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DEFENCE
Household Cavalry (Hunts)
Mr. Meale : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many officers and men of the Household Cavalry and of what rank and trade were involved in the transportation of horses to the (a) Quorn hunt, (b) Belvoir hunt and (c) Cottesmore hunt in January, February and March.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : A lance-corporal, who is a trained horse box driver, and a trooper, who accompanies the horses to ensure their welfare and safety, were involved in transporting horses to the three hunts during the periods mentioned.
Mr. Meale : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for how many duty hours members of the Household Cavalry were involved in foxhunting, including transportation to and from fox hunts, in October 1990, November 1990, December 1990, January 1991, February 1991 and March 1991.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The information is not available in the form requested and could not be obtained without disproportionate cost.
Mr. Meale : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Ministry of Defence horses have been injured while hunting in the last five years ; and if he will provide details of the regiments, the hunt and the injury.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Minor injuries to horses are not uncommon in any form of arduous training, including hunting, but are not separately recorded. There is no record of serious injury to Ministry of Defence horses attributable to hunting.
Mr. Meale : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the costs incurred by the Household Cavalry in hunting with the (a) Quorn, (b) Belvoir and (c) Cottesmore hunts in 1990 and 1991 ; and how many riders and horses were involved.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : No additional costs to public funds were incurred as a result of members of the Household Cavalry taking part in these hunts. Forty-three riders and 25 horses were involved during the season.
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Mr. Meale : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what Ministry of Defence equipment armed forces personnel are permitted to use in off- duty hours to participate in hunting ; and if he will provide details of the hire charges.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Personnel from non-mounted units using Army horses off-duty are required to pay £10 per hour for the hire of the horse. They would normally provide their own equipment.
Mr. Meale : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence who is responsible for veterinary fees following an injury to a Ministry of Defence horse used for hunting by armed forces personnel in off-duty hours.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Personnel from non-mounted regiments riding Army horses off-duty are required to pay a full cost hire charge and to take out comprehensive insurance to cover the cost of damages to the unit, the horse and any third parties. The hire charge covers the costs of veterinary services.
Mr. Meale : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) which mounted regiments of the armed forces are permitted to take part in (a) fox hunting, (b) deer hunting and (c) hare hunting in duty hours ;
(2) whether any military personnel have any involvement in deer hunting during duty hours ;
(3) if he has any plans to restrict armed forces personnel's participation in hunting in duty hours.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Hunting in duty hours is permitted in mounted regiments only at the Commanding Officer's discretion, when it is not to the detriment of any military task. Personnel in non-mounted regiments are not normally permitted to hunt in duty hours. No further restrictions are planned.
Army horses and personnel do not participate in deer hunting in duty hours.
Military and Naval Hospitals
Mr. French : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if there have been any recent changes in the entitlement of retired services personnel to receive medical treatment in military and naval hospitals.
Military Exports
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the value of new contracts approved for military exports in 1990 ; and what was the value of actual deliveries of military equipment which passed through the United Kingdom Customs for approved export in 1990.
Mr. Alan Clark : New contracts approved for military export in 1990 were worth approaching £3,000 million. For the value of deliveries passing through Customs, I refer the hon. Gentleman to the Statement on the Defence Estimates 1991, Volume 2, table 2.7, which was published last week.
W88 Warhead
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the concerns expressed by the Defence Committee and the Drell report about weaknesses in the United States W88 warhead designed for the Trident D5.
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Mr. Alan Clark : We intend to publish a formal response to the Defence Committee's report on the Trident programme in due course.
Weapons Transportation
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will now ensure that the missile and warhead are at all times transported separately.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : I assume that the hon. Gentleman is referring to the UK Trident II missile and its associated warheads, which will normally be handled and transported separately. We plan to transport operational missiles only within the Royal Naval Armaments Depot at Coulport. No final decisions have been taken, or are yet needed, on whether the missile and warhead should be handled together within the depot.
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will now state what notification is given to local police and fire authorities prior to the transport of nuclear warheads or missiles through the centre of a city.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The local police force is always informed when a nuclear weapons convoy passes through their area of responsibility.
Holcombe Moor Inquiry
Mr. Burt : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will quantify the cost to his Department of the inquiry into the extension of a dry training area on Holcombe moor, Bury, in 1988.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : No. it is not our normal policy to provide such costs.
Butterflies (Porton Down)
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps have been taken to protect rare species of butterfly on Porton Down by his Department in areas under the jurisdication of his Department.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : This is a matter for the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment under its framework document. I have therefore asked the chief executive of the CBDE, Dr. G. S. Pearson, to reply direct to the hon. Member.
Royal Navy (Support Infrastructure)
Mr. Bill Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made on developing plans for the rationalisation of the Royal Navy's support infrastructure.
