| Previous Section | Home Page |
-
Grade Number of Percentage
|NICS|HCS |NICS|HCS
------------------------------
1 |- |- |- |-
2 |- |- |- |-
3 |1 |- |2.5 |-
4 |- |- |- |-
5 |14 |- |7.6 |-
6 |51 |- |28.4|-
7 |74 |3 |8.3 |5
Twenty-one full-time members and one part-time member of staff--11 per cent.--in the home civil service group of the NIO are from ethnic minorities. The Northern Ireland civil service is not required to monitor the ethnic origins of its staff.
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he has taken to recruit members of ethnic minorities in top grades of employment at the Northern Ireland Office.
Dr. Mawhinney : The home civil service and the Northern Ireland civil service are fully committed to ensuring equality of opportunity for all applicants including any from ethnic minorities. The Northern Ireland Office is an equal opportunity employer and this is emphasised in all our recruiting campaigns and advertising. If direct recruitment for certain senior posts in the NIO were to be necessary, it would be conducted with guidance from the Civil Service Commission. Within Northern Ireland itself, religion is a more significant equality of opportunity consideration than ethnic origin. Consequently the Northern Ireland civil service has not taken any specific action to recruit members of ethnic minorities in top grades of employment.
Civil Servants
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many of the civil servants employed by his Department were born in a foreign state ;
(2) how many civil servants in Northern Ireland, other than those in the Northern Ireland Office, were born in a foreign state.
Dr. Mawhinney : The information could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what restrictions operate in the employment of (a) foreign nationals, (b) Commonwealth
Column 464
citizens and (c) citizens of the Irish Republic, as (i) civil servants, or (ii) public servants in Northern Ireland ; and whether such restrictions are uniformly applied throughout the United Kingdom.Dr. Mawhinney : To be eligible for appointment to the Northern Ireland civil service, a candidate must be a Commonwealth citizen, although the Civil Service Commissioners may in exceptional circumstances decide to grant exemption from this requirement. The discretionary powers exercised by commissioners have included recruitment to scarcity occupations where suitably qualified candidates were not available and where an applicant has been closely associated with Northern Ireland or where the post is considered not to be covered by article 48(4) of the treaty of Rome.
To be eligible for appointments in the home civil service, candidates must be Commonwealth citizens, British protected persons or citizens of the Republic of Ireland.
Radioactivity
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish a table showing the intensity of radioactivity present in the (a) soil, (b) peat, (c) grasses and (d) heather in the areas of (i) Glenshane, County Londonderry, (ii) Belraugh, County Londonderry and (iii) Glenwherry, County Antrim when the effect of the radioactive discharges from Chernobyl were first measured and showing the present levels in each of those areas ; and what is his estimate as to when those levels will have fallen to the point where all restrictions on the movement of sheep can be removed.
Mr. Hanley : The soil-to-plant-to-animal transfer of radio caesium is complex and influenced by so many factors that vegetation levels would not be a reliable indicator on which to base firm conclusions. It is only through systematic monitoring of sheep populations in the restricted areas that appropriate data can be acquired to manage a restricted area. It is on the basis of such data that the Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland was able to reduce the size of areas under restriction in Co. Londonderry. It is not possible to predict how long restrictions will remain in place. They will be lifted as soon as it is possible to do so without compromising the food chain, but we might still have to wait a considerable time before that is possible.
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish a table showing the acreage in each of the areas of Glenshane, County Londonderry, Belraugh, County Londonderry, and Glenwherry, County Antrim named in SR(NI), 1991, No. 8 Public Health, Food Protection (Emergency Prohibitions) Order (Northern Ireland) 1991 ; if he will indicate the reduction in acreage in each case from the order superseded by this order, and the acreage at present under forestry plantations which were planted (i) before and (ii) since the discharge of radioactive material from Chernobyl ; and if he will show for each of the designated areas the number of sheep kept on them.
