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Mr. Atkins : No application has been received from BNFL plc or any other company for certification of a flask for the transport of vitrified high-level radioactive waste.
Details of the designs involved, were such an application to be received, would be the property of the applicant and subject to commercial confidentiality.
Ms. Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has on transportation flasks for vitrified high-level radioactive waste (a) under development and (b) in service anywhere in the world ; and if he will list the countries.
Roundabouts
Mr. French : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many roundabouts have been reduced in diameter each year for the last 10 years ; and why.
Mr. Atkins : Numerical information of the kind requested is not collected. Reductions in the diameter of roundabouts are mainly made to improve efficiency and-or capacity.
Mr. French : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was, for the five most recent years available, the number of road accidents which occurred at roundabouts ; and whether the figures represent a growing or diminishing percentage of total road vehicle accidents.
Mr. Atkins : The Department collects information only on road accidents involving personal injury. The information requested for personal injury road accidents is as follows :
Personal injury road accidents at roundabouts: 1984 to 1988
|Accidents at |All accidents|Per cent. of
|roundabouts |accidents at
|roundabouts
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
1984
Fatal |70 |5,138 |1.36
Serious |1,884 |62,048 |3.04
All severities |11,592 |253,183 |4.58
1985
Fatal |64 |4,768 |1.34
Serious |1,884 |60,286 |3.13
All severities |11,723 |245,645 |4.77
1986
Fatal |82 |4,895 |1.68
Serious |1,862 |58,187 |3.20
All severities |12,028 |247,854 |4.85
1987
Fatal |66 |4,694 |1.41
Serious |1,719 |54,352 |3.16
All severities |11,831 |239,063 |4.95
1988
Fatal |68 |4,643 |1.46
Serious |1,775 |53,850 |3.30
All severities |13,037 |246,994 |5.28
The figures show that there has been a slight increase in the percentage of road accidents occurring at roundabouts over the five-year period. The number of these accidents in which there were fatal or serious casualties has declined over the same period.
London Road Assessment Studies
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will list the total number of written comments received in response to (a) "Traffic in London", (b) the east London assessment study, (c) the south London assessment study, (d) the south circular assessment study and (e) the west London assessment study ; and if he will respond to them ;
(2) what is the total number of signatories on petitions received directly by him concerning "Traffic in London" and the four assessment studies in London ;
(3) when he expects to make an announcement on the result of consultation on "Traffic in London" and the London assessment studies.
Mr. Atkins : The thousands of responses on the London assessment studies and "Traffic in London" are currently being collated and analysed. To make interim counts would involve a disproportionate cost and would delay the decision process, thus prolonging the uncertainty for residents.
Motorway Service Stations
Mr. Stern : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many motorway service stations he plans to open in the next five years.
Mr. Atkins : The Government's strategic programme for motorway service areas in England is designed to fill gaps in the existing network and provide facilities on new motorways. The programme comprises 19 sites, of which 13 are likely to open within five years, subject to completion of planning procedures and land acquisition.
Rolling Stock
Mr. Jacques Arnold : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport over what time scale he has been asked to approve investment in the new Networker rolling stock to be introduced by British Rail on the north Kent line.
Mr. Portillo : Last August my right hon. Friend authorised the purchase of the first 400 class 465
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Networkers at a cost of £257 million (at 1989 prices) and gave approval in principle for a further 276 vehicles. These will replace the existing rolling stock on routes to south-east London and north Kent. I expect to receive proposals for further orders of class 465s to cater for the continuing growth in demand on these routes.Eastern District Distributor Road
Sir John Farr : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will extend the construction of the eastern district distributor road and the proposed A46-A47 link road to at least dual carriageway throughout ;
(2) if, in the study that he is now making of traffic management around Leicester, he will proceed at the earliest date to make the eastern district distributor road dual carriageway standard throughout to relieve traffic congestion on the A6 at Oadby.
