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Speed Signs (M4)
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales at what time the 30 mph and 60 mph speed limits were switched on on the illuminated maximum speed indicators on the westbound carriageway of the M4 motorway between junction 48 and the Pont Abraham services on the evening of Friday 19 April ; at what time they were switched off ; and what was the nature of the problem which necessitated the activation of the speed limits.
Sir Wyn Roberts : South Wales police are responsible for the operation of the matrix signalling system in the area involved.
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Their records show that the system was activated once on Friday 19 April at 21.02 hours due to a vehicle (car) fire on the hard shoulder of the westbound carriageway. The fire service extinguished the fire, and the police switched off the matrix system at 21.33 hours. It is police policy in such situations to activate 60 mph signs in advance of the incident and 30 mph signs closer to the scene.Chernobyl
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the area in acres and hectares, the number of sheep, and the number of farms currently under restriction, including the county or counties involved, as a result of the radioactive contamination following the Chernobyl accident.
Mr. David Hunt : In Wales restrictions affect approximately 207,500 acres (approximately 84,000 hectares) ; 292,000 sheep (maximum post-lambing figure) ; and 410 holdings. The restrictions involve parts of the counties of Clwyd, Powys and Gwynedd.
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the total amount of grants from the Exchequer that have been paid to farmers in Wales to deal with the consequences of the Chernobyl accident.
Mr. David Hunt : As at 29 March 1991, compensation payments totalling £5,130,404 had been authorised for sheep producers in Wales affected by the Chernobyl incident.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Advertising
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give separate figures for the spending by his Department on (a) Television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotional material in 1979-80 and in each following year ; and what are his latest estimates for 1990-91 and budgets for 1991-92.
Miss Widdecombe : For information from 1979-80 to 1989-90, I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him on 12 March 1990 at cols 71-72.
The total estimated outturn for publicity in 1990-91 is £12.843 million. Of this, £5.025 million has been committed for the purpose of advertising.
|£ million
---------------------------------------------------
Television |3.38
Press |1.517
Other material
(This includes information
and promotion) |7.946
The estimate for the 1991-92 national social security advertising and publicity budget is £12.992 million. Detailed decisions on media have not yet been made.
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The estimate for the 1991-92 publicity budgets for the Benefits Agency is £8.724 million and £1.254 million for the Contributions Agency. Detailed decisions on media have not yet been made.Building Work
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether he will list the number and location of all new buildings or extensions commissioned by his Department in each of the past five years which (a) had contracts worth between £3 million and £5 million and (b) has contracts worth more than £5 million.
Mr. Jack : The Property Services Agency of the Department of the Environment has managed and executed new buildings and extensions on behalf of this Department in the period in question.
This Department commissioned buildings at the following locations within the following project values.
Year |£ 3-£ 5 million |Over £ 5 million
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1986-87<1> |Nil |Nil
1987-88<1> |Nil |Nil
|Livingston, North
|Fylde(2 buildings),
|Ashton in
1988-89 |Washington |Makerfield
1989-90 |Nil |Belfast, London
|North Fylde,Leeds,
|Preston.Newton
1990-91 |North Fylde |Abbott
<1>Before 1 April 1988 this Department had no responsibility for
funding major new buildings on the Government's civil estate. This
was the responsibility of the Property Services Agency.
Unemployment Benefit
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what rules govern eligibility for unemployment benefit for those with part-time employment ; and what form of recourse is available to claimants who have been refused unemployment benefit due to part-time employment.
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Mr. Jack : A person working part-time must satisfy the contribution conditions for receipt of unemployment benefit and be available for work on the days for which he claims. He must also actively seek work and show that any restrictions he places on his availability do not prevent him from having reasonable prospects of employment. Benefit is not payable for any day on which he earns over £2, or for any week in which he has done his full normal week's work or earned at least £52.
A person refused unemployment benefit may appeal to the local social security appeal tribunal. He may also be entitled to family credit or income support.
Social Fund
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Nottingham, North (Mr. Allen) of 11 March, Official Report, column 415 on the percentage of income support claimants repaying social fund loans, if he will give the figures for the East Midlands region, by local authority.
