| Home Page |
Column 511
Written Answers to Questions
Friday 14 December 1990
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
County Courts
Mr. Fraser : To ask the Attorney-General how he intends to consult Parliament about changes in county court procedure for rent arrears and possession actions.
The Attorney-General : The proposed changes in procedure follow recommendations of the civil justice review, which was presented to Parliament in June 1988. The Lord Chancellor announced his acceptance of them in April 1989. Public consultation on the proposed new rent action took place from the end of September to 19 November 1990. The Government are now considering how to proceed in the light of responses. Reforms to the existing procedure in possession cases are planned for July 1992, and the Lord Chancellor will be issuing a consultation paper on the proposed new rules.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT
Southern Africa
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimates have been made of the amount of aid needed for reconstruction in South Africa, once apartheid has been dismantled, and in Mozambique and Angola, once peace is achieved.
Mrs. Chalker : It is too early to assess how much aid will be needed for these purposes. Britain remains committed to the creation of a prosperous and just southern Africa. This commitment underlies our current involvement in the region, and will continue to do so as appropriate and as circumstances change.
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the size and purpose of (a) British and (b) EC aid for black South Africans.
Mrs. Chalker : The purpose of the British aid programme is to encourage the process of change in South Africa and to help black South Africans improve their abilities to play their rightful role in Government and economic and social development. In 1990-91 we expect to spend around £8 million from the bilateral programme, a figure that is set to rise in the years ahead.
The European Community aims to assist those disadvantaged by apartheid through projects which promote non-racialism, encourage democratic practices, and enjoy community support ; and through non-violent organisations working for peaceful change. The European Community's South African programme amounts to the equivalent of approximately £20 million in 1990, of which our share will be about £4 million.
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give details of all aid
Column 512
committed to the countries of Southern Africa and to SADCC in 1989 and 1990, stating the purpose of each allocation.Mrs. Chalker : British bilateral aid commitments for the countries of southern Africa and SADCC cover a wide range of development activities, for expenditure in 1989 and 1990 and, in a number of cases, for the years beyond. They range from formal obligations to capital projects both large, such as the rehabilitation of Limpopo railway, and small, expenditure on which often stretches over several years, to technical co-operation where we are committed to the provision of expatriate expertise and training for local officers. The numbers of technical co-operation officers and trainees from the region both run into hundreds.
The most prominent commitments we have are for the SADCC projects and for the provision of programme aid in particular countries. Our commitment to SADCC amounts in total to £70 million, of which £10 million was pledged in 1990 and £15 million was committed in 1989 to finance the second phase of the Limpopo railway project. Programme aid pledges in 1989 and 1990, taken together, were made for Malawi (£10.5 million) ; Mozambique (£10 million) ; Tanzania (£17.5 million) ; and Zambia (£30 million).
In addition, Britain has pledged £10 million for Namibia, for commitment over three years from 1990, and an extra £10 million for our aid programme for black South Africans, for expenditure over four years. A pledge of £10 million was made to Zimbabwe in 1989, again for expenditure over a number of years.
Details of actual expenditure in 1989 can be obtained from "British Aid Statistics".
Pachamama Society
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the meeting between an official of his Department and Mr. Keochlin and Miss Sandys of Pachamama.
Mrs. Chalker : Mr. Keochlin and Miss Sandys of the Pachamama Society of Peru visited my Department on 28 November and provided information on the objectives and organisation of the society to one of my officials. There was a discussion of the United Kingdom's bilateral aid programme to Peru and in Latin America in general, with particular emphasis on environmental matters.
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Inspectorate of Education
Mr. Rowlands : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the estimated annual cost of Her Majesty's inspectorate of education in England.
Mr. Eggar : The estimated net recurrent cost of Her Majesty's inspectorate of education in England in 1990-91 is £28.1 million.
Books
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the number of books procured for university libraries and polytechnics libraries in 1970, 1980 and 1990.
Column 513
Mr. Alan Howarth : This information is not collected centrally. Book and other purchases are for individual institutions to determine within their total resources.Mr. Churchill : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the provision of Government funding for books at universities and polytechnics in 1979 and 1989, respectively (a) overall, at constant prices and (b) per student, at constant prices ; and what has been the average increase in the cost of such text books in this period.
