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Sir Geoffrey Howe : I have been asked to reply.
My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has no plans to do so.
A1/M1 (Delays)
Q71. Mr. Holt : To ask the Prime Minister what reports have been made to her of delays when travelling by ministerial car on the A1/M1 road during the last six months.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : I have been asked to reply.
My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has not received any such representations. But my right hon. Friend is aware of the concern in the north-east about the upgrading of the A1. The White Paper "Roads for Prosperity" includes among the schemes set out, proposals to a value of £700 million to improve over half the length of the A1 between the M25 and Tyneside. When all schemes are completed, all the sections from the M18 to Tyneside will be motorway or near motorway throughout.
Black Country
Q76. Mrs. Hicks : To ask the Prime Minister if she will visit the black country.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : I have been asked to reply.
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My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has no plans to do so.GATT
Q118. Mr. John Browne : To ask the Prime Minister if she has received recent representations regarding the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : I have been asked to reply.
My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has received a number of representations relating to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade from foreign Government and United Kingdom interests.
OECD
Q119. Mr. Cyril D. Townsend : To ask the Prime Minister is she has received recent representations regarding the Organisation for Economic Co- operation and Development.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : I have been asked to reply.
No. But the Government value the information and exchange of views which the OECD makes possible.
RAF
Q123. Mr. Leigh : To ask the Prime Minister is she has received recent representations regarding the Royal Air Force.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : I have been asked to reply.
My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister regularly receives representations regarding the Royal Air Force.
Higher Education
Q127. Mr. Alexander : To ask the Prime Minister is she has received recent representations regarding higher education.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : I have been asked to reply.
My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister receives many representations on education matters, including the Government's policies for higher education which are helping to take this autumn's student numbers above 1 million for the first time, and pave the way for yet greater participation in the years ahead.
Greenhouse Effect
Q142. Sir Hugh Rossi : To ask the Prime Minister if she has received recent representations regarding the greenhouse effect.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : I have been asked to reply.
The House of Commons Select Committee on Energy has recently reported on the energy policy implications of the greenhouse effect. The Government are currently studying the report and will reply shortly.
Transport Museum, Low Moor
Q147. Mr. Cryer : To ask the Prime Minister when she next expects to pay an official visit to the site of the Transport museum at Low Moor, Bradford.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : I have been asked to reply.
My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has no plans to do so.
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Army
Q151. Mr. Mallins : To ask the Prime Minister if she has received recent representations regarding the Army.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : I have been asked to reply.
My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister regularly receives representations regarding the Army.
Crime
Q161. Mr. Marland : To ask the Prime Minister if she has received recent representations regarding the level of crime.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : I have been asked to reply.
My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has received a number of such representations. The continuing fall in the overall level of recorded crime shown in the statistics for the year ending 30 June 1989 is encouraging, though the figures are still too high.
Bank of England
Q162. Sir Anthony Grant : To ask the Prime Minister if she has received recent representations regarding the Bank of England.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : I have been asked to reply.
No.
Employment
Q167. Mr. William Powell : To ask the Prime Minister if she has received recent representations regarding the level of employment.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : I have been asked to reply.
My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has received a number of representations about the level of employment. The work force in employment in the United Kingdom now stands at 26,357,000. That level is the highest ever recorded and is an increase of 2,793,000 since March 1983. It is 872,000 more than the previous peak in employment in December 1979.
Motor Industry
Q173. Mr. Page : To ask the Prime Minister if she has received recent representations regarding the motor industry.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : I have been asked to reply.
The motor industry is one of Britain's major industries and my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister often receives representations about it.
Nuclear Deterrent
Q174. Mr. Fishburn : To ask the Prime Minister if she has received recent representations regarding the nuclear deterrent.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : I have been asked to reply.
My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has received a number of letters from individuals and organisations.
Merchant Fleet
Q206. Sir David Price : To ask the Prime Minister in view of the ninth report of the Select Committee on Defence entitled "The Availability of Merchant Shipping
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for Defence Purposes : July 1989", what steps she intends to take to reverse the decline in British merchant ships available for defence purposes.Sir Geoffrey Howe : I have been asked to reply.
The Government have already introduced a number of measures to help the merchant shipping industry. The effects of the Government's measures depend to a large extent on the practical response of the industry, which the Government await with interest.
Government Advertising
Mr. Wray : To ask the Prime Minister whether she will take steps to ensure that all Government Departments and offices apply the same standards as used by local authorities when dealing with Government advertising.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : I have been asked to reply.
