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Mr. Peter Lloyd : It is for individual chief officers of police to issue instructions to officers under their command. The Government encourage chief officers of police to use their powers to the full in the enforcement of the law relating to drinking and driving. Those powers were set out in the reply my right hon. and learned Friend the Attorney-General gave to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton, North-East (Mr. Thurnham) on 5 December 1989 at column 131.
Hillsborough Disaster
Mr. Pendry : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he received Lord Justice Taylor's final report into the Hillsborough disaster ; and when he is proposing to publish it.
Mr. Waddington : I received Lord Justice Taylor's final report on 19 January. I hope to publish it on Monday 29 January.
Prisoners
Sir John Wheeler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further developments there have been in his plans to help prisoners maintain contact with their families and friends.
Mr. Mellor : My hon. Friend the Member for Grantham (Mr. Hogg) announced a number of measures aimed at improving inmates' family ties on 17 March 1989 at column 363. We are now establishing a pilot scheme to reduce routine censorship in local prisons, category B training prisons and remand centres to a 5 per cent. sample. The pilot scheme will run in Leeds, Maidstone, Norwich and Winchester prisons for three months from 1 February. The proposed reduction of routine censorship will remove the need for restrictions on the number of letters which inmates may send and receive and also enable staff to be redeployed to other duties.
We have also decided to establish a pilot scheme at Her Majesty's prison Manchester to enable remand inmates to
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use cardphones subject to certain safeguards. This follows the successful introduction of cardphones in open prisons and the present programme, which is well advanced, to instal them in all category C and equivalent establishments. The Manchester pilot scheme should begin in March and, if successful, will be extended to remand inmates held in other local prisons and remand centres. It has also been decided that expenditure on phonecards will no longer count against the limit on the amount of private cash which inmates may spend. I hope that the ability to telephone family and friends will be of particular help in reducing the anxiety and stress experienced by inmates on remand and reduce the incidence of self-harm.Mr. Andrew Balfour
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis on the arrest of Mr. Andrew Balfour by special branch officers on 17 August 1989 under the Prevention of Terrorism Act ; why he was held for two days at Paddington Green police station before being released on bail and told there is no case to answer ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Waddington : I understand from the Commissioner that Mr. Balfour was arrested under section 14 of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989 on 17 August 1989 and released the next day. A person arrested under this provision may be detained for up to 48 hours on the authority of the police if they have reasonable grounds to suspect that he is guilty of an offence under the Act, is a person who is or has been concerned with acts of Northern Ireland or international terrorism, or is subject to an exclusion order.
Remand
Sir Charles Irving : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many men and women were being held in custody on remand in the United Kingdom (a) from year end 1987 to year end 1988 and (b) from year end 1988 to year end 1989.
Mr. Mellor : Information for 1987 to 1988 was published in table 1.2 of "Prison Statistics England and Wales 1988" (Cm. 825), a copy of which is in the Library. The readily available figures for 1989 are given in the table :
Column 715
Remand population in custody: by sex and type of custody, month end figures, 1989, England and Wales
Number of persons
Males Females
Month end |All |Untried |Convicted |Police |All |Untried |Convicted |Police
|unsentenced|cells<1> |unsentenced
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1989
January |10,512 |8,594 |1,681 |237 |494 |380 |88 |26
February |10,357 |8,436 |1,726 |195 |476 |364 |105 |7
March |10,294 |8,545 |1,678 |71 |476 |394 |82 |-
April |10,151 |8,407 |1,689 |55 |469 |375 |94 |-
May |9,926 |8,120 |1,675 |131 |476 |374 |102 |-
June |10,014 |7,943 |1,845 |226 |480 |378 |98 |4
July |10,036 |8,102 |1,870 |64 |476 |377 |99 |-
August |10,242 |8,389 |1,833 |20 |474 |395 |79 |-
September |10,098 |8,287 |1,781 |30 |468 |366 |102 |-
October |9,989 |8,190 |1,784 |15 |482 |382 |100 |-
November |9,520 |7,840 |1,676 |4 |444 |350 |94 |-
<1> All were untried prisoners
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Prison Service Headquarters
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in which midlands city he is proposing to establish the new prison service headquarters which he has recently announced.
