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Mr. Eggar : My right hon. and learned Friend has received a representation about the impact of his statement on Cambridge regional college about debt charges and capital funding after 31 March 1993 for the building project at Cambridge regional college. Officers of the authority have also been in touch with DES officials.
Environmental Research Database
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the role of the global environmental research office and database established at the Science and Engineering Research Council headquarters in Swindon.
Mr. Alan Howarth : The United Kingdom global environmental research office, which is jointly funded by the five research councils and housed by the Natural Environment Research Council in Swindon, acts as a focal point for the provision and dissemination of information on United Kingdom and international GER science and policy developments, and as a contact point for equivalent offices in other countries. It provides the secretariat for the
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United Kingdom inter-agency committee on global environment change and maintains a database of United Kingdom GER research activities.Female Circumcision
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will provide guidance for teachers on female circumcision and the symptoms of children at risk and recent victims.
Mr. Fallon : Where teachers are concerned about the health and welfare of pupils, they should make their concerns known to the relevant agencies under the arrangements for inter-agency co-operation for the protection of children. There is existing central guidance on these arrangements, and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health is planning to issue revised guidance later this year, which will draw attention to the Prohibition of Female Circumcision Act 1985.
Schools (Local Management)
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will announce his plans for further delegation and increased independence for schools under schemes of local management ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Fallon : Today we are publishing departmental circular 7/91, which sets out new guidance for local education authorities on the local management of schools. The measures contained in the circular reflect our determination to ensure that schools become more independent of their LEAs.
Local management of schools will be extended as follows : any school may apply for delegated management from April 1992 ; all schools must have delegated management by April 1994 ; by April 1993, 85 per cent. of the potential schools budget must be delegated to the school level which, on 1990-91 figures, will release a further £140 million to our schools ;
by April 1993, 80 per cent. of those delegated funds must be linked directly to pupil numbers, weighted for age and special needs ; special schools will be able to apply for delegated management from April 1994, by which time local authorities must have introduced formula funding for all special schools.
To ensure that schools have the necessary flexibility efficiently to manage their budgets, we intend to require local education authorities to allow all secondary schools to operate their own bank accounts.
Copies of the circular are today being placed in the Library of the House.
WALES
Prehistoric Sites
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he intends any initiatives to vary the extent of excavations on prehistoric sites in Gwent and Glamorgan.
Mr. David Hunt : No. The extent of archaeological excavations funded by my Department and the particular approach for specific sites is kept under constant review. This ensures the most effective archaeological response to threatened sites.
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Nursery Schools
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the number of local authority nursery school places provided by every Welsh education authority, expressed as a percentage of the eligible children in each area.
Sir Wyn Roberts : The proportion of three and four-year-olds in nursery schools in September 1990 is shown in the following table. Data on the number of places in nursery schools are not held centrally.
Percentage of 3 and 4 year old
population<1>
|Per cent.
------------------------------------
Clwyd |1.4
Dyfed |2.5
Gwent |8.8
Mid Glamorgan |7.4
South Glamorgan |6.9
West Glamorgan |2.3
<1> There are no nursery schools in
Gwynedd or Powys, although, as
in all counties, a significant
number of other 3 and 4-year-olds
attend
schools either in nursery classes
or in ordinary classes.
New House Building
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the total of new house and flat construction by Welsh local authorities in each of the past 12 years.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : Annual data from 1975 to 1989 was published in table 2.3 of Welsh Housing Statistics No. 10, 1990, a copy of which is in the Library of the House. In 1990, 551 dwellings were completed by local authorities.
Labour Statistics
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what has been the percentage of total unemployment in (a) the area covered by the valleys initiative and (b) Wales during each of the past 24 months for which details are available.
