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Cenotaph (Illumination)

Mr. Allen McKay : To ask the Prime Minister if she will set in train a study with a view to illuminating on a permanent basis the Cenotaph in Whitehall prior to Remembrance day 1989.

The Prime Minister : Such a study is already in hand. If the outcome is favourable the aim will be to have the lighting installed before Remembrance day 1989.

Sewage Pollution

Mr. Speller : To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to her answer of 4 July, if she will require Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution to consider and report on both the 2km sewage outfall from Swansea and the 900m outfall proposed adjacent to Royal Portbury dock in Avon.

The Prime Minister : Before granting a discharge consent for any new sea outfall scheme, Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution must be satisfied that any discharges will not cause identified bathing waters in the


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vicinity to fail to meet the standards of the EC bathing water directive. The length of the outfall required to achieve this will depend on local factors such as tides, currents, depth of water and prevailing winds. Studies to determine the optimal length of the sewage outfall at Royal Portbury dock were carried out prior to the granting of the discharge consent ; and similar studies will be carried out for any proposed outfall at Swansea.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Wandsworth Prison

Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many inmates were working in prison workshops at Wandsworth prison on 29 June.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : A total of 207 inmates were employed on 29 June as follows :


Workshops        |Inmates employed                 

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

Laundry          |66                               

Tailoring        |36                               

Light textiles   |36                               

Leatherwork      |22                               

Woodwork         |17                               

Brushes          |30                               

Sunday Trading

Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many representations he has recently received about Sunday trading.

Mr. Renton : Between 1 January 1989 and 3 July 1989 we have received 863 written representations broadly in favour of Sunday trading and 1,211 against.

Prison Officers' Houses

Mr. Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the prison officers' houses, which were vacant in Culcheth, have now been sold ; how long they had been empty ; what his Department received for the sale of this property ; how many houses remain to be sold ; when he expects these to be disposed of ; if the prison officers' hostel is unsold ; how long it has been unused ; and what are the plans for this.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : All the 39 empty prison officer houses at Culcheth have been sold. Most have been vacant for seven to eight years. These properties, together with the prison officers' hostel, were sold for £540,000. Under the terms of the sale, the purchaser will bring the roads and other services on the whole estate up to the standard required for adoption by the local authority at nil cost to the Home Office. Six further houses that became vacant during 1988-89 are to be sold as soon as possible on the open market. The remaining 67 properties on the estate are used as prison officers' quarters, 47 of which are the subject of applications under the prison service discount sales scheme. The prison officers' hostel, which the purchaser proposes to demolish, has been unused for about seven years. The purchaser proposes to build houses on the site.


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Chinese Students

Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will establish a special fund to assist Chinese students in the United Kingdom who experience financial difficulties as a result of deciding not to return to China ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Renton : Chinese nationals who do not qualify under the immigration rules but who do not wish to return to China are being allowed to remain here exceptionally for a further six months. Employment restrictions will be removed in such cases, which will allow those concerned to claim benefit if they are available for employment.

Wakefield Prison

Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for each month since April (a) the minimum staffing levels agreed under fresh start and (b) the actual staffing levels, for Her Majesty's prison, Wakefield.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : The minimum staffing levels agreed under fresh start at HMP Wakefield as at April 1988 were :


                                 |Morning  |Afternoon          

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

Saturday and Sunday    |80-84    |91-99    |72                 

Monday and Friday      |99       |98       |78                 

Tuesday                |101      |101      |82                 

Wednesday and Thursday |101      |119      |82                 

The only subsequent change to these levels is that since April 1989 the provision for Saturday and Sunday


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mornings is now 80 to 82. The number of officers in post (including principal and senior officers) at HMP Wakefield in each month since 1 April 1988 is as follows :


          |Numbers        

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

1988                      

April     |406            

May       |420            

June      |423            

July      |425            

August    |425            

September |424            

October   |423            

November  |422            

December  |422            

                          

1989                      

January   |417            

February  |418            

March     |418            

April     |426            

May       |425            

June      |425            

Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions since April 1988 it has not been possible to undertake routine strip searches on prisoners in Her Majesty's prison, Wakefield, following domestic visits, because of staffing shortages.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : Strip searches are in most cases carried out at the discretion of local management, and have been conducted as considered necessary.


