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Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : This information is maintained on a Great Britain basis and I accordingly refer the hon. Member to the reply that he has received from my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office.
YTS
Mr. Ernie Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many trainees there are in Scotland participating in YTS.
Mr. Lang : On 30 June 1989 there were 49,602 young people participating in YTS in Scotland.
Local Government
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will seek to amend section 24(7) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1975 to permit the commissioner to conduct investigations in respect of alleged maladministration affecting all or most people in a local government area.
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Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : My right hon. and learned Friend has no plans to do so.
Well Woman Clinic, Glasgow
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on what grounds Greater Glasgow health board closed the well woman and family planning clinic at Berryknowes Road, Glasgow ; and what local consultations they engaged in.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : This is a matter for Greater Glasgow health board but I will be replying to the hon. Gentleman's letter shortly.
Owner-occupation
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement about the trend in owner-occupation since 1979.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : One of the Government's principal housing objectives is to maximise the opportunities for home ownership. In Scotland, the proportion of houses in owner-occupation has increased from 35 per cent. in 1979 to over 45 per cent. at present, and over the 10-year period to 1988 the number of owner-occupiers has increased from 699,000 to 944,000. This substantial progress has been achieved largely by the introduction of the right to buy scheme for public sector tenants in 1980. Since then discount levels have been increased, and we have introduced a number of further improvements to the scheme to make it easier for tenants to purchase their homes.
Many other measures are aimed at continuing the growth of home ownership in Scotland. A major initiative has been the establishment of Scottish Homes, which has a wide range of functions, including the promotion of owner- occupation, especially for first-time buyers. We have asked Scottish Homes to introduce a scheme for house purchase under which the tenants' financial commitments will be related to their current rentt. This rens to mortgages scheme will be available to tenants of Scottish Homes and the Scottish new towns later this year.
There are other schemes which enable tenants of housing associations and local authorities to be offered cash incentives to purchase other properties ; and the Scottish Homes low cost home ownership programme assists those who cannot purchase outright to make a first step towards owning their own homes.
Ambulance Service
Mr. Maclennan : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the number of patients living in the Highlands and Islands conveyed to hospital by the Scottish ambulance service in hospital cars between 22 September 1987 and 21 December 1987.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The answer is 4,015.
Register House
Mr. Maclennan : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will take steps to reduce the entry charge to those seeking to undertake research at Register house.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Both the Scottish record office, at Her Majesty's General Register house,
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and the General register office (Scotland), at New Register house charge to recover the costs of various services they provide, but there is no entry fee as such to either.Mental Health Unit, Glasgow
Mr. Galbraith : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has on the regrading and restructuring of the mental health unit of the Greater Glasgow heaith board ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Statistical information on the effects of the regrading exercise on the nursing staff of the mental health unit is not held centrally. I understand that the health board is attempting to resolve a dispute with trade unions representing nurses in the unit so as to secure the lifting of an interim interdict which prevents the board from continuing with their proposals for restructuring the unit.
Mr. Galbraith : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received concerning nurse regrading in the mental health unit of the Greater Glasgow health board.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : I have received one anonymous letter purporting to come from a nurse employed in the mental health unit of Greater Glasgow health board.
School Meals
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if there has been a change in the take-up of school meals, resulting from the Social Security Act 1986, in (a) Greenock and Port Glasgow, (b) Strathclyde, (c) Scotland and (d) England and Wales ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lang : I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Tayside, North (Mr. Walker) on Wednesday 19 July at columns 199-200. Information about school meals in Strathclyde region is collected on an education division basis and is not available separately for Greenock and Port Glasgow. Information about the take-up of meals prior to 1989 can be found in the annual reports of the school meals census, copies of which are in the Library.
Questions about school meals in England and Wales should be addressed to my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for Education and Science and the Secretary of State for Wales.
