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Mr. Chope [holding answer 8 February 1990] : A person who is following a full-time course of education for the purposes of the student relief will be liable to pay 20 per cent. of the personal community charge at his term-time address. If that person also owns domestic property in which there is no person solely or mainly resident, he will be subject to the standard community charge in respect of that property. However, guidance already issued by the Department has suggested that local authorities should use the wide discretion available to them to specify this class of circumstance as one where the standard community charge multiplier is zero.
Council Services (Privatisation)
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many local authorities in the north-west have privatised council services ; which authority has privatised the most services ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : Local authorities are required to put certain of their services out to competitive tender under the terms of the Local Government Act 1988 in accordance with a timetable prescribed in the Local Government Act 1988 (Defined Activities) (Competition) (England) Regulations 1988, a copy of which is in the Library of the House. These require those authorities which were not able to claim exemption on de minimis grounds to put one specified service out to tender by 1 August 1989 and a second service by 1 January 1990. Different services were prescribed for different authorities. In addition, all authorities which were not subject to a de minimis exemption were required to put at least 20 per cent. of their ground maintenance work out to tender by 1 January 1990.
The results of a questionnaire on the first round of tendering under the 1988 Act are not yet available. Information about tendering for services not covered by the Local Government Act 1988 is not collected centrally.
Community Charge (Nurses)
Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidance has been issued to community charge officers on levying of the community charge on nurses living in hostel accommodation during the week and returning to their own homes at weekends.
Mr. Chope : Guidance on determining an individual's sole or main residence for the purposes of registration for the personal community charge is contained in community charge practice note No. 9. Where an individual is regarded as solely or mainly resident will depend on the facts of each case. Advice to charging authorities on the standard charge in respect of unoccupied property has recommended them to consider a special class for property which is empty because the owner is required to live elsewhere as a condition of his or her employment.
Waste Disposal, Bradford
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many licences relating to waste disposal facilities have been issued by Bradford council ; how many licence applications have been refused ; how many inspections are made annually of waste dumps in
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Bradford ; and how many operators have been prosecuted for breach of licence conditions in respect of waste dumps in Bradford ; (2) how many waste dumps there are within the area of Bradford metropolitan district council ; how many have been abandoned ; how many are safely capped ; and what information he has on plans issued by Bradford council for dealing with wastes ;(3) if he will arrange for all waste dumps in Bradford to be inspected and action taken to stop waste contaminating ground water and drinking water supplies ; and if he has received any representations expressing concern about the risks of waste dumping in Bradford contaminating drinking water supplies.
Mr. Trippier : These are matters for the West Yorkshire waste management joint committee as waste disposal authority for the area. Details of current licences are contained on registers held by the waste disposal authorities.
Waste Disposal
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to ban co-disposal ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Trippier : No. Co-disposal of wastes is a recognised landfill technique which, in suitable circumstances, can offer environmental benefits. It requires careful site assessment and operational control and these are matters for site operators and regulatory authorities to consider within the waste disposal licensing system.
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to require companies that dump waste to pay the costs of making waste dumps safe ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Trippier : The Environmental Protection Bill contains provision that a licence shall remain in force after the final deposit of waste until a certificate of completion is obtained which certifies that the waste regulation authority is satisfied that the land is unlikely to cause pollution of the environment or harm to human health. The licensee will remain responsible for the land until that time and will have to bear the costs of any work that needs to be carried out.
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will establish as a matter of urgency a ministerial working party charged with recommending a national waste disposal policy and ensure that the working party represents all interested parties and receives evidence on the widest possible basis ;
(2) if he will introduce a national waste disposal policy.
Mr. Trippier : No working party is required to prepare national policies in this area.
Co-ordinated central Government advice and guidance on waste management is given to local authorities to assist them in determining, in accordance with their statutory duties, local waste disposal strategies for their areas, consulting other bodies as necessary. Additional guidance is being prepared in relation to the proposed duties for local authorities under part II of the Environmental Protection Bill.