Mr. Tom King : The Government have been examining all aspects of the armed forces' support, in order to achieve the most efficient support infrastructure and to make savings in line with the front-line force level reductions confirmed in the Statement on the Defence Estimates "Britain's Defence for the 90s". The closure of the RN leadership school, HMS Royal Arthur, the RN diesel repair depot at Blackbrook Farm, and the accommodation and administrative headquarters, HMS St. Vincent, at Furse house, London, have already been announced, Official Report, 16 January 1991, column 500 .
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Following a thorough review of basing arrangements, I have decided that when the new force structure is in place ships of the Royal Navy will continue to be based at each of the naval bases at Portsmouth, Devonport, Rosyth and Faslane. Although Portland is not a base port but an operating base, I see a continuing need for a naval presence there also. We will now proceed to rationalise the support activities in each of these naval base areas, and changes will also be made to the current arrangements for basing ships at Rosyth.The Rosyth-based squadron of four type 42 destroyers--HMS York, Glasgow, Liverpool and Edinburgh--will be redeployed to Portsmouth, which will become their base port. This will allow the support activity for type 42s to be concentrated in Portsmouth with consequent economies. This move to Portsmouth will take place progressively from mid-1993 to late-1994. In addition, the four ships of the Northern Ireland squadron will move to Faslane in 1993. Rosyth remains the base port for the 1st, 3rd and 4th minecounter measure squadrons together with the fishery protection squadron. As a result of these changes, about 1,100 service personnel will relocate to Portsmouth and 100 to Faslane. Some 900 civilian posts will also be affected with a number moving to other establishments, but also with some inevitable redundancies. Employment at Rosyth will then number around 8,500 including employees at the dockyard. Current plans to conduct major refits of submarines, including Vanguard class SSBNs, and surface vessels, at Rosyth remain unchanged. The substantial investment currently being made in the dockyard in new refit facilities for Trident submarines will itself provide a further significant number of jobs.
A range of other measures designed to rationalise support facilities elsewhere in the naval shore infrastructure have also been decided. These include the closure of the royal naval air station HMS Daedalus at Lee-on- Solent and the relocation of the air engineering school and other units to other establishments in the Portsmouth area ; the closure of the royal naval stores depots at Lathalmond in Scotland and Copenacre in Wiltshire, although some offices will remain in Copenacre, the closure of the royal naval armaments depot at Trecwn in Wales and the partial closure of the armament depot at Ernesettle, Plymouth ; closure of the oil fuel depot at Invergordon and withdrawal of Royal Navy facilities at the Finnart oil fuel depot ; and the sale of the Gunwharf site at HMS Nelson, Portsmouth. Some 1,900 civilian posts will be affected with some inevitable redundancies, but it is hoped about a third will be relocated to other establishment. These closures will take place progressively over the next five years.
These measures carry forward the policy already announced of making reductions in the support area proportional to those in the front line. They are an essential part of ensuring the best use of defence resources and providing a structure appropriate to the needs of our Navy in the 90s and beyond.
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AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Herbs and Spices
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has made any evaluation of the masterspice process for the reduction of microbial contamination in herbs and spices as an alternative to irradiation.
Mr. Maclean : Evaluation of food processing methods generally is a matter for the industry. My responsibility is to be satisfied as to the safety and wholesomeness of foods treated by novel processes, as is the case with food irradiation.
Sheep Dips
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects to announce the results of his review into the safety of sheep dips.
Mr. Maclean : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 12 June at column 602 to my hon. Friend the Member for Devon, North, (Mr. Speller).
Angling
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, if he will take steps to ensure the retention of regional licences for angling under the new licensing arrangements being sought by the National Rivers Authority.
Mr. Curry : The National Rivers Authority is currently consulting all interests about its proposals for a national angling licence structure for salmon and freshwater fish in England and Wales. This consultation process ends on 31 August, after which the NRA will develop its final proposals, advertise them and submit its proposed licence duties for the consideration of my right hon. Friends the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Secretary of State for Wales. Clearly, it would be quite wrong for Ministers to give any undertaking of the kind sought about regional licences and indeed it would be a breach of the procedures set out in the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975 (as amended).
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list those persons representing fishing interests on the National Rivers Authority regional committee ; and what is the basis on which selection of nominees is made.
Mr. Curry : Appointment by the National Rivers Authority to the regional fisheries advisory committees are made on the basis of informal nominations. Members are drawn from among angling and commercial fisheries interests, fish farming interests, sea fisheries committees, aquarian owners' associations, conservation interests, and academic/professional bodies. Normally, there will be no more than 15 members in total.
A full list of the current chairmen and members of each of the regional fisheries advisory committees appears in the table.
