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Short-range Nuclear Warheads
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to prohibit the deployment in, storage in or transit through or over the United Kingdom of W69, W79 and W88 warheads until such time as faults in them have been thoroughly investigated and eliminated ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : We neither confirm nor deny the presence of nuclear weapons at particular places and times. We do, however, maintain regular contact with the US Government on safety matters and are satisfied with US assurances on the safety of their nuclear weapons.
Military Ranges, Pembrokeshire
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on any proposals he has to privatise the organisation, maintenance or administration of the Penally, Manorbier and Castlemartin ranges in Pembrokeshire.
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Mr. Archie Hamilton : There are presently no plans to contractorise the administration of any of these ranges. However the MOD is constantly exploring options to increase efficiency, and such a course could not be ruled out if it could be demonstrated to offer better value for money.
Arms Sales, Iraq
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will provide details of the value of arms sales by the United Kingdom to Iraq for each of the years from 1980 to 1989 inclusive in the same form as that provided in his answer to the hon. Member for Eccles (Miss Lestor) on 19 June 1989, Official Report, column 59.
Mr. Alan Clark : It has been the normal policy of successive Administrations not to provide details of arms sales to specific countries as this is a commercially confidential matter between the customer and the supplier. I see no reason to make a further exception in this case. However, since the beginning of the Iran-Iraq conflict in September 1980 the United Kingdom has refused to allow the supply of any lethal equipments to Iraq in accordance with the guidelines applying to the export of such equipments to both countries.
WE177 Free-fall Bomb
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the WE177A B and C nuclear warheads use insensitive high explosives.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish (Mr. Bennett) on 14 June, Official Report, column 325.
Royal Ordnance Factory, Nottingham
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contracts his Department has with the royal ordnance factory at Nottingham.
Mr. Alan Clark : The Department currently has an order of 300 direct and indirect contracts with the royal ordnance factory at Nottingham, mainly for guns and small arms and their spares support.
Military Training
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Edinburgh, South (Mr. Griffiths) of 26 February, Official Report, column 75 , if he will list where this military training takes place ; on which training sites live firing is permitted ; and what is the range of the weapons involved.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Military training takes place at the following locations which are in Ministry of Defence ownership : Region and Location
Central
Cambusbarron
Grampian
Blackdog
Rosehearty
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HighlandCape Wrath and Garvie
Island
Fort George
Kinlochleven
Tain
Lothian
Dreghorn
Kirknewton
Strathclyde
Dundonald
Garelochhead
Tayside
Arbroath
Barry Buddon
Rannoch Forest
Tighnablair
Western Isles
South Uist
St. Kilda
Locations at which live firing takes place.
Military training also takes place at the following locations over which the Ministry of Defence has training rights :
Region and location
Dumfries and Galloway
Galloway
Grampian
Auchallater
Blackdog
Highland
Tain
Lothian
Dreghorn
Strathclyde
Dundonald
Tayside
Barry Buddon
Tighnablair
Western Isles
South Uist
It would not be possible to give details of the ranges of all the weapons involved in training in Scotland, some of which are classified. In any event the practice of live firing of weapons can constitute a danger at distances greater than would normally be the range in combat use. The theoretical range of a particular weapon can, if considered alone, give a misleading impression of the practical implications of firing live rounds. All service weapons have an associated safety template which governs the minimum requirement for land where live rounds are to be fired. These templates also take account of the design of the range concerned and the topography of the surrounding land and therefore vary. Live firing is permitted only in locations where sufficient land is available to accommodate the safety templates in full.
WALES
Health Service
12. Mr. Rogers : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has had from health authorities in Wales.
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Mr. David Hunt : I receive many representations from health authorities in Wales on a wide variety of issues.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether his Department refused to allocate capital resources for any projects submitted by Gwynedd health authority in 1988-89.
Mr. Grist : In common with other health authorities in Wales Gwynedd health authority submitted bids for the central funding of a number of capital developments in 1988-89. Of the seven bids submitted by the authority, three were successful and four were rejected.
In addition a request from the chairman of Gwynedd health authority in July 1988 that consideration be given to the development of a new hospital for Ynys Mo n under the Secretary of State's programme for the valleys initiative was turned down since the initiative was restricted to a defined geographical area in south Wales.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 10 May, Official Report, columns 193-94, what information he has on the reasons why Gwynedd health authority's level of capital expenditure in 1988-89 comprised 4 per cent. of the Welsh total for district health authority capital spending.
Mr. Grist : I would refer the hon. Member to my reply of 10 May at columns 193-94, which identified the levels of virement between district health authorities' revenue and capital allocations in the period 1985-86 and 1988-89, which influence both the respective levels and proportions of their capital expenditure in each of these years.
Private Water Supplies
14. Mr. Geraint Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many private sources of water supply in Wales will be subject to licensing by the National Rivers Authority after September.
