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Written Answers to Questions
Friday 9 June 1989
TRANSPORT
Leeds-Bradford Airport
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will give a decision on whether to permit an extension of operating hours at Leeds-Bradford airport.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : A joint decision by my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Transport and for the Environment will be made as soon as possible.
Motorway Service Areas
Mr. Gregory : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what facilities motorway service areas offer to heavy goods vehicles and other professional drivers.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : MSAs provide for all motorway users. They provide a minimum stipulated and increasingly widely known level of service. This includes free parking for all classes of vehicle for at least two hours ; free toilets ; hot and cold drinks ; cold food 24 hours a day throughout the year.
Parking areas for HGVs, coaches, and cars are apportioned in relation to traffic demand.
At all but one existing MSA, HGV drivers can stay overnight for a small charge which often includes a meal voucher. Many service areas provide separate eating facilities for commercial drivers and showers and shaving points. Provision of showers and shaving points will be the norm at new MSAs.
Journalists (Coach Trip)
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the purpose of his Department's coach trip in London for journalists on 2 June ; how many journalists accepted the Department's invitation ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : The purpose of the visit was twofold ; to show at first hand the environmental benefits to residents along and around Rochester way from the new relief road, which has reduced accidents by 30 per cent. in six months and to contrast this with the road congestion problems currently afflicting the Archway area. The Department's proposals for a new western environmental improvement route (the only major road proposal in inner London made by the Department in the past three years) would relieve the many transport problems in the area around the Earl's Court one-way system and improve conditions for residents and shoppers.
The visit was organised following a series of press reports in publications as diverse as The Observer (Section 5, 28 May) and City Limits magazine (11 -18 May) criticising the four London assessment studies commissioned by the Department. These unbalanced reports
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seemed to indicate that the Department's explanations of the aims and objectives of the studies were not being understood or published.The objectives of the studies are :
To promote accessiblity
To support employment, economic growth and regeneration To develop an efficient transport system
To improve the environment
To enhance safety for travellers, including pedestrians
The following was the media's response to the coach trip invitation :
No radio journalists attended
No television journalists attended
No national newspaper journalists attended
Only one journalist attended, from a transport newsletter We shall offer the coach trip again. It is most important for the media and those who rely on it for their information to understand that the assessment studies are about improving conditions for Londoners, and to appreciate that the Department will put forward only solutions which offer net benefits.
Motorway Service Areas (M25)
Mr. Wood : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the provision of motorway service areas on the M25.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : The strategy for provision of MSAs on the M25 was developed following public consultation in 1983. Decisions in principle were made in 1984 to promote four MSAs, at the compass cardinal points and at very roughly 30 mile intervals, the interval used on the motorway network as a whole.
The then Minister of State agreed in August 1985 that the MSA for the northern sector at South Mimms would be developed by BP. This was an exceptional arrangement. The other three sites, at Clacket lane, Thurrock and Iver, were to be developed following competitive tender, in conformity with Government policy for marketing MSAs announced by the then Secretary of State on 4 August 1980. Current policy has been reaffirmed in this House on 17 March this year at columns 372-73. South Mimms opened for cars and coaches in 1987 and is due to provide facilities for HGVs at this end of the year.
Public inquiries into the Department's proposals for Clacket lane near Westerham, together with two competing private proposals, were held in 1986 and 1987. A further site visit was made in May 1988 by the inspector who conducted the inquiries to examine the impact of the October 1987 storm. The Secretary of State for the Environment announced on 15 December 1988 his decision to allow the Department's proposals to go ahead but refusing the two competing proposals. The Department is ready to go to tender but now has to delay because of a legal challenge into the planning decisions by one of the parties. We estimate that over 300,000 vehicles per month would wish to use an MSA in the area had it been open, but will not be able to do so until the challenge is resolved and an MSA built.
At Thurrock outline planning clearance has been obtained, the compulsory purchase order made and the developer appointed. Preliminary ground treatment work on the site has been underway by agreement since 1988. The local planning authority has objected to the proposed design of the buildings. That objection has been referred to
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the Secretary of State for the Environment under DoE circular 18/84 procedures. Subject to an early resolution this should allow opening in 1990.The position at Iver is more problematic. This is a particularly heavy trafficked part of the motorway where widening proposals are likely to have a significant impact. A further statement will be made as soon as possible.
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Chinese Students
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many Chinese students are studying full or part-time in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Jackson : In 1987-88 there were 1,200 full-time and part-time students in further and higher education in the United Kingdom from the People's Republic of China.
Institute of Arable Crops Research
Mr. Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received on why the Institute of Arable Crops Research has not introduced chargeable payroll deductions for charities ; and what information he has on whether the payroll computer system it is introducing would be able to make such deductions.
