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Brucellosis
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether his Department included bulls in slaughter orders applied in the outbreak of brucellosis ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : The legislation provides for the slaughter of bulls where appropriate.
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what expenditure has been incurred during each of the last five years by his Department in blood testing for brucellosis.
Mr. Maclean : The cost of blood sampling and testing for brucellosis during the last five years is as follows :
|£
------------------------------
1985-86 |4,534,275
1986-87 |4,587,463
1987-88 |4,590,025
1988-89 |4,819,079
1989-90 |4,648,359
Scrapie
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has conducted any research by means of
histopathological examination of porcine brains, or by any other method, into the possibility of pigs developing a spongiform encephalopathy from the consumption of scrapie-infected sheep remains.
Mr. Maclean : Histopathology of porcine brains is conducted on submissions from veterinary practitioners by pathologists in the veterinary investigation service and at the central veterinary laboratory. No evidence of a spongiform encephalopathy in pigs has ever been found.
Rabies
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Caerphilly of 18 April, if he will outline how
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he proposes to minimise casualties among other species in the event of action being taken in the United Kingdom to prevent the spread of rabies.Mr. Maclean : The baits that would be used in any fox control operation have been selected so as to be more attractive to foxes than to other species and would be buried in such a manner that they would more likely to be taken by foxes, in locations frequented by foxes. A control exercise would be undertaken only under strict supervision and would last only one or two days. Owners, occupiers, and users of land on which fox control operations were to take place would be warned.
Salmonella
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to ensure that his salmonella testing programme is not evaded by producers resulting from testing swabs which have already been tested and found to be negative.
Mr. Maclean : Enforcement of the salmonella legislation is carried out by local authorities. My officials are also carrying out spot checks to ensure compliance with the requirements, including the testing of a random sample of birds.
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether his Department's study has yet established the vertical transmissibility of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in cattle.
Mr. Maclean : No. BSE's protracted incubation period means that preliminary results from the study to determine whether vertical transmission takes place might not be expected for at least two years.
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what research has been carried out to establish whether the infective agent responsible for bovine spongiform encephalopathy is transmissible from carcase to environmental media after landfilling ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : Carcases are buried under Ministry supervision and in accordance with sound veterinary practice to ensure that none can pose a risk of spreading BSE.
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what disposal techniques are employed in respect of carcases from cattle infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : Carcases are disposed of by incineration or burial.
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what percentage of carcases from cattle positively identified as being infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy in 1989 were (a) incinerated, (b) landfilled and (c) otherwise disposed of in (i) Cornwall, (ii) Devon, (iii) east sussex and (iv) West Sussex ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : This information is not held centrally in the form requested. However, in the south-west region,
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which includes Cornwall and Devon, 83 per cent. of carcases were incinerated and 17 per cent. buried in 1989. In the south-east region, which includes east and west Sussex, 99 per cent. were incinerated and 1 per cent. buried in 1989.Agro-Industry
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if his Department has placed any contract since January 1989 with the Overseas Development Natural Resources Institute for research on agro- industry.
Mr. Maclean : No. The work of the Natural Resources Institute is directed towards the developing countries which are the responsibility of the Overseas Development Administration.
Global Warming
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to raise the issue of climate change and the global warming greenhouse effect at the meeting of the European Council of Agriculture Ministers on 25 to 26 April in Brussels.
Mr. Maclean : The Agriculture Council on 25-26 April will concentrate on the Commission's farm price proposals. I shall ensure that the issue of global warming is taken into account in the United Kingdom's position in so far as it relates to matters on the Council agenda.
Irradiated Food
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what recent discussions have been held with the European Commission concerning the introduction of irradiated foodstuffs into the United Kingdom.
Mr. Maclean : Recent discussions with the Commission have been concerned with the draft EC directive on this subject. In the course of these, the Government's proposals for the United Kingdom have been made clear to the Commission.