Mr. Atkins : The Leicester eastern district distributor road, the Leicester southern district distributor road and the A46-A47 link road are the responsibility of Leicestershire county council as highway authority, and it is for that authority to determine its standards and programming.
The proposed Leicester eastern bypass is a trunk road scheme. It is hoped to announce a preferred route in 1994. The carriageway standard has yet to be determined.
Beach Pollution (Sussex)
Mr. Higgins : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 28 February, regarding the MV Fathulkhair, Official Report, column 237, what steps he is able to take to secure compensation from the vessel's owners for the cost incurred in dealing with the dangerous cargo from the vessel on British beaches ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. McLoughlin [holding answer 6 March 1990] : I am looking into the question of whether the Government have a claim against the owners which would be enforceable as a matter of law, and if I am satisfied that there is a sustainable claim I shall initiate whatever proceedings are necessary.
EMPLOYMENT
Workplace Health and Safety
Mr. McFall : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proposals he has to improve health protection and safety conditions in the workplace.
Mr. Nicholls : The Government have increased financial provision for the commission and executive over previously agreed levels again for 1990- 91. The additional provision is £7 million excluding money transferred from the Department of Energy for nuclear safety research.
My right hon. and learned Friend expects shortly to receive for his approval details of the commission's plans for 1990-91 and beyond. The commission hopes to publish its plan of work in May.
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Careers Service
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he expects to publish the reports of inspections of the careers service begun after September 1989 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nicholls : Five inspections of careers services have been set up following the announcement of my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Sir N. Fowler) last year that reports on inspections carried out after September 1989 would be published. These inspections are all currently taking place and I would expect to publish the reports of these inspections in September or October of this year.
Health and Safety Executive
Mr. John Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the Health and Safety Executive's latest annual report.
Mr. Nicholls : The report of the Health and Safety Commission and Executive was published on 26 February. Latest provisional statistics for 1988-89 published in the report show an apparent levelling off of major injuries, which we very much welcome. But the number of fatalities, which include those from the Piper Alpha disaster, and high or increasing injury rates in particular industries demonstrate that there is not room for any relaxation of effort by industry to improve standards.
Construction Industry
Mr. Thornton : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will provide statistics showing for each year between 1980 and 1989 the number of people working on Government-sponsored training programmes in the construction industry.
Mr. Nicholls : I regret the information is not available.
Uniform Business Rate
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list by tourist board area what information he has on the mean percentage increases that (a) hotel and (b) guest house owners are charging, following the introductions of the uniform business rate.
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Mr. Nicholls : The information requested is not available.
Public Sector Wage Bargaining (EC)
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what information he has on the system of public sector wage bargaining in each European Community country.
Mr. Nicholls : My Department does not hold comprehensive information on public sector wage bargaining systems in other EEC countries.
Social Charter
Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what calculations his Department has made on job losses in the United Kingdom consequent upon the introduction of minimum wage legislation under the European social charter.
Mr. Nicholls : Officials in the Department have estimated that the imposition of a minimum wage set at 50 per cent. of the national average wage would result in the loss of about three quarters of a million jobs in this country.
Wages Inspectorate
Ms. Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the number of investigations carried out by the wages inspectorate for the United Kingdom, the south-west region, Avon and the Bristol, South constituency for the latest three years and the numbers of establishments found to be in breach of wages council rates and the numbers of prosecutions for each area and year, respectively.
Mr. Nicholls : Wages inspectorate statistics are not kept for areas smaller than the inspectorate's nine divisions. The table gives the information requested for the south-west division and for Great Britain as a whole. Statistics for 1989 are not yet available. Northern Ireland has a separate wages council system, which is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
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Great Britain South West Division
|1986 |1987 |1988 |1986 |1987 |1988
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of establishments checked by all methods |35,777|31,524|32,474|2,319 |4,073 |3,586
Number of establishments found underpaying |8,205 |4,443 |5,597 |832 |961 |1,156
Number of prosecutions for all wages council offences |3 |8 |11 |- |- |2
Bramley Employment Office
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement regarding the planned closure of the Bramley employment office in Leeds, West.