Mr. Alan Howarth : The higher education funding councils do not reserve part of their funding for book provision. It is for individual institutions to determine their expenditure within the total resources at their disposal.
Student Loans
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what has been the total take-up of student loans over the past 12 months ; and if he will list the take-up of individual loans as a percentage of student funding in each university and polytechnic.
Mr. Alan Howarth : As at 12 December 1990, over 66,000 students had applied for loans, representing 10.5 per cent. of the estimated number of eligible students in the United Kingdom.
Figures showing the take-up of individual loans as a percentage of student funding in each university and polytechnic are not available. For a student who lives away from home, but not in London, and who receives the basic maintenance grant, the full-year loan facility in 1990-91 is nearly 16 per cent. of the total resources available from the uprated grant and the loan combined.
Science and Engineering Research Council
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many research grants will be funded in 1990-91 as a result of the Science and Engineering Research Council settlement.
Mr. Alan Howarth : The total number of research grants being supported by the Science and Engineering Research Council in December 1990 was 5,019.
Universities and Polytechnics
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many universities and polytechnics are known to his Department to have cash flow problems ; if he will list them ; and if he will make a statement on the practice of funds being made available three months in arrears.
Mr. Alan Howarth : The management of cash flow is for individual universities, polytechnics and colleges. Detailed information is not collected centrally. Under the Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations 1990, local education authorities must pay termly instalments of tuition fees promptly. The funding councils aim to take the general incidence of fee and other income into account in determining the profiles for their monthly payments of grant.
Column 514
Science Parks
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much of the available EC money for science park development has been taken up by universities and polytechnics in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Alan Howarth : The development of science parks is not specifically funded through the EC framework programme and, to date, no funds have been made available for that purpose.
Hardship Funds
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many universities and polytechnics administer hardship funds ; how much money has been paid out from these funds ; and to what extent they are oversubscribed.
Mr. Alan Howarth : I assume that the hon. Member is referring to access funds, which were introduced for the first time this academic year. All universities and polytechnics have had allocations from total Great Britain provision of £25 million. Detailed information about the operation of the scheme will not be available until after the end of the academic year.
Grant-maintained Schools
Mr. Pendry : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what obligations the governors of schools which obtain grant-maintained status are under to honour the terms of existing dual-use agreements, in particular the obligation to reimburse a dual-use partner part of its capital investment in the event of the governors' serving notice to terminate the agreement ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Atkins : The education assets board is responsible for identifying the property rights and liabilities of the former maintaining LEA and the former governing body which transfer to the governing body of the grant-maintained school in accordance with section 74 of the Education Reform Act 1988. Schedule 10 to the 1988 Act provides for circumstances where the interests in property are shared between the grant-maintained school and either the local education authority or a third party. The obligations upon the partners in dual-use schemes depend upon the terms of the agreement between the parties.
School Premises
Mr. Pendry : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what measures he will take to ensure that the management of out-of-hours use of school premises does not discourage investment by third parties in dual-use projects ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Atkins : We are considering urgently the possibility of amending section 42 of the Education (No. 2) Act 1986 so as to resolve the potential problem to which the hon. Member refers. I have placed a copy in the Library of an official letter from the Department of Education and Science which has just been issued explaining the position.
Column 515
Universities (Accounts)
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many universities registered deficits on their last year's accounts ; and will he list them and the sums involved.
Mr. Alan Howarth : Universities' financial years end on 31 July. Accounts for 1989-90 are now being received by the Universities Funding Council which will analyse them early in 1991.
Nursery Provision
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what consideration has been given to the reduction of nursery provision for staff in universities and the obligation of institutions of higher education to make provision under the terms of equal opportunities legislation.
Mr. Alan Howarth : This is for university managements to determine.
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans he has to ensure that computer equipment in universities is replaced at a rate which maintains the credibility of courses.
Mr. Alan Howarth : This is a matter for individual universities, with the assistance of substantial public funds from the computer board for the universities and research councils and from the Universities Funding Council.
ENVIRONMENT
Local Government Finance
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he intends to alter the format of community charge bills as proposed by the southern regional council of the Association of District Councils.
