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Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his policy on the use of non-recycled stationery, packaging and printed reports within his Department.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The Department's policy is progressively to increase the use of recycled stationery.
Smoking
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether his Department has evaluated the effect of smoking on environmental pollution ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : No formal evaluation of the effects of smoking on environmental pollution has been undertaken, but preliminary estimates suggest that overall it has very little impact. It is, however, recognised that smoking can contribute to pollution of the indoor environment, and the Government encourage the implementation of voluntary no-smoking policies. In addition, where banning smoking is appropriate for particular safety or hygiene reasons, the Government have not hesitated to take action.
Aquatic Environment
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is taking to reduce the inputs of red list substances to the aquatic environment ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave on 10 April to my hon. Friend the Member for Hertfordshire, South- West (Mr. Page) at column 405 .
Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress has been made towards establishing the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre as an executive agency ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Chope : I am pleased to announce that the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre will today become an executive agency of the Property Services Agency.
The centre provides secure conference facilities for national and international Government meetings up to the highest level. It also markets its facilities commercially, competing for business on quality and price with a wide range of public and private undertakings, both at home and overseas. The centre has already achieved a great deal since it opened in 1986. Establishing it as an agency will give it additional management tools to develop its business further on increasingly commercial lines, and the scope to compete even more effectively in a highly competitive national and international market.
The centre will be expected to reduce progressively its net cost to the Exchequer. To this end I have set progressively more demanding targets against which its future progress and performance will be assessed. Peat Marwick McLintock management consultants have been commissioned to undertake a full review of the centre's performance since it opened, and to consider the
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possibilities for further improvements in the future. They have been asked to advise on specific targets and performance indicators. Their recommendations will influence the Government's decisions on financial and other targets for incorporation in the corporate plan and business planning process. Meanwhile I have instructed the centre chief executive to seek to increase controllable revenue and decrease expenditure each by 2 per cent. per annum compared with the centre's previous forecast so as to produce a surplus before interest, depreciation and rates of £50,000 in 1989-90, £200,000 in 1990-91 and £320,000 in 1991-92.Mr. Roy Kendrick, who has been responsible as general manager for the successful development of the centre's business since its opening, has been appointed chief executive of the new agency. I wish him and his staff every success in their continuing endeavours.
Copies of the framework document are being placed in the Library of the House.
London Docklands Development Corporation
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what conditions he places on newly appointed members of the London Docklands development corporation in respect of the participation of firms with which they are associated in developments in the area of the corporation.
Mr. Trippier : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer that I gave on 22 February to the hon. Member for Normanton (Mr. O'Brien) at column 704.
Acer Pseudoplatanus
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he classifies Acer Pseudoplatanus as an indigenous species for the purposes of his Department's policies.
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Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Acer Pseudoplatanus is regarded as a species that is naturalised but is not indigenous.
Refrigerators (Disposal)
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is aware of any examples of good practice by local authorities in the United Kingdom, concerning the safe disposal of refrigerators and freezers so as to minimize the release of chlorofluorocarbons into the atmosphere during their disposal.
Mr. Atkins : I have been asked to reply.
Several local authorities have set up schemes for the collection of discarded refrigerators and freezers with a view to recovering, recycling or disposing of the CFCs they contain. Officials in the Department of the Environment are considering whether advice to local authorities in this area would be appropriate.
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many representations he has received concerning the introduction of safe disposal sites for refrigerators and freezers.
Mr. Atkins : I have been asked to reply.
I have received representations from companies and members of the public about the risk of CFCs escaping from discarded refrigerators and freezers. There are however technical and logistical difficulties in recovering and recycling CFCs from domestic refrigerator coolant systems, and from the accompanying foam insulation. Together these account for only around 3 per cent. of total CFCs in use in the United Kingdom.
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EMPLOYMENT
Employment Training
Ms. Short : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how much has been paid to (a) employment training agents and (b) employment training managers under the underpinning arrangements since the inception of the scheme to the latest available date ; and if he will make a statement about his future policy on underpinning arrangements.
Mr. Nicholls : So far some £0.67 million has been paid to training agents and £19.38 million to training managers under underpinning arrangements up to and including May 1989.
Underpinning was based on original profiles of training agent action plans/training manager starts, constructed prior to the commencement of employment training. From September 1989 training agents/training managers will be able to make a much more accurate judgment of likely throughput in the light of experience on the programme to date. It is therefore envisaged that underpinning payments will no longer be required.