Mr. Hanley : The information is as follows :
Column 465
|Glenwherry|Glenshane |Belraugh
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Acreage in areas designated in SR 1991 No. 8 |8,620 |10,487 |1,305
Reduction in acreage from SR 1987 No. 367 |- |247 |943
Number of breeding ewes in current restricted areas |7,000 |14,000 |1,300
Acreage under forestry in current restricted areas
which was planted-
(i) Before Chernobyl accident |165 |1,099 |-
(ii) After Chernobyl accident |172 |195 |-
Fish
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what information he has as to the present stocks of (a) salmon, (b) sea trout, (c) brown trout, (d) pollan, (e) perch, (f) bream and (g) pike in (i) Lough Neagh, (ii) upper Lough Erne and (iii) in lower Lough Erne ; and what were the comparable figures five, 10, 20 and 30 years ago ;
(2) if he will publish a table to show (a) the number and type of nets or other commercial fishing engines in freshwater lakes and rivers operating in Northern Ireland in the 1990 season, (b) the species taken by each such engine, or from each fishery and the weight of each species taken, (c) the value of such fish by species from each fishery and (d) the comparable figures for 1985, 1980 and 1970 ;
(3) what size of (a) salmon, (b) sea trout, (c) pollan, (d) brown trout, (e) perch, (f) bream and (g) pike could escape through the mesh of the net mesh sizes allowed for use in the commercial freshwater fisheries of Northern Ireland.
Mr. Hanley : The information requested is not held centrally but I will write to the hon. Gentleman when the information has been obtained and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what information he has as to (a) the minimum, (b) the maximum and (c) the average size and weight of brown trout from Lough Neagh which spawn in the lough's catchment area ; and whether such fish spawn annually or biannually.
Mr. Hanley : The minimum size of spawning trout corresponds to the minimum size at maturity for males. This is of the order of 20 to 25 cms in size and 5 to 6 oz in weight. No data are available on maximum or average sizes or weights. These trout tend to spawn annually.
River Dun (Breakwater)
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the breakwater at the mouth of the River Dun was erected, when planning permission was sought, and granted ; and whether any objections were made to his Department about this structure.
Mr. Hanley : The breakwater at the mouth of the River Dun was constructed in 1987. Planning permission for the breakwater was sought on 14 January 1988 and attracted six objections. This planning application was withdrawn on 27 April 1988. A new planning application was submitted on 16 January 1989. Four objections to this application were received. Planning permission was granted on 5 July 1989.
Column 466
Social Security
Mr. Clifford Forsythe : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the number of benefit payments paid by (a) order book, (b) Girocheque, (c) automated credit transfer and (d) payable order during the year 1989-90.
Mr. Hanley : The information requested is as follows :
|Number
-----------------------------------------------------
(a) order books |29,589,904
(b) girocheques |3,999,309
(c) automatic credit transfers |492,579
(d) payable orders |83,780
The payable order figure relates only to payments of retirement and widows benefits. Another 118,724 payable orders were issued but benefit payments cannot be disaggregated from the total of administrative and benefit payments.
Fair Employment Agency
Mr. Peter Robinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many cases of discrimination against (a) Roman Catholics and (b) Protestants the Fair Employment Agency has found in each of the years since its establishment.
Mr. Hanley : The information is as follows :
Findings of unlawful discrimination made by
Fair Employment
Agency
Year |Protestant|Roman
|Catholic
----------------------------------------------
<1>1976-1979 |1 |4
1979-80 |- |3
1980-81 |- |2
1981-82 |2 |2
1982-83 |- |4
1983-84 |2 |5
1984-85 |2 |6
1985-86 |4 |1
1986-87 |- |12
1987-88 |- |3
1988-89 |- |6
1989-90 |1 |6
<1> In the first three years of the agency's
existence composite figures only were
produced (end March).
Mr. Peter Robinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what has been the cost of supporting the Fair Employment Agency in each of the years since its foundation.
Mr. Hanley : The costs of supporting the Fair Employment Agency and Fair Employment Commission over the period 1976 to 1991 were as follows :
Column 467
|£
---------------------------------------------------
1 September 1976-31 March 1977 |40,850
1 April 1977-31 March 1978 |81,605
1 April 1978-31 March 1979 |116,000
1 April 1979-31 March 1980 |154,000
1 April 1980-31 March 1981 |189,000
1 April 1981-31 March 1982 |201,000
1 April 1982-31 March 1983 |226,300
1 April 1983-31 March 1984 |228,000
1 April 1984-31 March 1985 |258,000
1 April 1985-31 March 1986 |288,000
1 April 1986-31 March 1987 |383,000
1 April 1987-31 March 1988 |512,000
1 April 1988-31 March 1989 |769,900
1 April 1989-31 March 1990<1> |1,309,000
1 April 1990-31 March 1991<2> |1,519,000
<1>The Fair Employment Agency was renamed Fair
Employment Commission by Section 1 of the Fair
Employment (NI) Act 1989 with effect from 1
January 1990.
<2>First full year of the Fair Employment
Commission.