Mr. Scott : The administration of income support and the social fund is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available and copies will be placed in the Library and the public information office.
Family Credit
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many family credit awards were current ; and what was the caseload including backdated awards at the end of each month since April 1989, for employees and self-employed people, respectively.
Mr. Jack : [pursuant to his reply, 11 March 1991, cols. 417- 18] : I regret that the figures given for the caseload for the months of August to December 1989 were incorrect. The correct information is as follows :
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Caseload (including backdated awards) as at end of month
|Number of |Employees |Self-employed |Total
|family credit
|awards current
|at end of
|month<1>
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 1989 |251,897 |235,820 |43,160 |278,980
May 1989 |235,751 |255,420 |44,620 |300,040
June 1989 |263,480 |263,200 |45,520 |308,720
July 1989 |275,414 |268,140 |45,080 |313,220
August 1989 |281,734 |269,340 |44,680 |314,020
September 1989 |288,631 |273,880 |44,960 |318,840
October 1989 |278,122 |269,840 |44,120 |313,960
November 1989 |274,194 |260,020 |43,940 |303,960
December 1989 |263,135 |255,440 |43,140 |298,580
January 1990 |265,548 |255,300 |44,100 |299,400
February 1990 |278,392 |261,960 |44,860 |306,820
March 1990 |281,559 |263,360 |45,920 |309,280
April 1990 |280,898 |267,240 |46,760 |314,000
May 1990 |268,933 |267,940 |47,260 |315,200
June 1990 |275,250 |272,360 |47,480 |319,840
July 1990 |279,856 |277,620 |48,200 |325,820
August 1990 |281,414 |- |- |<2>324,000
September 1990 |282,019 |- |- |<2>326,000
October 1990 |280,744 |- |- |<2>326,000
November 1990 |293,343 |- |- |<2>324,000
December 1990 |284,429 |- |- |<3>-
January 1991 |281,250 |- |- |<3>-
February 1991 |288,924 |- |- |<3>-
<1> A breakdown between employees and self-employed is not available.
<2> Provisional totals: no breakdowns between employers and employed at this stage.
<3> Meaningful figures not yet available because of claims not yet decided.
Local Government Finance
Ms. Quin : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many poll tax payers will lose their rebate entitlement as a result of the proposed reduction in the poll tax (a) nationally and (b) in Gateshead.
Miss Widdecombe [holding answer 28 March 1991] : It is estimated that, as a result of the general reduction of community charges by £140, the number of people qualifying for community charge benefit will be about 1.4 million less than if the previous higher charges had remained in place. This estimate takes account of the abolition, from 1 April 1991, of the minimum benefit rule for community charge benefit.
Information about Gateshead is not available
Source : Modelled using data drawn from the 1986-87-88 Family Expenditure Surveys at 1991-92 prices and benefit levels.
SCOTLAND
Highlands and Islands Enterprise
Sir Russell Johnston : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the cost of launching Highlands and Islands Enterprise and its associated local enterprise companies.
Mr. Allan Stewart : This is an operational matter for Highlands and Islands Enterprise. I have asked the chairman to write direct to the hon. Member.
Legal System
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when Glasgow sheriff court opens and closes each day.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Glasgow sheriff court opens to the public at 9.15 am on weekdays and closes when all courtroom business has been completed or when the offices close at 3.45 pm, whichever is the later. Court business can also be conducted outwith these times where necessary.
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the average hours use per day on judicial business of Glasgow sheriff court.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : In the quarter ending 31 December 1990, the average court sitting day, excluding lunch breaks, was 3.8 hours. In addition, sheriffs undertook judicial business in chambers.
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many sheriffs, including sheriff principals there are in each sheriffdom ; and how many there were five years ago.
