| Previous Section | Home Page |
Column 481
Vehicle Inspectorate Plan
Mr. Holt : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the vehicle inspectorate executive agency business plan for 1989-90 will be published.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : The business plan has been published today. Copies are available in the Library.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Turbines (Rivers)
Mr. McCusker : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many privately operated electricity generating turbines are installed on rivers in Northern Ireland ; and which Government Department has responsibility for permitting and overseeing their operation.
Mr. Viggers : No central register of privately operated electricity generating turbines is held by Northern Ireland Government Departments and thus the information sought is not available. No one Government Department has overall responsibility for privately operated electricity generating turbines on rivers. The Northern Ireland Departments of Agriculture, Environment and Economic Development have statutory responsibilities for installations affecting the flow in a particular watercourse for water abstraction and for health and safety at work considerations arising from the operation of such turbines.
Equal Opportunities
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) when his Department last conducted a survey of the ethnic origin of its employees ; when it next plans to do so ; and whether he will make a statement ;
(2) what steps he has taken to recruit members of ethnic minorities in top grades of employment at his Department.
Mr. Ian Stewart : Within Northern Ireland religious affiliation is a more significant consideration for equality of opportunity than ethnic origin. The Northern Ireland Civil Service therefore records details of religious affiliation together with sex (and disabilities if any) of applicants. It does not monitor the ethnic origin of staff nor has it any plans to do so.
The home Civil Service conducted a programme of ethnic origin surveys over four years, covering all staff, and these surveys were completed in June 1988. The Northern Ireland Office in London took part in these surveys.
The Northern Ireland Office continues to monitor staff as they join and to update its records. The home Civil Service and the Northern Ireland Civil Service are fully committed to ensuring equality of opportunity for all applicants including any from ethnic minorities. The Northern Ireland Office is an equal opportunity employer and this is emphasised in all our recruiting campaigns and advertising.
Column 482
Promotion opportunities are open to all our staff and in all cases the promotion is gained on merit. No specific steps have been taken to recruit ethnic minorities to top grades.Agriculture Improvement Scheme
Mr. Mallon : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the total amount, in grants, paid out by the Department of Agriculture, Northern Ireland, under the agriculture improvement scheme in each of the years since 1985 to applicants from each of the parliamentary constituencies in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Viggers : The information requested is not available by parliamentary constituency. It has been given by county.
|c|Agriculture Improvement Scheme|c|
|c|Agriculture Improvement Regulations|c|
|c|Agriculture Improvement Scheme (National)|c|
Counties |Grant 1986-87|Grant 1987-88|Grant 1988-89
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Antrim |2,706,655 |1,711,213 |545,763
Armagh |1,240,358 |1,016,101 |445,891
Down |361,852 |452,119 |265,245
Fermanagh |708,371 |730,625 |618,072
Londonderry |839,608 |582,122 |416,779
Tyrone |2,567,134 |2,320,384 |1,561,530
|------- |------- |-------
Total |8,423,978 |6,785,564 |3,853,280
|c|Agriculture Improvement Regulations (European Community)|c|
Counties |Grant 1986-87|Grant 1987-88|Grant 1988-89
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Antrim |396,137 |972,419 |1,479,959
Armagh |357,520 |1,158,318 |1,849,241
Down |206,003 |682,963 |859,574
Fermanagh |191,618 |604,120 |1,139,423
Londonderry |282,782 |785,043 |826,249
Tyrone |439,408 |1,424,132 |2,142,174
|------- |------- |-------
Total |1,873,468 |5,626,995 |8,296,620
Job Creation
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what is the number of jobs promoted by the Industrial Development Board and its predecessor, the Department of Commerce, for (a) indigenous firms and (b) overseas firms in Northern Ireland since 1978-79 ; how many of these jobs are the result of (i) new enterprise or (ii) expansion ; what is the average cost per job ; and how many of these jobs promoted were actually realised ;
(2) how many jobs have been promoted by the Industrial Development Board or its predecessor the Department of Commerce in the following industrial groups (a) engineering, (b) textiles, clothing and leather, (c) food, drink and tobacco and (d) all other industries ; what was the average cost of each job promoted ; and how many of these jobs were actually realised.