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Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions since April 1988 the association time of rule 43 prisoners in Her Majesty's prison, Wakefield, has been curtailed due to staffing shortages.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : I understand that loss of association for vulnerable prisoners occurred on four occasions, none of which was due to staff shortages.

Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the frequency of routine cell searches at Her Majesty's prison, Wakefield.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : It is not the practice to disclose detailed information about security arrangements such as the frequency of cell searches.

Eversure Textiles (Dispute)

Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the chief constable of the South Yorkshire police giving the latest estimate of the total cost of policing the dispute over trade union recognition at Eversure Textiles in Sheffield ; how many police were on duty throughout the first day of the dispute ; what has been the minimum and maximum number of police officers on duty each day, to date ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : I understand from the chief constable that the estimated additional cost of policing the dispute up to and including 6 July is £4,300. There were 34 officers on duty throughout the first day of the dispute. Since the third day, the number of officers deployed has been between eight and 11.

Wrongful Imprisonment

Mr. Terry Fields : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list by constabulary for the past 10 years the number of persons who have been released after wrongful arrest, the numbers of persons who have sued the police for both false imprisonment and injury whilst in custody and the amounts recovered in compensation ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Drugs

Sir Michael McNair-Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons have been prosecuted for possessing the drug Ecstasy.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : The drug MDMA (commonly known as Ecstasy) has been separately identified in the statistics seizures dating back to 1 January 1988. Our provisional figures show that as a result of such seizures made in 1988, a total of 10 persons have been prosecuted for possession.

Private Events (Control)

Dr. Glyn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has come to a conclusion on the implications of the report from the chief constable of


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Thames Valley on the incident which occurred on the industrial estate at White Waltham on Saturday 24 June in relation to police powers and penalties.

Mr. Hurd : I have received a further report from the chief constable of Thames Valley police on the events of the weekend of 1 and 2 July 1989. The police were able to take action against a number of parties. The chief constable emphasised the need for good intelligence about the likely location of the parties as the basis for successful enforcement action both by police and local authorities. In at least one case the environmental health officer of the local authority obtained an injunction under the noise control provisions of the Control of Pollution Act 1974. In other cases, the owners of premises have co-operated by withdrawing permission or denying access where no authority had been sought be the organisers. I set out in reply to earlier questions from my hon. Friend on 29 June at columns 517-18 the comprehensive set of controls which already applies to parties of this kind. It is clear that the main need is for those with advance knowledge of any such party to tell the police so that these controls can be enforced. On this basis, the police in Thames Valley and other police force areas have been able to prevent in advance or shut down a number of such parties which had the potential for disorder recently, some of them potentially large ones.

The police have a range of powers to deal effectively with any criminal offences which may be committed. Steps have been taken to strengthen the police co-ordination and intelligence handling arrangements in order to target enforcement action better. The public entertainment law already requires organisers to provide adequate standards of safety and hygiene at events of this kind. If that law is ignored, adequate hygiene and safety arrangements may not be made. I am therefore giving further consideration to the need to strengthen the penalties available for breaches of the public entertainment law.

Mr. Dykes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is now in a position to give his Department's provisional response to public requests for further actions to control so called acid house parties and similar pop concert type events.

Sir Michael McNair-Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to give powers to the police to control an ostensibly private party numbering more than 1,000 people which takes place on private land but without the consent of the landowner ; and if, where the landowner has agreed to the party taking place, the Secretary of State will provide powers of enforcement for lavatory or first aid facilities to be available and to inform the local constabulary or the local authority in whose area the site for the party is situated.

