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Mr. John Patten : Appointments to the Football Licensing Authority are still under consideration. My right hon. and noble Friend has already written to the hon. Member to tell him that the Government intend to appoint the authority as soon as possible. He has also written to the Football League to make clear the Government's view that it is not necessary for football clubs to wait for the authority to be set up before starting to make the improvements to football grounds which were recommended in Lord Justice Taylor's final report on the Hillsborough tragedy.
Prisoners (Police Cells)
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) men and (b) women were held in police cells in England and Wales on 4 June.
Mr. Mellor : On Monday 4 June there were 1,080 prisoners, all of them male, held in police stations in England and Wales.
Astley Bridge Police Station
Mr. David Young : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report on what factors were responsible for the escape of a category A prisoner, from Astley Bridge police station, Bolton.
Mr. Mellor : An investigation into the escape of Alan Lord, a category B prisoner, from Astley Bridge police station, Bolton, is being undertaken by Greater Manchester police. I will write to the hon. Member when the investigation is completed. Alan Lord was recaptured at around 11 o'clock last night in Liverpool.
Mr. David Young : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the cost of building Astley Bridge police station, Bolton.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The final cost is not yet available but is expected to be about £1,295,000.
Category A Prisoners
Mr. David Young : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many category A prisoners are held (a) in prisons and (b) in police stations ; what instructions are given about the secure holding of prisoners held in police stations ; and, if he has any plans for changes.
Mr. Mellor : At present 418 prisoners are confirmed as category A and all are held in prison accommodation.
Steps taken by the police to ensure the security of prisoners held in their custody are a matter for the chief
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officer of police. Reciprocal arrangements exist between the prison service and the police for the exchange of information relevant to the custody of prisoners who are transferred from the one to the other. Such arrangements are subject to review in the light of particular incidents.Advertising (Overseas Voters)
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total cost of the newspaper and other advertising campaign about overseas voting registration (a) in the United Kingdom and (b) in other countries ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The cost is £750,000 this year, of which £136,400 is being spent on advertising in the United Kingdom (including advertising in publications which also have some overseas circulation) and £510,700 on various forms of advertising or publicity overseas. The remaining £102,900 is for leaflets, posters and production costs, or has not yet been allocated.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Cat Skins
Mr. Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has received any recent representations on the export of cat skins to West Germany ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood : My Department has received a number of letters referring to the export of cat skins from the United Kingdom. Several of these letters have mentioned West Germany as a destination for these exports.
My Department is aware of a limited trade in cat skins from the United Kingdom which is legitimately carried out by a small number of companies. Cat skins are not subject to export controls, and, because of the limited level of trade, cat skin exports are not recorded under a separate heading in the Customs tariff.
The worrying issue of cat thefts is for the Home Office.
Debt Advice
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to increase spending on debt advice work.
Mr. Forth : None. My Department does not specifically fund debt advice much of which is provided by citizens advice bureaux, as part of their general service. DTI grant in aid to the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux and Citizens Advice Scotland, which provide the support services for individual citizens advice bureaux, will amount to more than £11 million in 1990-91, compared with some £10 million last year. Individual bureaux are funded mainly by local authorities.
Advice Agencies
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment his Department has made of the implications of the poll tax on the workload of the citizens advice bureaux and other advice- giving agencies.
Mr. Forth : No such assessment has been made. Independent advice on matters related to the community
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charge will be given by local citizens advice bureaux which are primarily funded by local authorities. My Department provides funding to the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux (NACAB) and Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS), which provide support services to individual citizens advice bureaux including training and information materials. The Department of the Environment has agreed to provide £36,000 to NACAB this year to help with the costs involved in providing training for bureaux workers on the community charge and the Scottish Office has given CAS £36,000 over the last two years for the same purpose.Desalination
Sir Neil Macfarlane : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what funds his Department makes available for research into desalination both for (a) the United Kingdom and (b) overseas markets.
