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Mr. Jackson : Grant-in-aid to the agricultural and food research Council in 1989-90 is expected to be £74.563 million. The figure for 1990-91 will be decided by my right hon. Friend after he has considered the advice of the Advisory Board for the Research Councils later this year. The council will also receive in 1989-90 approximately £45.6 million in commissioned research from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and a further £16 million from other sources.
Youth Service
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list (a) central Government and (b) local government expenditure on the youth service in (i) 1979-80, (ii) 1984-85, (iii) 1985- 86, (iv) 1986-87, (v) 1987-88 and (vi) 1988-89 in 1989 prices.
Mr. Alan Howarth : The information requested is given in the table.
Column 730
Expenditure on the Youth Service-England (1988-89 Real Terms)
Financial Year |Central Government|Local Government
|£ million |£ million
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1979-80 |14 |132
1984-85 |11 |159
1985-86 |12 |159
1986-87 |13 |171
1987-88 |14 |197
1988-89 |13 |<1>171
<1>Estimated
Notes
(1) The figures given for central Government expenditure reflect direct
expenditure by the Department to voluntary organisations and specific grant
payments to local authorities in support of youth service activities as
recorded by local authorities in their annual returns.
(2) The figures given for local government expenditure reflect outturn as
recorded by local authorities in their annual returns. This expenditure
will not only have been supported by central Government specific grant
payments, but also by unhypothecated rate support grant.
(3) The cash figures for the earlier years have been repriced to 1988-89
prices using the gross domestic product (market prices) deflator. They
include recurrent and capital expenditure on the youth service.
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list by local education authority (a) 1988-1989 expenditure on the youth service and (b) the related grant-related expenditure allocation for each local education authority.
Mr. Alan Howarth : Figures for the expenditure of local authorities in 1988-89 are not yet available. Table 1 shows the actual recurrent expenditure of each local education authority on youth and community services in 1987-88, with the exception of four authorities which failed to make a return. Table 2 shows the grant related expenditure assessment for the youth and related services for each local education authority in 1987- 88 and 1988-89.
Table 1 Expenditure by local authorities on the youth service<1> LEA |£ million ------------------------------------------- Barking |0.6277 Barnet |0.9704 Bexley |0.7829 Brent |3.6245 Bromley |0.8248 Croydon |0.8399 Ealing |n.a. Enfield |0.6866 Haringey |n.a. Harrow |0.6207 Havering |0.7041 Hillingdon |0.7136 Hounslow |0.7270 Kingston-upon-Thames |0.5724 Merton |0.3763 Newham |0.9110 Redbridge |0.8766 Richmond-upon-Thames |0.3872 Sutton |0.4786 Waltham Forest |1.2862 ILEA |30.5352 Birmingham |4.1965 Coventry |0.9061 Dudley |0.8359 Sandwell |0.6573 Solihull |0.3864 Walsall |1.9555 Wolverhampton |0.8758 Knowsley |0.4879 Liverpool |2.1011 St. Helens |Nil Sefton |0.6090 Wirral |1.0252 Bolton |0.9214 Bury |0.8718 Manchester |2.2352 Oldham |0.6295 Rochdale |1.3196 Salford |0.5164 Stockport |0.7861 Tameside |1.0388 Trafford |0.5685 Wigan |0.8193 Barnsley |0.5193 Doncaster |1.3659 Rotherham |0.8892 Sheffield |n.a. Bradford |2.8268 Calderdale |0.9297 Kirklees |1.3253 Leeds |2.5921 Wakefield |0.6777 Gateshead |0.7946 Newcastle-upon-Tyne |1.1552 North Tyneside |0.5115 South Tyneside |1.5489 Sunderland |0.7333 Isles of Scilly |0.0014 Avon |4.0172 Bedfordshire |1.0577 Berkshire |n.a. Buckinghamshire |2.1876 Cambridgeshire |1.6258 Cheshire |1.7389 Cleveland |2.3472 Cornwall |0.5328 Cumbria |1.2557 Derbyshire |4.5220 Devon |2.6109 Dorset |1.4586 Durham |1.1045 East Sussex |0.9809 Essex |3.3893 Gloucestershire |1.6986 Hampshire |2.8567 Hereford and Worcester |1.1929 Hertfordshire |2.4412 Humberside |3.1777 Isle of Wight |0.4175 Kent |2.2912 Lancashire |4.0522 Leicestershire |2.6153 Lincolnshire |1.0138 Norfolk |1.6031 North Yorkshire |1.4100 Northamptonshire |1.6093 Northumberland |0.6983 Nottinghamshire |4.6301 Oxfordshire |1.1005 Shropshire |1.5869 Somerset |1.9266 Staffordshire |2.4209 Suffolk |1.9660 Surrey |2.0726 Warwickshire |1.4359 West Sussex |1.3936 Wiltshire |1.4994 Note: (1) The figures are based on LEA Expenditure Returns to the Department of the Environment.