Mr. Viggers [holding answer 21 April 1989] : Job promotion figures for the period April 1978 to December 1988 inclusive are as follows :
Column 483
Job promotions
Indigenous firms Overseas firms
|New |Expansions|New |Expansions|Total
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Department of Commerce
1978-79 |357 |1,204 |4,165 |1,364 |7,090
1979-80 |308 |1,793 |3,100 |2,333 |7,534
1980-81 |430 |769 |178 |1,928 |3,305
1981-82 |131 |381 |348 |815 |1,675
1982-83 (from 1 April 1982-
31 August 1982) |41 |312 |- |513 |866
Industrial Development Board
1982-83 (1 September 1982-
31 March 1983) |224 |751 |159 |1,791 |2,925
1983-84 |715 |1,191 |539 |1,111 |3,556
1984-85 |394 |1,478 |548 |2,847 |5,267
1985-86 |204 |1,224 |224 |1,258 |2,910
1986-87 |208 |1,124 |415 |2,440 |4,187
1987-88 |183 |2,616 |867 |1,634 |5,300
1988-89 (9 months to 31
December 1988) |329 |1,071 |1,664 |1,428 |4,492
|------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total |3,524 |13,914 |12,207 |19,462 |49,107
In this period offers of assistance have been made with the intention of safeguarding employment as well as promoting new jobs. In such cases the assistance offered is not disaggregated between various job categories and
Column 484
consequently it is not possible to identify separately the average cost per job promoted. The average cost for all jobs assisted during 1987-88 was £9,362. Job realisation figures could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.Column 483
|c|Jobs promoted by industrial group|c|
|Engineering |Textiles clothing and |Food drink and tobacco|All other industries |Total
|leather
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Department of Commerce
1978-79 |4,634 |1,282 |144 |1,030 |7,090
1979-80 |4,802 |1,786 |325 |621 |7,534
1980-81 |1,494 |1,092 |264 |455 |3,305
1981-82 |667 |450 |89 |469 |1,675
<1>1982-83 |542 |204 |16 |104 |866
Industrial Development Board
<2>1982-83 |1,773 |394 |551 |207 |2,925
1983-84 |1,276 |1,425 |545 |310 |3,556
1984-85 |1,615 |1,286 |1,309 |1,057 |5,267
1985-86 |465 |1,194 |401 |850 |2,910
1986-87 |1,678 |1,177 |507 |825 |4,187
1987-88 |836 |1,839 |1,452 |1,173 |5,300
<3>1988-89 |2,038 |1,124 |547 |783 |4,492
|------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total |21,820 |13,253 |6,150 |7,884 |49,107
<1> From 1 April 1982 to 31 August 1982.
<2> From 1 September 1982 to 31 March 1983.
<3> 9 months to 31 December 1988.
Human Rights
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many representations he has received about the denial of human rights or the use of torture in Northern Ireland ; and which organisations made these representations.
Mr. Ian Stewart : I receive representations on a wide range of matters but no central record is kept of those which allege denial of human rights in Northern Ireland.
SCOTLAND
Playgrounds
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what correspondence he has received from Nithsdale road
Column 484
link-up group expressing concern about supervision of children in school playgrounds ; what reply he has sent ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Michael Forsyth : My right hon. and learned Friend has received representations from the Nithsdale road link-up group and many other expressions of concern from parents and parents' groups about the absence or inadequacy of playground supervision in education authority schools generally.
Local arrangements for playground supervision are for education authorities, who have a duty of care at common law for pupils at their schools. The Government share the concern of parents that children should be properly cared for, and have made provision of £4 million within total education provision for 1989-90 to enable authorities to discharge their duty in this matter.
A new clause--which would have the effect of putting a statutory duty on authorities to provide adequate levels
Column 485
of supervision of pupils--has been tabled for discusion by my hon. Friend the Member for Eastwood (Mr. Stewart) in the Committee which is currently considering the Self-Governing Schools Etc. (Scotland) Bill. The hon. Gentleman may wish to attend the public gallery to listen to the debate.Competitive Tendering
Mr. Galbraith : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if, when evaluating contracts in competitive tendering of ancillary services, the cost of redundancy and early retirement is set against the private tender.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Yes. Redundancy payments are real costs to the Health Service and boards are specifically instructed to have regard to them in the final assessment of all bids relating to competitive tendering. Similarly premature retirement costs, if any, are also required to be taken into account.
Press Releases
Mr. Galbraith : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many press releases have been issued by himself, his Minister of State and each of his Parliamentary Under-Secretaries since June 1987.