Aflatoxin
Mr. Beith : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will amend the Feeding Stuffs Regulations 1982 to extend to wild birds the protection offered to captive birds in respect of aflatoxin levels in peanuts ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : Responsibility for the general protection of wild birds rests with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment. The enabling powers under which the feedingstuffs regulations are made do not cover the regulation of feed for wild birds.
However, during its regular contacts with the feed industry, my Department has drawn attention to the potential risks to wild birds of peanuts containing aflatoxin and the main manufacturers have undertaken to buy their supplies from sources which are unlikely to exceed the safety limits established for pets and farm animals.
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Animal Exports
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has made an assessment of the animal welfare implications of the increase in export of live animals ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : Statutory controls ensure that all animals exported for fattening or slaughter are rested, fed and watered and inspected for fitness to travel at approved export lairages. These and other welfare safeguards apply to each animal irrespective of the level of exports.
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what percentage of live animals exported for slaughter could be handled with existing abattoir capacity within the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : The United Kingdom slaughtering industry is able to cope with the demands currently placed on it, while the numbers of animals exported is a very small proportion of the number slaughtered. We would not expect the industry to have any difficulty coping with the number of animals exported live if necessary. Subject to the requirements of relevant legislation, the decision on whether to export animals or carcases is a matter for commercial judgment.
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to what factors he ascribes the increase in exports of live animals for slaughter in 1989 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : Exports of sheep, which comprise almost all the animals exported from the United Kingdom for immediate slaughter, rose in 1989 as a result of the determination of our exporters to meet demand elsewhere in the European Community. The number of calves exported for veal production was also higher than in 1988, although not particularly high by historical standards. The level of these exports depends on the demand for veal, the availability of calves in the countries where that demand is high and the price of calves on the United Kingdom market.
Net Limitation Orders
Mr. Onslow : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what net limitation orders in England and Wales are expected to come up for review within the next 12 months.
Mr. Curry : One net limitation order expires within the next 12 months, the South West Water Authority (Limitation of Salmon and Trout Netting Licences) Order 1980 applicable to the Rivers Taw and Torridge.
Drift Net Fishing
Mr. Onslow : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he now expects to publish the report of the inquiry into the north- east drift net fishery ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Curry : Scientists from my Department and DAFS are now completing their analysis of the data which have been collected for this review. We shall present a report to Parliament as soon as we can.
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Water Pollution
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he intends to take to ensure that dairy farmers comply with water pollution regulations ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : The Water Act 1989 empowers the National Rivers Authority to prosecute any dairy farmer or other person who causes or knowingly permits the pollution of controlled waters. Similarly, it would be the NRA's responsibility to enforce proposed new regulations setting standards for the construction of silage, slurry and agricultural fuel oil containment facilities.
EMPLOYMENT
Training Expenditure
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment which English regions overspent on youth training and employment training in 1989 -90 ; and by how much.
Mr. Nicholls : Regional expenditure plans and variances from them are for internal management purposes only.
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what action he is taking in 1990-91 to counteract any overspending by English regions on youth training and employment training in 1989-90.
Mr. Nicholls : Operational directors of the Training Agency are required to agree plans for youth training and employment training which are consistent with the resources available and the volumes of training planned for 1990-91.
Ms. Short : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the expenditure for each standard region, and for Great Britain as a whole, in both cash and real terms, by his Department, the employment service and the Training Agency, formerly the Manpower Services Commission, in each year since 1979-80 on (a) the youth training scheme, formerly the youth opportunities programme ; (b) employment training, formerly community enterprise programme, community programme, training opportunities programmes and job training scheme ; (c) the enterprise allowance scheme ; (d) job clubs and (e) restart courses ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nicholls : The table shows expenditure on (a) youth training scheme, (b) employment training, (c) enterprise allowance scheme, (d) job clubs and (e) restart courses for Great Britain. A breakdown of expenditure by standard regions is not available. Figures are shown at cash and constant, estimated, 1989-90 prices, calculated by use of the gross domestic product deflator index from the Chancellor's financial statement and Budget report published March 1990.
