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Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 28 March 1991
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Legal Aid
Mr. Fraser : To ask the Attorney-General if it is his policy to propose a freeze on the upper limits of capital and income beyond which an applicant is not eligible for legal aid.
The Attorney-General : No. It is not the Lord Chancellor's policy to freeze the upper limits of capital and income for legal aid eligibility. The Lord Chancellor is conducting a full review of the financial conditions for legal aid. The first stage of the review, covering civil, non- matrimonial legal aid is nearing completion. A consultation paper will be issued containing proposals aimed at targeting legal aid to need and final decisions will be made in the light of the response to this paper.
Birmingham Pub Bombings
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Attorney-General why West Midlands police officers were taking statements regarding the Birmingham pub bombings case in 1987.
The Attorney-General : The West Midlands police took statements in respect of the Birmingham pub bombings case in 1987 at the request of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Animals (Live Exports)
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will make a statement on progress being made in current EC negotiations to maintain adequate control and protection for the exportation of live horses and ponies after 1992 ; (2) what further representations he has had on the need to maintain existing controls on the exportation of live horses and ponies after 1992 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : The Government continue to receive many representations on this subject. In the Community negotiations, which are still at an early stage, the Government will continue to press for the continuation of controls which prevent the export of horses for slaughter.
Pesticides
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he now intends to take prosecutions under the Pesticides (Maximum Residue Levels in Food) Regulations 1988 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gummer : Prosecutions will be taken under the regulations when appropriate.
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Voluntary Organisations
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list in the Official Report the voluntary organisations to which he has given grant aid, including the amounts given in each case, in 1989-90 and 1990-91 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gummer : My Department is fully committed to encouraging the work done by the voluntary sector and regularly reviews the grant aid given to voluntary organisations. For 1989-90 and 1990-91 the following organisations benefited by the amounts shown :
@
|1989-90|1990-91
|£ |£
----------------------------------------------------------------
Dartington Institute (Project Silvanus) |11,000 |6,250
Farming and Wildlife Trust |16,000 |36,000
National Federation of Young Farmers
Clubs |18,500 |18,962
National Proficiency Tests Council |72,670 |115,800
RURAL (Responsible Use of Resources in
Agriculture and on the Land) |2,000 |2,000
Orange Juice
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the countries of origin of the orange juice samples which were subjected to laboratory analysis for sugar content ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gummer : It is not possible to list the countries of origin. The labelling of most of the juices analysed in the recent Ministry survey either stated that the juice came from more than one country or did not indicate the country of origin.
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he intends to take against the suppliers of the orange juice found to breach the Fruit Juice and Nectar Regulations 1977 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gummer : The recently reported MAFF survey of orange juice on the United Kingdom market was for surveillance purposes only. Further sampling in compliance with consumer protection law has been carried out, and investigations are continuing.
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, further to his answer to the hon. Member for South Shields on 13 March, Official Report, column 570, whether he intends to exhume the bodies of the BSE-confirmed cattle that were buried in 1990 and 1991.
Eggs
Mr. Cormack : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what further plans he has to restrict the import of non-salmonella tested eggs in the United Kingdom.
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Mr. Curry : There are no restrictions on imports from other Member States, but all consignments of eggs imported into the United Kingdom are tested for salmonella enteritidis.EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Haberdashers' Aske's CTC
Ms. Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether any conditions for the payment of grants to Haberdashers' Aske's city technology college will be placed on the trustees of the Robert Aske's charity.
Ms. Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) pursuant to his answer of 6 March, Official Report, column 188, what exact variations from the terms of paragraph 9 of the model CTC/CCTA funding agreement he has included in his agreement to fund the Haberdashers' Aske's city technology college ; (2) if he will provide a list of all variations and amendments from the model CTC/CCTA funding agreement placed in the Library on 31 October 1990 which have been included in his agreement to fund the Haberdashers' Aske's city technology college.
Mr. Eggar : The agreement between the Secretary of State and the Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham College Trust contains a number of minor variations from the model agreement relating to the special circumstances of this project.
In paragraph 1, the entry into force of the agreement is made conditional upon the grant of a 99-year lease to the CTC by the Haberdasher's Company, as trustee of the Robert Aske's charity, in a form to be agreed with the Secretary of State.
