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Written Answers to Questions
Friday 28 June 1991
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
East Birmingham Task Force
Mr. Terry Davis : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what visits or other official engagements were undertaken by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Science during his visit to the East Birmingham task force area on 30 January.
Mr. Alan Howarth : The programme included a visit to Hodge Hill girls school, to open the access centre, and a meeting with the Birmingham city action team to discuss the CAT action plan for 1991-92. The afternoon was spent at Coventry polytechnic.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Home Helps
Mr. McGrady : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what reasons were given for terminating contracts of employment belonging to home helps in each of the last six months in the Down and Lisburn unit of management ;
(2) how many home helps employed by the Down and Lisburn unit of management had had their contracts terminated in each of the last six months.
Mr. Hanley : The information requested is not held centrally. The hon. Gentleman may wish to contact Mr. Norman Ferguson, the chairman of the Eastern health and social services board.
Mr. McGrady : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many home helps are currently employed in the Down and Lisburn unit of management.
Mr. Hanley : I am advised by the chairman of the Eastern health and social services board that the number of home helps working in the Down and Lisburn unit of management at 31 March 1991 was 894 ; the whole-time equivalent is 179.
Mr. McGrady : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many home helps are currently employed in the Banbridge and Newry and Mourne units of management.
Mr. Hanley : I am advised by the chairman of the Eastern health and social services board that the number of home helps working in the Craigavon/Banbridge community and Newry and Mourne units of management at 31 March 1991 was :
Units of management
|Number |Whole-time
|working |equivalent
---------------------------------------------------------------
Craigavon/Banbridge community |834 |189
Newry and Mourne |834 |179
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Mr. McGrady : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many home helps were employed in the Down unit of management from 1 April 1985 to 31 March 1990.
Mr. Hanley : I am advised by the chairman of the Eastern health and social services board that the number of home helps working in the Down unit of management from 31 March 1985 to 31 March 1990 were :
Date |Number |Whole time
|working |equivalent
-----------------------------------------------
31 March 1985 |457 |107
31 March 1986 |450 |100
31 March 1987 |426 |89
31 March 1988 |441 |88
31 March 1989 |426 |81
31 March 1990 |441 |79
Mr. McGrady : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many home helps were employed in the Banbridge and Newry and Mourne units of management from 1 April 1985 to 31 March 1990.
Mr. Hanley : I am advised by the chairman of the Eastern health and social services board that the number of home helps working in the Banbridge/Craigavon and Newry and Mourne units of management from 31 March 1985 to 31 March 1990 were :--
Unit: Banbridge/Craigavon
Date |Number |Whole Time
|working |Equivalent
-----------------------------------------------
31 March 1985 |951 |239
31 March 1986 |933 |224
31 March 1987 |891 |224
31 March 1988 |892 |219
31 March 1989 |865 |209
31 March 1990 |860 |204
Date |Number |Whole Time
|working |Equivalent
31 March 1985 |974 |230
31 March 1986 |933 |224
31 March 1987 |918 |216
31 March 1988 |883 |203
31 March 1989 |939 |210
31 March 1990 |811 |177
Unit : Newry and Mourne
Date Number Working Whole Time Equivalent
31 March 1985 974 230
31 March 1986 933 224
31 March 1987 918 216
31 March 1988 883 203
31 March 1989 939 210
31 March 1990 811 177
Fishery Law
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will now produce a consolidation of fishery law in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Hanley : The Government would like to consolidate this legislation. However, the volume of Northern Ireland legislation which is currently being drafted, and which must be accorded priority, is such that no firm timetable for a consolidation of fisheries legislation can be set at this stage.
Police Authority
Mrs. Peacock : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what arrangements have been made for the appointment of a new police authority for Northern Ireland following the expiry of the term of office of the previous authority on 28 June ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Brooke : I have today appointed a new Police Authority for Northern Ireland for a term of three years from 29 June 1991. In making the appointments I have, as required by statute, consulted those organisations and persons who are representative of the community in Northern Ireland. I welcome the positive approach that was made by almost all those consulted. As a result, the membership widely represents the whole community and includes representatives from the local councils, voluntary organisations, agriculture, industry and commerce.The Police Authority has a vital task to perform in maintaining an adequate and efficient police force. It also has a very important role in enhancing the relationship between the police and the public it serves and I am confident that the new authority will continue the excellent work carried out by the outgoing authority, some of whose members are being reappointed.