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Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The complement for each sheriffdom is set out in the table :
|1991 |1986
--------------------------------------------------------
Glasgow and Strathkelvin |24 |24
Grampian, Highland and Islands |13 |13
Lothian and Borders |16 |15
North Strathclyde |15 |13
South Strathclyde, Dumfries and
Galloway |16 |13
Tayside, Central and Fife |15 |14
Floating Sheriffs |6 |5
|-------|-------
Total |105 |97
Health Service Contracts
Mr. McMaster : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list for the Argyll and Clyde health board (a) the services which are subject to compulsory competitive tendering, (b) the contracts which have been awarded to the private sector and (c) the contracts which have been awarded in-house ; and what plans he has to extend compulsory competitive tendering in the health service.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The information is as follows :
a) The services of domestic catering, portering, transport and painting have been subjected to competitive tendering.
b) Two contracts for portering and one for painter work have been awarded to outside contractors.
c) 19 contracts have been awarded in-house.
This has released an extra £2.2 million for the board to spend on patient care.
Health boards have been encouraged to keep under review the range of services which may be susceptible to competitive tendering.
Homes for the Elderly
Mr. McMaster : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what further resources he has allocated to local authorities in Scotland to help them meet targets for the provision of homes for the elderly in terms of both quantity and quality.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : There are no such targets set centrally. The allocation of grant-aided expenditure for social work for 1991-92 provides for an increase of 14 per cent. on that for 1990-91. It is for individual authorities to decide on the allocation of expenditure to particular services in accordance with their own perception of needs and priorities.
Schools
Mr. McMaster : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list for each year since 1980 the number of special classes or units in primary schools in each local
Column 545
authority region, expressing this as a proportion of all (a) primary schools in the region and (b) secondary schools in each region ; and if he will express this as a proportion of all secondary schools in the region.Column 546
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The information requested is readily available only from 1987.
The numbers and proportions of education authority primary and secondary schools with an attached special department, including classes or units, at September in each year are shown in the table :
Column 545
Number and percentage of education authority primary schools with special departments by local authority region
1987 1988 1989 1990
Education authority |Number of |Percentage |Number of |Percentage |Number of |Percentage |Number of |Percentage
|depart- |depart- |depart- |depart-
|ments |ments |ments |ments
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Borders |7 |9.1 |7 |9.1 |6 |7.8 |6 |7.8
Central |0 |- |2 |1.7 |2 |1.7 |4 |3.4
Dumfries and Galloway |9 |7.8 |12 |10.5 |11 |9.6 |14 |12.3
Fife |9 |6.1 |10 |6.8 |10 |6.8 |10 |6.9
Grampian |2 |0.7 |2 |0.7 |2 |0.7 |2 |0.7
Highland |11 |5.4 |10 |5.0 |11 |5.5 |14 |7.0
Lothian |11 |4.5 |12 |4.9 |12 |4.9 |13 |5.3
Strathclyde |8 |0.9 |8 |0.9 |10 |1.1 |10 |1.1
Tayside |13 |7.0 |15 |8.1 |13 |7.0 |13 |7.0
Orkney |0 |- |0 |- |1 |5.0 |1 |5.0
Shetland |1 |3.7 |1 |3.7 |1 |3.7 |1 |3.7
Western Isles |2 |4.9 |2 |5.9 |2 |5.9 |1 |3.0
|--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |---
Scotland |73 |3.1 |81 |3.5 |81 |3.5 |89 |3.8
Number and percentage of education authority secondary schools with special departments by local authority region
1987 1988 1989 1990
Education authority |Number of |Percentage |Number of |Percentage |Number of |Percentage |Number of |Percentage
|depart- |depart- |depart- |depart-
|ments |ments |ments |ments
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Borders |5 |55.6 |5 |55.6 |5 |55.6 |5 |55.6
Central |7 |33.3 |7 |36.8 |8 |42.1 |9 |47.4
Dumfries and Galloway |6 |37.5 |7 |43.8 |9 |56.3 |7 |43.8
Fife |9 |47.4 |9 |47.4 |9 |47.4 |9 |47.4
Grampian |5 |12.5 |4 |10.3 |4 |10.3 |5 |12.8
Highland |10 |37.0 |10 |37.0 |10 |37.0 |11 |40.7
Lothian |10 |19.6 |10 |19.6 |10 |19.6 |8 |15.7
Strathclyde |6 |3.1 |6 |3.1 |8 |4.3 |8 |4.4
Tayside |6 |18.8 |6 |18.8 |7 |21.9 |6 |18.8
Orkney |0 |- |0 |- |0 |- |0 |-
Shetland |0 |- |0 |- |0 |- |0 |-
Western Isles |1 |6.3 |1 |6.3 |1 |6.3 |1 |6.3
|--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |---
Scotland |65 |14.8 |65 |15.0 |71 |16.6 |69 |16.3
Courts (Closed Circuit Television)
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has concerning the provision of closed circuit television links in court proceedings involving child witnesses in cases dealing with physical and or sexual abuse subsequent to the introduction of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990 ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : I indicated last year in our debates on what are now sections 56 to 59 of the 1990 Act that we would be consulting the judiciary about the arrangements for implementation of these provisions. Equipment demonstrations have been mounted and consultations have taken place. An announcement will be made when we have completed our examination of the results.