Mr. Eggar : The employment service is working progressively to bring jobcentres and benefit offices together under one roof. This will provide a new and improved one-stop service.
I will ensure that the hon. Member is informed as soon as a decision about the future of the office at Bramley has been taken.
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Internal Audit
Mr. Tim Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many internal auditors are employed in his Department and at what cost ; how many internal audit reports were produced in 1989 ; how many of these were drawn to the attention of a Minister in his Department ; and what internal audit work is subcontracted to private firms and at what cost.
Mr. Eggar : The information is as follows :
(a) Number of auditors employed in the Department--124.
(b) Total cost of the auditors--£2,723,881.
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(c) Number of audit reports produced in 1989 --302.(d) Number of audit reports drawn to attention of a Minister--3. (
(e) The following internal audit work was subcontracted to private firms-- Nil.
(f) The total cost of subcontracting works to private firms--Nil.
Paisley Job Club
Mr. Wallace : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many investigations have been made by his officials into the activities of the Paisley job club ; and what were the results.
Mr. Eggar : Employment service officials visit Paisley job club at six- monthly intervals as part of the standard monitoring procedure. The last such visit took place on 9 January 1990. In addition, a further meeting took place on 22 February 1990 between employment service officials and the company which is contracted to run the job club on its behalf. This meeting followed allegations made by a journalist working for the Glasgow Evening Times. The employment service believes that the Paisley job club is, in general, being run in accordance with its requirements. It is accepted that some irregularities in record-keeping have occurred, but these have had no effect on unemployment statistics and have not resulted in any additional payments being made to the contractor. The job club records are being amended to correct the errors which have been found. I believe that the Paisley job club, like the programmes generally, provides valuable help to long-term unemployed people, and others at a disadvantage in the labour market, in their search for work.
MTC Limited
Mr. Wallace : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what information he has regarding forged JC18 forms processed by his Department and MTC Limited of Ingram street, Glasgow ; and if he will make a statement on what further steps he intends to take to investigate the allegations and admissions of forged documents.
Mr. Eggar : Form JC18 is a record of membership of, and outcomes from, job clubs. Allegations that 12 forms had been forged at Paisley job club were made by a Glasgow journalist. Investigations are continuing, but it has been established that incorrect information had been entered on job club records by a member who was acting without the authority of MTC Limited or the employment service and who has now left the job club.
Further checks are being made to ensure there are no other errors. The need for further action to ensure accurate record-keeping at the job club will be considered when the results of these checks are known.
The allegations are confined to the Paisley job club.
Mr. Wallace : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the contractual relationship between MTC Limited and the Training Agency.
Mr. Eggar : MTC Limited has 19 contracts with the Department of Employment in respect of programmes managed by the employment service. Thirteen of these are to operate job clubs and six are for the provision of restart courses.
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There are further contracts between MTC Limited and the Department of Employment in respect of programmes managed by the Training Agency. These relate to employment training and YTS.Restart
Mr. Loyden : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what were the outcomes of restart interviews conducted three months prior to and three months after the introduction of the Social Security Act 1989, or the nearest other appropriate dates.
Mr. Eggar : Monthly figures are not available. The only figures available are for the quarters ending September 1989 and December 1989.
In the quarter ending September 1989, 505,600 restart interviews were conducted. Of these 85 per cent. resulted in an offer of help being made and 71 per cent. of interviews resulted in the offer being accepted.
In the quarter ending December 1989, 464,100 restart interviews were conducted. Of these, 82 per cent. resulted in an offer of help being made and 71 per cent. of interviews resulted in the offer being accepted.
Cumbria TEC
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he next intends to meet representatives of the Cumbria training and enterprise council.
Mr. Eggar : I last met Mr. Rick Emslie, the chairman of Cumbria training and enterprise council on Tuesday 27 February.
Wages (Regional Variations)
Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what monitoring his Department undertakes on regional variations in pay level for jobs on offer at jobcentres in England.