Advertising by Government Departments is already subject to conventions as stringent as those applied to local authority advertising. Consolidated guidance was issued by the Cabinet Office to Departments earlier this year, and a copy has been placed in the Library.
Conservative Party Conference
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list those civil servants and their Departments officially present at the Conservative party conference, including those from her private office.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : I have been asked to reply.
A private secretary and a typist were present at the Conservative party conference to assist the Prime Minister in her official duties. In addition, three members of the No. 10 Policy Unit (who are special advisers) were present. Information about attendances at the conference by officials in other Departments is not available centrally.
Second World War (History Teaching)
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Prime Minister what representations she has received on the teaching in secondary schools of the history of the last war ; what response she has made ; and if she will make a statement.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : I have been asked to reply.
The Government have received no representations specifically on the teaching of the history of the last war. Some have been received about the proposals for the teaching of history made in the interim report of the national curriculum working group. The group is expected to make its final report to my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for Education and Science and for Wales before Christmas.
Labour Party Policies (Costings)
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Prime Minister which Departments have been involved in asking civil servants to cost the Labour party's policies ; which ones have actually undertaken this costing ; and if she will make a statement.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : I have been asked to reply.
Officials stand ready to estimate the cost of proposals for expenditure if asked to do so by their Ministers. A number of departmental Ministers have asked their officials to estimate the cost of specific proposals which are
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thought to be endorsed by the Labour party. The provision of factual material of this sort by civil servants is consistent with the practice of previous Governments, and with the Cabinet Office rules on propriety.Members' Correspondence
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Prime Minister (1) if she will issue guidance to departmental Ministers that four to six weeks is a reasonable time scale for correspondence to be answered and that, in the exceptional cases where it is not, an answer should be sent to the hon. Member originating the correspondence advising him of the circumstances which prevent a definitive reply being sent within this time scale ;
(2) what she assesses as a reasonable time for a Department to respond to correspondence from an hon. Member.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : I have been asked to reply.
Ministers normally seek to provide answers within the timescale mentioned by my hon. Friend or to send interim replies when this is not possible.
Engagements
Mr. Stern : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 19 October.
Mr. Pike : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 19 October.
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 19 October.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday, 19 October.
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday, 19 October.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : I have been asked to reply.
My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister is attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Kuala Lumpur.
Chequers
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Prime Minister what was the charge to public funds of decoration and furnishings at Chequers during 1988-89 and the estimated costs in 1989-90
Sir Geoffrey Howe : I have been asked to reply.
The maintenance of Chequers is the responsibility of the Chequers Trust. The trust receives an annual
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grant-in-aid from public funds to meet the deficiency between its income and the total maintenance cost of Chequers. The amount of the grant-in-aid in 1989-90 is £238,000, the same as 1988-89.EMPLOYMENT
Workplace Nurseries
195. Mr. Hood : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what discussions he has held with the Equal Opportunities Commission to discuss the provision of workplace nurseries.
196. Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what discussions he has held with the Equal Opportunities Commission to discuss the provision of workplace nurseries.
197. Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what discussions he has held with the Equal Opportunities Commission to discuss the provision of workplace nurseries.
198. Mr. Norman Hogg : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what discussions he has held with the Equal Opportunities Commission to discuss the provision of workplace nurseries.
Mr. Nicholls : I have had discussions on childcare with the chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission at meetings of the Advisory Committee on Women's Employment, which I chair. Workplace nurseries are among the matters discussed.
Public Bodies
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish a list of non-departmental public bodies appointed by him showing the salaries paid in each individual case ; and what is the total public expenditure involved in running these organisations in a full year.
Mr. Nicholls : The table gives the information in respect of bodies sponsored by the Department. Appointment of members to the Employment Appeal Tribunal are made by Her Majesty The Queen and appointments of chairmen of industrial tribunals are made by the Lord Chancellor. Appointments to other bodies are made either directly by my right hon. friend or by the appropriate executive body. The total annual public expenditure involved in running these organisations was £3,622 million as at 1 April 1989.
