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PRIME MINISTER

Water Privatisation

Q13. Mr. Leigh : To ask the Prime Minister if she has received representations regarding water privatisation.

Q105. Mr. Goodlad : To ask the Prime Minister if she has received recent representations regarding water privatisation.

The Prime Minister : I receive many representations about water privatisation, which provides the best framework and conditions for achieving even higher standards of water quality.

United States of America

Q71. Mr. Malins : To ask the Prime Minister if she has received representations regarding relations with the United States of America.

The Prime Minister : No.

Berlin Wall

Q83. Mr. Cash : To ask the Prime Minister if she has received representations regarding the Berlin wall.

The Prime Minister : There is widespread concern in Britain about the Berlin wall and the shootings which took place there earlier this year. Such barriers to freedom have no place in Europe today. We look forward to the day when the wall is torn down.

Competition Policy

Q89. Mr. Page : To ask the Prime Minister if she has received representations concerning competition policy.

The Prime Minister : I receive many and varied representations about the Government's policies which seek to extend competition and opportunity.

Peterstene Wentlooge

Q95. Mr. Flynn : To ask the Prime Minister whether she intends to pay an official visit to the Peterstene Wentlooge area of Newport, West.

The Prime Minister : I have at present no plans to do so.

Small Businesses

Q98. Mr. William Powell : To ask the Prime Minister if she has received representations regarding the performance of small businesses.

The Prime Minister : No specific representations have been received. The small firms sector is flourishing in the


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beneficial climate the Government have created for businesses. Estimated, unadjusted figures for last year are already showing a record rate of new business formation, net of closures, of 1,300 new businesses a week.

Self-employment

Q100. Mr. Marland : To ask the Prime Minister if she has received representations regarding self-employment.

The Prime Minister : I receive many letters from people who have become self-employed or who are thinking of setting up their own businesses. Many refer to the satisfaction they have found in setting up in business, having taken advantage of the improved climate for enterprise in this country. This improvement is reflected in the increase by 1 million in the number of self-employed people in the United Kingdom since this Government came into office.

City of London

Q101. Sir Anthony Grant : To ask the Prime Minister if she has received representations regarding the performance of the City of London.

The Prime Minister : I regularly discuss the performance of the City which makes an important contribution to our economic prosperity.

Environment Protection

Q102. Sir Hugh Rossi : To ask the Prime Minister if she has received representations regarding the protection of the environment.

The Prime Minister : I have received a number of representations regarding the environment. The Government have undertaken a great many measures to improve the quality of the environment. We intend to bring forward further legislative proposals shortly.

National Heritage

Q104. Mr. Alexander : To ask the Prime Minister if she has received representations regarding the national heritage.

The Prime Minister : My right hon. Friends and I receive representations frequently. The national heritage is vital to the quality of life.

Ozone Layer

Q107. Mr. Bowis : To ask the Prime Minister if she has received recent representations regarding the ozone layer.

The Prime Minister : I have received many representations regarding the ozone layer.

Yorkshire and Humberside

Q149. Mr. Cryer : To ask the Prime Minister when she next expects to pay a visit to Yorkshire and Humberside.

The Prime Minister : I have at present no plans to do so.

British Rail (Land)

Mr. Adley : To ask the Prime Minister if she will make it her policy not to require British Rail to dispose of railway land from which railway services have been withdrawn.


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The Prime Minister : I understand that before British Rail declare unused railway land non-operational, they normally take account of possible future railway requirements.

Family Problems

Mr. Boswell : To ask the Prime Minister if she will co-ordinate action to tackle current problems of the family.

The Prime Minister : The present arrangements for co-ordination between Government Departments ensure that full consideration is given to all matters affecting the family.

Rain Forests

Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Prime Minister whether Commissioner Carla Ripa Di Meana had any consultations with Her Majesty's Government before arranging (a) to meet representatives of the Green party and (b) to make contact with non-governmental organisations concerned with the rain forest in Britain ; and if she will make a statement.

The Prime Minister : No. I understand that the European Commission is prepared to listen to the views of all bodies with an interest in the environment, including Opposition parties and non-governmental organisations. They are not obliged to consult the Governments of member states of the European Community before doing so. Her Majesty's Government have had regular and detailed discussions with the Commissioner on a wide range of environmental issues since he took up his post in January of this year.

Import Licences

Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list all those gifts received by her or her Ministers during the past five years which have required an import licence under the conventions on international trade in endangered species ; and how many such applications were (a) initially granted, (b) granted on appeal and (c) refused.

The Prime Minister : This information is not readily obtainable and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Community Charge

Mr. Patchett : To ask the Prime Minister if she will make an official visit to South Yorkshire and the Barnsley, East constituency to explain Government policy on the poll tax.

