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Column 1104
number recommending prosecutions, (c) the number of prosecutions taken up and the outcome for each of the past 10 years.(2) if he will list (a) the number of deaths on British Rail premises each year in the last 10 years and (b) the number of prosecutions for such deaths and the outcome of the prosecutions.
Mr. Portillo [pursuant to his reply, 29 June c. 522-23] : The figures given in table A were for accidental deaths on all railways. The numbers for BR cannot generally be isolated without a lot of research, although it has been possible to do so for the years since the records were computerised.
Table 1
Train accidents and fatal injuries-British
Railways only
|Accidents |Fatalities
--------------------------------------------
1979 |<2>- |<2>-
1980 |<2>- |<2>-
1981 |<2>- |<2>-
1982 |<2>- |<2>-
1983 |<2>- |<2>-
1984 |1,329 |28
1985 |1,213 |6
1986 |1,117 |27
1987 |1,121 |10
<1>1988 |1,287 |40
<1> Provisional figures.
<2> Figures not available.
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Teachers (Turnover)
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information as to the turnover of teachers he has available to him.
Mrs. Rumbold : Figures for teacher turnover for the three most recent available years are :
|Leaving post |of which, moving to
|another post
|Per cent. |Per cent.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1985 |14.7 |7.2
1986 |16.1 |8.5
1987 |14.6 |7.4
Teachers (London)
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans he has to improve the teacher supply in London.
Mrs. Rumbold : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Members for Tottenham (Mr. Grant) and Newham, North-West (Mr. Banks) on 4 July at column 119.
Examinations
Mr. John Carlisle : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will propose amendments to the existing system of the collection of examination fees from pupils to ensure that such fees are paid to the local education authority before those pupils enter the examination.
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Mrs. Rumbold : It is for the independent examination boards to recover fees for examination entries. Under the existing arrangements, local education authorities meet the cost of pupil entries from maintained schools and, in the case of prescribed public examinations, may not levy a charge in respect of that cost where the pupil has been prepared for the examination in a maintained school.
Deaf-blind Children
Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans he has to give financial support to local education authorities setting up new educational services for deaf-blind children as recommended in his Department's policy document "Educational Provision for Deaf-Blind Children".
Mr. Alan Howarth : The Department's policy statement encourages local education authorities to consider how to use more effectively existing special schools and units and support services to develop educational services for deaf-blind children.
Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps he is taking to encourage the development of training for teachers of deaf-blind children.
Mr. Alan Howarth : The Department will shortly be laying before Parliament new Education (Teachers) Regulations to come into effect on 1 September 1989. These will extend the mandatory qualification requirement to cover teachers of pupils who are both visually and hearing impaired. Training leading to an approved qualification for teaching these children will have national priority status under the local education authorities training grants scheme 1990-91.
Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps he is taking to ensure that local education authorities respond to the recommendations in his Department's policy document on educational provision for deaf-blind children, published in March.
Mr. Alan Howarth : During the coming year, the Department will be following up through regional conferences for special education what action local education authorities are taking on the policy statement.
Physical Education
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many physical education teachers there were in 1987, 1988 and on the latest available date.
Mrs. Rumbold : The latest available data of the number of teachers in maintained schools in England with a post A-level qualification in physical education are as follows :
|Full-time|Part-time
------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary schools (including nursery) |12,800 |2,100
Secondary schools |31,600 |3,900
The figures refer to March 1987, for primary schools and March 1988 for secondary schools. Information for secondary schools in 1987 is not available.
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Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will give the numbers entering training to become physical education teachers in 1986, 1987 and 1988.
Mrs. Rumbold : The numbers of entrants to secondary initial training courses in physical education in 1986, 1987 and 1988, for England and Wales are as follows :
|1986|1987|1988
--------------------------
PGCE |249 |293 |262
BEd |537 |604 |643
|--- |--- |---
Total |786 |897 |905
Source: DES annual ITT
recruitment survey.
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he has any plans to carry out a survey of facilities available for school sports ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Rumbold : My right hon. Friend has no plans to do so.
Religious Education (Ealing)
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will take steps to have the proposed new religious education syllabus in Ealing scrutinised by Her Majesty's inspectorate of education.
