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Written Answers to Questions
Friday 25 January 1991
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Schools, Cumbria
Mr. Jopling : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much extra money would be available in the current year to each secondary school in Kendal, Sedbergh, Kirkby Stephen, Windermere, Milnthorpe, Kirkby Lonsdale, Cartmel and Coniston, in Cumbria, if the local education authority delegated 85 per cent. of its potential schools budget to the nine schools.
Mr. Fallon : As stated in my reply to my right hon. Friend on 20 December 1990 at col. 274, Cumbria is delegating 82.53 per cent. of its potential schools budget in this financial year. If the LEA were to delegate more services to meet the proposed new requirement of 85 per cent., the actual distribution to schools of the additional resources would depend on which services were delegated and how the expenditure on each service was allocated between the primary and secondary sectors. If Cumbria were to allocate these resources pro rata to the existing budget distribution between primary and secondary schools, a secondary school would receive on average an extra £34,000.
Awards Regulations
Mr. Bellotti : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the reason for the length of the period of notice given to county councils in August 1990 in respect of changes to the Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations ; if he will make it his policy in future to give longer notice ; what assessment he has made of the impact of these changes ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Alan Howarth : It is my right hon. and learned Friend's policy to give as much notice as practicable to local education authorities of the content of the annual Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations for which he intends to seek Parliament's approval.
Local education authorities were informed of the main rates of student grant and the parental contribution scales proposed for academic year 1990- 91 by an official circular letter in January 1990. Further letters and announcements between then and August notified them of the supplementary grant rates, revised arrangements for EC students and for the termly payment of tuition fees, and other mainly technical changes. The current regulations were made by SI 1990 No. 1628 on 7 August 1990 and came into force on 1 September 1990. As usual, there had been extensive consultation with the local authority associations and others, from October 1989 onwards, about various planned changes. Most authorities should therefore have had early warning of these. The Department continues to keep awards arrangements under regular review, in consultation with the local authority associations and others.
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Physical Education
Mr. Pendry : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the sporting activities and aspects of physical education which will make up his Department's proposed flexible definition of physical education at key stage 4 in the national curriculum.
Mr. Eggar : My right hon. and learned Friend expects to publish his statutory proposals for physical education in the national curriculum later this year. Meanwhile he intends to offer guidance on the question raised by the hon. Member in his reply to the letter from the chairman of the national curriculum physical education working group. This correspondence will be published with the working group's interim report. I shall send the hon. Member a copy.
Nursery Classes
Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what guidance he has given in relationship to primary schools who opt for grant-maintained status who then wish to establish a nursery class ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Eggar : If a primary school which had acquired grant-maintained status wanted subsequently to propose a significant change in its character by the establishment of a nursery class, the governing body would be required to publish proposals for that purpose under section 89 of the Education Reform Act 1988. The Department's circular No. 10/88 stated that the Secretary of State would not normally approve proposals for a change of character at a school within five years of its acquiring grant-maintained status.
Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether money allocated for a nursery class in a grant-maintained primary school will not be available for alternative use should the nursery class close.
Mr. Eggar : Funding is related to pupil numbers. If a nursery class were to close, and a result the school reduced its overall pupil numbers, its grant would fall.
School Playing Fields
Mr. Pendry : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what stage has been reached in the review of school premises regulations covering playing field provision at state schools ; when this review will be completed ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Fallon : We are shortly to begin the public consultation stage of the review which is covering all aspects of the Education (School Premises) Regulations 1981 including playing field provision. The results of the review are likely to be available towards the end of next year.
A-levels
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what were the number of students taking A-level examinations in (a) schools and (b) further education colleges in 1979-80, 1983-84 and the latest available figures.
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Mr. Eggar : For the academic years in question and for 1988-89, the total numbers of school leavers and home full -time students in further education colleges taking A-level examinations were as follows :
Thousands
|1979-80 |1983-84 |1988-89<1>
-----------------------------------------------------------
School leavers |131.55 |145.93 |138.63
FE students |31.70 |36.00 |34.76
School leavers |17.3 |18.7 |19.1
FE students |4.2 |4.6 |4.8
<1> Including AS examinations paired to equate to an
A-level.
School Premises
Mr. Pendry : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science, pursuant to his answer of 14 December, Official Report, column 514, by what date his Department intends to introduce amendments to section 42 of the Education Act 1986 to remove disincentives for third parties seeking to invest in dual-use projects.
Mr. Fallon : The amendment of section 42 of the Education (No. 2) Act 1986 is being considered for inclusion in the legislative programme at the earliest possible opportunity. In the meantime it remains our policy to encourage dual-use arrangements for the benefit of the whole community.
