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Mr. Baldry : The matter in question concerned a loss of grid supplies at Hinkley Point B as a result of storms that night. The reactors, however, had already been shut down and were in a totally safe state when disconnection from the grid system occurred. The possibility of such loss of grid supplies was anticipated during the design of the station, which has more than adequate safety systems and back up generation facilities to ensure its safe operation. All station safety equipment functioned correctly. Station staff are trained to deal with this type of eventuality and did so successfully. The Health and Safety Executive's nuclear installations inspectorate will follow up the matter as part of its normal inspection duties in order to confirm details.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy how many people live within (a) 3 miles and (b) 15 miles of Hinkley B power station.
Mr. Baldry : There are 1,700 people living within 5 km (3.1 miles) and 286,000 living within 25 km (15.5 miles) of Hinkley B power station.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will detail the emergency procedures which exist in the event of a serious incident at Hinkley B power station.
Column 624
Mr. Baldry : Operators of nuclear installations in the United Kingdom are required by Her Majesty's nuclear installations inspectorate (NII) of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), as a condition of their licences, to prepare emergency plans which are also subject to approval by the inspectorate. These plans, on which local authorities, police and other bodies must be consulted, are kept under continuous review and are tested regularly in exercises monitored by the NII. They cover both emergency procedures at the site and off-site arrangements to protect the public.
Detailed emergency plans cover an area determined by the reference accident --that is, the accident which, although very unlikely, has the greatest off -site consequences that can reasonably be predicted, given the design of the plant, its protective systems and its operating limits. The emergency plans can be extended to deal with more serious and therefore, more improbable accidents. In such cases the police, emergency services and local authorities would make use of their general emergency planning arrangments for other accidents. This approach was endorsed by the Layfield report on the Sizewell inquiry.
In a statement on 12 December 1988, the Prime Minister said that extensive consultations with the emergency services and local authorities have
"confirmed the availability of contingency plans which would permit an effective response to be made to any nuclear accident, including those with more widespread effects than the specific site and off-site plans are designed to cater for".--[ Official Report, 12 December 1988 ; Vol. 143. c. 391. ]
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on the effect of sea spray on the insulators in the Hinkley B substation close to the shore.
Mr. Baldry : Excessive salt deposition in the 400 KW substation, at Hinkley Point B, can occasionally cause separation from the grid, but in such instances reactors are automatically shut down.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on the safety procedures at Hinkley B power station.
Mr. Baldry : The Health and Safety Executive's nuclear installations inspectorate advises me that it is fully satisfied with the safety procedures at Hinkley Point B.
Nuclear Reactors
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy under what circumstances generators in advanced gas-cooled reactor nuclear power plants are switched on to manual overdrive ; and under what circumstances they are switched back.
Mr. Baldry : Depending on the situation, there is a variety of procedures for switching electrical supplies available to the operators of advanced gas-cooled reactors.
IAEA Safety Review Team
Mr. Maples : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when the report of the International Atomic Energy Agency's operational safety review team's visit to Oldbury on Severn will be deposited in the Library.
Mr. Baldry : A copy of the report has been placed in the Library of the House.
Column 625
Energy Efficiency
Mr. Soames : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when he expects to issue the consultation paper on the proposed new scheme of grants for the improvement of energy efficiency in low-income households.
Mr. Peter Morrison : My Department has today issued a consultation paper on a scheme which, subject to the
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approval of Parliament, I propose to introduce under regulations under clause 10 of the Social Security Bill. Copies of the paper are being placed in the Library.The paper outlines the type of scheme it is hoped will be introduced, and invites comments from interested parties. Copies are available from the Energy Efficiency Office of the Department of Energy.
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OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT
Aid Targeting
Mr. Peter Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what efforts are made in the targeting of overseas aid to ensure that the benefits are obtained by the poorest citizens of those countries selected to receive aid.