Mr. Jackson : This Department has received no such representations. The new payroll computer system, which is currently under consideration for use in the agricultural and food research service, would enable all staff, including those at the Institute of Arable Crops Research to participate in the payroll giving scheme, if they wished to do so.
Private Schools
Sir Michael McNair-Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many inspections of private schools there have been by Her Majesty's Inspectorate in the past five years ; and what steps were taken to follow-up recommendations about necessary improvements either in the teaching or the quality of the school buildings subsequent to the publishing of a report on a school.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : Her Majesty's inspectorate of schools operates a continuing programme of visits to independent schools which do not necessarily result in full inspection reports. Nevertheless, the inspectorate has issued 34 reports on independent schools other than those which serve children with special educational needs since June 1984. In each case, the recommendations made in the report were drawn to the proprietor's attention in an accompanying official letter. In certain cases, the proprietor may also have been asked to provide a report on progress within a specified timescale. In subsequent visits, the inspectorate takes particular note of failure to implement the recommendations made. Such failure may lead me to serve a notice of complaint against the proprietor. Between January, 1984, and December 1988, 16 notices of complaint were served following full inspections ; a further five were served where fire precautions were found to be deficient and three were served where a proprietor or teacher was not considered a proper person.
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Sir Michael McNair-Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will introduce legislation to provide that all private schools should have a board of governors ; and if he has any plans to seek to amend the legal structure covering such establishments so as to give parents adequate opportunities for consultation and representation about the staffing and welfare provision.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : I have no plans to do so. However, I would certainly encourage individual schools to establish a broadly based governing structure, where they do not already have one, and to involve parents closely in all aspects of its activity. Parents are well placed to demand a voice.
Pupils (Welfare Assessment)
Sir Michael McNair-Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what measures are taken by Her Majesty's inspectorate to assess the social welfare of pupils ; whether any of his inspection staff have any training in matters relating to child abuse.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : Her Majesty's Inspectorate assesses the quality of pastoral care provision in schools as well as assessing teaching and learning in all subjects. This range of activities includes tutorial arrangements, the social structures devised by the schools and the quality of pupils' responses to these. More generally, Her Majesty's Inspectorate pays attention to children's attendance and behaviour, to relationships both within lessons and about the school, and to teachers' records on pupils' development and progress. Inspectors also have regard during inspection to the qualifications and experience of teachers at the school.
In schools where residential accommodation is provided, Her Majesty's Inspectorate pays attention to the nature and suitability of the accommodation, and to the daily routines of pupils both during school time and at evenings and weekends in order to assess the contributions that these make to the pupils' overall education. Her Majesty's inspectorate has designated inspectors with national responsibility for child abuse and for counselling. A number of Her Majesty's inspectors have dealt with child abuse cases before joining the inspectorate ; others have worked as educational psychologists and therefore also have experience of case-work relating to child abuse. In addition, Her Majesty's inspectorate runs internal training courses on child protection, and is currently running a course for "named persons" in LEAs who have responsibility for child protection. In December, Her Majesty's inspectorate will run a course for representatives from each LEA for those involved in training for child protection. The training programme therefore extends beyond the inspectorate itself.
Castle Hill School, Shropshire
Mr. Ken Hargreaves : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he has completed his consideration of the registration and approval of Castle Hill school, Shropshire.
Mrs. Rumbold : Nearly all its pupils are being withdrawn from the school. My right hon. Friend is accordingly seeking confirmation from the proprietor that he is taking steps to close it.
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I am placing in the Library copies of the letters to the school and to local education authorities informing them of this action.PRIME MINISTER
Single Market
Mr. Speller : To ask the Prime Minister which sector of European Community negotiations she will control personally in the run-up to 1992.
The Prime Minister : The Government as a whole are responsible for policy towards the European Community.
EC Directives
Mr. Allen : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list those European Community directives currently not fully implemented ; which topics they relate to ; and when Her Majesty's Government will implement each of them.
The Prime Minister : The Official Journal of the European Communities, c310, volume 31 of 5 December 1988, which is available in the Library, shows that at 31 December 1987 the United Kingdom had not fully implemented 148 of 784 applicable directives. Detailed information on the topics to which these relate and the projected date of enactment of United Kingdom legislation could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Written Answer (Cost)
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Prime Minister what was the cost to public funds of supplying the answer to the hon. Member for Pembroke (Mr. Bennett) of 25 May, Official Report, columns 695-719.
