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Mr. Luce : Expenditure per capita on public libraries in England, for which I am responsible, was £9.87 in 1988-89. Libraries in Wales are the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.
West Midlands Arts
86. Mrs. Golding : To ask the Minister for the Arts when he intends to meet the chairman of West Midlands Arts to discuss the Wilding report.
Mr. Luce : I discussed Mr. Wilding's report with the chairman of West Midlands Arts on 19 December 1989.
Wilding Report
89. Mr. Pike : To ask the Minister for the Arts when he intends to respond to the Wilding report.
95. Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Minister for the Arts when it is his intention to respond to the Wilding report.
Mr. Luce : I hope to make an announcement shortly.
Arts Council and Crafts Council
90. Dr. Kim Howells : To ask the Minister for the Arts when he last discussed with the chairman of the Arts Council and the Crafts Council the question of the merger of those two organisations.
Mr. Luce : I regularly meet the chairmen of the Arts Council and Crafts Council to discuss current issues.
East Midlands Arts
91. Mr. Meale : To ask the Minister for the Arts when he intends to meet the chairman of East Midlands Arts to discuss the level of financial support for photography in the east midlands.
Mr. Luce : I have no plans to do so. East Midlands Arts' direct support for photography this year was £53,000. In 1990-91 this will rise to £74,000.
Arts Council
92. Mr. Jessel : To ask the Minister for the Arts when he last met the chairman of the Arts Council ; and what was discussed.
Mr. Luce : I last met the chairman on 19 February 1990. A variety of matters of mutual interest were discussed.
Northern Arts
93. Mr. Boyes : To ask the Minister for the Arts when he next intends to meet the chairman of Northern Arts to discuss the Wilding report.
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Mr. Luce : I have already discussed Mr. Wilding's report with the chairman of Northern Arts on 19 December 1989.
Opera
94. Mr. Ashby : To ask the Minister for the Arts what representations he has received concerning the funding of opera in England.
Mr. Luce : I have received a number of such representations. It is however a matter for the Arts Council to determine how much of its grant is spent on opera. In 1990-91 I am advised that this will be over £22 million, including touring.
Equal Opportunities
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Minister for the Arts how many of his Department's management training courses include sessions on equal opportunities for women ; and what proportion of managers at grade six level and above working outside headquarters has received training on equal opportunities for women.
Mr. Luce : Specific training sessions about equality of opportunity for women, ethnic minorities and the disabled are included in all the internal residential management training courses undertaken by managers in my Department. Emphasis is also given to equality of opportunity when training managers to carry out staff appraisal, selection and promotion interviewing. The one female member of staff at grade 6 outside headquarters has not yet attended a course as specified.
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Minister for the Arts what child care provision his Department provides for pre-school age children of employees ; what child care provision for school holidays or after school care is provided for employees' children aged five years or over ; what plans there are for increasing provision in the next five years ; and how these are to be funded.
Mr. Luce : My Department does not yet provide nursery facilities for the use of its staff, but they have access to a local holiday play scheme financed by parental and departmental contributions.
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Minister for the Arts what grade is his Department's equal opportunities officer.
Mr. Luce : My Department is served by the Cabinet Office equal opportunities officer who is a grade seven.
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Minister for the Arts what measures he has implemented to ensure that recruitment and promotion policy in his Department does not directly or indirectly discriminate against applicants who were mature students or women returning to work following a career- break due to child care.
Mr. Luce : In my Department there are no age limits on recruitment although we expect recruits to give a reasonable period of service before retirement. Candidates without the usual academic qualifications may take a short answer test. Promotion is solely on the basis of merit. We have lowered our seniority requirements to bring them into line with the national standard and previous service counts for seniority purposes after a career break.
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Minister for the Arts what proportion of civil servants in his Department are women at each of grades seven, six, five, four, three, two and one, respectively.
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Mr. Luce : In my Department the proportion of civil servants in each grade who are women, is as follows :Grade 1--Not applicable
2--Nil
3--Not applicable
4--Not applicable
5--25 per cent.
6--100 per cent.
7--27 per cent.
Pin-ups
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Minister for the Arts whether he will issue instructions for the removal of all offensive pin-ups on all his departmental premises.
Mr. Luce : My Department has no plans to issue specific guidance on this subject. However, it has issued a policy statement about sexual harassment ; offensive pin-ups would be dealt with in this context.
Merseyside Arts
Mr. Wareing : To ask the Minister for the Arts when he last met the chairman of Merseyside Arts to discuss the Wilding report.
Mr. Luce : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 12 February at column 52.
Access for the Disabled
Mr. Sumberg : To ask the Minister for the Arts if he will make a statement on progress made in achieving easier access for the disabled in arts venues and libraries.
