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Column 739
Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 14 December 1989
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Student Loans
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many representations he has received (a) in favour of and (b) against student loans.
Mr. Jackson : Representations have expressed a variety of views on different aspects of the proposals. Many support the underlying principle that students in higher education should contribute to their living costs.
Research
Mr. Watson : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what arrangements exist between the Medical Research Council and Celltech on the exploitation of research results.
Mr. Jackson : The Medical Research Council and Celltech Ltd signed a memorandum of understanding for a period of five years on 2 November 1988.
The main feature of the memorandum of understanding is provision for regular dialogue between the council and Celltech. The understanding does not oblige the council to give preferential treatment in respect of new technologies.
Higher Education
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement about the numbers of pupils remaining in full-time education after 16 years.
Mr. Jackson : In 1988-89, 345,000 16-year-olds were participating in full-time education in England. The details are as follows :
|Pupils
--------------------------------------
Maintained schools: |180,000
Maintained further
education colleges: |126,750
Independent schools: |38,300
This represents an overall full-time participation rate of 51 per cent.
Correspondence
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State will reply to the letter of 19 September from the hon. Member for Oxford, East on the future of the Workers Educational Association.
Mr. Jackson : I have replied to the hon. Member today.
Column 740
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State will reply to the letter of 19 July from the hon. Member for Oxford, East on the points indicated in his letter of 17 October.
Mr. Jackson : I did not think that the hon. Member's letter required a reply.
Her Majesty's Senior Chief Inspector (Report)
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) when the next annual report of Her Majesty's senior chief inspector will be published on the state of schools ;
(2) whether he intends to edit or amend the annual report of Her Majesty's senior chief inspector on the state of schools before it is published.
Mr. MacGregor : I expect to receive the annual report from the senior chief inspector early in the new year. When I do so I intend to publish it without editing or amendment.
City Technology Colleges
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science which city technology colleges have signed agreements with his Department ; and what areas these agreements cover.
Mrs. Rumbold : My right hon. Friend will shortly be concluding funding agreements with all city technology colleges on the lines of the model agreement placed in the Library of the House earlier this year. Pending the conclusion of these agreements, there have been exchanges of letters with principal sponsors setting out their commitment and the conditions on which the Secretary of State accepted their sponsorship.
Bradford City Technology College
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much money, to date, Dixons has paid towards capital and revenue expenditure at Bradford city technology college ; what is the total financial commitment of Dixons to the capital and revenue expenditure of Bradford city technology college to date ; by what dates Dixons is required to pay additional amounts ; and whether any of these commitments are conditional on Dixons remaining free from takeover.
Mrs. Rumbold : The total financial commitment of the Dixons Group plc to the capital development of the Bradford city technology college is £1.1 million. This is being paid by a deed of covenant over five years in five equal payments of £220,000. The first payment was made in March 1989, the next being due in March 1990. Our agreement with Dixons is based on the understanding that the covenant by Dixons is such that it would have to be taken over by any successor of the Dixons Group plc.
Further Education
Mr. Derek Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list (a) the 1986-87 and 1987-88 grant-related expenditure assessments for 16 to 19-year-olds' education provision by local education authority and (b) the actual level of expenditure for 1986- 87 and 1987-88.