Mrs. Chalker : The long-term alleviation of poverty requires sustained economic growth. But much can be done directly to help the poor participate in and benefit from the process of development. We therefore consider within all our bilateral country aid programmes the scope for targeting assistance on the poorest groups, as well as
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supporting the growth of the economy generally. We are channelling increasing amounts of aid through non- governmental organisations which are often best equipped to tackle poverty at grass roots level. In 1988-89 £63 million of aid was provided through non-governmental organisations.Poorest Nations
Mr. Peter Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the 20 poorest nations measured by gross domestic product per head, indicating which of these received regular United Kingdom bilateral aid in the last 10 years.
Mrs. Chalker : The information is as follows :
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Gross bilateral aid to poorest 20 countries<1> 1979-88 £ thousand Country |1979 |1980 |1981 |1982 |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987 |1988 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mozambique |6,369 |4,629 |5,379 |1,924 |1,805 |4,182 |8,366 |7,424 |22,798 |30,512 Ethiopia |2,877 |1,946 |563 |5,645 |3,433 |7,004 |28,058 |9,627 |8,554 |19,174 Bhutan |24 |63 |93 |74 |136 |175 |165 |187 |270 |412 Chad |45 |26 |35 |360 |156 |31 |1,448 |89 |179 |252 Malawi |24,941 |16,543 |15,999 |16,984 |14,620 |12,959 |22,356 |15,346 |24,865 |46,494 Tanzania |24,076 |32,119 |30,040 |27,328 |30,384 |33,033 |17,967 |12,715 |28,798 |33,502 Guinea-Bissau |173 |56 |739 |244 |105 |16 |- |62 |30 |51 Bangladesh |33,821 |66,190 |33,383 |23,537 |24,728 |35,656 |41,173 |38,321 |34,842 |41,968 Somalia |1,311 |2,806 |2,441 |2,528 |2,486 |2,058 |1,737 |3,941 |7,292 |6,675 Nepal |11,235 |6,834 |8,035 |9,596 |7,398 |8,580 |9,675 |9,946 |10,044 |10,826 Zaire |2,315 |548 |1,685 |317 |2,203 |1,253 |738 |285 |3,112 |595 Madagascar |100 |542 |300 |561 |199 |363 |469 |514 |551 |434 Laos |29 |13 |80 |- |1 |4 |- |6 |64 |104 Gambia |2,796 |2,270 |2,321 |2,480 |2,400 |3,638 |3,613 |9,897 |7,197 |6,530 Mali |489 |232 |281 |110 |190 |533 |744 |1,188 |982 |1,195 Burundi |17 |23 |21 |25 |50 |75 |81 |95 |90 |116 Burkina Faso |24 |96 |35 |25 |82 |120 |276 |131 |155 |314 Sierra Leone |3,283 |2,843 |3,165 |3,833 |3,199 |2,858 |3,626 |3,845 |2,652 |3,677 Uganda |2,212 |2,875 |15,078 |10,647 |6,109 |7,081 |9,171 |8,576 |12,180 |28,589 Zambia |5,070 |20,696 |24,119 |14,237 |15,485 |32,901 |25,552 |35,351 |25,349 |16,683 <1> Poorest 20 countries in 1988 obtained from 1989 World Bank Atlas. Cambodia and Vietnam not included in this table since no precise figures available on GNP per capita. Source: British Aid Statistics.
Mr. Peter Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of United Kingdom bilateral aid has been specifically targeted towards the poorest nations, as measured by gross domestic product per head, during each of the last 10 years.
Mrs. Chalker : Figures for 1989 are not yet available. The information for the 50 poorest countries during the period 1979-88 is as follows :
Percentage of total gross bilateral aid Year |Percentage --------------------------------- 1979 |72.4 1980 |64.9 1981 |62.7 1982 |58.1 1983 |62.9 1984 |63.7 1985 |62.7 1986 |63.1 1987 |68.1 1988 |69.5 Source: British Aid Statistics.
