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TVEI
Mr. John Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on his assessment of the technical and vocational education initiative scheme's operation in St. Helens.
Mr. Eggar : I understand that the pilot TVEI scheme in St. Helens went well, producing effective curriculum changes with good practice in teaching and learning styles.
City Technology Colleges
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what are the latest figures for the numbers of applications for all approvals of city technology colleges.
Mr. Fallon : My right hon. Friend has to date agreed with sponsors to establish 14 city technology colleges. Proposals to establish a 15th city technology college at Bristol are currently subject to consultation with the local education authority and other interested parties.
Open Enrolment
Mr. Anthony Coombs : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the implementation of open enrolment in secondary schools.
Mr. Fallon : The provisions of the Education Reform Act 1988 relating to school admissions came into effect for all secondary schools on 4 August this year. These provisions do away with the artificial limits placed by some local education authorities on the number of pupils admitted to particular schools, thus increasing parents' chances of securing a place for their child at the school of their choice. Following the introduction of pupil-led funding the "more open enrolment" provisions also provide a clear incentive for schools to raise educational standards.
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Pupils (Attainment)
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what measures he is taking to improve the educational attainment of school pupils; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Eggar : The national curriculum is central to the Government's drive to raise standards of achievement in schools. It will provide pupils with a framework of clear objectives, matched with regular assessment against national standards. We have already introduced the first national curriculum requirements for English, maths, science and technology, and early feedback from Her Majesty's inspectorate is encouraging. Preparatory work on the remaining national curriculum subjects is well in hand.
Schools (Local Management)
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received regarding local management of schools; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Fallon : My right hon. Friend continues to receive representations from governing bodies, headteachers, parents and others about local management of schools. Many of these welcome the opportunities which delegated budgeting brings them.
Sport and Physical Recreation
Mr. Pendry : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps his Department will take to protect the position of sport and physical recreation in the national curriculum for pupils aged 14 to 16 years.
Mr. Eggar : Physical education, which includes sport, will be a compulsory part of the curriculum in all maintained schools for the first time under the requirements of the national curriculum. My right hon. Friend has asked the National Curriculum Council for advice on increasing flexibility in the curriculum framework for 14 to 16-year-olds. Their advice will be submitted in early November. Whatever the outcome of this consultation, we expect the great majority of pupils in this age group to undertake some form of physical education.
Sport
Mr. Pendry : To ask the Secretary for State for Education and Science what progress has been made by his Department's working group on sport in the national curriculum; and when its interim report will be published.
Mr. Eggar : The national curriculum working group on physical education is working towards production of its interim report, which is to be submitted to my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Education and Science and for Wales by 31 December 1990.
Teacher Vacancies (Newham)
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement about current levels of teacher vacancies in the London borough of Newham.
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Mr. Fallon : Data provided by the London borough of Newham for the Department's September survey shows that there were 13 secondary vacancies and no primary vacancies at the beginning of the new school year.Column 640
Higher Education
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement about the number of 16 and 17-year- olds remaining in full-time education.
Mr. Tim Eggar : Trends in the numbers of 16 and 17-year-olds in full -time education in England are shown in the following table.
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1979-80 1987-88 1989-90<1>
Age |Numbers |Participation|Numbers |Participation|Numbers |Participation
|rate |rate |rate
|(thousands) |Per cent. |(thousands) |Per cent. |(thousands) |Per cent.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16 |322 |42 |350 |48 |349 |55
17 |204 |27 |237 |33 |264 |39
16 and 17 |526 |34 |587 |41 |613 |47
<1>Provisional.
Personal Data
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether his Department will take positive steps to discuss with the Data Protection Registrar all his Department's legislation that impacts on the use, collection, processing or holding of personal data ; and whether he will make a statement.
Mr. Eggar : I am reminding my officials of the need to consult the registrar about proposed legislation which might affect or be affected by the Data Protection Act 1984. The Department expects to issue guidance shortly on the responsibilities of school governors under the Data Protection Act 1984.
Local Education Authorities
Sir Thomas Arnold : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he reviews cases where a local education authority refuses to comply with the recommendations of the local government ombudsman.
Mr. Fallon : No. The Commission for Local Administration in England is entirely independent of central and local government. Part II of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 made new provision for cases where the local government ombudsman is not satisfied with the action which a local authority is taking in response to a report.
Honours Degrees
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received concerning the provisions of four-year honours degrees.
Mr. Alan Howarth : None. The length of degree courses is essentially a matter for individual higher education institutions and validating bodies.
Iraqi Students Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many Iraqi students have been in British institutions of (a) secondary and (b) tertiary education in each of the years from 1980 to 1990.
