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Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give the number of dedicated energy managers in his Department and the number of person-years devoted to energy management in the latest year.

Mr. Needham [holding answer 3 June 1991] : There is one dedicated energy manager in the NI energy conservation unit for the Northern Ireland Government Office estate. Three person-years were devoted to energy management in this estate by the unit in 1990-91.

There is no dedicated energy manager in the Northern Ireland Office in London.

Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give for each available year from 1978 the amount invested in improving the energy efficiency of his Department in (a) cash terms and (b) 1990-91 money terms.

Mr. Needham [holding answer 3 June 1991] : The information requested for the years prior to 1986-87 is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The amount spent on new energy efficiency measures in the Northern Ireland Government Office estate from 1986-87 onwards is as follows :


            |Cash terms |1990-91                

                        |money terms            

            |£          |£                      

------------------------------------------------

1986-87     |25,000     |32,897                 

1987-88     |72,000     |91,539                 

1988-89     |24,000     |28,279                 

1989-90     |25,000     |27,250                 

1990-91     |16,500     |16,500                 

It is not possible to disaggregate costs for the Northern Ireland Office in London.

THE ARTS

Libraries

30. Mr. Hardy : To ask the Minister for the Arts what action he is taking to encourage the use of libraries especially by children and young people.

Mr. Renton : The aim of my public library development incentive scheme is to extend and improve public library service in England, and most award-winning projects promote their better use. Two projects have been directly concerned with children and young people.


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Kill the Messenger"

34. Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Minister for the Arts if he will acquire a copy of "Kill the Messenger" by Sir Bernard Ingham for his office's library.

Mr. Renton : No.

Museum and Gallery Collections

35. Mr. Jessel : To ask the Minister for the Arts how he will encourage national museums and galleries to make their collections accessible to people across the whole United Kingdom.

Mr. Renton : I am glad to say that national muesums and galleries already do a great deal to make their collections more accessible to people across the country by means of outstations and travelling exhibitions. I have asked all the national museums and galleries for which I am responsible to set out in their current corporate plans to further action they propose to make their collections more widely accesible.

London City Ballet

36. Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Minister for the Arts whether he can yet announce measures to ensure the continuance of the London City Ballet ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Renton : I fully set out my position, and that of the Arts Council, in this House on 3 May. Neither the Government nor the Arts Council can make a firm commitment of revenue support for London City Ballet at this time, but the Arts Council has agreed to use its best endeavours to help find a way of securing the company's future. The board of London City Ballet has now decided that the company should continue to operate at least until 1 April 1992. I welcome the news that the board has felt able to proceed in this way.

Industrial Heritage

37. Mr. Pike : To ask the Minister for the Arts if he will meet the chairman of the North West Regional Arts Council to discuss support for the preservation of industrial heritage.

Mr. Renton : Support for the preservation of the industrial heritage is a concern of the north west area museums service. I shall be meeting the chairman of the service on 13 June.

Welsh Arts Provision

38. Dr. Marek : To ask the Minister for the Arts when he next intends to meet the chair of the Welsh arts council to discuss arts provision in Wales.

39. Mr. Wigley : To ask the Minister for the Arts when he next proposes to meet the chairman of the Welsh arts council to discuss its funding priorities.

Mr. Renton : I meet the chairman of the Welsh arts council from time to time for discussions on matters of mutual interest. I visited the Welsh arts council's offices and met the chairman and staff on 2 May and enjoyed a very useful meeting.


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Merseyside Arts Funding

Mr. Parry : To ask the Minister for the Arts whether he will visit the Merseyside region to meet local authority leaders to discuss the state of arts funding in the area.

Mr. Renton : I will be visiting Liverpool on Tuesday, June 25 but I have no current plans to meet local authority leaders on that day.

Museum Documentation

Mr. Flynn : To ask the Minister for the Arts what representations he has received concerning the work of the Museum Documentation Association on future modes in relation to the Museum and Galleries Commission ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Renton : I have received no such representations about the work of the Museum Documentation Association--MDA. However, I understand that the Museums and Galleries Commission has recently reviewed the work of the MDA and has substantially increased its allocation to the association over the last two years.

Museum Entry and Retrieval Systems

Mr. Flynn : To ask the Minister for the Arts what plans he has to set common national and international standards for museums' entry and retrieval systems.

Mr. Renton : I have no plans at present to set up such standards ; however I understand that the Museums Documentation Association will be launching a data standards scheme in conjunction with the Museums and Galleries Commission in due course.