East Timor
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the value of British economic and technical assistance to Indonesia since 1975 ; how much of this aid can be identified as having been used for projects in East Timor ; and whether any efforts have been made to exclude aid from being used in East Timor.
Mrs. Chalker : Britain's gross bilateral aid to Indonesia from 1975 to 1988 (the most recent year for which records are available) totals £193,303,000. None of this aid has been used for projects in East Timor.
Primary Education Aid
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the Overseas Development Agency plans to increase the proportion of overall project aid allocated to primary education in developing countries ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Chalker : We shall first wish to discuss with overseas Governments at the forthcoming world conference on education for all the proportion of our assistance they wish to commit to primary education. We shall pursue these discussions in respect of developing Commonwealth countries at the conference of
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Commonwealth Education Ministers in Barbados later this year and with non-Commonwealth countries as opportunities arise.Education Conference
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if his Department will be represented at the world conference on education for all in Thailand in March ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Chalker : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Cynon Valley (Mrs. Clwyd) on 13 February at column 132.
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has any plans to raise the need for increased expenditure on primary education by developing nations at the world conference on education for all.
Mrs. Chalker : We shall discuss with representatives of developing countries at the world conference on education for all the priority which should be given to increased expenditure on primary education. We shall pursue this discussion with Ministers of Education from developing Commonwealth countries at the conference of Education Ministers which is to be held in Barbados later this year and with non-Commonwealth countries as opportunities arise.
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
School Reorganisation
Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the extent of his powers to modify secondary school reorganisation proposals put to him by local education authorities.
Mr. Alan Howarth : My right hon. Friend is empowered by section 12(6) of the Education Act 1980, after consultation with the local education authority, to approve proposals with such modifications as he thinks desirable. He is not, however, empowered to modify proposals to such an extent as to change them in substance or alter them in such a way as to deprive potential objectors of the opportunity of full and informed consideration of the proposals as a whole.
Medical Research
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received about the need for a better balance between medical research facilities in the north and south of England.
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South African Students
Mr. Ashton : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many students from South Africa received tuition in Britain in 1989.
Mr. Jackson : In the academic year 1988-89 there were 619 full-time students on higher education courses in British universities, polytechnics and colleges whose country of domicile was recorded as South Africa.
Industry Links"
Dr. Hampson : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science to which organisation or company public funds have been granted for the making of the video "Industry Links" ; how much money was involved ; what information he has on which local authorities intend to use it ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Alan Howarth : The Department of Education and Science has paid £12,000 to the company Dialogue to support the making of the video "Industry Links", slightly less than half the total cost of production. The balance is being met by contributions from Walsall local education authority, local and national businesses, and by sales of the video.
The video has been very well received. The Department intends therefore to fund its free distribution to every local education authority in England and Wales. The additional cost of this will be £1,924.
I am informed that the video has been in demand by chambers of commerce, compacts and businesses, and that copies have been bought by officers and advisers in some 30 local education authorities, and by some 70 individual schools and teachers' centres.
Local Management of Schools
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make it his policy to propose limits to numbers in schools (a) to prevent schools maximising numbers and financial support under LMS and (b) to ensure equality between numbers in schools in difficult educational districts.
Mr. Alan Howarth : No. What the hon. Member proposes would run counter to the Government's policy of increasing parental choice through more open enrolment. There is no justification for keeping places empty in popular schools : if the demand is there, a school should be allowed to admit pupils up to its physical capacity.
Expenditure
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the amount of total local authority expenditure on education other than higher education in each year since 1979-80 in cash and in 1989-90 prices under the budget heads published in table 11.2 of "The Government's Expenditure Plans 1990-91 to 1992-93", chapter 11, page 3, Cm. 1011.
Mr. MacGregor : The information requested is shown in tables 1 and 2.