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Table 2
Grant related expenditure assessment for the Youth
Service
£ million
|1987-88|1988-89
----------------------------------------------------
Barking |0.6466 |0.7247
Barnet |1.3569 |1.5983
Bexley |0.7781 |0.8854
Brent |1.704 |1.9525
Bromley |1.0066 |1.1557
Croydon |1.4463 |1.6359
Ealing |1.7228 |2.0186
Enfield |1.1923 |1.3698
Haringey |1.3051 |1.4829
Harrow |0.8502 |0.9768
Havering |0.8152 |0.9217
Hillingdon |0.8795 |1.0217
Hounslow |0.9910 |1.1627
Kingston |0.4396 |0.5051
Merton |0.664 |0.7675
Newham |1.5136 |1.7016
Redbridge |0.9299 |1.0807
Richmond |0.5254 |0.6010
Sutton |0.5622 |0.6358
Waltham Forest |1.1910 |1.3575
ILEA |13.5539|15.7985
Birmingham |6.2099 |7.0554
Coventry |1.6513 |1.8607
Dudley |1.1429 |1.2853
Sandwell |1.6993 |1.9088
Solihull |0.7872 |0.8916
Walsall |1.2700 |1.4426
Wolverhampton |1.5820 |1.7882
Knowsley |0.9341 |1.0535
Liverpool |2.3518 |2.6738
St. Helens |0.7321 |0.8300
Sefton |1.1197 |1.2468
Wirall |1.3205 |1.5001
Bolton |1.2094 |1.3808
Bury |0.6528 |0.7389
Manchester |2.5769 |2.9052
Oldham |1.0371 |1.1889
Rochdale |0.9877 |1.1241
Salford |1.0763 |1.2145
Stockport |0.9997 |1.1194
Tameside |0.8632 |0.9825
Trafford |0.8517 |0.9529
Wigan |1.1906 |1.3396
Barnsley |0.8553 |0.9632
Doncaster |1.169 |1.3386
Rotherham |1.0344 |1.1806
Sheffield |2.1371 |2.4256
Bradford |2.6083 |2.998
Calderdale |0.8201 |0.9244
Kirklees |1.8524 |2.1149
Leeds |2.9679 |3.3513
Wakefield |1.1943 |1.3342
Gateshead |0.7803 |0.8785
Newcastle |1.1234 |1.2864
North Tyne |0.6706 |0.7416
South Tyne |0.6393 |0.7045
Sunderland |1.2265 |1.3969
Isle of Scilly |0.0082 |0.0086
Avon |3.2428 |3.7704
Bedfordshire |2.2661 |2.5803
Berkshire |2.9080 |3.3858
Bucks |2.3102 |2.6987
Cambridge |2.3576 |2.7287
Cheshire |3.5269 |4.0092
Cleveland |2.5817 |2.9118
Cornwall |1.4396 |1.6487
Cumbria |1.6178 |1.8312
Derbyshire |3.3976 |3.9118
Devon |3.1875 |3.6755
Dorset |1.9263 |2.2293
Durham |2.2334 |2.5561
East Sussex |2.0816 |2.4702
Essex |5.0704 |5.8156
Gloucestershire |1.8349 |2.0656
Hampshire |5.5135 |6.3066
Hereford and Worcestershire |2.3375 |2.6699
Hertfordshire |3.4851 |3.9546
Humberside |3.4163 |3.8735
Isle of Wight |0.3722 |0.4282
Kent |5.4128 |6.1952
Lancashire |5.6399 |6.4836
Leicester |3.7412 |4.2788
Lincolnshire |1.9696 |2.3038
Norfolk |2.4064 |2.7636
North Yorkshire |2.2754 |2.6432
Northants |2.1373 |2.4591
Northumberland |0.9865 |1.1280
Nottinghamshire |4.0506 |4.6292
Oxfordshire |2.1233 |2.4258
Shropshire |1.5405 |1.7807
Somerset |1.5133 |1.7320
Staffordshire |3.6713 |4.1617
Suffolk |2.1397 |2.4045
Surrey |3.3897 |3.8675
Warwickshire |1.8544 |2.0837
West Sussex |2.0874 |2.4099
Wiltshire |2.0462 |2.3429
PE Teachers
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list, in the latest available figures, the number and percentage of vacancies for physical education teachers.