PRIME MINISTER

International Tropical Timber Organisation

Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Prime Minister if he will transfer responsibility for the United Kingdom's membership of the International Tropical Timber Organisation from the Department of Trade and Industry to the Overseas Development Administration.

The Prime Minister : Responsibility was transferred to the Overseas Development Administration in October 1990.

National Union of Mineworkers' Funds

Mr. Galloway : To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 3 June, Official Report, column 34, to the hon. Member for Linlithgow (Mr. Dalyell) on Her Majesty's Government's assistance to Price Waterhouse, sequestrators of the National Union of Mineworkers, what relavant information the Government passed to the sequestrators ; and what was the provenance of this information.

The Prime Minister : I have nothing further to add to my answer of 3 June to the hon. Member for Linlithgow. Information was provided to the sequestrators in confidence.


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Cleeve Station

Mr. Galloway : To ask the Prime Minister which Minister in Her Majesty's Government has responsibility for the work of Cleeve station, and what is Cleeve's relationship to Government Communications Headquarters.

The Prime Minister : The station at Cleeve camp, Morwenstow is GCHQ's and, as such, comes under the ministerial responsibility of the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.

CIVIL SERVICE

Women Civil Servants

43. Mr. Janner : To ask the Minister for the Civil Service what percentage of women are now employed in grades 1 to 7 of the civil service.

Mr. Renton : On 1 April 1990, the latest date for which figures are available, 9.7 per cent. of staff in grades 1 to 7 were women. This compares with 4.5 per cent. in 1984 when the programme of action to achieve equality of opportunity for women was launched.

Civil Service College

47. Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Minister for the Civil Service how many civil servants attended the Civil Service college in (a) 1979 and (b) the last available year ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Renton : About 9,000 civil servants attended the Civil Service college in 1979 whereas in the financial year 1990-91 the figure was approximately 17,600. I am pleased that over the last 11 years the number of college students has increased in this way.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Armaments Exports

Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish a table indicating the value of exports from the United Kingdom of armaments or arms-related products, in each of the past five years.

Mr. Sainsbury : The information may be found in the "Statement on the Defence Estimates 1990"--volume 2, Cm. 1022-II.

Flexible Manufacturing Technology Ltd.

Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will investigate the involvement of Flexible Manufacturing Technology Ltd. in the possible supply of equipment to Iraq covered by an arms export embargo.

Mr. Sainsbury : Investigations of possible breaches of United Kingdom export controls are carried out by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise. It has been the policy of this and successive Governments not to reveal details of such investigations.


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Securities and Investments Board

Mr. David Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has received a report from the Securities and Investments Board on the excercise of its functions under the Financial Services Act.

Mr. Redwood : A copy of the board's report, made in accordance with section 117 of the Act, was laid before Parliament today. The report covers the period from 1 April 1990 to 31 March 1991. Copies are now available in the Library.

Multi-fibre Arrangement

Mr. Riddick : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the latest situation regarding the general agreement on tariffs and trade negotiations with particular reference to the multi-fibre agreement.


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Mr. Sainsbury [holding answer 5 June 1991] : Pending conclusion of the Uruguay round, participants met on 16 May to discuss an interim extension of the existing multi-fibre arrangement. No decision was reached and a further meeting is expected to take place later this month.

EDUCATION AND SCIENCE

Research Councils

Sir John Wheeler : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science, further to his answer of 2 May, Official Report, columns 315-18, how many staff in total were employed by each research council in 1990-91 ; how many managers eligible for management training were employed by each research council in 1990-91 ; and how many man-days or equivalent of (a) management training and (b) training overall was provided by each research council in 1990-91.

Mr. Alan Howarth : The details are as follows :


                                          Staff employed          Man-days of training               

                                         |Total      |Managers<1>|Management |All                    

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Agricultural and Food Research Council   |4,250      |2,569      |<1>895     |<2>2,092               

Economic and Social Research Council     |117        |65         |55         |<3>722                 

Medical Research Council                 |3,300      |<4>N/A     |<4>N/A     |<4>N/A                 

Natural Environment Research Council     |2,880      |2,000      |1,600      |5,400                  

Science and Engineering Research Council |2,615      |1,788      |1,584      |5,230                  

Notes:                                                                                               

<1>Staff at or above Executive/Scientific Officer level or equivalent.                               

<2>Excludes training in grant-aided institutes which are not collected centrally and could only be   

obtained at disproportionate cost.                                                                   

<3>Includes 471 man-days of training on the new computer installation.                               