Taxi Drivers
Mr. David Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many private hire taxi drivers in each Scottish local authority area have been (a) reported and (b) charged with illegal operating activities ; how many of these have been prosecuted ; and how many of these have been found guilty in each year since 1983.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : This information is not separately identifiable in criminal statistics, which are centrally compiled.
Heather Burning
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will issue advice to farmers about the timing of heather burning in order to protect bird chicks ; and if he will make a statement.
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Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The permitted dates for muirburn in Scotland are set out in the Hill Farming Act 1946. Advice on this legislation and on good management practice is contained in the "Guide to Good Muirburn Practice", jointly produced by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland and the Nature Conservancy Council and published for HMSO. A summary of this advice is contained in the leaflet "Muirburn--A Code of Practice" which is available free of charge from the Scottish agricultural colleges. In addition, the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland issues a press release each year to remind farmers and crofters about the date for the end of the muirburn season and the need to take proper precautions to prevent damage to wildlife and adjoining properties.
Suicide
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many suicides there were in prisons and young offender institutions in each of the past 10 years.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The information is as follows :
Year |Suicides --------------------------- 1979 |3 1980 |1 1981 |3 1982 |3 1983 |6 1984 |5 1985 |7 1986 |7 1987 |7 1988 |7
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the number of incidents defined as suicide attempts in prisons and young offender institutions in each of the past 10 years.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Statistics are not kept recording the number of suicide attempts.
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland who has responsibility for deciding whether an accident is to be classified as a self-inflicted wound or an attempted suicide in prisons and young offender establishments.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Governors of establishments make this decision, based on the advice of their medical officers.
Warrant Sales
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many warrant sales were carried out in (a) Greenock and Port Glasgow and (b) Strathclyde in each of the past 10 years.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The number of warrant sales reported to Greenock sheriff court (which has Port Glasgow within its jurisdiction) and the two sheriffdoms of north Strathclyde and of south Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway from 1979 to 1988 are set out in the table :
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|Greenock sheriff court |Sheriffdom north |Sheriffdom of south
|Strathclyde |Strathclyde Dumfries and
|Galloway
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1979 |7 |29 |30
1980 |4 |15 |25
1981 |1 |16 |30
1982 |2 |34 |73
1983 |1 |17 |79
1984 |4 |41 |83
1985 |4 |63 |86
1986 |2 |83 |68
1987 |- |77 |110
1988 |3 |123 |116
Fishing Industry
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any proposals concerning the introduction of a quota system for the west of Scotland prawn fishery ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lang : Landings of nephrops (prawns) by United Kingdom vessels from the west of Scotland in recent years have been, on average, between 70 and 80 per cent. of the United Kingdom's total allowable catch. Current indications are that this situation is unlikely to change markedly in 1989 and it is not therefore considered necessary to introduce a quota system for this stock at this time. Fisheries departments will, however, continue to monitor uptake of this stock closely and will take steps to control this fishery, if necessary.
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proposals he has concerning the introduction of a de-commissioning scheme for fishing vessels ; if such proposals contain a suggested regulation stating that any such vessel must have a pressure stock licence before being accepted for de-commissioning ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lang : Fisheries Ministers are currently considering various issues concerning the structure of the fishing industry. A number of options, including decommissioning, are being considered as possible means of dealing with the present structural difficulties within the industry.
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list in the Official Report the weight and value of landings in each of the past 10 years ; and what proportion of the total United Kingdom landings were for these years.
Mr. Lang : The information requested is given in the table :
Fish landings by United Kingdom vessels into Scotland
Standard landed weValue at first salPercentage of Landings
into the United Kingdom
|(thousand tonnes)|(£ million) |weight |value
|percent |percent
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1979 |355.0 |122.2 |42.3 |48.1
1980 |371.4 |113.6 |49.0 |51.2
1981 |444.0 |127.5 |59.3 |55.7
82 |498.2 |148.7 |64.4 |57.1
1983 |499.1 |170.2 |67.0 |60.7
1984 |543.3 |193.9 |74.1 |65.1
1985 |592.6 |215.1 |77.9 |66.5
1986 |551.3 |234.5 |76.7 |64.7
1987 |574.9 |273.6 |72.7 |62.9
1988 |554.9 |253.1 |<2>74.8 |<2>62.9
<1>For demersal fish (excluding Norway pout and sandeels) this generally means gutted fish with head on;
for other species (including shell fish) it usually means whole fish.