Mr. Luce : In December 1988 I gave £150,000 to the ADAPT fund, set up by the Carnegie Trust to improve the accessibility of arts venues, including libraries, for disabled people. I am pleased to say that the fund has to date made 23 awards provisionally worth £167,250.
SCOTLAND
BR Sleeper Services
Mr. Beggs : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has made to BR about the London-Stanraer overnight sleeper service.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : My right hon. and learned Friend was informed by British Rail of its plans to withdraw the
Stranraer-London sleeper service from 14 May and to provide a connecting service between Stranraer and the Glasgow-London sleeper trains. While it is regrettable that British Rail has found it necessary to follow this course, the decision is a commercial matter for British Rail.
Equal Opportunities
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many of his Department's management training courses include sessions on equal opportunities for women ; and what proportion of managers at grade six level and above working outside headquarters has received training on equal opportunities for women.
Mr. Rifkind : Four management training courses and eight non- management courses run by my Department's
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training unit include sessions on equal opportunities. Staff also attend management courses run by the Civil Service College which have equal opportunities input. Training opportunities are available to all my Department's staff irrespective of location. Detailed figures are not available for the limited number of staff at grade six level and above who do not work in headquarters offices.Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what child care provision his Department provides for pre-school age children of employees ; what child care provision for school holidays or after-school care is provided for employees' children aged five years or over ; what plans there are for increasing provision in the next five years ; and how these are to be funded.
Mr. Rifkind : My Department does not directly make child care provision. Staff of my Department do, however, make use during school holidays of the facilities provided for school age children of civil servants by the central Edinburgh holiday play scheme. The possibility of providing child care facilities in the Scottish Office in future is currently the subject of a cost-benefit study. The study will cover how any such facilities, if justified, might be funded.
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what grade is his Department's equal opportunities officer.
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of civil servants in his Department are women at each of the grades (a) seven, (b) six, (c) five, (d) four, (e) three, (f) two and (g) one, respectively.
Mr. Rifkind : The percentage of women officers in grades one to seven in the Scottish Office and associated departments is shown in the table.
Grade |Number --------------------- One |0 Two |0 Three |4.3 Four |0 Five |7.1 Six |15.3 Seven |12.3
Sexual Harassment
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his Department's policy on sexual harassment at work ; whether guidance on reporting complaints has been issued to all staff ; how many complaints have been reported in the past five years ; and what disciplinary action has been taken.
Mr. Rifkind : My Department's policy statement makes it clear that sexual harassment constitutes unacceptable behaviour which will not be tolerated. The policy statement, and guidance on reporting complaints, was brought to the attention of all staff by an office notice and is separately covered in the staff handbook. A leaflet to be issued to all new entrants is in course of preparation. Four formal complaints about sexual harassment have been made during the last five years. Disciplinary action was taken in three cases.
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Well Women Clinics
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the number of well women clinics in each health board area in Scotland.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : This information is not collected centrally.
Forestry Commission
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how he takes account of the Forestry Commission's duty under section 11 of the Countryside Act to have regard to the desirability of conserving the natural beauty and amenity of the countryside in considering the degree of expertise in nature conservation possessed by potential appointees to the Commission.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : When selecting staff for employment, the Forestry Commission takes into account all qualifications and experience which are relevant to the job concerned. A degree of expertise in nature conservation would be relevant in employing field officers, many of whom have qualifications and experience in this area. In addition, the commission employs specialist staff on environmental duties, and retains consultants on nature conservation, landscape architecture and archaeology.
Rates Arrears
Mr. Nellist : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has as to the percentage of ratepayers in arrears, for each quarter of each of the last five years, to the end of March 1989, for each regional council area.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : This information is not held centrally.
Ravenscraig
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Glasgow, Govan of 28 February, Official Report, column 271, whether he discussed with the chairman of British Steel on 26 October 1989 the decision to impose a production pause on Ravenscraig over the Christmas and new year holiday period.
Mr. Lang : The detailed matters discussed at my right hon. and learned Friend's meeting with the chairman of British Steel on 26 October 1989 are commercially confidential.
Schools (Opting Out)
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his policy on funding from his Department's funds for organisations which seek to persuade schools to opt out of the local authority education system.
Mr. Lang : No public funds will be available to an organisation to persuade schools to seek self-governing status.
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Training Agency
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland why all men and women, whether married or unmarried, are required to be entered as married on Training Agency forms ET4, ET6, ET69 and ET67.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 1 March 1990] : Applicants for Employment Training are no longer required to provide the Training Agency with information about marital status. However, forms ET4, ET6, ET67 and ET69 are used to enter information on the Training Agency's computer which will accept the input only if all entries on the forms, including the redundant "marital status" entry, have been completed. To overcome this, a blanket entry of "married" on all these forms was agreed to be preferable to a costly interim software amendment to the computer system. The computer system is to be revised in April 1990 and charges will be introduced at that time to resolve this problem.