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will undertake a new national survey of
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waste tips in England and Wales ; if he will take steps to establish a register of old waste dumps ; and what action he is taking to tell the National Rivers Authority the location of waste dumps which pose a risk or serious risk of contamination to drinking water supplies.Mr. Trippier : A national survey is not required. The Environmental Protection Bill contains proposals for waste regulation authorities to seek out and keep records of any land which has ever been used for waste disposal and to inspect and monitor closed sites.
Waste disposal authorities are required to consult the NRA over all applications for waste disposal licences, and the NRA has extensive programmes for monitoring ground and surface waters, which are currently being reviewed.
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when was the list of waste dumps near water supplies first received by his Department ; what prompted an examination of 19 of the tips on the list ; what were the conclusions of that investigation ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Trippier : The recently publicised survey was a desk assessment carried out with the co-operation of local authorities and the then river authorities during 1973 and 1974. Subsequently, as part of a research programme, detailed investigations were undertaken by independent consultants at 19 representative sites. The research report was published in 1978 and concluded that controlled landfill was acceptable in a range of geological circumstances and confirmed previous experience with this disposal method.
Control of Pollution Act
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to bring the first section of the Control of Pollution Act into force ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Trippier : It is no longer appropriate to seek to bring section 1 of the 1974 Act into force in view of the proposed replacement of part I of that Act by the provisions in part II of the Environmental Protection Bill.
Gipsy Sites, Bradford
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has yet reached a decision under the Caravan Sites Act on the recent application of Bradford metropolitan district for designation ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to reach a decision on the application submitted by Bradford council to designate traveller sites within the metropolitan district ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Chope : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will consider the city of Bradford metropolitan council's application for designated status when the local authority submits the outstanding response to its consultation exercise. The matter will then be dealt with as speedily as possible.
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Private Landlords
Mr. Coleman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is taking to ensure that landlords reduce rents by an amount equivalent to the rates element after the introduction of the community charge.
Mr. Chope : I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Taunton (Mr. Nicholson) on 8 February, Official Report, Vol. 166, column 756.
Nuclear Waste Disposal
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has on whether Nirex or any other statutory body plans to dispose of nuclear waste (a) at or near Parys mountain or (b) any other location in the constituency of Ynys Mo ns.
Mr. Trippier : My right hon. Friend has no information about any plans to dispose of nuclear waste in the constituency of Ynys Mo n. If the investigations being carried out by United Kingdom Nirex Ltd. at Sellafield and Dounreay are favourable, the company intends to develop a repository at one of these two sites. If both sites prove unsuitable Nirex will look elewhere, but no decisions have yet been taken.
Agencies
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the quality of service performance indicators that have been introduced into the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre and the historic royal palaces, respectively, since their establishment as agencies.
Mr. Chris Patten : Quality of service indicators are being finalised and will be included in the corporate plans of both agencies which I shall be considering shortly. On the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 18 January to my hon. Friend the Member for Beaconsfield (Mr. Smith), Official Report, Vol. 165, col 369 , which sets out the targets presently approved.
Ancient Monuments
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many sites in total are protected as scheduled ancient monuments.
Mr. Trippier : At present, approximately 13,000 monument sites in England are included in the Secretary of State's schedule of ancient monuments.
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will amend circular 8/87 to detail the ways in which local authorities can apply the principle of recognising the preservation of monuments as a material consideration in the planning process.
Mr. Trippier : No ; but we shall shortly be issuing draft planning policy guidance on "Archaeology and Planning" for public consultation, which will include advice to local authorities on the weight to be given in planning decisions to the preservation of archaeological remains.
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Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he plans to instruct local authorities to include archaeological policies in their local and district.
Mr. Trippier : We will shortly be issuing a consultation paper on Archaeology and Planning. This will incorporate advice on development plan policies for archaeological sites.
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will issue a planning circular giving guidance to local authorities about their use of planning conditions (a) to preserve and (b) to investigate archaeological sites.