Sir Wyn Roberts : There are at present more than 4,000 licensed abstractions in the National Rivers Authority's Welsh region. It is not possible to predict how many applications for new licences will be made in the next few months.
Education (Mid Glamorgan)
15. Dr. Kim Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he last met the director of education in Mid Glamorgan to discuss education in Mid Glamorgan.
Sir Wyn Roberts : My right hon. Friend met the chairman of Mid Glamorgan education committee, accompanied by the assistant director for further education and the deputy county clerk, on 4 June.
Community Councils
16. Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will introduce legislation to protect local democratic representation through elected community councils in Wales.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Present legislation already confers such protection, as each individual community is entitled to decide whether to have a council or not.
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Project 2000
17. Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will make it his policy to enable the health service in Wales to meet the original 1990-91 deadline for implementing the Project 2000 nurse training initiative.
Mr. David Hunt : My policy is to ensure that Project 2000 is implemented in Wales as soon as resources and planning considerations allow.
Labour Statistics
18. Mr. Roy Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are the latest unadjusted figures for unemployment in (a) Newport, (b) Gwent and (c) Wales ; and if he will give the equivalent figures for 1979 on the most nearly comparable basis.
Mr. David Hunt : On May 10 1990 the number of unemployment claimants in the Newport district, Gwent and Wales were 4,446, 13,136 and 81,194 respectively. Unadjusted figures for 1979 are not available on a basis which enables a valid comparison to be made.
Employment Training
19. Mr. Ray Powell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received concerning the reduction in employment training funding in Wales.
Mr. David Hunt : Individual budgets are still being discussed but the fall in unemployment means that Government funding at previous levels is no longer required.
National Curriculum
20. Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on progress on the implementation of the national curriculum within Wales.
Sir Wyn Roberts : We have made good progress in the implementation of the national curriculum in Wales commencing with mathematics, science and primary English in autumn 1989 ; to be followed this year by secondary English, technology and Welsh in schools where Welsh is taught already. In preparation for the introduction of history and geography in 1991 I have published recently my proposals for geography in the national curriculum and the report of the history committee for Wales.
Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what provision he is making within the national curriculum for teaching Welsh history in Wales.
Sir Wyn Roberts : The report of the history committee for Wales was published on 12 June. The report sets out recommendations for the history course for pupils from age five to 16 in schools in Wales and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House.
We will publish proposals for attainment targets and programmes of study for history within the national curriculum in the schools of Wales in due course.
Argoed High School
21. Mr. Raffan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many representations he has received against the proposed closure of Argoed high school.
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Sir Wyn Roberts : Some 140 letters have been received since March 1990 about the proposed closure of Argoed high school.
Floods (Compensation)
22. Sir Anthony Meyer : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will now make an assessment of the total contribution which the Government will have made to compensate individuals and local authorities for losses caused by the flooding in February ; and what calculation he has made of the additional community charge which will be payable in Colwyn and in Rhuddlan in 1991 as a direct consequence of the floods.
Mr. David Hunt : I acknowledge the speed with which the authorities concerned are undertaking all the work arising from the emergency. The Government, too, responded swiftly. We immediately activated the Bellwin arrangements and contributed to the funds established by the mayors. Subsequently we set up a working party to co-ordinate the Government's efforts in support of the local authorities and the people affected. Throughout, my Department has been in close touch with the local authorities concerned. Priority has been given to restoring confidence especially through ensuring the provision of the best possible sea defences.
An early estimate based in part on information provided by the local authorities is that the total Government contribution could exceed £4 million. The local contribution to the community charge to expenditure arising from the emergency should not be significant.
Local Government Finance
23. Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received about the effect of the poll tax on young people on low incomes in Wales.
Mr. David Hunt : I have received various representations about community charge, some of which have been about the position of young people.
NHS Reform
24. Mr. Alan W. Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are the implications of the National Health Service and Community Care Bill for the future role of East Dyfed health authority and the other health authorities in Wales.
Mr. David Hunt : The implications of the Bill for all health authorities are explained in the Welsh Office National Health Service directorate's paper, "Developing Roles in NHS Wales", published in April 1990, copies of which were sent to all Welsh Members and placed in the Library of the House.
Opencast Coal
25. Mr. Livsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on present planning procedures as they affect Welsh opencast coal sites.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Procedures for handling mineral planning applications, including opencast coal sites, are set out in the Town and Country Planning General Development Order 1988 (S.I. 1988, No. 1813). Advice on
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handling specific development proposals is given in minerals planning guidance note No. 3, "Open Cast Coal Mining", issued in May 1988.Ophthalmic Services
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, further to his reply of 15 May, Official Report , column 371 , regarding glaucoma cases, when he expects to provide the information.
Mr. David Hunt : I refer the hon. Gentleman to my letter of 18 June 1990, a copy of which is also in the Library of the House.
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people on family credit or income support received free eye tests in Wales (a) in each quarter in 1988-89 and (b) in each quarter in 1989-90.
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