Mr. Mellor : Work has now begun to determine where in the midlands the new headquarters location should be. No decision has yet been taken.
Police Vehicles (Fatal Accidents)
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for (a) 1988 and (b) 1989, the number of persons who have died in accidents involving police vehicles.
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Mr. Peter Lloyd : Figures collected by Her Majesty's inspectorate of constabulary (which do not include the Metropolitan police) indicate that in 1988 there were 14 civilian fatalities involving a police vehicle while engaged in a pursuit or responding to an emergency. Figures for 1989 are not yet available.
Metropolitan Police Overtime
Mr. Leighton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the hourly rates for overtime in the Metropolitan police force.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The average overtime rates paid to officers, up to and including chief inspectors, in the Metropolitan police are :
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[TITER] -------------------------------------------------- Time and a third<1> |14.83|13.49|11.33|9.32 Time and a half<2> |16.68|15.18|12.75|10.49 Double time<3> |22.24|20.24|17.00|13.98 <1>This rate is paid to officers before or after completing a normal tour of duty. <2>This rate is paid to officers who work on a rest day. <3>This rate is paid to officers who work on a public holiday.
Squatting
Mr. Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any plans to amend the law on squatting to enable local authorities to take action in the absence of action by the owners of the properties concerned ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John Patten : The Government have no plans to amend the law in this way. The police and local authorities have powers to deal with squatters who commit criminal offences ; these may include criminal damage, theft, assault or using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour, and powers under the Public Health Act 1936 and Control of Pollution Act 1974 to act against premises which are verminous or prejudicial to health, or give rise to a statutory nuisance or where the occupiers cause a noise nuisance. Additionally, the Criminal Law Act 1977 created certain offences aimed at squatters including failure to leave premises when required to do so by a displaced residential occupier. Otherwise, squatting is an act of trespass, which is a matter for the civil law, and it is for those whose interests are affected by the trespass to consider whether they wish to bring a civil action.
Mr. Malcolm Cairns
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the progress of the Director of Public Prosecutions' consideration of the report compiled by the deputy chief constable of Derbyshire in respect of Mr. Malcolm Cairns, the assistant chief constable of Leicestershire, and the author Joseph Wambaugh.
The Attorney-General : I have been asked to reply.
The report is being considered carefully and as expeditiously as possible.
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HOUSE OF COMMONS
Refreshment Facilities
Ms. Walley : To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will make available in the Library details of bookings and sponsoring hon. Members for dining rooms booked between 16 January and the summer recess.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : It is the practice not to divulge information on functions organised in accordance with the banqueting regulations. If the hon. Member has a specific issue in mind she is advised to raise it either with the General Manager of the Refreshment Department or with the Catering Sub-Committee, of which she is a member.
EMPLOYMENT
Disabled People
Mr. Hannam : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what measures his Department is taking to encourage and promote part-time working for those disabled people unable to work full time ; (2) whether his Department's internal review of employment assistance to disabled adults is examining the possibility of introducing a partial capacity benefit to facilitate part-time working by disabled people unable to work full time.
Mr. Eggar : As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security announced on 10 January, the Government propose to introduce a disability employment credit to make it easier for people with disabilities to take up and remain in work. The new benefit, to be introduced in April 1992, will help people with disabilities whose earning capacity is low, including those who are only able to work part time.
Following publication of the report "Defusing the Demographic Timebomb" my Department is encouraging
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employers through a range of media to make more use of flexible working patterns, including part-time working, to obtain suitable employees. The value of part-time working in drawing on the talents of people with disabilities is also stressed in our code of good practice on the employment of disabled people and by the Disablement Advisory Service.Mr. Hannam : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether his Department expects to publish its internal review of employment assistance to disabled adults, commissioned in March 1988.