ENVIRONMENT
Local Services, Greenwich
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the reasons why the spread of parks, woods, sports grounds and undeveloped land in the borough of Greenwich, through the ward weighted density calculation, leads to reduced other services standard spending assessment.
Mr. Key : Ward weighted density is one of the indicators used to calculated the all other services element of standard spending assessments (SSAs). It is based on the number of persons per hectare in each ward in an authority, using information from the 1981 Census ; and on the overall population change for that authority between 1981 and the most recent available estimate of population produced by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys. A full definition of the indicator is provided in the Revenue Support Grant Distribution Report (England) which is in the Library. Any change in the area
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of Greenwich's parks and woods since 1981 will only have affected its score for this indicator and hence its SSA if this resulted in a change in the borough's resident population.Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the main services within other services part of standard spending assessment ; what are the elements determining the allocation ; and what are the characteristics of Greenwich in the all ages social index that lead to the per resident allocation being half the Lewisham figure and one-third the Wandsworth figure.
Mr. Key : A list of the main services covered by the all other services element of standard spending assessments and details of the elements determining its allocation are included in the Revenue Support Grant Distribution Report (England). Information on the five factors which comprise the all ages social index is given in the Standard Spending Assessment Handbook 1991-92. Both documents are in the Library.
Children
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list for Greenwich, Wandsworth and Lewisham the comparable rates of children in care, and perinatal and infant mortality, and other identifiable outcomes which are associated with or predicted by the elements of the social index used for social services allocations for children.
Mr. Key : The most recent available information on the proportion of children in care, the perinatal and the infant mortality rates for Greenwich, Wandsworth and Lewisham are shown in the table below. The Children's Social Index is one of the indicators used to calculate the children's social services standard spending assessment. By itself, it is not used to predict any outcomes. Both the perinatal and infant mortality rates are based on a very small number of cases.
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Table showing the proportion of children in care, perinatal and infant mortality rates for
Greenwich, Wandsworth and Lewisham
Authority
| Greenwich | Wandsworth | Lewisham
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Children in care as a proportion of all
resident children-latest data
(year shown in brackets) | 6.94 (1990) | 8.05 (1990) | 11.10 (1985)
Perinatal mortality rate<1> 1990 |7.1 |7.2 |9.7
Infant mortality rate <1> 1990 |8.2 |7.8 |7.3
<1>Rate per 1,000 live births.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list for Greenwich, Wandsworth and Lewisham (a) the numbers of children under five and under 18 years, (b) the SSA for social services-children, per child and (c) the social index element per child and the factors and the dates of base figures within the social index.
Mr. Key : The following table shows for each of the three specified authorities the number of resident children aged under 18 years and under five years of age at 30 June 1989 ; the amount of Children's Social Services SSA per
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child aged under 18 years for 1991-92 and the amount distributed on the basis of the Social Index element ; and the factor values which constitute the present Children's Social Index. These factors are based on information collected by the 1981 Census.
Authority Children Children SSA per child
|aged under |aged under |Total |Social index
|five years |18 years |(£) |only (£)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greenwich |15,899 |51,746 |272 |36
Wandsworth |16,776 |52,326 |514 |204
Lewisham |16,566 |52,352 |437 |144
Authority |Factor |Factor |Factor |Factor |Factor
|(i) |(ii) |(iii) |(iv) |(v)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Greenwich |0.1773 |0.0004 |0.0106 |0.1174 |53.7411
Wandsworth |0.2434 |0.0051 |0.0555 |0.2928 |82.7945
Lewisham |0.2273 |0.0059 |0.0307 |0.2357 |66.0626
A detailed description of each of the five factors is given in section 2, annex A of the Revenue Support Grant Distribution Report (England) which is in the Library.
Footpaths
Mr. Hind : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has reached a conclusion on the deletion from the definitive map of footpath number 66, Parish of North Meols on appeal by Mr. and Mrs. Baybutt of The Coppins, Hundred End lane, Hesketh Bank, near Preston, against the decision by Lancashire county council ; and if he will make a statement.