Mr. Portillo : Draft regulations are being issued today to charging authorities on the form of the community charge bill for 1991-92. This will enable authorities to amend their computer programmes and arrange their printing requirements so that bills can be sent out in good time when charges have been set in March. A copy of the draft regulations have been placed in the Library. The form of the bill will be on the lines set out in the
Column 516
Department's letter to authorities of 6 November. I believe that this simpler bill will be more easily understood by charge payers.Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will undertake a review of the provisions of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 as they relate to (a) local authority finance and (b) political restrictions ;
(2) if he has any plans to exempt elderly people being cared for at home by friends or relatives from the poll tax for 1991-92 ; (3) if he has any plans to exempt non-working partners from the poll tax for 1991-92 ;
(4) if he has any plans to end the 20 per cent. contribution rule applying to all poll tax payers whatever their income for 1991-92 ; (5) if he has any plans to exempt (a) students and (b) student nurses from the poll tax for 1991-92.
Mr. Portillo : I refer the hon. Member to my reply to him of 10 December, Official Report, column 263.
Occupational Health Service
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what arrangements exist for the provision of an occupational health service for employees within his Department, stating (a) how many staff are employed to provide occupational health services, (b) how many of those staff are qualified nurses and (c) how many employees work in his Department in total.
Mr. Heseltine : All civil service departments and agencies have access to the services of the Civil Service Occupational Health Service which employs some 100 fully qualified occupational health professionals-- doctors, nurses and hygiene and safety advisers. It operates via a network of regional offices throughout the United Kingdom and also provides on-site medical advice to Departments. My Department has some 7,000 employees.
Gravel Extraction
Sir Gerard Vaughan : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the dates and circumstances in the last five years when an application for gravel extraction has been refused by his Department.
Sir George Young : The information requested has been placed in the Library of the House.
Column 515
Planning appeals involving gravel extraction in which planning permission has not been granted
Parliamentary Question Number 05010/90/91
Local authority |Decision date
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1986
Kings Lynn and West Norfolk |11 June 1986
Devon County Council |5 September 1986
Buckinghamshire County Council |10 September 1986
North Bedfordshire |10 October 1986
1987
Greater London Council |6 February 1987
Essex County Council |31 March 1987
Essex County Council |6 April 1987
Shropshire County Council |12 June 1987
Gloucestershire County Council |6 October 1987
Dorset County Council (Enforcement |28 October 1987
notice appeal)
Durham County Council (Planning |19 November 1987
Appeal and enforcement notice
appeal
1988
Nottinghamshire County Council |21 January 1988
Northamptonshire County Council |22 March 1988
Shropshire County Council |8 November 1988
Shropshire County Council |12 December 1988
1989
Berkshire County Council |10 February 1989
South Cambridgeshire District Council |15 March 1989
Hampshire County Council |24 May 1989
Staffordshire County Council |10 July 1989
Hampshire County Council |27 July 1989
Hereford and Worcester County |15 August 1989
Council
Hampshire County Council |8 September 1989
1990 to date
Hereford and Worcester County |1 March 1990
Council (two planning appeals)
Suffolk County Council (two planning |22 March 1990
appeals) |historic merit, ancient monuments etc.
Buckinghamshire County Council |27 September 1990
Hampshire County Council |1 Novembr 1990
London Borough of Hounslow (Called- |12 November 1990
in planning application) |mineral
Disability
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list all the initiatives taken by the Government to improve access for people with disabilities in both new and existing buildings of all types and in the built environment generally since the passage of the Disabled Persons Act 1981 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Yeo : The Government have an impressive record over recent years on the promotion of initiatives aimed at improving the accessibility for people with disabilities of buildings and the built environment. As well as initiatives prompted directly by Government Ministers they include initiatives which Government Departments have promoted in co-operation with a range of statutory and voluntary agencies and organisations, both national and local. I shall be placing in the Library a list of initiatives with which my Department and other Government Departments have been directly concerned.
Column 518
Homelessness
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his Department's estimate of the number of people sleeping on the streets in London.
Mr. Yeo : Having consulted front-line voluntary organisations, my Department estimates that some 2,000 to 3,000 people sleep on the streets in London. A count of persons sleeping rough is to be carried out as part of the 1991 population census.
