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Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 16 May 1991
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Court of Protection
Mr. Steen : To ask the Attorney-General what was the annual fee income of the Court of Protection in 1988-89 and 1989-90.
The Attorney-General : The annual fee income, including fees for receiverships undertaken by the public trustee for the court, was £5, 764,111 for the year ended 31 March 1989 and £6,474,982 for the year ended 31 March 1990.
Juveniles (Prosecutions)
Mr. Rowe : To ask the Attorney-General in how many cases involving juveniles the Crown prosecution service decided not to prosecute on grounds of welfare.
The Attorney-General : The Crown prosecution service does not collect statistics separately for cases involving juveniles whether as defendants, victims or witnesses. Such information can be obtained only at disproportionate cost. It is, however, the policy of the Crown prosecution service to take into account, as one but only one of the relevant factors, the welfare of a juvenile, in deciding whether it is appropriate to institute or continue a prosecution.
Abortion
Mr. Alton : To ask the Attorney-General whether he will consider seeking to amend the law in the light of the court decision overruling the wishes of a 12-year-old girl's mother as to whether the daughter should have an abortion ; and if he will make a statement.
The Attorney-General : No. Where a child is a ward of court the High Court assumes parental responsibility including the duty to give or withhold consent to medical procedures. In discharging that duty the court must act as a good parent and treat the welfare of the child as the overriding consideration. The law governing the care and upbringing of children has been recently reformed by the Children Act 1989 which is expected to come into force in October this year. It will not prevent a court from overriding parental wishes in matters relating to children where their welfare is at risk, but it would be premature to make further changes in this area of the law until we have had a chance to see how that Act operates in practice.
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Environmental Provision Committee
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when the committee to make recommendations on the future development of environmental provision within further and higher education will be established ; and what will be its terms of reference.
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Mr. Fallon : My right hon. and learned Friend hopes to announce the membership and terms of reference of this committee within the next few weeks.
Head Teachers (Extra Payments)
Mr. Morley : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will name those schools in Humberside where the governors have used new powers available to them to make extra payments to heads and deputies ; and how much was involved in each case.
Mr. Eggar : This information is not available centrally.
Primary Schools (Governors' Reports)
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received over the holding of meetings in primary schools to discuss governors' reports to parents, in particular concerning the level of attendance at such meetings.
Mr. Fallon : The Department has received a number of letters about the low level of attendance at annual parents' meetings held at primary and secondary schools since this requirement was introduced in 1987.
VAT
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what will be the cost to universities in 1991-92 of the increase in the rate of VAT to 17.5 per cent.
Mr. Alan Howarth : The gross additional cost to the universities of the increase has been estimated at some £30 to £35 million. A significant proportion of this should be recoverable through increased output charges.
Temporary School Buildings
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what procedures he adopts for review of lifespan of semi-permanent or temporary school buildings in areas of stable or growing school population.
Mr. Fallon : It is for local education authorities and others directly responsible for the schools to satisfy themselves as to the state of their school buildings. In distributing annual capital guidelines to local education authorities, and in giving capital allocations to the governors of voluntary aided and special agreement schools, my right hon. and learned Friend makes no distinction between permanent, semi-permanent or temporary buildings.
National Coaching Foundation
Mr. Pendry : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science, further to his announcement of 11 March regarding funding of the National Coaching Foundation coaching scheme for school children, what is the total number of school children proposed to take part in this scheme expressed (a) numerically and (b) as a percentage of the total number of school children at maintained schools in England ; what is the total number of local education authority areas from which children will be selected expressed (1) numerically and (2) as a percentage of the total number of local education
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authority areas in England ; and for what length of time the scheme will last expressed (A) numerically and (B) as a percentage of the standard school term.Mr. Atkins : The National Coaching Foundation's champion coaching project will involve about 3,600 children in 20 local education authority areas in England. This represents 0.2 per cent. of children aged 11 to 14 in maintained schools and 18 per cent. of LEAs. The aim of this pilot project is to establish examples of good practice for use in other areas. The scheme will last for eight to 10 weeks and will be complementary to the school curriculum. School terms are determined by LEAs or governing bodies for voluntary aided schools. Although all schools are bound to meet certain requirements, the organisation of terms is locally governed.
