| Previous Section | Home Page |
Column 202
Dangerous Weapons
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if there have been any recent alterations to the rules governing the holding of potentially dangerous weapons within Scottish prisons.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : No. The Prison Rules (Scotland) do not authorise the holding of potentially dangerous weapons and there is no reason to alter them.
Mr. Gordon Jackson
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if weapons were involved in the authorised training processes carried out within the Scottish prison service by Mr. Gordon Jackson.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Mr. Jackson was authorised to train teams in negotiating procedures. Weapons are not authorised or necessary for such training.
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland under what authority the former governor of Glenochil prison, Mr. Gordon Jackson, established a special squad from the prison service to be trained to SAS standards ; and what was the basis for selection.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : A special squad from the prison service was not established and trained to SAS standards.
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the special training initiated by governor Gordon Jackson at Glenochil has continued following his departure.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : There is no evidence to suggest that governor Gordon Jackson initiated any special training at Glenochil and no such training has been introduced since his departure.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement as to why Gordon
Column 203
Jackson, governor of Glenochil prison, kept CS gas cartridges and ammunition at the gaol ; and what was his policy on the keeping of similar supplies at other prisons.Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Mr. Jackson pled guilty to being in unauthorised possession of CS cartridges and ammunition at Alloa sheriff court on 1 December 1989. The Prison Rules (Scotland) do not authorise the possession or use of these items and no change to this position is considered necessary.
Drought Orders
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list by (a) water company and (b) location those areas where drought orders still remain in force.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Water supply in Scotland is the responsibility of the regional and islands councils. No drought orders are in force at the present time.
Drinking Water
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the percentage by volume of drinking water in Scotland that is treated by the addition of (a) chlorine and (b) ozone.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Over 99 per cent. of drinking water in Scotland is disinfected by chlorination. Of the remainder, broadly equal proportions are disinfected by either ozone or ultraviolet radiation.
Planting of Evidence
Sir David Steel : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many cases of alleged planting of evidence were made in 1989 against the police in Scotland ; and how many of these resulted in prosecutions.
Mr. Rifkind : I understand from inquiries made of chief constables that in 1989 five cases of alleged planting of evidence involving the police in Scotland were reported to the procurator fiscal. No proceedings were taken in three cases ; the remaining two are still under consideration by the procurator fiscal.
Two Homes Allowance
Mr. Wallace : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the amount of the two homes allowance payable by the Scottish Education Department in addition to students who own or rent property which they cannot reasonably be expected to give up on moving to another area for educational purposes, in each of the last five academic years including 1989-90.
Mr. Lang : The information requested is as follows :
Academic Year |£ ------------------------------------------ 1985-86 |410 1986-87 |455 1987-88 |473 1988-89 |490 1989-90 |515
Column 204
Museum of Scotland
Mr. Allan Stewart : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the location of the planned Museum of Scotland.
Mr. Lang : I am delighted to announce that the new Museum of Scotland will be located in Edinburgh, on the vacant site adjacent to the Royal Museum of Scotland in Chambers street, and to confirm the Government's agreement to fund the development.
The Museum of Scotland will provide a worthy setting for the outstanding Scottish collections of the National Museums of Scotland. The need for new accommodation in which to display the nation's heritage has been acknowledged for many years. The project was given fresh impetus in 1985 with the formation of the National Museums of Scotland. The board of trustees identified the provision of a new museum as their prime objective and last year submitted to the Secretary of State a detailed assessment of their requirements and a comprehensive investment appraisal of optional locations for the development. This clearly demonstrated that the need for the new museum was more pressing than ever, and that the Chambers street site was the most appropriate and cost-effective location.
On the basis of the investment appraisal, we have allocated resources for the new building within our recent public expenditure settlement, and I am pleased to confirm that these resources will now be made available to the National Museums' board of trustees. The Government's decision to invest in this project reflects the importance that we attach to the care and display of our heritage, and to expanding the opportunities for the people of Scotland and for visitors to enjoy and learn from the wealth of material held by the museums.
I congratulate Lord Bute and his fellow trustees and the director Dr. Anderson and his staff on their success in securing a new home for Scotland's heritage.