Mr. Forth : I launched my Department's "Wealth from the Oceans" advanced technology programme in April 1989 with a budget of £9,000, 000 to encourage firms to carry out more pre-competitive collaborative research into the ocean technologies, including desalination. Some £6,000,000 remains uncommitted and is available to match those sums advanced by industrial consortia whose proposals for longer-term research in this area satisfy the programme's rules. Alternatively, firms wishing to collaborate with companies located in one or more of 18 other countries in Europe to investigate desalination can apply for EUREKA status and support, which is made available on a case-by-case basis.
Competition Act 1980
Mr. Irvine : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he intends to make a further reference of a public sector body to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission under section 11 of the Competition Act 1980.
Mr. Redwood : A reference has today been sent to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission to investigate the efficiency and costs of, and the service provided by, Northern Ireland Railways Ltd. and its subsidiaries in providing passenger, freight and other services. A copy of the reference has been placed in the Library.
ENERGY
Management Consultants
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the studies conducted inside his Department by management consultants over the last 10 years, naming the consultancy, the cost, the subject and the outcome in each instance.
Mr. Wakeham : The information from 1985 onwards is as follows : Management Consultants with Subject and Outcome
Stuart McKechnie Ltd--Management Training--
Design of a training and development programme
TDA Consulting Group Ltd--Management Training--
Design of a training and development programme
Information on contracts before 1985 could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The cost of individual contracts is commercially confidential.
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Nuclear Research
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) if he will list the major nuclear research projects being undertaken by the Atomic Energy Authority, together with the dates they commenced and the objectives of each project at the time they were originally initiated ;
(2) if he will list the major nuclear research projects being paid for by his Department together with the dates they commenced and the objectives of each project at the time they were originally initiated.
Mr. Wakeham : The objectives of the nuclear R and D programmes currently funded by the Department and carried out by UKAEA are described in chapter 5 of the
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1990 public expenditure White Paper (Cm 1005). Details of UKAEA's programmes are contained in its annual reports which are laid before Parliament.Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will give for each type of plant the assumed GW and TWh of generation in 1990, 2005 and 2020 in the central growth, low and high price scenarios set out in table 4.10 and 4.11 of his Department's "Evaluation of Energy Related Greenhouse Gas Emissions".
Mr. Wakeham : Capacity and generation for 1990, 2005 and 2020 underlying the central growth with low and high price scenarios of energy paper No. 58 are given in the table. The figures relate to purely illustrative scenarios which used IEA fuel price assumptions.
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|c|Scenarios of future United Kingdom
capacity by fuel type (GW)|c|
1990 2005 2020
|CL |CH |CL |CH |CL |CH
---------------------------------------
Coal |43 |43 |37 |37 |12 |55
Oil |14 |14 |16 |16 |9 |9
Gas |0 |0 |21 |19 |82 |38
Nuclear |12 |12 |13 |13 |7 |7
Hydro |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1
Imports |2 |2 |2 |2 |2 |2
Renewables |0 |0 |0 |1 |1 |1
Total |72 |72 |91 |89 |114|114
Notes: CL = Central growth, low price
scenario.
CH = Central growth, high price
scenario.
|c|Scenarios of future United Kingdom
capacity by fuel type (GW)|c|
1990 2005 2020
|CL |CH |CL |CH |CL |CH
---------------------------------------
Coal |43 |43 |37 |37 |12 |55
Oil |14 |14 |16 |16 |9 |9
Gas |0 |0 |21 |19 |82 |38
Nuclear |12 |12 |13 |13 |7 |7
Hydro |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1
Imports |2 |2 |2 |2 |2 |2
Renewables |0 |0 |0 |1 |1 |1
Total |72 |72 |91 |89 |114|114
Notes: CL = Central growth, low price
scenario.
CH = Central growth, high price
scenario.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will give for both coal-fired and nuclear plant, in GW, TWh and Mtoe, the assumed gross loss of old plant and the assumed gross gain in new plant, during both 1990 to 2005 and 2005 to 2020 assumed in tables 4.10 and 4.11 of his Department's "Evaluation of Energy Related Greenhouse Gas Emissions".