The Prime Minister : I have at present no plans to do so. The Government have no plans for any poll tax. The Government policy on and implications of the community charge have been fully set out in the excellent leaflets published by the Department of the Environment and the Welsh Office.

Malaysia

Miss Lestor : To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to her answer of 23 June, Official Report, column 276, whether any of the clarifications by which the Government made


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clear to the Malaysian Government, on a number of occasions in 1988, that they were willing to consider Malaysian requests for aid were contained in correspondence which also related to the arms sales package, the memorandum of understanding of which was they were signed in 1988.

The Prime Minister : The contents of Government-to-Government correspondence are confidential. As the hon. Member will be aware from the reply of my right hon. Friend the Minister for Overseas Development to her earlier question on 19 June at column 18 we have been giving grant aid to Malaysia since well before negotiations on the defence sales package began.

Engagements

Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 29 June.

Mr. Stern : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 29 June.

Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 29 June.

Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 29 June.

Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 29 June.

Mr. Tredinnick : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 29 June.

The Prime Minister : This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House I shall be having further meetings later today.

DEFENCE

Port Calls

Mr. Snape : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list all the dates of port calls by Royal Naval vessels to foreign ports in 1987, 1988 and 1989 ; and what are the dates of planned port calls up to 1990.

Mr. Archie Hamilton : It is not our normal practice to disclose planned port visits by Royal Navy vessels, but I will write to the hon. Member about the first part of his question.

Mr. Snape : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what importance the Government attach to visits by Royal Naval vessels to foreign ports ; and what is the Government's policy regarding port calls.

Mr. Archie Hamilton : The Government attach great importance to visits to foreign ports by Her Majesty's ships. Port calls help to forge and maintain links with other countries and navies and, by providing opportunities for rest and recreation, play a prominent part in maintaining crew morale. Visits are also made for operational reasons, such as to take on supplies and fuel, and can offer opportunities to display British technology which can be of direct benefit to United Kingdom industry.

It is our policy to encourage Royal Navy visits to foreign ports and, where appropriate, to reciprocate by welcoming foreign naval vessels to United Kingdom ports.


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Public Relations

Mr. Blair : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which public relations firms his Department has employed and at what cost, for each year since 1979.

Mr. Archie Hamilton : Apart from the special circumstances of privatisation work, the consistent practice of successive Governments has been to avoid the use of public relations firms or other firms outside Government for public relations work.

Low Flying

Ms. Short : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list all the areas in the United Kingdom where low flying at 250 ft is permitted and where ultra low flying at 100 ft is permitted ; and which of these areas is used by naval aircraft or aircraft assigned to naval operations.

Mr. Neubert : Since the introduction of the revised United Kingdom low flying system in 1979, the whole of Great Britain has, in principle, been open to low flying down to 250 feet except for major conurbations, danger zones and certain areas such as civil and military air traffic zones, airports and glider sites. Flying down to 100 feet is permitted only in three sparsely populated areas in northern Scotland, central Wales and the Borders. The United Kingdom low flying system as a whole is available for use by Royal Navy aircraft where their role makes such training necessary.

Ms. Short : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of low flying sorties over the United Kingdom were flown by naval aircraft or aircraft assigned to naval operations in 1987 and 1988.

Mr. Neubert : Central records are not held in a form that would allow this information to be provided.

Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he first received information from the right hon. Member for Swansea, West about a low-flying Royal Air Force aircraft's simulated attack on Swansea airport ; when he intends to let him know the outcome of the Department's inquiries into the allegation of low flying ; and if he will give detailed reasons for the delay.

Mr. Neubert : As the right hon. Member will recall, I met him on the evening of Monday 30 January to discuss several alleged low flying incidents in the west Swansea area. I wrote to the right hon. Member on 1 February with full details of the incident involving a simulated attack on Swansea airport by a Royal Air Force aircraft. I also wrote to the right hon. Member on 19 May about a separate incident on 24 January. I hope to be able to write to the right hon. Member shortly about another incident in the Swansea area on 20 January, into which the RAF police investigation has not yet been concluded, but I am not aware that either of these incidents involved Swansea airport.

Ministry Houses, Barton Stacey

Sir David Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many houses the Ministry of Defence owns at Barton Stacey ; and, of these, how many were empty on 31 March in each year from 1986 to 1989.