<2>Provisional.
Prisoners (Telephone Services)
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the maximum value of phonecard permitted for purchase by prisoners ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : At Barlinnie and Perth prisons, where phonecards are in use, £1 cards are available for purchase by prisoners as necessary. Telephones for prisoners in other establishments accept coins.
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the ratio of telephones to prisoners at (a) each prison, (b) Cornton Vale prison for women and (c) young offender institutions ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The information is set out in the table. A range of factors bear on the number of telephones available for prisoners at establishments, including the level of demand for their use.
|Ratio of telephones to
|number of
|prisoners/young
|offenders
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Prisons
(a) Aberdeen |1:70
Barlinnie |1:113
Dungavel |1:53
Edinburgh |1:57
Friarton |1:73
Glenochil |1:39
Greenock |1:87
Inverness |1:91
Low Moss |1:64
Noranside |1:38
Penninghame |1:30
Perth |1:47
Peterhead |<1>-
Shotts |1:55
(b) Cornton Vale |1:44
Young offenders institutions
(c) Castle Huntley |1:61
Dumfries |1:129
Glenochil |1:127
Polmont |<2>1:391
<1> Telephones for prisoners have not been installed at Peterhead.
<2> Consideration is being given to the installation of additional
telephones at Polmont.
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which prisons with authority to install telephones for prisoners are still without telephones ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Telephones for prisoners have not been installed at Peterhead prison.
Drainage Scheme, Inverness
Mr. Kennedy : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is satisfied that the independent environmental assessment into the proposed Inverness main drainage scheme, agreed to by Highland regional council, will be of sufficient scope to satisfy his criteria in making a subsequent decision on the planning application ; and if he will make a statement.
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Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : It is for Highland regional council to determine the most appropriate method of complying with my right hon. and learned Friend's direction to provide an environmental statement. The statement will require to follow the criteria as laid down in the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Regulations 1988 and in particular the advice given in schedule 3 of these regulations. When he receives the statement my right hon. and learned Friend will consider whether he requires further information before reaching a decision on the council's notice of intention to develop.
Fabrication Facilities, Lewis
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the cumulative total of public investment in the development of the fabrication facilities at Arnish in Lewis.
Mr. Lang : for reasons of commercial confidentiality figures in the form requested are not available. However, figures published in British Business show that £1.37 million was offered to Lewis Offshore in 1975 by way of regional selective assistance. In addition, grants from the Highlands and Islands development board totalled £271,000.
Child Care
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if statistics are held centrally of places and shortages, by region or travel- to-work area, of child care facilities for working mothers.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 20 July 1989] : Statistics of child care facilities provided by regional and islands councils are set out in periodic statistical bulletins entitled "Home Care Services, Day Care Establishments and Day Service" published by the social work services group, copies of which are available in the House of Commons Library.
Dundee High School
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much surplus European Community butter and meat was allocated to Dundee high school in the last year, and during each year since 1979.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 24 July 1989] : No surplus European Community food has been allocated to Dundee high school under the surplus food scheme, whereby butter and beef are made available for distribution free to people in receipt of income support or family credit, or of no fixed abode or living in welfare hostels.
However, Dundee high school is registered under the surplus butter to non- profitmaking organisations scheme and since February 1989 has been entitled to receive a maximum of 1,316 kg of reduced price butter per month.
Drugs (Ambulance Staff)
Mrs Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list in the Official Report those prescription-only drugs which ambulance staff in Scotland were allowed to administer to patients in their care prior to 30 June, and those which have subsequently been withdrawn.
