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Governing Bodies
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list and identify only those further education and higher education colleges for which he has agreed revised instruments of government where the size of the governing body is in excess of 20 persons.
Mr. Jackson : To date the Secretary of State has approved for the following institutions instruments of government which provide in each case for a governing body in excess of 20 members :
Bradford and Ilkley Community College ;
Croydon College ;
Newcastle College ;
Sandwell College of Further and Higher Education ;
Solihull College of Technology ;
South Tyneside College ;
Suffolk College of Higher and Further Education.
For three further colleges my right hon. Friend has indicated that he would be prepared to approve instruments of government which would provide for a governing body in excess of 20 members.
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Bradford City Technology College
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science who appoints trustees of the Bradford city technology college trust ; if he will list the names and designations of trustees, the total amount of private sector funds received by the trust, to date, the names of persons or companies who, to date, have contributed and the amount each has contributed ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Rumbold : The members of the Dixons city technology college trust are appointed by the principal sponsor or the Secretary of State for Education and Science. The initial members are : Mr. Stanley Kalms, the chairman of the Dixons Group plc, as the principal sponsor ;
Mr. Richard Andrews, the group personnel director of the Dixons Group plc, as the designated nominee for the principal sponsor ; and Mr. Edward Simpson CB, and educational consultant, as the designated nominee of the Secretary of State for Education and Science.
The total amount of private sector funds received to date is just under £1.3 million. This is made up of £1 million from Mr. Haking Wong ; £220,000 (the first of five equal instalments under a five-year covenant) from the Dixons Group plc ; and other contributions totalling just under £50,000.
Disabled Students
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans he has for the disabled students' allowance.
Mr. Jackson : My right hon. Friend currently has the operation of the disabled students' allowance under review in the context of the annual review of the awards regulations. He envisages announcing the outcome of this in time for any changes to take effect from 1 September 1990.
St. Dunstan's School
Sir Neil Macfarlane : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what are his Department's latest proposals for the rebuilding of St. Dunstan's Church of England school in Cheam ; what discussions his officials have had with officials from the London borough of Sutton ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Alan Howarth : It is not for the DES to make proposals for the rebuilding of a school. In June 1988 the Southwark Diocesan Board of Education published proposals under section 13 of the Education Act 1980 to establish in September 1989 a new Church of England voluntary-aided primary school in substitution for Cheam Church of England junior boys' school and St. Dunstan's Church of England primary school. The explanatory notes published with the proposal said that the new school would be accommodated in the existing premises of Cheam junior boys' school and St. Dunstan's primary school pending the construction of new school buildings. The previous Secretary of State for Education and Science approved those proposals in December 1988 and it is for the promoters and the local education authority to implement them. The Department indicated that the Secretary of State was prepared in principle to pay grant of 85 per cent. on the promoters' share of the cost of building the new school premises.
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I understand that the promoters have since had difficulty in obtaining planning permission from the London borough of Sutton. Officials from the Department have attended a number of meetings, at the request of the promoters, at which representatives of both the diocesan board and the borough have been present. The most recent meeting was on 3 January. This has allowed officials to be kept informed of the reasons for the delay in providing the new school building and of the potential cost implications of alterations to the building project which might be required by the planning authorities.Until the promoters are able to submit to my right hon. Friend a finalised version of their building project for which they have obtained planning permission, he cannot decide whether to give detailed approval to it under the Education Acts or whether to make grant payments on it. The promoters have, however, been warned that the offer of a grant is not unlimited and that if the scheme eventually presented to the Department is much more expensive than that originally envisaged, it may not be possible to fund a full 85 per cent. of it through grant.
CERN
Sir Trevor Skeet : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science from which Department's Votes it is intended to fund CERN.
Mr. Jackson : The United Kingdom subscription to CERN is borne on Class XI, Vote 5, subhead B2 of the Department's Estimates ; this subhead covers the international subscriptions of the science and engineering research council.
Sir Trevor Skeet : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the United Kingdom's contribution to CERN in 1989-90 and 1990-91 ; what percentage of the total is attributable to the devaluation of sterling ; and what administrative economies have been introduced by the secretariat.