Mr. Rifkind : The total number of news releases issued by the Scottish Information Office in the period 1 June 1987 to 31 March 1989 covering the activities of myself and my ministerial colleagues was 2,078. The number issued on behalf of each Minister was as follows :
|Number
------------------------------------------------------------
Secretary of State for Scotland |561
Minister of State (Commons) |426
Minister of State (Lords) |238
Minister for Home Affairs and the Environment |331
Minister for Education and Health |522
Highland Health Board
Mr. Galbraith : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 14 April, why a separate meeting was held with the manager and chairman of Highland health board.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : To discuss matters of common interest.
Departmental Staff
Mr. Sean Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland with respect to the support grades in his Department (a) what is the number of staff employed, (b) how many vacancies there are and how many of these have existed for over one month and over three months, (c) how many temporary and casual appointments there are and (d) how much overtime was worked by them in London and elsewhere.
Mr. Rifkind : The Scottish Office (including Scottish Prison Service) position at 1 April 1989 is as follows :
a. 318.5 ;
b. 26, of which 20 had existed for over one month and 14 for over 3 months ;
c. 7.5 (all casual appointments) ;
d. since May 1988 overtime hours worked amount to 1,097 (London) and 28,762 (elsewhere).
Column 486
Siemens Printers
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many Siemens ND3 printers are used by his Department, either in-house or through a private contract ; and what is the location of each.
Forest Workers
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish the numbers of forest workers employed on forest management activities and harvesting activities by the Forestry Commission in each conservancy area since 1979.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The information is given in the following tables :
Conservancy |Total<1>
-------------------------------------------
1979<2>
North East England |391
North West England |387
East England |418
South East England |254
South West England |370
North Wales |474
South Wales |445
North Scotland |547
East Scotland |358
West Scotland |440
South Scotland |552
|---
Great Britain |4,636
Conservancy<3> |Forest management|Harvesting |Total<1>
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1989
North England |222 |129 |351
East England |188 |159 |347
West England |166 |108 |274
Wales |276 |149 |425
North Scotland |298 |114 |412
Mid Scotland |215 |61 |276
South Scotland |234 |134 |368
|------ |------ |------
Great Britain |1,599 |854 |2,453
<1>The figures do not include contractors.
<2>The 1979 figures are not available by activity.
<3>The number of conservancies was reduced from 11 to 7 on1 April 1985.
Conservancy<3> |Forest management|Harvesting |Total<1>
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1989
North England |222 |129 |351
East England |188 |159 |347
West England |166 |108 |274
Wales |276 |149 |425
North Scotland |298 |114 |412
Mid Scotland |215 |61 |276
South Scotland |234 |134 |368
|------ |------ |------
Great Britain |1,599 |854 |2,453
<1>The figures do not include contractors.
<2>The 1979 figures are not available by activity.
<3>The number of conservancies was reduced from 11 to 7 on1 April 1985.
Radioactive Waste
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information his Department gave to Nirex
Column 487
which enabled Dounreay to be placed on the short list as a possible site for the disposal of radioactive waste ; and if he will make a statement.Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The decision by Nirex to include Dounreay on the short list of sites for investigation was taken as a result of their own site selection procedure. I am not aware of any information provided by the Scottish Development Department which was material to this decision.
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether his Department has made any predictions of the economic effects upon the local economy of Caithness should Dounreay be chosen by Nirex for the disposal of solid low and intermediate-level radioactive waste ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lang : The economic effects would depend on the nature of any disposal facility which might be established. As a basic guide Nirex has suggested that, if construction were phased, some 350 jobs on construction and operation would be created during the 50-year operational life of the repository, without taking account of associated secondary employment.
Public Rights of Way
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was his Department's response to the Countryside Commission's consultation papers "Paths, Routes and Trails" and "Changing the Rights of Way Network".
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : No response has been made as the papers relate specifically to the situation in England and Wales.
Renaval Fund
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will detail any recent applications, made by the Scottish Office, for financial assistance from the European Community by way of the Renaval fund which is designed to provide assistance to those communities which have suffered a decline in their shipbuilding and marine engineering industry ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 21 April 1989] : Applications under Renaval are currently under consideration and should go forward very shortly to the European Commission.