Paragraphs 8ii and iii provide that the CTC's contribution to the capital costs of establishing the college shall be the value of a 99-year lease of the site of the Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham boys' and girls' schools, and 8ii incorporates a mechanism for agreeing the value. Paragraph 8v provides for the Secretary of State's share of the actual costs to be reduced by the amount of difference between the cash limit and the actual costs, if the capital costs finally incurred in establishing the CTC are less than the cash limit. In paragraph 9, the words
"not be expected to exceed the proportion mentioned in paragraph 8iii"
in line 11 of paragraph 9 have been amended to read
"in no circumstances be expected to exceed 80 per cent.". Similarly, the words
"the first percentage referred to in paragraph 8iii"
in the penultimate line of the same paragraph have been amended to read "80 per cent.".
There are no other changes of substance.
Ms. Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many applicants of each sex and from different ethnic groups there were for places in the first year group the Haberdashers' Aske's city technology college beginning in September 1991 ; and how many applicants of either sex and from different ethnic groups have now been offered places at the college.
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Mr. Eggar : The college received a total of 830 applications. Of those interviewed, on observation, the ethnic groupings appeared to be :
57 asian
183 afro-caribbean
280 white
47 other.
Of the 90 girls and 90 boys offered places the ethnic groupings, based on the earlier observation, are :
22 asian
40 afro-caribbean
99 white
19 other.
Sports and Arts Foundation
Mr. Pendry : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many meetings, and over what time scale, Ministers and officials from his Department held with representatives of the pools companies to discuss the establishing of a new foundation for sport and the arts.
Mr. Atkins : No such meetings were held. As the proposals involved a reduction in pool betting duty, the meetings were with Ministers and officials from Her Majesty's Treasury.
Further Education Colleges
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what criteria he has applied to decide whether adult education centres run by local authorities should be included in his proposals to change the status of further education colleges so that they come under a funding council ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) what criteria he has applied to decide whether colleges of higher education run by local authorities should be included in his proposals to change the status of further education colleges so that they come under a funding council ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Eggar : As my right hon. and learned Friend made clear in his statement to the House on 21 March, the Government propose that all further education colleges offering full-time education should be taken out of local authority control. Most of these colleges make provision for adults, and some offer courses of higher education. Arrangements for funding and administering education for adults, both within and outside the new sector, will be discussed in the forthcoming White Paper.
Science Budget
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when Her Majesty's Government will be responding to the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology report on the science budget 1991-92.
Mr. Alan Howarth : My right hon. and learned Friend is considering the report and will respond in due course.
Teachers' Pay
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has now considered the views expressed by the local authority employers, teacher unions and others on his proposals following the fourth report of the Interim Advisory Committee on School Teachers' Pay and Conditions ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Kenneth Clarke : After careful consideration of the representations I have received I have decided to accept the recommendations contained in the fourth report of the Interim Advisory Committee on School Teachers' Pay and Conditions, but to stage their introduction over the period up to 1 December 1991. Drafts of the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document 1991, an order which gives effect to this document, and a circular to local education authorities and others, are being sent to the relevant local authority associations, teachers' unions and bodies representing the interests of the governors of voluntary schools and grant-maintained schools inviting their comments by Monday 22 April.NORTHERN IRELAND
Estuaries
Mr. Kilfedder : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will designate the seven estuaries in Northern Ireland as special protection areas to protect habitats and to safeguard wildlife.
Mr. Needham : The Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland intends to designate those estuaries which are most significant in terms of their bird populations as special protection areas under the terms of the European Community directive on the conservation of wild birds. Surveying and assessment is proceeding. However, I am not yet in a position to give a precise timetable for the appropriate designations.
Civil Service
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he has taken to recruit women and members of ethnic minorities in the top grades of employment at his Department.
Dr. Mawhinney : The home civil service and the Northern Ireland civil service are fully committed to ensuring equality of opportunity for all applicants including women and ethnic minorities. Both civil services are equal opportunities employers and this is emphasised fully in all the recruiting campaigns and advertising.
If direct recruitment for certain senior posts in the Northern Ireland Office 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 commissioners have not taken any specific action to recruit members of ethnic minorities in top grades of employment nor have they any plans to do so. Their advertisements, however, state that applications are welcome for men and women.
Pensioners' Day Centre, Belvoir
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many members there are in the Wednesday day centre for pensioners in the community centre at Belvoir estate, Castlereagh borough ; how many new members were approved in the past 12 months ; how
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many applications to join the club are under consideration ; and what effort is made to make the existence of this club known to pensioners living in Belvoir and district.Mr. Hanley : At present there are a total of 43 people on the attendance roll of the centre with an average weekly attendance of 39. Five people applied for membership during the last 12 months and three of these have already been placed at the centre and can be offered a place. Two people are currently being considered for membership.