Mr. Eggar : The review is at an advanced stage. The consultative document which will follow the review will be published as soon as possible.
Mines (Accidents)
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many major injuries were suffered by men working underground in mines operated by British Coal in 1978-79 and each succeeding year ; (2) how many major injuries were suffered by men working underground in private licensed mines in 1978-79 and each succeeding year ;
(3) how many men were killed in private licensed mines in 1978-79 and each succeeding year ;
(4) how many men were killed underground in mines operated by British Coal in 1978-79 and each succeeding year.
Mr. Nicholls [holding answer 15 January 1990] : The table lists underground fatal and major injuries at all coal mines for the period 1978 to 1987-88.
Column 720
It is not possible before 1987-88 separately to identify those underground accidents at licensed mines without incurring disproportionate costs.
[TITER]
--------------------------------
1978 |46 |427
1979 |41 |375
1980 |39 |445
1981 |26 |<2>697
1982 |30 |770
1983 |25 |697
1984-85<1> |18 |321
1985-86<4> |22 |622
1986-87 |16 |<3>809
1987-88<5>
|<8>3 |<6>651
<1> Covering the 15 month
period January 1984-March 1985.
<2>The introduction of NADO
Regulations 1980 on 1 January
1981 widened the coverage of
the serious injury category.
<3> The introduction of RIDDOR
Regulations 1985 on 1 April
1986 further widened the major
injury categories. Major injury
figures from 1981 and 1986-87
are therefore not directly
comparable with earlier years.
<4> Her Majesty's Inspectorate
of Mines have records of all
fatal and major injury
accidents for coal mines
generally until 1984-85. From
1985-86 these records can be
split to show accident figures
at British Coal and licensed
mines.
<5> Fatal and major accidents
underground cannot be separated
between British Coal and
Licensed Mines before 1987-88.
<6> Cannot be separated between
British Coal and Licensed Mines
without incurring
disproportionate costs.
<7> British Coal.
<8> Licensed mines.
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Aids to Employment (Sheffield)
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how much money has been spent within the city of Sheffield on the provision of equipment and resources to disabled people under the aids to employment budget ; when the 1989-90 budget was exhausted ; how many people have had applications for assistance refused in the past 12 months ; and how many are currently awaiting provision of further resources.
Mr. Eggar : Figures are not available for the city of Sheffield alone. The amount spent under the special aids to employment scheme for the Sheffield area (which includes the city, and Rotherham) from 1 April 1989 to date is £46,082.22. The 1989-90 budget is not exhausted and so there are no cases awaiting the provision of further resources. Three people from the Sheffield area had applications under the scheme refused in the past 12 months. Two are ineligible for assistance ; in the third case, a solution was not technically possible.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make additional resources available under the aids to employment scheme to facilitate the independence of Mr. John Gallagher of Sheffield.
Mr. Eggar : It is understood that Mr. Gallagher has applied to his local authority for assistance under the blind homeworkers scheme, under which the authority could contribute 25 per cent., and the employment service up to 75 per cent. of the assistance. No application has, however, yet been received by the employment service. If it is, consideration can be given to assisting Mr. Gallagher either under the provisions of the blind homeworkers scheme, or the special aids to employment scheme. Additional resources under the latter are not necessary, as the budget for the scheme is not exhausted.
Labour Statistics
Mr. Hayward : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Kingswood, Official Report, 12 January, column 783, if he will provide similar information on the percentage fall in unemployment correct for the year to December 1989.
Mr. Nicholls : The table shows the 20 parliamentary constituencies which have experienced the largest percentage falls in unemployment over the year to December 1989. The figures are not seasonally adjusted.