Mr. Neubert : The Army's stock of married quarters and vacancies at 31 March for each of the years 1986 to 1989 was as follows :


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              |Stock    |Vacancies          

--------------------------------------------

31 March 1986 |161      |29                 

31 March 1987 |161      |86                 

31 March 1988 |138      |35                 

31 March 1989 |138      |27                 

Of the 27 vacancies at 31 March this year, seven were already allocated to nominated incomers, one was awaiting repair and 10 were already being processed for disposal and will shortly be advertised under the discounted sale to service men scheme.

Nuclear Weapons

Mr. Cartwright : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what agreement has been concluded with the United States Government relating to the development of a stand-off nuclear missile to replace the WE177 free- fall nuclear bomb.

Mr. Archie Hamilton : We are still studying a number of procurement options for possible replacement of the WE177 free fall nuclear bomb, but no decisions have yet been taken.

Nuclear Submarines (Swansea)

Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what approvals are required for a nuclear submarine berth to be established at the port of Swansea ; and which approvals have been obtained so far.

Mr. Archie Hamilton : All berths for nuclear-powered submarines require the approval of the nuclear-powered warships safety committee, an independent committee whose members include national experts on nuclear safety matters. The nuclear-powered warships safety committee reports to the Secretary of State for Defence on all public safety aspects of the use of a berth by nuclear-powered warships. If a berth is approved by the nuclear-powered warships safety committee, a final decision on its use is taken by this Department, in consultation with local and port authorities.

Since I replied to the hon. Member for Clwyd, South-West (Mr. Jones) on 26 June at column 371, the nuclear-powered warships safety committee has given its approval for a berth at Swansea to be used by nuclear-powered submarines : further discussions between Ministry of Defence officials and local and port authorities will follow.

Trucks Supply

Sir Hal Miller : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the result of the competition to supply 4-tonne trucks to the services will be made known.

Mr. Sainsbury : Detailed appraisal of the results of demanding and comprehensive user and evaluation trials of vehicles supplied by the three competing companies--AWD Ltd, Leyland DAF and Volvo (GB) Ltd.--has now been completed. This, together with a comparative assessment of the three companies' commercial proposals in terms of both capital purchase and whole life costs make it clear that the Leyland DAF vehicle is the one giving best value for money. I am pleased to anounce, therefore, that we shall shortly be placing an order with Leyland DAF for the supply of 4-tonne trucks to meet the services'


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requirements over the period 1990-91 to 1994 -95. I should add that the competition provided an excellent example of the effectiveness of our procurement policy. It was hard fought between three very good companies, any one of whose vehicles would have met the services' requirements.

EDUCATION AND SCIENCE

Food Research

69. Mr. Tom Clarke : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement about the future of the institutes of food research in Reading, Norwich and Bristol.

Mr. Jackson : The AFRC has taken the decision, consistent with the policy outlined in its corporate plan, to consolidate the work of the Institute of Food Research at the Reading and Norwich sites and to secure the future of the laboratories. The restructured institute will allow for greater emphasis on key areas such as food safety. The laboratory at Langford, Bristol will cease to be part of the institute by the end of 1990.

70. Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many research workers will be made redundant by the closure of the food research centre at Bristol ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Jackson : Although there will be redundancies arising from the withdrawal of AFRC funding from the Bristol laboratory of the Institute of Food Research, it is not possible at this stage to state precisely the number of research workers involved. The detailed implementation of staffing changes for the institute as a whole, following the restructuring plan announced by AFRC, is now being determined ; every effort will be made to keep compulsory redundancies to a minimum. With respect to the Bristol laboratory, there will be opportunities for the redeployment of some of its scientists, to new scientific posts and other vacancies within the remaining institute laboratories at Reading and Norwich, within the agricultural and food research service and elsewhere.

Sport

Mr. Pendry : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he will respond to those parts of the report "Sport and Young People, Partnership and Action" produced by the school sport forum in July 1988 which relate to his departmental responsibilities.

Mrs. Rumbold : My right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Education and Science and for the Environment will issue a joint response shortly.

City Technology Colleges

Mr. Dykes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will give an updated report on progress so far with the establishment of various city technology colleges.

Mr. Butcher : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that my right hon. Friend gave on 6 June to my hon. Friend the Member for Wyre Forest (Mr. Coombs) Official Report , column 10 .

Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish a table in the Official Report


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in respect of city technology colleges, giving, in respect of each city technology college or proposed or planned city technology college, information as to (a) name, site, and local authority, (b) numbers of pupils, (c) total cost, (d) maximum amount of Exchequer contribution by way of (i) grant and (ii) loans, (e) amount of sponsors' contributions whether in cash or kind and names of principal sponsors, (f) the nature of any contracts for the supply of goods or services awarded to sponsors, or close associates of sponsors, and their names, (g) whether closure of an existing school is involved, (h) whether any ballot of parents has been held and (i) what level of teachers' salaries are paid.