Mr. Trippier : I hope shortly to announce the issue for public consultation of draft planning policy guidance on "Archaeology and Planning". This will include advice to local planning authorities on the use of planning conditions in this context. Some guidance is already extant in circular 1/85 on the use of planning conditions to allow archaeologists access to sites for the purposes of recording remains in advance of development.
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make it his policy to give ancient landscapes the status of scheduled ancient monuments.
Mr. Trippier : This is not simply a question of policy. Any decision to schedule ancient landscapes would involve a number of considerations. The term "monument" is defined in section 61(7) of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. Assuming an ancient landscape falls within this definition, it would also need to be of national importance judged against the criteria to which I referred in my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Staffordshire, South (Mr. Cormack) on 29 January 1990, Official Report, col. 67-68.
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will publish a table detailing the sites designated as scheduled ancient monuments in each of the past five years.
Mr. Trippier : The following is a table detailing the number of sites scheduled in each of the past five years.
1985 |1986|1987|1988|1989 ------------------------------ 49 |49 |10 |31 |30
Standard Spending Assessments, Yorkshire
Mr. Robert Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out the constituent parts of the standard spending assessment for the Harrogate borough council, York city council and Scarborough borough council.
Mr. Chope : The table sets out the elements of the standard spending assessments for the three authorities :
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£ million
|Harrogate |York |Scarborough
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other services:
District level services |8.13 |7.57 |6.71
County level services |0.07 |0.06 |0.06
Flood Defence |0.08 |0.11 |0.03
Coast Protection |0 |0 |0.19
Interest Receipts |-0.24 |-0.22 |-0.20
|------- |------- |-------
Total other services |8.04 |7.51 |6.79
Capital Financing
Debt Charges |0.96 |0.83 |0.92
Capital Expenditure charged to Revenue Account |0.05 |0.01 |0.07
Interest on Capital Receipts |-0.38 |-0.33 |-0.36
|------- |------- |-------
Total capital financing |0.63 |0.51 |0.63
|------- |------- |-------
Total SSA |8.68 |8.02 |7.42
Hertfordshire County Council
Mr. Robert B. Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will set out the number of (a) full-time and (b) part-time employees of Hertfordshire county council for the most recent date for which the county council has filed a manpower watch return.
Mr. Chope : Hertfordshire county council employed (a) 20,077 full- time and (b) 20,856 part-time staff in March 1989, the latest available date.
Common Land
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has any proposals to introduce legislation to safeguard common land on the basis of the common land forum.
Mr. Trippier : I have nothing to add to the answer I gave the hon. Member on 4 December 1989, Official Report, Vol 163, c. 35.
Right to Buy
Mr. Tracey : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what were the results of his survey of right to buy performance in London ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Chope : Last November I announced that I would be reviewing the extent of right to buy delays in London and the effect of the tenant's sanction measures which came into force in March 1989. The tables show London boroughs' right to buy activity during September 1989. A total of 21,886 cases were
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awaiting completion and boroughs had failed to issue 12,811 RTB2 and S125 notices within the statutory time limits. More than half the overdue notices were in Lambeth, Hackney, Brent, Southwark and Hounslow.The information collected about the use of the new tenant's sanction measures shows that 12 boroughs received no notices of delay, but tenant's sanction notices have been used extensively in boroughs where the number of overdue cases is high. In a single month, 18 boroughs received 271 initial notices (RTB6) and 53 operative notices of delay (RTB8). Another borough estimated that it had received 1,305 initial notices and 780 operative notices between March and November.
The most common reason for serving initial notices was delay in completing sales, followed by delays in advising tenants of the price and other terms of sale (S125 notice) and by delays in confirming the existence of a right to buy (RTB2 notice).
The Department has been receiving monthly reports from 12 monitored boroughs. The number of overdue RTB2 and S125 notices in these boroughs fell by 25 per cent. between March and September. The measures introduced last March have not only given tenants a sanction against unreasonable delays, but they have encouraged local authorities to improve their right to buy performance.
