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Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will be in a position to make a statement on the future of the Potato Marketing Board.
Mr. Curry : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Stroud (Mr. Knapman) on 20 July.
Straw and Stubble Burning
Mr. Key : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about his assessment of the impact on the environment including the ozone layer, of the burning of straw and stubble.
Mr. Maclean : The effect of straw burning on the ozone layer or global warming is negligible. My Department will,
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in 1990-91, be initiating research to measure dioxin emissions from straw burning. The careless burning of straw may cause nuisance, or damage trees, hedges or wildlife. This is why we have urged farmers to adopt alternative methods of disposal wherever possible ; and to observe the local bye-laws and the NFU code of practice when burning has to be carried out.Fishing Vessels
Dr. Godman : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has any proposals for the introduction of a de-commissioning system for fishing vessles which does not require any such vessel to be in possession of a pressure stock licence ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Curry : The possible introduction, and scope, of a decommissioning grants scheme remains as one of a number of options under consideration for reducing fleet capacity.
Food Irradiation
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will outline his Department's procedure for consultation with outside bodies, including representatives of the food industry, consumer groups and pressure groups, prior to formal announcements of Government policy.
Mr. Maclean : When I am considering regulations or the amendment of regulations relating to food, I am required by section 118(6) of the Food Act 1984 to consult such organisations as appear to me to be representative of the interests likely to be substantially affected by the proposals in question. On other food matters both my colleagues and I and the officers of my Department maintain an ongoing dialogue where appropriate with the food industry, consumer groups and enforcement interests on the issues of the day and the possible solutions thereto.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list those outside bodies he consulted and met prior to the formal announcement of Government policy on food irradiation; and if he will list the dates and durations of the meetings.
Mr. Maclean : Formal consultations were not undertaken prior to the recent announcement of Government policy on food irradiation : such consultations will be appropriate when detailed proposals are made.
Conservation
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for South Shields of 22 June, Official Report, columns 252-53, if he will list the year and the region in which the 20 conservation courses were held for agricultural development advisory service officers; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean [holding answer 18 July 1989] : The following is the information :
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|1987 |1988 |1989 (to 22 June 1989)|1989 (planned)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Northern |- |1 |- |1
Midlands and Western 2 4 3 -
Eastern |3 |2 |1 |2
South-Eastern |1 |2 |- |2
South-Western |2 |1 |1 |6
Wales |- |1 |- |1
Taking ADAS as a whole, most front-line advisory officers will have received conservation training by the end of the year.
EMPLOYMENT
Youth Training Scheme
Ms. Short : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give for Great Britain and each region the number of YTS trainees in training as at December 1987 and December 1988, showing for each gender the numbers in each training occupational group.
Mr. Eggar : Due to the length of the reply, I will write to the hon. Member with the information and place a copy in the Library.
Ms. Short : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the latest available information from the YTS leavers' survey showing the earnings of those who remain in employment following the completion of YTS for both male and female, by each ethnic group and for each United Kingdom region.
Mr. Eggar : The information requested is not available from the YTS leavers survey as the survey does not request earnings details.
Ms. Short : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what were the figures from the latest YTS leavers survey of the number of YTS leavers who recorded themselves as having some disability or handicap which affects the type of work they can do or the type of conditions they can work in, broken down to show whether they had been in YTS with (i) the private sector, (ii) the public sector, (iii) information technology centre, (iv) voluntary organisation and (v) for all types of providers.
Mr. Eggar : The latest period covered by the YTS leavers survey, March 1987 to February 1989, gives the results in the following table.
Table to show the number of young people self certified as disabled
or handicapped which affects the type/conditions of work
|Type of work |Conditions can work in
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Private |5,753 |7,095
Public |4,656 |4,875
ITeC |304 |350
Voluntary |1,728 |2,003
All schemes |12,441 |14,323
European Social Fund Schemes
Dr. Cunningham : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if, pursuant to his written answer of 13 July to the hon. Member for Pembroke (Mr. Bennett) if he will
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list for the northern region the individual employment and training schemes receiving assistance from the European social fund for the current year.Mr. Eggar : The following is the list of employment and training schemes in the northern region receiving assistance from the European social fund in the current year.
Access for the Disabled
Albright and Wilson Ltd.
Artcare Workshops
Blyth Star Enterprises Ltd.
Blyth Valley Borough Council
Cadcam Application and Training Ltd.
Carnegie Centre for the Unemployed
City Farm Byker
Cleveland Co-operative Agency Ltd.
Cleveland County Council
Courtaulds Films, BCL Cellophane
Cramlington Adult Information Technology Centre
Cumbria County Council
Derwentside District Council
Durham Co-operative Development Association Ltd.
