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resources at their disposal. I know of no plans by the Universities Funding Council to prolong the initiative launched by the University Grants Committee or by the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council to adopt such an initiative for its sector. Universities' annual expenditure returns are monitored by the Universities Funding Council.Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received about the levels of funding for acquisitions in polytechnic and university libraries.
Mr. Jackson : Representations have been received from the Publishers Association and the standing conference of national and university libraries, as well as from a number of hon. Members in the context of general higher education matters.
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps he intends to take within the new system of student finance to assist students to spend more on books.
Mr. Jackson : It is for individual students to decide what priority to accord to particular items of expenditure within the resources at their disposal. Top-up loans will increase these resources.
Research Grants
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much money his Department expects to save through the withdrawal of funds for scientific research deemed near market ; and how he intends to reallocate the money saved.
Mr. Jackson : This Department funds basic and strategic research through the science budget. We have not withdrawn any funding in respect of near market research.
University Applications
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has as to how many advanced level secondary school pupils from (a) local education authority maintained secondary schools and (b) private sector maintained secondary schools applied for a place at each university in the United Kingdom in 1979 and in 1988 ; and how many, from each sector, each university finally accepted.
Mr. Butcher : Information on individual universities is not available. Available information for all United Kingdom universities is given in the following table.
Applications and acceptances through the Universities Central Council on Admissions of home
students from England and Wales who had
attempted A levels.
Type of school 1983 1988
|Applications|Acceptances |Applications|Acceptances
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maintained sector
Grammar/technical |10,247 |5,320 |7,731 |4,588
Sixth form college |12,279 |5,997 |11,910 |6,403
Comprehensive |50,606 |22,119 |41,295 |20,658
Other secondary and modern |758 |286 |310 |120
Total maintained |73,890 |33,722 |61,246 |31,769
Independent |23,365 |12,814 |23,519 |14,217
Library Provision
Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what steps he is taking to improve the library provisions in universities and polytechnics ;
(2) when he last discussed the subject of adequate funding for libraries of universities and polytechnics with the Universities Grants Committee.
Mr. Jackson : Decisions on the funding of university and polytechnic libraries are for the institutions themselves, in consultation as necessary with the relevant funding council.
Teacher Shortages
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has had any recent representations about the loss of teachers and headteachers from the profession because of (a) house prices and interest rates, (b) recent education reforms, (c) powers to school governors and (d) ability of schools to opt out.
Mrs. Rumbold : My right hon. Friend has received a number of representations about the effect on teacher supply of house prices in the south-east. I am not aware of representations on loss of teachers and headteachers from the profession for the other reasons listed.
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the progress being made towards implementing the national curriculum and on whether teacher shortages are likely to delay its implementation in any area.
Mrs. Rumbold : Implementation will start this autumn, when schools must begin teaching programmes of study in maths and science to 11-year- olds and in maths, science and English to five-year-olds. Pupils aged five to 14 must also study the foundation subjects for a reasonable time. We do not expect teacher shortages to delay implementation. My Department's action programme to combat teacher shortages is designed to help local authorities and schools to recruit the teachers they need.
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the progress being made towards implementing local management schemes for schools and how such schemes can tackle teacher shortages.
Mrs. Rumbold : Good progress is being made by local education authorities towards producing schemes of local management for submission to my right hon. Friend by 30 September. Approved schemes will be introduced from 1 April 1990. Local management will ensure the best possible match between schools' needs and the deployment of resources including the key resource of teachers.
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what further steps he will be taking to encourage local education authorities to organise individual financial packages to solve difficulties encountered in recruiting high-calibre teachers and heads.
Mrs. Rumbold : The interim advisory committee believes that teacher recruitment and retention measures should be flexible and precisely targeted, and that this is
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best achieved if they are designed locally. It recommended that authorities review their present policies to ensure that they are meeting the needs of their schools. My right hon. Friend has strongly endorsed this recommendation. Appropriate measures may include relocation and housing assistance and should embrace the flexible use of incentive allowances, an additional 27,500 of which will become available from September.Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans he has to recruit Danish and other European national qualified teachers to fill teacher vacancies in the United Kingdom.
