |1977 |4 |3 |61 |9 |3
|1981 |6 |8 |48 |16 |3
|1985 |4 |3 |64 |7 |4
|1989 |3 |1 |68 |7 |6
Powys |1977 |53 |0 |0 |0 |0
|1981 |53 |0 |0 |0 |0
|1985 |45 |1 |4 |0 |8
|1989 |41 |0 |8 |0 |8
South Glamorgan |1977 |3 |34 |42 |0 |0
|1981 |0 |64 |14 |0 |0
|1985 |0 |35 |41 |1 |3
|1989 |0 |18 |34 |1 |9
West Glamorgan |1977 |6 |9 |51 |1 |1
|1981 |3 |10 |43 |2 |0
|1985 |2 |10 |56 |0 |1
|1989 |2 |7 |53 |0 |5
|c|(vii) The increase in precept over the period 1985-86 to 1988-89 in|c|
|c|rank order of increase is shown below. Information for 1989-90 is|c|
|c|not yet available.|c|
Counties |Percentage change 1985-86
|to 1988-89
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
West Glamorgan |42.9
Gwent |42.5
South Glamorgan |39.0
Gwynedd |35.3
Powys |30.5
Dyfed |28.9
Clwyd |22.1
Mid Glamorgan |21.8
Select Committee Recommendations
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many Select Committee recommendations have been made about, and how many accepted by, his Department since June 1987.
Mr. Peter Walker : The Welsh Affairs Committee has since June 1987 submitted one report, to which I have responded. The report made two recommendations, and I have accepted both.
Consumers (Consultation)
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what arrangements there are for consulting consumers in the work and decisions of his Department.
Mr. Peter Walker : Consumer organisations are consulted as and when appropriate.
Ffrwyd Farm, Meerywinch (Pollution)
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the pollution incident at Ffrwyd farm, Meerywinch which occurred on 27 February.
Mr. Grist : This is a matter for the Welsh water authority, which is currently investigating the incident.
Column 636
Valleys Initiative
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many additional staff have been employed in the local enterprise agency network since 14 June 1988 in the valleys initiative area.
Mr. Peter Walker : There are 10 approved local enterprise agencies operating partly or wholly within the programme for the valleys area. Since 14 June 1988, a total of seven additional staff have been recruited by these agencies.
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what additional finance has been given to the local enterprise agency network since 14 June 1988 in the valleys initiative area.
Mr. Peter Walker : The 10 local enterprise agencies which operate within the programme for the valleys boundary will receive within the financial year 1988-89 funding of £220,000 (through the Welsh Development Agency, Mid Wales Development and the urban programme) with an additional £45,000 of urban programme funding provided for specific projects with which the agencies are involved. My Department is also providing additional funding of £9,100 to assist agencies in establishing new services for small businesses. These figures relate to the whole financial year ; it is not possible to provide part figures from 14 June 1988. No enterprise agencies existed during the previous Labour Government in which the hon. Gentleman was a Minister.
Valleys Small Loan Scheme
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will make a statement on the valleys small loan scheme ;
(2) what has been the number of (a) applications and (b) acceptances under the valleys small loan scheme ; and what was (i) their value, (ii) the name and location of the companies and (iii) the number of new jobs created in each case.
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