Mr. David Hunt : Unemployment rates for Wales and the valleys area are given in the following table :
Unemployment rate percentage
|Wales |Programme for
|the valleys area
--------------------------------------------------------------------
1989
April |7.9 |11.3
May |7.5 |10.8
June |7.1 |10.4
July |7.1 |10.4
August |7.0 |10.2
September |6.9 |10.3
October |6.6 |9.5
November |6.5 |9.2
December |6.7 |9.4
1990
January |7.0 |9.8
February |6.8 |9.6
March |6.7 |9.4
April |6.5 |9.3
May |6.3 |9.1
June |6.1 |8.9
July |6.4 |9.2
August |6.5 |9.2
September |6.6 |9.4
October |6.6 |9.3
November |6.9 |9.5
December |7.4 |10.1
1991
January |7.8 |10.7
February |8.1 |11.0
March |8.3 |11.5
Note:
The rates are calculated by expressing the unadjusted number of
unemployed claimants as a percentage of the estimated total work
force (the sum of unemployed claimants, employees in employment,
self-employed, HM forces and participants on work-related
Government training programmes). Mid-year estimates of the
relevant total work force are used in calculating the unemployment
rates. The Welsh figures for 1989 use 1989 mid-year estimates of
the
total work force in Wales; the Welsh figures for 1990 and the first
three months of 1991 use mid-1990 estimates of the total work
force.
Unemployment rates calculated for the programme for the valleys
area use mid-1989 estimates of the total work force in the area
throughout.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Social Security
Mr. Nellist : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the main rate of supplementary benefit or income support available in Northern Ireland in 1979 for (i) a single person and (ii) a couple with two children ; and what the value would be today if it had been raised in line with (a) the RPI and (b) average industrial wages.
Mr. Hanley [holding answer 15 April 1991] : The available information is as follows :
|Single<1> |Couple<1> with
|householder |two children
|under 5
|£ |£
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Supplementary benefit
Scale rate-November 1979 |18.30 |40.10
Value if raised in line with:
(a) RPI<2> |37.99 |83.26
(b) average earnings<3> |46.86 |102.68
The figures are not comparable with any current income support
rates; supplementary benefit was structured and assessed in a
completely different manner.
<1> Under pension age and unemployed.
<2> To April 1990.
<3> New Series Index (Whole Economy) seasonally adjusted to April
1990.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Local Offices
Ms. Gordon : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people are receiving family credit in the areas covered by the Poplar, Stepney and Shoreditch DSS offices, respectively ; and how many people in Tower Hamlets as a whole are receiving family credit.
Mr. Jack : The number of families receiving family credit who were living in the areas covered by the local social security offices in Tower Hamlets at the time their award was made is as follows :
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|Number
---------------------------
Poplar |568
Stepney |1,156
Shoreditch |282
|-------
Total |2,006
Note: Number of awards
actually in payment on 8
February 1991 i.e.
excludes awards on claims
made before that date but
not
decided at that stage.
Poll Tax Rebates
Mr. Cummings : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many poll tax payers in the Easington district council area will lose rebate arising out of the proposed reduction in the poll tax.
Miss Widdecombe : This information is not available.
Adjudication Regulations
Mr. John Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will provide a detailed estimate of the annual savings that would be made by the abolition of regulation 72 of the Adjudication Regulations in relation to supplementary benefit and national assistance.
Miss Widdecombe : Estimates of the impact of amending the regulation to exclude supplementary benefit and national assistance are uncertain and no estimate of savings is therefore possible.
Child Benefit
Sir Ian Gilmour : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish figures showing the age distribution of the first children for whom £2 a week extra child benefit will be payable from next October, distinguishing between children aged 0 to 4 years, 5 to 10 years, 11 to 15 years and 16 years or over.
Mr. Jack : The latest available estimates are based on June 1990 figures. They show that the number of children for whom the higher child benefit rate of £9.25 a week will be payable from October 1991 will be :
|Million
--------------------------------------
Aged 0 to 4 years |1.7
Aged 5 to 10 years |2.0
Aged 11 to 15 years |2.2
Aged 16 years or over |0.9
|-------
Total |6.8
Sir Ian Gilmour : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will tabulate figures showing the annual costs of each extra £1 a week child benefit for (a) first children, (b) second children, (c) third children and (d) fourth and subsequent children.