Lothian Health Board
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what consideration is being given to the loss of bed spaces or the closure of wards or hospitals as a consequence of the deficit currently incurred by Lothian health board.
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 28 February 1990] : My right hon. and learned Friend made clear that there will be no crisis closures. We are awaiting Lothian health board's proposals for considered adjustments to achieve more efficient arrangements for service delivery. Any adjustments will be within the framework of the board's strategic plans and made in the normal way so that the interests of patients remain paramount.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Equal Opportunities
Mr. Boateng : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many of his Department's management training courses include sessions on equal opportunities for women ; and what proportion of managers at grade six level and above working outside headquarters has received training on equal opportunities for women.
Mr. Ryder : All management training courses run by my Department include sessions on equal opportunities and it is Treasury policy that staff with management responsibilities, including those outside headquarters, receive appropriate training.
Mr. Boateng : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what child care provision his Department provides for pre-school age children of employees ; what child care provision for school holidays or after-school care is provided for employees' children aged five years or over ; what plans there are for increasing provision in the next five years ; and how these are to be funded.
Mr. Ryder : Children of staff in Her Majesty's Treasury between the ages of five and 12 have access to a holiday play scheme that is organised by the Westminster Play Association. The scheme is run in the Treasury building and is available to a number of Whitehall Departments.
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Consideration is being given to other child care schemes for which funding arrangements would need to be contained within overall running cost provision.Mr. Boateng : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what grade is his Department's equal opportunities officer.
Mr. Boateng : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures he has implemented to ensure that recruitment and promotion policy in his Department does not directly or indirectly discriminate against applicants who were mature students or women returning to work following a career- break due to child care.
Mr. Ryder : As an equal opportunities employer, mature students and women who return to work are treated in exactly the same way as anyone else within the Treasury's recruitment and promotion policy.
Mr. Boateng : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of civil servants in his Department are women at each of the grades (a) seven, (b) six, (c) five, (d) four, (e) three, (f) two and (g) one.
Mr. Ryder : For Her Majesty's Treasury the information is as follows :
(a) 17.4 per cent. ;
(b) 5.9 per cent. ;
(c) 12.8 per cent. ;
(d) none ;
(e) 18.5 per cent. ;
(f) none ;
(g) none.
Mr. Boateng : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action he has taken, and what action he intends taking, to implement the recommendations within his area of responsibility of the European Commission's childcare network report "Caring for Children--Services and Policies for Childcare and Equal Opportunities in the United Kingdom".
Mr. Ryder : The report was prepared for the European Commission, which has not yet developed any proposals. The Government believe that policy on child care is a matter for member states. The United Kingdom's policy is that it is for families themselves to determine how their children are to be brought up and how parents, who wish to do so, can best combine paid work and family responsibilities. The Government, through the Department of Health and the ministerial group on women's issues, have encouraged the development of a range of high quality child care options for both parents and employers.
Sexual Harassment
Mr. Boateng : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his Department's policy on sexual harassment at work ; whether guidance on reporting complaints has been issued to all staff ; how many complaints have been reported in the past five years ; and what disciplinary action has been taken.
Mr. Ryder : The Civil Service policy on sexual harassment is set out in the programme for action to achieve equal opportunities for women in the Civil Service, which was published by the Cabinet Office (management
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and personnel office) in 1984. Sexual harassment at work is not tolerated and is dealt with, if appropriate, as a disciplinary matter through the usual Civil Service complaints procedure. Specific guidance on reporting alleged sexual harassment is included in "Women in the Treasury : a Guide to Personnel Management policies", which has been issued to all Treasury staff. Existing guidance in Her Majesty' Treasury on sexual harassment is being reviewed with a view to incorporating it in a new booklet on equal opportunity policies. There have been five complaints reported in the past five to six years ; in the three proven cases, formal written warnings were issued.Taxation
Mr. Boateng : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of women he expects the proposed married person's tax allowance will be given to.
Mr. Lilley : It is estimated that in 1990-91 approximately 400,000 married women, just under 10 per cent. of all married women with income greater than the personal allowance, will receive part or all of the married couple's allowance. The estimate is based on a projection of the 1987-88 survey of personal incomes and is provisional.
Mr. Morley : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will make a statement on the financial position of farmers' wives in relation to taxation, social security benefits and pensions.
Mr. Lilley : I am not aware of any particular points affecting the financial position of farmers' wives. Many of them will be among the 2 million wives who will gain when the new system of independent taxation comes into effect on 5 April this year.
Value Added Tax
Mr. Boateng : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will seek to zero-rate sanitary products for value added tax purposes ; and whether he will make a statement.
Mr. Ryder : I cannot anticipate my right hon Friend's Budget statement.
Pin-ups
Mr. Boateng : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will issue instructions for the removal of all offensive pin-ups in all his departmental premises.
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