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Scottish Constitutional Convention
Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he is now taking steps to take part in the discussions of the Scottish constitutional convention.
Lead Plumbing
Mr. Norman Hogg : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any plans for replacing lead plumbing in pre-war houses and tenement blocks ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The replacement of lead plumbing within a house is the responsibility of the owner, though grants to private owners are available for this purpose from district and islands councils.
In the period 1982-87, over 45,000 grants which included lead plumbing works were approved by local authorities. In the same period more than 350,000 houses were improved by local authorities and other public sector agencies ; many of these houses are likely to have had lead plumbing replaced as part of the modernisation works.
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Water Supply
Mr. Norman Hogg : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any plans to give any advice to regional water authorities concerning the addition of orthophosphate to the public water supply ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : There are no plans to issue further advice at the present time. Full advice was given to regional and islands authorities in mid-1984. The addition of orthophosphate has achieved considerable reductions in levels of lead in tap water in a number of areas of Scotland. The effectiveness of the treatment is kept under review.
Sunday Trading
Mr. Norman Hogg : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if, in view of the growth of Sunday trading in Scotland, he has any plans for a review of the law so as to provide safeguards for employees and local residents.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : My right hon. and learned Friend has no such plans.
Mr. Norman Hogg : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received on people being denied jobs or being required to give up employment, if, on grounds of family or conscience, they do not wish to work on Sundays.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Other than those in the report "Scotland's Sunday Under Pressure", none.
Mr. Norman Hogg : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has received the publication, "Scotland's Sunday Under Pressure" by the Keep Sunday Special Campaign ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : My right hon. and learned Friend has received the publication and has noted its findings.
Policewomen
Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether, in the light of research findings of Professor Ray Wilkie on policewomen in Scotland, he will consider whether any policy changes need to be effected.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : We are examining the report, but the main implications of the research findings are for the police service itself to consider. I understand that copies of the report have been circulated to the chief constables of all Scottish police forces.
Contracts (Tendering)
Mr. Bill Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will take steps to prohibit expenditure by certain local authorities on forming and operating separate companies for catering and cleaning services to compete with private contractors who may tender for local authority contracts ; what assessment he has made of the effects of this practice on the ability of private contractors to compete fairly for these contracts ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Within the resources available to them, local authorities may do anything that
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is calculated to facilitate, or is conducive or incidental to, the discharge of any of their functions. If authorities decide to set up companies for catering and cleaning services, they cannot award contracts to such companies without taking reasonable steps to secure competition for the carrying out of the work. I should be glad to be informed of any evidence that private contractors are being prevented from competing fairly in such circumstances.YTS
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is monitoring the impact of the YTS guarantee on 16 and 17-year-olds.
Mr. Lang : I am satisfied that the Training Agency in Scotland has more than sufficient YTS places available for those young people under 18 who want one.
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will estimate the number of summer school leavers eligible for YTS as a result of failing to obtain employment or a place in full-time education.
Mr. Lang : We estimate that up to 50,000 16 to 17-year-olds might leave school this summer. All are eligible for YTS, but only a proportion will seek a place. The Training Agency has consulted the careers service and is satisfied that it has sufficient places to meet likely demand, but further places can be provided if required.
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give (a) the number of YTS places available and (b) occupied for each of the former administration areas of the Training Agency, known as area manpower boards.
Mr. Lang : This information is not available in the precise form requested. As at 31 May 1989 the Training Agency had 61,115 agreed YTS places in Scotland and 47,345 of these were filled. This information is broken down by Training Agency area office area as follows :
|Agreed places|In training
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Glasgow city |9,844 |8,434
Lanarkshire |6,306 |5,325
Renfrew, Dunbarton and Argyll |8,249 |6,260
Ayrshire, Dumfries and Galloway |6,969 |5,498
Lothian and Borders |7,655 |5,424
Central and Fife |9,287 |6,831
Grampian and Tayside |9,397 |7,220
Highlands and Islands |3,408 |2,353
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when the YTS guarantee will be met for every 16 and 17-year-old summer school leaver in Scotland who does not enter full-time education or permanent employment.
Mr. Lang : We aim to ensure that every young person under 18 who is seeking a YTS place is offered one before his or her entitlement to benefit ends.
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the YTS guarantee is being met ; and how monitoring of this procedure is being undertaken.
Mr. Lang : Yes the guarantee is being met. Local arrangements with the careers service ensure that Training Agency area offices are aware of and can satisfy demand for YTS places.
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Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will estimate the number of 16 and 17-year-olds in Scotland who did not obtain a YTS place before the expiry of the period of extended child benefit or bridging allowance between September 1988 and the most recent date for which figures are available.
Mr. Lang : The guarantee of a YTS place to all 16 and 17-year-olds that want one means that there is no need for any young person who applies for a YTS place in reasonble time to be without financial support. Information about young people who are not on benefit or on YTS is not collected centrally. I cannot therefore offer an estimate of their numbers.
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has met the regional and islands council careers officers to discuss the implementation of the YTS guarantee.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : My officials regularly meet representatives of Scottish careers services to discuss this and other matters.
Dounreay
Mr. Wallace : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much time has elapsed since he received the report from his reporter, Mr. A. Bell, on the public inquiry into the application to build the European demonstration reprocessing plant at Dounreay.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The report on the public local inquiry was received by my right hon. and learned Friend on 30 March 1988. He is currently considering the implications of the report.