Mrs. Rumbold : It is for local education authorities and schools, as the employer, to recruit teachers. On 21 December 1988 the Council of Ministers of the European Communities adopted a directive which will enable a range of professionals, including teachers, to have their professional qualifications recognised for the purpose of practise in member states other than their own. The directive must be implemented by 1991. My right hon. Friend proposes to make regulations according the benefits of the directive to members of the teaching profession qualified in other member states from September this year. This should assist LEAs in their recruitment of teachers from other member states. In addition, the Department has agreed to support a project to recruit and train teachers from France and West Germany, and is considering another in respect of German science teachers. Officials have put local authorities who have expressed an interest in touch with the Danish authorities.
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has had in the past four months on teacher shortages region by region, subject by subject and from education authorities, headteachers or governors.
Mrs. Rumbold : The information is not readily available in the form requested. My right hon. Friend has received in the past four months some 200 letters from local education authorities, headteachers, governors and parents about teacher shortages--including correspondence forwarded by hon. Members.
Maintained Primary Schools
Mr. Raison : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is his best estimate of the number of children in maintained primary schools where the age of transfer is 11, 12 and 13 years, respectively.
Mr. Butcher : In January 1988 the numbers of pupils in maintained schools of the following age ranges were as follows :
Age range of schools |Total pupils --------------------------------------------------------------- 5-11, 7-11, 8-11 |2,589,690 5-12, 8,12 |255,580 9-13, 10-13, 11-13 |196,350
There were no primary schools in 1988 with a transfer age of 13 : all the schools shown in the table with this age of transfer were middle or secondary.
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PRIME MINISTER
Official Journeys
Mr. Pike : To ask the Prime Minister when she last used (a) a scheduled British Rail train service and (b) any scheduled public transport service when travelling on official business.
The Prime Minister : February 1987. For reasons of practicality and security it is difficult for me to travel by rail on official business. I do so when a suitable opportunity arises.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Soviet Union (Emigration)
Mr. Wheeler : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will ascertain from the Soviet authorities the cause of the delay in the appearance of new legislation on emigration promised by the Soviet Union for the last 18 months.
Mr. Waldegrave : We are continuing to press the Soviet authorities over the urgent need for a new emigration law. We believe that this should establish clearly the principle that all Soviet citizens must be free to leave their country when they wish, and would thus--if properly implemented --provide a lasting solution to the refusenik problem.
Human Rights
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many representations he has made complaining about the denial of human rights and the use of torture in the last five years in South Africa.
Mrs. Chalker : We make frequent representations to the South African Government, both bilaterally and with our European partners, to express our concern about human rights. More detailed information is not readily available and could be provided only at
disproportionate cost.
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many representations he has made complaining about the denial of human rights in the last five years in Saudi Arabia.
Mr. Eggar : We have made no specific representations, but the Government of Saudi Arabia are aware of our view that all Governments should respect human rights.
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many representations he has made complaining about the denial of human rights in the last five years in New Zealand.
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many representations he has made complaining about the denial of human rights in the last five years in Chile.
Mr. Eggar : We have made a number of representations about human rights to the Chilean authorities over the last five years. The precise information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many representations he has made complaining about the denial of human rights in the last five years in Austria.
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many representations he has made complaining about the denial of human rights in the last five years in Belgium.
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received on recent allegations of torture in Fiji.
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many representations he has made in the last five years complaining about the denial of human rights and the use of torture in Yugoslavia.
Mr. Eggar : We have made a number of representations about human rights to the Yugoslav authorities over the last five years. The precise information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many representations he has made in the last five years complaining about the denial of human rights and the use of torture in Paraguay.