Mr. Alan Howarth : LEA returns to the Department's regular collection of vacancy data showed 162 vacancies for teachers of physical education in England in January 1989. This suggests a vacancy rate of 1.2 per cent.
Physical Education
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to announce a working party on physical education under the provisions of the national curriculum.
Mrs. Rumbold : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, North (Ms. Walley) on 7 November at columns 579-80.
Research Councils
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has any proposals to reverse the decline in the number of researchers employed by (a) the agricultural and food research council, (b) the natural environment research council and (c) other research councils ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jackson : My right hon. Friend has no plans to suggest to the councils how many researchers they should employ. The numbers of researchers employed by the agricultural and food research council, natural environment research council and the three other research councils are matters for the councils themselves to determine within the resources available to them.
School Governors
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has had about the deselection of school governors by the Isle of Wight county council ; and what advice he has given London education authorities about deselection of school governors on political grounds.
Column 734
Mrs. Rumbold : We have received a number of representations concerning the removal from office of school governors appointed by local education authorities, including the Isle of Wight. These matters are currently being investigated.
We have not issued advice to local education authorities generally on this subject. We are considering whether it would be appropriate to do so, following the recent judgment of the House of Lords in the case involving the Haberdashers' Aske's schools.
Civil Service Dispersal
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he has any plans to relocate his Department's offices to the north-east of England ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Rumbold : Not at present. My Department is proposing to relocate a further 50 posts from London to its Darlington office during 1990. In addition, a senior official of the Department is about to undertake a study of the long-term location requirements of the Department in the light of the Government's policy on relocation. The study will consider various possibilities, including the handling of some functions regionally.
Student Rents (London)
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the average student rent in London ; and how much the average student in London will receive in housing benefit during term time.
Mr. Jackson : Data from a survey of undergraduate income and expenditure conducted by Research Services Limited in 1988-89 indicate that average rent payments for single students living in privately rented accommodation in London totalled £1,531 per student over the 1988-89 academic year. The average amount of housing benefit received by such students in the same period was £324.
Teachers' Pay
Mr. Knapman : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will give the comparable average teachers' pay in 1979 and 1988.
Mrs. Rumbold : The average salary of teachers in primary and secondary schools in April 1988 was £13,670. The equivalent figure in 1979 (at 1988 prices) was £10,493.
State Schools (Nottingham)
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he last visited a state school in Nottingham.
Mr. Alan Howarth : My right hon. Friend has not yet visited a state school in Nottingham.
Church Aided and Voluntary Schools
Mr. Baldry : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to announce the allocation of funds for capital projects for church aided and voluntary schools for 1990.
Mr. Alan Howarth : My right hon. Friend expects to be able to announce the 1990-91 allocation for capital projects for voluntary aided and special agreement schools shortly before Christmas.
Column 735
Hampshire (Capital Expenditure)
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will allocate additional resources to Hampshire's county education budget for the capital expenditure programme outlined in its 1989 strategic planning document ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Alan Howarth : My right hon. Friend is currently considering submissions from all local education authorities, including Hampshire, covering their planned capital expenditure programmes for 1990-91. He expects to announce each authority's annual capital guidelines for that year shortly before Christmas.
Japan (Ministerial Visit)
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what lessons were learnt for the research work of British universities from the recent official visit to Japan of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Wantage (Mr. Jackson).