Mr. Hurd : There is already a comprehensive set of controls which applies to parties of this kind. I refer my hon. Friends to the reply given to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Windsor and Maidenhead (Dr. Glyn) today.


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FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

German Reunification

Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received about German reunification ; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs. Chalker : I refer my hon. Friend to the answer my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister gave to a question from the hon. Member for Great Grimsby (Mr. Mitchell) on 7 June at column 161.

Grenada

Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Grenadan authorities for the restoration of a constitutional court system ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Eggar : No. As an independent Commonwealth country, it is for Grenada to determine its own judicial system.

Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Grenadan authorities to lift the death sentence imposed on the defendants in the Grenada 17 trial ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Eggar : The appeals of all 17 persons convicted in Grenada of the murder of Prime Minister Bishop and of other crimes in 1983 are currently being heard in Grenada's court of appeal. It would be improper for Her Majesty's Government to make representations to the Government of Grenada concerning the 14 appellants sentenced to death while the legal process continues.

Diplomatic Relations

Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of state for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consideration he has given to the re- establishment of diplomatic relations with (a) Libya and (b) Syria ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Waldegrave : We could not consider restoring diplomatic relations with either Libya or Syria without firm evidence that those countries had given up support for international terrorism.

Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consideration he has given to the return of British diplomats to Afghanistan ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Eggar : The embassy will reopen as soon as circumstances permit it to do a useful job. It is still too early to predict when this will be. Meanwhile, officials may from time to time have to visit Kabul to deal with matters relating to the administration and maintenance of our embassy compound. But such visits will in no way affect our attitude towards contacts with the Kabul regime.

Bulgaria

Dame Jill Knight : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on the numbers of the Turkish minority population of


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Bulgaria who have been obliged to leave in the course of 1989 ; what representations he has made to the Bulgarian Government, and with what effect ; in which international fora Her Majesty's Government have raised this abuse of human rights ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Waldegrave : We understand that over 100,000 members of Bulgaria's Turkish minority have fled to Turkey since mid-May. It is probable that the first wave, perhaps several thousand, were deported and that the rest have left voluntarily (albeit as a consequence of long-term harassment), taking advantage of a recent relaxation in Bulgaria's laws on travel.

We have made representations bilaterally to the Bulgarian authorities, invoking stage 1 of the "human dimension" mechanism of the CSCE Vienna concluding document. Numerous other countries have made similar demarches. We also drew attention to the plight of Bulgaria's Turkish minority during the recent conference on the human dimension of the CSCE in Paris. The Bulgarian authorities have provided some information on their policies, but have not so far taken steps to improve the lot of the Turkish minority. We have also raised this matter regularly in UN fora.

We call on the Bulgarian authorities to ensure that those who wish to leave for Turkey may do so in an orderly fashion, and that the rights of those who wish to remain in Bulgaria are respected.

Drugs

Mr. Sayeed : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) if he will arrange for inquiries to be made by Her Majesty's representatives in Lisbon as to the manufacturers' list price in Portugal for the drugs listed and ensure that the information contains details of pack size, whether any discounts are available and the terms Adalat 10 mg caps, Adalat retard 20 mg caps, Aldomet 250 mg caps, Amoxil 500 mg caps, Brufen 400 mg tabs, Capoten 25 mg tabs, Feldene 10 mg caps, Feldene 20 mg tabs, Gaviscon liq 250, Inderal LA 160 mg tabs, Natrilix 2.5 mg tabs, Prothiaden 75 mg tabs, Septrin tabs, Serc tabs, Tagamet 200 mg tabs, Tagamet 400 mg tabs, Timoptel eye dps 0.5 per cent., Ventolin inhaler, Zantac 15 mg tabs and Zyloric 300 mg tabs ;