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Table 1
Local authority expenditure
£ million cash
|1979-80|1980-81|1981-82|1982-83|1983-84|1984-85|1985-86|1986-87|1987-88|1988-89|1989-90
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current Spending
Schools
Under-fives |177 |222 |241 |274 |296 |331 |350 |397 |447 |510 |561
Primary schools |1,706 |2,086 |2,258 |2,349 |2,416 |2,485 |2,612 |2,952 |3,331 |3,694 |3,988
Secondary schools |2,354 |2,952 |3,304 |3,544 |3,735 |3,858 |3,949 |4,360 |4,694 |5,013 |5,261
Special schools |249 |309 |347 |382 |412 |432 |462 |513 |555 |619 |666
Meals and milk |422 |397 |396 |411 |426 |428 |436 |457 |443 |403 |404
Transport |136 |160 |174 |184 |195 |199 |208 |215 |222 |235 |254
Non-maintained school fees |107 |114 |118 |121 |117 |131 |145 |153 |158
Teachers' centres |137 |157 |21 |23 |24 |28 |32 |48 |56 |59 |64
Child guidance |26 |28 |28 |31 |35 |37 |57 |64 |72
Pupil support |24 |26 |27 |32 |35 |39 |42 |44 |47
Further and continuing education
Further education |546 |688 |790 |878 |931 |998 |979 |1,054 |1,148 |1,250 |1,349
Adult education |56 |61 |67 |77 |86 |93 |102 |112 |116 |129 |138
Discretionary student awards and support |84 |95 |107 |121 |132 |142 |152 |170 |187 |180 |203
Miscellaneous services,
research and administration
Youth service |64 |76 |86 |97 |109 |117 |125 |140 |165 |176 |190
Recreational services and
research |33 |36 |41 |46 |54 |58 |58 |65 |63 |65 |72
Administration and
inspection costs |298 |367 |405 |435 |477 |503 |537 |608 |665 |746 |862
Technical and vocational
initiative (TVEI) |- |- |- |- |6 |22 |33 |61 |51 |76 |100
Work-related further
education (WRFE) |- |- |- |- |- |- |61 |104 |106 |104 |96
Mandatory student awards |534 |663 |770 |669 |734 |744 |710 |703 |761 |808 |897
|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------
Total current spending |6,795 |8,268 |9,163 |9,658 |10,206 |10,622 |10,993 |12,166 |13,255 |14,329 |15,381
Capital Spending
Schools |286 |347 |257 |266 |284 |273 |276 |278 |283 |283 |527
Higher and further education |75 |107 |85 |117 |116 |125 |136 |144 |109 |110 |93
Miscellaneous education services
Youth service |7 |6 |6 |12 |10 |12 |11 |11 |12 |10 |17
Other education services |5 |12 |13 |18 |15 |13 |9 |9 |23 |20 |26
|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------
Total capital spending |373 |472 |361 |413 |424 |423 |432 |442 |427 |423 |662
|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------
|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------
Total local authority |7,168 |8,740 |9,524 |10,071 |10,630 |11,045 |11,425 |12,608 |13,682 |14,752 |16,043
expenditure
Table 2
Local authority expenditure
Repriced to 1989-90 prices
£ million
|1979-80|1980-81|1981-82|1982-83|1983-84|1984-85|1985-86|1986-87|1987-88|1988-89|1989-90
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current Spending
Schools
Under-fives |357 |378 |374 |396 |409 |436 |437 |480 |513 |546 |561
Primary schools |3,437 |3,551 |3,501 |3,397 |3,338 |3,271 |3,263 |3,567 |3,823 |3,953 |3,988
Secondary schools |4,743 |5,026 |5,123 |5,125 |5,161 |5,078 |4,933 |5,269 |5,387 |5,364 |5,261
Special schools |502 |526 |538 |552 |569 |569 |577 |620 |637 |662 |666
Meals and milk |850 |676 |614 |594 |589 |563 |545 |552 |508 |431 |404
Transport |274 |272 |270 |266 |269 |262 |260 |260 |255 |251 |254
Non-maintained school fees |166 |165 |163 |159 |146 |158 |166 |164 |158
Teachers' centres |267 |267 |33 |33 |33 |37 |40 |58 |64 |63 |64
Child guidance |40 |40 |39 |41 |44 |45 |65 |68 |72
Pupil support |37 |38 |37 |42 |44 |47 |48 |47 |47
Further and continuing education
Further education |1,100 |1,171 |1,225 |1,270 |1,286 |1,314 |1,223 |1,274 |1,317 |1,338 |1,349