Mr. Jack : We estimate that the costs in 1991-92 would be (a) £355 million, (b) £205 million, (c) £60 million, and (d) £20 million.
If such increases were offset in national insurance and income-related benefits, the net costs would be (a) £250 million, (b) £150 million, (c) £40 million, and (d) £10 million.
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the annual cost (a) gross and (b) after
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deduction of income support of uprating child benefit from its present level (i) by £1 a week for the first child only, (ii) by a further £1 a week for the first child plus 25 pence a week for the second and subsequent children and (iii) by £2.30 a week for each child ; and what would be the comparable figures for uprating child benefit from its proposed October 1991 level by an extra 30 pence a week for the first child and an extra £2.05 a week for second and subsequent children.Mr. Jack [holding answer 28 March 1991] : On the basis of our latest estimates, the gross full year costs in 1991-92 of uprating child benefit from the 1990-91 rate of £7.25 per week would be (i) £355 million, (ii) £425 million, and (iii) £1,475 million. The equivalent net costs, after the normal adjustments to national insurance and income-related benefits, are (i) £250 million, (ii) £300 million and (iii) £1,045 million.
The full year costs in 1991-92 of increasing child benefit by 30p per week for the eldest eligible child in the family and by £2.05 for each other child are estimated to be £695 million gross and £490 million net.
National Insurance Pension
Sir Ian Gilmour : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish figures showing the April 1991 value of the category A national insurance pension, at uprating dates each year since 1978, using the general index of retail prices, including housing costs.
Miss Widdecombe : Information on the real value of the state retirement pension in previous years at April 1991 prices will not be available until the RPI figure for that month is known. Figures on the value of the state retirement pension at April 1990 prices are set out in table 5 1(a) of the October 1990 edition of the DSS "Abstract of Statistics", a copy of which is available in the Library.
Pensioner Couples
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list those benefits and their average value which are available to pensioner couples on basic pensions who are in receipt of income support.
Miss Widdecombe : The benefits listed in the table are available to pensioner couples on income support with basic pensions. They are also available to pensioner couples who do not receive income support.
Housing benefit
Community charge benefit
Mobility allowance
Invalid care allowance
Severe disability allowance
Invalidity benefit
Sickness benefit
Industrial injury benefit
War disablement pension
Attendance allowance
Help with NHS charges and payments from the social fund Notes :
Mobility allowance continues to age 80 but cannot be claimed after age 66 (but mobility conditions must have been met before age 65).
Invalid care allowance continues but cannot be claimed after age 60 for women and 65 for men.
Invalidity benefit and sickness benefit can be paid up to five years beyond pension age.
Crisis loans and payments for certain specific items are possible if customers are not on income support.
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Whether or not any of these would actually be payable to any one couple would depend on their particular circumstances.Information on the average amount of each benefit in payment to pensioner couples is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Social Fund
Mr. Norman Hogg : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish the financial allocation to the social fund for each local office in Scotland and the actual sum spent in each case for the financial year ended 31 March 1991.
Mr. Scott : Information on allocations for 1991-92 and monthly expenditure up to February 1991 are available in the Library. The March 1991 figures will be available shortly.
Long-stay Patients
Mr. Andrew Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessment he has made of the costs incurred by his Department from the discharge of patients from long-stay hospital beds to private nursing homes ; and if he will make a statement.
Miss Widdecombe : No such assessment has been made as information about a claimant's previous place of residence is not collected.
Family Credit
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what percentage of new claims for family credit were unsuccessful in each of last 24 months for which records are available ; and what was the spending on advertising family credit during those months.
Mr. Jack : Of the new claims for family credit cleared during each of these months the percentage which was unsuccessful was as follows :
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Advertising campaign |Expenditure (£ ) -------------------------------------------------------------------- April-June 1989 |3,635,000 October 1989-January 1990 |2,200,000 June-August 1990 |2,394,000 February-March 1991 |1,500,000
Income Support
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people are in receipt of income support in Scotland at the latest date for which figures are available.