Column 741
Mr. Jackson : Table 1 shows the grant- related expenditure assessments (GREA) by local authority for the years 1986-87 and 1987-88 for provision relating to 16 to 19-year-olds. The assessments shown are the GRE for school pupils aged over 16 (OSLA) and for non-advanced further education (NAFE) and the pooling GRE for advanced further education. The NAFE GRE includes further education provision for students aged over 19 and is distributed on the numbers of NAFE home students in full-time, part-time day release and block-release and youth training scheme (YTS) courses. The pooling GRE covers also provision for a wider age range.Column 742
Table 2 shows the net expenditure by local education authorities on non-special secondary education, polytechnics and other maintained further education establishments for the years 1986-87 and 1987-88, which cover the areas dealing with 16 to 19-year-olds' education : no separate figure is available for secondary education for pupils aged 16 and over. The grant-related expenditure assessments cannot be compared easily with the expenditure shown because the coverage of each figure is different. The expenditure figures include estimates for three authorities in both 1986-87 and 1987-88 which did not make returns.Column 741
1986-87 1987-88
|Secondary |Polytechnics |Other |Secondary |Polytechnics |Other
education |maintained FE |education |maintained FE
establishments |establishments
|£ |£ |£ |£ |£ |£
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunderland |28,910,534 |11,368,509 |5,362,780 |30,680,917 |12,034,587 |5,612,805
Isles of Scilly |339,194 |0 |0 |339,374 |0 |0
ILEA |263,550,157 |85,810,985 |122,713,747 |274,271,804 |92,095,400 |123,827,759
Avon |78,976,793 |17,228,655 |23,729,305 |82,422,127 |18,449,698 |24,678,676
Bedfordshire |57,919,533 |0 |16,388,943 |63,392,671 |0 |19,592,484
Berkshire |63,516,809 |0 |24,850,660 |68,221,071 |0 |26,921,589
Buckinghamshire |54,989,146 |0 |14,926,890 |59,805,927 |0 |16,789,043
Cambridgeshire |55,071,889 |0 |19,288,705 |59,289,498 |0 |21,242,501
Cheshire |92,211,665 |0 |27,055,026 |97,931,033 |0 |28,631,229
Cleveland |60,295,116 |11,411,208 |13,693,042 |63,974,681 |12,959,355 |17,047,000
Cornwall |39,249,979 |0 |10,815,248 |43,204,459 |0 |11,435,517
Cumbria |48,476,614 |0 |12,523,013 |52,528,084 |0 |12,973,434
Derbyshire |89,548,946 |0 |19,799,691 |97,216,591 |0 |21,910,747
Devon |78,870,103 |13,948,748 |26,539,126 |84,764,306 |15,024,025 |29,296,523
Dorset |49,551,320 |0 |19,365,803 |52,723,808 |0 |20,231,823
Durham |54,043,391 |0 |13,834,774 |57,906,897 |0 |14,789,948
East Sussex |47,923,466 |16,256,938 |12,545,484 |51,278,270 |16,782,672 |13,357,708
Essex |144,454,040 |0 |36,578,456 |156,024,923 |0 |39,209,411
Gloucestershire |45,519,110 |0 |14,889,432 |48,348,511 |0 |16,673,461
Hampshire |119,527,811 |16,608,327 |46,184,422 |130,863,006 |17,946,655 |50,061,746
Hereford and Worcester |63,512,232 |0 |20,631,671 |68,917,232 |0 |22,679,847
Hertfordshire |93,683,862 |13,158,289 |30,545,977 |97,717,214 |17,181,112 |31,546,645
Humberside |92,936,999 |0 |27,818,100 |97,904,378 |0 |30,245,535
Isle of Wight |12,639,121 |0 |2,696,727 |13,949,615 |0 |2,960,494
Kent |133,640,920 |0 |27,372,100 |141,954,852 |0 |29,596,292
Lancashire |126,151,218 |13,589,904 |42,153,105 |137,268,238 |14,444,995 |42,776,664
Leicestershire |92,938,882 |18,141,357 |20,438,492 |97,263,400 |19,196,252 |22,394,890
Lincolnshire |52,485,781 |0 |10,726,632 |54,801,391 |0 |11,433,412
Norfolk |58,036,611 |0 |14,798,698 |62,566,535 |0 |16,125,738
North Yorkshire |62,331,868 |0 |11,048,666 |65,777,429 |0 |14,028,961
Northamptonshire |59,642,016 |0 |15,532,719 |63,205,529 |0 |17,406,937
