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Written Answers to Questions
Friday 23 February 1990
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Members' Interests
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will bring forward proposals for a Standing Order to require all commercial interests to be duly declared at oral Question Time.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : In the first instance this is a matter for the Select Committee on Members' Interests and the hon. Member should write to the Chairman.
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Student Loans
Dr. Hampson : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the new courses referred to in the Official Report, 15 February, column 464, for which 50,000 students will be eligible for student loans who are not presently eligible for student grants.
Mr. Jackson : Some full-time home students will be eligible for loans but not for mandatory awards. This group will include some students on courses leading to qualifications such as the BTEC higher national certificate, and other qualifications offered by professional institutions and public bodies. The full range of eligible courses is defined by schedule 1 of the Education (Student Loans) Bill.
London Schools
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has received a copy of the confidential report on London schools which sets out examination results and subjects taken by children in the Inner London education authoritiy area ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Rumbold : My right hon. Friend has received a copy of the report on the school examination results in inner London for the year 1988.
The results are not good. I am sure that the new inner London local education authorities will give a high priority to improving them, and will be assisted in this by the Government's education reforms.
Teacher Shortage, Manchester
Mr. Bradley : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many children are sent home from schools in Manchester each day because there are no teachers to cover for any absences.
Mr. Alan Howarth : This information is not available to the Department.
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Education, St. Helens
Mr. John Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to reach a decision on the reorganisation of both secondary and primary education in the metropolitan borough of St. Helens.
Mr. Alan Howarth : My right hon. Friend notified St. Helens education authority on 30 November 1989 of his decision to approve the proposals for the reorganisation of the Church of England primary schools in Rainford. He is currently considering proposals for the reorganisation of county secondary schools in St. Helens, and for the significant enlargement of Carmel Roman Catholic sixth form college. Decisions on these proposals will be reached as quickly as is compatible with a full consideration of all the issues involved.
Schools, Bradford
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will take steps to ensure that the 33 first and 10 middle schools in Bradford continue to receive funding of more than £1.2 million in 1990 -91, under the local management scheme to meet special needs and social disadvantages ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Rumbold : The levels of funding to be allocated by LMS formulae with reference to individual factors such as specific needs and social disadvantage are for local determination. Ministerial approval is limited to the criteria and ground rules which govern the distribution of resources.
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received urging that 33 first schools and 10 middle schools in Bradford continue to receive funding to meet special needs and social disadvantages.
Under-fives
Mr. Tredinnick : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the quality of provision for children under five years old.
Mrs. Rumbold : The Government welcome the good practice in schools and other centres which Her Majesty's inspectors have documented in recent reports, including "The Education of Children Under Five" a copy of which is in the Library. They believe much more needs to be done. A committee of inquiry under my chairmanship is considering how to achieve improvements in the educational content of all forms of provision for three and four-year- olds.
PRIME MINISTER
US Forces, Europe
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Prime Minister what is her policy on the minimum number of United States troops which should be stationed in Europe ; what discussions Her Majesty's Government have had with the United States Administration on this policy ; and whether she has any plans to revise her policy in the light of recent discussions between the United States of America and the Soviet Union.
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The Prime Minister : The presence of substantial numbers of United States troops in Europe makes an essential contribution to Western security. The United States Government have made it very clear that they intend to maintain this contribution. The agreement at Ottawa between the United States and the Soviet Union, by which the two countries' stationed forces in the central region of Europe would each be subject by the CFE treaty to a ceiling of 195,000, is fully compatible with this.Mid-Staffordshire Constituency
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Prime Minister if she has any plans to make an official visit to the Mid-Staffordshire constituency.
The Prime Minister : I have at present no plans to do so.
10 Downing Street
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Prime Minister if she will give the percentage change since 1979 in the cost of the upkeep of No. 10 Downing street.
The Prime Minister : This information is not readily available for earlier years and cannot be provided except at disproportionate cost. However, I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 18 October 1989 at column 128 .
Homelessness
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Prime Minister when was the last occasion on which she visited (i) a bed and breakfast hostel for the homeless and (ii) homeless people at other venues.
The Prime Minister : During my visits to various regions I visit a wide variety of people. I have not recently paid an official visit to a bed and breakfast hostel for the homeless, or held a formal meeting with homeless people.