Figures include estimated administration costs for all years, except for job clubs and restart courses where administration costs are not separately available.
The Government remain committed to training and helping the unemployed find work.
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£ million
YTS Employment Enterprise AllowanJobclubs Restart courses
Training Scheme
|Cash |Constant|Cash |Constant|Cash |Constant|Cash |Constant|Cash |Constant
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1979-80 |123.4 |247.5 |385.5 |773.2 |- |- |- |- |- |-
1980-81 |213.7 |361.8 |394.3 |667.6 |- |- |- |- |- |-
1981-82 |395.5 |610.4 |442.1 |682.4 |- |- |- |- |- |-
1982-83 |542.9 |781.3 |500.2 |719.9 |2.4 |3.5 |- |- |- |-
1983-84 |776.1 |1,067.8 |662.4 |911.4 |23.2 |31.9 |- |- |- |-
1984-85 |836.2 |1,095.4 |779.3 |1,047.1 |80.1 |104.9 |- |- |- |-
1985-86 |869.9 |1,081.0 |940.7 |1,169.0 |108.4 |134.7 |- |- |0.1 |0.1
1986-87 |939.1 |1,130.1 |1,368.8 |1,647.2 |149.7 |180.1 |3.0 |3.6 |11.0 |13.2
1987-88 |1,064.9 |1,216.9 |1,395.3 |1,594.4 |203.5 |232.5 |13.0 |14.9 |8.2 |9.4
1988-89 |1,073.3 |1,143.1 |1,374.2 |1,463.5 |204.1 |217.4 |14.6 |15.5 |7.0 |7.5
1989-90 |1,054.1 |1,054.1 |1,230.7 |1,230.7 |191.8 |191.8 |20.2 |20.2 |6.8 |6.8
Training and Enterprise Councils
Ms. Short : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment in what circumstances training and enterprise councils can allow their providers to charge YT or ET trainees for the provision of protective clothing and equipment ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nicholls : The TEC operating agreement provides mandatory requirements for the health, safety and welfare of trainees. In particular, it requires TECs to ensure provision of necessary protective clothing and equipment, so far as possible without charge to the trainee.
Earnings (Greater London)
Mr. Soley : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what were the figures for average earnings for Greater London for each year from 1987 to 1989.
Mr. Nicholls : The information for full-time employees on adult rates of pay is published in table X5, part A of the 1989 new earnings survey report and in table X5, part B of the 1987 and 1988 reports. Figures on the same basis for males and females separately are published in tables 110 and 113 respectively of part E of the report for each year. Copies of the reports are in the Library.
Farm Accidents
Mr. Strang : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many accidents there were on farms in each of the last 15 years to (a) employees, (b) self-employed, (c) children and (d) others according to each of the appropriate accident classification groups.
Mr. Nicholls : The information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Training Contracts
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement about the Training Agency and training managers being invited to terminate all contractual agreements by 30 April.
Mr. Nicholls : The Training Agency offered new contracts to employment training (ET) training agents and training managers from 30 April to assist training and enterprise councils to take over responsibility for the delivery of ET more easily, to establish improved ET eligibility rules and associated requirements for the management of separate budgets, to make available to ET providers new freedoms and flexibilities in the design and funding of training programmes, and to secure the proper management of resources available in 1990-91.
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Factory Inspections
Mr. Strang : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many fixed premises were registered with the Health and Safety Executive in each of the past 15 years ; and how many of these were visited by a factory inspector in each year.
Mr. Nicholls : The following tables show the number of fixed premises registered with the Health and Safety Executive's factory, agricultural, mines and quarries inspectorates for the years for which information is available. Information about how many fixed premises were visited by a factory inspector is not available.