Mr. Eggar : The Department of Employment does not monitor regional pay variations for jobs on offer at jobcentres.
Skills Training Agency
Mr. Franks : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a further statement about the sale of the Skills Training Agency.
Mr. Eggar : Further to the statement that my right hon. and learned Friend made to the House on 13 February 1990 ( Official Report, 13 February 1990, column 141) about the sale of the Skills Training Agency (STA), I can announce that terms of sale have now been agreed with a consortium headed by Mr. Christopher Lakin for the training businesses located at Cumbria (Maryport), East Lancs (Accrington), Ipswich and St. Helens skillcentres.
The offer from Mr. Lakin's consortium was considered against the Government's objectives for the sale, which were placed in the Vote Office on 13 February, and will involve a payment of some £2 million from the Government to the consortium : this reflects the need for restructuring and reforming the training businesses. There will be no loss to the Government from the transaction compared with the alternative of closing these skillcentres. The total number of skillcentres which will be sold is now 51.
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EMPLOYMENT
Employment Training
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the total expenditure on benefit paid to employment training trainees in December 1989 for Great Britain.
Mr. Nicholls [holding answer 12 February 1990] : Trainees on employment training do not receive benefit but a training allowance based on previous benefit entitlement plus an additional amount of £10 a week.
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HSE Medical Advisory Service
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the number of staff employed by the Health and Safety Executive employment medical advisory service for the latest date for which figures are available and for every year since 1979 ; and if he will provide a breakdown by occupation and location.
Mr. Nicholls [holding answer 6 March 1990] : The total numbers from 1979 to 1989 (at 1 June) by occupational group were :
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Year |Doctors |Nurses |Others<1>|Total ------------------------------------------------------------ 1979 |78.5 |87.5 |87.5 |253.5 1980 |69 |73 |80.5 |222.5 1981 |71.5 |66.5 |73.5 |211.5 1982 |64 |57.5 |66 |187.5 1983 |65 |58.5 |61 |184.5 1984 |63 |50.5 |60 |173.5 1985 |61.5 |42.5 |61.5 |165.5 1986 |57.5 |43 |59.5 |160 1987 |56.5 |45 |50 |151.5 1988 |45 |47 |41 |133 1989 |43.5 |46.5 |39.5 |129.5 <1> eg administrative and support. An analysis of staff employed at 1 February 1990 by broad occupational group and area is given in the table:
EMAS staff at 1 February 1990
by occupational group and location
Areas |Doctors |Nurses |Others<1>|Total
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
South West |4.0 |4.0 |3.0 |11.0
South |2.0 |2.0 |1.5 |5.5
South East |1.0 |2.0 |1.5 |4.5
London North |1.0 |2.0 |2.5 |5.5
London South |2.0 |1.0 |1.5 |4.5
East Anglia |1.5 |1.5 |2.0 |5.0
Northern Home Counties |2.0 |1.0 |2.0 |5.0
East Midlands |2.5 |2.0 |1.5 |6.0
West Midlands |3.0 |3.0 |2.0 |8.0
Wales |3.0 |4.0 |2.0 |9.0
Marches |2.0 |2.0 |2.0 |6.0
North Midlands |1.5 |2.0 |1.0 |4.5
South Yorkshire and Humberside |1.0 |3.0 |1.5 |5.5
West and North Yorkshire |2.5 |1.0 |2.0 |5.5
Greater Manchester |1.5 |2.0 |2.5 |6.0
Merseyside |1.5 |2.0 |1.5 |5.0
North West |2.0 |2.0 |3.0 |7.0
North East |4.0 |5.0 |4.0 |13.0
Scotland East |3.5 |4.0 |3.0 |10.5
Scotland West |2.5 |4.0 |1.5 |8.0
|------- |------- |------- |-------
Totals |44.0 |49.5 |41.5 |135.0
<1> eg administrative and support staff.