Mr. Eggar : We have made a number of representations about human rights to the Paraguayan authorities over the last five years. The precise information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many representations he has made in the last five years complaining about the denial of human rights and the use of torture in India.
Mr. Eggar : None. I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 23 May.
Islamabad
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what he is doing to speed up the dispatch and processing by his Department of explanatory statements prepared by the post in Islamabad and by the appellate authorities within the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Eggar : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I have given to his similar question today. Explanatory statements are sent to the appellate authorities by diplomatic bag and this arrangement will continue.
Responsibility for the independent appellate authority (IAA) rests with the Lord Chancellor. I understand that in 1988 the volume of cases received by the IAA increased by 60 per cent. compared with 1987 and that the volume has risen further this year. In order to cope with that considerable and unexpected rise in workload the IAA has recruited an additional four staff in the last six months. Overtime is being worked and other measures are being taken to help improve efficiency.
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Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what he is doing to speed up the processing by the post in Islamabad of explanatory statements prepared by the Home Office ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Eggar : In recent months staffing levels of the immigration section of the British embassy in Islamabad have been increased. On average, explanatory statements are now prepared and forwarded to the appellate authorities within four to six weeks of receipt of an appeal. Individual cases may take longer depending on what further inquiries the entry clearance officer needs to make in the light of the grounds for appeal.
Mrs. Anwar Sultana
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when Mrs. Anwar Sultana, whose date of birth is 9 May 1957, and whose reference is IMM/92028, first applied to the post in Islamabad to enter the United Kingdom ; and when a decision is to be taken on her application.
Mr. Eggar : In accordance with the recent guidelines on the handling of representations by Members of Parliament in immigration cases, issued to Members on 14 December 1988, I have referred the question to the correspondence unit of the migration and visa department of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The hon. Member will receive a reply from the unit in due course.
WALES
Research Grants
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much money was provided by his Department for research into the links between pollution and human health (i) each year from 1979-89 and (ii) in the current financial year.
Mr. Grist : The Department has funded or contributed toward the costs of, a number of research projects concerned with the effects of pollution. Details of the major studies supported during the period in question are contained in the reports entitled "Research Wales" which are published annually by the Welsh Office. Copies of these reports are available in the Library of the House.
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much of his Department's budget is devoted to research purposes ; how much is given in grants for research ; and what proportion of each figure has been devoted to near market research (a) in the current financial year and (b) in each of the last three financial years.
Mr. Peter Walker : I refer the hon. Gentleman to Tables 14a and 14b of the "Annual Review of Government Funded Research and Development 1988", a copy of which is in the Library of the House. None of my Department's budget is devoted to near market research.
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Research Grants
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the research grants given for near market research for which his Department is directly or indirectly responsible in the current financial year and each of the last two financial years.
Mr. Peter Walker : I have not made any such grants.
Drinking Water
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Dewsbury (Mrs. Taylor) of 14 June, Official Report, column 416 , he will list the number of people affected and the main population centres supplied with water from supplies subject to European Community derogations ; and when he now expects the need for derogations will be removed.
Mr. Grist : Supplies subject to derogations are mainly in rural areas with most of the supply areas affected being situated in Gwynedd, north Dyfed and south Powys. Information concerning the numbers of people affected is not available. The need for most of the derogations should be removed by 1990 and all by 1995 at the latest.
Welsh Development Agency (Management Buy-out)
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he proposes to permit a management buy-out of the Welsh development Agency's sub-regional west Wales organisation ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) if he has received proposals for management buy-outs from the board of the Welsh Development Agency ; and if he will make a statement ;
(3) if he will meet the chairman of the Welsh Development Agency and indicate to him that he should forbid senior managers of the agency from working on buy-out proposals ; and if he will make a statement ;
(4) if, when he next meets the board of the Welsh Development Agency, he will instruct the board to cease the consideration of buy-out plans by senior managers and to improve the board's capacity to attract inward investment and to build advance factories in Wales.