Ms. Short : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how much his Department has paid out to employment training trainees in the form of training bonus since the start of the scheme to the latest possible date ; and how much of that has been paid because either (a) the trainee obtained a vocational qualification and (b) the trainee completed a part of the action plan.
Mr. Nicholls : To the end of May 1989 the Training Agency had paid out £105,000 in training bonuses.
It is not possible to identify separately the proportion of funds paid in respect of (a) vocational qualifications obtained and (b) action plans completed.
Ms. Short : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the average payment of benefit plus the additional £10 per trainee on employment training at the latest available date ; how many employment training trainees are on placement with employers ; how many employment training trainees had left the programme earlier than planned ; how many employment training trainees had left to take up jobs ; and how many employment training trainees had become unemployed when they left.
Mr. Nicholls : The average weekly training allowance including the training premium is estimated to be around £50 per trainee on employment training.
The number of employment training trainees on placements with employers was estimated to be 45,000 on 16 June, the latest date for which information is available. Reliable information broken down as requested about trainees who have left the programme is not available.
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the total number of employment training places available for each training agency area ; and what were the number of places filled for each training agency area on the latest date for which information is available.
Mr. Nicholls : There is no information at present about the number of available places at Training Agency area
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office level. The information will be available later in the year. The information requested for filled places is given in the table :
Employment training: filled places at 23 June 1989
Area office |Number
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Yorkshire and Humberside Region
Bradford, Calderdale and Kirklees |4,541
Humberside |5,170
North Yorkshire and Leeds |4,393
Sheffield and Rotherham |5,464
Wakefield, Doncaster and Barnsley |5,436
North West Region
Cheshire |3,040
Cumbria |1,399
Lancashire |4,203
Central Manchester |4,133
Greater Manchester North |2,710
Greater Manchester East |2,536
Merseyside |9,047
Northern Region
Cleveland |6,283
County Durham |5,439
Northumberland, North Tyneside and Newcastle |4,650
Sunderland, South Tyneside and Gateshead |6,394
Wales
Dyfed and West Glamorgan |4,376
Gwent |2,253
Gwynned, Clwyd and Powys |3,200
Mid and South Glamorgan |4,891
Scotland
Ayrshire, Dumfries and Galloway |3,113
Central and Fife |2,862
Glasgow City |4,731
Grampian and Tayside |2,607
Highlands and Islands |1,010
Lanarkshire |2,567
Lothian and Borders |3,437
Renfrew, Dumbarton and Argyll |2,769
South East Region
Berkshire and Oxfordshire |1,250
Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire |1,708
Essex |1,741
Hampshire and Isle of Wight |2,134
Kent |2,022
Surrey |475
Sussex |1,868
London Region
Inner London North |5,920
Inner London South |3,356
London East |2,286
London North |3,680
London South |1,693
London West |1,219
Avon |2,646
Devon and Cornwall |5,642
Dorset and Somerset |1,868
Gloucester and Wiltshire |1,640
West Midlands Region
Birmingham and Solihull |7,592
Coventry and Warwickshire |2,661
Dudley and Sandwell |2,939
Staffordshire |3,668
The Marches, Hereford/Worcester |2,690
Wolverhampton and Walsall |3,171
East Midlands and Eastern Region
Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire |1,684
Derbyshire |2,938
Leicestershire and Northamptonshire |2,832
Lincolnshire |1,375
Norfolk and Suffolk |3,223
Nottinghamshire |3,393
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish in the Official Report the level of expenditure so far spent on ET (a) in total, (b) advertising which mentions companies participating in ET through the large contractors unit and (c) (b) as a percentage of (a).
Mr. Cope [holding answer 22 June 1989] : Total expenditure on (a) employment training (ET) in the seven months to March 1989 was £423.6 million.
Expenditure on (b) poster, press and television advertising which mentions companies participating in ET was £3.1 million in the same period. (b) is 0.7 per cent. of (a) .
Three of the six companies mentioned in the television advertising are involved in ET at area office level and not through the LCU.
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the most recent details of (a) the number of filled places on the 23 large company ET schemes listed in the Official Report, 27 February, column 34, (b) any changes to the maximum number of places allocated for each of those schemes and (c) which of those schemes have since withdrawn from ET.