Olympic Games
Mr. Pendry : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many meetings he has held with the organisers of the British Olympic bid since the British Olympic Association's announcement of Manchester's winning bid ; what further plans he has to meet the organisers ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Atkins : As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister said in his answer on 1 May to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe (Mr. Morris), I am ready to discuss how best the Government can help to promote the bid. I have already spoken to Robert Scott, the chairman of the Manchester Olympic bid. Arrangements have been made for me to meet both Mr. Scott and the BOA.
Sports Council
Mr. Pendry : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science, pursuant to his written answer to the hon. Member for Stalybridge and Hyde, 7 December 1990, Official Report, column 212, if he will publish a table setting out separately the level of grant in aid to the Sports Council given or proposed for each of the years 1986-87 to 1990-91 and the level of support for sport provided through the urban programme for each of the years 1986-87 to 1990-91 together with the level of grant the Sports Council would have received and the level of support which would have been provided through the urban programme for each of these years had funding been uprated in line with inflation.
Mr. Atkins : The level of grant in aid to the Sports Council and the figures uprated by the GDP index are :
(£ million)
Year |Sports |Uprated by
|Council Grant|GDP Index
--------------------------------------------------------
1986-87<1> |37.4 |37.4
1987-88<1> |37.1 |39.4
1988-89<1> |39.0 |42.3
1989-90<1> |41.9 |45.0
1990-92<2> |44.7 |48.5
<1> Outturn.
<2> Estimated outturn.
Over the same period the Sports Council has increased its receipts from £5.46 million (outturn) to £10.95 million (estimated outturn). When receipts are added to grant in aid, funds available to the council have increased in line with inflation.
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Expenditure on sport through the Department of the Environment's urban programme and the figures uprated by the GDP index are :
(£ million)
Year |Urban |Uprated by
|Programme |GDP Index
|Funding
--------------------------------------------
1986-87<1> |21.3 |21.3
1987-88<1> |25.2 |22.4
1988-89<1> |17.8 |24.1
1989-90<1> |15.5 |25.6
1990-91<2> |15.7 |27.6
<1> Outturn.
<2> Estimated outturn.
These figures reflect the increased emphasis within the urban programme on economic, rather than social, projects. Most projects involving expenditure on sport would occur in the latter category.
HMI Reports
Mr. Dunn : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the number of (a) school-related and (b) non school-related reports published by Her Majesty's inspectorate in each of the last two years ; and if he will indicate the cost of publication.
Mr. Eggar : In 1988-89, 403 inspection reports were published, of which 231 were related to schools. In 1989-90, 358 reports were published, of which 144 were school-related. Her Majesty's inspectorate reports are printed and published by the Department, on behalf of the Secretary of State, and costs are currently not itemised within the Department's total printing budget.
National Curriculum
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) when he expects to publish a draft order to introduce a short course in geography within key stage 4 of the national curriculum ; (2) when he expects to publish proposals to put into effect his policy of permitting pupils to take either history or geography at key stage 4 of the national curriculum.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : I have today published for consultation a draft order with an associated document setting out attainment targets and programmes of study for a short course in geography in the national curriculum for pupils at key stage 4, as I am required to do by section 20(5) of the Education Reform Act 1988. Copies have been placed in the Library.
In publishing the initial statutory order and document for geography before Easter, I announced that I would be bringing forward shortly this further draft order, which builds on advice sent to me by the National Curriculum Council last November.
I have accepted the basic structure of the course recommended by the council, although I have made changes to reduce its content to make it more manageable and to provide an element of choice within the material relating to physical and human geography.