Mr. Wakeham : The gross gains and losses of coal and nuclear capacity underlying tables 4.10 and 4.11 in energy paper No. 58 are shown in the table. Comparisons are meaningful only on this GW basis. The figures relate to purely illustrative scenarios which used International Energy Agency fuel price assumptions.
|c|Capacity retired and new
capacity built (GW)|c|
1990 to 2005 to 202
|CL |CH |CL |CH
------------------------------------
Coal
Capacity lost |6 |6 |28 |46
New capacity |0 |0 |3 |46
Net change |-6 |-6 |-25|+18
Nuclear
Capacity lost |4 |4 |6 |6
New capacity |5 |5 |0 |0
Net change |+1 |+1 |-6 |-6
CL=Central growth, low price
scenario.
CH=Central growth, high price
scenario.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy on what grounds the baseline scenarios in his Department's "Evaluation of Energy Related Greenhouse Gas Emissions", assume an annual rate of reduction in the energy ratio of between 0.5 per cent. and 0.8 per cent. compared with an average annual rate of 1.9 per cent. between 1978 and 1988.
Mr. Wakeham : The baseline scenarios in energy paper No. 58 represent projections of demand equations, estimated on past behaviour, and do not contain explicit assumptions about energy efficiency per se. The projected
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changes in the energy ratio reflect the assumed economic background and, in particular, the energy price scenarios, which were provided by the International Energy Agency.PRIME MINISTER
Child Abuse
Mr. Allen : To ask the Prime Minister, further to her reply to the hon. Member for Nottingham, North of Tuesday 12 June, if she will list the members of the interdepartmental group on child sexual abuse.
The Prime Minister : The interdepartmental group on child abuse is chaired by an under-secretary in the Department of Health and comprises senior officials and professional staff from that Department's social services inspectorate and medical, nursing and research management divisions ; senior officials from the Department of Education and Science and a member of Her Majesty's inspectorate of schools ; senior officials representing the police and probation departments at the Home Office and senior officials from the Scottish Education Department, the Welsh Office and the Department of Health and Social Services (Northern Ireland). Additional members are co-opted to discuss specific issues as necessary.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Prime Minister, further to her reply of Tuesday 12 June to the hon. Member for Nottingham, North, if she will set out in tabular form the actions taken by the Government as a result of the deliberations of the interdepartmental group on child sexual abuse.
The Prime Minister : The role of the interdepartmental group on child abuse is to facilitate the exchange of information about the work undertaken by various
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Government Departments in the field of child protection and to develop consistent policies across the range of Government responsibilities. Examples of issues in respect of which officials have taken account of the group's discussions in advising Ministers include :(i) guidance on child protection which was issued to all agencies in July 1988 as part of the Government's response to the Butler-Sloss report ;
(ii) training ;
(iii) implications of the Children Act ;
(iv) research, and
(v) management and treatment of perpetrators of child sexual abuse.
Aid (USSR)
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Prime Minister what plans the Government have to provide aid to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The Prime Minister : We are already offering bilateral technical assistance to the Soviet Union in areas such as management, banking, and agriculture. Such help can make a significant contribution to the process of economic reform.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Ministerial Duties (Nights)
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many nights each of the Ministers of the Northern Ireland Office spent in Northern Ireland during the months of September, October, November and December 1989 and the months of January, February, March, April and May 1990.
Mr. Cope : The information requested is in the table :
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|Mr. Brooke |Mr. Cope |Lord |Dr. Mawhinney|Mr. Needham |Mr. Bottomley
|Skelmersdale
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
September 1989 |10 |10 |18 |6 |3 |14
October 1989 |9 |8 |14 |6 |9 |11
November 1989 |10 |12 |15 |5 |7 |12
December 1989 |10 |10 |15 |7 |5 |7
January 1990 |4 |13 |17 |13 |8 |8
February 1990 |9 |10 |12 |9 |8 |10
March 1990 |10 |13 |16 |8 |5 |9
April 1990 |4 |4 |16 |6 |7 |7
May 1990 |8 |12 |13 |9 |9 |9
SCOTLAND
Graeme Stewart and John Allan Milligan
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his reply of 11 June, relating to Graeme Stewart and John Allan Milligan, what criteria are used to decide whether to institute proceedings under section 1 of the Official Secrets Act 1911.