The pensioners in the area are made aware of the club's existence by current members, and social work and community nursing staff. It is also promoted through the East Belfast and Castlereagh Senior Citizens Amalgam.
Social Fund
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish a table in the Official Report to show for each Department of Health and Social Security office in Northern Ireland for the last two years and the current year and how many (a) crisis loans and (b) budgeting loans were (i) applied for in writing and (ii) applied for, or requested verbally, and in each case (1) refused, or, (2) granted ; and how many budgeting loans were paid and how many were offered to applicants in lieu of a crisis loan.
Mr. Hanley : Information about the number of budgeting loans and crisis loans processed each month, the number awarded and the amount paid for each social security office is available in the Library. The number of applications refused can be derived from these figures. Other information about the method of application and the number of loans offered to applicants in lieu of crisis loans is not available.
Ulster Savings
Mr. Hayes : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the future of Ulster Savings.
Dr. Mawhinney : As part of a programme of policy evaluation a review of Ulster Savings was commissioned in 1989 by the Department of Finance and Personnel.
Having given careful consideration to the findings of the review, I have decided that with effect from 1 June 1991 no new investment will be accepted in Ulster Savings although existing investments and provisions for reinvestment will be maintained. The Department for National Savings has agreed that with effect from 1 June it will market national savings certificates in Northern Ireland through the Post Office.
Local Government Finance
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish a table in the Official Report to show (a) the total amount to be rebated to ratepayers in Northern Ireland as a consequence of the announcement by his right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer regarding reduced local government taxation, 19 March, Official Report , column 180, (b) the average sum for each domestic property in Northern Ireland, (c) the sum for each elector in Northern Ireland and (d) what sum £140 per elector in Northern Ireland represents.
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Dr. Mawhinney [holding answer 26 March 1991] : The information is as follows :(a) The total reduction in domestic rates in Northern Ireland is £73.23 million.
(b) This represents an average reduction per ratepayer of approximately £127.
(c) The sum per elector in Northern Ireland is approximately £65.
(d) The sum of £140 per elector in Northern Ireland would amount to £159 million approximately.
With regard to (c) and (d) it should be noted that there is no precise analogy between the adjustments in Great Britain and Northern Ireland because of the different financing regimes and the markedly different degree of existing central Government support. In neither case is the reduction in the burden of local finance related directly to the number of electors and the above figures are no basis for comparisons.
WALES
Vacant Dwellings
Mr. Gregory : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his most recent information for the total number of local authority dwellings which are vacant in Wales ; if he will list these for the period of (a) under three weeks, (b) four to six weeks, (c) seven weeks to six months, (d) seven months to one year and (e) over one year ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given to him on 3 December 1990. The following information updates and revises this answer.
Local authority vacant dwellings at 1 April 1990
Welsh districts |At 1 April |Vacant for
|1990<1> |more than
|six months
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Aberconwy |23 |2
Alyn and Deeside |56 |8
Arfon |27 |0
Blaenau Gwent |124 |2
Brecknock |0 |0
Cardiff |293 |13
Carmarthen |22 |19
Caredigion |31 |3
Colwyn |26 |0
Cynon Valley |184 |44
Delyn |47 |7
Dinefwr |29 |0
Dwyfor |6 |0
Glyndwr |58 |0
Islwyn |170 |62
Llanelli |109 |33
Lliw Valley |46 |29
Meirionnydd |7 |2
Merthyr Tydfil |106 |1
Monmouth |74 |0
Montgomeryshire |36 |0
Neath |68 |1
Newport |96 |16
Ogwr |143 |0
Port Talbot |291 |0
Preseli Pembrokeshire |26 |1
Radnorshire |9 |0
Rhondda |83 |13
Rhuddlan |28 |0
Rhymney Valley |64 |0
South Pembrokeshire |6 |0
Swansea |134 |0
Taff Ely |125 |0
Torfaen |169 |31
Vale of Glamorgan |40 |8
Wrexham Maelor |229 |25
Ynys Mon |57 |7
|------- |-------
Wales Total |3,042 |327
<1> Calculated using provisional stock estimates for 1 April 1990.
Open Heart Surgery
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, further to his answer of 21 March, Official Report, column 177, when the central collection of statistics on number of open heart surgery cases carried out in Wales was started in the form used in his answer.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : Open heart surgery in the NHS in Wales is provided by South Glamorgan health authority. Reflecting the central funding of the authority to provide the service, information on the number of operations carried out has been routinely collected by the Welsh Office since 1984, supplementary to the hospital activity analysis data provided by district health authorities.
Railways
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what measures he has taken to improve the rail infrastructure of Wales.