Employment Training
Mr. Allen Adams : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will name the local authorities in Scotland which are training agents or training managers for employment training.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 17 April 1989] : Scottish local authorities operating as training agents or training managers for employment training are as follows :
Training Agents
Borders Regional Council
Caithness District Council
Dumfries and Galloway Regional Council
Fife Regional Council
Grampian Regional Council
Orkney Islands Council
Column 488
Wigtown District CouncilTraining Managers
Angus District Council
Argyll and Bute District Council
Borders Regional Council
Caithness District Council
Clydesdale District Council
Cumnock and Doon Valley District Council
Dumfries and Galloway Regional Council
Dunfermline District Council
East Kilbride District Council
Fife Regional Council
Grampian Regional Council
Hamilton District Council
Highland Regional Council
Kirkcaldy District Council
Lochaber District Council
Midlothian District Council
Moray District Council
North East Fife District Council
Orkney Islands Council
Ross and Cromarty District Council
Wigtown District Council
DEFENCE
Air Crash (Pembrokeshire)
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to publish the findings of the inquiry into the air crash on 6 May 1988 near Solva St. Davids, Pembrokeshire, involving an RAF aircraft.
Mr. Neubert : I believe that my hon. Friend may be referring to the accident to a Royal Air Force Hawk aircraft which took place shortly after take off from RAF Brawdy on 13 May 1988. The board of inquiry into this accident is now complete and a summary of its findings will be published shortly. I will send a copy to my hon. Friend.
Gamma Shine
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will make a statement on the phenomenon of gamma shine and its implications for the safety of naval personnel ;
(2) what studies have been carried out into the possible hazardous effects of gamma shine ; and if he will place such reports in the Library.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : In the context of submarine nuclear reactors, gamma shine is the term used to refer to the gamma radiation emitted by fission products contained within the vessel in the unlikely event of an accident. The hazardous effects of gamma radiation are well known and are documented in numerous published reports.
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) why the Clyde area public safety scheme was revised in May 1985 and the gamma shine maximum hazard distance increased from 50 to 250m ; and why the Scottish special safety scheme was similarly revised ;
(2) if he will list the date of the latest revision of the special safety schemes at all ports with Z berths ; and if he will state in each case the recommendations for dealing with gamma shine.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : All public and special safety schemes lay down a distance within which automatic countermeasures would be taken against radiation
Column 489
hazards, including gamma shine, in the event ofan accident. Monitoring equipment is in place at every berth visited by nuclear powered submarines, either permanently or for the duration of the visit, in order to detect and quantify any radiation hazard. The countermeasures are designed to ensure that radiation dose rates to personnel do not exceed the limits set by the National Radiological Protection Board for nuclear accidents. Specific measures may vary depending on the circumstances of each particular berth ; they include sheltering and/or evacuation.In addition, some safety schemes give an estimate of the extent of the hazard from gamma shine in the event of an accident. In all cases this is less than the distance within which automatic countermeasures would be taken. The estimates contained in the Clyde public safety scheme and the Scottish special safety scheme were revised in the light of NRPB recommendations in 1985, but no change to the planned countermeasures was required.
|c|The dates of the most recent revisions of public and special
safety|c|
|c|schemes for ports with Z berths are as follows.|c|
|Dates
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Portsmouth Special Safety Scheme |October 1988
Southampton Special Safety Scheme |February 1988
Devon Public Safety Scheme |September 1988
Barrow Public Safety Scheme |August 1988
Barry and Cardiff Special Safety Scheme |September 1988
Liverpool Special Safety Scheme |December 1988
Torbay Special Safety Scheme |August 1988
Scotland Special Safety Scheme |August 1988
Clyde Public Safety Scheme |July 1988
Currently under revision
Portland Special Safety Scheme |August 1988
Rosyth Public Safety Scheme |March 1986
Lance Missile
Mr. Sean Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has received from his United States counterpart concerning the length of time required to modernise the Lance missile ; and what assessment he has made.
Mr. Archie Hamilton [pursuant to his answer, 20 April 1989, c. 279] : The US Administration has kept allies fully informed about their development programme for a successor to the Lance missile. The selection by the US of a launcher at the end of last year was geared to having a new system available for deployment by the mid-1990s.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Eggs
Mr. Ralph Howell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will press the European Commission to introduce equivalent standards for egg producers as those now pertaining in the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement on measures being taken to ensure equality of competition between European egg producers.
Mr. Donald Thompson : I refer my hon. Friend to the replies given to the hon. Member for Caerphilly (Mr. Davies) on 4 April at column 51 and the hon. Member for Angus, East (Mr. Welsh) on 20 April at column 280 .
| Next Section
| Home Page |