Durham County Council
Durham University Business School
Electrolux Cookers
Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council
Grove Coles Cranes Ltd.
Hartlepool Borough Council
Haswell and District Society for Mentally Handicapped
The House of Mayfair Ltd.
Microelectronics Applications Research
Middlesborough Borough Council
Middlesborough Music Collective
National Trust
NEI Clarke Chapman Limited
Newcastle Children's Adventure Group
Newcastle City Council
Newcastle Trades Council Centre Against Unemployment
Newcastle upon Tyne Council for Voluntary Service
Newcastle upon Tyne University
Northern Regional Health Authority
Northern Region Co-operative Development Agency Limited Northumberland County Council
North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council
Owners Limited
Projects UK
Scotswood Employment Project
Sheltered Housing and Workshop
Shildon and Sedgefield District Development Agency
South Tyneside Borough Council
St. Anthony of Padua Community Association
Sunderland Common Ownership Enterprise Resource
Sunderland Polytechnic
Sunderland Youth Employment
Teesside Polytechnic
Tolag Products and Company Limited
Torrens Maritime Trust
Training Agency
Tyne and Wear Enterprise Trust Limited
Tyneside Economic Development Company
Urban Craft Design Limited
Washington Microtechnology Centre
West Cumbria Open Learning Trust
Workers Educational Association Northern
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Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he now has information on how the 1989 European social fund allocation was divided in (a) actual cash, and (b) percentage terms between (i) central Government, (ii) local government, (iii) the voluntary sector and (iv) others.
Mr. Eggar [holding answer 25 July 1989] : The United Kingdom has been allocated £418 million from the European Social Fund for 1989. The breakdown in cash and percentage terms are as follows :
|£ million |Percentage
----------------------------------------------------
Central Government |236.0 |56.5
Local Government |116.5 |27.9
Voluntary Sector |25.9 |6.2
Others |39.6 |9.4
Correspondence
Mr. Cran : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many letters were received from, and sent to, hon. Members by his Department in (a) January and (b) the whole of this Session up to 1 July.
Mr. Eggar : The number of letters received from hon. Members by departmental Ministers in January 1989 was 419 ; and 3,783 in the whole of this session up to 1 July 1989.
The number of letters sent to hon. Members by departmental Ministers in January 1989 was 358 ; and 3,766 in the whole of this session up to 1 July.
Information on the number of letters received from and sent to hon. Members by the rest of the Department is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Training
Ms. Short : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the revised numbers of approved places allocated under employment training, what are the area budgets for the programme, and what are the allocations of supplementary grant, for each training agency area.
Mr. Nicholls : Up to 265,000 employment training places have been allocated for 1989-90. Detailed regional and area plans are under consideration by the Training Agency head office.
Liverpool City Council (Black Employees)
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the percentage of black people employed by the Liverpool city council at the latest date.
Mr. Moynihan : I have been asked to reply.
This information is not separately distinguishable in statistics held centrally.
Benefit Claimants
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many claimants in (a) Greenock and Port Glasgow and (b) Strathclyde were suspended from receipt of unemployment benefit during the period April 1988 to May 1989 for failing to demonstrate good cause for the termination of their last employment.
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Mr. Nicholls : Information is not available in the precise form requested.
For the period 1 January 1988 to 31 March 1989, the number of persons in Scotland, who were disqualified for receiving unemployment benefit because they were considered to have left their employment voluntarily without just cause was 32,128.
Figures on the number of persons disqualified for leaving their employment voluntarily without just cause in the Greenock and Port Glasgow and Strathclyde areas are not collected separately, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Race Relations (Liverpool)
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if, in the light of the report of the Liverpool 8 inquiry into race relations in Liverpool, he will initiate further Government measures in Liverpool 8 with a view to substantially reducing black unemployment in the area ; and if he will give a report.
Mr. Nicholls : My Department operates a wide range of employment and training programmes designed to give unemployed people throughout the country the skills, confidence and motivation they need to compete for jobs. In many deprived areas these programmes are tailored to the needs of disadvantaged groups, including ethnic minorities, and we will continue to give a high priority to districts such as Liverpool 8. For example, Liverpool has been selected as one of the pilot areas for the new job interview guarantee which will give employers more incentive to recruit unemployed people from the inner cities. The pilot will be targetted on the Toxteth and Williamson square jobcentres.
Labour Statistics (Liverpool)
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many black persons were unemployed in Liverpool 8 at the latest date ; and what this represents as a percentage of the population ; (2) how many young black people have been unemployed in Liverpool 8 for more than (a) two years and (b) five years respectively.
Mr. Nicholls : The information requested is not available.
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