NHS Trusts
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what criteria he will use to judge whether to approve or otherwise any application for setting up an NHS trust.
Column 546
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The criteria for NHS trust applications are published in "NHS Trusts : A Working Guide".
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland under what authority the chief executive of the national health service in Scotland has appointed Douglas Brown and Donald MacNeill as chairman designate and chief executive designate, respectively, of the Ayrshire national health service trust ; on whose authority Donald MacNeill is organising the national health service trust application from property belonging to the Ayrshire and Arran health board ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : No appointments have been made by the chief executive of the national health service in Scotland : that of chairman- designate was announced by the Secretary of State. Procedures for applications are laid down in chapter 5 of "NHS Trusts : A Working Guide", a copy of which is in the Library.
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what arrangements he has made to ensure that members or
Column 547
officers of health boards charged with the responsibility of carrying out the consultation on NHS trusts are not themselves involved in any way in the trust application.Mr. Michael Forsyth : In all cases where trust proposals are being pursued, a team drawn from the unit concerned has been established under the control of a project manager.
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information is included in the application for national health service trust status for the new Ayr hospital about the prospective directors of the trust.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The application describes the proposed management framework. This will be examined as part of the assessment of the trust proposal.
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what guarantees he has given to those appointed as officers designate of NHS trusts that they will be appointed to the equivalent substantive positions on the trusts, if eventually approved.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : None. The appointment of executive members of a trust is a matter for the chairman and non-executive members.
Mr. Robert Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish the details of the standard contract between health boards in Scotland and proposed national health service trusts.
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 22 April 1991] : There is no standard contract. NHS contracts between health boards and NHS trusts will be a matter for the parties concerned having regard to any general guidance which may be issued from time to time by the Scottish Office Home and Health Department.
Chernobyl
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the area in acres and hectares, the number of sheep, and the number of farms currently under restriction, including the county or counties involved, as a result of the radioactive contamination following the Chernobyl accident.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Following the removal from 14 January 1991 of restrictions on a number of farms in Scotland, 148,647 acres (60,181 hectares), 116,000 sheep, post-lambing figure, and 63 farms in parts of Central region, Stirling district ; Dumfries and Galloway region, Stewartry, Wigtown and Nithsdale disricts ; Strathclyde region, Cumnock and Doon Valley, Kyle and Carrick, Cunninghame, Kilmarnock and Loudoun, East Kilbride and Eastwood districts are currently subject to restriction under the Food Protection (Emergency Prohibitions) (Radioactivity in Sheep) Order 1991.
Inverclyde Initiative
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list all the central Government financial assistance to the Inverclyde initiative, since its creation detailing precise allocations to specific activities.
Mr. Allan Stewart [holding answer 26 March 1991] : Central Government financial assistance to the Inverclyde Initiative for the years in question was as follows :
Column 548
Scottish Development Agency
Project and programme
expenditure
(the precise breakdown
requested is not available)
|£
------------------------------
1985-86 |3,387,000
1986-87 |2,676,000
1987-88 |2,792,000
1988-89 |4,762,000
1989-90 |7,784,000
Urban
programme-Inverclyde
community initiatives
fund
|£
----------------------
1987-88 |7,687
1988-89 |8,404
1989-90 |17,328
Cancer
Mr. Canavan : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will list for each year from 1986 onwards the number of reported cases of cancer-related diseases in (a) Scotland, (b) Forth Valley district health board area, (c) Falkirk district, (d) the postal district FK4, (e) the postal district FK5 and (f) the postal district FK6.