Mrs. Rumbold : The Department is currently considering representations made about this syllabus. I will let my hon. Friend know the outcome.
ILEA (Redundancy Arrangements)
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received concerning the redundancy arrangements for female staff of the Inner London education authority ; if they have been scrutinised by the Equal Opportunities Commission ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Rumbold : My right hon. Friend the former Secretary of State received two letters from the Trades Union Congress, dated 17 and 24 May, concerning the redundancy arrangements for female staff of the Inner London education authority. The second of these two letters enclosed a copy of a letter of 17 May from the Equal Opportunities Commission. The matter was also raised by the staff associations of the Inner London education authority.
The Department replied to the Trades Union Congress on 7 July, attaching a copy of the regulations on the redundancy compensation arrangements for staff of the Inner London education authority, which had been laid before Parliament that day. The Department made clear in that letter its view that the regulations did not discriminate against female employees. The entitlement to a redundancy payment in the regulations derives from the statutory framework set out in the Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978. This provides that certain categories of part-time employee, regardless of their sex, are not eligible to receive redundancy compensation.
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Student Loans
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many representations he has had about the withdrawal of social security benefits under the proposed student top-up loan scheme ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jackson : We have received a substantial number of representations about the Government's proposals on the introduction of top -up loans. Within that total of some 3,000 letters, no separate figure for representations about social security benefits is available.
A and AS-level
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the number of A and AS-level entrants by subject for 1987, 1988 and 1989.
Mrs. Rumbold : The number of school leavers attempting A-level by subject for 1987 and 1988 are shown in the table. Figures for 1989 are not yet available. The first AS examinations were taken in 1989 and figures are not yet available. I will write to the hon. Member about the numbers of students in further education colleges attempting A-levels.
Numbers of school leavers attempting A-levels by subject
England Thousands
Numbers of school
leavers attemptin
A-level
|1987 |1988
-----------------------------------------------------------
Science
Mathematics |52.8 |53.9
Physics |34.1 |33.4
Chemistry |32.0 |32.2
Biology, botany or zoology |28.2 |27.4
Other science<1> |8.4 |7.1
Social science
Geography |27.0 |26.4
Economics<2> |32.6 |34.5
General studies |40.5 |41.5
Vocational subjects<3> |7.8 |8.9
Other social science |8.4 |8.7
Arts
English |40.3 |40.4
History |28.7 |27.2
French |16.4 |15.5
Other modern languages |9.0 |8.7
Classics |3.9 |5.3
Religious knowledge |4.1 |4.4
Music, drama, visual arts |17.7 |17.6
Other arts |0.7 |0.9
Number of leavers attempting any subject |134.6|133.6
<1> Including building construction, geology, metalwork,
technical drawing and woodwork.
<2> Including English economic history and British
constitution.
<3> Including domestic and commercial subjects.
Teachers
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will estimate the number of qualified teachers available against the anticipated demand in each of the next three years ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Rumbold : As at January 1989, there were 397,400 teachers employed by LEAs in England. Gross demand for teachers in maintained schools, in line with projected pupil numbers, will be approximately the same in 1992 as in 1989. There will be sufficient qualified teachers overall, including newly qualified teachers and out of service teachers, to meet this demand. My Department's action programme aims to help schools and LEAs in those regions where there are shortages to recruit the teachers they need.
Dyslexia
Dr. Goodson-Wickes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement regarding the central monitoring of individual local education authorities' performance in fulfilling their statutory duty to identify pupils with dyslexia.
Mr. Alan Howarth : It is for individual local education authorities, in the exercise of their statutory duties under the 1981 Education Act, to make provision for the identification of children with special educational needs. My right hon. Friend has no plans for central monitoring of LEAs' performance concerning dyslexia.
Youth Arts Organisations
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the grants given by his Department in 1984-85, 1985 -86, 1986-87, 1987-88, 1988-89 and 1989-90, in 1989 prices to (a) the National Youth Orchestra, (b) the National Youth Theatre, (c) the National Youth Choir, (d) the National Youth Dance Trust and (e) any other national youth arts organisations ; and what plans there are for the continued funding of these organisations.