(2) if he will arrange for inquiries to be made by Her Majesty's representatives in Brussels as to the manufacturers' list price in Belgium for the drugs listed and ensure that the information contains details of pack size ; whether any discounts are available, and the terms Adalat 10 mg caps, Adalat retard 20 mg caps, Aldomet 250 mg caps, Amoxil 500 mg caps, Brufen 400 mg tabs, Capoten 25 mg tabs, Feldene 10 mg caps, Feldene 20 mg tabs, Gaviscon liq 250, Inderal LA 160 mg tabs, Natrilix 2.5 mg tabs, Prothiaden 75 mg tabs, Septrin tabs, Serc tabs, Tagamet 200 mg tabs, Tagamet 400 mg tabs, Timoptel eye drops 0.5 per cent., Ventolin inhaler, Zantac 150 mg tabs and Zyloric 300 mg tabs ;

(3) if he will arrange for inquiries to be made by Her Majesty's representatives in Paris as to the manufacturers' list price in France for the drugs listed and ensure that the information contains details of pack size ; whether any discounts are available, and the terms Adalat 10 mg caps, Adalat retard 20 mg caps, Aldomet 250 mg caps, Amoxil 500 mg caps, Brufen 400 mg tabs, Capoten 25 mg tabs, Feldene 10 mg caps, Feldene 20 mg tabs, Gaviscon liq 250, Inderal LA 160 mg tabs, Natrilix 2.5 mg tabs, Prothiaden


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75 mg tabs, Septrin tabs, Serc tabs, Tagamet 200 mg tabs, Tagamet 400 mg tabs, Timoptel eye drops 0.5 per cent., Ventolin inhaler, Zantac 150 mg tabs and Zyloric 300 mg tabs ;

(4) if he will arrange for inquiries to be made by Her Majesty's representatives in Madrid as to the manufacturers' list price in Spain for the drugs listed and ensure that the information contains details of pack size ; whether any discounts are available, and the terms Adalat 10 mg caps, Adalat retard 20 mg caps, Aldomet 250 mg caps, Amoxil 500 mg caps, Brufen 400 mg tabs, Capoten 25 mg tabs, Feldene 10 mg caps, Feldene 20 mg tabs, Gaviscon liq 250, Inderal LA 160 mg tabs, Natrilix 2.5 mg tabs, Prothiaden 75 mg tabs, Septrin tabs, Serc tabs, Tagamet 200 mg tabs, Tagamet 400 mg tabs, Timoptel eye drops 0.5 per cent., Ventolin inhaler, Zantac 150 mg tabs and Zyloric 300 mg tabs ;

(5) if he will arrange for inquiries to be made by Her Majesty's representatives in Athens as to the manufacturers' list price in Greece for the drugs listed and ensure that the information contains details of pack size ; whether any discounts are available, and the terms Adalat 10 mg caps, Adalat retard 20 mg caps, Aldomet 250 mg caps, Amoxil 500 mg caps, Brufen 400 mg tabs, Capoten 25 mg tabs, Feldene 10 mg caps, Feldene 20 mg tabs, Gaviscon liq 250, Inderal LA 160 mg tabs, Natrilix 2.5 mg tabs, Prothiaden 75 mg tabs, Septrin tabs, Serc tabs, Tagamet 200 mg tabs, Tagamet 400 mg tabs, Timoptel eye drops 0.5 per cent., Ventolin inhaler, Zantac 150 mg tabs and Zyloric 300 mg tabs ;

(6) if he will arrange for inquiries to be made by Her Majesty's representatives in Rome as to the manufacturers' list price in Italy for the drugs listed and ensure that the information contains details of pack sizes whether any discounts are available and the terms Adalat 10mg caps, Adalat retard 20mg caps, Aldomet 250mg caps, Amoxil 500 mg caps, Brufen 400mg tabs, Capoten 25mg tabs, Feldene 10mg caps, Feldene 20mg tabs, Gaviscon liq 250, Inderal LA 160mg tabs, Natrilix 2.5mg tabs, Prothiaden 75mg tabs, Septrin tabs, Serc tabs, Tagamet 200mg tabs, Tagamet 400mg tabs, Timoptel eye drops 0.5 per cent, Ventolin inhaler, Zantac 150mg tabs and Zyloric 300mg tabs.