Adult education |113 |104 |104 |111 |119 |122 |127 |135 |133 |138 |138
Discretionary student awards
and support |169 |162 |166 |175 |182 |187 |190 |205 |215 |193 |203
Miscellaneous services,
research and administration
Youth service |129 |129 |133 |140 |151 |154 |156 |169 |189 |188 |190
Recreational services and
research |66 |61 |64 |67 |75 |76 |72 |79 |72 |70 |72
Administration and
inspection costs |600 |625 |628 |629 |659 |662 |671 |735 |763 |798 |862
Technical and vocational
initiative (TVEI) |- |- |- |- |8 |29 |41 |74 |59 |81 |100
Work-related further
education (WRFE) |- |- |- |- |- |- |76 |126 |122 |111 |96
Mandatory student awards |1,076 |1,129 |1,194 |967 |1,014 |979 |887 |850 |873 |865 |897
|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------
Total current spending |13,690 |14,076 |14,208 |13,967 |14,102 |13,982 |13,733 |14,702 |15,212 |15,332 |15,381
Capital Spending
Schools |576 |591 |399 |385 |392 |359 |345 |336 |325 |303 |527
Higher and further education |151 |182 |132 |169 |160 |165 |170 |174 |125 |118 |93
Miscellaneous education services
Youth service |14 |10 |9 |17 |14 |16 |14 |13 |14 |11 |17
Other education services |10 |20 |20 |26 |21 |17 |11 |11 |26 |21 |26
|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------
Total capital spending |752 |804 |560 |597 |586 |557 |540 |534 |490 |453 |662
|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------
|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------
Total local authority expenditure |14,442 |14,879 |14,768 |14,564 |14,687 |14,539 |14,272 |15,236 |15,702 |15,785 |16,043
Notes to tables:
1. The data in table 1 are those shown in table 11.2 of Cm. 1011 and the equivalent tables from previous public expenditure White
Papers. Recurrent spending on higher education has been excluded, as has the "polytechnics (repayment of loans)" line from Cm.
1011 and the previous year's White Paper; a single sum is given for capital spending on further and higher education because the
higher education element is not easily identifiable during the period in question.
2. The figures for 1988-89 and 1989-90 are provisional. Those for 1988-89 incorporate a distribution by sector of total current
spending by local authorities based on their provisional outturn expenditure on education. The 1989-90 figures incorporate a
provisional distribution by sector of total current spending by local authorities based on their budgets.
3. Figures for the breakdown of spending between non-maintained school fees, teachers' centres, child guidance and pupils support
are not available for 1979-80 and 1980-81.
4. The data in table 2 reprice the data in table 1 to 1989-90 prices, using the current gross domestic product deflators.
5. Some of the columns may not sum due to rounding.
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish figures for the amount of central
Government-funded current expenditure on schools for each financial year from 1978-79 to date, in cash, and constant prices, and with a real terms index where 1978-79 = 100.
Mr. MacGregor : Central Government support local authority current expenditure on schools through specific grants and through general rate support grant (from April 1990, revenue support grant) which is not hypothecated to individual services. The amounts of expenditure local authorities in England have spent on schools between 1978-79 and 1989-90 in the light of the resources available to them are shown in table 1. The figures take no account of the significant fall in pupil numbers over the period. The Government have also directly funded since 1987-88 expenditure on city technology colleges and since 1989-90 expenditure on grant- maintained schools. The current element of this expenditure is shown in table 2.