Mr. Alan Howarth : The table shows the maximum level of funding, at 1989 prices, made available by the Department of Education and Science to seven national youth arts organisations 1984-88 to 1989-80.
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Organisation |<1>1984-85 |<1>1985-86 |<1>1986-87 |<1>1987-88 |<1>1988-89 |1989-90
|£ |£ |£ |£ |£ |£
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
British Federation of Youth Choirs |- |- |- |- |- |5,000
National Association of Youth Theatres |- |- |- |- |- |15,000
National Youth Choir of Great Britain |- |1,230 |1,191 |1,155 |2,152 |5,000
National Youth Dance Trust |- |- |- |- |- |5,000
National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain |5,383 |5,226 |5,421 |5,162 |4,937 |5,000
National Youth Theatre |44,686 |44,141 |48,071 |45,710 |45,133 |45,000
United Kingdom Federation of Jazz Bands |5,383 |5,164 |6,672 |7,132 |7,469 |10,000
<1>at 1989 prices
These organisations are eligible to apply for grant for the 1990-91 financial year under the terms of the Department's
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current grant memorandum for grants to national voluntary youth organisations issued in April this year. I have placed a copy of this Memorandum in the Libraries of both Houses. The level of any grant to these bodies will depend on the Department's assessment of their programmes of work proposed for DES funding in 1990-91 within the overall funding available for the purpose.Examinations (Fees)
Mr. John Carlisle : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when pupils who sit for general certificate of secondary education examinations fail to complete the necessary entry requirements, what remedies are available to the local education authority to recover the fees from the parent or guardian.
Mrs. Rumbold : If a pupil fails without good reason to complete the requirements, including course work, for any public examination for which the LEA or school has paid the entry fee, it is open to the LEA to recover the fee from the parent or guardian.
WALES
Cambrian Coast Railway
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he proposes to have discussions with the chairman of British Rail concerning the future of the Cambrian coast railway line ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Wyn Roberts : My right hon. Friend expects to meet the chairman of British Rail soon to discuss a range of issues affecting the rail network in Wales.
Broadleaved Woodland Grants
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on how many occasions the Forestry Commission awarded grants under the broadleaved woodland grant scheme in Wales, between its inception in 1985 and closure in 1988 ; and on how many occasions was the grant of £100 for obtaining professional advice, in the preparation of a plan of operations under the scheme, awarded.
Mr. Peter Walker : To date, the Forestry Commission has approved 677 applications for grant under the broadleaved woodland grant scheme in Wales. The grant of £100 has been paid on 183 of those applications.
Welsh Water
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how he proposes to encourage the ownership of shares in Welsh Water by the people of Wales.
Mr. Grist : Decisions have yet to be taken as to the best way of ensuring that customers apply for shares in their own water service companies. We are examining the precedents set in earlier privatisations.
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will make it his policy that shares in Welsh Water are marketed separately from any basket of shares in water companies in England.
Mr. Grist : The Government have already announced that individuals will be able to apply for shares in their own water service company and in any other water service company.
Column 1110
999 Calls
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his policy to ensure that emergency services in mid-Wales and north Wales do not experience the problems of those in south Wales in relation to the introduction of new exchange arrangements for 999 calls.
Mr. Peter Walker : As my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under- Secretary of State for Corporate Affairs made clear in the House, there is already a high quality of 999 service across the country and the Government are concerned to see that standard of service maintained in the future. I know that the Director General of Telecommunications, whose office has the general duty of monitoring and enforcing the conditions of licences issued to public telecommunications operators, will be keeping the provision of 999 call services under review.
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he has investigated the recent problems with 999 services in Wales as a whole and the consequent effect on emergency services ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Walker : I have been kept fully informed of the recent problems with 999 services in Wales.
Hospital Staff
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will make it his policy to protect the hours and wage rates for the lowest paid hospital staff.
Mr. Grist : It is the responsibility of employing authorities to determine hours of work in the light of local circumstances. A general Whitley council agreement provides for the short-term protection of earnings for staff who suffer a reduction in basic hours worked within the standard working week.
Sewage Discharges
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will make it his policy to obtain and publish details of the schemes of work with starting and finishing dates, in respect of each derogation for sewage discharges in Wales.