Mr. Kenneth Baker : The information requested by the right hon. Member is as follows :


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                                                      |Kingshurst                                           |Gateshead                                            |Bradford                                             |Dartford                                             |The British school for performing arts and technology|Nottingham                                           |Teesside                                                                                                   

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Name                                                  |Kingshurst                                           |Tyneside CTC                                         |Bradford CTC                                         |Dartford CTC                                         |The British                                          |Djanogly CTC                                         |Macmillan                                                                                                  

                                                      |  CTC                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |  School for                                                                                               |  College                                                                                                  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |  Performing                                                                                                                                                                                                           

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |  Arts and                                                                                                                                                                                                             

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |  Technology                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Site                                                  |Former                                               |St. John                                             |Part of Newby                                        |Downs School                                         |Share of site                                        |Site of the                                          |St. Michael                                                                                                

                                                      |  Kingshurst                                         |  Fisher                                             |  Square site                                        |  site                                               |  currently                                          |  former                                             |  RC School                                                                                                

                                                      |  School site                                        |  School site                                                                                                                                                    |  occupied by                                        |  Players                                            |  site,                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |  Selhurst                                           |  Warehouse,                                         |  Dunstable                                                                                                

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |  Tertiary                                           |  Sherwood                                           |  Road,                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |  Centre                                             |  Rise,                                              |  Middlesbro                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |  Nottingham                                                                                                                                                     

LEA                                                   |Solihull                                             |Gateshead                                            |Bradford                                             |Kent                                                 |Croydon                                              |Nottingham                                           |Cleveland                                                                                                  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |  -shire                                                                                                                                                         

Planned number                                        |1,000                                                |900                                                  |980                                                  |1,250                                                |720                                                  |990                                                  |1,050                                                                                                      

  of pupils                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Total cost<1>                                         |£9.65 million                                        |To be                                                |To be                                                |To be                                                |To be                                                |£9.05 million                                        |£7.5 million                                                                                               

                                                                                                            |  determined                                         |  determined                                         |  determined                                         |  determined                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Exchequer contribution                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

  i) grant                                            |£7.55 million                                        |To be                                                |To be                                                |To be                                                |To be                                                |£7.655 million                                       |£5.625 million                                                                                             

ii) loans                                                                                                   |  determined                                         |  determined                                         |  determined                                         |  determined                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Sponsors' contribution                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

  i) cash<2>                                          |£2.1 million                                         |£1.13 million<3>                                     |£1 million<3>                                        |£1.2 million                                         |To be                                                |£1.4 million                                         |£1.875 million                                                                                             

 ii) in hand                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |  determined                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Principal sponsors                                    |Hanson's plc,                                        |Group of local                                       |Dixons plc                                           |G. Leigh of                                          |The British                                          |Mr. Harry                                            |BAT                                                                                                        

                                                      |  Lucas plc                                          |  businessmen                                        |  Allied                                             |  Record                                             |  Djanogly,                                          |  Industries,                                                                                                                                                    

                                                      |  and over 70                                        |  -Peter                                             |  London                                             |  Industry                                           |Boots, W.                                            |  Cameron                                                                                                                                                        

                                                      |  supporting                                         |  Vardy,                                             |  Properties,                                        |  Trust                                              |  H. Smith                                           |  Hall                                                                                                                                                           

                                                      |  sponsors  Albert                                   |  Wellcome                                                                                                                                                       |  Develop-                                                                                                                                                                                                             

                                                                                                            |  Dicken,                                            |  Foundation                                                                                                                                                     |  ments,                                                                                                                                                         

                                                                                                            |  John Laing                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |  British Steel,                                                                                           

                                                                                                            |plc and                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |  Davy                                                                                                     

                                                                                                            |Argyle                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |  Corporation                                                                                              

                                                                                                            |Group plc                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Contracts awarded                                     |None                                                 |Building                                             |None                                                 |None                                                 |None                                                 |None                                                 |None                                                                                                       

  to sponsors or                                                                                            |  contract-                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

  close associates                                                                                          |  Laings                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

  and names                                                                                                 |  Northern                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Is closure of an                                      |No                                                   |No                                                   |No                                                   |Yes                                                  |No                                                   |No                                                   |No                                                                                                         

  existing school                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

  involved                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Has a ballot of                                       |No                                                   |No                                                   |No                                                   |No<4>                                                |No                                                   |No                                                   |No                                                                                                         

  parents been                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

  held and with                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

  what result                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

<1> This covers only the initial capital costs of establishing the CTC. It does not include revenue costs.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

