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Supporting the Arts"
109. Mr. Atkinson : To ask the Minister for the Arts if he will make a statement on the proposed national touring board referred to in "Supporting the Arts".
Mr. Luce : This is one of a large number of recommendations that Mr. Wilding makes in his report. I shall not be reaching decisions about any part of the report until after the end of the consultation period.
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Purchase Grants
110. Mr. Maclennan : To ask the Minister for the Arts what consideration he is giving to increasing the purchase grants of the national museums and galleries and the National Heritage memorial fund ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Luce : The increase in the grants for the national museums and galleries that I announced on 16 November were directed to the institutions' own priorities of running costs and building maintenance. Purchase grants were not increased but I shall be discussing with the institutions concerned whether there is now scope for adjusting the balance of their budgets to allow additional expenditure on purchases.
The grant to the national heritage memorial fund is being maintained at £3 million a year for the time being, with equal shares being provided by my Department and by that of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment. The requirements of the fund for 1991-92 onwards will be the subject of separate consideration.
Achievements
111. Mr. Hayes : To ask the Minister for the Arts if he will make a statement on the Government's achievements in the arts since 1979.
Mr. Luce : The Government's achievements in the arts since 1979 have been both numerous and varied. Among the most important, I would list :
The maintenance of central Government support for arts activities, and the introduction of measures to encourage greater self-reliance among arts institutions.
The establishment of a three-year programme of funding for the arts.
The introduction of corporate planning for the national museums and galleries and other non-departmental bodies, linked to the three-year funding programme.
The national museums and galleries being given greater control over their affairs by the move to grant-in-aid funding, and by their being untied from the Property Services Agency.
The major expansion schemes at some national museums and galleries, including the Clore gallery at the Tate, the new Tate gallery in Liverpool, and the re-development of the new Imperial War museum. The Government's support for the development strategies designed to give the regions a larger share of arts spending and facilities. The significant upsurge in, and continued success of, business sponsorship of the arts.
The new marketing initiatives to encourage arts bodies to market themselves more professionally and to increase access to the arts. The creation of the national heritage memorial fund.
The development of incentive funding schemes for the performing arts and for public libraries, designed to encourage subsidised bodies to become more self-reliant in their development and growth. The setting up and implementation of the public lending right scheme.
The very substantial progress with the British Library's St. Pancras project which will bring together most of the library's London-based collections and reading rooms on a single site, and provide much-improved facilities.
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Towngate Theatre, Basildon
112. Mr. Amess : To ask the Minister for the Arts when he last visited the Towngate theatre in Basildon to discuss funding for the dramatic arts.
Mr. Luce : I last visited the Towngate theatre on 13 April 1988 just prior to its opening.
Spending
113. Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Minister for the Arts what is the current level of expenditure per capita on the arts.
Mr. Luce : The central Government programme of expenditure on the arts administered by my Office represents £9 per capita in England in the current financial year. This is of course a small fraction of the total spending on the arts throughout the country by local authorities, independent organisations and individuals themselves.
Admissions
116. Mr. Flannery : To ask the Minister for the Arts what information he has on the current level of admissions to national galleries and museums.
Mr. Luce : I understand that in 1988 the total number of visitors to the 11 national museums and galleries for which I am responsible, including their outstations, was 20,571,119.
Business Sponsorship
118. Mr. Favell : To ask the Minister for the Arts whether he has assessed the extent to which business sponsorship of the arts benefits innovative projects and small local arts bodies.
Mr. Luce : Under my incentive scheme business sponsors increasingly support innovative projects such as fringe theatre, local choirs and youth brass bands. Seventy per cent. of the awards go to groups based outside London. In addition, the business in the arts initiative, run by the Association for Business Sponsorship of the Arts, encourages local business communities to help with all manner of arts projects.
Arts Council
119. Mr. Rathbone : To ask the Minister for the Arts when he last met the chairman of the Arts Council ; and what was discussed.
Mr. Luce : I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave earlier to my hon. Friend the Member for Torridge and Devon West, (Miss Nicholson).