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment is taking forward, with urgency, action following our review of the homelessness legislation. This includes the allocation of additional resources to relieve homelessness pressures in London. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and the Minister for Housing and Planning have had a number of meetings with homeless people in London and with voluntary agencies which work with the homeless.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Security Searches
Mr. Beggs : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he will request co-operation from employers in Northern Ireland to ensure that employees genuinely delayed in lengthy hold-ups during security searches will not be financially penalised or threatened with loss of employment.
Mr. Cope : Continuing terrorist activity requires the police and armed forces to take measures for the protection of life and property and the police and Army do their utmost to keep any resulting delay and inconvenience to a minimum. The Government hope that all law-abiding citizens will understand the need for these measures and co-operate with them since they are taken for the benefit of the community at large.
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Local Government Finance
Mr. Clifford Forsythe : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was (a) the district rate and (b) the regional rate for the last three years in percentage and financial terms ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Cope : The figures for the last three years for the average district rate and the regional rate are as follows :
|1987-88|1988-89|1989-90
-------------------------------------------------------
Average district rate |60.07p |62.62p |64.11p
Percentage change from
previous year |+5.00 |+4.25 |+2.38
Regional Rate |113.53p|122.59p|138.07p
Percentage change from
previous year |+2.90 |+7.98 |+12.63
The regional rate for 1990-91 will be announced in
early March.
Security Forces
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he is taking to improve public confidence in the security forces.
Mr. Cope : Securing and maintaining confidence in both the fairness and effectiveness of the security forces is a major Government objective. To this end careful and constant attention is being given to ways of improving relations between the security forces and all parts of the community in Northern Ireland. A number of measures have been taken ; others are in hand.
Explosives
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what quantities of explosives have been recovered by the security forces in Northern Ireland in each year since 1968.
Mr. Cope [holding answer 21 February 1990] : Readily available information on explosives found is as follows :
Year |Explosives (tons) ------------------------------------------------------ 1969 |0.1 1970 |0.3 1971 |1.2 1973 |17.2 1974 |11.7 1975 |4.9 1976 |9.7 1977 |1.7 1978 |0.9 1979 |0.9 1980 |0.8 1981 |3.4 1982 |2.3 1983 |1.7 1984 |3.8 1985 |3.3 1986 |2.4 1987 |5.8 1988 |14.7 1989 |1.4
Fair Employment Agency
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list all the firms which have been investigated by the Fair Employment Agency from its inception until the latest available date.
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Mr. Needham [holding answer 21 February 1990] : The organisations listed are those which have been investigated by the Fair Employment Agency (now renamed the Fair Employment Commission) for which reports have been published. It is not the commission's policy to reveal the names of organisations which are under investigation or where investigations are complete but reports are still unpublished.Formal investigations completed by the agency (for which reports have been published)
Name of organisation
1. Northern Ireland Electricity Service
2. British Broadcasting Corporation
3. British Broadcasting Corporation (second phase)
4. Short Brothers plc
5. Harland and Wolff
6. Strathearn Audio (closed down)
7. Grundig (closed down)
8. Tilley Lamp
9. Davidsons (Sirocco)
10. Hughes Tool
11. Ford Motor Company
12. Hugh J. Scott
13. James Mackie
14. Standard Telephone and Cables
15. Essex International
16. Molins
17. Du Pont
18. Arntz Belting
19. Belfast Telegraph
20. Northern Ireland Civil Service
21. Fire Authority for Northern Ireland
22. Northern Ireland Housing Executive
23. Unipork
24. Northern Ambulance Service
25. Eastern Ambulance Service
26. Southern Ambulance Service
27. Western Ambulance Service
28. Southern Health and Social Services Board
29. Abbey National Building Society
30. Anglia Building Society
31. Gateway Building Society
32. Halifax Building Society
33. Leicester Building Society
34. Leeds Permanent Building Society
35. Nationwide Building Society
36. Progressive Building Society
37. Woolwich Building Society
38. Ulster Museum
39. Allied Irish Bank
40. Northern Bank
41. Bank of Ireland
42. Ulster Bank
43. Trustee Savings Bank
44. Commercial Union
45. Pearl Assurance
46. Prudential Assurance
47. Brittannic Assurance
48. Royal Insurance
49. General Accident Assurance
50. United Friendly
51. Refuse Assurance
52. Irish News
53. Newsletter
54. Derry City Council
55. North Eastern Education and Library Board
56. Northern Ireland Railways
57. Western Health and Social Services Board
58. Ulsterbus/Citybus
59. Hyster
60. Queen's University
61. Charles Hurst
62. Issac Agnew
63. Irish Road Motors
64. Phillips Ltd.
65. Bairds Ltd.
66. Prentice
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