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Interception of Communications
Mr. McFall : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received on the illegal interception of communications in Helensburgh ; and if he will bring forward further legislation to prevent such incidents.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : One. The interception of communications is subject to the provisions of the Interception of Communications Act 1985.
Employment Training
Mr. Allen Adams : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will make it his policy that present Training Agency policies on health and safety, equal opportunities for people with disabilities and ethnic minorities will continue through local agencies and Scottish Enterprise ;
(2) what arrangements through local agencies and Scottish Enterprise will be put in place to ensure (a) people with learning difficulties and (b) the long-term unemployed will be effectively catered for ;
(3) what arrangements will apply to ensure that private employers on local agencies boards will not have vested interests in the local agencies' expenditure decisions ;
(4) what arrangements he proposes for independent monitoring of (a) the quality of Scottish Enterprise delivered training and outturns and (b) local agency delivered training and outturns ; (5) whether civil servants on secondment to local agencies or Scottish Enterprise will be able to alert Ministers to any financial irregularities that they find in (a) local agencies, (b) Scottish Enterprise, (c) contracts training providers and (d) other contracts ;
(6) what arrangements he intends to introduce to ensure that quality training is provided by local agencies ;
(7) if he will make it his policy that the employment rehabilitation service in Scotland will remain as part of the United Kingdom employment rehabilitation service run through the Training Agency.
Mr. Lang : We are currently reassessing the proposals in the Scottish Enterprise White Paper in the light of all the responses received, and will announce our detailed decisions in due course.
Mr. Allen Adams : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much public money was spent on the bill-board advertisement covering Sainsbury's plc participation in the employment training scheme in Scotland.
Mr. Lang : The Employment Training bill-board campaign featuring Sainsburys, IBM and Wimpey ran
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throughout Great Britain in January and March. The cost of £660,000 cannot be broken down to attribute expenditure to Scotland or to individual companies.Brook Street Bureau
Mr. Allen Adams : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what experience the Brook Street Bureau has of providing services for long-term unemployed in areas similar to Ferguslie Park, Paisley.
Mr. Lang : Brook Street has experience of providing job placements for a wide range of clients.
Mr. Allen Adams : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will provide details of the amount of public money paid to fund the private initiative in the Ferguslie Park area of Paisley by the Brook Street Bureau ;
(2) if he will provide details of the contract between his Department and the Brook Street Bureau for the provision of employment services in Ferguslie Park, Paisley.
Mr. Lang : Brook Street will be entering into a contract with the Scottish Development Agency in connection with the provision of job placement services for the Ferguslie Park training, employment and enterprise development company which is being set up by the Ferguslie Park partnership, implementing the joint strategy for the regeneration of Ferguslie Park. The details of that contract are commercially confidential ; payments are related directly to the number of residents placed in work, and the majority of Brook Street's income will come not from the public sector but from employers' placement fees.
Mr. Allen Adams : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what parts of the employment service his Department fails to provide and Brook Street Bureau will fulfil ;
(2) whether the Ferguslie Park decision has any implications for the future of the employment service on a local and national basis.
Mr. Lang : The future of the employment service is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment. The job placement services offered by Brook Street as part of the Ferguslie Park training, employment and enterprise development company will complement those provided by the employment service.
Area Manpower Boards
Mr. Allen Adams : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the possible and actual attendance of the private sector representatives on area manpower boards, for each area manpower board, for the last full year that those boards were in operation.
Mr. Lang : Details of attendance by private sector representatives on area manpower boards from October 1987 to September 1988 are as follows :
|Possible|Actual
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Central and Fife |50 |27
Highlands and Islands |55 |38
Grampian and Tayside |53 |33
Lothian and Borders |55 |26
Dumfries and Galloway |60 |24
Ayrshire |55 |26
Glasgow |60 |36
Lanarkshire |60 |31
Renfrewshire, Dunbartonshire and Argyll |66 |30
YTS
Mr. Allen Adams : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether YTS trainees, currently aged over 18 years, who stay at home receive any additional payment to cover their 20 per cent. contribution to the community charge.
Mr. Lang : YTS trainees who are 18 years old or over will be eligible to apply for a rebate on the full community charge, up to a maximum of 80 per cent., depending on their income and personal circumstances. YTS allowances have not been increased to take account of the community charge.
Training and Employment Grant Scheme
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received from the Scottish Development Agency, and when his Department will be in a position to publish conclusions, on a revised training and employment grant scheme for Scotland.
Mr. Lang : The Scottish Development Agency has submitted for approval proposals for the implementation of a revised training and employment grant scheme. My officials are considering and evaluating the proposals with agency staff. I will shortly be in a position to decide whether the new scheme should be implemented. The TEGS 8 scheme, which was due to end on 31 March, is continuing to operate in the meantime.