Mr. Jackson : My recent visit to Japan, accompanied by the biological secretary to the Royal Society, was extremely valuable. Comparisons between the United Kingdom and Japanese systems for support of university research and for science were fascinating. My view was reinforced that British public funding of university research has sustained high quality and creative work. Our system, with autonomous universities and a Universities Funding Council separate from the Government, delivers a high quality and quantity of research. Equally interesting is the way in which Japanese business is succeeding in the development of "strategic" science and in harnessing scientific insights to the production of commercial products.
School Visits
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the schools which he has visited in his official capacity since becoming Secretary of State, with dates, the purpose of each visit and whether the school is private or maintained.
Mr. MacGregor : I visited three LEA maintained schools in Norfolk to meet local teachers--Costessey high (19 September), Redenhall Dove first (25 September), and St. Augustine's county primary (3 November). I accompanied my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the opening of the Djanogly city technology college in Nottingham on 29 September, and met teachers at Hinchingbrooke school, Huntingdon on 2 October.
I have also had many other meetings with teachers and shall be visiting further LEA and grant-maintained schools in Manchester, Kent, Norfolk and London shortly.
Capital Allocations
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish a table for each local education authority with a total for England of the amount of the bid made to him for capital allocation for (a) county and voluntary-controlled schools, (b) voluntary-aided schools and (c) all maintained schools for the financial year 1990-91.
Column 736
Mr. MacGregor : It is not possible to provide the information sought, since not all LEAs have yet submitted their bids.
Teaching Posts
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list all the local education authorities in England showing (a) the established teaching posts and (b) the current vacancies for such posts ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Alan Howarth : The numbers of full-time teachers employed by each local education authority in England, together with the number of vacancies, are given in the table.
The figures relate to January 1989, the last date for which complete information for all authorities is available.
Full-Time Permanent Teacher Vacancies and Teachers in Post in
maintained Nursery, Primary and Secondary Schools-England
January 1989
|Number of Vacancies|Teachers in Post
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gateshead |31 |1,709
Newcastle Upon Tyne |50 |2,199
North Tyneside |0 |1,817
South Tyneside |0 |1,452
Sunderland |13 |2,686
Cleveland |12 |5,119
Cumbria |22 |3,846
Durham |15 |4,706
Northumberland |11 |2,494
North |154 |26,028
Barnsley |5 |1,837
Doncaster |22 |2,635
Rotherham |32 |2,274
Sheffield |12 |3,795
Bradford |28 |4,578
Calderdale |20 |1,689
Kirklees |30 |3,429
Leeds |61 |6,110
Wakefield |70 |2,643
Humberside |29 |7,031
North Yorks |46 |5,106
York & Humberside |355 |41,127
Knowsley |10 |1,543
Liverpool |20 |4,464
St Helens |9 |1,727
Sefton |3 |2,254
Wirral |19 |2,748
Bolton |11 |2,398
Bury |14 |1,406
Manchester |55 |3,971
Oldham |7 |2,076
Rochdale |33 |1,995
Salford |58 |2,086
Stockport |14 |2,239
Thameside |38 |1,811
Trafford |9 |1,508
Wigan |9 |2,869
Cheshire |24 |7,562
Lancashire |193 |10,679
North West |526 |53,336
Derbyshire |76 |7,685
Leicestershire |44 |7,046
Lincolnshire |52 |4,232
Northamptonshire |10 |4,668
Nottinghamshire |108 |8,168
East Midlands |290 |31,799
Birmingham |188 |8,615
Coventry |24 |2,594
Dudley |48 |2,559
Sandwell |25 |2,810
Solihull |27 |1,686
Walsall |4 |2,637
Wolverhampton |24 |2,438
Hereford & Worcester |50 |4,886
Shropshire |13 |3,214
Staffordshire |50 |8,044
Warwickshire |31 |3,677
West Midlands |484 |43,160
Cambridgeshire |39 |4,830
Norfolk |31 |5,218
Suffolk |36 |4,585
East Anglia |106 |14,633
Barking |51 |1,264
Barnet |85 |2,197
Bexley |31 |1,610
Brent |32 |2,011
Bromley |10 |1,805
Croydon |39 |2,290
Ealing |116 |2,119
Enfield |72 |2,001
Haringey |128 |1,509
Harrow |16 |1,321
Havering |51 |1,885
Hillingdon |58 |1,665
Hounslow |24 |1,639
Kingston |9 |966
Merton |47 |1,159
Newham |194 |2,365
Redbridge |36 |1,558
Richmond |1 |872
Sutton |21 |1,110
Waltham Forest |75 |1,790
Ilea |1,028 |15,703
S E Greater London |2,124 |48,839
Bedfordshire |117 |4,247
Berkshire |91 |5,231
Buckinghamshire |73 |4,531
East Sussex |74 |3,907
Essex |123 |10,969
Hampshire |134 |10,569
Hertfordshire |109 |7,664
Isle of Wight |0 |890
Kent |224 |10,840
Oxfordshire |9 |3,565
Surrey |131 |6,001
West Sussex |74 |4,476
Other South East |1,159 |72,890
Avon |21 |6,405
Cornwall |47 |3,464
Devon |122 |6,429
Dorset |11 |4,182
Gloucestershire |0 |3,797
Somerset |73 |3,095
Wiltshire |68 |4,017
South West |342 |31,389
Total England |5,540 |363,201
GCSE changes
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the necessary changes to be made to GCSE in order to meet the requirements of the national curriculum.