Pupil Assessment
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what local arrangements he envisages for administering the assessments of 14-year-olds.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : Following advice from the School Examinations and Assessment Council (SEAC), the Secretary of State for Wales and I have decided that, subject to the negotiation of appropriate contracts, the local oversight of consistent and rigorous assessment arrangements for pupils aged 14 across all schools under the national curriculum should rest with the examining bodies which certify assessments at age 16. Assigning responsibility for auditing quality to the examining bodies will help to ensure consistency of standards between the testing of 14-year-olds and the GCSE examination, and across LEA-maintained, grant-maintained and non- maintained schools alike.
In line with LEAs' duty under section 10 of the Education Reform Act to secure the implementation of the national curriculum in the schools they maintain, the Government will look to authorities to secure that their schools implement the assessment arrangements for 14-year-olds. The same duty will lie with the governors in grant-maintained schools. This will involve assuming responsibility for the professional development of the teachers making the assessments ; supporting schools, where necessary, with help and guidance ; and taking steps to put matters right in any schools where assessment standards slip.
The Secretary of State for Wales and I have asked SEAC to enter into discussions with the examining bodies, LEAs and representatives of other schools concerned to consider the practicalities of local assessment arrangements for 14-year-olds based on this division of responsibilities, and to let us have further advice in March.
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We have also signalled to SEAC that, in the interests of rigorous and manageable assessment, the end of key stage tests which contribute to the overall assessments of 14-year-olds, pupils should take the form of written terminal examinations except where the nature of the subject matter can clearly be shown to justify some element of practical or project work.I am placing copies of SEAC's advice and of my reply in the Libraries of both Houses.
ENERGY
Kuwaiti Oil Wells
Mr. Alan W. Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what proportion of Kuwait's oil production comes from wells that (a) lie within 50 miles of the coast, (b) lie within 20 miles of the coast, (c) lie within 10 miles of the coast and (d) are found offshore.
Mr. Moynihan : I refer the hon. Member to the 1990 International Petroleum Encyclopaedia.
Nuclear Waste
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what quantity of (a) low and (b) intermediate-level nuclear waste has been (i) transferred from and (ii) transferred to Sellafield from sites within the United Kingdom for each year since 1979 ; and if he will list, for (a) and (b) above, the sites concerned.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : Details of the quantities of radioactive waste at nuclear sites in the United Kingdom are contained in the United Kingdom radioactive waste inventory published jointly by the Department of the Environment and United Kingdom Nirex Ltd., copies of which are in the Library of the House. Movements of waste between sites are management matters for the site operators, who must comply with the requirements of the regulatory authorities.
Refuse-derived Fuel
Mr. Janman : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what action his Department is taking to encourage the use of refined refuse-derived fuel by the small-scale off-site user.
Mr. Moynihan : I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that I gave him on 14 January at columns 447-48, and to the answer that I gave him today in connection with current refuse-derived fuel research and development projects. My Department is considering all of the possible uses for refuse- derived fuels, outside the domestic sector.
Mr. Janman : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy, pursuant to the answer of 14 January, Official Report, columns 447-48, what are his criteria for defining economically viable and environmentally acceptable.
Mr. Moynihan : Within my Department's renewables programme an economically viable technology is one where the rate of return offered to an investor is adequate to promote the investment, taking into account the particular circumstances of the market sector concerned.
The environmental acceptability of renewable energy resources is being considered within the research and
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development programme undertaken by my Department. Renewable energy will be developed only if it can meet the various environmental standards appropriate for the activity concerned. Those technologies which can meet such standards are environmentally acceptable.Mr. Janman : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the 12 refuse-derived fuels research and development projects currently operating ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Moynihan : The 12 current refuse-derived fuel research and development projects are as follows :
1. Refuse-derived fuel combustion trials.
2. Assessment of the suitability of a modified chain grate stoker shell boiler for the combustion of RDF pellets.
3. Fundamental studies into RDF combustion.
4. Development of the chain grate stoker shell boiler.
5. Development of existing systems for RDF combustion.
6. RDF combustion programme consultancy service.
7. Field trial on a boiler fitted with a gas scrubber.
8. Chain grate stoker and wet scrubber--monitoring.
9. Co-firing of RDF with coal in a large PF boiler.
10. RDF combustion--a technoeconomic feasibility study.
11. An assessment of RDF processing costs.
12. Storage and handling of RDF.
Mr. Janman : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Cardiff, West (Mr. Morgan) of 19 December 1990, Official Report, columns 162-63, if he will make it his policy to introduce a separate category of bio-fuels, apart from the generic heading of waste incineration, to cover such items as refined refuse-derived fuels.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : My right hon. Friend will determine the technology bands to be included in the 1991 Renewables Order at a later stage, in the light of the statutory consultations.