Mr. Nicholls [holding answer 4 July 1989] : The table updates to 26 May 1989 the details of the 23 large company ET schemes listed in the Official Report, 27 February, column 34.
The maximum number of places allocated column shows, in brackets, the changes to the figures listed in the Official Report. None of the schemes listed has withdrawn from employment training.
Company Maximum NumberPlaces filled
places Allocat1989
------------------------------------------------------
J. Jarvis and Sons |2,496 |(-430)|924
J. Laing Construction |2,178 |(-160)|1,032
Henry Boot Construction |569 |(-381)|185
Invicta Training |715 |(-160)|316
(Grand Metropolitan Catering)
Martin James |640 |(- 95)|482
Geo. Wimpey |547 |(-119)|202
Mowlem |405 |138
Comet PLC |374 |42
Pilkington |270 |(- 30)|226
Ferranti |215 |(- 35)|115
Mill Garages Ltd. |170 |(- 10)|118
Tower Radio Ltd. |250 |108
Portals Engineering Ltd. |250 |219
Marley Extrusions Ltd. |200
Ryder Ltd. |150 |148
Team Greyfriars Ltd. |200 |175
John Lawrence Group |150 |32
ICI |100 |(- 50)|74
Sumlock Business Services |90 |(- 60)|24
R and D Associates |125 |(- 33)|144
Simon Engineering |110 |66
Coastline Ltd. |70 |(- 30)|67
Strategic Marketing |100 |66
International Ltd. |100 |66
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many employment training training
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managers there are (a) nationally and (b) by Training Agency area ; and how many are receiving subsidies above the basic grant per trainee.Mr. Nicholls [holding answer 26 June 1989] : There are currently 1,251 employment training (ET) training managers. The number of training managers in each Training Agency area is given in the table. Training managers do not receive subsidies but are paid grants to provide training.
|Numbers
----------------------------------------------------
Scotland
Ayrshire, Dumfries and Galloway |34
Central and Fife |34
Glasgow City |40
Grampian and Tayside |23
Highlands and Islands |14
Lanarkshire |28
Lothian and Borders |27
Renfrew, Dumbarton and Argyll |33
Northern
Cleveland |38
County Durham |30
Newcastle |37
South Tyne |43
Yorkshire and Humberside
Bradford, Kirklees and Calderdale |17
Humberside |34
Leeds and North Yorkshire |36
Sheffield and Rotherham |23
Wakefield, Barnsley and Doncaster |21
North West
Cheshire |27
Cumbria |8
Greater Manchester Central |30
Greater Manchester East |11
Greater Manchester North |24
Lancashire |26
Merseyside |31
West Midlands
Birmingham and Solihull |29
Coventry and Warwickshire |10
Dudley and Sandwell |18
Staffordshire |20
The Marches |12
Wolverhampton and Walsall |13
East Midlands and Eastern
Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire |12
Derbyshire |21
Leicestershire and Northamptonshire |27
Lincolnshire |8
Norfolk and Suffolk |18
Nottinghamshire |20
Wales
Cardiff |38
Gwent |21
Swansea |43
Wrexham |29
South West
Avon |20
Devon and Cornwall |20
Gloucester and Wiltshire |14
Somerset and Dorset |15
South East
Chatham |9
Chelmsford |15
Fareham |11
High Wycombe |12
Reading |11
Sussex |12
Woking |6
London
Inner London North |27
Inner London South |25
London East |13
London North |12
London South |11
London West |10
|-------
Total |1,251
Training (Redundancy Payments)
Ms. Short : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how much money has been reimbursed to (a) community programme agents and sponsors, (b) employment training training managers and (c) employment training training agents for redundancy payments during the period from 1 September 1988, up to the most recently available date.
Mr. Nicholls : Information is not available in the precise form requested. The amounts of money reimbursed for redundancy payments from 1 September 1988 up to and including May 1989, are as follows : (a) Community programme agents and sponsors--£1.961 million. (b) Employment training (ET) training.
and
(c) Managers and training agents--£0.138 million.
Disablement Resettlement Officers
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether disablement resettlement officers are encouraged to make direct referrals, where appropriate, of disabled people to Finchdale, Portland, Queen Elizabeth's and St. Loyes' residential training colleges.
Mr. Lee : Disablement resettlement officers consider the individual training needs of their clients. Where these needs can be most appropriately met by one of the four residential training colleges, they are able to make a direct referral to the relevant college.