Mr. McFall : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, further to his reply to the hon. Member for Dumbarton of 11 June relating to Graeme Stewart and John Allan Milligan, what criteria are used when deciding whether to prosecute under section 1 of the Official Secrets Act 1911.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 14 June 1990] : When deciding whether or not to institute criminal proceedings in any case reported to him, the public
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prosecutor in Scotland considers (a) whether the known facts and circumstances disclose a crime at common law ; (b) whether he has jurisdiction in the case ; (c) whether there is sufficient evidence to justify the institution of proceedings ; (d) whether the matter is of sufficient substance and importance to merit criminal proceedings ; or (e) whether it is otherwise in the public interest.WALES
National Parks
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the number of planning appeal decisions (a) allowed, (b) dismissed, (c) withdrawn and (d) undetermined in each of the Welsh national parks in each
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of the last two years for which figures are available ; and if he will express the numbers allowed and dismissed as a percentage of those determined.Column 368
Mr. Roberts : The table sets out the information relating to 1989, the first year for which separate records were kept, and to the period from January 1990 to date :
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National Park |Year |Allowed |Per cent. |Dismissed |Per cent. |Withdrawn |Undetermined
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Snowdonia |1989 |9 |36 |16 |64 |3 |4
|<1>1990 |4 |21 |15 |79 |1 |13
Brecon Beacons |1989 |4 |27 |11 |73 |5 |1
|<1>1990 |4 |19 |17 |81 |3 |20
Pembrokeshire Coast |1989 |6 |35 |11 |65 |3 |4
|<1>1990 |3 |19 |13 |81 |2 |19
<1> January 1990 to date.
Myodil
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he is now able to make of the number of people in Wales who are complaining of side-effects and after-effects arising from the use of the drug Myodil.
Mr. Grist : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave him on Thursday 14 June 1990.
Pupil-teacher Ratios
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the average pupil-teacher ratio at secondary schools in Wales of (a) fewer than 100 pupils, (b) 100 to 200 pupils and (c) 200 plus pupils, respectively ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Roberts : The information as at September 1989 is as follows :
1
|Pupil-teacher
|ratio<3>
-------------------------------------------------
100 to 200 pupils<2> |10.6
200 plus pupils |15.3
There are no secondary schools in Wales with
fewer than 100 pupils.
<1> Provisional data.
<2> Refers to one recently opened school.
<3> Based on teachers within schools.
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the average pupil-teacher ratio at primary schools in Wales of (a) fewer than 100 pupils, (b) 100 to 200 pupils and (c) 200 plus pupils, respectively ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Roberts : The information as at September 1989 is as follows :
|Pupil-teacher
|ratio<2>
--------------------------------------------------
Fewer than 100 pupils |18.2
100-200 pupils |22.1
200 pupils |23.6
<1> Provisional data.
<2> Based on teachers within schools.
Statutory Health Bodies
Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether membership of (a) health authorites, (b) family practitioner committees, and (c) community health councils, has been extended ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Grist : Those members of district health authorities whose periods of office were due to terminate on 31 July 1990 have been invited to serve until 31 July 1991. Members of family practitioner committees are due to serve until 31 March 1991 or later. In both cases the membership will cease at an earlier date should Royal Assent be obtained to the National Health Service and Community Care Bill. The periods of office of some of those members of community health councils appointed by the Secretary of State are due to expire on 30 June 1990 and invitations in respect of those positions have recently been issued.
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Local Management of Schools
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement concerning the implementation of local financial management of schools in Wales, and how it affects (a) schools of fewer than 100 pupils and (b) schools of 100 pupils or more.
Mr. Roberts : Schemes for the local management of schools have been approved for each of the local education authorities in Wales and they came into force on 1 April. Accordingly all primary and secondary schools are being formula-funded subject to LEAs' transitional arrangements. The delegation to secondary and larger primary schools of responsibility for managing their budgets is being phased in over the next three years.