Competitive Tendering
Mr. Allan Stewart : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what uses are being made by health boards of the moneys released from competitive tendering initiatives ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Boards have been using the moneys released in a variety of ways and examples of the projects funded or partially funded by them are as follows :
Argyll and Clyde 1. Increased medical and support staff in community care and special needs (children).
2. Employment of additional occupational therapist and chiropodist.
3. Increased staffing for accident and emergency.
4. Upgrading of pathology posts and enhancement of cervical cytology screening.
Ayrshire and Arran 1. Provision (including nurse staffing) of self- contained paediatric out-patient clinic at Crosshouse hospital. 2. Part funding of gynaecology day unit at Crosshouse hospital. 3. Increase in medical staffing (including three registrars in anaesthetics, one ophthalmist and increased GP sessions). 4. Additional community nurses.
Column 205
Borders 1. Advancement of opening dates of Innerleithen and Hawick health centres.2. Assistance with development costs of the Borders general hospital.
Dumfries and Galloway 1. Provision of new 30-bed geriatric unit at Annan and additional beds at Lockmaben.
2. Development of mental handicap services.
3. Appointment of additional consultant medical staff in ophthalmology.
Fife 1. An extra clinical psychologist at the priority care unit.
2. Extra nursing staff at Cameron hospital.
3. Options under consideration at Dunfermline are development of medical photography services, recruitment of more trained operating theatre staff or extra nurses to allow psycho-geriatric day hospital services to be made available for longer periods of time.
Forth Valley 1. Appointment of additional 15 psycho-geriatric nurses.
2. Appointment of additional consultant histopathologist. 3. Provision of additional treatment facilities for geriatric patients at Falkirk and district royal infirmary.
4. Provision of funds to enable the devolution of psychiatric care from Bellsdyke hospital to the community and establishment of a community care team.
Grampian 1. Part funding of a joint venture project with voluntary organisations and social work departments to meet the running costs of five houses to accommodate 20 mentally handicapped patients being transferred back into the community.
2. The establishment of a number of additional posts, primarily in nursing and paramedical services, in the board's geriatric and specialist services unit.
3. Additional nursing posts in the neuro-surgical, renal dialysis and vascular surgery areas.
4. Additional physiotherapists and occupational therapists. 5. The establishment of five new low technology delivery rooms and recovery facilities, allowing women in labour to be midwife managed. Greater Glasgow 1. Additional 44 nurses for mental illness. 2. Additional 17 paramedicals and 13 staff of other kinds for mental handicap.
3. Additional 16 paramedicals and 11 district nurses to reduce waiting lists in the community.
4. Additional 15 nurses and four other staff for improvements in service for cancer treatment.
5. Additional 10 staff to improve and develop cervical cytology services.
6. Additional 14 staff to meet increasing demand on renal services.
7. Additional six staff for improvements in accident and emergency services at Glasgow royal infirmary.
Highland 1. Additional paramedical posts in geriatric services at Sutherland.
2. Creation of waiting list team assisting medical staff at Raigmore hospital.
3. Creation of "travelling day hospital" for psychiatric patients who live some distance from Inverness.
Lanarkshire 1. Additional community nursing posts in Mental Handicap Services Unit.
2. Additional speech therapy posts in the community.
3. Additional occupational therapy posts.
4. Additional paramedical posts (physiotherapy, chiropody etc).
Column 206
Lothian 1. Increased renal dialysis sessions.2. Increased support funding for joint working with local authorities.
3. Increased nurse staffing for mental handicap and psychiatric services.
Tayside Developments in patient services in the following areas : --
1. Mumps, measles and rubella vaccinations ;
2. Blood products ;
3. Resource management ;
4. Support finance ;
5. Accident and emergency-consultant support staff ;
6. A senior physicist ;
7. Community nursing.
Window Replacement
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the amounts spent by the Scottish Special Housing Association on window replacement programmes for its housing stock in each year since 1979 ; and if he will also list the amounts currently being spent and planned to be spent on window replacement programmes by Scottish Homes.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 12 January 1990] : Such information is not held by the Scottish Development Department. The hon. Member may wish to write directly to Scottish Homes, which may be able to provide information on past expenditure by the Scottish Special Housing Association and its own expenditure programmes on window replacement.