Mr. McCrindle : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the overall budget of the Disablement Advisory Service ; what proportion of the budget is devoted to promoting the service ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lee [holding answer 6 June 1989] : Information about the overall cost of the Disablement Advisory Service (DAS) is not available. In 1988-89, approximately £341,000 was spent on leaflets, videos, advertisements, exhibitions etc. promoting services and schemes, including the DAS, to encourage and assist the employment of people with disabilities. In addition, DAS staff make direct approaches to employers to promote its objectives, services etc.
Tourism
Mr. Bevan : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, if he has concluded his review of tourism policy ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Fowler : I announced last July that I was reviewing those aspects of tourism policy for which I am responsible--the promotion of Britain overseas, and the promotion and development of tourism in England.
I have concluded that the present organisation needs to be simplified and that the industry should be more directly engaged. Government financial support for the promotion of tourism should continue, but this needs to be more sharply focused.
Within the framework of the 1969 Development of Tourism Act, I intend to work closely with the chairman and members of the British Tourist Authority (BTA) and the English tourist board (ETB), and with the chairmen of the regional tourist boards in England to make changes along these lines, to improve cost-effectiveness and to extend partnerships with the industry. Accordingly, I am asking the BTA to ensure that greater authority is devolved to its overseas regions. I shall expect the BTA to work even more closely with industry in overseas markets, and to move some of its operations into the private sector. The present head office structure should, as a consequence of these various changes, be slimmed down.
I will also expect the ETB to devolve many of its activities and direct substantially more of its funding to the regional tourist boards under a form of contract, targeting that support especially to regions where the private sector most needs such support. This would enable the RTB's to increase their marketing activities and their direct involvement in encouraging the development of tourism locally. I would expect the regional boards to use such funds as a lever to achieve further private sector participation. I shall also expect the ETB to move into the private sector activities for which that is appropriate. The ETB will continue to play an important co-ordinating role but, as a consequence of these changes, I shall clearly expect a reduction in the scale of its activity at the centre.
On 30 January, I announced the suspension of the section 4 scheme of financial assistance for tourism projects in England, pending the outcome of my review more generally. In the second half of 1988 investment completed or underway on major tourism projects in England were some £2.5 billion. Accordingly I believe that the future prosperity and growth of tourism no longer depends on this scheme. No new offers of financial assistance will therefore be made under the scheme in England. Fees for applications held over since the suspension will be returned, and all offers of assistance already made will be honoured, subject to the conditions of offer being met. Tourism is now worth some £19 billion annually to the United Kingdom economy and the Government remain committed to this important industry.
Remploy
Mr. McAvoy : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish the reports to the Remploy board of directors which recommended the closure of the Rutherglen factory and the transfer of the work force to the Clydebank factory.
Mr. Lee [holding answer 29 June 1989] : The board of Remploy is responsible for making decisions relating to the day to day business of the company. The information requested is commercial and confidential to the board.
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Mr. McAvoy : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what information he has on the number of disabled employees made redundant by Remploy in the last 10 years.
Mr. Lee [holding answer 29 June 1989] : I am informed by Remploy that no disabled employees have been made redundant by the company in the last 10 years.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Domestic Violence
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with whom he has had discussions regarding the Home Office publication on domestic violence ; and what conclusions have been reached.
Mr. John Patten : Home Office research study No. 107 "Domestic Violence : An overview of the literature" will be discussed at the next meeting of the ministerial group on women's issues. This will take place on 20 July.
Broadcasting
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration he has given to representations about basing Channel 5 in Liverpool ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Renton : We see considerable merit in Channel 5 being based outside London.
Commission for Racial Equality
Mr. Bernie Grant : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will consider the appointment of a member of the black and minority ethnic communities as chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality when the position becomes due for reappointment ;
(2) if he will publish a breakdown of commissioners in the Commission for Racial Equality in terms of ethnic group ; (3) if he will publish a breakdown of staff in the Commission for Racial Equality in terms of grades and ethnic group ;
(4) what is the period of the appointment of the chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality ; and when it comes up for renewal ; (5) what is the present remuneration of the chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality ;
(6) what representations he has received from commissioners of the Commission for Racial Equality or others regarding the number of people from black and minority ethnic groups in senior positions ; and if he will make a statement ;
(7) what steps he is taking to increase the representation of black and minority ethnic communities in the Commission for Racial Equality at senior grades ;
(8) when he expects next to meet the chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality ; and what will they discuss ;
(9) whether he will place in the Library a copy of the Commission for Racial Equality equal opportunities statement and policy.