Planning Applications
Mr. Wallace : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the planning applications, including outstanding applications, in respect of which public inquiries have been held since May 1979 and his decision has not been announced until a date more than (a) 12 months, (b) 18 months and (c) 24 months after the conclusion of the inquiry.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The information is as follows :- 1. Applications called-in by the Secretary of State in respect of which public inquiries have been held since May 1979 and where the decision was made more than
(a) 12 months after the conclusion of the inquiry ;
Skiing development, Lurcher's Gully, Aviemore
Aberdeen Central Comprehensive Development
(Area B)
Waste disposal plant, Inchbelly Farm, Kirkintilloch
Landfill site, Dalinlongart, Argyll
Travelling people's site, Hardhill Road, Bathgate
Travelling people's site, Panmurefield, Dundee
Lorry Park, Barnhill, Moffat
Housing development, Small Glebe, Newtyle,
Angus
(b) 18 months after the conclusion of the inquiry ;
Refuse tip, Brandon Howe, Banff
(c) 24 months after the conclusion of the inquiry ;
European Demonstration Reprocessing Plant,
Dounreay
2. Applications subject to appeal to the Secretary of State in respect of which public inquiries have been held since May 1979 and where the decision was made more than :
(a) 12 months after the conclusion of the inquiry ;
Housing development, Garthdee Road, Aberdeen
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Joiner's Workshop and store, Margaret Cottage,Grandhome, Aberdeen
Housing development, Royal Nurseries,
Old Dalkeith Edinburgh
Housing development, Edmonstone Mains Farm,
Edinburgh
Housing development, Maybury Road, Edinburgh
Housing development, The Drum, Gilmerton,
Edinburgh
Housing development, Strathblane Road,
Milngavie
Road proposal, Stepps By-pass, Glasgow
Opencast extraction of fireclay, Crossgates
Plantation, Braidwood, Carluke
Reconstruction of station facilities, Williamwood
Station, Giffnock
Housing development, Meikle Earnoch, Hamilton
Shopping development, Newhouse, Motherwell
Shopping development, former British Leyland site,
Bathgate
(b) 18 months after the conclusion of the inquiry ;
Boreholes in Carrick Forest, Loch Doon
Housing development, Dalhousie Mains,
Bonnyrigg, Midlothian
Shopping, housing and high technology park
development, Maybury Park, South Gyle,
Edinburgh
Shopping development, The Craigs, Maybury
Road, Edinburgh
Shopping development, Hermiston Gait, Cultins
Road, Edinburgh
(c) 24 months after the conclusion of the inquiry ;
None.
Glasgow School of Chiropody
Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will make a statement on the future of the clinical department of the Glasgow school of chiropody ;
(2) if he will make it his policy to guarantee the future funding of the Glasgow school of chiropody for the next five years.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : I announced on 24 February 1988 my approval for the transfer of Greater Glasgow health board's school of chiropody to Queen's college, Glasgow in the higher education sector. The school will continue to be funded by the health board until this transfer is effected and after transfer will be funded in exactly the same manner as other institutions in the higher education sector. The health board is currently considering whether some of the chiropody services provided in a clinic adjacent to the school might be redistributed to other sites in their area.
Rural Areas
Sir Hector Monro : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what further steps he plans to take to ensure the effective co-ordination of the various Government policies and initiatives for the rural areas of Scotland.
Mr. Rifkind : This Government have always recognised the importance of rural areas in Scotland. We have responded to their changing needs and have demonstrated our commitment to their well-being over the years through many and varied forms of assistance to help sustain rural communities, stimulate economic activity, and maintain and enhance the environment.
We are in a period of changing emphasis for rural Scotland. For instance, agriculture support policies are being reshaped ; new development opportunities are being recognised, not least by local communities supported by the voluntary sector ; and we are placing even greater emphasis on effective conservation of the environment. I
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am encouraged by the increasing awareness of a need to achieve a balance between development and conservation to sustain the resources of our natural environment for the benefit of future generations while at the same time permitting rural communities to achieve their full economic potential.In order to ensure that our current and future efforts are fully co- ordinated and effectively targeted, I have asked my noble Friend the Minister of State, Lord Sanderson of Bowden, to take special responsibility for rural policy co-ordination in the Scottish Office in addition to his existing responsibilities for agriculture, fisheries, forestry, Highlands and Islands development and tourism. This appointment will ensure that the initiatives already in hand and further developments likely to occur in the coming years are properly co-ordinated and work together to achieve their common purpose of enhancing the position of rural areas.
Other Ministers will retain their existing responsibilities. Lord Sanderson will concentrate on ensuring that, in a time of change, the right balance is struck between the protection of the environment and economic development.
Roads
Mr. David Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any plans to publish a White Paper on Scottish roads.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 30 June 1989] : I refer the hon. Member to the major statement made by my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State on 18 May in which he announced a substantial increase in funds for the trunk road programme. In that statement the Secretary of State indicated his trunk road priorities and referred to a planned consultation paper on the "routes south of Edinburgh" study, and a major review of the trunk and principal road network. The outcome of these consultations may form the basis of a policy document or White Paper in due course.
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