Mr. David Hunt : Improvement of rail infrastructure is essentially a matter for British Rail. However, my predecessors and I have given credit approvals to fund capital investment by Mid Glamorgan and South Glamorgan county councils in the valleys rail network.
Health Authorities
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many members of health authorities in Wales have interests in property development and in business generally.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : The Department does not seek information about the commercial interests of members when making appointments. However, the Regional and Distict Health Authorities (Membership and Procedure) Regulations 1990 require a chairman or member to disclose any pecuniary interest in any contract, proposed contract or other matter under discussion at a meeting and in general preclude the chairman or member from taking any further active part in the related debate or decisions.
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much health authority property has been sold in each of the health authorities in Wales in each of the years from 1980 to 1990 inclusive.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : The information is not immediately available in the form requested, but the table details the amount of NHS land sold in each DHA from 1980 to 1990.
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NHS land sales 1980-90 (hectares)
|1980 |1981 |1982 |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987 |1988 |1989 |1990
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clwyd |0.4428 |- |- |0.3143 |0.2040 |0.1847 |0.1544 |0.4943 |0.9308 |0.3084 |-
East Dyfed |- |- |- |- |- |5.0751 |0.0250 |1.2310 |0.2928 |0.1640 |-
Gwent |- |- |- |- |- |- |0.6950 |0.0960 |0.7141 |- |0.118
Gwyneddd |0.0043 |- |- |- |0.3908 |- |0.0324 |- |0.2970 |0.1270 |0.192
Mid Glamorgan 0.25182.9948 - 0.1710 0.5535 1.0328 0.7650 1.2158 0.2343 0.1817 0.270
Powys |11.9892|- |0.2516 |0.2734 |0.3047 |0.0660 |- |- |4.4117 |- |-
South Glamorgan - 2.2620 2.3787 2.0697 - - 0.2466 0.0473 0.0340 - -
West Glamorgan 3.9510.0995 0.2870 0.1615 0.7335 0.2808 - 0.9560 0.0784 4.2040 -
Pembrokeshire <1>1.3<1>37.63-2 - - - 0.0243 0.1644 0.0650 0.0772 0.304
|---- |---- |---- |---- |---- |---- |---- |---- |---- |---- |----
Totals |17.9951|42.9935|2.9173 |2.9899 |2.1865 |6.6394 |1.9427 |4.2048 |7.0581 |5.0623 |0.884
<1>Disposals by former Dyfed health authority.
Green Belt Legislation
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he proposes to publish a green belt Bill ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : Green belts are established through development plans. The Assembly of Welsh Counties has accepted my invitation to look at the role green belts might play in the planning and development of Wales, as part of the review of strategic planning guidance. I expect to receive a report from the assembly later in the spring, which will inform my consideration of the need to issue further advice on the subject.
Parking Offences
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many parking tickets were received and paid by his Department in each year since 1988 in respect of official vehicles.
Company Takeovers
Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many Welsh companies have been bought by European companies and how many by other overseas companies in each of the last two years.
Mr. David Hunt : Information known to Welsh Development International on acquisitions of companies with operations in Wales is as follows : in 1989, four acquisitions by companies based elsewhere in Europe and three by companies based in other countries ; in 1990, four acquisitions by companies based elsewhere in Europe and 10 by companies based in other countries.
Environmental Health Officers
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many environmental health officers have been employed by local authorities in Wales for each year since 1980.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : The number of local authority non-manual staff employed in environmental health in
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Wales for each of the last 10 years is given in the table. It is not possible to identify separately the number of environmental health officers included in this category.
Number of non-manual
staff employed in
environmental health<1>
Total Wales
|Numbers
------------------------
1981 |769
1982 |748
1983 |740
1984 |796
1985 |856
1986 |822
1987 |832
1988 |826
1989 |850
1990 |<2>867
<1> Full-time
equivalent as at March
for each year.
<2> Provisional.
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales further to his answer to the hon. Member for South Shields on 13 March, Official Report, columns 529-30 whether he intends to exhume the bodies of the BSE confirmed cattle that were buried in 1990 and 1991.
Nurse Gradings
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish for each health authority area in Wales (a) the number of appeals that have been submitted to his Department by nursing staff disputing the grade to which they have been assigned, (b) the number of those appeals that have been determined, (c) the number of appeals that have been successful, (d) the mean median and modal times taken for those appeals to be determined and (e) the number of appeals that have been withdrawn.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : Relevant numbers of nurse clinical grading appeals made at the all-Wales level to the Welsh appeals committee for each health authority are as shown in the following table :
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