Killingholme Power Station
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he intends to give planning permission to PowerGen and National Power to construct a lagoon to provide cooling water for the proposed combined cycle gas turbine developments at Killingholme ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : If either company wishes to construct such a lagoon they will need to apply for the Secretary of State's consent under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989. When granting such a consent he may also give a direction that planning permission be deemed to be granted under section 90(2) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.
No application for consent under section 36 to construct such a lagoon has been received.
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Dr. Malde Mepa Moduadia
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Attorney-General when he expects to reach a decision on whether he will take over the case of Dr. Malde Mepa Moduadia ; and if he will make a statement.
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The Attorney-General : The Director of Public Prosecutions has a duty to represent the prosecution in the appeal of Dr. Malde Mepa Moduadia. Counsel has been instructed to represent the Director.
TRANSPORT
Inflammable Cargoes
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the number of road accidents in 1988, 1989 and 1990 involving vehicles carrying inflammable cargoes ; and if he will list the number of fatalities and injuries as a result of these accidents.
Mr. Chope : The Department collects information only on road accidents involving personal injury. The standard report form, STATS19, completed by the police for these accidents does not include information on cargoes carried by the vehicles involved.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Industrial Injuries Benefit
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list, for both of his local department offices in Greenock and Port Glasgow how many claims for industrial injuries disablement benefit were lodged during each of the past six years ; how many had their claims accepted ; and what has been the total amount paid out in such benefits.
Mr. Scott : Figures relating to the number of claims accepted and the amount paid in benefit are not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost, as could figures for the number of claims made at Greenock before April 1988. Such information as is available is in the table.
Claims received April |Greenock ILO |Port Glasgow ILO -------------------------------------------------------------------- 1990-91 |<1>84 |<1>94 1989-90 |1,107 |935 1988-89 |130 |86 1987-88 |<2>- |268 1986-87 |<2>- |509 1985-86 |<2>- |190 1984-85 |<2>- |159 <1>Figures available to December 1990 only. <2>Not available.
Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what information he has on the acquisition and ownership of consumer goods by pensioners in 1974, 1979 and 1990.
Miss Widdecombe [pursuant to her reply, 11 December 1990, column 379] : The following information was incorrect
Percentage of pensioner households with goods Goods |1974 ---------------------- Telephone |34.0
The correct information is as follows :
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Percentage of pensioner households with goods Goods 1974 Telephone 34.0ENVIRONMENT
Barkley Thorpe
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has received his Department's inspectors' report into the Barkley Thorpe site in Leicester.
Mr. Yeo : The inquiry has been arranged for 23 July and is expected to last for seven days. The inspector's report will be submitted as soon as possible after the inquiry has closed.
Urban Regeneration Grant
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what was the number of jobs created under the urban regeneration grant for each year since 1987 ;
(2) what was the amount of public money made available from his Department for each year since 1987, under the urban regeneration grant.
Mr. Portillo : The amounts of urban regeneration grant approved in each financial year from the introduction of urban regeneration grant in 1986 to its replacement by city grant in May 1988 were as shown in the table. These approvals in total, including projects not yet completed, are expected to provide 4,200 jobs in inner city areas.
Year |£ million
------------------------------
1987-88 |12.163
1988-89 |17.000
|-------
Total |29.163
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what was the number of jobs created under the urban development grant, for each year since 1982 ;
(2) what was the amount of public money made available for the urban development grant for each year since 1982.
Mr. Portillo : The amounts of urban development grant approved in each financial year from the introduction of UDG in October 1982 to its replacement by city grant in May 1988 were as shown in the table. These approvals in total, including projects not yet completed, are expected to provide over 27,000 jobs in inner city areas.
Year |£ million
------------------------------
1982-83 |0.686
1983-84 |35.173
1984-85 |22.565
1985-86 |20.178
1986-87 |32.977
1987-88 |18.149
1988-89 |12.835
|-------
Total |142.563
Council House Sales
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list all councils' sales of council houses since 1981, in the order of the number of houses sold as a percentage of the opening stock in 1981.