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Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 25 July 1989] : The statutory list of prescription-only medicines which can be administered by ambulance staff to patients in life-threatening circumstances is as follows :
Adrenaline injection BP
Atropine sulphate injection
Chlorpheniramine injection
Cobalt edetate injection
Dextrose injection strong BPC
Diphenhydramine injection
Hydrocortisone injection
Mepyramine injection
Promethazine hydrocholoride injection
Snake venom antiserum
Sodium nitrite injection
Sodium thiosulphate injection
Sterile pralidoxime
The above medicines can be supplied to ambulance staff only on the instructions of the appropriate medical authority. The medicine for treatment of asthmatics, in use prior to 30 June, has now been re- established in ambulances.
The list of prescription-only medicines which may be carried by ambulance staff who have had extended training in accordance with National Health training authority guidelines is now the subject of discussions between health boards and the ambulance service.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Cereals Levy
Mr. Ralph Howell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will express the figures relating to cereals co-responsibility levy payments in his answer of 18 July, Official Report, columns 97-98, in pounds sterling.
Mr. Curry : The figures can be expressed in £ sterling as follows :
1986-87
|Amount of levy collected |Levy collected divided by
|in £ million |tonnes of national
|production
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Belgium |13.39 |5.82
Denmark |6.97 |0.87
Germany |50.34 |1.97
Greece |2.81 |0.53
France |58.20 |1.16
Ireland |3.43 |1.91
Italy |25.37 |1.43
Luxembourg |0.23 |4.60
Netherlands |11.71 |9.01
Spain |17.75 |1.10
United Kingdom |39.40 |1.61
1987-88
|Amount of levy collected
|in £ million
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Belgium |12.48
Denmark |10.12
Germany |56.31
Greece |7.14
France |175.05
Ireland |4.49
Italy |29.49
Luxembourg |0.26
Netherlands |15.96
Spain |27.62
United Kingdom |56.20
These sums have been obtained by taking the average of Eurostat's monthly market exchange rates for each national currency, using a 12-month average for 1986-87 and a 13-month average for 1987-88. They do not, however, accurately reflect levy payment in the member states concerned because levy is not paid evenly throughout the course of the year. Information is not available on the monthly pattern of levy payments. This is why the figures originally provided were in national currency terms.
Set-aside Land
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for East Lothian on 19 July, if he will give the average acreages of the whole farms which have been set aside in each county in England and Wales.
Mr. Maclean : The table shows county averages of the area set aside per farm by those participants in the scheme who in the crop year 1988-89 set aside the whole area used in the base year 1987-88 for relevant arable crops.
|Average area set-aside
|(Hectares)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
England
Avon |24.3
Bedfordshire |51.2
Berkshire |29.5
Buckinghamshire |33.8
Cambridge |36.6
Cheshire |12.3
Cleveland |15.1
Cornwall |29.7
Cumbria |153.1
Derbyshire |14.6
Devon |15.3
Dorset |29.4
Durham |26.0
Essex |31.5
Gloucestershire |31.3
Hampshire |36.0
Hereford and Worcester |28.6
Hertfordshire |46.3
Humberside |9.7
Isle of Wight |-
Kent |32.4
Lancashire |-
Leicestershire |26.7
Lincolnshire |76.0
Greater London |38.1
Greater Manchester |-
Merseyside |-
West Midlands |19.3
Norfolk |13.6
Northamptonshire |32.2
Northumberland |54.7
Nottinghamshire |55.1
Oxfordshire |26.5
Shropshire |-
Somerset |40.9
Staffordshire |28.1
Suffolk |18.6
Surrey |51.0
East Sussex |27.5
West Sussex |30.4
Tyne and Wear |-
Warwickshire |25.8
Wiltshire |54.0
North Yorkshire |17.5
South Yorkshire |13.7
West Yorkshire |16.4
England average |29.8
Wales
Dyfed |18.7
Gwent |38.4
Wales average |24.6
Brussels Agricultural Council
Mr. Gill : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the outcome of the Brussels Agricultural Council held on 24 and 25 July.
