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Mr. Winnick : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if money saved by a pensioner towards funeral costs is taken into account when pensioners on income support apply for the cold weather payment ; and what discretion is given to DSS offices on this.
Mr. Scott : The first £1,000 savings of anyone aged over 60 or over (or who has a partner who is 60 or over) are ignored. Any savings above that figure, for whatever purpose, are taken into account. The treatment of savings is set out in the Social Fund Cold Weather Payments (General) Regulations 1988 and DSS offices have no discretion in this area.
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if his Department is taking steps to advertise in the national and provincial press and on television and radio the cold weather payments available to those who are eligible.
Mr. Scott : Advertisements containing a form for eligible people to claim cold weather payments began to appear in Scottish local and regional newspapers in January and in England and Wales from 4 February. From Friday 15 February advertisements will also appear in appropriate national newspapers. Advertising space has not been taken on commercial television or radio but considerable publicity has been given to the payments through these media.
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Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what is his estimate of the number of households who will receive a severe weather payment under the terms of the Prime Minister's announcement of 7 February 1991, Official Report , columns 408-9 ; (2) what is his estimate of the number of households who would be eligible to claim severe weather payments in a week in which the seven consecutive days' temperature requirement is waived.
Mr. Scott : We estimate that about 2.2 million households are eligible to receive a cold weather payment for a week in which all the weather stations trigger or are deemed to trigger. The number who will receive a payment depends on the number who claim. We are undertaking extensive advertising to ensure that eligible people are aware of the payments.
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the number of DSS offices who have paid out cold weather payments ; and what is this as a percentage of all offices.
Mr. Scott : All DSS offices have been instructed to make cold weather payments.
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his estimate of the number of pensioners who are likely to be eligible for the cold weather payments ; and what percentage of total pensioners this is.
Mr. Scott : We estimate that nearly 1.5 million people of pensionable age are eligible to receive a cold weather payment, representing around 13 per cent. of the total number of people of pensionable age.
Men aged 65 and over, and women aged 60 and over.
Source : Annual Statistical Enquiry 1989.
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security under what legislation the Prime Minister's announcement of 7 February 1991, Official Report, columns 408-9, on cold weather payments, will be enacted.
Mr. Scott : My right hon. Friend announced our intention to increase by £1 the weekly amount currently available under the Social Fund Cold Weather Payments (General) Regulations 1988. Amending regulations will be laid shortly.
Where a local weather station has triggered, local offices are instructed to make payments of £6, of which £5 is within the current statutory framework and the additional £1 is on an extra statutory basis. In areas where the local weather station has not triggered, ex gratia payments of £6 will be made.
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how long the current waiving of the cold weather payments regulations will endure ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Scott : As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced on 12 February we shall continue to monitor the situation carefully and if the exceptionally cold weather continues we shall take similar measures.
Pensioners
Mr. Andrew Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the total number of pensioners who do not claim income support to which they would be entitled ; and how many of these have savings below £1,000.
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Miss Widdecombe : The information requested is not available. Estimates of take-up for the income-related benefits introduced following the 1988 reforms will be published in due course from the 1989 family expenditure survey.Mr. Andrew Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the number of pensioners claiming income support who have savings of less than £1,000.
Miss Widdecombe : We estimate that, including partners, there are nearly 1.5 million people of pensionable age claiming income support who have savings of less than £1,000.
( Source : Annual Statistical Enquiry 1989)
Men aged 65 and over, and women aged 60 and over.
Invalidity Benefit
Mr. Terry Davis : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what guidance has been issued to local offices about the recipients of invalidity benefit undertaking voluntary work following the supplementary evidence submitted by his Department to the Public Accounts Committee subsequent to the appearance of the Permanent Secretary at the Public Accounts Committee on 7 February.
Mr. Scott : Revised instructions about the effect of voluntary work on entitlement to incapacity benefits were issued to the Department's social security offices in May 1990. The guidance gave examples of the type of voluntary work which could be ignored and stressed the need not to discourage claimants from taking on such work by delay in giving advice or decisions.
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As the supplementary evidence submitted to the Public Accounts Committee explained, decisions on entitlement to incapacity benefits, such as invalidity benefit, are made by the independent statutory adjudicating authorities.WALES
Mental Handicap
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he has any plans to amend the guidelines for implementing the all-Wales strategy for the development of services for people with a mental handicap.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : The basic guidelines on implementing the all- Wales strategy remain unchanged and are set out in the original strategy document published in March 1983.
Administrative guidance--covering for example the format and content of annual reports and of three-year forward plans under the strategy--is issued to county joint planning teams and updated each year. A copy of the latest version of the guidelines has been placed in the Library of the House. A comprehensive review of the strategy is in progress and involves wide consultation. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will consider, in the light of the review, what arrangements should be made to maintain and further develop services beyond the strategy's original 10- year term.