Mr. Eggar : No. Her Majesty's embassies do not have the resources to undertake inquiries of this nature which, in any case, can be pursued through normal commercial channels.

Iraq

Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Her Majesty's Government will reconsider the imposition of economic sanctions and the ending of export credits to Iraq in the light of the mass evictions of Kurdish Iraqi citizens from border areas and the Iraqi Government's refusal to allow independent observers into the depopulated area.

Mr. Waldegrave : We do not believe that unilateral economic measures would be effective in ending human rights abuses in Iraq. It is better to maintain a working relationship if we are to influence Iraq's behaviour. We continue to press the Iraqi authorities for full details of their present resettlement programme, and to allow diplomats and journalists to be able to visit the areas concerned.


Column 368

Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) whether he has obtained details from the Iraqi Government on which towns and villages in Iraqi Kurdistan have been depopulated in recent weeks ;

(2) whether, in the light of the Iraqi ambassador's recent statement of the Iraqi Government's intention to depopulate an additional stretch of Iraq's border, he has obtained the names of the towns and villages within this area which now face imminent eviction of the population.

Mr. Waldegrave : We continue to press the Iraqi authorities for details of their Kurdish resettlement programme. The Iraqi Government also issued a statement on 26 June providing some further information.

Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a statement on the eviction of Kurds from border areas in Iraq.

Mr. Waldegrave : We remain seriously concerned at allegations of forced resettlement of Kurds in northern Iraq. We continue to press the Iraqi authorities to allow journalists and diplomats to visit the areas concerned to see for themselves.

Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the report of European Community representatives in Baghdad on the human rights situation in Iraq will be made available in the Library.

Mr. Waldegrave : Reports compiled by EC ambassadors are confidential documents under the rules of European political co-operation. It is not, therefore, open to us to make such reports publicly available.

European Court

Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many of the decisions of the European Court have not yet been implemented by each of the member states of the European Economic Community ; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs. Chalker : According to table 10 of the "Official Journal of the European Communities" C310, volume 31 of 5 December 1988 (available in the Library), at 31 December 1987 the information was as follows :


               |Number       

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

Italy          |28           

Belgium        |10           

Germany        |9            

France         |5            

Netherlands    |4            

Greece         |4            

Denmark        |2            

United Kingdom |2            

Ireland        |1            

The two judgments listed against the United Kingdom have now been implemented.


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EMPLOYMENT

Accident Rates

Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the accident rate per 1,000 trainees on YTS and for employees generally.

Mr. Cope : The rate of accidents reported to the Training Agency per 100,000 trainees on YTS in the year ended 31 March 1988 was 804. This includes types of accidents which would not be reportable to HSE in the case of employees generally. The rate of accidents to all employees reported to HSE in the same year was 734 per 100,000, but this figure does not allow for the known substantial under-reporting, so the figures are not comparable.

Detailed research shows that YTS trainees are no more at risk than employees generally and could be less so.


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Tourism

Mr. John Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the future of the section 4 tourism grant scheme.

Mr. Lee : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Yardley (Mr. Bevan) on 6 July.

Wages Councils

Mr. John Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many firms have been discovered in contravention of wages council legislation, per inspector, for each year since 1970.

Mr. Nicholls : Wages inspectorate statistics are compiled in terms of establishments rather than firms. With this proviso, the information requested is in the following tables. The figures under each heading are not mutually exclusive.