Therefore, in accordance with section 20(5)(a)(ii) of the Education Reform Act 1988, I have published a statement of my reasons for departing from the council's advice. Copies have been placed in the Library with those of the draft order.
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The period for consultation on the draft order will end on 31 July 1991. I intend to make the final order in October 1991 in time to allow for the planning of syllabuses and courses for pupils at key stage 4 which will begin in the autumn of 1994. The draft order applies only to England. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales will be publishing separately for consultation a draft order to introduce a short course in geography in Wales.The National Curriculum Council, as required by section 20(3) of the Education Reform Act 1988, has today given notice of my proposal for making the full history and geography courses alternatives for pupils at key stage 4. I announced my intention of issuing such a proposal in January. Copies of my proposal have been placed in the Library.
My proposal is that pupils who elect to follow the full course in history at key stage 4 of the national curriculum should be excepted from the provisions of the national curriculum for geography and that, similarly, pupils who elect to follow the full course in geography should be excepted from the provisions of the national curriculum in history. Pupils will thus be able to meet the minimum requirement of the national curriculum by taking the full course in either history or geography, or by taking the short courses in both subjects. It is our view, however, that virtually all schools should offer both the full and the short courses in both subjects and should give pupils a choice between full history, full geography or short history and short geography. I expect many schools to offer pupils the opportunity to study history and geography in ways that exceed the minimum requirement.
The period for the submission of evidence and representations in the proposals to the National Curriculum Council will end on 31 July 1991. The council will then report to me. I intend to publish draft regulations, as required by section 20(5) of the Act, in October 1991. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales is separately directing the statutory consultation process in Wales.
TRANSPORT
Slow Drivers
Mr. Jopling : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has had concerning the practice of drivers on dual carriageways and motorways which have long queues of slow-moving traffic who leave long gaps in the traffic and decline to close up on the vehicles ahead of them ; and whether he will consider proposals to make it illegal because of the delays caused to drivers who wish to turn off the dual carriageways and motorways as part of their normal journey.
Mr. Chope : Although we have had no formal representations on the particular practice to which my right hon. Friend refers, trials of signing arrangements to encourage traffic to use both lanes on the approaches to road works have been carried out on sections of the A1 north of Doncaster and in North Yorkshire. The police can take action within their current powers against drivers whose vehicles cause unnecessary obstruction of the highway.
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Roads
Miss Emma Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of land area of England is (a) currently covered by road and (b) will be covered by roads by the end of the century based on current plans.
Mr. Chope : A precise figure is not available, but the percentage for 1990 is estimated to be between 1.2 and 1.5 per cent. It is not expected that this percentage will change significantly during the next 10 years.
The figure has been arrived at by taking known information on the length of roads in England and multiplying by an estimated average width. The data are as follows :
|Length |Width |Area
|(miles) |(ft) |(miles<2>)
---------------------------------------------------------------
Motorway |1,672 |70 |22
Trunk |5,083 |33 |32
Principal |15,439 |26 |76
B, C, Unclassified |147,456 |20 |560
|--
|690
The land area of England is 50,363 miles
Assumptions have been made about the average width of roads--particularly for minor roads. The percentage range given in the answer allows for the width of minor roads to be between 17 and 23 ft.
Nuclear Fuel (Shipment)
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will introduce legislation to prohibit the transport of spent nuclear fuel into ports in the United Kingdom on roll-on, roll-off ferries.
Mr. McLoughlin : No. Such cargoes are carried to United Kingdom ports on ro-ro ferries only in limited quantities, in flasks approved to standards set by the International Atomic Energy Authority, when they are engaged on "freight only" voyages. International regulations are under consideration at IMO which would make United Kingdom practice mandatory.
Severe Winter Weather
Mr. Amess : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when his Department's review of the arrangements for dealing with severe winter weather will be completed.