Mr. Jackson : Estimates provision for the United Kingdom's contribution payments to CERN during the United Kingdom financial year 1989 -90 is £48.897 million ; Estimates for the United Kingdom financial year 1990-91 have yet to be presented to Parliament. Under the revised contribution system recently introduced by CERN, the annual contribution of individual member states can be affected by a number of year-on-year variables. These include changes in the relative GNP of all member states each of which is re-assessed each year, movements in international exchange rates against the Swiss franc, and the annual rate of inflation in Switzerland, which is the host nation. The total sum payable in any particular year cannot readily be disaggregated to identify those elements attributable to each of these and other factors.
Following the report of the CERN review group, the CERN management has undertaken a continuing programme of implementation for the report's recommendations aimed at securing more efficient and cost-effective management. These include a phased reduction of 500 (some 15 per cent.) in the number of staff employed by the organisation, improved budgetary and financial control arrangements, improved project control systems, and the development of a revised system of personnel management suited to the organisation's future needs.
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Haberdashers' Aske's Schools
Ms. Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will provide details of the amount, date and recipient of any payments by his Department to support the preparation of plans to establish a city technology college on the site of the Haberdashers' Aske's schools in Deptford.
Mrs. Rumbold : My right hon. Friend has an agreement with the Haberdashers' company covering the establishment of the Haberdashers' Aske's city technology college. Under this, the Government have agreed to meet reasonable transitional costs, including the payment of a project director's and an educational consultant's salaries. We are currently in discussion with representatives of the Haberdashers' company about the scope and commencement date of the transitional costs and envisage making payments shortly. No expenditure has been incurred by the Department to date.
Trafford Borough Council
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will ask Her Majesty's inspectorate of schools to investigate the circumstances which led to the cancellation by Trafford borough council of its 11-plus examination ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. MacGregor : Officials have written to Trafford education authority to seek an explanation.
Student Loans Company
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether the Student Loans Company Limited has appointed a managing director.
Mr. MacGregor : The Student Loans Company Limited proposes to appoint Mr. Ronald J. Harrison as managing director.
Capital Allocations
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish a table giving the amounts for England of capital allocations for (a) county and voluntary-controlled schools, (b) voluntary- aided schools and (c) the total of (a) for each financial year from and including 1978-79 to 1990-91, expressed in (i) current prices, (ii) constant prices and (iii) an index of (ii) where 1978-79=100.
Mr. MacGregor : [holding answer 13 December 1989] : Not all the information is available in the form requested. Table A shows figures from 1981-82. Prior to 1981-82, local education authorities did not receive block allocations, but were notified annually, in the context of a rolling programme, of a limit on the value of building starts in the following year. From 1981-82 to 1989-90 allocations for spending on capital works have been made to local education authorities for schools and colleges of further and higher education, in accordance with the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980. It has been for each local education authority to decide how to use its allocation, including apportionment as between schools and colleges, and the extent to which it wishes to supplement it through the use of capital receipts and other
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sources of revenue. The availability of capital receipts for this purpose has increased substantially over the period. Table B shows the resulting actual outturn gross expenditure by LEAs from 1978-79 in cash, constant and index terms.Figures for 1990-91 (in Table A) are not strictly comparable with previous years. With the introduction of
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the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, the Department has issued an annual capital guideline to each local education authority for 1990-91, which is one element in the calculation of each local authority's basic credit approval for 1990-91 announced by the Department of the Environment.Column 11
Table B
Gross capital expenditure for England in cash and constant terms
Local authority schools and Voluntary aided and special Local authority schools and
colleges agreement schools colleges andvoluntary aided and
|special agreement schools
|Cash |Constant |Index |Cash |Constant |Index |Cash |Constant |Index
|1978-79 |1978-79 |1978-79 |1978-79 |1978-79 |1978-79
|prices |prices |prices |prices |prices |prices
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1978-79 |338 |338 |100 |19 |19 |100 |358 |358 |100
1979-80 |379 |324 |96 |24 |20 |106 |403 |345 |96
1980-81 |532 |385 |114 |26 |19 |97 |558 |403 |113
1981-82 |385 |254 |75 |28 |19 |96 |413 |272 |76
1982-83 |425 |261 |77 |26 |16 |83 |451 |277 |78
1983-84 |444 |261 |77 |22 |13 |68 |466 |274 |77
1984-85 |473 |265 |78 |29 |16 |84 |502 |281 |79
1985-86 |503 |267 |79 |37 |19 |100 |539 |286 |80
1986-87 |544 |279 |82 |33 |17 |89 |577 |296 |83
1987-88 |556 |271 |80 |37 |18 |94 |593 |289 |81
1988-89 |668 |304 |90 |50 |23 |119 |719 |327 |91
1989-90 |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a
1990-91 |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a
Notes:
1. For Voluntary Aided and Special Agreement schools capital grant figures for 1978-79 to 1981-82 not separately identified from a single building grant figure which included repairs and maintenance. The capital figures shown for this period are based on an apportionment of the
building grant figure using the average ration between capital and repairs during 1982-83 and 1985-86.