Northumberland |36,010,583 |0 |3,576,802 |39,309,452 |0 |4,341,694
Nottinghamshire |101,585,516 |20,689,701 |22,452,042 |108,102,884 |23,168,204 |24,852,158
Oxfordshire |49,043,978 |12,227,878 |11,953,540 |52,360,679 |12,538,322 |14,289,167
Salop |40,578,656 |0 |9,079,307 |43,796,429 |0 |9,600,907
Somerset |38,700,788 |0 |13,738,327 |41,837,745 |0 |15,486,287
Staffordshire |104,690,337 |14,256,528 |23,201,060 |110,827,224 |15,240,624 |24,982,875
Suffolk |59,171,049 |0 |12,188,395 |64,064,406 |0 |13,781,489
Surrey |67,508,936 |0 |21,415,621 |73,461,788 |0 |23,016,997
Warwickshire |37,425,447 |0 |13,734,713 |40,671,657 |0 |15,019,664
West Sussex |52,558,783 |0 |10,950,249 |56,549,273 |0 |13,545,159
Wiltshire |48,443,812 |0 |16,371,171 |51,682,518 |0 |18,943,196
Total |4,472,697,109 |496,657,864 |1,279,355,542 |4,765,527,509 |527,084,514 |1,382,881,791
1986-87 1987-88
|Secondary |Polytechnics |Other |Secondary |Polytechnics |Other
education |maintained FE |education |maintained FE
establishments |establishments
|£ |£ |£ |£ |£ |£
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunderland |28,910,534 |11,368,509 |5,362,780 |30,680,917 |12,034,587 |5,612,805
Isles of Scilly |339,194 |0 |0 |339,374 |0 |0
ILEA |263,550,157 |85,810,985 |122,713,747 |274,271,804 |92,095,400 |123,827,759
Avon |78,976,793 |17,228,655 |23,729,305 |82,422,127 |18,449,698 |24,678,676
Bedfordshire |57,919,533 |0 |16,388,943 |63,392,671 |0 |19,592,484
Berkshire |63,516,809 |0 |24,850,660 |68,221,071 |0 |26,921,589
Buckinghamshire |54,989,146 |0 |14,926,890 |59,805,927 |0 |16,789,043
Cambridgeshire |55,071,889 |0 |19,288,705 |59,289,498 |0 |21,242,501
Cheshire |92,211,665 |0 |27,055,026 |97,931,033 |0 |28,631,229
Cleveland |60,295,116 |11,411,208 |13,693,042 |63,974,681 |12,959,355 |17,047,000
Cornwall |39,249,979 |0 |10,815,248 |43,204,459 |0 |11,435,517
Cumbria |48,476,614 |0 |12,523,013 |52,528,084 |0 |12,973,434
Derbyshire |89,548,946 |0 |19,799,691 |97,216,591 |0 |21,910,747
Devon |78,870,103 |13,948,748 |26,539,126 |84,764,306 |15,024,025 |29,296,523
Dorset |49,551,320 |0 |19,365,803 |52,723,808 |0 |20,231,823
Durham |54,043,391 |0 |13,834,774 |57,906,897 |0 |14,789,948
East Sussex |47,923,466 |16,256,938 |12,545,484 |51,278,270 |16,782,672 |13,357,708
Essex |144,454,040 |0 |36,578,456 |156,024,923 |0 |39,209,411
Gloucestershire |45,519,110 |0 |14,889,432 |48,348,511 |0 |16,673,461
Hampshire |119,527,811 |16,608,327 |46,184,422 |130,863,006 |17,946,655 |50,061,746
Hereford and Worcester |63,512,232 |0 |20,631,671 |68,917,232 |0 |22,679,847
Hertfordshire |93,683,862 |13,158,289 |30,545,977 |97,717,214 |17,181,112 |31,546,645
Humberside |92,936,999 |0 |27,818,100 |97,904,378 |0 |30,245,535
Isle of Wight |12,639,121 |0 |2,696,727 |13,949,615 |0 |2,960,494
Kent |133,640,920 |0 |27,372,100 |141,954,852 |0 |29,596,292
Lancashire |126,151,218 |13,589,904 |42,153,105 |137,268,238 |14,444,995 |42,776,664
Leicestershire |92,938,882 |18,141,357 |20,438,492 |97,263,400 |19,196,252 |22,394,890
Lincolnshire |52,485,781 |0 |10,726,632 |54,801,391 |0 |11,433,412
Norfolk |58,036,611 |0 |14,798,698 |62,566,535 |0 |16,125,738
North Yorkshire |62,331,868 |0 |11,048,666 |65,777,429 |0 |14,028,961
Northamptonshire |59,642,016 |0 |15,532,719 |63,205,529 |0 |17,406,937
Northumberland |36,010,583 |0 |3,576,802 |39,309,452 |0 |4,341,694
Nottinghamshire |101,585,516 |20,689,701 |22,452,042 |108,102,884 |23,168,204 |24,852,158
Oxfordshire |49,043,978 |12,227,878 |11,953,540 |52,360,679 |12,538,322 |14,289,167
Salop |40,578,656 |0 |9,079,307 |43,796,429 |0 |9,600,907
Somerset |38,700,788 |0 |13,738,327 |41,837,745 |0 |15,486,287
Staffordshire |104,690,337 |14,256,528 |23,201,060 |110,827,224 |15,240,624 |24,982,875