Percentage change in the number of unemployed over the year to December 1989 Constituency name |Percentage ------------------------------------------------------------------ Westmorland and Lonsdale |-42.7 Montgomery |-42.7 South Derbyshire |-38.8 Stoke-on-Trent North |-38.2 North Wiltshire |-38.1 Ceredigion and Pembroke North |-38.0 Harrow West |-37.6 Mid Staffordshire |-37.1 Kincardine and Deeside |-36.3 Old Bexley and Sidcup |-36.3 Clwyd South West |-35.9 Aberdeen South |-35.7 Harrow East |-35.7 Stratford-on-Avon |-35.3 Nuneaton |-35.2 Amber Valley |-34.8 North West Leicestershire |-34.4 North Shropshire |-34.3 South Worcestershire |-34.3 Sutton Coldfield |-34.1
Professional and Executive Recruitment
Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, in the light of the privatisation of Professional and Executive Recruitment, if he will dispense with the requirement that before non-EEC candidates for highly specialised job vacancies can be retained, form OW5 has to be completed ; and if he will make a statement as to his plans for creating a level playing field for professional and executive recruitment firms.
Mr. Eggar : Prospective employers of overseas nationals requiring work permits have not been required to notify the vacancy to Professional and Executive Recruitment since it was privatised. Employers applying for a work permit will continue to complete a form of application which, where appropriate, will require them to state what efforts have been made (including the use of agencies) to recruit resident labour.
Jobcentres
Ms. Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he or his predecessor last visited a jobcentre or benefit office ; and where that visit took place.
Mr. Howard : My predecessor, Sir Norman Fowler, visited Sutton Coldfield unemployment benefit office on 15 December 1989.
Training and Enterprise Councils
Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment on what criterion he will assess the success or failure of a TEC's annual plan.
Mr. Eggar : TECs will need to draw up their plan for the year ahead based on the needs of the community they will serve. They will need to set out and agree ambitious targets for key outputs such as qualifications and jobs gained by trainees. Progress towards these targets will be monitored on a regular basis.
Part-time Workers
Mr. Nellist : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the number of female part-time workers in Great Britain in April 1989, and in each standard economic region ; and what was the proportion of those nationally and in each region whose earnings fell below (a) £4.15 per hour, (b) £4.30 per hour, (c) £3.10 per hour and (d) £2.80 per hour.
Mr. Nicholls : There were an estimated 4,301,000 part-time female employees in employment in March 1989. The estimated percentages of part- time adult female employees earning below specified amounts in the new earnings survey sample in April 1989 are given in table 175, part F of the new earnings survey 1989 report. Figures of the percentage earning below £3.10, £4.15 and £4.30 per hour are not available ; the nearest available figures are given in table 175 except for the percentages earning below £3 which are provided in the following table :
Column 723
Percentage of part-time females earning less
than £3 per hour
|per cent.
---------------------------------------------
Great Britain |47
South East |34
East Anglia |47
South West |52
West Midlands |53
East Midlands |52
Yorkshire and Humberside |54
North West |49
North |61
Wales |54
Scotland |50
Note: Adult rates of pay; pay not affected
by absence.
Mr. Nellist : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the number of male part-time workers in Great Britain in April 1989 ; and what was the proportion of those workers whose earnings fell below (a) £4.15 per hour, (b) £4.30 per hour, (c) £3.10 per hour and (d) £2.80 per hour.
Mr. Nicholls : There were an estimated 901,000 part-time male employees in employment in March 1989. The estimated percentages of adult male part-time employees earning below specified amounts in the new earnings survey sample in April 1989 were :
Hourly |Percentage earnings less than --------------------------------- £2.80 |38 £3.00 |45 £3.20 |53 £4.00 |70 £4.50 |75
Figures of the percentage earning below £3.10, £4.15 and £4.30 per hour are not available ; the nearest available figures have been given.
Action Credit Pilot Scheme
Mr. Nellist : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether it is his intention that individuals who participate in the action credit pilot scheme should have the equivalent employee status under the Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978 and the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nicholls : Participants in the action credit pilot scheme have the same rights under the Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978 and the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 as other employees.
Linwood Car Plant
Mr. Graham : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will conduct a survey to ascertain how many men and women who worked for the former car plant in Linwood have contracted a form of asbestos disease ; and if he will give the numbers.