Miss Widdecombe [pursuant to the answer, 15 April, c. 89] : I regret that the hon. Member's question was incorrectly linked for answer. It should have received the following answer.
In May 1989, the latest date for which information is available, some 486,000 people in Scotland were in receipt of income support. This information is drawn from the May 1989 Annual Statistical Enquiry, a copy of which is in the Library.
SCOTLAND
Industrial Premises
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what evidence he has of the trends in investment by the private sector in new industrial and warehousing premises in Scotland.
Mr. Allan Stewart : There is no clear statistical evidence from which trends in the volume of private sector industrial investment can be drawn. There are, however, encouraging signs of increased activity in this area.
During 1990, consistent with the Government's policy of encouraging the private sector to take a greater role in the development and management of industrial property in Scotland, the Scottish Development Agency disposed of property holdings valued at almost £140 million. The disposals included sites with development potential and we are aware that the new private sector owners have undertaken or plan to undertake industrial developments on a number of these. It seems likely that owner-occupiers whose businesses are prospering will continue to invest in new units and extensions and that other businesses will follow as the economy recovers. Interest in speculative building, which has been constrained by low rents and recent high interest rates, is expected to revive as interest rates fall and rents increase to match building costs.
Household Statistics
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many adults over 18 years of age there are in Scotland at the latest date for which figures are available.
Column 330
Mr. Lang : The population of Scotland aged 18 years and over at 30 June 1990 is provisionally estimated to have been 3,940,000.
Training Organisations
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many approved training organisations there are in Scotland ; and what are their names.
Mr. Allan Stewart : There were 305 approved training organisations in Scotland as at 31 March 1991.
Information about the names of these approved training organisations is set out in the table.
Information about additions or deletions from this list after 31 March 1991 is a matter for Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and local enterprise companies.
Employment training
Workstart Ltd.
Grampian Regional Council
Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Board
JHP Training Ltd.
Aberdeen Enterprise Trust
Angus Training Group
Tayside Training Services
Balloch Trust Enterprise Ltd.
Highland Perth Development Co.
St. Andrew's Business Association Ltd.
Grampian Regional Council
Moray District Council
Voluntary Services Aberdeen
Aberdeen Chamber of Commerce
Hotel and Catering Training Board
Mid Grampian Employment Training Ltd.
Sullivan Ltd.
Adult Community Training (Dundee) Ltd.
Dundee Skill Centre
Dundee and Tayside Chamber of Commerce Industry
Hotel and Catering Training Board
Agricultural Training Board
Tayside Training Company
Workstart Ltd.
Angus District Council
Dundee Cyrenians Wishart Centre
Dundee Enterprise Trust
Heat Development (Dundee) Ltd.
Wigtown District Council
Dumfries and Galloway Regional Council Education Department Garnock Workspace Ltd.
Best Ltd.
Radix Training Ltd.
Training Service Ayrshire Ltd.
Care Ayrshire Training Ltd.
Employment Training Sponsors (Scotland) Ltd.
Dumfries and Galloway R.C. Consortium
Galloway Training Organisation
Ardrossan, Saltcoats, Stevenston Enterprise Trust
Scottish Maritime Museum Trust
Cumnock and Doon Valley District Council
May-Tag Ltd.
Phoenix Employment Training Agency Ltd.
Skills Training Agency Irvine Skill Centre
Lanarkshire Training Agency Ltd.
RDL Professional Services Ltd.
East Kilbride Energy Project Ltd.
OSCC Training Services
Midscot Training Services
LAGDT Ltd.
Lanarkshire Enterprise Training Ltd.
Anne Rodger Training Salon
Springboard Lanarkshire Trust
Grand Metropolitan Commission Service Trust
RRW Association (Hamilton) Ltd.
Clydesdale District Council
Hamilton District Council
East Kilbride District Council
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