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Mr. Alan Howarth : The numbers of students from Iraq enrolled on courses in publicly-funded institutions of further and higher education in Great Britain between 1980 and 1989 are as follows :Academic Year |Students ------------------------------------------ 1980-81 |2,218 1981-82 |2,018 1982-83 |2,239 1983-84 |1,845 1984-85 |1,559 1985-86 |1,378 1986-87 |1,420 1987-88 |1,255 1988-89 |918
Figures for 1989-90 are still being collated. Comparable information on secondary education is not held centrally.
Literacy (Devon) Mr. Speller : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will give the literacy levels of primary school children in Devon from current statistics and those of 10 and 20 years ago.
Mr. Eggar : Information on the literacy levels of primary school children in Devon is not available centrally.
Research Projects Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list research projects currently being undertaken into reducing hypertension and improving treatments for cardiac failure ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Alan Howarth : The Government fund medical research primarily through the Medical Research Council. I am arranging to place in the Library a list of the main projects relating to hypertension and cardiac failure currently supported by the MRC. Other relevant research may also be supported by university departments and medical schools, and the health authorities.
Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will take steps to prevent the closure of the blood pressure research unit at the Western infirmary, Glasgow ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Alan Howarth : The unit is funded by the Medical Research Council. The council receives grant in aid from this Department. Under the terms of its royal charter, it is for the council to decide what research to support. I understand that the council has not taken a decision about the future of the Glasgow unit.Grant-maintained Schools
Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list those grant-maintained schools that have been visited by Her Majesty's inspectors and the dates on which they were visited.
Mr. Eggar [holding answer 23 July 1990] : Up to June 1990, the following grant-maintained schools had been visited by Her Majesty's inspectors. The last date of visit is given.
Queensbury School, Beds May 1990
Hendon School, Barnet June 1990
Queen Elizabeth's, Barnet June 1990
Baverstock School, Birmingham February 1990
Small Heath School, Birmingham June 1990
St James CE School, Bolton January 1990
Colyton GS, Devon March 1990
Old Swinford Hospital School, Dudley March 1990
London Oratory School February 1990
Wilmington Girls School, Kent February 1990
Castle Hall School, Kirklees January 1990
Heckmondwike GS, Kirklees June 1990
Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School, Lancs January 1990 King's School, Grantham June 1990
Queen Elizabeth GS, Lincs June 1990
Skegness GS November 1989
Wilson's School, Sutton May 1990
Audenshaw School, Tameside February 1990
Bankfield School, Cheshire March 1990
Southlands School, Berkshire June 1990
Cardinal Vaughan School, London June 1990
City Technology Colleges (Private Donations)
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the total amount of private donations to city technology colleges, including planned and proposed colleges (a) pledged, (b) confirmed, (c) committed, and (d) actually paid over and showing in each case the nature of donations in kind rather than cash.
Mr. MacGregor [holding answer 25 July 1990] : The total value of private donations for announced projects in
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the CTC programme currently stands at some £31.5 million. To date, £8.636 million has already been paid over --£7.081 million in cash and £1.555 million in kind. In addition, some £6 million has been promised for possible further projects not yet announced, the support of curriculum development work and other work by the City Technology Colleges Trust. I regard these resources as representing the firm commitment of the private sector to date.Football Licensing Authority
Mr. Tom Pendry : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects the inspectorate required by the Football Licensing Authority for the exercise of its functions to be in place ; and what will be its terms of reference.
Mr. John Patten : I have been asked to reply.
The appointment of the inspectorate and the formulation of its terms of refernce are the responsibility of the Football Licensing Authority. I understand, however, that advertisements have been commissioned by the authority to appear at around the end of October. Applications will then be processed and appointments made as soon as possible. The role of the inspectorate will be to inform and advise the authority on matters relating to the licensing of sports grounds at which designated football matches are played, and to the exercise by local authorities, in relation to those sports grounds, of their functions under the Safety of Sports Grounds Act 1975.
TRANSPORT
A12
Mr. Irvine : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what were the traffic flows along the A12 between (a) the M25 interchange and Chelmsford, (b) Chelmsford and Witham, (c) Witham and Colchester and (d) Colchester and Ipswich for each year from 1985 to 1989; and if he will indicate the division between heavy goods vehicles and other traffic.
Mr. Chope : Information is not available in exactly the format requested. However, representative data are available for daily traffic flows between the following points on the A12 trunk road:
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|1985 |1986 |1987 |1988 |1989
-------------------------------------------------------------------
M-25 Margaretting |40,000|49,000|54,000|59,000|62,000
Boreham-Hatfield Peverel |42,000|44,000|56,000|58,000|62,000
Feering-Marks Tey |34,000|38,000|52,000|53,000|58,000
Marks Tey-Stanway |41,000|46,000|52,000|57,000|63,000
Four Sisters |26,000|29,000|32,000|31,000|32,000
Heavy goods vehicles accounted for approximately 15-20 per cent. of these daily traffic flows.