Mr. Nicholls : No such survey is proposed as this would be unlikely to provide any useful information at this stage on exposure to asbestos at the Linwood plant.
Column 724
SCOTLAND
Offences Against Children
Mr. David Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people in Scotland have been prosecuted during the last five years for committing the offence of (a) rape and (b) sexual offences against children including incest, having already served a sentence of imprisonment for that offence ; and what were the sentences administered.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Information is not available in precisely the form requested. In the period 1984 to 1987, three men successfully prosecuted for rape were recorded as having previously served a prison sentence for this crime. The average custodial sentence for the earlier offence was just over four years and for the second just under nine years. Information which separately identifies sexual offences against children is not held centrally.
Sheriff Officers
Mr. Salmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the number of sheriff officers duly approved as of 1 January ; and what was the figure on 1 January 1989 and 1988.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The number of commissions issued by sheriffs principal authorising individuals to act as sheriff officers was 191 on 1 January 1990 and 186 on 1 January 1989. Figures are not available for 1988.
Hospital Readmissions
Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many patients in Scotland were, for each year since 1980, readmitted for hospital treatment and suffering from the same or related illness for which they had been previously discharged.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The information requested is not held centrally.
Hospital Admissions
Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many patients were admitted for hospital treatment in Scotland for more than (a) three days, (b) seven days (c) two weeks and (d) more than two weeks for each year since 1980.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The information is as follows :
Number of Inpatient Discharges from Acute General
Specialties<1> in
Scotland, by length of stay
|4-7 days |8-14 days|More than
|two weeks
--------------------------------------------------
1980 |121,595 |108,829 |93,517
1981 |128,052 |112,798 |96,088
1982 |116,291 |102,649 |90,300
1983 |132,552 |112,187 |91,519
1984 |138,815 |112,043 |90,852
1985 |142,179 |111,566 |90,500
1986 |142,280 |109,715 |89,287
1987 |145,899 |108,640 |88,423
1988 |150,477 |108,867 |88,653
<1> The following specialties are excluded:
Geriatric Long-stay, Young Chronic Sick,
Psychiatric Specialties, and Obstetrics.
Column 725
Water (Lead Levels)
Mr. Cartwright : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to ensure that European requirements concerning lead levels in water are complied with.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The Scottish water authorities have already made substantial progress in reducing the levels of lead in their supplies.
The Water Supply (Water Quality) (Scotland) Regulations 1990, made on 23 January, impose standards relating to the quality of public and private water supplies for the purposes of drinking, washing or cooking. The standard on lead is tighter than that in EC Directive 80/778/EEC (the drinking water directive), and regulation 24 makes provision for securing the elimination, or reduction to a minimum, of the risk that water supplied by the authorities will be contaminated after supply by excessive concentrations of lead and certain other metals.
In addition, districts and islands councils have discretion to give housing repair grants for the replacement of lead plumbing. From 1982-88 inclusive,
Column 726
some 58,000 grants for work which included the replacement of lead plumbing had been made by these councils.Council of Ministers
Mr. Maxton : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the dates and subjects of meetings of the Council of Ministers that he or members of his ministerial team intend to attend over the coming year ; and if he will specify which Minister will attend.
Mr. Rifkind : The United Kingdom delegations to meetings of the various European Councils of Ministers represent all the interests within the Government. Decisions on whether a Scottish Minister should be included in delegations are taken in the light of the business when it is known and of the other commitments of the Minister concerned.
Mr. Maxton : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the dates and subjects of meetings of the Council of Ministers that he or members of his ministerial team have attended in the past 10 years ; and if he will specify which Minister attended in each case.