Year |Fixed
|premises
|registered<1>
------------------------------------------
<3>1978 |280,716
1979 |309,757
1980 |318,936
1981 |318,050
1982 |<2>585,296
1983 |<2>477,409
1984 |668,037
<4>1985 |724,227
1986 |720,243
1987 |719,738
1988 |707,474
1989 |692,078
<1>The total for 1978 is for fixed
premises registered with the factory
inspectorate only. Premises registered
with the mines and quarries inspectorate
are included from 1979, with those
registered with the agricultural
inspectorate being included from 1984.
<2>The 1982 figure was first produced
from a computerised database on the
Department of Employment census. The
database initially included premises for
which the HSE was not the enforcing
authority: this accounts for the high
figures for 1982 and 1983.
<3>1 January.
<4>1 April.
Factory and Agriculture Inspectors
Mr. Strang : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many (a) factory and (b) agriculture inspectors by grade there were (i) in the field and (ii) in total on 31 March for each of the last 15 years ; and what were the targets for each of those dates.
Mr. Nicholls : Information available about inspectors in post in past years is shown in the tables. On targets, I refer to my reply to the hon. Member on 8 November 1989 ; comparable figures for years before 1988 cannot be provided without disproportionate cost.
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|c|Factory Inspectors in post in the field on 1 April in each year (within brackets: Total factory inspectors in HSE as a whole)|c| Grade<1> CI DCI SAD SI DSI 1A 1B CL2 Total ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1976 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |570.5 |(624) 1977 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |602 |(676.5) 1978 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |619 |(695.5) 1979 |- |(1) |- |(9) |3 |(3) |18 |(20) |21 |(62) |137 |(155.5)|477 |(492) |- |(-) |656 |(742.5) 1980 |- |(1) |- |(10) |3 |(3) |18 |(21) |23 |(62) |142 |(163) |478.5 |(499.5)|- |(-) |664.5 |(759.5) 1981 |- |(1) |- |(9) |3 |(3) |18 |(20) |23 |(62) |139 |(159) |317.5 |(342.5)|139 |(139) |639.5 |(735.5) 1982 |- |(1) |1 |(9) |2 |(2) |18 |(20) |24 |(57) |125 |(148) |348 |(364.5)|77 |(77) |595 |(678.5) 1983 |- |(1) |1 |(9) |2 |(2) |18 |(19) |25 |(63) |126 |(148) |381.5 |(393.5)|19 |(19) |572.5 |(654.5) 1984 |- |(1) |1 |(7) |2 |(2) |17 |(18) |25 |(59) |125 |(151) |368 |(378) |11 |(11) |549 |(627) 1985 |- |(1) |1 |(7) |2 |(2) |18 |(19) |26 |(57) |126 |(154) |336 |(352) |60 |(60) |569 |(652) 1986 |- |(1) |1 |(7) |1 |(2) |18 |(20) |24 |(44) |118 |(152) |309 |(328) |69 |(69) |540 |(623) 1987 |- |(1) |1 |(6) |1 |(2) |20 |(22) |21 |(42) |122.5 |(156) |276 |(295.5)|97 |(97) |538.5 |(621.5) 1988 |- |(1) |- |(4) |2 |(3) |18 |(21) |25 |(43) |121.5 |(158.5)|256 |(270) |92 |(92) |514.5 |(592.5) 1989 |- |(1) |- |(4) |2 |(4) |16 |(19) |25 |(38) |121.5 |(162.5)|263.5 |(276.5)|99 |(99) |527 |(604) 1990 |- |(1) |- |(4) |1 |(4) |19 |(22) |24 |(34) |122.5 |(161.5)|254 |(269) |139 |(139) |559.5 |(634.5) <1> CI-Chief Inspector; DCI-Deputy Chief Inspector; SAD-Senior Area Director; SI-Superintending Inspector; DSI-Deputy Superintending Inspector; 1A-Inspector 1A; 1B-Inspector 1B; CL2-Inspector Class 2.