Mr. Peter Robinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many allegations of discrimination have been referred to the Fair Employment Agency in each of the years since its foundation.
Mr. Hanley : The information is as follows :
Complaints of Unlawful Religious and/or Political Discrimination received by the Fair Employment Agency Year |Number ------------------------- <1>1977 |120 1978 |120 <3>1979 |120 1979-80 |42 1980-81 |49 1981-82 |50 1982-83 |33 1983-84 |71 1984-85 |81 1985-86 |81 1986-87 |86 1987-88 |87 1988-89 |125 <2>1989-90 |138 <1> In the first three years of the agency's existence composite figures only were produced. <2> The Fair Employment Tribunal is empowered to hear complaints of acts of alleged discrimination against individuals, on grounds of religious belief or political opinion, where those acts occurred on or after 1 January 1990. The Fair Employment Agency's power to adjudicate in such complaints relates only to those complaints where acts of alleged discrimination occurred before 1 January 1990. <3> End of March.
Mr. Peter Robinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many cases of discrimination have been found against (a) Roman Catholic and (b) Protestant employers by the Fair Employment Agency in each of the years since its foundation.
Mr. Hanley : The commission does not keep statistics about whether employers involved in individual complaints of discrimination are perceived to be Protestant or Roman Catholic.
Column 468
PRIME MINISTER
Engagements
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for 12 March.
The Prime Minister : This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in this House I shall be having further meetings later today. This evening I hope to have an Audience of Her Majesty the Queen.
Private R and D
Dr. Bray : To ask the Prime Minister if he will outline the reconciliation between the figure for expenditure on research and development in private industry made by the Ministry of Defence of £1,202 million for 1988-89 as shown in table 2b of the "Annual Review of Government Funded Research and Development 1990" and the amount received by industry from the Department in 1989 of £630 million according to table 7 of the Central Statistical Office's "Business Bulletin" issue 14/91.
The Prime Minister : Reasons for the apparent difference between the two estimates of defence research and development expenditure are provided in the Cabinet Office's "Annual Review of Government Funded R and D 1990" (page 18, paragraph 2). As indicated in paragraph 18 of the Government's reply (Cm 1467) to the report of the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology on Definitions of R and D (HL Paper 44), we intend to pursue further with industry the reasons for these differing assessments.
UN Children's Organisation
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the Government's contribution to the United Nations Children's Organisation.
The Prime Minister : The United Kingdom made a voluntary contribution of £8.5 million to UNICEF's core budget in 1990. This was our largest ever contribution.
In 1990 we also paid £1.52 million to UNICEF in response to special appeals.
ENVIRONMENT
Water Act (Covenants)
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment on how many occasions he has had an opportunity to enter into a covenant with a company holding an appointment under chapter 1 of part II of the Water Act 1989 for the purposes set out in section 152(7) of that Act ; how many covenants have been entered into ; on how many occasions he has declined to enter such covenants ; and what were the reasons in each case.
Mr. Trippier : The Secretary of State has not entered into any covenants under section 152(7) or declined any recommendation that he should do so. The Department does not hold information on cases determined by the Countryside Commission under the general authorisation dated 1 September 1989 which do not require the Secretary of State's specific approval.
Column 469
Land Disposal
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment on how many occasions the conditions of a consent or authorisation for the disposal of land, or an interest or right in or over that land, have been made in accordance with section 152(5)(a) of the Water Act 1989 to direct the disposal to a specified person where that land is situated in a national park, the Broads, an area of outstanding natural beauty or a site of special scientific interest and has not been acquired compulsorily.
Mr. Trippier : The Secretary of State has not received any recommendation from the Countryside Commission to direct disposal to a specified person under section 152(5)(a).
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has received any requests from (a) water undertakers, (b) statutory bodies or (c) voluntary bodies to revise or amend the general authorisation dated 1 September 1989 issued under section 152 of the Water Act 1989 concerning the disposal of land in a national park, the Broads, an area of outstanding natural beauty or a site of special scientific interest.
Mr. Trippier : The Countryside Commission, the Nature Conservancy Council and the Office of Water Services have all expressed the view that the general authorisation should be revised. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has written to us to the same effect ; but we have not received any letters from water undertakers.
Water Quality
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list all the supply areas and parameters for which the drinking water inspectorate has made provision to allow drinking water supplies to exceed the water quality standards laid down under the Water Act.
Mr. Trippier : Copies of relaxations authorised by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment under regulation 4 of the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 1989 have been placed in the Library of the House.