Mr. Rifkind : My Department's review of the current arrangements for dealing with severe winter weather, which I announced to the House on 10 December, Hansard col 685, has now been completed ; I am placing a copy of the report in the Library of the House. The review has included consultation with the French, Dutch, German, Swiss, Danish and Swedish railways, and with highway authorities in France and Denmark, as well as with the Scottish Office Environment Department and in England with the police, with the Department's agents for highway maintenance, and with British Rail.
The review finds that in the period of 7 to 9 December serious problems were caused, particularly in the midlands and the north, by a combination of strong winds and
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heavy, sticky snow which caused power lines and trees to collapse, blocking many roads and railways, and causing widespread power failures. The heavy drifting snow, exacerbated by heavy rain immediately beforehand which washed away much of the salt that had been spread in anticipation, quickly trapped vehicles, blocking roads and hampering ploughing operations. The conditions were exceptional ; the Met Office suggest they may occur only once every 15 to 20 years.Over the weekend of 9 and 10 February, temperatures were extremely low and snow was again heavy in several regions. This time the snow was light and dry, which is not common in Britain. Motorways and trunk roads were generally kept open. However, serious problems were experienced on parts of the railway network ; the blown powdery snow was able to enter mechanical and electrical equipment, and the low temperatures caused equipment to freeze up. Damage to 455 electric train motors meant that it took three weeks for Network SouthEast services to get back to normal.
Our review of European comparisons shows that other countries also suffered severe disruption. On the roads other countries generally fared no better in dealing with similar conditions. For instance, in Belgium traffic was brought to "a virtual standstill" on 12 February in the Brussels and Antwerp regions in particular. In Germany on 15 and 16 February there was "a total breakdown of traffic throughout the Federal Republic", with tailbacks of more than 100 km. And in Holland on 15 February "traffic everywhere was snarled up", with about 13 jams totalling around 90 km.
The severe spells also caused considerable immediate disruption to rail services. For example, in Holland there was serious disruption to services on 8 February and their emergency timetable was implemented. In France, powder snow got into the convertors of the RER trains in Paris and caused a complete line to close. In Germany, Frankfurt Main station was virtually cut off on 15 February, and elsewhere delays of up to three hours were quite frequent. In Denmark, there were major problems with the Copenhagen suburban services, with some 300 out of 500 trains being put out of service as a result of traction motor failures.
We are acting on the lessons provided by these experiences and what we have learnt from other countries. One lesson is that rail services in other countries visited, apart from Denmark, appear to have got back to normal faster than in Britain on this occasion.
A lesson that is common to both roads and railways is the need to improve communications systems and equipment, including an ability to continue functioning through a prolonged power failure. Better communications are needed within the relevant authorities, with travellers who are already on the road or rail system and with intending travellers before they set off.
Specific improvements on the roads include a sharpening up of the arrangements to remove broken down vehicles, on which we did well in the February episode ; an examination of the operational readiness of equipment ; and a review of the levels of manpower and salt available to deal with possible longer spells of extreme conditions. We shall be considering with the emergency services procedures for helping vehicle occupants trapped during severe conditions. It is planned to have these actions substantially complete before the next winter. We shall also review operational procedures in the light of
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practice overseas, including the rate of spread of salt and the level of selectivity in salting roads ; and we shall examine additional sources of manpower and equipment--we found that both France and Denmark make greater use of contractors and farmers than we do.On the railways, operational responsibility lies with British Rail. We found that railways that used sliding doors experienced similar problems to BR ; but most European railways use plug doors, and had no problems. BR now intends all the new types of stock to have plug doors. Our study also showed that other railways made more extensive use of point heaters ; BR now has a programme to install many more modern point heaters. BR also now intends to test the first production vehicle of all new fleets for temperature extremes, which was the general practice of the railways visited. We also established that diesel fuel can be obtained, at a premium, that can cope with lower temperatures than that presently used by BR--down to minus 22 deg C (Germany), minus 25 deg C (Holland) or even minus 32 deg C (Sweden) ; BR is now examining the cost-effectiveness of this. Other improvements being examined in the light of what we learnt overseas, to see if they would be cost-effective in this country, include modifications to existing sliding doors, preventing electric motors from failing as a result of powder snow getting into them and using covers on automatic couplers. British Rail is updating its guidance to staff on how to keep equipment working and services running in severe winter weather. It is also preparing emergency service plans, to be published in advance. These will improve communications with the customer. It will also be introducing a pilot real time information system on two routes this summer.