2. For the Voluntary sector, gross expenditure includes Governing Bodies' 15 per cent. contribution.
Table B
Gross capital expenditure for England in cash and constant terms
Local authority schools and Voluntary aided and special Local authority schools and
colleges agreement schools colleges andvoluntary aided and
|special agreement schools
|Cash |Constant |Index |Cash |Constant |Index |Cash |Constant |Index
|1978-79 |1978-79 |1978-79 |1978-79 |1978-79 |1978-79
|prices |prices |prices |prices |prices |prices
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1978-79 |338 |338 |100 |19 |19 |100 |358 |358 |100
1979-80 |379 |324 |96 |24 |20 |106 |403 |345 |96
1980-81 |532 |385 |114 |26 |19 |97 |558 |403 |113
1981-82 |385 |254 |75 |28 |19 |96 |413 |272 |76
1982-83 |425 |261 |77 |26 |16 |83 |451 |277 |78
1983-84 |444 |261 |77 |22 |13 |68 |466 |274 |77
1984-85 |473 |265 |78 |29 |16 |84 |502 |281 |79
1985-86 |503 |267 |79 |37 |19 |100 |539 |286 |80
1986-87 |544 |279 |82 |33 |17 |89 |577 |296 |83
1987-88 |556 |271 |80 |37 |18 |94 |593 |289 |81
1988-89 |668 |304 |90 |50 |23 |119 |719 |327 |91
1989-90 |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a
1990-91 |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a
Notes:
1. For Voluntary Aided and Special Agreement schools capital grant figures for 1978-79 to 1981-82 not separately identified from a single building grant figure which included repairs and maintenance. The capital figures shown for this period are based on an apportionment of the
building grant figure using the average ration between capital and repairs during 1982-83 and 1985-86.
2. For the Voluntary sector, gross expenditure includes Governing Bodies' 15 per cent. contribution.
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ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Public Records
Mr. Richard Shepherd : To ask the Attorney-General if he will identify, by computerised reference number, the Public Record Office pieces or files which have been released for public inspection in January following extended closure for (a) 50 years, (b) 75 years and (c) 100 years.
The Attorney-General : Nearly 700 items, previously closed for longer than 30 years, became available for public inspection in the Public Record Office at the beginning of January 1990. I am making arrangements for a listing of the references of these items to be made available in the Library in due course and on request to members of the public.
Mr. Richard Shepherd : To ask the Attorney-General whether the Lord Chancellor will invite his Advisory Council on Public Records to undertake a quality check of those papers due for release in 1990, following extended closure of 50, 75 and 100 years, to ensure that Departments have released as much material as possible.
The Attorney-General : The advisory council is consulted before the Lord Chancellor agrees to any records remaining closed beyond 30 years. The records which became available at the beginning of this year in the Public Record Office, after previous closure for longer than 30 years, were originally closed, under the provisions of s.5(1) of the Public Records Act 1958, as amended in 1967, after consultation with the Advisory Council on Public Records. The records concerned number nearly 700, and it would be impractical for material in this quantity to be checked by the advisory council, but the items referred to are all now open to public inspection in the Public Record Office reading rooms. The role of the advisory council in relation to the operations of s.5(1) of the Act is set out in paragraphs 38 and 39 of the White Paper, "Modern Public Records : The Government response to the Report of the Wilson Committee", Cmnd 8531, March 1982.
War Without Honour"
Mr. Livingstone : To ask the Attorney-General what representations he has received concerning the legal implications of the book "War Without Honour", by Fred Holroyd.
Kincora Boys' Home
Mr. Livingstone : To ask the Attorney-General if he will reconsider the appointment of an inquiry into events at the Kincora boy's home, with specific terms of reference to consider allegations of criminal activities by Crown employees.