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                                                     |1970|1971|1972|1973|1974|1975|1976|1977|1978|1979     

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

Average number of establishments found per                                                                  

  inspector not displaying notices or having                                                                

   inadequate notices                                |105 |96  |80  |76  |73  |74  |69  |61  |57  |54       

Average number of establishments found per                                                                  

  inspector not keeping time records or                                                                     

  keeping inadequate time records                    |200 |191 |164 |161 |146 |143 |123 |114 |108 |105      

Average number of establishments found per                                                                  

  inspector not keeping wage records or                                                                     

  keeping inadequate wage records                    |40  |46  |41  |40  |36  |35  |28  |26  |26  |26       

Average number of establishments found per inspector                                                        

  not giving statutory customary holidays            |<1  |<1  |<1  |<1  |<1  |<1  |<1  |<1  |<1  |<1       

Average number of establishments found per                                                                  

  inspector not giving statutory annual                                                                     

  holidays                                           |<1  |<1  |<1  |<1  |<1  |2   |2   |4   |5   |7        

Average number of establishments found per                                                                  

  inspector underpaying holiday remuneration         |28  |23  |23  |26  |28  |31  |31  |30  |26  |21       

Average number of establishments found per                                                                  

  inspector underpaying (other than holiday                                                                 

  remuneration)                                      |38  |37  |45  |53  |47  |66  |72  |72  |62  |61       


                                                      |1980|1981|1982|1983|1984|1985|1986|1987|1988     

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

Average number of establishments found per inspector                                                    

  not displaying notices or having inadequate notices |59  |58  |57  |64  |74  |70  |87  |84  |117      

Average number of establishments found per inspector                                                    

  not keeping time records or keeping inadequate time                                                   

  records                                             |102 |98  |88  |98  |101 |94  |114 |90  |106      

Average number of establishments found per inspector                                                    

  not keeping wage records or keeping inadequate                                                        

  wage records                                        |27  |23  |20  |22  |17  |13  |15  |17  |23       

Average number of establishments found per inspector                                                    

  not giving statutory customary holidays              <1   1    1    1    1    1    2    not applicable

Average number of establishments found per inspector                                                    

  not giving statutory annual holidays                 6    6    5    4    5    4    6    not applicable

Average number of establishments found per inspector                                                    

  underpaying holiday remuneration                     21   26   26   25   29   25   31   not applicable

Average number of establishments found per inspector                                                    

  underpaying (other than holiday remuneration)       |69  |73  |61  |64  |53  |50  |58  |59  |82       

Factory Inspectors

Mr. John Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the number of factory inspectors in post (a) in 1979 and (b) currently ; and what are the reasons for the change.


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Mr. Nicholls : On 1 April 1979, 742 factory inspectors were in post in the Health and Safety Executive. On 1 July 1989, the total was 621.5 compared with 592 on 1 April 1988.

In order to contain public sector manpower and spending there were staff reductions in HSE, as in the Civil Service as a whole. HSE continues to meet its responsibilities with improvements in efficiency brought about by the use of careful targeting.


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Increased Government provision to the Health and Safety Commission and Executive over previously planned levels of £6.7 million gross for 1988-89 and £8.3 million gross for 1989-90 have allowed the Executive to increase factory inspector numbers. The Executive plans to have 640 factory inspectors in post by April 1990.

Employment Training

Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment which of those local authorities listed as participating in employment training, Official Report, 27 February, columns 34-38 as training managers and training agents have now withdrawn from the scheme.

Mr. Nicholls : The following local authorities participating in employment training as training managers have now withdrawn from the scheme :

Barrow borough council

London borough of Barnet

London borough of Merton

Nottinghamshire county council

Rochdale Metropolitan borough council.

Wolverhampton metropolitan borough council will not be renewing their existing contract at the end of August 1989. Similar action is expected from Leicester city council and Cleveland county council.

HEALTH

Administrative and Clerical Staff

Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many whole -time equivalent administrative and clerical staff were employed in the National Health Service in England on (a) 30 September 1979, (b) 30 September 1987 and (c) 30 September 1988.


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Mr. Mellor : The information is shown in the table.


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