Table 1
Local authority expenditure on schools
Year |Cash terms |Real terms |Index
|(1988-89 prices)|(1978-79=100)
|£ million |£ million
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1978-79 |4,547 |9,999 |100
1979-80 |5,181 |9,756 |98
1980-81 |6,283 |9,997 |100
1981-82 |6,898 |9,996 |100
1982-83 |7,335 |9,914 |99
1983-84 |7,677 |9,913 |99
1984-85 |7,945 |9,774 |98
1985-86 |8,236 |9,615 |96
1986-87 |9,149 |10,333 |103
1987-88 |9,992 |10,717 |107
1988-89 |10,794 |10,794 |108
1989-90 |11,475 |10,724 |107
Notes:
1. The figure for 1978-79 contains small elements of central Government current
expenditure. It is not possible separately to identify this element.
2. The cash terms figures are those shown in the Department of Education and Science
chapters of successive public expenditure White Papers under the local authority
schools heading, including expenditure on items such as pupil support and meals as
well as direct institutional expenditure. The figures exclude grants paid by the
Training Agency to local authorities in respect of the technical and vocational
education initiative.
3. The figures for 1988-89 and 1989-90 are provisional. Those for 1988-89 reflect a
distribution by sector of total current spending by local authorities based on their
provisional outturn expenditure on education. The 1989-90 figures reflect a
provisional distribution by sector of total current spending by local authorities
based on their budgets.
4. The cash terms data have been repriced to real terms using the current gross
domestic product deflators.
Table 2
Central Government direct current expenditure on CTCS and GM
Schools
Year |Cash terms |Real terms |Index
|(1988-89 prices)|(1988-89=100)
|£ million |£ million
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1988-89 |2 |2 |100
1989-90 |15 |14 |700
Note: The cash terms data have been repriced to constant terms using the current
Gross Domestic Product deflators.
Student Grants
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish a chart or table showing for each academic year since 1979 the maximum available student grant in cash figures, tabulated alongside the annual inflation rate for each academic year and the percentage increase of the grant for each academic year.
Mr. Jackson : The maximum available grant in any given year depends on the individual student's circumstances. The following table shows the information requested for the basic rate of maintenance grant appropriate to students studying outside London.
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Academic |Maintenance |Increase on |Inflation
year |grant |previous year|(R.P.I.)
|£ |per cent. |per cent.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1979-80 |1,245 |13.1 |15.9
1980-81 |1,430 |14.9 |11.4
1981-82 |1,535 |7.3 |7.3
1982-83 |1,595 |3.9 |5.1
1983-84 |1,660 |4.1 |4.7
1984-85 |1,775 |6.9 |5.9
1985-86 |1,830 |3.1 |3.0
1986-87 |1,901 |3.9 |4.2
1987-88 |1,972 |3.7 |5.9
1988-89 |2,050 |4.0 |7.6
1989-90 |2,155 |5.1 |n/a
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish a chart or table showing for each academic year since 1979 (a) the numbers of higher education students and (b) the percentage of the total number of students in higher education receiving (i) no grant, (ii) 1 to 25 per cent., (iii) 26 to 50 per cent.,(iv) 51 to 75 per cent. and (v) 76 to 100 per cent. of the maximum grant allowance for that year.