Mrs. Rumbold : The future development of the GCSE examination was the subject to a report from the School Examinations and Assessment Council sent to my right
Column 738
hon. Friend on 13 July. Copies of the report, together with my right hon. Friend's reply, have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.Long-serving Teachers
Mr. Jack : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what assessment his Department has made of the availability of special allowances to long-serving teachers in small special needs schools.
Mrs. Rumbold : The interim advisory committee on school teachers' pay and conditions has been asked to advise on what further increase should be made in the number of incentive allowances, and in their value relative to the main professional grade. All teachers in special schools, other than heads and deputies, receive at least a B incentive allowance. The Department's present plans assume that the proportion of special schools teachers receiving higher value allowances will progressively increase until 1990.
Supply Teachers
Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proposals he has to encourage an increase in the number of supply teachers.
Mr. Alan Howarth : Our education support grant programme to assist teacher recruitment urges local education authorities to encourage flexible working practices, including part-time working. This should stimulate the employment of supply teachers. However, the employment and deployment of teachers is a matter for local education authorities and schools. It is for them to decide how many supply teachers to appoint. They also have discretion to pay teacher on short-notice contracts at rates they consider appropriate in order to recruit and retain the teachers they need.
SCOTLAND
Fish Farms
74. Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the effect of (a) deliberate release of fish from fish farms and (b) accidental escape of fish from fish farms on the habits and genetic coding of North Atlantic salmon.
Mr. Lang : A study of "genetic protein variation in farmed Atlantic salmon in Scotland : comparison of farmed strains with their wild source of populations" was published in August in "Scottish Fisheries Research Report No. 42". Further studies on both wild and farmed populations of salmon have been completed or are in progress. At this stage it is too early to predict what scientific conclusions might emerge. The recently published work does show that there are genetic differences between farmed strains of salmon and the wild populations from which they are drawn. The genetic consequences of interaction between farmed fish and a wild stock are unknown but are thought likely to be complex. So far there is no direct evidence of adverse effects of actual damage to any wild stocks in Scotland.
A Report "The Genetic Impact of Farmed Atlantic Salmon on Wild Populations" was published by the
Column 739
Nature Conservancy Council in August. This made a number of recommendations about further research and about mangement of wild and farmed stocks of salmon. We support the view that further studies are required and that great care is needed to ensure that deliberate restocking of rivers is carried out in the right way and that releases of farmed fish are prevented or reduced as far as possible.Land Acidity
Mr. Andrew Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what evidence his Department has about deterioration in terms of acidity of Scottish agricultural land over the past 10 years ; and whether he will re- introduce a lime subsidy for Scottish agriculture.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The farming industry is well aware that regular liming is an essential and cost-effective element of land husbandry and I understand that lime usage is currently at about the same level as it was when a general lime subsidy was available. We have no plans to reintroduce a lime subsidy, but grant assistance is available for the application of lime for certain grassland improvement operations under the farm and conservation grant scheme (EC).
Oilseed Rape
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many hectares of oilseed rape were harvested in 1989 ; what tonnage was produced ; what was the value of the crop ; and what subsidy was paid from public funds for its production or processing.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Latest estimates show that in 1989 some 36,000 hectares of oilseed rape were harvested in Scotland producing some 122,600 tonnes. The value of the 1989 crop in the United Kingdom as a whole is still being assessed. An estimate of the value will be included in "Agriculture in the United Kingdom" due to be published early in 1990. Production aid for oilseed rape under the EC oilseeds scheme is being paid on the 1989 crop ; final estimates of the total amount will not be known until at least the end of the 1989-90 marketing year.