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WALES
Homes for the Elderly
Mr. Andrew Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proportion of people aged (a) over 75 years and (b) over 85 years in Wales live in (i) nursing homes and (ii) residential homes.
Mr. Grist : As at 31 March 1989, the proportion of the 75 and over age group living in residential homes in Wales was 60.7 per 1,000 relevant population. For the 85 and over age group the proportion was 157.3. Information on the age of patients in nursing homes is not held centrally.
Children's Institutions
Dr. Kim Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the future provision of care at children's institutions in Mid-Glamorgan following recent announcements of changes to the funding and accommodation arrangements at these institutions.
Mr. Grist : We are not aware of any recent announcements on proposed changes to funding and accommodation arrangements of child care institutions in Mid-Glamorgan. The future provision of such establishments is an issue for Mid-Glamorgan county council to address.
Polytechnic of Wales
Dr. Kim Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the talks held recently between his Department and representatives of Mid-Glamorgan county council on the future management of the Polytechnic of Wales.
Mr. Wyn Roberts : Officials from the Department have recently discussed with officers of Mid-Glamorgan county council the detailed provisions to be included in the new instrument of government for the Polytechnic of Wales required by the Education Reform Act 1988. The Act requires a revised instrument of government setting out the constitution of a new governing body to be in effect by 1 April 1990.
Arts Project, Llandudno
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on his Department's funding of the proposed North Wales opera house project to be based at Llandudno.
Mr. Wyn Roberts : The proposed new arts and leisure centre at Llandudno was the subject of an application by Aberconwy borough council for support in 1990-91 as a project of regional or national importance. It was reluctantly decided that the project could not be accommodated within the package of schemes for assistance because of demands from competing schemes and the fact that it required such a high level of support from public sector resources. It is of course open to the sponsors of the scheme to come forward with revised proposals if they wish to do so.
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PRIME MINISTER
Part-time Appointments
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Prime Minister from whom members of her personal staff paid from public funds seek approval for paid part-time appointments before accepting them.
The Prime Minister : All members of my staff, paid from public funds, are governed in this respect by the general principles of conduct which apply to civil servants. Approval would be sought from the appropriate senior officer, depending on the level of the person concerned and the nature of the appointment.
Ministerial Changes
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list by year to date since June 1979 (a) the number of ministerial changes in Her Majesty's Government (b) the Departments concerned and (c) the names of the hon. and right hon. Members concerned.
The Prime Minister : Information on changes of Ministers can be found in the Cabinet Office publication "List of Ministerial Responsibilities", published annually at the end of the summer recess. Copies are available in the Library of the House. Further editions are issued during the year if there are substantial changes in ministerial appointments.
British Rail
Mr. Adley : To ask the Prime Minister if she will obtain a copy of the speech by the chairman of British Rail on 8 January ; and if she will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : I have a copy of Sir Robert Reid's speech, and urge all hon. Members to read it. It is an excellent account of the progress made by British Rail during the period that he has been chairman. In that time investment has doubled in real terms to a level which Sir Robert describes as
"about the maximum rate we can physically manage".
British Rails's need for subsidy has halved as the number of passengers has reached the highest level since 1960.
As Sir Robert Reid says, British Rail is now
"in an unprecedented position of strength".
He points to the essential part played in bringing about this change by the Government's action since 1983 in setting the board clear objectives.
General Practitioners
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Prime Minister to what extent the remuneration and conditions of service being offered to general practitioners in rural areas will improve primary care in those areas in future.
The Prime Minister : All the changes to the GPs' contract will benefit patients in rural areas. Doctors will be encouraged through their terms of service and remuneration system to raise standards and extend services. In particular more care will be available for the very young and elderly patients. There will be greater emphasis on health promotion and the prevention of disease for all patients. New services will include minor surgery and regular check-ups. Overall the family doctor services will be more responsive to the needs of patients.
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Top Salaries Review Body
Mr. Rooker : To ask the Prime Minister what restrictions are placed upon the top salaries review body in respect of the level of its recommendations.
The Prime Minister : The top salaries review body is an independent body. It takes evidence from the Government and other interested parties and makes recommendations which it thinks appropriate. The TSRB's report is considered by the Government who then decide whether to accept or modify its recommendations.