Suffolk |59,171,049 |0 |12,188,395 |64,064,406 |0 |13,781,489
Surrey |67,508,936 |0 |21,415,621 |73,461,788 |0 |23,016,997
Warwickshire |37,425,447 |0 |13,734,713 |40,671,657 |0 |15,019,664
West Sussex |52,558,783 |0 |10,950,249 |56,549,273 |0 |13,545,159
Wiltshire |48,443,812 |0 |16,371,171 |51,682,518 |0 |18,943,196
Total |4,472,697,109 |496,657,864 |1,279,355,542 |4,765,527,509 |527,084,514 |1,382,881,791
1986-87 1987-88
|Secondary |Polytechnics |Other |Secondary |Polytechnics |Other
education |maintained FE |education |maintained FE
establishments |establishments
|£ |£ |£ |£ |£ |£
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunderland |28,910,534 |11,368,509 |5,362,780 |30,680,917 |12,034,587 |5,612,805
Isles of Scilly |339,194 |0 |0 |339,374 |0 |0
ILEA |263,550,157 |85,810,985 |122,713,747 |274,271,804 |92,095,400 |123,827,759
Avon |78,976,793 |17,228,655 |23,729,305 |82,422,127 |18,449,698 |24,678,676
Bedfordshire |57,919,533 |0 |16,388,943 |63,392,671 |0 |19,592,484
Berkshire |63,516,809 |0 |24,850,660 |68,221,071 |0 |26,921,589
Buckinghamshire |54,989,146 |0 |14,926,890 |59,805,927 |0 |16,789,043
Cambridgeshire |55,071,889 |0 |19,288,705 |59,289,498 |0 |21,242,501
Cheshire |92,211,665 |0 |27,055,026 |97,931,033 |0 |28,631,229
Cleveland |60,295,116 |11,411,208 |13,693,042 |63,974,681 |12,959,355 |17,047,000
Cornwall |39,249,979 |0 |10,815,248 |43,204,459 |0 |11,435,517
Cumbria |48,476,614 |0 |12,523,013 |52,528,084 |0 |12,973,434
Derbyshire |89,548,946 |0 |19,799,691 |97,216,591 |0 |21,910,747
Devon |78,870,103 |13,948,748 |26,539,126 |84,764,306 |15,024,025 |29,296,523
Dorset |49,551,320 |0 |19,365,803 |52,723,808 |0 |20,231,823
Durham |54,043,391 |0 |13,834,774 |57,906,897 |0 |14,789,948
East Sussex |47,923,466 |16,256,938 |12,545,484 |51,278,270 |16,782,672 |13,357,708
Essex |144,454,040 |0 |36,578,456 |156,024,923 |0 |39,209,411
Gloucestershire |45,519,110 |0 |14,889,432 |48,348,511 |0 |16,673,461
Hampshire |119,527,811 |16,608,327 |46,184,422 |130,863,006 |17,946,655 |50,061,746
Hereford and Worcester |63,512,232 |0 |20,631,671 |68,917,232 |0 |22,679,847
Hertfordshire |93,683,862 |13,158,289 |30,545,977 |97,717,214 |17,181,112 |31,546,645
Humberside |92,936,999 |0 |27,818,100 |97,904,378 |0 |30,245,535
Isle of Wight |12,639,121 |0 |2,696,727 |13,949,615 |0 |2,960,494
Kent |133,640,920 |0 |27,372,100 |141,954,852 |0 |29,596,292
Lancashire |126,151,218 |13,589,904 |42,153,105 |137,268,238 |14,444,995 |42,776,664
Leicestershire |92,938,882 |18,141,357 |20,438,492 |97,263,400 |19,196,252 |22,394,890
Lincolnshire |52,485,781 |0 |10,726,632 |54,801,391 |0 |11,433,412
Norfolk |58,036,611 |0 |14,798,698 |62,566,535 |0 |16,125,738
North Yorkshire |62,331,868 |0 |11,048,666 |65,777,429 |0 |14,028,961
Northamptonshire |59,642,016 |0 |15,532,719 |63,205,529 |0 |17,406,937
Northumberland |36,010,583 |0 |3,576,802 |39,309,452 |0 |4,341,694
Nottinghamshire |101,585,516 |20,689,701 |22,452,042 |108,102,884 |23,168,204 |24,852,158
Oxfordshire |49,043,978 |12,227,878 |11,953,540 |52,360,679 |12,538,322 |14,289,167
Salop |40,578,656 |0 |9,079,307 |43,796,429 |0 |9,600,907
Somerset |38,700,788 |0 |13,738,327 |41,837,745 |0 |15,486,287
Staffordshire |104,690,337 |14,256,528 |23,201,060 |110,827,224 |15,240,624 |24,982,875
Suffolk |59,171,049 |0 |12,188,395 |64,064,406 |0 |13,781,489
Surrey |67,508,936 |0 |21,415,621 |73,461,788 |0 |23,016,997
Warwickshire |37,425,447 |0 |13,734,713 |40,671,657 |0 |15,019,664
West Sussex |52,558,783 |0 |10,950,249 |56,549,273 |0 |13,545,159
Wiltshire |48,443,812 |0 |16,371,171 |51,682,518 |0 |18,943,196
Total |4,472,697,109 |496,657,864 |1,279,355,542 |4,765,527,509 |527,084,514 |1,382,881,791