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the presence of pollen and other airborne material derived from flowering crops of oilseed rape giving the concentration in the atmosphere above the crop and the maximum extent of detectable contamination ; and if he will give comparable information for other agricultural crops.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : I have no information on concentrations of airborne material from oilseed rape in the atmosphere above the crop nor comparable information on other crops. I am aware that some experiments have been carried out by individuals to detect the presence of oilseed rape pollen in the atmosphere in the vicinity of crops.
Legal Profession
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he intends to introduce a separate Scottish Bill dealing with proposed reforms to the legal profession ; and if he will make a statement.
Column 740
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : My right hon. and learned Friend is currently considering what legislative provision may be necessary to implement the conclusions to his review of the legal profession which were set out in "The Scottish Legal Profession--The Way Forward" which he issued on 10 October.
Radioactive Waste
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on progress in site evaluation in terms of geology, transportation routes and effects on local economies, of prospective sites for the disposal of (a) low level, (b) intermediate level and (c) high level radioactive wastes in Scotland.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : In relation to low and
intermediate-level wastes it is for the Nuclear Industry Radioactive Waste Executive (Nirex) to evaluate these factors in relation to sites in the United Kingdom which it wishes to investigate. As regards possible geological investigations at Dounreay, I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, North (Ms. Walley) on 6 November, at column 495 . If Nirex were subsequently to propose the construction of a repository it would be required to present a full safety case and environmental impact assessment, and a public inquiry would be held.
It is Government policy to store high-level radioactive wastes at the sites where they arise for at least 50 years. No current site evaluation is taking place for the disposal of this category of waste.
Health Service (Contracts)
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what instructions he has given to Lothian health board about awarding Health Service catering contracts to outside contractors.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : None in relation to any specific contract.
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his policy towards sending in auditors to examine the workings of health boards which have awarded in-house contracts.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : As with any area of health board expenditure, the procedures governing the award of contracts may be the subject of examination at any time by the statutory auditor.
Housing
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list in the Official Report , by district council area, the average time taken by each district council in processing applications by sitting tenants for purchasing their council houses ; and if he will also list for each district council their total housing stock.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The information requested is set out in the table.
Column 741
Average processing time for houses sold in the quarter ended 30 June
1989 and Local Authority stock at 31 March 1989
|Average processing time|Stock at 31 March 1989
|(months)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Local authorities |9.6 |797,315
Borders
Berwickshire |6.0 |2,379
Ettrick and Lauderdale |7.4 |3,956
Roxburgh |6.0 |5,179
Tweeddale<1> |9.8 |1,479
Central
Clackmannan |7.0 |8,442
Falkirk |7.6 |28,787
Stirling<1> |9.2 |11,825
Dumfries and Galloway
Annandale and Eskdale |8.9 |4,718
Nithsdale |6.8 |7,074
Stewartry |5.1 |2,263
Wigtown |7.9 |4,216
Fife
Dunfermline<2> |7.8 |18,793
Kirkcaldy |9.3 |22,767
North East Fife |9.3 |6,522
Grampian
Aberdeen |10.8 |37,088
Banff and Buchan<2> |9.3 |11,370
Gordon |8.5 |5,432
Kincardine and Deeside |7.1 |3,547
Moray |6.1 |9,881
Highland
Badenoch and Strathspey |5.3 |1.028
Caithness |5.2 |3,746
Inverness |9.0 |6,357
Lochaber |7.7 |2,844
Nairn |5.0 |1,051
Ross and Cromarty |5.0 |6,034
Skye and Lochalsh |7.0 |775
Sutherland |11.0 |1,725
Lothian
East Lothian |8.3 |13,649
Edinburgh |11.8 |45,931
Midlothian |9.9 |10,516
West Lothian |10.9 |19,636
Strathclyde
Argyll and Bute |12.1 |7,840
Bearsden and Milngavie |11.5 |1,714
Clydebank |11.0 |10,787
Clydesdale |10.3 |8,890
Cumbernauld and Kilsyth |10.1 |3,907
Cumnock and Doon Valley |8.9 |9,263
Cunninghame<2> |9.2 |20,876
Dumbarton |11.3 |11,621
East Kilbride |6.7 |1,268
Eastwood |8.4 |1,728
Glasgow |12.7 |161,019
Hamilton |7.0 |21,041
Inverclyde<2> |9.6 |17,832
Kilmarnock and Loudoun |9.0 |15,687
Kyle and Carrick<1> |9.0 |16,011
Monklands<2> |10.4 |26,741
Motherwell<2> |9.0 |36,511
Renfrew |9.7 |35,000
Strathkelvin |6.1 |9,224
Tayside
Angus |6.7 |12,490
Dundee |13.3 |36,845
Perth and Kinross |9.2 |14,073
Orkney Islands<1> |5.6 |1,406
Shetland Islands |10.8 |2,601
Western Isles<1> |7.6 |2,411
<1>Latest stock figure available 30 September 1988.