Mr. Gummer : The major issue at this meeting was the completion of the nine-month long negotiations over reform of the Community sheep regime, in which changes are required as part both of the CAP reforms generally and of the completion of the single market. After long and difficult discussions, in which many conflicting interests had to be reconciled, the Council reached agreement on the main elements of a new regime. Our key objectives--fair competition and no limit on the number of ewes eligible for premium--have been achieved. Other major points are :
the introduction by 1 January 1993 of a single system of ewe premiums applicable throughout the Community ;
the replacing of intervention buying by provision for private storage aid ;
arrangements for transition from the various arrangements which member states apply now--including the phasing out of the variable premium in Great Britain by 1993 ;
phasing out of clawback charges on Great Britain exports ; after 1990, the sensitive area arrangements which have protected French and Irish markets from New Zealand imports will end ; the separate stabiliser for Great Britain will end along with the variable premium ;
a separate all-Ireland region while the variable premium is being phased out, to protect the returns and competitive position of producers in Northern Ireland.
This was a very satisfactory outcome for the United Kingdom. The new regime will provide United Kingdom producers with a stable basis for the future and improve prospects for exporting. When the variable premium ends the new regime will be operating in such a way as to give our producers full and fair opportunities for trading within the Community. Flexibility will be allowed over the time table for phasing out the variable premium, and I shall be having discussions with the industry on this.
The proposals for headage limit were very significantly improved at the end of the negotiations as a result of sustained pressure from my right hon. Friend. The Commission had, with the support of most member states, proposed setting ceilings on the number of animals on which each producer could claim premium. It has been agreed instead that the full rate of premium will be paid on up to 1,000 ewes in the less favoured areas and up to 500 ewes elsewhere, and producers will receive 50 per cent. of the premium on all additional ewes without limit. This is a significant benefit for producers compared with the original proposals.
Some important details remain to be worked out and legal texts will come to the Council for consideration in the autumn. The Commission, however, has given clear assurances that it expects the measures to be budgetarily
Column 755
neutral from the end of transition. The Commission is to make proposals before the end of this year on changes in the stabiliser for the sheep sector.The Council indicated willingness to adopt new arrangements for the import of mutton and lamb from New Zealand, on the terms negotiated some months ago by the Commission, when regulations on the new sheep regime are adopted, but was not--because of Greek opposition--able to achieve the required unanimity to pass new arrangements for the import of New Zealand butter. It was agreed instead to extend the present arrangements by a further two months.
The Council reviewed at length the state of the cereals sector including the operation of set-aside and the impact of drought. Many member states argued that because of reduced yields the Commission should take early action to suspend the operation of the additional coresponsibility levy. My right hon. Friend was prepared to agree with this if the Agriculture Commissioner proposed action, on condition that it was accompanied by provisions for a correction when firmer information was available and that next year's levy should be adjusted to take account of any inaccuracy this year. The Agriculture Commissioner, however insisted that, with information about the Community harvest still being uncertain, such action would be premature. My right hon. Friend yet again pressed the case for a fundamental review of the coresponsibility levy system for cereals, urging the Commission to come forward with the report promised in the last price review.
The Council had a first discussion of Commission proposals for changes in the milk quota system designed to bring down the volume of production in excess of quota, and to make additional quota available for certain groups of producers. These proposals will be considered further in September.
Finally, to give effect to part of the programme of assistance for Poland on which the Community recently decided, the Council agreed the emergency supply to Poland of stocks of various foodstuffs.
Potato Marketing Board
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many employees of the Potato Marketing Board are based at Between Towns road, Cowley.
Mr. Curry : A total of 125 employees are based at Between Towns road, Cowley.
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