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Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The objective of the survey was to identify the range of costs of caring for people with different types and levels of dependency in homes of varying size and staff-resident ratios in different parts of Great Britain. All the homes in the survey would be subject to registration and inspection by the relevant statutory authority to ensure appropriate standards under legislation made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health.
WALES
Welsh Language
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will announce the results of his consultation about exemptions from Welsh in the national curriculum.
Mr. David Hunt : I have carefully considered the views of the Curriculum Council for Wales, local education authorities and others on the issues set out in the consultation document published by my predecessor on28 February.
There was general approval for the proposal to waive the provision that schools not yet teaching Welsh should teach it for a "reasonable time" until the national curriculum requirements come into effect. I laid regulations to implement this on 12 November.
There was also widespread though not unanimous approval for the proposal to exempt from the national curriculum requirement for Welsh pupils from outside Wales who enter a school in Wales for the first time in the final year of key stage 3 or during key stage 4. I shall therefore be issuing for consultation draft regulations to implement this exemption for such pupils provided they have not studied Welsh in the school curriculum for at least one academic year in any of the preceding three academic years.
The consultation document indicated a preparedness to consider proposals from LEAs for an extension of up to a further two years of the period for phasing in Welsh, where this was necessary and formed part of an LEA plan for the full introduction of Welsh in the national curriculum.
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Clwyd, Gwynedd, Mid Glamorgan and West Glamorgan LEAs have not sought any extension and I propose to accept that.Gwent LEA, which starts from a position of very limited provision in its schools, put forward a detailed plan for implementation which would require some exemptions for up to two years. I welcome the positive approach the authority has taken and I am making proposals in line with its implementation plan.
Powys and South Glamorgan LEAs also put forward implementation plans which I accept and which provide for deferment in some schools for up to two years.
Dyfed LEA has not sought any exemptions in general, but drew attention to the secondary schools of South Pembrokeshire with which it had agreed a proposal to extend the implementation of key stage 3 so that it would be taught to the end of key stage 3 by 1997. I accept this proposal.
I am now proceeding to consultation on proposals to implement the necessary limited period exemptions.
Dyfed LEA also takes the view that it would not be appropriate in the secondary schools in south Pembrokeshire to implement the national curriculum requirement for Welsh in key stage 4 at present. In view of the LEA's policy and of the distinctive historical and linguistic character of the south Pembrokeshire area, I shall be consulting interested bodies on a proposal to exempt the south Pembrokeshire secondary schools from Welsh at key stage 4. However, I do not think it would be right for any pupil in Wales to be deprived of the chance to choose to study Welsh in key stage 4. I would therefore propose that the exempted schools should make arrangements for Welsh to be an option for those pupils who choose it. Subject to that, I would propose to exempt the following schools from Welsh at key stage 4 :
Greenhill School, Tenby
Milford Haven Comprehensive School
Pembroke School
Sir Thomas Picton School, Haverfordwest
Tasker-Millward VC Comprehensive School,
Haverfordwest
The consultation exercise addressed the issue of flows of pupils across the border with England. Neither the CCW nor any LEA considered it sensible to make exemption regulations which would single out children who live in England but who are in classes in schools in Wales. I do not propose to do so. Nevertheless there are schools which take in numbers of pupils from England. Some schools with catchment areas or potential catchment areas which cross the English border have expressed concerns about possible losses of pupils if they were required to study Welsh, particularly at key stage 4. I therefore propose to respond to those concerns by consulting on proposals to exempt the following schools from the national curriculum requirements for Welsh at key stage 4. I propose that the exempted schools should make arrangements for Welsh to be available as an option at key stage 4 for those pupils who choose it :
Clwyd
Darland High School
Hawarden High School
The Maelor School, Wrexham
St. Richard Gwynn High School, Flint
St. David's High School, Saltney
St. Joseph's High School, Wrexhyam
Gwent
Monmouth Comprehensive School
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Patient Care, Dyfed
Mr. Geraint Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what initiatives are being taken to promote a better quality of care for patients in Dyfed, Wales ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Grist : The quality strategy "A Quality Health Service for Wales", published in April 1990, is not intended to be prescriptive but to provide a framework within which individual health authorities can develop their own quality programmes in the context of their own strategic intent. Health authorities are required to consider how best they could progress quality within their own areas, using the strategy as a working framework.