Mr. Jackson : The information is not available in the format requested. The available data are as follows :
Column 635
Mandatory award holders 1979-80 to 1987-88<1>
England and Wales
Full maintenance awardReduced maintenance awNil or minimum<2>
(no assessed parental maintenance award
or other contribution)
|Number |Percentage|Number |Percentage|Number |Percentage|Total
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1979-80 |143,902 |39 |197,049 |53 |28,402 |8 |269,353
1980-81 |151,877 |40 |196,882 |52 |30,648 |8 |379,407
1981-82 |159,195 |40 |200,730 |50 |39,391 |10 |399,316
1982-83 |152,394 |37 |216,053 |52 |47,520 |11 |415,967
1983-84 |137,470 |36 |198,420 |52 |48,731 |12 |384,621
1984-85 |134,768 |35 |181,580 |47 |71,013 |18 |387,361
1985-86 |137,751 |35 |167,914 |43 |84,614 |22 |390,279
1986-87 |145,307 |37 |160,771 |41 |88,188 |22 |394,266
1987-88 |150,978 |37 |153,273 |38 |100,064 |25 |404,315
<1> The years 1979-80 to 1982-83 include all full-value awards, some of which are local education
authority discretionary awards.
<2> Between 1979-80 and 1984-85 all students received a minimum maintenance award. The mimimum
award has halved in 1984-85 and abolished from 1985-86. All award holders have their fees paid by
the local authority.
Tampon Education
Ms. Richardson : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has on the tampon industry's schools education programme ; and whether he will consider incorporating information for new tampon users about the danger of contracting toxic shock syndrome into schools' curricula.
Mr. Alan Howarth : Teaching about the use of sanitary protection would normally be covered within a school's programme of sex education. Under section 18(2) of the Education (No. 2) Act 1986 responsibility for determining an individual school's policy on the content and organisation of sex education rests with the school governors.
Independent Schools
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list in the Official Report, specifying in each case the local authorities concerned, those schools which, from 1980 to the latest date for
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which information is available, have changed from (a) independent to voluntary status and (b) voluntary to independent.Mr. Alan Howarth : The information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Community Charge
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information held by his Department will be available to community charge registration offices.
Mr. Alan Howarth : Community charge registration officers have no powers to seek information from the Department of Education and Science.
Welfare Officers
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will detail the number of education welfare officers engaged by local education authorities since 1978-79.
Column 637
Mr. MacGregor : This information is not collected centrally by my Department.Graduate Demand
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he received the study on graduate demand undertaken by the Policy Studies Institute ; what are its conclusions ; and when he expects to publish it.
Mr. MacGregor : I received this report of some commissioned research recently. I expect to make an announcement about publication and the implications of the report as soon as possible after I have completed my study of it.
School Buildings
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when his Department received a copy of the recent NFER survey of school buildings carried out under the auspices of the National Audit Office ; if he will now publish the results of the survey ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. MacGregor : My Department does not have a copy of the NFER survey. It is for the Comptroller and Auditor General to decide what use to make of any survey commissioned by the National Audit Office.
Student Unions
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps he takes to ensure that the accounts of student unions are properly audited ; and what legislation governs the auditing and publication of such accounts.
Mr. Jackson : None. Auditing and publication of accounts are matters for the relevant university, polytechnic or college. The Department's survey of student unions, published in September 1989, found that in over three quarters of the 71 unions surveyed, union accounts were subject to the approval of the institution involved.
Grant-maintained Status
Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many objections were submitted to him in respect of each of the grant-maintained proposals that have subsequently been (a) approved and (b) rejected ; and in each case how many people in total were signatories to such objections.