I have decided that monthly monitoring should continue for Brent, Camden, Hackney, Haringey, Hounslow, Islington, Lambeth, Lewisham, Newham, Richmond, Southwark and Tower Hamlets. Hammersmith, Waltham Forest, Ealing and Hillingdon, not monitored at the moment, are being asked to provide right to buy information for three months so that I can decide whether they should be monitored.
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Right to buy survey of London boroughs
(i) Right to buy caseload September 1989
Borough |New |RTB2 Notices |S125 Notices |Completed |Completions |Memo: RTB
|Applications |Outstanding |Outstanding |Sales |Outstanding |Sales
|1979-89 (Sep)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
City |7 |0 |5 |17 |242 |1,160
Barking |108 |0 |11 |103 |900 |<1>9,730
Barnet |65 |0 |13 |56 |381 |<1>5,073
Bexley |29 |0 |20 |30 |949 |n/a
Brent |56 |79 |1,184 |65 |262 |<1>2,107
Bromley |65 |0 |10 |56 |205 |<1>6,963
Camden |127 |0 |674 |67 |1,352 |<1>1,224
Croydon |67 |0 |0 |49 |195 |<1>5,673
Ealing |59 |69 |322 |67 |605 |<1>2,451
Enfield |93 |11 |41 |93 |n/a |6,212
Greenwich |54 |7 |180 |88 |900 |<1>2,551
Hackney |104 |705 |1,338 |98 |n/a |<1>1,828
Hammersmith |57 |0 |474 |37 |1,585 |<1>1,993
Haringey |122 |91 |37 |81 |507 |<1>3,741
Harrow |30 |0 |0 |26 |60 |<1>2,347
Havering |96 |0 |0 |48 |171 |<1>2,944
Hillingdon |69 |25 |334 |40 |221 |<1>1,852
Hounslow |64 |101 |808 |39 |539 |<1>3,289
Islington |148 |45 |248 |112 |1,451 |<1>2,297
Kensington |21 |0 |83 |26 |280 |<1>679
Kingston |17 |0 |19 |22 |135 |<1>1,515
Lambeth |173 |1,085 |1,899 |31 |1,861 |<1>1,211
Lewisham |118 |111 |415 |157 |1,833 |<1>4,987
Merton |35 |0 |n/a |31 |387 |<1>2,534
Newham |76 |70 |650 |87 |706 |<1>3,915
Redbridge |90 |n/a |n/a |49 |431 |n/a
Richmond |26 |0 |35 |24 |137 |<1>2,394
Southwark |258 |80 |913 |119 |98 |<1>3,205
Sutton |31 |0 |141 |37 |165 |2,865
Tower Hamlets |84 |n/a |n/a |65 |n/a |<1>1,242
Waltham Forest |39 |2 |427 |71 |n/a |<1>2,790
Wandsworth |103 |0 |4 |132 |2,393 |<1>7,576
Westminster |46 |16 |29 |132 |2,935 |<1>3,233
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total |2,437 |2,497 |10,314 |2,155 |21,886 |<1>101,581
n/a=Not available.
<1>Denotes an incomplete total.
Notes
(i) Bexley and Redbridge sell properties under the general consent rather than the right to buy legislation.
Information here is based on equivalent stages to the right to buy process.
(ii) Tower Hamlets were unable to provide complete information due to industrial action. Figures are for 4 of
their neighbourhoods.
(iii) Cumulative right to buy sales are from the table 2 statistics on right to buy and other council house
sales.