|c|Agricultural inspectors in the field on 1 April in each year (within brackets: total agricultural inspectors in HSE as a whole)|c| Grade<1>CI DCI DSI PAG 1 PAG SAG AG AAG Total -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1976 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |(5)<2> 1977 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |178 |(187) 1978 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |175 |(186) 1979 |- |(1) |- |(3) |- |(-) |- |(-) |8 |(10) |20 |(25) |132 |(132) |19 |(19) |179 |(190) 1980 |- |(1) |- |(3) |- |(-) |- |(-) |8 |(10) |26 |(30) |127 |(127) |16 |(16) |177 |(187) 1981 |- |(1) |- |(2) |- |(-) |- |(-) |7 |(10) |25 |(29) |121 |(121) |13 |(13) |166 |(176) 1982 |1 |(-) |- |(3) |- |(-) |- |(-) |8 |(9) |26 |(31) |110 |(110) |12 |(12) |156 |(166) 1983 |1 |(-) |- |(2) |- |(-) |- |(-) |(8) |(10) |27 |(31) |114 |(115) |- |(-) |149 |(159) 1984 |1 |(-) |- |(2) |- |(-) |- |(-) |6 |(8) |26 |(31) |112 |(112) |- |(-) |144 |(154) 1985 |- |(-) |- |(2) |- |(-) |- |(-) |8 |(10) |26 |(31) |99 |(101) |17 |(17) |150 |(162) 1986 |- |(1) |- |(2) |- |(-) |- |(-) |8 |(10) |26 |(32) |90 |(92) |26 |(26) |150 |(163) 1987 |- |(1) |- |(2) |3 |(3) |6 |(7) |24 |(29) |- |(-) |83 |(89) |35 |(35) |151 |(166) 1988 |- |(1) |- |(2) |3 |(3) |6 |(7) |24 |(29) |- |(-) |81 |(91) |25 |(25) |139 |(158) 1989 |- |(1) |- |(2) |3 |(3) |6 |(7) |24 |(29) |- |(-) |86 |(100) |23 |(23) |142 |(165) 1990 |- |(1) |- |(2) |3 |(3) |6 |(7) |23 |(28) |- |(-) |90 |(104) |26 |(26) |148 |(171) <1> CI-Chief Inspector; DCI-Deputy Chief Inspector; DSI-Deputy Superintending Inspector; PAG 1-Principal Argicultural Inspector (1); PAG-Principal Agricultural Inspector; SAG-Senior Agricultural Inspector; AG-Agricultural Inspector; AAG-Assistant Agricultural Inspector. <2> Agricultural Inspectors joined HSE from MAFF from March 1976, with the field force being in place by March 1977.
Mr. Strang : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will list each of the additional responsibilities taken on by (a) the agriculture and (b) the factory inspectorate in each of the past 15 years.
Mr. Nicholls : Over the past 15 years, the sphere of the Health and Safety Executive's agriculture and factory inspectors'
responsibilities has extended in response to the developing nature of hazards arising out of work activity and the widening role of the Health and Safety Commission. Comprehensive information on these additional responsibilities as they occur year by year is not readily available and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Agricultural Premises (Inspections)
Mr. Strang : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many agricultural premises there were in each of the past 15 years ; and how many of these were visited by Her Majesty's agriculture inspectorate in each year.
Mr. Nicholls : The following table shows the number of workplaces registered with the Health and Safety Executive's agricultural inspectorate (AI) from 1984 to 1989 and the total number of visits made by AI inspectors between 1 April and 31 March for the years stated. Figures for earlier years are not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
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Year |Number of workplaces registered|Number of visits -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1983-84 |266,000 (1 January 1984) |30,105 1984-85 |319,567 (31 March 1985) |32,174 1985-86 |311,558 (31 March 1986) |33,234 1986-87 |309,223 (31 March 1987) |35,011 1987-88 |297,051 (31 March 1988) |36,246 1988-89 |282,374 (July 1989) |36,707
Radar Transmitters
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when the standards set by the National Radiological Protection Board for safe levels of radioactive emissions by radar transmitters were established ; at what level they are set ; and whether he is satisfied that these standards are still safe in the light of experience gained since they were first established.