I shall continue to monitor progress, and I shall make a further report to the House in due course.
Bermuda 3 Agreement
Mr. David Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had regarding a Bermuda 3 agreement on aviation matters ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. McLoughlin : Preliminary discussions have taken place with the United States about possibilities for further liberalisation of transatlantic air services. Talks will be resumed later in the year. No timetable has been set for their completion.
Ilminster Bypass
Mr. Ashdown : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the final cost for building the Ilminster bypass (A303).
Mr. Chope : The cost of the construction works was £21.23 million. Compensation for land acquisition and other property matters is estimated to cost a further £1.5 million at 1991 prices.
Mr. Ashdown : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his estimate is for the cost of dualling the Ilminster bypass.
Mr. Chope : Preliminary estimates range from about £20 million to over £30 million depending on the manner in which the dualling might be carried out.
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Channel Tunnel Rail Link
Mr. Dunn : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to announce his findings with regard to the provision of a channel tunnel high-speed rail link from Malling, Kent, to central London termini ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : I refer my hon. Friend to the answer my right hon. and learned Friend gave to the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull, East (Mr. Prescott) on 9 May, Vol. 190, col 545.
The Minch (Contingency Plans)
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are the contingency plans to deal with the foundering of an oil tanker in the Minch ; if he will place a copy of the plans in the Library ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. McLoughlin : The foundering of a tanker in the Minch would be dealt with in the same way as it would anywhere in United Kingdom waters and the response would have to be tailored to the particular circumstances of the incident. The marine pollution control unit MPCU is responsible for dealing with pollution at sea. Coastal local authorities are responsible for preparing detailed clean-up contingency plans for their particular coastlines and for dealing with pollution that comes ashore, supported by the MPCU as necessary.
MPCU resources, full details of which are already available in the House of Commons Library, are pre-positioned at strategic locations in the United Kingdom to permit rapid response to any part of the coast and there are no plans related to specific areas. MPCU remote-sensing and dispersant- spraying aircraft are based at Inverness and would be immediately reinforced by the MPCU remote-sensing and dispersant-spraying aircraft based at Coventry in the event of a major incident in the Minch. MPCU at sea oil recovery equipment, nearest at Aberdeen, and specialist beach cleaning equipment, nearest at Stirling, would be mobilised and further resources obtained as necessary from MPCU stockpiles, United Kingdom commercial sources and from other North sea countries under the terms of the Bonn Agreement.
The Western Isles island council and the Highland regional council are responsible for the coastline in the immediate area of the Minch and have each prepared detailed oil spill contingency plans for dealing with pollution which comes ashore on their beaches. It is for them to determine the availability of their plans.
These MPCU and local authority arrangements for responding to major pollution incidents in the Minch were successfully tested in the MPCU live counter-pollution exercise MINCHEX which was carried out on 4 and 5 May 1990.
Taxi Licences
Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures he is taking to protect public safety by ensuring that taxi licences are granted only to fit and proper persons.
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Mr. McLoughlin : Outside London district councils license taxi drivers and it is for those councils to undertake what measures they consider appropriate to ensure that licences are granted only to fit and proper persons.
In London, where the licensing of taxi drivers is the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Transport, the assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan police, who licenses taxi drivers on his behalf, carries out the checks that he considers necessary to satisfy himself that the applicant is of good character and fit to act as a taxi driver ; these include a medical check and a check of any past criminal convictions.