Right to buy survey of London boroughs
(ii) Right to buy delay notices
Borough Reason for RTB6 Number Number
|Counter |Counter
|RTB6s |RTB2 |S125 |Completion |Notices |RTB6s |RTB8s |Notices |RTB8s
|received |delay |delay |delay |Issued |outstanding|received |issued |outstanding
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brent |28 |1 |17 |10 |27 |2 |2 |1 |1
Bromley |1 |0 |0 |0 |1 |0 |0 |0 |0
Camden |46 |2 |2 |42 |20 |26 |6 |2 |4
Ealing |11 |1 |2 |8 |11 |0 |1 |1 |0
Enfield |1 |0 |0 |1 |1 |0 |0 |0 |0
Greenwich |2 |0 |1 |1 |1 |0 |0 |0 |0
Hackney |70 |4 |30 |36 |18 |95 |23 |6 |49
Hammersmith |8 |0 |6 |2 |4 |4 |0 |0 |0
Hillingdon |8 |0 |8 |1 |3 |5 |4 |0 |0
Hounslow |12 |1 |5 |5 |6 |16 |10 |10 |12
Islington |30 |0 |5 |25 |10 |29 |2 |3 |9
Lewisham |30 |1 |1 |28 |24 |6 |3 |2 |1
Newham |7 |0 |6 |1 |7 |0 |1 |0 |0
Richmond |1 |0 |1 |0 |1 |0 |0 |0 |0
Sutton |8 |0 |8 |0 |7 |5 |0 |0 |0
Tower Hamlets |1 |0 |0 |1 |1 |0 |1 |1 |1
Waltham Forest |4 |0 |3 |1 |4 |2 |0 |0 |0
Wandsworth |3 |0 |0 |3 |1 |0 |0 |0 |0
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total |271 |10 |95 |165 |147 |190 |53 |26 |77
Notes:
(i) the following boroughs received no delay notices: City, Barking, Barnet, Bexley, Croydon, Harrow, Havering, Kensington, Kingston,
Merton, Redbridge and Westminster.
(ii) Lambeth estimated that 1,305 RTB6s and 780 RTB8s were received between March and November 1989, ie 145 and 65 per month on
average respectively.
(iii) Haringey and Southwark were unable to provide information in the form requested.
(iv) The figures for Tower Hamlets relate to four of their seven neighbourhoods.
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Radioactive Waste
292. Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has on the advisability of co-disposal of radioactive waste with pig slurry infected with anthrax spores.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory [holding answer 5 February 1990] : There would be no practical advantages in combining such disposals.
Rugby Borough Council
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the hon. Member for Rugby and Kenilworth will receive a reply to his letter dated 27 November 1989 referring to Rugby borough council.
Mr. Chope [holding answer 1 February 1990] : I have written to my hon. Friend today.
Cornwall County Council
Mr. Harris : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out a table showing for each year since 1984-85 the expenditure of Cornwall county council in (a) cash terms and (b) constant price terms.
Mr. Chope [holding answer 9 February 1990] : The information is as follows :
Rate fund revenue account net
current expenditure-Cornwall CC
|Cash |Real (1)
|(1984-85
|prices)
|£m |£m
------------------------------------
1984-85 |144.6 |144.6
1985-86 |152.8 |145.0
1986-87 |169.4 |155.5
1987-88 |187.8 |163.7
1988-89 |202.5 |164.6
1989-90 |218.2 |165.8
(1) using GDP deflator.
Mr. Neale : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out a table showing for each year since 1984-85 the manpower watch return for Cornwall county council for the third quarter of each year.
Mr. Chope [holding answer 9 February 1990] : The available information is as follows :
Cornwall County Council (including the Isles of Scilly)
All Services
(excluding Police<1>) at September
|Full-time|Part- |Total
|time
-----------------------------------------------------------
1984-85
General Services |7,738 |6,127 |13,865
Magistrates Courts |65 |22 |87
Probation Staff |68 |31 |99
Total |7,871 |6,180 |14,051
1985-86
General Services |7,815 |5,775 |13,590
Magistrates Courts |64 |21 |85
Probation Staff |64 |24 |88
Total |7,943 |5,820 |13,763
1986-87
General Services |7,880 |6,478 |14,358
Magistrates Courts |71 |20 |91
Probation Staff |68 |27 |95
Total |8,019 |6,525 |14,544
1987-88
General Services |7,964 |6,980 |14,944
Magistrates Courts |68 |20 |88
Probation Staff |67 |28 |95
Total |8,099 |7,028 |15,127
1988-89
General Services |7,924 |6,888 |14,812
Magistrates Courts |66 |24 |90
Probation Staff |65 |29 |94
Total |8,055 |6,941 |14,996
1989-90<2>
General Services |7,999 |6,951 |14,950
Magistrates Courts |65 |24 |89
Probation Staff |69 |30 |99
Total |8,133 |7,005 |15,138
<1> Devon and Cornwall have a joint police authority
<2> Figures for September 1989 are in fact the latest
available.