<2>Average processing time for quarter 1 1989.
Storm Damage
Mr. Bill Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, which local authorities will benefit from the Bellwin scheme invoked after the severe storms in February of the current year ; and by how much.
Mr. Rifkind : The claims have now been assessed and I can announce that a quarter of a million pounds in grant will be made available for those authorities which, in terms of the scheme of special financial assistance which I announced on 27 April, suffered an undue financial burden in responding to the storms and floods of February. The details of the grant are :
|£
----------------------------------------------
Highland Regional Council |207,975
Inverness District Council |29,250
Western Isles Islands Council |14,058
|----
|251,283
Subject to parliamentary approval of a supplementary estimate which will be presented shortly payments will be issued to those authorities as soon as possible.
Roads
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list in the Official Report the total number and location of proposed improvements to the A96 which require SDD funding.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 1 November 1989] : The following programme of improvements on the A96, to be funded by the Scottish Development Department, has been developed in line with the strategic six-point plan for the route which I announced last December :--
1. Major Schemes (over £1 million)
There are 7 major schemes programmed.
Bucksburn Diversion
Blackburn Bypass
Kintore Bypass
Inveramsey-Waterside
Keith Bypass
Lhanbryde Bypass
Nairn Railway Bridge
In addition, the Scottish Development Department is considering the justification and possible options for bypassing Fochabers. If a satisfactory scheme can be worked out it will be added to the trunk road programme.
2. Minor Schemes (less than £1 million)
Three improvement schemes are planned to start this financial year. These are the Dramlachs climbing lane at Fochabers, the Tearie junction at Brodie and the Drumine to Gollanfield scheme. In addition, a report has been commissioned from Grampian regional council which is expected to identify at least another 5 minor schemes for early implementation which will provide overtaking opportunities along the route. In parallel with this, a specialist consultant
Column 743
has been appointed to develop a computer based simulation model for the whole of the A96 to assist in the identification of the optimum locations for further overtaking opportunity schemes.3. Accident Remedial Schemes
Good progress has already been made on accident remedial schemes on the A96, and Grampian and Highland regional councils will in the near future be recommending a further programme of schemes for the next financial year. These schemes will be implemented quickly in line with departmental policy.
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list in the Official Report the total number and location of SDD funded improvements which are currently being undertaken on the A96.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 1 November 1989] : One major scheme, the Inverurie bypass, is currently under construction. In addition, seven accident remedial schemes involving measures such as signing and surface dressing are under way or recently completed at a number of locations along the route. This work has also included a thorough overhaul of all road markings on the route with highly reflective, long-lasting materials to the most recent specification.
EMPLOYMENT
Agricultural Equipment (Safety)
73. Mr. Lord : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what initiatives to improve safety of agricultural equipment are currently being funded by his Department.
Mr. Nicholls : The Health and Safety Commission are currently funding seven research projects in the area of safety of agricultural equipment :-- (1) Seat belts in agricultural tractors ;
(2) Interlocking devices for component guards on agricultural machinery ;
(3) Tractor driven equipment--noise test procedures ;
(4) Practical application of noise reduction methods in agriculture ;
(5) Power take-off shafts--alternative power supply systems ; (6) Integrity of safety cabs fitted to tractors ;
(7) Dynamic and static test methods for tractor mechanical coupling components.
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