Column 743
1986-87 1987-88
|Secondary |Polytechnics |Other |Secondary |Polytechnics |Other
education |maintained FE |education |maintained FE
establishments |establishments
|£ |£ |£ |£ |£ |£
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunderland |28,910,534 |11,368,509 |5,362,780 |30,680,917 |12,034,587 |5,612,805
Isles of Scilly |339,194 |0 |0 |339,374 |0 |0
ILEA |263,550,157 |85,810,985 |122,713,747 |274,271,804 |92,095,400 |123,827,759
Avon |78,976,793 |17,228,655 |23,729,305 |82,422,127 |18,449,698 |24,678,676
Bedfordshire |57,919,533 |0 |16,388,943 |63,392,671 |0 |19,592,484
Berkshire |63,516,809 |0 |24,850,660 |68,221,071 |0 |26,921,589
Buckinghamshire |54,989,146 |0 |14,926,890 |59,805,927 |0 |16,789,043
Cambridgeshire |55,071,889 |0 |19,288,705 |59,289,498 |0 |21,242,501
Cheshire |92,211,665 |0 |27,055,026 |97,931,033 |0 |28,631,229
Cleveland |60,295,116 |11,411,208 |13,693,042 |63,974,681 |12,959,355 |17,047,000
Cornwall |39,249,979 |0 |10,815,248 |43,204,459 |0 |11,435,517
Cumbria |48,476,614 |0 |12,523,013 |52,528,084 |0 |12,973,434
Derbyshire |89,548,946 |0 |19,799,691 |97,216,591 |0 |21,910,747
Devon |78,870,103 |13,948,748 |26,539,126 |84,764,306 |15,024,025 |29,296,523
Dorset |49,551,320 |0 |19,365,803 |52,723,808 |0 |20,231,823
Durham |54,043,391 |0 |13,834,774 |57,906,897 |0 |14,789,948
East Sussex |47,923,466 |16,256,938 |12,545,484 |51,278,270 |16,782,672 |13,357,708
Essex |144,454,040 |0 |36,578,456 |156,024,923 |0 |39,209,411
Gloucestershire |45,519,110 |0 |14,889,432 |48,348,511 |0 |16,673,461
Hampshire |119,527,811 |16,608,327 |46,184,422 |130,863,006 |17,946,655 |50,061,746
Hereford and Worcester |63,512,232 |0 |20,631,671 |68,917,232 |0 |22,679,847
Hertfordshire |93,683,862 |13,158,289 |30,545,977 |97,717,214 |17,181,112 |31,546,645
Humberside |92,936,999 |0 |27,818,100 |97,904,378 |0 |30,245,535
Isle of Wight |12,639,121 |0 |2,696,727 |13,949,615 |0 |2,960,494
Kent |133,640,920 |0 |27,372,100 |141,954,852 |0 |29,596,292
Lancashire |126,151,218 |13,589,904 |42,153,105 |137,268,238 |14,444,995 |42,776,664
Leicestershire |92,938,882 |18,141,357 |20,438,492 |97,263,400 |19,196,252 |22,394,890
Lincolnshire |52,485,781 |0 |10,726,632 |54,801,391 |0 |11,433,412
Norfolk |58,036,611 |0 |14,798,698 |62,566,535 |0 |16,125,738
North Yorkshire |62,331,868 |0 |11,048,666 |65,777,429 |0 |14,028,961
Northamptonshire |59,642,016 |0 |15,532,719 |63,205,529 |0 |17,406,937
Northumberland |36,010,583 |0 |3,576,802 |39,309,452 |0 |4,341,694
Nottinghamshire |101,585,516 |20,689,701 |22,452,042 |108,102,884 |23,168,204 |24,852,158
Oxfordshire |49,043,978 |12,227,878 |11,953,540 |52,360,679 |12,538,322 |14,289,167
Salop |40,578,656 |0 |9,079,307 |43,796,429 |0 |9,600,907
Somerset |38,700,788 |0 |13,738,327 |41,837,745 |0 |15,486,287
Staffordshire |104,690,337 |14,256,528 |23,201,060 |110,827,224 |15,240,624 |24,982,875
Suffolk |59,171,049 |0 |12,188,395 |64,064,406 |0 |13,781,489
Surrey |67,508,936 |0 |21,415,621 |73,461,788 |0 |23,016,997
Warwickshire |37,425,447 |0 |13,734,713 |40,671,657 |0 |15,019,664
West Sussex |52,558,783 |0 |10,950,249 |56,549,273 |0 |13,545,159
Wiltshire |48,443,812 |0 |16,371,171 |51,682,518 |0 |18,943,196
Total |4,472,697,109 |496,657,864 |1,279,355,542 |4,765,527,509 |527,084,514 |1,382,881,791
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Legal Aid (Northern Ireland)
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Attorney-General what is the present waiting period for appeals against refusals of applications for legal aid in Northern Ireland ; and if he will make a statement on the operations of the legal aid service in Northern Ireland.