Mortgages
Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the average outstanding mortgage in 1989-90 in (a) England and (b) each region.
Mr. Chope [holding answer 9 February 1990] : The estimated average balance outstanding on building society mortgages in the United Kingdom at the end of 1988 was £21,000. Comparable information is not available for other lenders or below national level.
Housing Corporation
Mr. Soley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the problems in financial control systems which have led to the overspend by the Housing Corporation in 1989-90.
Mr. Michael Spicer : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced on 30 January ( Official Report, column 175 ) that the capital resources available to the Housing Corporation in 1989-90 would be increased by £120 million, with a corresponding reduction in 1990-91, to reflect a greater speeding up of housing schemes by housing associations than had been forecast. This adjustment is not expected to affect the Housing Corporation's total expenditure and output over the two years taken together.
An independent examination of the Housing Corporation's financial systems in the autumn of 1989 found that the corporation's expenditure forecasting model was soundly based. The model has now been updated to take account of faster development times. The Housing Corporation will also be introducing cash plannning targets for associations in 1990-91 which will enable the corporation more accurately to predict and control the flow of expenditure.
SCOTLAND
Local Enterprise Councils
Mr. McFall : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the procedures to be used to monitor expenditure by local enterprise councils.
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Mr. Lang : Once in operation, local enterprise companies will work to annual budgets agreed initially with the Training Agency and the Scottish Development Agency, and subsequently with Scottish Enterprise. Monitoring of expenditure within the agreed budgets will primarily be the responsibility of the local enterprise company itself. In addition, prior to the vesting of Scottish Enterprise, the Scottish Development Agency and the Training Agency will jointly monitor local enterprise companies' performance through the local enterprise company unit ; and thereafter, Scottish Enterprise will have this function. Such monitoring will be selective and will focus on propriety and whether management arrangements agreed with the local enterprise company in its business plan are functioning effectively and are promoting value for money.Preventable Loss
Mr. Norris : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what assessment he has made of the extent of preventable loss arising from theft or misappropriation in his Department ;
(2) whether he will list the number of professionally qualified loss- prevention staff employed by his Department and the qualifications held by such staff, excluding qualifications obtained during police or military service.
Mr. Rifkind : The Scottish Office has developed and maintains controls to prevent fraud and to ensure that if it does occur it will be detected promptly. It is the responsibility of all staff to ensure that departmental funds are not misappropriated. The activities of the Scottish Office audit unit include responsibility to satisfy the accounting officer for Scottish Office administration costs that financial management and control systems are adequate. Nine of the audit unit staff hold professional qualifications and a further 15 are qualified to Treasury- approved training standards. No specific assessment of preventable losses has been made.
Manufacturing Industry
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people were employed in manufacturing industry in 1979 ; how many there were at the latest date for which figures are available ; and what percentage of the total labour force they constituted on each occasion.
Mr. Rifkind : The table gives the number of employees in employment in manufacturing industries in Scotland in September 1979 and 1989, the latest date for which information is available. The figures are also shown expressed as a percentage of all employees in employment and as a percentage of the civilian work force in employment on these dates.
September
|1979|1989
--------------------------------------------------------
Employees in employment in manufacturing
industries in Scotland-thousands |602 |419
Scottish manufacturing employment as a
percentage of:-
all employees in employment |29 |22
the civilian work force in employment |27 |19
Source:
Department of Employment.
Note:
The civilian work force in employment comprises
employees in employment, the self-employed and those on
Government work-related training schemes.
Earnings
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a table showing gross average weekly earnings for full-time male employees on adult rates in Scotland for every year from 1979 to the latest year for which figures are available.