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 19 April 1991] : The number of cancer-related diseases from 1986 onwards for (a) Scotland, (b) Forth Valley health board area, (c) Falkirk local government district, (d) the postal district FK4, (e) the postal district FK5 and (f) the postal district FK6 are shown in the table :
|1986 |1987 |1988 |1989
-------------------------------------------------------------
Scotland |24,995|25,439|25,901|25,860
Forth Valley health board |1,268 |1,283 |1,303 |1,233
Falkirk local government
district |655 |631 |668 |689
Postal district FK4 |40 |64 |32 |60
Postal district FK5 |70 |56 |82 |79
Postal district FK6 |43 |43 |55 |45
Final figures for 1990 are not yet available.
<1> All Malignant Neoplasms; International Classification of
Diseases, Ninth Revision.
Aberdeen Royal Infirmary
Mr. Robert Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish or place in the Library the minutes of discussion and decision of Grampian health board of 7 March with regard to the item dealing with NHS trust status of Aberdeen royal infirmary, Foresterhill site.
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 22 April 1991] : Board minutes are a matter for the board concerned, in this particular case the discussion referred to took place in closed session, but I understand that Grampian health board has made clear to the hon. Member its willingness to make the minutes available.
Column 549
Forestry Commission
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the names of each individual on each regional advisory committee of the Forestry Commission and indicate whether they represent forestry, trade union or environmental interests.
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 22 April 1991] : The Forestry Act 1967 stipulates that not fewer than four members of each regional advisory committee will be appointed by the Forestry Commissioners after consultation with organisations appearing to them to represent the interests of owners of woodlands and timber merchants respectively and organisations concerned with the study and promotion of forestry. In 1974, Forestry Ministers instructed the commissioners to appoint to each RAC representatives of agricultural, planning and environmental interests ; it was also decided that the remaining place should continue to be allocated to a trade union
representative.
The names of the members of each RAC, and the backgrounds from which they have been drawn, are given in the table. RAC chairmen are, as far as possible, appointed from independent backgrounds. North of England RAC
Professor G. R. Dickson--Chairman
R. N. Cartwright--Forestry (Forestry Profession)
J. Derham--Trade Union
T. R. Fetherstonhaugh--Forestry (Timber Growers)
N. C. Forbes Adam--Forestry (Timber Growers)
Lady E. Kirk--Environment
A. A. Macdonald--Planning
R. J. Steel Addison--Agriculture
J. T. Todd--Forestry (Timber Merchants)
East England RAC
W. E. Lane--Chairman
N. A. Braden--Forestry (Timber Merchants)
D. M. Clark--Planning
M. Craske--Trade Union
T. Cook--Forestry (Timber Growers)
N. G. Halsey--Forestry (Timber Growers)
A. R. Pelly--Forestry (Timber Growers)
C. Stratton--Environment
L. Woodham--Agriculture
West England RAC
Mrs. R. Thomas--Chairman
N. D. Anderson--Forestry (Timber Growers)
Lord Courteney--Agriculture
C. A. Eade--Forestry (Timber Growers)
A. Fooks--Trade Union
R. Jarman--Environment
J. T. Perry--Planning
G. E. Smith--Forestry (Timber Merchants)
J. H. B. Workman--Forestry (Forestry Profession)
North Scotland RAC
F. Critchley--Chairman
B. E. Crabtree--Trade Union
A. D. M. Farquharson--Forestry (Timber Growers)
Professor C. Gimingham--Environment
Councillor F. R. M. Keith--Planning
A. N. G. Laing--Forestry (Timber Growers)
M. J. Leslie--Forestry (Timber Merchants)
Professor H. G. Miller--Forestry (Forestry Profession)
M. Pottinger--Agriculture
Mid Scotland RAC
Dr. Jean Balfour--Chairman
A. W. Barbour--Forestry (Timber Growers)
P. Fairweather--Forestry (Forestry Profession)
J. A. Fell--Forestry (Timber Growers)
Councillor G. McGrath--Planning
J. McNaughton--Agriculture
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