Grant Aid, Devon
120. Mr. Speller : To ask the Minister for the Arts what is the value of grant aid for the arts provided for Devon in 1988 ; and which were the two organisations receiving the most funding.
Mr. Luce : South West Arts provided £386,000 for the arts in Devon in 1988-89 while the Arts Council directly funded organisations to the tune of £461,000. The Theatre Royal, Plymouth, and the Northcott theatre, Exeter, were the two organisations receiving the most funding.
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Royal Shakespeare Company
121. Mr. Cousins : To ask the Minister for the Arts whether he proposes to visit the Royal Shakespeare Company during its stay in Newcastle upon Tyne in February and March 1990.
Mr. Luce : I have no plans to do so, but I welcome the company's regular visits to Newcastle upon Tyne.
Rural Museums and Galleries
Mr. Paice : To ask the Minister for the Arts what steps he is taking to encourage the development of museums and galleries in rural areas.
Mr. Luce : In my announcement of 16 November I increased the allocation to the Museums and Galleries Commission which supports the network of area museum councils. The area museum councils in turn assist with the development of local museums and galleries, including those in rural areas. The area museums service for south-eastern England, for example, is funding county-wide consultancy groups, including one in Cambridgeshire, to improve local museum standards.
EMPLOYMENT
Football Clubs (Safety Inspections)
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many football clubs have been inspected by the Health and Safety Executive over the last 12 months for which figures are available.
Mr. Nicholls : This information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Payment of Bills
Mr. Hanley : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what representations he has received following the issue in May 1986 and July 1989 of the booklet "Payment on Time" to indicate the success or otherwise of a voluntary code of practice to tackle the problem of the late payment of bills.
Mr. Eggar : We have received representations from a number of individuals and organisations following the publication of "Payment on Time" in 1986 and of "Prompt Payment Please" in 1988. These have been largely favourable and support the principle of voluntary arrangements to improve payment practice. I was very pleased that the top 100 companies were able to endorse the publication.
Young People (Protection)
Mr. McFall : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proposals he has to protect young people while at work.
Mr. Nicholls : The health and safety of virtually all employees, regardless of age, is fully protected by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and its relevant statutory provisions. This includes young people on training courses designated under the Health and Safety (Training for Employment) (Amendment) Regulations 1989.
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YTS (Accidents)
Mr. Blair : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many fatal, major and minor reportable accidents occurred on YTS for each quarter since 1 October 1988, and what these figures were by region and as a percentage of total YTS trainees in each region.
Mr. Nicholls : The tables give the numbers of fatal, major and minor reportable accidents which occurred in
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YTS for each quarter since 1 October 1988 by region. Accident rates are expressed as an annual rate per 100,000 trainees.Quarterly regional accident statistics vary markedly between regions and over time and should be interpreted with caution. The figures are subject to statistically random fluctuations, but are also heavily influenced by differences and changes in the occupational mix of training, in the administrative process of collecting the statistics, and other factors.