Within the context of the Department's annual review East Dyfed health authority has confirmed its commitment to the development of total quality management (TQM) and the pursuance of quality care as a key task for the health authority within the district's overall philosophy of being consumer responsive. The authority is also developing explicit statements on quality standards for the contracting process. Detailed information on initiatives in East Dyfed is, however, a matter for the authority.
Welsh Speakers, Ceredigion
Mr. Geraint Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many Welsh speakers there are in Ceredigion ; what were the corresponding figures for 1960, 1970 and 1980 ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Wyn Roberts : The most recent data available are from the 1981 census. Information on Welsh speakers in earlier years is also related to the dates of the census. The number of people aged three and over who were recorded as speaking Welsh in the 1961, 1971 and 1981 censuses was as follows :
|Enumerated
|population
|speaking
|Welsh<1>
---------------------------------
1961 |<2>38,500
1971 |<2>35,800
1981 |35,200
<1> The enumerated population
consists of persons present at
midnight on census night whether
or not they were usually
resident there.
<2> Cardiganshire.
Farmers' Unions
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) when he last met the National Farmers Union ; what representations it made to him ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) when he last met the Farmers Union of Wales ; what representations it made to him ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Wyn Roberts : My right hon. Friend had a joint meeting with representatives of the National Farmers Union and the Farmers Union of Wales on 25 October 1990 to discuss the state of the agriculture industry in Wales.
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Sheepmeat Producers
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what action he has taken to assist sheepmeat producers.
Sir Wyn Roberts : We were able to bring forward the timing of the two advance payments of sheep annual premium. Most, if not all, producers in Wales will, by now, have received the first payment of £2.40 per eligible ewe and will shortly receive the second instalment of £2.45 per head. This represents a cash flow benefit of some £25 million for producers in Wales. In addition, sheepmeat producers in the LFA can look forward to a 4 ecu per head (currently about £3.12) supplement to the sheep annual premium for 1991 as a result of this year's price-fixing agreement. The benefits of the green pound devaluation negotiated at the price fixing will also accrue from the beginning of the 1991 marketing year.
Hill Farmers
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what policy initiatives he proproses to safeguard and to enhance the incomes of hill farmers ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Farmers in our less-favoured areas benefit directly from a number of special measures that are already in place, including the hill livestock compensatory allowances, enhanced rates of capital grants and for 1991 the maximum permitted payment under EC rules of the suckler cow premium. For the future we shall continue to seek to ensure that hill farmers in Wales are able to compete effectively and on equal terms with the rest of Europe.
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received from hill farmers ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Wyn Roberts : During his recent visits to a number of hill farms my right hon. Friend discussed with farmers a wide range of issues affecting the agricultural industry in the less-favoured areas of Wales.
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many times he has visited European Community institutions on the continent to discuss upland farmers in Wales ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Wyn Roberts : In line with long-established practice, my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food takes the lead in European Community discussions and negotiations. We are in regular contact with him and we know that he is fully apprised of the needs of the upland farmers in Wales.