Mr. Grist : The investment programme covering this work is still under discussion between the Department and Welsh Water Authority. Applications for time-limited consents are currently being advertised by the authority ; consents which are granted will make clear the period for which they will apply and this information will be entered upon the public register maintained by the authority.
Welsh Development Agency
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the activities of the Welsh Development Agency excluding property which have been privatised and the amounts of money estimated to have been raised from the privatisation ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Walker : No area of the Welsh Development Agency's work has been privatised, although, as I told the hon. Member for Carmarthen (Mr. Williams) on 17 July, at columns 4-5, a number have been contracted out.
Column 1111
Housing Allocations
Mr. Gwilym Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consideration he is giving to housing allocation policies, particularly in respect of high-rise accommodation ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Grist : Each local authority is responsible for making effective allocation arrangements for the high-rise or other accommodation it owns.
Practical guidance notes for the allocation of council houses, prepared by the Housing Management Advisory Panel for Wales, were issued in February 1988.
Infertility
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will list the infertility services provided by each district health authority ;
(2) what is the prevalence of infertility in Wales.
Mr. Grist : This information is not available centrally.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether plans for the provision of infertility services are required to be included in the strategic plans of each district health authority.
Mr. Grist : There is no such requirement, though in drawing up strategic plans district health authorities are expected to assess likely developments in, and the need for services of this kind, and to make provision for them as appropriate.
Mr. Tony Johnson
Mr. Gwilym Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the in-patient and out-patient treatment given to Mr. Tony Johnson in Cardiff and of information given by the health authority to the housing authority, in respect of Mr. Johnson's rehousing.
Mr. Grist : I cannot comment upon the details of the treatment given to any patient ; these are a confidential matter solely for the patient and those concerned with that treatment. A plan for the care of an individual psychiatric patient after discharge is for the agencies concerned. My hon. Friend should write to the general manager of South Glamorgan health authority if he wishes to seek further information.
Drugs
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will place in the Library the latest figures on the prevalence of drug misuse and service provision.
Mr. Grist : Drug misuse is generally an illegal and clandestine activity and it is not therefore possible to provide accurate information on prevalence. However, one of the aims of the Welsh Committee on Drug Misuse is to keep the incidence, character and variety of drug misuse under regular review. As part of that aim, the committee is currently considering the options for data collection from treatment and other agencies in an attempt to develop a database which, with other information might provide the basis on which to make a more realistic assessment of the extent of the problem.
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As to service provision, in addition to the general services already provided by the statutory authorities, on 4 April this year I announced the availability of additional resources to combat drug misuse. A copy of the announcement is available in the Library of the House.Salmonella
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will indicate the number of victims in the north Wales salmonella poisoning outbreak ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) if he will make a statement on the outbreak of salmonella poisoning in north Wales ;
(3) what consultations he has had with the Clwyd area health authority concerning the outbreak in Clwyd of salmonella poisoning ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Frank Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement about the cause and extent of the food poisoning outbreak in north Wales, and north Cheshire-Wirral area.
Mr. Peter Walker : On the latest available information, there have been 43 cases of food poisoning in north Wales caused by salmonella typhimurium. Thirteen patients have been admitted to hospital in Clywd and one has died. I understand, again on the latest available information, that 52 cases of food poisoning in England caused by salmonella typhimurium, relating to this outbreak, have been reported to the Department of Health. Ten patients have been admitted to hospital and one has died.
Infection was identified on 26 July in cold cooked meat produced by Joss Williams and Sons of Flint. Its production of cooked meat ceased on 26 July and previous supplies were withdrawn from sale. On 26 and 27 July my chief medical officer issued details of the retail outlets in north Wales and the north-west of England, which reportedly were supplied with cold cooked meats from Joss Williams and Sons. The public have been advised not to eat any cold cooked meals purchased from sources supplied by this firm, and wholesalers and retailers have been advised to remove such products from sale. Information is being conveyed to environmental health departments in England and Wales as it becomes available to enable them to take appropriate action.
The Department has been in close touch with the Clwyd health authority since being informed of the situation on 24 July.