<4>Information is not collected centrally and could only be obtained from the MRC's 55 institutes at 

disproportionate cost.                                                                               

Teachers

Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what action he intends to take to make teacher training more relevant to the actuality of the classroom.

Mr. Fallon : The Secretary of State's criteria for the accreditation of initial teacher training courses have recently been revised to reflect more closely what is expected of beginning teachers, including the requirements of the Education Reform Act 1988. Institutions are now required, inter alia, to provide that : (

(i) courses of less than four years should include at least 75 days, and four year courses at least 100 days, of teaching practice and other school experience, in more than one school ;

(ii) experienced school teachers must contribute to course planning, student selection, lectures and seminars ;

(iii) lecturers must periodically review their own school teaching experience which, by academic year 1992-93 has to be the equivalent of not less than one term in every five years ;

(iv) no degree or other qualification attracting qualified teacher status should be awarded unless the student has demonstrated a satisfactory standard of practical classroom work ;

(v) all courses should include training in the application of the students' subject specialisms to the teaching and assessment of pupils.

These criteria are to be further reviewed by the end of the year. The Government have also introduced the articled teacher scheme, in which 80 per cent. of the training takes place in schools. The first cohort began their training in September 1990 ; a second cohort will start in September


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1991 and the Government have recently announced funding for a third cohort. The licensed teacher scheme, which has also been introduced recently, allows suitably qualified candidates to be employed by local education authorities as classroom teachers and receive on the job training. The Government are evaluating both these schemes since we believe that as much of initial training as possible should take place in the school.

Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many teachers are now in post ; and how many were in post 12 months ago.

Mr. Fallon : Provisional figures for January 1991 show that there were 393,720 full-time equivalent teachers in the maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools sector in England. In January 1990 there were 398,542.

Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the average qualification of entrants into teacher training.

Mr. Fallon : The most recent information available about the qualifications of entrants to initial teacher training is shown in the tables.


Table 1                                                 

Mean A Level Scores of entrants to undergraduate        

courses of Initial                                      

Teacher Training in England 1989                        

              |University   |Public Sector              

--------------------------------------------------------

A Level Score |7.2          |5.3                        

Note: A Grade "A" at A level scores 5 points, a grade E 

scores 1 point.                                         


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Table 2                               

Degree class of those recruited to    

postgraduate courses of initial       

Teacher Training in England and Wales 

Degree              |per cent         

                    |of total         

--------------------------------------

Higher (eg MA, PhD) |4.4              

1st                 |3.1              

2i                  |33.1             

2ii                 |39.8             

2                   |1.0              

3rd                 |7.9              

Pass                |7.7              

Other               |3.0              

Table 2

Degree class of those recruited to postgraduate courses of Initial Teacher Training in England and Wales (Universities) 1989

Degree per cent of total

Higher (eg MA, PhD) 4.4

1st 3.1

2i 33.1

2ii 39.8

2 1.0

3rd 7.9

Pass 7.7

Other 3.0

Note : Comparable data is not available for public sector institutions.


C

Table 3                                                            

Degree class of those who successfully completed postgraduate      

courses of initial teacher training in England and Wales (public   

sector institutions) 1988                                          

Degree                         |per cent of total                  

-------------------------------------------------------------------

1st honours                    |3.0                                

2nd honours                    |76.3                               

Other and unclassified honours |8.0                                

Ordinary/pass                  |12.7                               

Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what percentage of total education spending is spent on teacher pay and training.

Mr. Eggar : In 1988-89, the latest year for which information on actual spending is available, some 36 per cent. of total education spending was spent on teacher pay and training. This includes expenditure on school teachers' salaries, employers' national insurance and superannuation contributions, and in-service training for school teachers supported by the LEA training grants scheme--LEATGS. LEAs may also provide for in-service training additional to that supported by the LEATGS, but this information is not collected centrally.

Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science by how much teacher pay has increased for each of the past five years.

Mr. Eggar : School teachers' pay settlements since March 1986 are as follows :


Date of increase                                   

---------------------------------------------------

31 March 1986    |1.6                              

 1 April 1986    |5.7                              

 1 January 1987  |16.4                             

 1 October 1987                                    

 1 April 1988                                      

 1 April 1989                                      

 1 April 1990    |9.3                              

 1 January 1991                                    

Subject to parliamentary approval, the 1991-92     

settlement will be worth 11.3 per cent. in a full  

year.                                              

Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many teachers took early retirement in each of the past three years ; and if he will give the figure expressed as a percentage of the total teacher force for each of these years.