Value for Money
Mr. Andrew Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will have discussions with the Audit Commission about ways of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of relevant activities which fall within the responsibility of his Department with a view to securing better value for money ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. McLoughlin [holding answer 15 May 1991] : I welcome the studies which the Audit Commission has carried out in areas for which the Department of Transport has policy responsibility and the Department will co-operate fully with future studies.
ENVIRONMENT
Property Services Agency
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) on how many occasions consideration has been given to whether conflicts of interest have arisen in the case of persons appointed to the post of marketing consultant to Property Services Agency projects ;
(2) what is the fee paid per day to N. A. Batchelor for acting as a marketing consultant to Property Services Agency projects ; (3) what steps were taken to ensure that civil service guidelines were fully complied with in the appointment of N. A. Batchelor as a marketing consultant to Property Services Agency projects ; (4) what is his policy on delegating responsibility to the Property Services Agency's chief executive and accounting officer of responsibility for the appointment of all marketing consultants to Property Services Agency projects ;
(5) when N. A. Batchelor was appointed as a marketing consultant to Property Services Agency projects ;
(6) what outside advice he took before N. A. Batchelor was appointed to the post of marketing consultant to Property Services Agency projects ;
(7) what representations he has received as to the appointment of persons to the post of marketing consultants to Property Services Agency projects ;
(8) what steps he took to ensure that there was no family connection between the Property Services Agency projects marketing manager and any marketing consultants to Property Services Agency projects.
Mr. Yeo : Following the decision of the Property Services Agency projects board to establish a separate sales organisation to help secure the commercial future of the business, immediate advice was required on
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organisational and other issues. Mr. N. A. Batchelor, who is the husband of the Property Services Agency projects marketing manager, had previously approached Property Services Agency projects' management to offer his services as a marketing consultant. He was appointed at the end of January to produce a report and to carry out some supplementary follow-up work. The commission, which has now been completed, amounted to 19 days in total and he was paid £400 per day.The chief executive and accounting officer for Property Services Agency services is responsible for the appointment of all consultants. He in turn delegates responsibility to his top management in each of the businesses. Although the Department's normal practice is to appoint consultants after competition, single tender action was taken to appoint Mr. Batchelor, but this was only because the requirement was seen as urgent.
It is not the Department's general practice to seek outside advice when making such appointments and none was sought on this occasion.
Council Tax
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what factors underlay the change in the level of domestic rate rebates between 1987-88 and 1989-90 ; and what figure he has assumed in calculating rebates on the amount of council tax.
Mr. Key : Many factors underlay the changed levels of domestic rate rebates between 1987-88 and 1989-90. These include the reforms of the benefits system introduced in April 1988, the introduction of the community charge in Scotland from 1989, and the change in the actual level of rate bills resulting from spending decisions of local authorities.
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The Government have proposed that the maximum rebate for individuals or couples on income support or equivalent levels of income will be 100 per cent. of the council tax.No assumptions about rebates were needed to produce the illustrative council tax figures issued on 23 April.
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received about the proposed 25 per cent. reduction in the council tax for people living alone ; and if he will consider increasing it to 50 per cent. when he brings forward legislation.
Mr. Key [holding answer 13 May 1991] : We have received a number of representations on aspects of the council tax, including the level of the discount. The basic council tax bill for a couple represents half property, half personal element. The Government take the view that this is the appropriate balance between the two elements. Increasing the personal discount to 50 per cent. would mean that, if an empty property attracted two personal discounts, as we propose, it would not be liable for any council tax.
Council House Sales
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what was the number of (i) freehold and (ii) leasehold homes sold by local authorities to sitting tenants in 1989 and 1990 nationally and regionally ; what was the average selling price and the average discount on the market place ; and if he will give separate figures for flats and other dwellings ;
(2) what is the average selling prices of council flats and semi-detached houses to sitting tenants in each English region, Scotland and Wales, and what are the corresponding average market values.
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