Planning Applications (Liverpool)
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will call in all planning applications made on land and open spaces sold by Liverpool city council to private developers.
Mr. Yeo : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has no plans to do so. His policy is to be very selective about calling in applications and he is unlikely to intervene on any of those in question unless they raise planning issues of more than local importance.
Column 519
Alcohol Abuse
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he has taken to consult the providers of existing services in Wales and in each county in Wales in respect of alcohol abuse about the most effective use of available cash and resources, both in respect of the £150,000 announced by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales on Drinkwise day in June and generally.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : As a follow-up to Welsh Office circular 8/89 ; WHC89(14) on alcohol misuse, the Welsh Office wrote to interested organisations on 10 October 1990 inviting their views on how the £150,000 earmarked for 1990-91 might be utilised to best meet their needs. Responses received were fully taken into account in drawing up the guidance issued in WHC(90)78 and WHC(90)79.
Treatment Centres Initiative
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much money was set aside in his Department's budget for the treatment centres initiative in 1989-90 and 1990-91 ; how much was spent in 1989-90 ; and how much was spent in each quarter of the 1990-91 financial year to date.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : Funding for treatment centres is not allocated or released on a quarterly basis. The annual cost of each centre is considered in advance with the relevant health authority and is the subject of a contractual agreement. A total of £508,500 was released in 1989-90 to meet the initial cost of the setting up of the three all- Wales centres. A total of some £1.2 million has been allocated to fund treatment centres in 1990-91 of which some £598,000 has been released.
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales against what criteria he intends to judge the success or failure of his Department's treatment centres initiative.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : Among other factors, the evaluation of the treatment centre initiative will consider the extent to which each centre has met its contractual target on throughput and established an all-Wales referral pattern thus reducing the time patients might otherwise have to wait for treatment.
Private Rented Sector
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will undertake an investigation into the difficulties faced by tenants in the private rented sector, particularly in regard to the most vulnerable people in Welsh society.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : Recent legislation has strengthened the law against harassment and illegal eviction. Local authorities are encouraged to make full use of their wide powers to control houses in multiple occupation.
Leybucht Bay
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he now proposes to have with his German opposite number regarding their joint approach to the case of the European Commission v. the German Government before the European Court of Justice regarding Leybucht bay, subsequent to the Advocate-General's opinion.
Column 520
Mr. David Hunt : Until we have received the Advocate-General's opinion and considered its contents I am unable to say whether discussions by the United Kingdom Government will be necessary.
National Library
Dr. Marek : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer on 10 December, if he will indicate which aspects of the staff inspection report into the national library of Wales were satisfactory and which were not.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Staff inspection reports are internal management documents and the normal procedures for dealing with them were indicated in my reply to the hon. Member for Torfaen (Mr. Murphy) on 31 October. The consultation procedure is in progress and no decisions have been made on any of the recommendations.
School Meals and Milk
Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what change has taken place, in real terms, in actual expenditure on education in Wales since 1979-80 (a) excluding school meals and milk and (b) including school meals and milk ; and what percentage per annum each change represents.
Sir Wyn Roberts : I shall write to the right hon. Gentleman and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Paul and Wayne Darvell
Mr. Anderson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he intends to publish the report of the Devon and Cornwall police into the conviction of Paul and Wayne Darvell ; and what further action he proposes in the light of the report's conclusions.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : No. It is not the practice to publish the reports of police investigations. The report was received at the end of November. We will consider it and the representations we have received about the case in order to decide whether to intervene.
Open Prisons
Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many prisoners absconded from open prisons in 1987 ;
(2) how many prisoners absconded from open prisons in 1988 ; (3) how many prisoners absconded from open prisons in 1989 ; (4) how many prisoners who absconded from open prisons in 1987 were recaptured ;
(5) how many prisoners who absconded from open prisons in 1988 were recaptured ;
(6) how many prisoners who absconded from open prisons in 1989 were recaptured ;
(7) how many abscondees from open prisons in 1987 were on drug-related offences ;
(8) how many abscondees from open prisons in 1988 were on drug-related offences ;
Column 521
(9) how many abscondees from open prisons in 1989 were on drug-related offences.Mrs. Rumbold : The information on absconds during 1987 and the first five months of 1988 was not recorded in such a way as to enable absconds from open prisons to be distinguished from those who go missing from outside working parties of closed prisons or who abscond while allowed out of closed prisons on trust.