Channel Tunnel
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if, pursuant to his answer of 15 February, Official Report, column 384, to the hon. Member for Stretford he will itemise the provisional total of 327 accidents between March 1987 and December 1989, during work on the Channel tunnel, according to the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations ; and give the nature of the injury.
Mr. Nicholls [holding answer 6 March 1990] : The information as requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
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The table gives a breakdown of the nature of accidents which occurred at the tunnelling sites and were reported to the Health and Safety Executive between March 1987 and December 1989 in accordance with the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations :
Nature of Accident |Total Number
|of Accidents
|Reported<1>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact with moving machinery |15
Struck by object |91
Struck by vehicle |17
Struck against something |11
Handling/Lifting/Carrying |60
Slip/trip/fall on same level |73
Fall from height |40
Collapse or overturning |5
Exposure to harmful substance |9
Contact with electricity or electrical discharge |4
Other |2
<1> Provisional
Tourism (South Africa)
Mr. Warren : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will make a statement on the United Kingdom ban on the promotion of tourism to South Africa.
Mr. Eggar [pursuant to his reply, 23 February 1990, c. 956] : My earlier answer to this question contained an error, in that it implied that the Foreign Ministers of the European Community were a party to the ban on the promotion of tourism. Paragraph two of the reply should have read :
"In 1986 European Community Foreign Ministers and, separately, Heads of Government participating at the Commonwealth review meeting agreed to impose a number of measures against South Africa. In the case of the Commonwealth Heads, these included a ban on the promotion of tourism to South Africa. The then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment announced the implementation in the United Kingdom of this ban in a written answer to a parliamentary question on 30 October 1986 ( Official Report, column 213 ). In our case the measure was voluntary."
WALES
Gwent Health Authority
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what progress has been made on the investigation into alleged misappropriation of funds regarding the Look After Yourself project sponsored by Gwent health authority ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Grist : I will write to the hon. and learned Gentleman.
Water Pollution
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether, from 1 January 1988 to date, the drinking water of any Welsh constituency has failed to meet EC standards ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Grist : The EC standards on drinking water quality have been incorporated into national legislation by the Water Act 1989 and the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 1989.
Under this legislation water undertakers may approach the Secretary of State who appointed them for a relaxation of the standards where this is because of the nature and structure of the ground from which the supply emanates, exceptional meteorological conditions, or in order to maintain a public supply in an emergency. The Secretary of State may also accept undertakings given by water undertakers to carry out remedial work within a specified time scale to bring their supplies up to standard. As a result of these procedures, which have been endorsed by
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the EC, the Secretary of State has been made aware of supplies including a number in Wales which do not currently meet EC standards.The undertakers are now required to maintain public registers which include particulars of relaxations, undertakings and the results of sample analysis. In accordance with the regulations, the information is prepared on a water supply zone basis, rather than by constituency.
Local authorities have a duty to monitor the quality of water supplies for domestic purposes in their areas. Water undertakers must provide local authorities with information on the extent to which the undertaker has complied with its obligations to supply wholesome water and, where appropriate, the remedial action taken. Should a local authority believe that the public supply is, or is likely to become, unwholesome and is not satisfied that appropriate remedial action has been taken, the authority is under a duty to notify my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, who if the water is supplied by an undertaker appointed by him, must in most circumstances take enforcement action against the undertaker. The local authority's duty to monitor water supplied for domestic purposes extends to private supplies and if these supplies are unwholesome, authorities may serve a notice requiring the improvement of the supply or connection to a public supply. These notices may be served without notifying the Secretary of State unless
representations or objections are received.
M4, Earlswood-Lo n Las
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will place in the Library a detailed analysis of the criteria used to judge tenders for the contract to construct the first stage of the M4 missing link between Earlswood and Lo n Las.
Mr. Wyn Roberts : Tenders were assessed against the criteria specified in the documents issued to tendering firms and the award of contract was made on the basis of the lowest acceptable offer.
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish in the Official Report a list of the unsuccessful tenderers for the construction of the first stage of the M4 missing link between Earlswood and Lo n Las.
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