Mr. Fallon : The number of teachers who took early retirement--that is retired between age 50 and 59--in each of the past three years is shown in the table. The numbers of retirements relate to teachers in the maintained nursery,


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primary, secondary and special schools sector. The numbers are also expressed as a percentage of the full-time teacher force in those establishments at 1 January in each year.


Financial     |Premature    |Percentage of              

year          |retirements  |teacher force              

--------------------------------------------------------

1988-89       |7,875        |1.9                        

1989-90       |8,427        |2.1                        

1990-91       |9,710        |2.4                        

Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many teachers left the profession in each of the past three years for employment outside teaching ; and what that was expressed as a pecentage of the total teacher force.

Mr. Fallon : The table shows estimates of the number of full-time teachers who resigned from maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools in England and Wales in each calendar year from 1987 to 1989 to take up non-educational employment, together with the proportion they represented of the full-time teaching force.


8

Full-time teachers resigning to take up jobs outside    

teaching                                                

              |Number       |Percentage of              

                            |all full-time              

                            |teachers                   

--------------------------------------------------------

1987          |2,560        |0.7                        

1988          |3,320        |0.9                        

1989          |3,280        |0.9                        

Source: LACSAB survey of teacher resignations           

Pupil-teacher Ratio

Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the current pupil-teacher ratio in England.

Mr. Fallon : In 1990-91 the overall pupil-teacher ratio in maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools in England is provisionally estimated to have been 17.25 pupils per teacher.

Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals

Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what formal reply his Department has made to the Committee of Vice- Chancellors and Principals in respect of their request for additional funds for pay and compensation for the recent increase in value added tax ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Alan Howarth : My right hon. and learned Friend has made clear to the CVCP that it is for the committee and institutions as employers to reach a pay settlement within the aggregate resources at their disposal ; and that, against the background of an increase in public funding for universities in 1991-92 of 10 per cent. for the second year running, the Government are unable to provide any further sums for extra VAT costs not recoverable through higher output charges.

Welsh Plant Breeding Station

Mr. Geraint Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has any plans to give financial aid to the Welsh plant breeding station, Gogerddan, Aberystwyth, during the next three years ; and if he will make a statement.


Column 431

Mr. Alan Howarth : The funding of new facilities at the Welsh plant breeding station are as detailed in my reply to the hon. Member on 12 March 1991, Official Report, column 449-50.

In addition the station, which is part of the Agricultural and Food Research Council's institute of grassland and environmental research, will continue to receive support from the AFRC science budget funds, currently estimated at approximately £2.5 million a year.

Kettleshume Primary School

Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will meet the chief education officer of Cheshire county council to discuss the financial implications of the decision to close the Kettleshume Church of England primary school.

Mr. Atkins : Cheshire county council has not yet published section 12 proposals to close Kettleshume primary school. When proposals are published, the authority will be required to provide information about financial implications of closing the school. I would therefore not expect a meeting with the chief education officer to be necessary.

Early Leavers

Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is for each year since 1974 the number of students in (a) primary, (b) secondary and (c) higher education who left their respective schools and universities before completion of their studies ; and what are the percentages for males and females in each case.

Mr. Fallon : Information for school pupils is not collected centrally.

Statistics on university students who had successfully completed full-time or sandwich first degree courses are contained in "University Management Statistics and Performance Indicators in the UK", published by the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals and the Universities Funding Council. A copy of the 1990 edition has been placed in the House Library.

A-levels

Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will set out the numbers taking A-level examinations in (a) physics, (b) chemistry and (c) mathematics for each year from 1980.

Mr. Eggar : The total numbers of school leavers attempting A-level examinations in the subjects in question, were as follows. 1988-89 is the latest year for which information is available.


Numbers of School Leavers attempting A-level/AS                         

(Thousands)                                                             

            |Physics    |Chemistry  |Maths      |All leavers            

------------------------------------------------------------------------

1979-80     |35.84      |31.74      |48.08      |750.73                 

1980-81     |38.15      |34.22      |50.06      |733.96                 

1981-82     |41.62      |36.79      |54.89      |751.13                 

1982-83     |40.72      |36.30      |56.12      |765.52                 

1983-84     |41.12      |36.48      |56.60      |752.82                 

1984-85     |38.95      |35.60      |56.06      |736.21                 

1985-86     |36.81      |35.00      |54.69      |718.21                 

1986-87     |34.13      |31.95      |52.81      |715.99                 

1987-88     |33.44      |32.17      |53.85      |655.96                 

1988-89     |32.93      |30.65      |51.48      |617.71                 


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