Storm Damage
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is in a position to make an announcement on compensation for storm damage to be paid to Scottish local authorities and others.
Mr. Lang : My right hon. and learned Friend wrote to Highland regional and Inverness district councils on 10 February requesting detailed reports of flood damage and extra costs incurred. Highland region replied on 6 March and Inverness district on 6 April. All district councils were asked to report costs incurred in dealing with the effects of
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the storm on housing. The information received from these and other sources is now being assessed. My right hon. and learned Friend hopes to make a statement shortly.Tobacco (Sales to Children)
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he intends to take any further steps to enforce section 2 of the Protection of Children (Tobacco) Act 1986 in relation to the sale of individual cigarettes to young people under the age of 16 years.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The enforcement of the law is a matter for the police. Chief constables in determining the deployment of resources to combat any particular problem have regard to the overall policing needs of their areas.
Scottish Homes Leaflet
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement concerning the factual inaccuracies contained in the leaflet, "Introducing Scottish Homes : Your New Landlord" ; and what steps he proposes to take to ensure that tenants receive correct information.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 14 April 1989] : I have already conveyed to Scottish Homes the importance which I attach to the provision of comprehensive and accurate information to tenants. It is the responsibility of Scottish Homes to satisfy itself as to the factual accuracy of its own material. I shall, however, pass to the chairman of Scottish Homes any comments about the leaflet which the hon. Member may care to draw to my attention.
Health Boards (Membership)
Mr. Maclennan : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish in the Official Report the names of members of the Highland health board and the date of appointment and nominating body of each member.
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 14 April 1989] : The information requested is as follows :
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|c|Highland Health Board|c|
Name |Date of first appointment |Nominated by
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Members appointed
to 31 March 1991
Mr. G. Bruce |1 April 1987 |Caithness Local Health Council
Mr. M. Cumming |1 April 1987 |Scottish Trades Union Congress
Dr. R. S. C. Ferguson |1 April 1985 |BMA: Local Medical Committee
Mrs. C. B. Fraser |1 April 1987 |Ross and Cromarty District Council:
| Council of Voluntary Services
Dr. C. A. S. Galloway |1 April 1987 |BMA: Royal College of Surgeons
Mr. W. G. Johnston |1 April 1983 |Sutherland Local Health Council
Mrs. V. MacIver |1 April 1987 |Ross and Cromarty District Council
Mr. A. K. Robertson |1 April 1987 |Area Dental Committee of Highland
| Health Board
Mrs. C. Thomson |1 April 1987 |Ross and Cromarty Local Health Council
Members appointed to
31 March 1983
Mrs. H. E. Betts-Brown |1 April 1985 |Highland Health Board
Mr. J. Forbes, JP |1 April 1989 |Lord Sanderson
Mr. J. G. Ligertwood |1 April 1989 |Highland Health Board
Mr. B. A. Merchant |22 June 1981 |Highland Health Board
Mrs. S. M. C. South |1 April 1985 |Highland Health Board
Mrs. S. G. H. Stone |1 April 1989 |Ross and Cromarty District Council
Miss I. Urquhart |1 April 1989 |Highland Health Board
Mr. R. Stewart |1 April 1989 |General Manager; appointed to the
| Board in accordance with paragraph
| 10.20 of the White Paper "Working
| for Patients" (Cm. 555).
Farmers' Income
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many farmers in Scotland received annual incomes from farming of (a) less than £4,999, (b) £5,000 to £7,499, (c) £7,500 to £9,999, (d) £10,000 to £14,999, (e) £15,000 to £19,999 and (f) over £20, 000, respectively, for the latest convenient year.
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 10 April 1989] : The information set out in the table for 1987-88 approximates as closely as possible to the income ranges for which information is sought and is estimated from a sample of accounts covering most types of full-time farm. The sample does not cover intensive and mixed farms and a small number of very large farms is also excluded.
Net farm income range |Number of farms £ ------------------------------------------------------------------ less than 5,000 |6,600 5,000 to 6,999 |1,400 7,000 to 9,999 |2,500 10,000 to 14,999 |1,900 15,000 to 19,999 |1,500 20,000 and over |3,000
Net farm income is the reward to the farmer and his wife for their manual work and for running the farm, and the return on their investment in stock and machinery.
Agricultural Holdings
Mr. Steel : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his latest available estimate of the income per agriculture holding in Scotland (a) including non-agricultural income and (b) excluding such income.
Mr. Rifkind : Information about non-agricultural income is available only from a one per cent. sample of the tax records of individuals registered as having a self-employment income from agriculture and horticulture. For the 1985-86 assessment year, the latest available, the average total income per farmer was £11,845, and the average agricultural and horticultural income was £6,368.
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