The Attorney-General : The present average waiting period for appeals against refusals for civil legal aid in Northern Ireland is four months.
The Law Society of Northern Ireland produces an annual report on the operation of both civil and criminal legal aid which incorporates a report by the Lord Chancellor's advisory committee on legal aid in Northern Ireland. The report for 1987-88 was laid before Parliament on 20 October 1989.
Taken Over Cases
Mr. Allen : To ask the Attorney-General if he will list those cases taken over by any Government officer other than the Director of Public Prosecutions since 1980 and the reason for the takeover in each case.
The Attorney-General : The power to take over the conduct of criminal proceedings contained in section 6(2) of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 extends only to the Director of Public Prosecutions but that power may be exercised by a Crown prosecutor acting under his direction. Prior to the implementation of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 the corresponding legislation was the Prosecution of Offences Act 1979 which conferred a similar power on the Director of Public Prosecutions. That power was exercisable by an assistant Director of Public Prosecutions. A similar power is conferred on the director of the Serious Fraud Office by section 1(5) (b) of the Criminal Justice Act 1987 but has not been exercised. On the establishment of the Serious Fraud Office the conduct of a number of current cases passed by agreement from the Crown prosecution service to the Serious Fraud Office. I shall write to the hon. Member listing those cases. It is to be noted that neither the Director of Public Prosecutions nor the director of the Serious Fraud Office is correctly described as a Government officer.
Column 748
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Spirit Measures
Mr. Baldry : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what arrangements will apply in future in Great Britain for measuring spirits for consumption on licensed premises ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : Having considered the responses to my Department's consultation paper, I have concluded that the present range of imperial quantities of nd gill for serving whisky, gin, rum and vodka should be replaced by a single round metric quantity of 25ml. A single metric measure throughout Great Britain would have the advantage of enabling consumers to compare prices and monitor their alcohol consumption more easily. It would also allow instrument manufacturers to make economies of scale. Licensees should find the new quantity more convenient since it is an exact fraction of the bottle.
I therefore intend to lay in draft an order which would permit the four major spirits to be served in this new metric quantity from the middle of next year and would prohibit the use of the imperial quantities for this purpose from 1 January 1995.
British Aerospace
Mr. Gordon Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish the minute of the meeting of 4 July with British Aerospace at which tax benefits were discussed.
Mr. Ridley : The agreed way of recording this meeting was an exchange of letters between the advisers of British Aerospace and the Inland Revenue ; copies of these letters dated 8 July have already been sent to the hon. Gentleman.
Mr. Gordon Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will place in the Library correspondence between his predecessor and British Aerospace on 6, 12 July and 13 July.
Mr. Ridley : I have already done so, together with other letters between my predecessor and the British Aerospace chairman dated 14 July 1988 relating to the terms and conditions of the sale of Her Majesty's Government's shareholding in Rover Group to British Aerospace.
Column 749
Mr. Gordon Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if the raising of the ring fence for capital losses includes capital gains in property companies acquired by British Aerospace.Mr. Ridley : Following the lifting of the contractual ring fence on capital losses which had been a part of the March 1988 conditional agreement for the sale of Rover, British Aerospace has the right to use Rover Group capital losses to set against gains to the same extent and subject to the same statutory conditions as any other group in equivalent circumstances.
Mr. Gordon Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information was provided to the European Commission of the tax benefits for British Aerospace of the Rover deal.
Mr. Ridley : The Commission was informed that the benefit of using Rover Group's carried forward pre-acquisition trading tax losses was effectively limited to £500 million by the conditional and the final agreement with BAe : that the March 1988 conditional agreement ring fenced the capital losses and disclaimed capital allowances so they could only be utilised by Rover Group ; and that as part of the final agreement these would be unringfenced so that BAe would have the same freedom as that available under tax law to any other group. The Commission was made aware of the difficulty of estimating the value of restoring that freedom.