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Employment Department Group
Non-Departmental Public Bodies
Remuneration
|Chairman |Deputy |Members
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Executive etc. Bodies
Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration |£72,000 |£869 per annum
Service |+£86 per day
British Tourist Authority |£36,000 |£5,030
Commissioner for the Rights of Trade Union |£179 per day
Members
Co-operative Development Agency |£11,235
English Tourist Board |£21,600 |£5,030
National Council for Vocational |£10,000
Qualifications
National Dock Labour Board |£22,644 |£19,869 |£1,100
Remploy Ltd. |£33,910-£55,000
Wages Councils |£103 or |£66 or
|£129 per day |£82 per day
Health and Safety Commission |£72,000 |£869 per annum
|+£86 per day
Health and Safety Executive |- |- |-
Training Agency |£27,400 |£828 per annum
|+£82 per day
Training Agency Bodies
Industrial Training Boards:
Clothing and Allied Products Industry |£12,432
Training Board
Construction Industry Training Board |£18,648 |£8,549
Engineering Training Board |£15,540
Hotel and Catering Training Board |£12,432
Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Board |£9,324
Plastics Processing Industry Training Board |£9,324
Road Transport Industry Training Board |£12,432
Advisory Bodies (unpaid)
Advisory Committee on Women's Employment
Civil Service Arbitration Tribunal
Race Relations Employment Advisory Group
Retail Prices Index Advisory Committee
Employment Service Bodies:
Employment and Training Advisory
Committee for the Resettlement of Ex-
Regulars
Committees for the Employment of Disabled
People
National Advisory Council on Employment
of Disabled People
Sheltered Employment Consultative Group
Health and Safety Commission Bodies:
Advisory Committee on Dangerous
Pathogens
Advisory Committee on Dangerous
Substances
Advisory Committee on Genetic
Manipulation
Advisory Committee on the Safety of
Nuclear Installations
Advisory Committee on Toxic Substances
British Approvals Service for Electrical
Equipment in Flammable Atmospheres
Advisory Council
Certification Board for Diver Training
Certification of Electrical Equipment for
Mining Advisory Council
Industry Advisory Committees
Mining Qualifications Board
Non-Agricultural Pesticides Panel
Occupational Health Advisory Committee
Safety in Mines Research Advisory Board
Tribunals etc.
Central Arbitration Committee |£19,240 |£161 per day |£103 per day
Employment Appeal Tribunal |- |- |£129 per day
Industrial Tribunals |£37,500 |- |£82 per day
|to £50,900
Levy Exemption Referees |£161 per day |- |£66 per day
Self-employment
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is his assessment of the change in the numbers of self-employed in the next 12 months.
Mr. Nicholls : The Department does not make forward projections of the self-employed.
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Between March 1981 and March 1989 self- employment was estimated to increase by 985,000, and now stands at 3,079,000.Information Technology
Mr. Warren : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many officials in his Department at grade 3 and above have, since promotion to the level of
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grade 3, attended a course (a) specifically on information technology and (b) containing an element of information technology ; and what percentage each represents of all the staff in those grades in his Department.Column 234
Mr. Eggar : The information requested is given in the table :
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|Number of staff who have|Percentage of staff in |Number of staff who have|Percentage of staff in
|attended courses |the grade |attended courses with an|the grade
|specifically on |element of information
|information technology |technology
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grade 1 |1 |50 |1 |50
Grade 2 |4 |100 |1 |25
Grade 3 |11 |41 |13 |48
Mr. Warren : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many work stations excluding stand-alone word processors are currently installed in his Department ; and what is the ratio of such work stations to civil servants.
Mr. Eggar : Excluding stand-alone word processors, there are 19,420 work stations currently installed in the Employment Department group ; a ratio of 1 : 2.8 civil servants.
Mr. Warren : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment which Minister in his Department is responsible for day-to-day management of his Department's information technology strategy ; and what proportion of his time was spent on this matter in the month up to Friday 13 October.
Mr. Eggar : The day-to-day management of the Employment Department group's information technology (IT) strategy is the responsibility of officials. I am the Minister responsible for IT matters in the Employment Department group. IT is in general so integrated into the Department's business functions that to attempt to apportion specific intervals of a Minister's time to its consideration would involve a disproportionate effort.
Closed Shop
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the breakdown by industry and region of the 1.3 million workers now covered by the pre-entry closed shop.
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Mr. Fowler : The Green Paper "Removing Barriers to Employment" (CM 655), published on 20 March 1989, referred to a survey carried out by NOP Market Research Ltd between 22 February and 6 March 1989 which indicated that the number of people covered by pre-entry closed shop arrangements was of the order of 1.3 million. The pre-entry closed shop was most extensive in manufacturing, energy and water supply, and transport and communication. Among manufacturing industries, publishing and printing was the sector with the highest incidence. Membership of both pre-entry and post-entry shops was above average in the central and northern regions of Britain and below average in the south.
A full analysis of the data obtained in the survey will be published in an article in the November issue of the Employment Gazette.
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