Mr. Nicholls : In May 1989, the National Radiological Protection Board published guidance on restricting exposures to non-ionising radiation. The reference level for exposure to radar frequencies advised by NRPB is 50W per sq m averaged over a period of six minutes. Since radar emissions are usually pulsed there is an additional advised restriction that exposures to pulses of duration less than 50 microseconds in which the total energy exceeds 0.4 joules per sq m should be neither prolonged nor frequent. There
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has been no evidence since the publication of the guidance which would suggest that it is inadequate for the stated purpose.Correspondence
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he expects to reply to the letter of 20 March from the hon. Member for Western Isles regarding redundancy payments to former Clansman Tweed Ltd. employees ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nicholls : I have today replied to the hon. Gentleman's letter.
Employment Training
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the training agents and training managers by standard region, who received the letter from the Training Agency "Employment Training : Termination of Agreement and New Contract Arrangements 1990-91".
Mr. Nicholls [holding answer 23 April 1990] : The information requested is not available.
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the number of employment training places in 1990-91 and 1991-92 (a) for each of the standard regions and (b) the planned number of employment trainees in 1990-91 and 1991-92 and for each of the standard regions.
Mr. Nicholls [holding answer 23 April 1990] : Plans for the number of ET places in each region are for management information purposes only.
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the representations received after the Training Agency sent out the letter, "Employment Training : Termination of Agreement and New Contract Arrangements 1990-91."
Mr. Nicholls [holding answer 23 April 1990] : No. My right hon. and learned Friend has received a small number of representations. Such representations are made in respect of particular ET contracts, and are therefore commercially confidential.
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the training agents and training managers who have been contacted by the Training Agency as part of the recontracting process outlined in the letter from the Training Agency, "Employment Training : Termination of Agreement and New Contract Arrangements 1990-91."
Mr. Nicholls [holding answer 23 April 1990] : The information requested is not available.
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the organisations consulted prior to the Training Agency issuing the letter "Employment Training : Termination of Agreement and New Contract Arrangements 1990-91."
Mr. Nicholls [holding answer 23 April 1990] : None.
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list (a) the type of entrants to the
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employment training programme under mainstream and non-mainstream categories, (b) the total amount of expenditure for each of these categories for Great Britain and each of the standard regions in 1990-91 and 1991-92 and (c) the planned number of entrants for mainstream and non-mainstream categories in 1990-91 and 1991- 92.Mr. Nicholls [holding answer 23 April 1990] : The information requested is as follows :
(a) The main groups of people who will be in the mainstream of those eligible for Employment Training are :
--people aged 18-60 who have been unemployed for 6 months or more including periods spent in custody ;
--people with disabilities or who need training in literacy or numeracy skills or in English for speakers of other languages, regardless of length of unemployment.
--lone parents in receipt of Income Support for 6 months or more and whose youngest child is at school.
People in non-mainstream eligibility groups all of whom do not need to have been unemployed for 6 months, include :
--returners to the labour market ;
--people wishing to train in skill shortages or in enterprise ; --victims of large scale redundancies (by agreement in specific cases).
(b) The ET budget for Great Britain will be allocated on the basis of 85 per cent. for new entrants to the mainstream category and a maximum of 15 per cent. for non-mainstream. There will be a maximum of 20 per cent. of expenditure for non-mainstream eligible people for individual Regions. ET expenditure plans for Great Britain have not yet been finalised. ET Regional expenditure plans for 1990-91 and for 1991-92 are for internal management purposes only.
(c) No limits are being placed on the number of entrants into the mainstream and non-mainstream categories.
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list all of the changes to employment training contained in the letter from the Training Agency entitled "Employment Training : Termination of Agreement and New Contract Arrangements 1990-91."
Mr. Nicholls [holding answer 23 April 1990] : The changes in the letter were those announced in the reply given by my right hon. and learned Friend to my hon. Friend the Member for Stevenage (Mr. Wood) on 5 March 1990 at column 507.
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