SCOTLAND
Second Homes
Mrs. Ray Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the number of registered second homes by district council area as at (a ) 1 April 1980, (b) 1 April 1988 and (c) 1 April 1990.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Information is held centrally only on the estimated numbers of second and
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holiday homes in each district council area at 30 June 1988. These are given in the table. Comparable figures for 1980 and 1990 are not available.Estimated number of second and holiday homes, 30 June 1988 Scotland Area |Number -------------------------------------------------- Scotland |28,308 Borders Berwickshire |295 Ettrick and Lauderdale |321 Roxburgh |497 Tweeddale |258 Central Clackmannan |39 Falkirk |216 Stirling |287 Dumfries and Galloway Annandale and Eskdale |317 Nithsdale |379 Stewartry |704 Wigtown |575 Fife Dunfermline |120 Kirkcaldy |210 North East Fife |925 Grampian Aberdeen |567 Banff and Buchan |599 Gordon |489 Kincardine and Deeside |639 Moray |735 Highland Badenoch and Strathspey |946 Inverness |679 Lochaber |700 Nairn |110 Ross and Cromarty |1,180 Skye and Lochalsh |715 Sutherland |670 Lothian East Lothian |697 Edinburgh |1,034 Midlothian |55 West Lothian |75 Strathclyde Argyll and Bute |3,809 Bearsden and Milngavie |6 Clydebank |43 Clydesdale |188 Cumbernauld and Kilsyth |41 Cumnock and Doon Valley |78 Cunninghame |2,492 Dumbarton |441 EAst Kilbride |57 Eastwood |26 Glasgow |1,071 Hamilton |70 Inverclyde |112 Kilmarnock and Loudoun |86 Kyle and Carrick |677 Monklands |82 Motherwell |33 Renfrew |181 Strathkelvin |48 Tayside Angus |679 Dundee |296 Perth and Kinross |1,543 Islands Council Orkney Islands |202 Shetland Islands |244 Western Isles |510
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Local Government Finance
Mr. David Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people in each local authority area in Scotland have received a payment under the community charge special payments scheme ; and what is the total sum paid out by each authority.
Mr. Lang : No local authority has yet provided details of the numbers of people receiving special payments in its area or of the amounts involved.
Sand Eel Catches
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what were the numbers of 0-group, 1-group and older fish in the sand eel catches in International Council for the Exploration of the Seas division VIa in each of the last five years.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The estimated numbers are as follows :
Thousands
|0-Group |1-Group |2 Group
|and older
--------------------------------------------------
1985 |3,260,010|152,092 |1,240,938
1986 |3,065,660|1,845,060|873,010
1987 |700,070 |1,196,780|518,460
1988 |967,187 |258,855 |2,352,518
1989 |444,595 |225,564 |1,284,771
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was (a) the size of the sand eel catches in International Council for the Exploration of the Seas division VIa in 1990, (b) the amount of fishing effort directed towards sand eel fishing and (c) the home ports of vessels concerned.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The information requested is as follows : (
(a) The sand eel catch in International Council for the Exploration of the Seas area VIa in 1990 up to and including October was 16,515 tonnes.
(b) 2,065 hours' fishing.
The data available are up to and including October 1990 and are therefore subject to revision.
(c) Eleven vessels have recorded sand eel catches from area VIa to date. The districts of the vessels concerned are :
|Number
--------------------------
Fraserburgh |3
Stornaway |2
Aberdeen |1
Ayr |1
Macduff |1
Mallaig |1
Orkney |1
Shetland |1
Fraserburgh 3
Stornoway 2
Aberdeen 1
Ayr 1
MacDuff 1
Mallaig 1
Orkney 1
Shetland 1
Child Care, Fife
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if anyone involved in the inquiry into child care policy in Fife region has been given immunity from prosecution by the Crown Office ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 12 November 1990] : I am advised that one witness was granted limited immunity in respect of one incident not involving children.
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HOME DEPARTMENT
Prisoners (Medical Care)
Mr. Bernie Grant : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the normal arrangements for providing medical care for prisoners who are seriously ill ; and under what circumstances treatment is normally arranged outside prison.
Mrs. Rumbold : The medical officer of a prison is statutorily responsible for the health care of its prisoners and has clinical discretion to make whatever arrangements are deemed appropriate to meet the health needs of those who become ill. In general the medical officer will arrange for treatment to be received outside when the treatment required is such that it cannot be provided by a prison service hospital or medical centre.
Mr. Bernie Grant : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what form of transport is normally used to convey a prisoner when medical treatment is thought to be necessary outside a prison ; and what security arrangements are made.
Mrs. Rumbold : Such matters are determined at the time according to the circumstances of the particular case, including the security classification of the prisoner.
Mr. Bernie Grant : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners in the last 12 months have been permitted to receive medical care outside prison ; and what are the criteria for deciding if private medical care is appropriate in a particular case.