The exchange of representations between the parties in this appeal is still underway. My right hon. Friend cannot take a decision until those exchanges are complete and he has had an opportunity to consider all the information put to him.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Beith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much was raised by local authorities in England in 1990-91 using their discretionary powers to raise £5 per head of adult population, in areas where there is a single tier of principal local authority, and £2.50 per head of adult population, in areas where there are two administrative tiers ; and if he has made any assumptions for the likely yield under this power for 1991-92.
Mr. Key : Information on the expenditure incurred under the provisions of section 137 of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended by section 36 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989) in respect of 1990 -91 is not available. I have made no assumptions about the likely expenditure in respect of 1991-92.
Rain Forests
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to respond to the report by the House of Commons Environment Committee on the climatological and environment effects of rain forest destruction ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Trippier : I have today laid before the House the Government's response to this report. I welcome the conclusions of the Committee's constructive report, which endorse the Government's approach to helping developing countries conserve their tropical forests. The report makes a well-informed contribution to the debate on rainforest protection. The Government, in line with the Committee's recommendations, are working with the Governments and peoples of the tropical countries in their efforts to conserve the forests and we are implementing a major increase in assistance to the forest sector in the developing countries.
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EC Environment and Transport Policies
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received since 1987 from Earth Resources Research (London) on environmental and transport policy developments in the European Community.
Mr. Baldry [holding answer 27 June 1991] : Earth Resources Research (London) has produced a number of reports on behalf of environmental organisations. I am not aware of the department's having received representations from them on European Community matters.
TRANSPORT
Driving Standards Agency
Sir Alan Glyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the financial and service targets that he has set for the Driving Standards Agency for the current financial year.
Mr. Chope : I have today placed copies of the Driving Standards Agency's business plan for 1991 in the House Library. The plan sets a demanding target of £20.89 for the L' test unit cost and a reduction in the average waiting time for L' tests from eight to six weeks.
Airport Capacity
Sir Trevor Skeet : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what passenger air traffic he expects for the south-east in the late 1990s ; and when he proposes to announce increased airport capacity in the south-east to meet it.
Mr. McLoughlin : The Department's air traffic forecasts distinguish between London and regional airports, and are predicted for five-yearly intervals. Passenger demand at the London airports in 2000 is currently forecast to be in the range 88.7-117.6 million. It is for airport operators to bring forward proposals for new capacity. BAA plc holds outline planning permission for the development of Stansted to handle 15 million passengers per year, although expansion beyond the 8 mppa capacity of its first phase will require Parliament's agreement to the relaxation of the present limit on aircraft movements at the airport. No decision has been taken on the timing of an approach to Parliament.
Thurleigh Airfield
Sir Trevor Skeet : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if, in view of the recent Civil Aviation Authority report, he will give an assurance that the airfield at Thurleigh will not be required as a passenger terminal.
Mr. McLoughlin : In the light of the Civil Aviation Authority's advice last year on the air traffic control and air space implications of developing additional capacity at
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various airports in and near the south-east, to meet demand for air travel in the longer term, Thurleigh is not one of those being considered further by the working group we have established for the purpose. I refer my hon. Friend to the statement made on 9 May by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence Procurement, that on a preliminary assessment Thurleigh could have potential as a commercial non- passenger airfield.Disabled Rail Travellers
Mr. John Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to ensure that British Rail provides toilets, easy access, hand rails and greater space for disabled travellers on the new 323 train.
Mr. McLoughlin : I wrote to the hon. Member on 26 June.
DVLA (Medical Reports)
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will instruct the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to allow individuals access to medical reports which it obtains on them on the same terms as apply under the Access to Medical Records Act 1988 to reports obtained for employment or insurance purposes.
Mr. Chope [holding answer Monday 24 June 1991] : Medical reports provided to the medical advisers at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency are provided on a strictly doctor to doctor basis, under provisions in the Road Traffic Act 1988, for the sole purpose of determining fitness to hold a driving licence. Although there is no legal requirement I have asked the DVLA to consider the operational and privacy implications of releasing medical reports and I shall write further to the hon. Member.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Shellfish
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what representations he has had from shellfish fishermen about the import of Canadian lobster ;
(2) what assessment he has made of whether Canadian lobsters are being dumped on the United Kingdom market.