Mentally Ill People
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what extra resources will be made available for the provision of community care for the mentally ill ;
(2) what plans he has to earmark financial resources for the care of the mentally ill.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 15 January 1990] : The recently published White Paper "Caring for People" (Cmd. 849) states that local authorities will receive adequate resources to enable them to discharge their new responsibilities. These extend to the provision of care and support for persons with mental illness in the community. Local authorities will have transferred to them resources that the Government would otherwise have used to finance residential care through social security payments to people in residential and nursing homes.
Local authorities are generally free to determine the use of the resources available to them for their various responsibilities. The White Paper announced that there will be a specific grant to help accelerate the development of community-based services for persons with mental illness.
Rural Legal Partnerships
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will conduct a survey into the financial viability of small legal partnerships in rural areas.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 15 January 1990] : I have no plans to do so.
Column 207
Legal Aid
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to review the levels of legal aid fees in Scotland.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 15 January 1990] : Legal aid fees in Scotland are set after consultation with the Law Society of Scotland and the Faculty of Advocates. The next consultations will begin soon.
Community Water Charge
Mr. Wallace : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has regarding the community water charge set in each region and islands council area for 1989-90.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 15 January 1990] : Information on water charges is available in the booklet "Water Charges in Scotland--The New Arrangements" published by the Scottish Office in April 1989, copies of which are available in the Library. The community water charges set in each region and islands council area for 1989-90 are set out in the table :
Regional/Islands Council |Community
|Water Charge
|£/person
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Borders |31.00
Central |15.00
Dumfries and Galloway |28.00
Fife |18.00
Grampian |30.00
Highland |20.00
Lothian |18.00
Strathclyde |19.00
Tayside |21.00
Orkney |26.00
Shetland |6.78
Western Isles |34.00
Homelessness
Mr. Galloway : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many single homeless people he estimates there are currently in Scotland under the age of 25 years.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 15 January 1990] : The Scottish Development Department does not make such estimates.
Mr. Galloway : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish the figures for the number of single homeless people in Scotland for each year from 1979 to 1989.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 15 January 1990] : This information is not collected centrally.
CIVIL SERVICE
Government Documents
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Minister for the Civil Service what measures have been taken to increase the safety of Government documents being transported by Ministers in Great Britain following the recent theft from the car of the hon. Member for Peterborough (Dr. Mawhinney).
Column 208
Mr. Luce : I am satisfied that the measures which are already in place for the protection of Government documents are sufficient to ensure their safety.
Staff Relations
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Minister for the Civil Service if he will take steps to improve staff relations in the Civil Service.
Mr. Luce [holding answer 16 January 1990] : The Government have always attached importance to good staff relations in the Civil Service. The next steps initiative is intended, amongst other things, to increase motivation and satisfaction by releasing staff talents to provide a better service to the public. In some cases group performance bonuses can be earned. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer and I have both paid public tribute to the quality and commitment we see in staff in the Civil Service. As I made clear in my speech at a RIPA seminar last year the Government care greatly about the men and women of the Civil Service and the way they deliver Government services.
THE ARTS
Opera
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Minister for the Arts whether he has any plans to increase funding for the provision for opera facilities in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Luce : The funding of opera is a matter for the Arts Council. However, I am pleased to say that, as a result of the increase in the Arts Council's grant which I announced in November, companies will receive significant increases in their grant. Among these, Welsh National Opera will receive an 8 per cent. increase from the Arts Council of Great Britain, and a 10.1 per cent. rise from the Welsh Arts Council taking its total grant to £4.8 million in 1990-91.
Arts for Labour
Mr. Skinner : To ask the Minister for the Arts whether he will meet representatives of Arts for Labour to discuss the allocation of resources, both national and regional.
Mr. Luce : I have no plans to do so.
National Railway Museum
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Minister for the Arts if he will take steps to save the unique double turntable installation at the national railway museum in York during works involving the replacement of the roof at the museum ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Luce : The proposed changes at the national railway museum at York are a matter for the director and the trustees of the science museum. I understand that they have formulated their proposals for the new roof and a single turntable after careful and extensive consultation. The north engine shed has a long history of alteration and the museum has never sought to interpret the main hall or any part of it as a former locomotive depot.
Column 209
| Next Section
| Home Page |