Mr. Rifkind : This information is provided in the table :
Column 725
Date |Council |Minister
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
29 January 1980 |Fisheries Council |Right hon. George Younger, TD MP, Secretary of State for Scotland
16 June 1980 |Fisheries Council |Right hon. George Younger, TD MP, Secretary of State for Scotland
21 July 1980 |Fisheries Council |Right hon. George Younger, TD MP, Secretary of State for Scotland
29 September 1980 |Fisheries Council |Right hon. George Younger, TD MP, Secretary of State for Scotland
28 October 1980 |Fisheries Council |Right hon. George Younger, TD MP, Secretary of State for Scotland
17-18 November 1980 |Fisheries Council |Right hon. George Younger, TD MP, Secretary of State for Scotland
15-17 December 1980 |Fisheries Council |Right hon. George Younger, TD MP, Secretary of State for Scotland
27 January 1981 |Fisheries Council |Right hon. George Younger, TD MP, Secretary of State for Scotland
9-11 February 1981 |Fisheries Council |Right hon. George Younger, TD MP, Secretary of State for Scotland
10-11 March 1981 |Fisheries Council |Right hon. George Younger, TD MP, Secretary of State for Scotland
27 March 1981 |Fisheries Council |Right hon. George Younger, TD MP, Secretary of State for Scotland
29 September 1981 |Fisheries Council |Right hon. George Younger, TD MP, Secretary of State for Scotland
27 October 1981 |Fisheries Council |Right hon. George Younger, TD MP, Secretary of State for Scotland
15 June 1982 |Fisheries Council |Right hon. George Younger, TD MP, Secretary of State for Scotland
28-29 June 1982 |Fisheries Council |Right hon. George Younger, TD MP, Secretary of State for Scotland
20-21 July 1982 |Fisheries Council |Right hon. George Younger, TD MP, Secretary of State for Scotland
4 October 1982 |Fisheries Council |Right hon. George Younger, TD MP, Secretary of State for Scotland
25-26 October 1982 |Fisheries Council |Right hon. George Younger, TD MP, Secretary of State for Scotland
8 November 1982 |Fisheries Council |Right hon. George Younger, TD MP, Secretary of State for Scotland
29 November 1982 |Fisheries Council |Right hon. George Younger, TD MP, Secretary of State for Scotland
21 December 1982 |Fisheries Council |Right hon. George Younger, TD MP, Secretary of State for Scotland
25 January 1983 |Fisheries Council |Right hon. George Younger, TD MP, Secretary of State for Scotland
20 June 1983 |Fisheries Council |Right hon. George Younger, TD MP, Secretary of State for Scotland
30 June-1 July 1983 |Fisheries Council |Lord Gray of Contin, Minister of State
25-26 July 1983 |Fisheries Council |Lord Gray of Contin, Minister of State
3-4 October 1983 |Fisheries Council |Lord Gray of Contin, Minister of State
10-12 October 1983 |Special Fisheries Council |Lord Gray of Contin, Minister of State
19 October 1983 |Fisheries Council |Lord Gray of Contin, Minister of State
14 December 1983 |Fisheries Council |Lord Gray of Contin, Minister of State
31 January 1984 |Fisheries Council |Lord Gray of Contin, Minister of State
24-25 May 1984 |Fisheries Council |Mr. John Mackay MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
10 September 1984 |Fisheries Council |Lord Gray of Contin, Minister of State
4 December 1984 |Fisheries Council |Lord Gray of Contin, Minister of State
19 December 1984 |Fisheries Council |Lord Gray of Contin, Minister of State
6 May 1985 |Informal Meeting of Education Ministers |Mr. Allan Stewart MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
27 September 1985 |Fisheries Council |Lord Gray of Contin, Minister of State
4 November 1985 |Fisheries Council |Lord Gray of Contin, Minister of State
16-17 December 1985 |Fisheries Council |Lord Gray of Contin, Minister of State
22-23 September 1986 |Fisheries Council |Mr. John Mackay MP
5 November 1986 |Fisheries Council |Mr. John Mackay MP
3-4 December 1986 |Fisheries Council |Mr. John Mackay MP
17-18 December 1986 |Fisheries Council |Mr. John Mackay MP
5 May 1987 |Fisheries Council |Mr. John Mackay MP
29 September 1987 |Fisheries Council |Lord Sanderson of Bowden, Minister of State
14-15 December 1987 |Fisheries Council |Lord Sanderson of Bowden, Minister of State
29 February 1988 |Fisheries Council |Lord Sanderson of Bowden, Minister of State
19-20 October 1988 |Fisheries Council |Lord Sanderson of Bowden, Minister of State
28 November 1988 |Fisheries Council |Lord Sanderson of Bowden, Minister of State
9-11 December 1988 |Fisheries Council |Lord Sanderson of Bowden, Minister of State
12 June 1989 |Fisheries Council |Lord Sanderson of Bowden, Minister of State
7 December 1989 |Informal Fisheries Council |Lord Sanderson of Bowden, Minister of State
18-19 December 1989 |Fisheries Council |Rt. hon. Malcolm Rifkind QC, MP, Secretary of State for Scotland and Lord Sanderson of Bowden, Minister of State
Local Government Finance
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the latest estimate of the cost to Scottish local authorities of collection of non-domestic rates in 1989-90 and the cost of the collection of non-domestic rates in 1988-89.