Regional Enterprise Grants
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the number and value of applications for regional enterprise grants in Wales by each quarter of 1989 and 1990.
Mr. David Hunt : The information is as follows :
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Period |Scheme |Number of |Project costs
|applications |(application
| stage)
|(£ '000)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 January to 31 March 1989 |RIG |127 |11,979
|RIN |36 |5,223
1 April to 30 June 1989 |RIG |87 |4,165
|RIN |30 |4,485
1 July to 30 September 1989 |RIG |81 |4,920
|RIN |18 |1,863
1 October to 31 December 1989 |RIG |82 |5,188
|RIN |20 |2,975
1 January to 31 March 1990 |RIG |78 |4,209
|RIN |19 |2,030
1 April to 30 June 1990 |RIG |60 |3,161
|RIN |22 |2,548
1 July to 30 September 1990 |RIG |70 |4,787
|RIN |26 |4,696
1 October to 31 December 1990 |RIG |61 |3,881
|RIN |19 |1,082
RIG=Regional investment grant.
RIN=Regional innovation grant.
Sheep Farming
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement concerning sheep farming in Wales.
Mr. David Hunt : The Welsh sheep industry contributes about 24 per cent. of the total value of agricultural output.
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The breeding flock has expanded steadily--by nearly a million--over the last decade and now stands at 5.1 million head. In 1991, sheep producers in the LFA will benefit from substantial increases in the rate of HLCA payments and a supplement of 4 ecu to the sheep annual premium which together will increase the support payments to producers in Wales by £18 million.Column 635
Cattle Rearing
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement concerning cattle rearing in Wales.
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Mr. David Hunt : Figures relating to the size of the cattle rearing herd in Wales since 1986 and the value of the output are shown in the table :
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---------------------------------------------------------------- 1986 |364.9 |- |172.9 |- |207,754|- 1987 |352.8 |-3.3 |178.8 |3.4 |230,204|10.8 1988 |336.8 |-4.5 |182.3 |2.0 |231,118|0.4 1989 |329.9 |-2.1 |194.3 |6.6 |252,985|9.5 1990 |327.0 |-0.9 |203.9 |5.0 |234,299|-7.4
Pigs, Plants and Poultry
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement concerning (i) pig rearing, (ii) horticulture and (iii) the poultry industry in Wales.
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Mr. David Hunt : Figures for the number of pigs and poultry and for the area of horticulture crops together with the value of their output in Wales in each of the five years since 1986 are as given in the following tables :
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Pig rearing
|Total breeding herd|Percentage |Value of Output |Percentage
|herd |change over |£ |change over
|(Thousand |previous year |(thousands) |previous
|head)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1986 |16.2 |- |18,804 |-
1987 |15.5 |- 3.9 |19,738 |5.0
1988 |14.6 |- 6.3 |12,181 |-38.3
1989 |12.7 |-12.9 |14,794 |21.5
1990 |12.0 |- 5.1 |14,136 |<1>- 4.4
<1> Forecast.
`
Poultry (excludes ducks, geese, turkeys and guinea fowl)
|Total fowls |Percentage |Value of output|Percentage
|(thousands) |change over |£ |change over
|previous year |thousands |previous year
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1986 |6,677.6 |- |37,035 |-
1987 |6,832.5 |2.3 |38,374 |3.6
1988 |6,986.1 |2.2 |38,176 |-0.5
1989 |6,767.0 |-3.1 |37,609 |-1.5
1990 |6,708.7 |-0.9 |41,114 |9.3
Horticulture
Dairy Industry
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his policy concerning the dairy industry in Wales.
Mr. David Hunt : I recognise the importance of the dairy industry to Welsh agriculture. I will continue to seek to ensure that the industry is able to compete effectively and on equal terms with its counterparts in other member states.
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Training
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what measures he proposes to give encouragement to individuals to improve their skills.
Mr. David Hunt : The seven training and enterprise councils in Wales are all developing proposals to encourage individuals to improve their skills and increase their commitment to their own training and self development. The investors in people standard will be the foundation for an action programme aimed at encouraging employers to plan, act and review the training needs of all their employees. Career development loans offer
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valuable help to individuals who wish to train but lack the financial means to do so and the professional industrial and commercial updating programme recognises the need of employed people for training and aims to update the skills of the Welsh workforce. We have also introduced a new initiative to improve the literacy and numeracy skills of the unemployed and those in work which will be overseen by the adult literacy and basic skills unit and will involve a series of pilot projects in England and Wales.Our education reforms are designed to raise the standards of young people in schools and will ensure that all pupils follow a curriculum designed to encourage them to achieve their full potential and prepare them for work. Pupils of all abilities should have a full opportunity to have a vocational start to their studies. The vocational examining bodies have been invited to play a key part in this by offering qualifications relating to the whole of the national curriculum or relevant aspects of it. The training credit pilots should encourage young people to take responsibility for their own training. We will be monitoring the achievements of the pilot to assess their impact on young people's motivation.