(5) what is his policy concerning management buy-outs and the Welsh Development Agency ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Walker : I have received no proposal for management buy- outs from the board of the Welsh Development Agency, though I encourage the agency to be alert to any prospect for increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of its activities through greater private sector involvement in the full range of its activities.
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will institute an investigation and publish a report into proposals by the Welsh Development Agency's west Wales regional director and the west Wales senior investment executive to buy out the west Wales region and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Walker : No. This is a matter for the Welsh Development Agency.
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the number of employees and the value of, or the rent of the premises of the west Wales Welsh Development Agency.
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Mr. Peter Walker : There are 17 full-time employees in the Welsh Development Agency's west Wales region. As at 31 March 1989 the value of premises administered by the region was £5.1 million.
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if the Welsh Development Agency research, secretarial and technical facilities were used by the Welsh Development Agency employees to facilitate studies and proposals concerning management buy-out proposals ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Walker : As far as the Welsh Development Agency is aware, none of its research, secretarial or technical facilities was drawn on to formulate the proposals made for the west Wales region.
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when the senior management of the Welsh Development Agency's west Wales region first proposed to the Welsh Development Agency's chairman that there should be a management buy-out ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Walker : I understand from the WDA that this particular proposal was first mentioned within the agency in October 1988.
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are (a) the current, (b) the 1987, and (c) the 1988 budgets of the west Wales Welsh Development Agency ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Walker : These are matters for the agency, but it informs me that the expenditure budgets directly under the control of the west Wales regional office amounted to a total of £1.4 million in 1987-88 and £1.7 million in 1988-89. In the current year they will amount to £1.5 million. The figures are not, however, directly comparable due to a reorganisation of the agency's regions in July 1988. The figures also omit a number of items of major expenditure including new factory building which are controlled and accounted for by central departments of the agency.
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) when he last met the west Wales Welsh Development Agency's senior investment director ;
(2) when he last met the west Wales Welsh Development Agency regional director ; and if he discussed management buy-outs.
Mr. Peter Walker : I am not aware that I have met these officials of the Welsh Development Agency and have certainly not discussed management buy-outs with them.
NORTHERN IRELAND
West Link (Belfast)
Mr. Kilfedder : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action is being taken to relieve the current congestion which is occurring on West Link in Belfast in the light of the construction of the new cross-harbour bridges.
Mr. Needham : Proposals for the improvement of West Link are included as part of the highway measures in the Belfast urban area plan. The recommendations of the inspector following the public inquiry are awaited.
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M1 Motorway
Mr. Kilfedder : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what are his intentions regarding the improvement of the road from the M1 motorway at Dungannon to Omagh, Strabane and Londonderry ; and what is the accident rate on (i) the present road and (ii) as an average for the Province.
Mr. Needham : Proposals for the improvement of the road from the M1 motorway at Dungannon to Omagh, Strabane and Londonderry are currently under consideration. Stage I of the Omagh through pass is currently under constructon and stage I of the Strabane bypass will commence very soon.
The three year average of accidents/million vehicle kilometres on this stretch of road is 0.48. There is no national average for the Province. The United Kingdom national average is 0.35.
Dual Carriageways
Mr. Kilfedder : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what consideration is being given to the construction of lengths of dual carriageway or climbing lanes on arterial routes and roads to ports supporting heavy lorry traffic ; and when essential schemes already commenced in stages will be completed.
Mr. Needham : The roads system in Northern Ireland is constantly under review and capital improvements are dictated by capacity demand. Each proposed scheme is subjected to a strict cost-benefit analysis which determines its priority within the roads capital works programme. Arterial routes and roads to ports are fully catered for within that programme.
Essential schemes already commenced in stages are planned for completion as follows :
Omagh through pass--1994
Enniskillen stages 1, 2 and 3--1990
Newry bypass--1994
A/26 Antrim-Ballymena stage II late 1993
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