The position of small schools was carefully considered before formal approval to the schemes was given. The budgets of schools with fewer than 100 pupils and of the majority of primary schools with 100 pupils or more may benefit from additional LEA funding to protect them against disproportionately high salary costs and to ensure that the requirements of the national curriculum can be met.
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what change there has been in the pupil-teacher ratio in Wales since implementation of local financial management ; what were the comparable figures for the previous three years ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Roberts : Schemes for local management of schools were introduced by local education authorities in April 1990. No information on pupils or teacher numbers has been collected since that date.
HEALTH
Community Care
Mr. Andrew Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how it is proposed that the level of funds made available to local authorities in respect of community care services will take into account the proposed closure of hospitals for patients with mental handicap and mental illness.
Mr. Dorrell : Local authority expenditure on community care will continue to be funded in the same way as other local authority expenditure. Additional funds are made available to local authorities by district health authorities as a result of local agreements to support mentally handicapped and mentally ill patients discharged from hospital to live in the community. A specific grant is proposed to facilitate community care for people with a mental illness.
Women Workers
Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women have children between the ages of five and 16 years ; and how many of these women work (a) part time and (b) full time.
Mr. Dorrell : Table 1 shows that in 1987, the latest year for which these data are available, 22 per cent. of all women of working age had at least one child aged five to 15 years. Table 2 gives the percentages of these women
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who were going out to work full time and part time. The data are taken from the general household survey, which obtains information from a sample of private households, and are therefore subject to sampling error.
|c|Table 1 Great Britain|c|
|1987
|(per cent.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Percentage of women with child(ren) aged 5-15
years |22
Base = 100 per cent. (women aged 16-59) |7,656
|c|Table 2 Great Britain|c|
|1987
|(per cent.)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Percentage of women, with children aged 5-15
years, who went out to work:
Full time |21
Part time |47
Total going out to work<1> |68
Base = 100 per cent. (women aged 16-59 with
child(ren) aged 5-15) |1,694
<1> Includes a few cases for which hours of work were not given.
Child Sex Abuse
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what progress has been made on child sexual abuse since the statement by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State on 15 May 1989, Official Report, columns 145-48 ;
(2) if he will provide a table of recent, current and proposed research funded by each Government Department relevant to child sexual abuse in each of the years since 1979, listing (a) projects under consideration, with earmarked funding, (b) projects in progress, (c) projects completed, (d) broad themes identified for research, and the actual and projected cost in each case ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The information requested has been placed in the Library.
Mr. Maclennan : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer of 2 May, Official Report, column 548, whether all local authorities in England have now incorporated the
recommendations of the Butler-Sloss report in the guidelines they issue to those of their social workers involved in cases of alleged child abuse.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The Department does not routinely see all local guidance issued to social workers. However, the social services inspectorate as part of its inspection work looks at social work practice and local guidance.
General Practitoners' Budgets
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health who will be responsible for paying for drug addicts to attend drug dependency units when general practitioners have their own budgets.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The National Health Service and Community Care Bill provides for GP practices which volunteer to do so, and which meet the eligibility criteria, to run their own practice funds. From 1 April 1991, practice funds will enable GPs to purchase a specified range of hospital services for their patients. The practice
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funding arrangements will cover all initial out-patient referrals made by GPs--but not those made by other health professionals--and certain in-patient or day case procedures, primarily in the area of elective surgery. The cost of treating patients referred by GP fund holders to drug depedency units on an out-patient basis will be met from the practice fund, whereas the cost of referrals by other agencies (such as social services), self-referrals and of in-patient care will not be a charge on the fund. These patients will be covered (as will the patients of non-fund holders) by the contracts which district health authorities place on behalf of their resident population.Eye Tests
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people with glaucoma and diabetes received free eye tests in each district health authority area in England (a) in each quarter in 1988-89 and (b) in each quarter in 1989-90.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Statistics prior to 1 April 1989 were not broken down by patient group. Since then family practitioner committees have collected data on sight tests paid for under the general ophthalmic services on a six-monthly basis. District health authorities do not collect such information. The table gives estimated numbers by patient group and regional health authority for the period in question.
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