Mr. Gordon Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry who paid the fees for (a) Rover's and (b) British Aerospace's advisers as part of the final contract with British Aerospace.
Mr. Ridley : As I explained in my statement of 30 November the Government paid Rover Group £1.5 million for its privatisation costs. BAe paid its own advisers' fees.
Steel Industry
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) on what date he was informed that a plate finishing mill was being stored at British Steel, Lackenby ; whether he was consulted by British Steel before the company issued a denial of any knowledge of such a plant ; whether he was consulted by British Steel before the company confirmed that a plate mill had been stored in Lackenby for several months ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) whether he regards British Steel plc's admission that it has been supportive of the Davy Corporation's acquisition of a second-hand Japanese plate finishing mill as likely to affect guarantees given by his Department relating to the future of the Scottish steel industry ;
(3) whether the Government would intervene to stop British Steel plc going ahead with any closure proposals which relate to the Scottish plants covered by the guarantees issued by his Department on 3 December 1987.
Mr. Douglas Hogg [holding answer 12 December 1989] : The acquisition and disposition of items of plant are matters for British Steel. Ministers have not been, and do not expect to be, informed or consulted by the company on such matters. There are no current Government guarantees in relation to the future of any of British Steel's works, the last such guarantee having expired at the end of August 1988.
Column 750
Bankruptcies
Mr. Fraser : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of assets in bankruptcy in the last available year were absorbed by the cost of the proceedings as opposed to distribution among creditors.
Mr. Redwood [holding answer 12 December 1989] : The last year for which the information was maintained in the form requested was 1984. In that year out of every £1 of net assets realised in bankruptcy cases where the official receiver was trustee 64.5p was spent on administration expenses, 15p was paid to the preferential creditors and 20.5p was distributed among the unsecured creditors. The comparative figures for cases where a non-official trustee was appointed were 52.9p, 17.9p and 29.9p. Such information for the years after 1984 could not be obtained other than at disproportionate cost.
Since the Insolvency Act 1986 came into force on 29 December 1986 official receivers have been able to ensure that nearly all bankruptcies with sufficient assets to produce a distribution to creditors are administered by private sector insolvency practitioners. Those bankruptcies which remain to be administered by the official receiver as trustee are therefore unlikely to produce such a distribution, any assets realised in such cases being absorbed in payment of the costs of the proceedings.
Cross-Media Ownership
Dr. Woodcock : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what is the outcome of the investigation by the Office of Fair Trading into cross-media ownership ; what action he intends to take ; and if he will make a statement.
(2) when the Director General for Fair Trading is going to announce the conclusion of his investigations into cross-media ownership.
Mr. Ridley [pursuant to the reply, 15 November 1989, c. 281-82] : How media companies promote their interests in media services and products raises questions of standards of behaviour which go wider than those which can be addressed by the Director General of Fair Trading using competition legislation. I have therefore agreed with my right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary that there should be an independent inquiry, to be undertaken by John Sadler CBE, which will start work as soon as possible. In view of this the DGFT has decided not to pursue his investigations.
The terms of reference are as follows :
1. To consider to what extent it is proper for media companies to promote their own, or any associate's interests in the provision of media services or products.
2. Where such behaviour is found to be improper and taking into account the effect on the relevant markets to consider what remedies might be appropriate.
3. The provisions of the Broadcasting Bill 1989 are being considered by Parliament and are outside these terms of reference. 4. To report with any recommendations, to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.
Column 751
ENVIRONMENT
Rainfall
Mr. Onslow : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate he has formed of the rainfall levels required in England and Wales during the coming winter if drought conditions next summer are to be avoided.
Mr. Howard : Recent information suggests that average rainfall over the next five months would restore water resources to near-normal levels for the late spring in most areas of England and Wales. However, the National Rivers Authority estimates that the amount of rainfall required in parts of Yorkshire, the south-east and East Anglia might have to be as much as 50, 40 and 10 per cent. above average respectively. Where necessary, water undertakers are considering contingency measures.
Drinking Water
Mr. Ronnie Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many water supplies in the north-east contain aluminium in excess of the terms of the European drinking water directive.
Mr. Howard : Eighteen supply zones in the north-east have been notified to the Commission as being subject to a derogation under article 9(1) (a) of the EC drinking water directive in respect of the aluminium standard and hence comply with its requirements. We expect to notify the Commission shortly of a derogation for one further supply zone.
Improvement works are planned to treatment works to remedy failures of the aluminium standard in a further 24 supply zones. Improvements are also being carried out to the distribution system to remove residual aluminium deposits.