<2> Sponsors' contribution to date. Funding raising continues in each project. This includes contributions in kind which are as yet uncosted.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

<3> Confirmed sponsorship to date.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

<4> Public consultations were held by Kent on its proposals to close the Downs school. One statutory objection containing 62 signatures was made to the section 12 proposal subsequently published.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

In addition sponsors have announced plans for the establishment of CTCs in the premises of the Sylvan School, Croydon, the Haberdashers' Aske's schools, Hatcham, and the Bacon's School, Bermondsey. These all involve the closure or discontinuance of the existing schools under the provisions of either section 12 of the 1980 Education Act or section 14 of the 1944 Education Act.                                                                                                            

I have made sure that any such proposals which come to me will be treated strictly on their merits and it would be inappropriate to comment further.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

CTCs are independent schools and it will be for their governors to determine what level of salaries are paid to their staff. However, my recurrent grant to CTCs will be comparable to what LEAs spend on maintained schools in similar areas, including expenditure on staff salaries.                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Higher Education (Consultative Paper)

Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received in relation to his consultative paper, "Shifting the Balance of Public Funding of Higher Education to Fees."

Mr. Jackson : We have received more than 150 almost wholly favourable responses.

Crack

Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the 15 inner-city areas targeted by education co-ordinators in a campaign to persuade teenagers to say no to crack ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Butcher : The Government believe that it would be counterproductive to identify particular localities. Local education authorities' drugs education co-ordinators are intensifying their efforts and collaborating with other agencies and the wider local communities in all areas where crack appears to them to be an actual or potential problem. The Government are ready to support local efforts of this sort, and are in touch with local agencies about appropriate means of doing so.

Expenditure

Mr. Churchill : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what has been the cumulative total of his Department's expenditure since May 1979 to date over and above the expenditure level prevailing in May 1979.


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Mrs. Rumbold : The total programme of the Department of Education and Science in 1979 and each subsequent financial year is given in the table below :


Expenditure (outturn)                        

Financial year |£ million                    

---------------------------------------------

1979-80        |8,945                        

1980-81        |10,899                       

1981-82        |11,841                       

1982-83        |12,741                       

1983-84        |13,421                       

1984-85        |13,940                       

1985-86        |14,410                       

1986-87        |15,659                       

1987-88        |17,081                       

1988-89        |<1>18,412                    

1989-90        |<2>19,571                    

<1> Estimated outturn.                       

<2> Plans.                                   

School Closures

Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many proposals for (a) closure and (b) reorganisation of schools he has received during the current academic year ; how many school places these represent ; how many such closures and reorganisations he has approved and how many school places these decisions represent ; what was the target for the year ; and if he will give comparable figures for each academic year since 1979.

Mr. Kenneth Baker : The information is not available in the form requested. The available data is summarised in the following table.


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Calendar year            |Number of proposals     |Number of places to be  |Number of proposals in  |Number of surplus places                         

                         |decided                 |taken out of use by     |column 2 approved       |to be taken out of use                           

                                                  |proposals in column 2                            |as a result of approved                          

                                                                                                    |proposals                                        

(1)                      |(2)                     |(3)                     |(4)                     |(5)                                              

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1983                     |366                     |104,174                 |330                     |85,606                                           

1984                     |292                     |85,862                  |270                     |77,590                                           

1985                     |205                     |101,097                 |185                     |88,218                                           

1986                     |172                     |81,663                  |147                     |62,828                                           

1987                     |159                     |55,116                  |134                     |45,326                                           

1988                     |145                     |64,256                  |116                     |27,170                                           

The Government's national targets for the removal of surplus places cannot be directly compared with the figures in column 5 since the former also include places taken out of use as a result of the rationalisation of split sites, mothballed classrooms and the removal of temporary accommodation. In 1987-88 a total of 124,000 places were taken out of use against the national target of 139,000.

Teachers' Resignations

Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many teachers had submitted resignations by 31 May 1989.

Mr. Kenneth Baker : This information is not available. The latest data are for the year ending March 1987, when 28,960 teachers left full- time service in the maintained nursery, primary and secondary sector in England. Of


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these, 1,760 transferred to full-time service elsewhere in the maintained sector in England and Wales and 2,900 to part-time service in the maintained sector. A further 8,500 retired and 450 died.

Foreign Languages

Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish a progress report on his drive to improve the teaching of foreign languages announced on 16 June 1986.

Mr. Kenneth Baker : The Government attach great importance to improving the nation's skills in modern foreign languages. That is reflected in our policy on modern foreign languages in the school curriculum was set out in the January 1988 policy statement "Modern Languages in the School Curriculum", and in the inclusion


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