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Quarter: 1 October 1988 to 31 December 1988
Accidents<1>
Region |Numbers in |Fatal |Major<2> |Minor |All accident
training<3> |rate/100,000<3>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scotland |48,679 |1 |22 |97 |986
Northern |32,587 |- |14 |130 |1,767
North West |65,836 |1 |33 |116 |911
Yorkshire and Humberside |49,011 |1 |28 |101 |1,060
West Midlands |48,578 |- |8 |73 |666
East Midlands and Eastern |50,346 |- |34 |84 |858
Wales |25,297 |- |8 |87 |1,502
South West |33,026 |- |12 |44 |678
South East |44,151- |14 |58 |652
London |22,571 |- |1 |13 |248
Quarter: 1 October 1988 to 31 December 1988
Accidents<1>
Region |Numbers in |Fatal |Major<2> |Minor |All accident
training<3> |rate/100,000<3>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scotland |48,679 |1 |22 |97 |986
Northern |32,587 |- |14 |130 |1,767
North West |65,836 |1 |33 |116 |911
Yorkshire and Humberside |49,011 |1 |28 |101 |1,060
West Midlands |48,578 |- |8 |73 |666
East Midlands and Eastern |50,346 |- |34 |84 |858
Wales |25,297 |- |8 |87 |1,502
South West |33,026 |- |12 |44 |678
South East |44,151- |14 |58 |652
London |22,571 |- |1 |13 |248
Quarter: 1 October 1988 to 31 December 1988
Accidents<1>
Region |Numbers in |Fatal |Major<2> |Minor |All accident
training<3> |rate/100,000<3>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scotland |48,679 |1 |22 |97 |986
Northern |32,587 |- |14 |130 |1,767
North West |65,836 |1 |33 |116 |911
Yorkshire and Humberside |49,011 |1 |28 |101 |1,060
West Midlands |48,578 |- |8 |73 |666
East Midlands and Eastern |50,346 |- |34 |84 |858
Wales |25,297 |- |8 |87 |1,502
South West |33,026 |- |12 |44 |678
South East |44,151- |14 |58 |652
London |22,571 |- |1 |13 |248
Quarter: 1 October 1988 to 31 December 1988
Accidents<1>
Region |Numbers in |Fatal |Major<2> |Minor |All accident
training<3> |rate/100,000<3>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scotland |48,679 |1 |22 |97 |986
Northern |32,587 |- |14 |130 |1,767
North West |65,836 |1 |33 |116 |911
Yorkshire and Humberside |49,011 |1 |28 |101 |1,060
West Midlands |48,578 |- |8 |73 |666
East Midlands and Eastern |50,346 |- |34 |84 |858
Wales |25,297 |- |8 |87 |1,502
South West |33,026 |- |12 |44 |678
South East |44,151- |14 |58 |652
London |22,571 |- |1 |13 |248
Disabled Workers
Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans he has to introduce further incentives in the near future to encourage firms to employ an increased percentage of disabled workers.
Mr. Eggar : Measures to encourage the employment of people with disabilities are among the matters being considered in the internal review of services for people with disabilities which my Department has been undertaking. A consultative document covering the conclusions reached in the review will be published as soon as possible.
Retail Prices
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proposals he has to develop indicators for retail prices, which take account of regional variations, including variations in housing costs ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lilley : I have been asked to reply.
The RPI already takes account of regional variations in housing costs and other prices since it is based on expenditure information and price quotations from every region, weighted together so as to give an appropriately balanced indicator for the United Kingdom as a whole. It has never been the practice to compile separate indicators for the different regions and I have no plans to do so.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Fishing Limit (Isle of Man)
Dr. Cunningham : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions have taken place between his Department and the European Commission about the implications for European Community fisheries policy of a 12-mile fishing limit around the Isle of Man ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Curry : None. Common fisheries policy provisions already apply to the area which would be covered by an extended 12-mile limit and will continue to do so given our obligations under community treaties.
Dr. Cunningham : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions have taken place between his Department and representatives of the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations about a proposed 12-mile fishing limit around the Isle of Man.
Mr. Curry : None. The NFFO is, however, aware that given the provision in the Territorial Sea Act 1987 for a 12-mile territorial sea for the Isle of Man, Fisheries and other Departments are considering how this should be put into effect. The NFFO has been assured that any arrangement made would clearly have to safeguard the interests of all fishermen, and our Community obligations.
Dr. Cunningham : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions have taken place
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between his Ministry and the Isle of Man authorities about a proposed 12-mile fishing limit around the Isle of Man ; and what is the position of the Government.Mr. Curry : Fisheries Departments have discussed with the Home Office and the Isle of Man authorities how the provision for a 12-mile territorial sea round the Isle of Man contained in the Territorial Sea Act 1987 might be implemented in relation to fishing. We are clear that it is necessary to safeguard the rights of all fishermen and our Community obligations.
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the meetings he has had with the Isle if Man authorities over their proposals to impose a 12-mile exclusion zone for fishing.
Mr. Gummer : There are no proposals for a 12-mile exclusion zone for fishing. What is being explored are arrangements for implementing the provision in the 1987 Territorial Sea Act for a 12-mile territorial sea for the Isle of Man. For fishing, these would have to safeguard the interests and traditional rights of all fishermen within 12 miles of the Isle of Man.