The Prime Minister : The reply was assembled from material provided by a wide range of Departments. The total cost of time of those who contributed, including secretarial staff, measured by salary, overheads and other costs, including printing, is estimated at £4, 600.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Overseas Residents (Voting Rights)
Mr. Ian Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received in the past two years supporting an extension of eligibility for voting rights of United Kingdom citizens living abroad ; and when he expects to be able to make an announcement concerning possible legislation on the subject.
Mr. John L. Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends making a statement about the reform of the franchise qualifications for Britons living abroad.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Between January 1987 and May 1989, we received eight parliamentary questions and 47 letters from hon. and right hon. Members and 70 representations on this subject directly from members of the general public and organisations representing Britons abroad. We hope shortly to be in a position to announce our plans to extend the franchise for British citizens living overseas.
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Remand
Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average time spent on remand in custody awaiting trial at the latest date for which figures are available ; and what was the comparable figure 12 months previously.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : In 1987 the average time spent on remand in custody awaiting trial was 56 days for men and 45 days for women, compared with 57 days for men and 44 days for women in 1986 (Table 2.1 of "Prison statistics England and Wales 1987" (Cm. 547), a copy of which is in the Library). Provisional data for 1988 indicate very little change for males but a further increase for females.
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the present male and female prison remand population for England and Wales ; and how many of those remand prisoners belong to an ethnic minority group.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The latest readily available information is given in the table.
Untried and convicted unsentenced population<1> of prison service
establishments in England and Wales on 31 December 1988: by type
of prisoner and ethnic origin
|Untried |Convicted unsentenced
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
White |6,600 |1,190
West Indian, Guyanese, African |1,200 |140
Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi |220 |30
Chinese, Arab, Mixed origin |180 |30
Other, not recorded (including
refusals) |610 |100
|----- |-----
Total |8,800 |1,490
<1> Provisional figures.
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons were remanded in custody in England and Wales during 1987 for an offence of criminal damage involving less than £2,000.
Mr. John Patten : The available information on those proceeded against for an indictable offence of criminal damage who were remanded in custody, which may be incomplete, is published in tables 8.8 and 8.10 of "Criminal statistics, England and Wales, 1987". Such figures will not include proceedings for single offences involving criminal damage of value £400 or less.
Female Police Officers
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, pursuant to his answer of 23 May, Official Report, column 499, to the hon. Member for Don Valley in respect of female police officers and firearms, he will publish such information on this subject as is either held centrally or could be obtained without disproportionate cost.
Mr. Hurd : No information on this subject is held centrally, and no statistical information could be obtained at this time without disproportionate cost. Female police officers are, however, fully entitled to volunteer to become authorised firearms officers and are subject to the same selection and training procedures as male officers.
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Privacy
Mr. Waller : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when he expects to announce the composition of the inquiry into privacy and related matters ;
(2) whether the terms of reference of the inquiry into privacy and related matters will include aspects of the law of defamation.
Mr. Renton : Consideration is still being given to the composition and terms of reference of the review of privacy and related matters. My right hon. Friend expects to make an announcement shortly.
Immigration Detainees
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many immigration detainees have escaped from Harmondsworth immigration detention centre in each of the last 10 years.
Mr. Renton : Full records are not available for the period before 1986. The number of absconders in each year since 1986 was :
|Number
----------------------
1986 |38
1987 |64
1988 |76
1989<1> |15
<1> to 31 May
Fine Defaulters
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were received into prison as fine defaulters in the latest year for which figures are available.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The latest readily available information was published in table 7.2 of "Prison statistics England and Wales 1987" (Cm. 547), a copy of which is in the Library.
Prison Visitors
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what regulations cover the searching of prison visitors.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Rule 86(1) of the prison rules 1964 and rule 70(1) of the young offender institution rules 1988 provide that any person entering or leaving an establishment may be searched.
Cash-point Thefts
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many representations he has received, and from whom, regarding cash-point theft.
Missing Persons
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has now concluded his consultation with the Central Conference of Chief
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Constables on its recommendations regarding the proposed register for missing persons ; and whether he will make a statement.Mr. Douglas Hogg : No. My right hon. Friend is now considering the implications of the ACPO report.
Bail Statistics
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons were remanded in custody and subsequently bailed and failed to surrender to court on the date of their trial in England and Wales for the latest year for which statistics are available.
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons were bailed and subsequently failed to surrender to court on the date of their trial in England and Wales for the latest year for which statistics are available.
Mr. John Patten : The available information, which may be incomplete, relates to those who failed to appear having been bailed at magistrates' courts or the Crown court and is published annually in "Criminal statistics, England and Wales, 1987" (table 8.12 and paragraph 8.16 of the issue for 1987, Cm. 498).
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons were bailed by the court in England and Wales and subsequently committed a further offence before the date of their trial in the latest year for which figures are available.