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he proposes to meet Sir Bryan Wolfson of the national training task force to discuss improved skills training in Wales.
Mr. David Hunt : Welsh Office Ministers regularly discuss skills training in Wales with Sir Melvyn Rosser, who is a member of the national training task force.
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he proposes to meet members of the CBI and TUC to discuss training in Wales ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. David Hunt : I have already discussed training in Wales with both bodies and expect to do so again when next I meet them.
Hospital Closures
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what guidelines he has issued to the chairmen of the Welsh health authorities concerning capital expenditure dependent on hospital closures being initiated by them before he has made public his verdict on these proposed hospital closures.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : District health authorities are well aware of the need to be able to defend any investment decisions they make in both value for money and service terms.
Glan Ely Hospital
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the chairman of the South Glamorgan health authority regarding expenditure on upgrading wards at the Prince of Wales orthopaedic hospital Rhydlafar, to accommodate geriatric patients now at Glan Ely Hospital, prior to any announcement from him regarding the future at Glan Ely hospital.
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NHS Property Holding Agency
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the estimated cost of the national health service property holding agency for Wales in its first full year of operation.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave on 16 January 1991 at col. 520 and to the letter sent to him on 16 January 1991 by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, a copy of which was placed in the Library of the House.
Since the principles have not yet been agreed on which to take forward consultation, it is not possible to provide the information requested.
Health Service
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was (a) the number of cancelled operating sessions, (b) the number of operating sessions and (c) the average number of operations per session in each health authority in the latest available year ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : I shall write to the hon. Gentleman and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
Education
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many qualified teachers of (a) art and (b) computer studies there are in the high schools of Wales.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Information on the numbers of teachers and their qualifications is given in the Welsh Education Statistics Bulletin : No. 7 Secondary School Staffing Survey (1989), copies of which are available in the House of Commons Library. Table 5.5 provides an analysis of a teacher's highest qualification in any subject.
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what initiatives he has taken to assist local education authorities in Wales to provide computer studies courses ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Wyn Roberts : A five-year strategy was introduced in 1988 to encourage the use of information technology across the whole curriculum. Funding under the education support grant and local education training grant (LEATGS) schemes for the purchase of computer hardware for schools, employment of advisory teachers and teacher training programmes has supported expenditure of £5.7 million since 1988. Further expenditure in excess of £2.3 million has been approved for 1991-92.
Additionally since 1987 more than £200,000 has been made available to local education authorities under the LEATGS scheme to ensure that further education teachers are confident and competent in the use of information technology in their teaching.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will set out the calculations underlying increasing Alyn and Deeside district council's revenue support grant for 1991-92 by £13,000 ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. David Hunt : Alyn and Deeside's entitlement to revenue support grant is based on the formula ([S N (P C)]) which is set out in section C of the Welsh Revenue Support Grant Distribution Report (No. 2) approved by the House on 29 January.The relevant values attributable to Alyn and Deeside for 1991-92 under the formula are :
S (£000) 7,960
N (£000) 2,243
P C (£000) 2,109
P 56,125
C 37.57
Revenue support grant is a component of overall aggregate external finance. Alyn and Deeside's aggregate external finance for 1991-92 is £5,851,619, an increase of 8.4 per cent. on 1990-91.
Farm and Countryside Service
Mr. Raffan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what arrangements he is making in Wales when the Farm and Countryside Service is established as a separate agency in April 1992.
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Mr. David Hunt : I have, in consultation with my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture Fisheries and Food, considered carefully the future of the Agricultural Development and Advisory Service (ADAS). We looked at a number of proposals. Among the factors we took into account were the need for the new agency arrangements properly to reflect the respective responsibilities of my right hon. Friend and myself ; the range and depth of the advisory services which could be offered ; the interests of existing staff ; and comparative costs. My principal concern was that the farming community in Wales should have access to the best possible advice in the years ahead. I have concluded that a joint England and Wales Agency having a distinctive Welsh management, with appropriate Welsh Office representation on its Ownership Board and responsible jointly to my right hon. Friend and me is the arrangement that would best meet the needs of the industry in Wales. Planning work is now therefore proceeding on that basis.
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