Kincora Boys' Home
Mr. Livingstone : To ask the Prime Minister (1) if she will list the documents made available by her office to the Hughes inquiry into the Kincora boys' home ;
(2) if she will take steps to establish a Cabinet Office inquiry into the allegations of Mr. Colin Wallace and Captain Fred Holroyd, retired, concerning illegal activities by the security forces and other Crown employees in Northern Ireland since 1972 ;
(3) if she will establish a Cabinet Office inquiry into illegal activities by Crown employees documented in the book "War Without Honour", and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Livingstone : To ask the Prime Minister what representations she has received from January 1989 to the present date concerning the Kincora boys' home.
The Prime Minister : The representations I have received about Kincora have been mainly from the hon. Gentleman and his hon. Friends.
Captain Fred Holroyd
Mr. Livingstone : To ask the Prime Minister (1) if she has received a copy of the book "War Without Honour" by Fred Holroyd ; and if she will make a statement ;
(2) if she will acquire for the library of 10 Downing street a copy of the book "War Without Honour", by Fred Holroyd.
Mr. Livingstone : To ask the Prime Minister on what dates were the allegations of Colin Wallace and Fred Holroyd relating to events in Northern Ireland last considered.
The Prime Minister : Mr. Wallace and Mr. Holroyd have made a number of allegations in relation to Northern Ireland, some of which have been raised in the House and in correspondence by the hon. Gentleman and others. In the course of dealing with this parliamentary business, Departments have examined relevant matters on numerous occasions.
Article 100A
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Prime Minister if she will raise at the next meeting of the European Council the use by the Commission of article 100A of the treaty for the purpose of directives.
The Prime Minister : I do not plan to do so.
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Whales
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Prime Minister if she will make representations to the Japanese Prime Minister about the slaughter of minke whales by Japanese whalers in the Antarctic.
The Prime Minister [holding answer 12 January 1990] : The Japanese Government are well aware of our strong views on this matter, as was evident from my discussions with Prime Minister Kaifu.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Accountancy Firms
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many outside accountancy firms are employed by his Department ; whether such employment is subject to 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.
Mr. Cope : Forty-three outside accountancy firms are employed ; such firms are invited to tender for the provision of advisory services on the basis of their suitability to provide the relevant advice. In making such appointments inquiries are carried out as necessary and, where appropriate, in the light of advice given by Her Majesty's Treasury on the appointment of consultants.
RUC Reserve
Mr. Maginnis : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the average length of service of all full-time Royal Ulster Constabulary reserve officers presently serving in the force.
Mr. Cope : The average length of service of all full-time reserve officers presently serving in the Royal Ulster Constabulary is six years.
Mr. Maginnis : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the estimated cost to the Exchequer, taking into account all factors including their position in respect of the police pension fund, of employing (a) a full-time Royal Ulster Constabulary reserve officer and (b) a regular Royal Ulster Constabulary officer.
Mr. Cope : The annual cost to the Police Authority of employing a full-time Royal Ulster Constabulary reserve constable or a Royal Ulster Constabulary constable varies according to the age of the officer and his length of service. The estimated annual average cost of employing an 18- year-old constable in the full-time Royal Ulster Constabulary reserve is £18,624 and £18,068 for a constable in the Royal Ulster Constabulary. The corresponding figures for officers with six years' service are £23,592 for the reserve constable and £23,837 for the regular officer. The difference in cost is accounted for by higher employer's national insurance contributions payable in respect of the full- time reserve constable who is not in a contracted-out pension scheme ; and the fact that his salary increases at a slower rate than that of a regular constable. These costs represent basic salary, Royal Ulster
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Constabulary allowance, flat rate rent allowance, average overtime and employer's national insurance contributions and, in the case of the Royal Ulster Constabulary reserve officer with six years' service, the gratuity payable on completion of his second contract.Mr. Maginnis : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the longest period of service of any full-time Royal Ulster Constabulary reserve officer ; how many Royal Ulster Constabulary reserve officers have served for more than 12 years ; how many between nine and 12 years ; and how many between six and nine years.
Mr. Cope : The longest period of service of any full-time Royal Ulster Constabulary reserve officer is 17 years nine months : 256 full-time reserve officers have served for more than 12 years ; 947 have service between nine and 12 years ; and 685 have served between six and nine years.
Mr. Maginnis : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the total number of full-time Royal Ulster Constabulary reserve officers ; and if he will express this as a percentage of all Royal Ulster Constabulary constables who normally carry out their duties in uniform.
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