Mr. John Patten : The most recent figures available on offending while on bail relate to 1978 and were published in Home Office Statistical Department Bulletin 22/81, "Estimates of Offending of those on Bail".
Prison Population
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the remand and convicted and unsentenced prison population in England and Wales for the latest available date.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : According to records held centrally on 30 April 1989 there were about 8,780 untried and 1,780 convicted unsentenced prisoners in prison service establishments in England and Wales. A further 55 untried prisoners were held in police cells.
Passports
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give the following information in respect of each passport office for each of the past five years, the (a) number of staff, (b) number of passport applications, (c) number issued, (d) number of applications per member of staff employed and (e) number of passports issued per member of staff.
Mr. Renton : The information as to numbers of staff employed and passports issued is given in the tables. The figures for staff employed include headquarters, management and support staff, who are not directly involved in the examination of passport applications. The daily output of examining staff varies according to the volume of applications being dealt with in a particular period, and
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yearly averages are not calculated. During the present seasonal peak, staff in the six United Kingdom passport offices are examining, on average, around 90 applications each day.Column 243
2. Annual total of new passports issued and amendments made to existing
passports
|1984 |1985 |1986 |1987 |1988
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
London |456,329 |444,925 |465,986 |378,820 |437,218
Liverpool |510,492 |479,140 |592,740 |582,588 |698,106
Peterborough |444,060 |417,709 |514,378 |509,536 |594,713
Newport |421,876 |387,453 |446,629 |453,350 |570,860
Glasgow |156,485 |146,748 |171,541 |170,765 |175,113
Belfast |35,253 |36,192 |47,503 |53,626 |62,706
|------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total |2,024,495|1,912,167|2,238,777|2,148,685|2,538,716
2. Annual total of new passports issued and amendments made to existing
passports
|1984 |1985 |1986 |1987 |1988
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
London |456,329 |444,925 |465,986 |378,820 |437,218
Liverpool |510,492 |479,140 |592,740 |582,588 |698,106
Peterborough |444,060 |417,709 |514,378 |509,536 |594,713
Newport |421,876 |387,453 |446,629 |453,350 |570,860
Glasgow |156,485 |146,748 |171,541 |170,765 |175,113
Belfast |35,253 |36,192 |47,503 |53,626 |62,706
|------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total |2,024,495|1,912,167|2,238,777|2,148,685|2,538,716
Public Order Act 1986
Mr. Key : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has received from Salisbury district council an application under section 13 of the Public Order Act 1986, to make an order prohibiting processions ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Hurd : Salisbury district council, in response to an application from the chief constable of Wiltshire, sought my consent on 23 May to an order under section 13 of the Public Order Act 1986. This was based on the chief constable's assessment that other powers available to him would not be sufficient to prevent the holding of certain classes of public procession in the vicinity of Stonehenge from resulting in serious public disorder. I have therefore given my consent to an order prohibiting the holding of all public processions within a radius of four miles from the monument at Stonehenge, moving in the direction of Stonehenge, other than normal funeral processions, from Saturday 10 June until Sunday 25 June.
Waste Transport (Smuggling)
Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures his Department implements to police large-scale wastes transported internationally, and used as a medium for smuggling.
Mr. Lilley : I have been asked to reply.
The importation of special and hazardous waste is regulated by the Control of Pollution (Special Waste) Regulations 1980 and the Transfrontier Shipment of Hazardous Waste Regulations 1988. Consignments of such wastes must be accompanied by consignment notes, copies of which are sent to the waste disposal authority for the area in which the waste enters the United Kingdom and the area of final disposal. Customs retain the power to regulate importations and exportations of goods, and to search all vessels in United Kingdom territorial waters. Waste is subject to normal customs checks which are based on local knowledge, risk assessment and intelligence.
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TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Funeral Costs (Report)
Mr. Andrew Bowden : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what response has been received from the National Association of Funeral Directors to the report on funeral costs by the Office of Fair Trading published in January.
Mr. Forth : This is a matter for the Director General of Fair Trading. I shall ask him to write to my hon. Friend.
Departmental Press Briefings
Mr. Grocott : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what guidelines he follows in determining which journalists are invited to press briefings by his Department.
Mr. Forth : This depends upon the matter under discussion.
WALES
Eye Tests
Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the fall in the number of people coming forward for eye tests since April 1989 in (a) West Glamorgan and (b) Wales.
Mr. Grist : The information is not available centrally.
Welsh Development Agency
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give the total expenditure of the Welsh Development Agency in each parliamentary constituency in each year since 1983-84.
Mr. Peter Walker : The Welsh Development Agency does not maintain details of expenditure in the form requested.
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