London Underground
Mr. Moate : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish a table showing the level of investment in the London Underground system in each year from 1974 to date, and in which year it ceased to be the responsibility of the Greater London council.
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Mr. Freeman : The figures for investment in the Underground since 1974 are as follows :
Year |Cash
|£ million
-------------------------------
1974 |36.3
1975 |43.4
1976 |49.9
1977 |43.6
1978 |46.8
1979 |65.0
1980 |77.9
1981 |90.9
1982 |81.8
1983 |109.8
1984-85 |<1>117.0
1985-86 |135.1
1986-87 |171.2
1987-88 |212.9
1988-89 |206.2
1989-90 |307.3
<2>1990-91 |400.0
<1> Annualised equivalents
figure of a 15-month total of
£156 million (cash) and £211.8
million (real).
<2>Planned figure.
The London Regional Transport Act came into force in 1984. However, the level of the Underground's funding for 1984-85 was determined by the GLC. On current estimates, Underground investment in 1990-91 will be two and a half times higher, in real terms, than in 1984-85.
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what surveys have been made of the impact of the opening of the channel tunnel in 1993 and of the Waterloo link upon the numbers travelling by the Northern line.
Mr. Freeman : A survey carried out by Halcrow Fox for British Rail in 1989 estimated the numbers of channel tunnel passengers that would be using the Underground. London Underground is making use of the resulting data in its strategic planning.
Airport Capacity
Mr. Moate : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the working party he has established to examine the Civil Aviation Authority's report on runway capacity in the south-east will be examining only the range of options set out in that report; and if he will make his policy that greenfield sites for major new airports in the south-east will not be considered.
Mr. McLoughlin : My right hon. Friend explained in his reply of 17 July to a parliamentary question from my hon. Friend the Member for Saffron Walden (Mr. Haselhurst) his intention that the working group should address the wider implications of airport development for the options identified by the Civil Aviation Authority, in addition to examining the contribution of regional airports to meeting demand. My right hon. Friend had earlier agreed with the authority's judgment that the development of a major airport on a completely new site in the south-east was unlikely to be realistic or acceptable.
Railway Investment
Mr. Moate : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish a table showing the level of railway investment on a comparable basis in each year from 1974 to date.
Mr. Freeman : British Railways Board's railway investment is as follows, in constant 1990-91 prices:
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|£ million
-------------------------------
1974 |492
1975 |534
1976 |506
1977 |502
1978 |484
1979 |489
1980 |512
1981 |432
1982 |362
1983 |353
<1>1984-85 |421
1985-86 |504
1986-87 |486
1987-88 |601
1988-89 |612
1989-90 |741
<1>1984-85 was a 15-month
accounting period. The
12-month equivalent is given;
the actual figure (in 1990-91
prices) was £526 million.
Note: Railway investment
includes track, signalling,
locomotives, rolling stock,
stations and railway
facilities. Expenditure by
subsidiaries, and on
non-operational land and
continuously welded rail (CWR),
are excluded. Figures are
drawn from BR Annual Reports
and Accounts, adjusted to
exclude CWR between 1974 and
1979, and adjusted to 1990-91
prices using published GDP
deflators.
Summerley Coal Aston Airstrip (Accidents) Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will arrange for the air accidents investigation branch to investigate and report upon the two separate aircraft accidents at the Summerley Coal Aston airstrip in Derbyshire on 24 July ; and if he will make a statement. Mr. McLoughlin : The air investigation branch has completed its investigations into the two unconnected light aircraft accidents at Coal Aston airstrip, Derbyshire on 24 July 1990.
The first accident occurred when the pilot of a Cessna 150 aircraft landed with excessive speed and bounced heavily causing the nose landing gear to collapse. The second accident occurred when a Piper Tomahawk aircraft, operated by the United States Air Force Flying Club failed to accelerate to a safe flying speed within the reduced runway length used. There were no injuries sustained in either accident.
Full details of the AAIB investigations will be published in the next AAIB Bulletin on 7 November.
Oil Spillages (Protection Equipment) Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give details of the stockpile of equipment, particularly oil absorbent booms or barrier booms, held in Scotland at Cambusbarron ; and how long it would take to transport this equipment to protect Loch Roag in the western isles in the event of an oil spillage. Mr. McLoughlin : The Cambusbarron stockpile is one of three centrally located stockpiles of specialist equipment for shoreline clean-up of oil pollution maintained by the marine pollution control unit (MPCU) and available at short notice to local authorites who have accepted primary responsibility for beach cleaning. A list of all directly owned or contracted counter-pollution resources available to the MCPU, including the Cambusbarron stockpile, is held in the House of Commons Library. Equipment from the Cambusbarron stockpile could be deployed to Loch
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Roag within 10 to 17 hours from Callout, depending on the availability of suitable aircraft and vessels. Additional equipment relevant to a particular incident could also be deployed as necessary from the other MPCU stockpiles or from commercial sources.Taxis
Mr. Corbett : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has, subsequent to his announcement of 11 May 1989, Official Report, column 486, to propose changes in legislation concerning taxi and private hire car vehicles.