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions he has had with fishermen's repesentatives over the proposals by the Isle of Man to impose a 12-mile exclusion zone for fishing.
Mr. Gummer : None. There are no proposals for a 12-mile exclusion zone for fishing.
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government on the proposals of the Isle of Man authorities to impose a 12-mile exclusion zone for United Kingdom fishermen ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gummer : The Isle of Man have made no proposals for a 12-mile exclusion zone for fishing. Nor would the Government entertain any proposals which did not accommodate the traditional rights of all fishermen.
Haddock Quota
Mr. Trotter : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to what extent English fishermen have been denied part of the 1989 haddock quota as a result of overfishing in Scotland ; what steps he proposes to take to prevent a recurrence ; and what proposals he has to compensate the fishermen concerned by increasing their future quotas at the expense of those who overfished or otherwise.
Mr. Curry : Catches to 11 November (latest available) show that three Scottish groups and one English group exceeded their allocations by 1,257 tonnes and 75 tonnes respectively. As a result the following groups (which contain both English and Scottish members) were prevented from taking 1,172 tonnes of their allocations : Anglo-Scottish Fish Producers Organisation Ltd., the non-sectoral group, and the group comprising vessels of 10
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metres and under. In addition two Scottish groups were unable to take their full allocations. Fisheries Departments have recently consulted the industry about arrangements for the 1990 fishery, and it was agreed that compensation should be available to groups disadvantaged by the overfishing of others. Fisheries Departments will continue to monitor uptake in 1990 and will withdraw licences from any group which they estimate has taken its allocation.Pesticides
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list all the pesticides/active ingredients for which he has withdrawn approval for each year since 1985 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gummer : Approvals for pesticide products containing the following active ingredients were revoked :
1985
bitertanol
1988
binapacryl
chlordane (one remaining use which expires 31 December 1992) cyhexatin
dinoseb
dinoseb-acetate
dinoseb-amine
dinoterb
DNOC
1989
aldrin
captafol
dieldrin
Milk
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the contaminants for which milk is tested prior to sale ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gummer : Production and processing conditions are strictly regulated with a view to ensuring that contamination does not occur. In addition, the Milk Marketing Board tests raw milk to assess its bacterial quality and to detect antibiotic residues and similar tests are carried out by processing dairies. The Ministry prescribes bacteriological standards for the finished product and monitors milk for contaminants under its food surveillance programme.
Chernobyl
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the number of (a) farms, (b) sheep and (c) acres currently under restriction due to the radioactive contamination in England following the Chernobyl accident.
Mr Gummer : The information requested by the hon. Member is as follows :
(a) 150 Cumbrian holdings.
(b) With some 170,000 sheep (maximum post-lambing figure). (c) In a restricted area comprising some 116,000 acres. Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what expenditure he has incurred in compensation for farmers as a result of the Chernobyl accident for each year since 1986 in England.
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Mr. Gummer : Payments in England have been as follows :
|£
------------------------
1986 |189,749
1987 |212,402
1988 |128,545
<1>1989 |53,842
<1> To end of October.
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the number of cattle found to have bovine spongiform encephalopathy in the age ranges (i) 0 to six months, (ii) seven to 12 months,(iii) 13 to 18 months, (iv) 19 months to two years, and(v) two years and over.
Mr. Gummer : The answer is as follows :
(i) None.
(ii) None.
(iii) None.
(iv) None.
(v) All the 7,925 confirmed cases so far have been over two years of age.
State Veterinary Service
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the reviews of the state veterinary service he has undertaken over the last 10 years, giving the year in which each review was carried out ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gummer : Apart from the routine programme of staff inspections throughout the Department, the State Veterinary Service (SVS) has been the subject of two reviews since 1979. An efficiency study of the veterinary investigation service was carried out in 1984, followed by a review of the divisional organisation of the SVS in 1985. As an arm of the agricultural development and advisory service, the service was also considered in the review of ADAS organisation and management in June 1986.
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