Water Charges
Mr. Illsley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what levels of increase in water charges have been agreed between the Government and the water companies over the next nine years ; (2) what estimate of inflation has been used in the calculation of water charges for the next nine years.
Mr. Trippier : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment set limits (K factors) on the extent to which water charges may be increased over and above the increase in the retail prices index for the 10 years from 1 April 1990. Lists of the K factors for each water and water and sewerage company were deposited in the Library of the House. In determining the K factors assumptions were made about future inflation levels, but the K factors themselves would have been affected very little by alternative inflation assumptions. Responsibility for overseeing water charges and for any amendments to the K factors for a company falls to the Director General of Water Services.
Column 470
Environmental Protection Act
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when general guidance notes for local authorities on the implementation of part I of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 will be published.
Mr. Trippier : The Department intends to send pre-publication copies of general guidance notes for the implementation of part I of the Environmental Protection Act to local authorities this month, and I will send a copy to the hon. Member. The notes will be published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office as soon as possible thereafter.
Mr. Dover : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if special financial resources will be allocated to local authorities to enable them to implement the requirements of the Environmental Protection Act.
Mr. Baldry : An additional £11 million in capital allocations has been allocated in 1991-92 to waste disposal authorities in England for improvements to landfill sites and other disposal facilities to enable them to meet the higher standards that will be required by the Environmental Protection Act. Further provision is planned for future years. As with all new duties falling on local authorities, the revenue consequences of the Environmental Protection Act, have been reflected in the 1991-92 revenue support grant settlement.
Landfill Sites
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish (a) the number of landfill sites in England and (b) a list of those sites that have been visited by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution, together with the dates of those visits.
Mr. Trippier : It is the responsibility of waste disposal authorities to issue waste disposal licences and to ensure that any conditions of the licences are met. Information on the number of landfill sites in England is therefore not held centrally. I will write to the hon. Member about the second part of her question.
Water Pipes
Mr. Illsley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his latest estimate of the cost of placing responsibility for all water pipes with the water companies.
Mr. Trippier : We have no plans to make water companies responsible for any water pipes other than those already vested in them, and have therefore not prepared any estimates of the cost of doing so.
Genetically Modified Organisms
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information on genetically modified organisms, which have been released to the environment, is currently available to the public ; whether this information is available centrally ; and whether the information includes a description of the genetically modified organisms, the name and address of the releaser, the purpose of the release, the location of the release, a summary of the risk assessment, methods and plans for monitoring, and methods and plans for emergency response.
Column 471
Mr. Trippier : My Department has no current arrangements for making such information available to the public. Provision for public registers of information about genetically modified organisms is, however, made in part VI of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. The location of such registers and the particulars of the matters to be included on them will be prescribed in regulations under part VI on which my right hon. Friend will consult later this year. Meanwhile the operative regulations for the control of all activities using genetically modified organisms are the Genetic Manipulation Regulations 1989, which are the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment.Site Authorisation
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment who has responsibility for issuing authorisation to sites with a mixture of part A and part B processes.
Mr. Trippier : The Environmental Protection (Prescribed Processes and Substances) Regulations 1991, which were laid before the House today, contain a series of rules for determining the control authority in cases such as those where there is a mixture of part A and part B processes on the same site. It will depend, among other matters, on whether the processes are undertaken by the same operator and whether they fall within the same section of schedule 1 to the regulations. The rules are explained in "Integrated Pollution Control--A Practical Guide" which was published on 28 February and a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State may, exceptionally, direct, under section 4(4) of the Environmental Protection Act, that processes are transferred from local authority to national inspectorate (air only) control.
Cryptosporidiosis
Mr. Illsley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to receive reports from the communicable disease surveillance centre and the drinking water inspectorate in connection with the recent outbreak of cryptosporidiosis in Humberside.
Mr. Trippier : I understand that a report from the outbreak control team is imminent. When it is available the drinking water inspectorate can continue its investigation.
Helicopters
Mr. Jessel : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether planning permission is required to allow helicopters to land on the tops of buildings.
Mr. Yeo : This will depend on the details of what is proposed, and is for the local planning authority to judge in the first instance.
Recycling
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the supplementary credit approval scheme for funding recycling projects in England and Wales was established ; what funds are available to it ; and over what time scale the scheme operates.
Column 472
Mr. Baldry : Supplementary credit approvals for investment in recycling facilities are being made available from 1991-92 for local authorities in England only. We have made provision for a further £30 million of such supplementary credit approvals in 1992-93 and 1993-94.