Mr. McLoughlin : The Government have no such legislative changes to propose at this stage.
Minch Oil Spill Exercise
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make public the results of analysis of the marine pollution unit oil spill exercise carried out in the Minch on 4 and 5 July.
Mr. McLoughlin : The marine pollution control unit (MPCU) oil spill exercise carried out in the Minch on 4 and 5 July 1990 was the latest in a continuing series of annual live exercises designed to activate and test contingency plans to deal with oil spillages from ships. These objectives were successfully achieved by the exercise. Some minor lessons were learned with regard to communications and certain aspects of on-scene command and control. These have been taken into account.
Airports (Safety)
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which statutory body or part of his Department is responsible for advising (a) him and (b) local authorities on the safety of people on the ground outside the statutory safety and air zones of new or expanding airports.
Mr. McLoughlin : The Civil Aviation Authority has the statutory responsibility for the safety regulation of civil aviation. The primary purpose of its safety regulation group, which comprises some 750 professional and other staff, is to minimise the probability of aircraft having accidents or incidents. By so doing, the authority also protects people on the ground.
Bus Routes (London)
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consideration he has given to requiring tendering for bus route contracts for London Regional Transport to be published in the same manner as other areas ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : Under the London Regional Transport Act 1984, the tendering of bus routes in London and the decision on whether to publish successful tender bids are matters for London Transport. While the Government have no immediate plans to amend this legislation, the point raised by the hon. Gentleman will be considered in the context of our plans to deregulate the London bus market.
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HEALTH
Hospital Catering Costs
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has on the cost of food in hospitals, per patient, excluding special diets and supplementary food and labour costs, but including all meals and beverages, for each district health area in England.
Mr. Dorrell : The Department collects the average cost of provisions per patient per day for each hospital annually. These figures exclude labour costs but include special diets and supplementary food. They will be published for 1987-88 and 1988-89 as part of the additional health service indicators which will be placed in the Library later this month.
Friern Barnet Psychiatric Hospital
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funds have been allocated to date by North East Thames regional health authority on reprovision of facilities for patients currently resident at Friern Barnet psychiatric hospital ; and what funds are scheduled to be spent between the present time and September 1991.
Mr. Dorrell : The allocation of funds for the reprovision of care for the mentally ill, is a matter for the individual health authorities concerned.
Water Supply
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice he has received from the chief medical officer of the possible dangers to public health from the presence of viruses in water mains ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Dorrell : Viruses are removed from mains water during the process of water treatment. These treatment processes are designed to ensure that the water supply meets microbiological standards and is not therefore a risk to public health.
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the possible dangers to public health from viruses in water mains and from leakage of harmful organisms and viruses from (a) water mains and (b) sewage pipes to (i) water services and (ii) land ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Dorrell : As drinking water conveyed in water mains is treated to remove harmful organisms and viruses, leakages do not present a risk to public health. Potentially harmful organisms leaked from sewage pipes will be attenuated by natural decay and dilution, thus minimising the risk to public health. No land is free from naturally occurring bacteria or viruses and any additional risk from leaked sewage, unless in sufficient quantity to cause flood conditions, is minor.
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the possible damages to public health from (a) the flushing of water mains and (b) the reduction of water pressure in respect of any harmful organisms or viruses which may be present in water mains ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Dorrell : As flushing is done with disinfected mains water which is flushed into sewers or surface water drains, there is no risk to public health. Following any significant drop in mains pressure due to some loss of integrity of a distribution system it is routine procedure for pipes into which contaminated water may have entered to be disinfected and flushed. The water is then sampled and analysed before it is returend to the public supply. Reductions in pressure for operational purposes are controlled to prevent contamination and minimise the risk to public health.Kidney Dialysis
Sir Michael McNair-Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children under 10 years of age are receiving kidney dialysis per million of the population ; how many he estimates could benefit from this treatment who are not getting it ; and what was the number in 1985 of children under 10 years of age receiving kidney dialysis per million of the population.
Mr. Dorrell : According to information provided by the European Dialysis and Transplant Association, the number of children in the United Kingdom under 10 years of age receiving treatment for end stage renal failure was as follows :
At 31 December 1985 :
185 children, of whom 35 (5.0 per million population) were receiving dialysis
At 31 December 1988 :
212 children, of whom 32 (4.3 per million population) were receiving dialysis
The rate per million population is based on the number of children in the relevant age group. The latest year for which statistics are available is 1988.
It is not possible to provide accurate information on the number of children who could benefit from this treatment, but we are not aware of any children requiring renal reaplacement therapy who are not receiving it.
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