Mr. Yeo : Twelve local authorities have so far transferred their entire housing stock to a housing association or private company : Chiltern, Sevenoaks, Newbury, Swale, Broadland, North Bedfordshire, Medina, Rochester upon Medway, South Wight, Mid Sussex, East Dorset, and Tonbridge and Malling. A number of other local authorities are in the process of similar transfers. The available information on sales, giving total sales for each local authority for each financial year since 1979-80 and percentages, is placed in the Library each quarter. The tables showing available information to June 1990 were placed in the Library on 29 November 1990. An updated version of the table giving available information to September 1990 will be placed in the Library shortly.
Planning Procedures
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to introduce legislation making it a criminal offence to commence building without planning permission.
Greening Street Playing Field
Mr. Cartwright : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has received a request from the London residuary body to dispose of the Greening street SE2 playing field to the London borough of Greenwich ; and when he expects to give his approval.
Mr. Key : Yes. Before the application can be considered further information is being sought from the London residuary body.
Waste Disposal
Mr. Janman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what restrictions he is considering for the use of schedule A category products in incineration.
Mr. Baldry : I assume that the hon. Member is referring to the regulations that the Department is preparing to prescribe processes and substances for control under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. It is not intended in the regulations to restrict the substances for incineration. Any restriction on the way products are incinerated will be described in guidance which is still being drafted.
Mr. Janman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will consider using European Community guidelines as a basis for a new categorisation of refuse-derived compost other than industrial waste ;
(2) what steps his Department is taking to encourage the private sector and others to develop composting facilities for the processing of the vegetable content from the domestic wastes stream ; and how such residues will be defined or classed ;
(3) whether recycled products produced from a combination of separate primary products will have their
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own primary status or be assigned the status of their main components for the purposes of statutory environmental controls. Mr. Tony Baldry My Department is spending about £140,000 in this financial year on research into the composting of domestic waste and uses for the end product. Householders have been encouraged to start compost heaps in their gardens. Any classification of compost will depend on its content and proposed use.Refuse-derived Fuel
Mr. Janman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will reconsider the classification of refined refuse-derived fuel with a view to removing it from a schedule A category base where levels of sulphur chloride and ash fall below emissions currently acceptable from fuels.
Mr. Baldry : The Department is considering the responses to the consultation on the draft regulations which prescribe processes and substances for control under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. The classification of the manufacture and burning of refuse-derived fuel is currently being reviewed.
Mr. Janman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what research has been conducted into links between refuse-derived fuel combustion and river pollution ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) what steps Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution is taking to accommodate the development of markets for refuse-derived fuel.
Mr. Baldry : Development of markets for refuse-derived fuel is a matter for the manufacturers. No specific research has been conducted of the type described.
Planning Inquiries
Mr. Jessel : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the average length of time between the notice of decision to call in the planning application and the date of the commencement of the public inquiry in 19 cases of London call-ins since 1987 listed in his reply to the hon. Member for Twickenham on 22 October 1990, Official Report, columns 37-38.
Sir George Young : The time between call-in and inquiry in those cases varied between four and 39 weeks, the average being just under 25 weeks.
River Severn
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received in the last year on problems of flooding and pollution along the River Severn.
Mr. Baldry : In the last year the Department received four representations, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food two representations, about the problems of pollution and flooding respectively, along the River Severn.
Landfill Sites
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will issue guidelines to ensure that the true through- life costs of landfill sites are calculated when
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tenders for such sites are assessed by local authorities and others who have a duty of care under the Environmental Protection Act.Mr. Baldry : Yes. Under the Environmental Protection Act, local waste regulation authorities will be empowered to impose conditions in waste site licences governing the period after the deposit of waste has ceased. My Department will issue advice to authorities, which they will be statutorily obliged to heed, that they should set such conditions requiring the operator to exercise and pay for continuing pollution control until the authority certifies that the site is safe. It is for site operators to price their disposal services so as to recover the long term costs of such pollution control. This licensing system will apply equally to landfill sites whether operated by local authority companies or the private sector. It will be for waste disposal authorities letting contracts for the disposal of their waste to ensure that all tenders include the costs of compliance with licence conditions and other statutory responsibilities.
Marks and Spencer Store, Twickenham
Mr. Jessel : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment in respect of the public inquiry due to commence on 5 February into the planning application for a Marks and Spencer foodstore at the River Thames embankment, Twickenham, if he will state on what date any informal or formal indication, whether by telephone, orally or in writing, was first provided by his Department to Marks and Spencer plc or Richmond-upon-Thames borough council as to the probable date of the inquiry ; and on what dates a similar indication was first given to any known objector to the application.
Sir George Young : I will write to my hon. Friend.
Energy Efficiency
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has for amending building regulations to take account of energy efficiency factors.
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