Mr. Rifkind : The information requested is given in the table.
Average gross weekly earnings of
full-time male employees on
adult
rates in Scotland, in April of
each year
|£ per week
---------------------------------
1979 |101.2
1980 |123.1
1981 |140.0
1982 |154.5
1983 |167.5
1984 |178.7
1985 |189.7
1986 |201.3
1987 |214.6
1988 |233.3
1989 |251.2
Source: New Earnings Survey.
Service Industries
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a table showing the number of employees in service industries in Scotland in June 1979 and at present, broken down into separate totals for men, women, full-time employees, part-time employees and those on Government training schemes.
Mr. Rifkind : The table gives the number of employees in employment for June 1979 and September 1989, the latest available date. Figures are given separately for all men and for women working full time and part time. Information on the number of men working part time is available only for years for which there is a census of employment. Estimates of employees in employment include those with a contract of employment who are on Government work-related training schemes. There is no separate information available on the number of employees in Scotland in the service industries who are also on Government work-related training schemes.
Employees in employment in the service industries in Scotland
Thousands
|June 1979 |September 1989
--------------------------------------------------------------
Males<1> |544 |562
Female full-time |385 |415
Female part-time |295 |320
|--- |---
Total |1,224 |1,297
Source: Department of Employment.
<1> Includes full and part-time male employees. The latest
census of employment shows that in September 1987 there were
62,000 part-time male employees and 486,000 full-time male
employees in the service industries in Scotland.
Column 71
Industrial Output
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a table with an index of industrial output for Scotland, taking 1979=100, giving a separate
Column 72
breakdown for production industries, divisions 1-4, energy and water supply and manufacturing, divisions 2-4 and showing the changes for each year from 1979 till the latest year for which figures are available.Mr. Rifkind : The information requested is in the table.
Column 71
Output of Production Industries-Scotland
Index (1979=100) Annual percentage change<1>
|Production |Energy and water|Manufacturing |Production |Energy and water|Manufacturing
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1979 |100.0 |100.0 |100.0 |- |- |-
1980 |93.9 |96.8 |93.3 |-6.1 |-3.2 |-6.7
1981 |91.9 |97.2 |90.8 |-2.1 |0.5 |-2.7
1982 |92.4 |96.9 |91.5 |0.6 |-0.3 |0.7
1983 |92.2 |99.9 |90.5 |-0.3 |3.0 |-1.1
1984 |95.9 |102.2 |94.4 |4.0 |2.3 |4.4
1985 |98.5 |108.1 |96.4 |2.8 |5.7 |2.1
1986 |96.2 |105.1 |94.3 |-2.3 |-2.8 |-2.2
1987 |98.2 |102.4 |97.2 |2.1 |-2.5 |3.1
1988 |105.7 |108.4 |105.0 |7.6 |5.8 |8.0
Source: Index of Industrial Production and Construction for Scotland.
<1>Year on year change.
Manual Workers
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the average gross hourly earnings in Scotland for full-time manual workers, full-time non-manual workers, part-time manual workers and part-time non- manual workers at the latest date for which figures are available.
Mr. Rifkind : The latest available information, for April 1989, is provided in the table :
Average gross hourly earnings (excluding overtime)
of employees
in Scotland on adult rates
|£ per hour
-----------------------------------------------------
Full-time manual employees |4.23
Full-time non-manual employees |6.28
Part-time manual employees |2.87
Part-time non-manual employees |4.33
Source: New Earnings Survey April 1989.
Private Schools (Rating)
Sir David Steel : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make it his policy to enact measures to bring the non-domestic rating system as it applies to private school accommodation in line with the practice south of the border.
Mr. Rifkind : Certain questions about the treatment for valuation and rating purposes of pupil accommodation at boarding schools in Scotland are currently the subject of appeal to the Lands Tribunal for Scotland. Against the background of my general desire to secure harmonisation between Scotland and England, I am considering whether there are any steps I should take.
Prison Ombudsman
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any proposals to appoint a prison ombudsman ; and if he will make a statement.
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