Mr. Curry : I and my officials have received several
representations about the import of Canadian lobster, including the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations and the Shellfish Association of Great Britain.
Although imports of Canadian lobsters has increased, there is no evidence of dumping. However, my officials have asked the European Commission to look into the problem, and we shall continue to monitor developments.
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he is taking to ensure the United Kingdom shellfish industry is not undermined by Government subsidised competition from other countries.
Mr. Curry : I am not aware that the United Kingdom shellfish industry is being undermined in this way, but if my hon. Friend has specific evidence I will be happy to investigate further.
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Farmers
Sir Dudley Smith : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what total sum of money would be involved if the maximum sums permitted by EC regulations were paid to farmers and others qualified to receive them.
Mr. Curry : The total additional cost of making all payments under EC schemes at the maximum permitted rates cannot be assessed precisely.
Sir Dudley Smith : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the payments of any description which are being made to farmers, and those who qualify, at less than the maximum permitted by EC regulations.
Mr. Curry : The following payments under EC agricultural schemes are not being made at the maximum rates permitted in the relevant EC regulation :
Set-aside
Suckler cow premium (outside the less favoured areas only) Hill livestock compensatory allowances (HLCAs)
Grants under the farm and conservation grant scheme for : Supply and installation of :
(i) energy saving facilities ;
(ii) thermal insulation, vapour or gas sealing (excluding glasshouses)
Fences
Walls not constructed of traditional materials
Flood protection
Replacement drainage
Reseeding and regeneration of gressland
Preparation of improvement plans
EMPLOYMENT
Employment Action
Mr. Leighton : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give a detailed description of Employment Action, including how, apart from remuneration, it will differ from the old community programme ; and what work it will undertake.
Mr. Jackson : Employment Action is a significant new initiative which will offer unemployed people the chance to keep their skills up to date by work experience on projects of value to the local community. It will provide work experience for 60,000 unemployed people in a full year. It will be targeted on people who have been unemployed for six months or more, including particularly those living in our inner cities.
Employment Action will differ from the community programme in three very significant ways. Firstly, help for individuals in finding jobs will be an integral part of the programme. Secondly, the opportunities it provides will be full-time. Thirdly, TECs and local enterprise companies in Scotland, will take the lead in organising the programme locally and in determining which projects of genuine local benefit will be supported.
The exact nature of the work carried out under Employment Action will be decided by the TECs and local enterprise companies with regard to the needs of the local community and of unemployed people.
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Race Relations
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will set up a special discrimination section within the industrial tribunal system in respect of cases involving race relations ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : I have no plans to do so. Industrial tribunals hearing cases of racial discrimination have a special race member with knowledge or experience of relations between persons of different racial groups in the employment field and this system is working satisfactorily.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will bring forward proposals for legislation to make ethnic record-keeping and monitoring obligatory by employers ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jackson : The Government fully support the practice of ethnic monitoring in employment but believes that the voluntary approach is the best way forward in this area. Ethnic monitoring makes good business sense by helping employers to assess whether their personnel practices and procedures are providing equality of opportunity for all, irrespective of race.
The Commission for Racial Equality's code of practice on employment which recommends ethnic monitoring by employers recognises that the need for detailed information, and the methods of collecting it, will vary according to the circumstances of individual establishments. It must therefore be for individual employers to adopt the method of monitoring that is best suited to their needs and circumstances.
Management Charter Initiative
Mr. Clelland : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many employers have subscribed publicly to the principles expressed in the management charter initiative since the publication of the Government's White Paper "Employment for the 1990s" ; and if he will list them.
Mr. Jackson : As at 25 June 1991, 943 employers had joined the management charter initiative, pledging commitment to its principles as expressed in the code of practice published in May 1989. A copy of the most current membership list will be lodged in the Library of the House.
Employment Training
Mr. Leighton : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many industry lead bodies there are ; and if he will list them, stating how many staff each of them have.
Mr. Jackson : There are currently 157 industry lead bodies. A number of them are consortia. A listing of all organisations acting as industry lead bodies is contained in the regularly updated publication, the Standards Digest. A copy of the most recent edition has been placed in the House of Commons Library. It is not possible to state how many staff work on lead body activities as the majority of these bodies are also industry training organisations.
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Footwear and Textiles
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people were employed in the footwear and textile industries for each month since February.
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