Drinking Water
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what factors he considered before deciding not to review the permissible level of lead in drinking water ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Trippier : My right hon. Friend considered whether any new evidence or considerations had become available.
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what time scales are to be afforded to water suppliers in order to meet (a) the informal standards on pesticides, and (b) all other health-related, toxic or microbiological, standards in the EC drinking water directive, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, solvents and lead.
Mr. Trippier : The standards set in the EC drinking water directive have been incorporated into the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 1989. Most water supplies already meet most of the standards in the regulations. The supplies that do not yet comply are the subject of remedial action which will generally bring them into compliance by 1995. This remedial action is set out in undertakings given by the companies under section 20 of the Water Act 1989 and copies of these are in the Library. The only standards set by the regulations in respect of pesticides are the ones in the EC directive and it is to those standards that the actions specified in the relevant undertakings relate.
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many authorisations have been granted for departures from his Department's regulations for drinking water quality ; and if he will list these departures, together with time scales for their remediation.
Mr. Trippier : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment has authorised 719 relaxations under regulation 4 of the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 1989. Most of them contain provision for work to be carried out to achieve the relevant standard by, at latest, 1995. The remainder are subject to review by 1994. Copies of the relaxations have been placed in the Library of the House.
Access to Information
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is taking to implement the EC directive of 7 June 1990 on the freedom of access to information on the environment ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Trippier : The Government fully support the directive. Indeed, we played a full part in the discussions which resulted in its formulation. The United Kingdom is committed to implementing the directive in domestic law by the end of 1992, and my Department will shortly be issuing a consultation paper on ways of achieving this.
Column 473
Hazardous Waste
Mr. Roy Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will introduce legislation to prevent ships carrying cargoes of dangerous disposable waste from entering British ports.
Mr. Trippier : No. There are already effective safeguards in respect of the import of hazardous waste. Under the Transfrontier Shipment of Hazardous Waste Regulations 1988 a disposer may not accept an import of hazardous waste unless his disposal authority has approved the dispatch of the waste from the country of production.
Nitrogen Oxide (Monitoring)
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to increase the number of nitrogen oxide monitoring stations.
Mr. Trippier : Plans to expand the monitoring of air quality in the United Kingdom were announced in the White Paper "This Common Inheritance" last September.
As a first step an enhanced urban monitoring network is to be put in place this year. It will include an increased number of stations for monitoring nitrogen oxides.
Housing Action Trusts
Mr. Soley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much public expenditure in total will be available for housing action trusts in 1991-92, 1992-93 and 1993-94 and in subsequent years ; and how much specifically has been earmarked for housing action trusts if they proceed in (a) Waltham Forest, (b) Hull and (c) elsewhere.
Sir George Young : Present planned public expenditure provision for housing action trusts is £10.3 million in 1991-92, £67.3 million in 1992-93 and £69.0 million in 1993-94. Planned provision for 1994-95 will be announced in autumn 1991 following the 1991 public expenditure survey. Specific annual allocations for individual trusts have not yet been made. The amount needed by a trust in a particular year can be determined only when the trust has been established and has drawn up its corporate plan.
Environmental Health Officers
Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many qualified environmental health officers are currently employed by local authorities in England ; how many vacancies for such officers exist ; and what action he is taking to ensure that a sufficient number of officers will be available in future.
Mr. Key : Information on the numbers of qualified environmental health officers is not collected by my Department. It is for each local authority with powers in this field to decide how many officers are needed and to make arrangements for recruiting them.
Leybucht Bay Judgment
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his reply of 7 March, Official Report, column 243, when he expects the official English translation of the Leybucht Bay judgment to be available to him.
Column 474
Mr. Trippier : Responsibility for the production of the official English translation of the judgment rests with the European Court of Justice. I cannot forecast when this will be available.
Community Charge
Mrs. Maureen Hicks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many residents in Wolverhampton in the current financial year have benefited from transitional relief in the payment of their community charge ;
(2) how many residents in Wolverhampton will benefit from the community charge reduction scheme.
Mr. Key : About 16,500 people in Wolverhampton are benefiting from transitional relief in 1990-91. Information on the number of people in each charging authority area who will benefit from the community charge reduction scheme in 1991-92 will be available once authorities have submitted their grant claim forms.
Mr. Shersby : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if police officers living in section houses in the metropolis where the rates were paid by the receiver are eligible to receive a reduction in their community charge.
| Next Section
| Home Page |