Contracts
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many contracts over £92,500 have been let by his Department in the 1988-89 financial year and the current financial year to date ; and how many of these were (a) automatically renewed and (b) open to competition by advertisement throughout the European Community.
Mr. Chris Patten : My Department includes the Property Services Agency and the Crown Suppliers. In 1988, a total of 175 contracts were let which were covered by the European Communities (EC) supplies directive, for which the current threshold is £92,000. Of these, 128 were awarded following advertisement in the EC official journal and 47 were considered to be exempt from advertising and may have been awarded to the previous supplier. For 1989 no comprehensive figures are yet available.
Accountancy Firms
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many outside accountancy firms are employed by his Department ; whether such employment is subject to any guidelines ; and whether he takes steps before employing an accountancy firm to discover whether that firm has been censured by Department of Trade and Industry inspectors in their inquiries under the Companies Act.
Column 752
Mr. Chris Patten : The latest readily available information covers 1988-89 when a total of seven accountancy firms were engaged by my Department. Accountancy firms are invited to tender for the provision of advisory services to Departments on the basis of their suitability to provide the relevant advice. In making such appointments consultations are carried out as necessary, and where appropriate in the light of advice given by Treasury on consultancy appointments.
National Rivers Authority
Mr. Ray Powell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress has been made in setting up salaries and terms of negotiating machinery for manual, white collar and senior staff in the nine months since the creation of the National Rivers Authority.
Mr. Howard : The National Rivers Authority's arrangements for pay negotiation with its employees are entirely a matter for the management of the authority, as an independent body.
Mr. Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many times the chairman of the National Rivers Authority has met the recognised trade unions since the National Rivers Authority came into formal existence ; and what information he has on the chairman's plans for any future meetings with the trade unions.
Mr. Howard [holding answer 12 December 1989] : Negotiations with staff--including dealings with trade unions--are a matter for the management of the National Rivers Authority, as an independent body.
Social Services
Mr. Hayward : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the expenditure per capita of population on social services in each shire county in England and Wales for the last financial year for which figures are available.
Mr. Chope : The information for English counties is as follows.
Expenditure<1> on social
services per capita-1988-89
|£
-----------------------------
Avon |60
Bedfordshire |56
Berkshire |55
Buckinghamshire |52
Cambridgeshire |55
Cheshire |58
Cleveland |69
Cornwall |49
Cumbria |55
Derbyshire |72
Devon |49
Dorset |42
Durham |51
East Sussex |56
Essex |50
Gloucestershire |45
Hampshire |42
Hereford and Worcester |44
Hertfordshire |50
Humberside |65
Isle of Wight |52
Kent |48
Lancashire |67
Leicestershire |56
Lincolnshire |46
Norfolk |46
Northamptonshire |58
Northumberland |57
North Yorkshire |45
Nottinghamshire |69
Oxfordshire |50
Shropshire |43
Somerset |51
Staffordshire |45
Suffolk |42
Surrey |39
Warwickshire |51
West Sussex |44
Wiltshire |49
<1> Net current expenditure.
The information relating to Welsh counties is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.
Nature Conservancy Council
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those members of the Nature Conservancy Council or members of its advisory committees whose periods of office expire or are to be reviewed at the end of the present financial year.
Mr. Trippier : The members of the Nature Conservancy Council, or its advisory committees, whose periods of office expire on 31 March 1990 are as follows :
Council
Sir William Wilkinson
Sir John Burnett
Professor J. A. Allen
Lord Blakenham
Miss A. M. Lees
Mr. J. Teacher
Mr. A. R. Trotter
Advisory Committee for England
Dr. P. H. Banham
Mr. J. B. Elkington
Professor B. M. Green
Miss A. M. Lees
Professor T. O'Riordan
Mr. A. T. Swindell
Mr. J. Teacher
Dr. M. B. Usher
Mr. W. J. Wilder
Advisory Committee for Scotland
Mr. J. M. S. Arnott
Mr. J. C. Compton
Professor P. S. Corbet
Mr. A. D. M. Farquharson
M. J. L. Goodfellow
Professor W. Ritchie
Mr. J. H. Scott
Miss V. M. Thom
Mr. A. R. Trotter
Advisory Committee for Wales
Mrs. E. M. Colwyn Foulkes
Mr. J. M. Harrop
Professor G. R. Sagar
Advisory Committee on Science (ACOS)
Professor J. A. Allen
Dr. P. H. Banham
Dr. J. P. Dempster
Dr. C. J. O. Harrison
Advisory Committee on Birds (ACB)
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