Mr. Alan Howarth [holding answer 19 February 1990] : The number of statutory objections received in respect of proposals for each of the grant-maintained proposals that were subsequently (a) approved and (b) rejected is as follows :
|Number of
|statutory
|objections
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Approved
Audenshaw County High, Tameside |21
Bacup and Rawtenstall, Lancashire |4
Bankfield County High, Cheshire |1
Baverstock School, Birmingham |3
Beechen Cliff, Avon |38
Bishopshalt, Hillingdon |15
Cardinal Vaughan Memorial, ILEA |11
Castle Hall Middle, Kirklees |9
Claremont High, Brent |2
Colyton Grammar, Devon |2
Guildford County, Surrey |2
Heckmondwike Grammar, Kirklees |5
Hendon School Barnet |6
Kings School, Lincolnshire |0
Lancaster Royal Grammar School, Lancashire |1
London Nautical School, ILEA |6
London Oratory School, ILEA |0
Long Field High, Leicestershire |22
Marling, Gloucestershire |0
Netherthorpe School, Derbyshire |14
Old Swinford Hospital, Dudley |0
Queen Elizabeth Grammar, Lincolnshire |6
Queen Elizabeth's Boys, Barnet |4
Queensbury School, Bedfordshire |7
Ribston Hall High, Gloucestershire |22
St. Francis Xavier's, Liverpool |3
St. James' CE, Bolton |30
Skegness Grammar, Lincolnshire |1
Small Heath School, Birmingham |1
Southfield School, Northamptonshire |8
Southlands, Berkshire |4
Stroud Girls' High, Gloucestershire |0
Watford Boys Grammar, Hertfordshire |5
Wilmington Grammar, Kent |2
Wilson's School, Sutton |6
Rejected
Blessed Hugh Moor RC, Lincolnshire |1
Castlemount High, Kent |1
Hindley Park, Wigan |0
Kettering Boys, Northamptonshire |5
Longlands, Dudley |1
Ramsden School for Girls, Bromley |12
Simon Digby, Solihull |1
Sir James Altham, Hertfordshire |2
South Park High, Lincolnshire |1
The total number of signatories in each case could not be established without disproportionate expense.
WALES
Welsh Language
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what financial support his Department is giving this year towards the teaching of Welsh to adults in Wales ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Wyn Roberts : In the current financial year, Welsh Office support for the teaching of Welsh to adults is £305,000.
Community Charge
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will take steps to ensure that all district, borough and city councils distribute information leaflets on poll tax rebates to all individuals.
Mr. Peter Walker : Following consultations with the Welsh local authority associations, arrangements were made for all households in Wales to receive, in November 1989, a bilingual Welsh Office leaflet on community charge benefit. Local authorities are free to supplement these leaflets with their own information. Regulations which I
Column 639
shall shortly lay before the House will require Welsh charging authorities to include, in the material accompanying community charge demands, information about the availability of community charge benefit and how it may be claimed.Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
Mr. Alan W. Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy have been confirmed to date (a) in the Carmarthen area, (b) in Dyfed and (c) in Wales.
Mr. Peter Walker : Total number of confirmed cases as at 9 February 1990.
|Number
-------------------------------------------
(a) Old county of Carmarthen |101
(b) Dyfed |330
(c) Wales |690
Uniform Business Rates
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the level of uniform business rate set for each (a) university college, (b) college of further education, (c) college of higher education, (d) technical college and (e) tertiary college in Wales ; and what are the current amounts paid in rates by each college.
Mr. Peter Walker : The uniform business rate for 1990-91 for each hereditament in the category listed is 36.8p in the pound. Information about the rates currently paid in respect of individual hereditaments is not held centrally.
Family Law
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many representatives his Department has on the family law administration working party ; and when those representatives last attended a meeting of the working party.
Mr. Grist : The Department is represented on the group of officials currently reviewing adoption law, an important aspect of the work of the family law administration working party. This group last met on Tuesday, 5 December 1989 and is due to meet again on Friday 2 March. Although not represented on the working party itself, we are kept in touch with developments.
A487
Mr. Geraint Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he has any plans to improve the A487 at Dyffryn Goodwick, Pembrokeshire, during the next three years ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Wyn Roberts : This road is the responsibility of Dyfed county council.
Acid Rain
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement concerning the publication by the Natural Environment Research Council on acid rain in Snowdonia.
Column 640
Mr. Grist : The scientists carrying out research for the Welsh Office on the effects of acid rain in Wales work closely with the Natural Environment Research Council and have noted the findings publicised by the council at their recent seminar.
Local Authority Budgets
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list those Welsh local authorities (a) with an annual budget of £35 million or less and (b) those with budgets of over £35 million ; and if he will make a statement.
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