Mr. John Patten : The chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality is appointed for five years. The
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appointment of the present chairman, whose current remuneration is £45,315 per annum, expires on 31 January 1993. When the time comes, candidates from the ethnic minority communities will undoubtedly be among those considered for this important post.The current ethnic distribution of the commission and its staff is as follows :
|Afro-Caribbean or African|Asian |Other |White
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As at 30 June 1989
Commissioner |3 |6.0 |- |5.0
Chief executive |- |- |- |1.0
Director |- |1.0 |- |3.0
Principal |1 |5.0 |- |9.0
SEO |8 |4.0 |- |23.5
HEO |24 |13.0 |5 |16.0
EO |9 |6.5 |1 |7.0
Graphic designer - - - 1.0
AO |16 |7.0 |- |4.0
AA |6 |- |- |2.0
Typing manager 1 - - -
SPS |2 |- |- |-
PS |7 |2.0 |1 |2.0
Typist |10 |0.5 |- |5.0
Messenger |1 |- |- |2.0
Responsibility for the staffing of the commission lies not with the Secretary of State but with the commission itself. I am placing a copy of its equal opportunities statement in the Library. The commission is, I know, keen to improve representation of the black and other ethnic minority communities at senior grades. My right hon. Friend has received three letters about the staffing of the CRE. While, like the commission itself, we hope to see more black and other ethnic minority appointments, we do not judge the effectiveness of the commission's work for racial equality simply in terms of the ethnic composition of its staff.
My right hon. Friend expects to meet the chairman shortly to discuss current issues of mutual concern. I will be meeting the chairman and other commissioners at a commission on 25 July.
Data Protection Act
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the chief constable of Sussex police as to the action he has taken to delete material collected on computer relating to the 1988 Conservative party conference in accordance with the Data Protection Act ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : No. This is an operational matter for the chief constable of Sussex police.
Unleaded Petrol
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the level of combustion of (a) unleaded petrol and (b) leaded petrol ; what are the implications for the control of petrol fires ; what are the implications of the increasing use of unleaded petrol for the type of equipment and appliances required by the fire service ; and whether these are being made available.
Mr. John Patten : I am advised that the combustion characteristics of both are identical. Users of unleaded
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petrol are therefore at no greater risk from fire. I am satisfied that fire brigades are adequately equipped to deal with petrol fires.Police Communications
Mr. Shersby : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration he has given to the improvement of police communications by employing the use of a space satellite ; if he has explored the possibility of co-operation with his counterparts in other member countries of the European Community ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : As part of its programme of work aimed at improving police communications, the Department keeps under active review the costs and benefits of using satellites, either on a United Kingdom or a European basis. Our present view is that such a development is not yet either a practical or an economic proposition, but a further review of the use of this technology for police communications is about to be undertaken.
Immigration
Mr. Maclennan : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of immigration appeals currently waiting to be heard in Scotland.
The Attorney-General : I have been asked to reply.
I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Clydebank and Milngavie (Mr. Worthington) on 4 July at column 113.
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many European Economic Community nationals have settled in the United Kingdom since 1973.
Mr. Renton : European Community nationals wishing to reside in the United Kingdom benefit from certain provisions of Community law. They may apply for settlement after a period of temporary residence in the United Kingdom. Over the period 1973-88, a total of 41,000 European Community nationals (excluding citizens of the Republic of Ireland) were accepted for settlement in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if any central record is maintained of the numbers of European Economic Community nationals or nationals of overseas territories of European Economic Community states who come to the United Kingdom and do not depart ; and if he has any information of the numbers involved.
Mr. Renton : No detailed central record is kept of EC nationals entering or leaving the United Kingdom. However, sample information from the international passenger survey suggests that about 7 million EC nationals entered the United Kingdom in 1988, and of these about 30,000 intended to stay for a year or more.
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if any restrictions are placed on persons admitted for settlement to European Economic Community nations and then awarded citizenship who enter, and remain to work, in the United Kingdom.
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Mr. Renton : All EC nations (except, for a transitional period, Spanish and Portuguese nationals) have the right under Community law to work or seek work in other member states. No distinction is made in Community law between persons born with EC nationality and those who acquire it later.
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