A new method of recording information was introduced in June 1988 ; from that date until December 1988, a total of 311 inmates absconded from open prisons. During 1989 a total of 682 inmates absconded from open prisons.
The information requested about recapture and the offences for which the inmates concerned had been imprisoned is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Subliminal Communications
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about the policy of his Department towards the use of subliminal techniques in all types of communication media ; and what estimate he has made of any possible dangers to the public from exposure to subliminal techniques.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The Government oppose the use of subliminal techniques in broadcasting. Because of the danger of unacceptable exploitation of the public, they have been prohibited for many years and will remain so.
Notifiable Offences
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of notifiable offences for each uniformed member of the police establishment in each police authority in England and Wales for each year from 1986 to 1989.
Mr. Peter Lloyd [holding answer 11 December 1990] : The information requested is given in the table.
Notifiable offences recorded per police officer by police force area
Offences per officer
Police force area |1986 |1987 |1988 |1989
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avon and Somerset |31 |33 |32 |32
Bedfordshire |39 |40 |38 |38
Cambridgeshire |28 |29 |28 |30
Cheshire |25 |27 |26 |25
Cleveland |39 |40 |39 |41
Cumbria |26 |24 |23 |24
Derbyshire |26 |26 |24 |27
Devon and Cornwall |26 |26 |26 |27
Dorset |30 |31 |29 |31
Durham |33 |33 |32 |33
Essex |27 |27 |26 |27
Gloucestershire |25 |29 |29 |30
Greater Manchester |47 |45 |42 |42
Hampshire |31 |31 |30 |31
Hertfordshire |27 |26 |24 |25
Humberside |41 |44 |42 |45
Kent |26 |26 |26 |28
Lancashire |28 |29 |30 |28
Leicestershire |28 |28 |28 |31
Lincolnshire |27 |29 |27 |29
London, City of |10 |9 |8 |9
Merseyside |36 |35 |30 |28
Metropolitan Police |29 |27 |26 |27
Norfolk |30 |31 |31 |32
Northamptonshire |36 |36 |34 |34
Northumbria |48 |49 |46 |51
North Yorkshire |26 |27 |25 |25
Nottinghamshire |42 |43 |42 |45
South Yorkshire |32 |32 |30 |32
Staffordshire |27 |26 |26 |27
Suffolk |26 |26 |25 |27
Surrey |20 |20 |19 |20
Sussex |24 |23 |23 |25
Thames Valley |34 |33 |30 |33
Warwickshire |23 |25 |23 |25
West Mercia |27 |27 |25 |26
West Midlands |40 |39 |34 |33
West Yorkshire |34 |35 |33 |36
Wiltshire |27 |24 |24 |24
Dyfed Powys |19 |20 |21 |19
Gwent |27 |27 |24 |24
North Wales |27 |28 |27 |26
South Wales |35 |35 |37 |37
|------- |------- |------- |-------
England and Wales |32 |31 |30 |31
Missing Persons
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made on the computerised national register of missing persons.
Mr. Peter Lloyd [holding answer 11 December 1990] : Consideration is at present being given to the establishment of a small co- ordinating bureau which will handle inquiries about missing persons from the public and the media. In the longer term, plans for the new police national computer will greatly assist the follow-up to such inquiries, but this is unlikely to be fully effective until 1992.
Registrars (Information)
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information, other than statistical information, he requires from registrars of births, deaths and marriages ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Dorrell : I have been asked to reply.
We do not directly require any information from registrars of births, deaths and marriages. Registrars, by law, are required to send copies to the Registrar-General of all register entries made in the area for which they are responsible. The form of these register entries is prescribed by regulations made by the Registrar-General which require my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's approval. In addition, the information contained in each birth, stillbirth and death register is also required to be returned to the prescribed medical officer of the district health authority for the place in which the event occurred under the provisions of the National Health Service Act 1977.
| Next Section
| Home Page |