Mrs. Rumbold : In the 12 months ended 31 March 1990 prisoners attended out-patient departments of NHS hospitals on 18,740 occasions. During the same period there were 1,988 temporary removals of prisoners to NHS hospitals for in-patient observation or treatment. The number of prisoners involved is not recorded. More recent information is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Instances of prisoners being allowed to receive private medical treatment outside prison are not statistically recorded. A prisoner may receive in- patient treatment privately only in exceptional circumstances. The medical officer must be satisfied that the treatment should be carried out during the period in which the prisoner is likely to be in custody ; that it cannot be provided in a prison service hospital ; and that either the prisoner should be treated significantly earlier privately than under NHS arrangements or the prisoner had received an appointment for private in- patient treatment before coming into prison. Prisoners are not normally allowed to receive out-patient treatment on a private basis, but individual cases are considered on their merits.
Freemasons
Mr. Bernie Grant : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will hold an inquiry into the operation of freemasonry within the Prison Department and the prison system.
Mrs. Rumbold : We have no plans to do so, but if the hon. Member has any specific cause for concern, perhaps he could let me know.
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Mr. Paul Malone
Mr. Terry Fields : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he is going to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Liverpool, Broadgreen regarding the findings of the two-year inquiry into the matter of the incarceration of Paul Malone.
Mr. John Patten : I wrote to the hon. Member about Mr. Malone's case on 21 November.
Controlled Drugs
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many (a) male and (b) female prisoners were serving prison sentences on 1 September for offences of importing controlled drugs ;
(2) if he will enumerate by nationalities the prisoners serving sentences on 1 September for offences of importing controlled drugs, and the prisons in which they are serving their sentences.
Mrs. Rumbold : The only readily available information on the types of drugs offence does not separately distinguish females or nationality ; it is published annually in "Prison Statistics England and Wales" (table 1(a) of the latest volume, for 1989, Cm. 1221), copies of which are in the Library.
Prisons (Education)
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many GCSE examinations were sat by prisoners in Her Majesty's prisons in the last academic year ; if the national curriculum is to be applied to education in prisons ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Rumbold : A total of 666 GCSE examinations were sat by prisoners in 1989-90. Prison service establishments will, as far as possible, apply the national curriculum.
Forensic Scientists
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the numbers of forensic scientists available for police work.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : There are currently 588 staff in post in the forensic science service of whom 527 are scientific and technical staff who, directly or indirectly, provide scientific support to the police.
Mr. Charles McGhee
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will refer for review by the Court of Appeal the case of Charles McGhee, who was convicted and sentenced on 17 May 1989 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John Patten : Representations from Mr. McGhee which have been submitted on his behalf are being considered to decide whether there are any grounds to justify our intervention.
Remand
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he intends to increase the number of remand places available for female defendants remanded into custody from Welsh courts.
Column 246
Mrs. Rumbold : Female prisoners committed into custody by courts in north Wales are at present received at Risley remand centre and those committed by courts in south Wales are received at Pucklechurch. The provision of remand places for female prisoners at these establishments is kept under constant review and there are currently plans to create a further 60 places for females at Risley by the mid-1990s.
Deportation Orders
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many deportation orders he has signed in the last 10 years.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The numbers of deportation orders made in each year since 1980 are published in table 18 of the annual Home Office Command Paper "Control of Immigration Statistics, United Kingdom, 1989" (Cm.1124), a copy of which is in the Library.
Immigration
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the backlog of immigration cases in each category for October.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The number of outstanding cases relates to casework in B1 division in the immigration and nationality department and is as follows :
Outstanding Cases-October
|Number
-------------------------------------------------
General Immigration Casework<1><2> |20,910
Asylum and Related Casework<1><3> |29,936
<1> Does not include applications received in
the Department but which await allocation to
caseworkers.
<2> Includes referred entry clearance
applications, and enquiries submitted by letter,
as well as variation of leave cases. Includes
both general and Eastern European casework (the
latter was absorbed into general casework in
July 1990).
<3> These figures are a total of all work
outstanding in the Refugee Unit.
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State has visited (a) Lunar house and (b) the Liverpool passport office.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I have paid three visits to Lunar house and one to Liverpool passport office since November 1989.
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