Food Poisoning
Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many cases of botulism, salmonella enteriditis, salmonella typhimurium, listeriosis and other types of food poisoning have been detected and reported in Wales since 1983 for each month of each year.
Mr. Peter Walker [holding answer 24 July 1989] : The information is not readily available in the detail requested. Annual figures for 1983 to 1988 are given in the tables. There are no separate figures on food-borne campylobacter infections.
Column 1113
Number of incidents, outbreaks or isolated cases of other types of food
poisoning reported
|1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987<1>|1988
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clostridium perfringens |0 |0 |2 |2 |2 |n/a
Staphylococcus aureas10 |0 |0 |1 |1 |n/a
Bacillus sp. |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |n/a
Number of incidents, outbreaks or isolated cases of other types of food
poisoning reported
|1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987<1>|1988
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clostridium perfringens |0 |0 |2 |2 |2 |n/a
Staphylococcus aureas10 |0 |0 |1 |1 |n/a
Bacillus sp. |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |n/a
Laboratory reports of
all campylobacter
infections|c|
|Number
----------------------
1983 |588
1984 |853
1985 |1,340
1986 |1,207
1987 |1,400
1988<1> |1,273
<1> Indicates
provisional data.
Source: Public Health
Laboratory Service.
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Food (Country of Origin)
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will ensure that the country of origin is indicated on all food products sold in the outlets of the Refreshment Department.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : Such a proposal is not considered practicable.
CIVIL SERVICE
Workplace Nurseries
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Minister for the Civil Service what is the total number of places available in workplace nurseries for civil servants ; and what is the comparable figures for each of the last five years.
Mr. Luce : None, but there are firm plans to open nurseries by early 1990 in Home Office (Croydon), Ministry of Defence (London) and in my own Department at the Civil Service college (Sunningdale). Discussions are under way in other Departments concerning other possible locations.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Trade Statistics
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a table showing the trading surplus or deficit in (a) manufacturing and (b) services in each year since 1960.
Mr. Norman Lamont : The available information is set out in the table :
Column 1114
£ million
Year Balance of trade
(exports less imports)
for
Manufactured gServices
|(a) |(b) |(c)
-----------------------------------
1960 |1,671 |- |-1
1961 |1,809 |- |9
1962 |1,886 |- |6
1963 |1,976 |- |-42
1964 |1,751 |- |-75
1965 |1,969 |- |-98
1966 |2,042 |- |15
1967 |1,619 |- |133
1968 |1,741 |- |312
1969 |2,311 |- |366
1970 |2,370 |2,545 |416
1971 |- |3,008 |544
1972 |- |2,147 |618
1973 |- |1,484 |683
1974 |- |1,965 |948
1975 |- |3,738 |1,337
1976 |- |4,912 |2,244
1977 |- |5,874 |3,037
1978 |- |5,054 |3,542
1979 |- |2,690 |3,907
1980 |- |5,450 |3,949
1981 |- |4,576 |3,923
1982 |- |2,279 |2,762
1983 |- |-2,448|3,721
1984 |- |-4,054|3,941
1985 |- |-3,151|5,962
1986 |- |-5,719|5,631
1987 |- |-7,508|5,333
1988 |- |14,439|3,428
(a) Based on Standard
International Trade Classification
(SITC) [Balance of Payments Pink
Book 1971]. There is a
discontinuity with later estimates
as indicated for 1970.
(b) Based on SITC (3rd Revision).
Monthly Review of External Trade
Statistics, Annual Supplement 1988,
Table A9 (for 1970 to 1985) and
July 1989, Table A9 (for 1986 to
1988).
(c) Economic Trends, Annual
Supplement 1989, Table 29 (for
1960 to 1985), and June 1989,
Table A1 (for 1986 to 1988).
TSB Scotland
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he proposes to have with the TSB Group to ensure that the assurances given to him about TSB Scotland's continued autonomy are kept.
Correspondence
Mr. Cran : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 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.
Column 1115
Mr. Lawson : Treasury Ministers received 1,277 letters from hon. Members in January and 9,159 letters in the whole of this Session up to 1 July. All have been acknowledged and in the vast majority of cases substantive replies have been sent. A small number are still outstanding.
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