Mr. Rifkind : Local authorities have estimated the cost of collecting non-domestic rates in 1989-90 at £1.6 million. No corresponding figure is available for 1988-89 as returns from authorities for years prior to 1989-90 did not show separately the cost of collecting domestic and non-domestic rates.
Employment Training
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the drop-out rate for employment training in each of the Scottish regions and for Scotland as a whole.
Mr. Lang : In Scotland, at November 1989, 65.4 per cent. of those completing an action plan with a training agent were referred to a training manager. Of the group referred, 93.5 per cent. actually started in employment training. These percentages are not collected on a regional basis.
Takare Plc
Mr. McAvoy : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will announce the price to Takare plc of land in Rutherglen which Greater Glasgow health board plans to sell to that company ; (2) if he will publish the full details of the contract, when agreed, between Takare plc and Greater Glasgow health board for the provision of services to the elderly in Rutherglen ;
(3) if his Department has approved the contract between Takare plc and Greater Glasgow health board for provision of services to the elderly ;
(4) what are the reasons for the delay in making a decision about the contract between Greater Glasgow health board and Takare plc for the provision of services to the elderly in Rutherglen ;
(5) when he expects to make a decision on whether to approve the contract between Greater Glasgow health board and Takare plc for the provision of services to the elderly in Rutherglen ;
(6) who his Department consulted on the sale of land in Rutherglen by Greater Glasgow health board to Takare plc ;
Column 728
(7) what recommendations his Department has made on the sale of land by Greater Glasgow health board to Takare plc.Mr. Michael Forsyth : No final decision has been taken on the proposed contract between Greater Glasgow health board and Takare plc, which is still subject to negotiation.
Public Land Sales
Mr. McAvoy : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what rules govern the number of potential buyers required to be involved by a public body selling land in Scotland ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Land surplus to public sector needs will normally be offered for sale on the open market. Alternatively, if it is in the public interest to do so, the land may be sold off-market, in consultation with the district valuer as to value.
M80
Mr. Norman Hogg : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he will announce the line of the proposed M80 motorway between Stepps and Haggs ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : My right hon. and learned Friend announced in his statement of May 1989 that the central Scotland motorway schemes were to be a priority of the Scottish Office's roads programme. Construction work started on the M80 Stepps bypass, the adjacent scheme to M80 Stepps-Haggs, in November 1989. Aerial and ground surveys for the M80 Stepps-Haggs scheme have now been completed. Similarly, a key traffic survey has been completed. The final feasibility report can now be expected in spring of this year and it should be possible for a decision on a preferred route to be made shortly thereafter. The present expectation is that draft orders will be published later in the year with a public exhibition being held at that time to explain the proposals in detail.
Disabled Workers
Mr. Graham : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people on the disabled register for work in Scotland are (a) employed and (b) unemployed.
Mr. Lang : There is no such thing as a disabled register for work. Under the Disabled Persons (Employment) Acts 1944 and 1958, the Department of Employment maintains a disablement register on which disabled people may register. That register does not include a record of the
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