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Regional Fisheries Advisory Committees
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anglian
Mr. P. Tombleson, OBE |NRA |Chairman
Mr. S. Alden |Eastern Area |Area Fisheries
Mr. S. Amos |Eastern Sea Fisheries Joint Committee |Sea Fisheries Committee
Mr. K. Ball |Central Area |Area Fisheries
Mr. L. Cass |Northern Area |Area Fisheries
Mr. C. Clare |Central Area |Area Fisheries
Mr. M. Foster |- |Commercial Fishing
Mr. C. Groome |NRA |RRAC
Mr. M. Labern |NCC |Conservation
Mr. D. Lloyd |National Anglers Council |Angling
Mr. J. Martin |NRA |RFDC
Mr. P. Peachey-Edwards |Eastern Area |Area Fisheries
Mr. C. Rollinson |Northern Area |Area Fisheries
Mr. A. Wheeler |IFM |Fisheries
Northumbria
Mr. P. Tennant |NRA |Chairman
Mr. J. Browne-Swinburne |NRA |RRAC
Dr. T. Crisp |- |Academic
Mr. J. Evans-Freke |- |Riparian Owners
Mr. J. Fry, JP |- |Angling
Dr. S. Haile |- |Academic
Mr. D. Hall |- |Angling
Mr. D. Heselton |- |Commercial Fishing
Mr. K. Hewitson |- |Angling
Mr. R. Kirton-Darling |- |Riparian Owners
Dr. M. Owen |- |Conservation
Mr. E. Pratt |- |Riparian Owners
Mr. E. Thomas |- |Commercial Fishing
Mr. C. Warwick |- |Commercial Fishing
Mr. E. Wrangham |NRA |RFDC
Mr. K. Young |- |Commercial Fishing
North West
Mr. T. Barnes, OBE |NRA |Chairman
Mr. R. Bailey |National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations |Commercial Fishing
Dr. R. Broughton |Ribble Fisheries Association |Other Industry
Mr. A. Brown |- |Other Industry
Mr. F. Bunting |- |Other Industry
Mr. J. Croft |- |Other Industry
Mr. E. Ecroyd |Salmon and Trout Association |Game Angling
Mr. J. Fell |- |Other Industry
Mr. C. Holland |Mersey Basin Campaign |Conservation
Mr. B. Irving |- |Academic
Mr. K. Lambert |North West Federation of Sport and Recreation |Sport/Recreation
Mr. E. Le Cren |IFM |Academic
Mr. J. Lovell |Association of Sea Fisheries Committees |Sea Fisheries Committee
Mr. P. Neal |- |Other Industry
Mr. W. Wannop, OBE |NRA |RFDC
Mr. R. Weston |NRA |RRAC
Severn Trent
Mr. F. Jennings |NRA |Chairman
Dr. P. Bottomley |National Federation of Anglers |Academic
Mr. W. Casey |Severn Fisheries Conservation Council |Area Fisheries
Mr. G. Chambers |Salmon and Trout Association |Game Angling
Mr. T. Clowes |CLA |Riparian Owners
Mr. B. Crawford |National Association of Specialist Anglers |Angling
Mr. K. Fisher |British Waterways |Area Fisheries
Mr. W. Hardy |Severn Estuary Fishermen's Association |Commercial Fishing
Mr. C. Hawthorne |NRA |RFDC
Mr. H. Howarth |Trent Consultative |Area Fisheries
Mr. A. Jones |Trent Consultative |Area Fisheries
Mr. D. Morgan |Severn Consultative |Area Fisheries
Mr. D. Orton |Angling Foundation |Angling
Dr. A. Richards |Trent Consultative |Area Fisheries
Mr. R. Sparrow |National Farmers Union |Fish Farming
Mr. A. Stephens |National Federation of Anglers |Angling
Dr. H. Tebbutt |NRA |RRAC
Mr. R. Williams |Severn Consultative |Area Fisheries
Southern
Mr. A. Humbert |NRA |Chairman
Mr. B. Aldrich |Hampshire Water Keepers Association |Special
Mr. D. Brunwin |Kent Anglers |Area Fisheries
Mr. A. Costen |Southern Counties Federation Angling Clubs |Angling
Dr. J. Cotton |Salmon and Trout Association |Coarse Angling
Mr. M. Drummond |NRA |RRAC
Mr. I. Gay |NFU |Fish Farming
Dr. B. Lindsay |Sussex Anglers |Area Fisheries
Mr. C. Neame |NRA |RFDC
Mr. J. Parkman |- |Other Industry
Mr. J. Potter |Isle of Wight and Hampshire Anglers |Area Fisheries
Mr. F. Reader |National Federation of Anglers |Angling
Mr. B. Stott |IFM |Fisheries
Major J. Thomas |Kent and Essex Sea Fisheries Committee |Sea Fisheries Committee
South West
Mrs. A. Voss-Bark |NRA |Chairman
Lt. Col. G. Badham |- |Area Fisheries
Mr. A. Baker |Netsmen |Commercial Fishing
Lord Clinton |South West Riparian Owners Association |Riparian Owners
Mr. S. Day |Devon Sea Fisheries Committee |Sea Fisheries Committee
Mr. P. Edwards |NRA |RRAC
Miss J. Edwards |Devon Wildlife Trust |Conservation
Professor C. Kennedy |Exeter University |Academic
Mr. G. Manning |NRA |RFDC
Mr. H. Maund |South West Riparian Owners Association |Fish Farming
Mr. M. Mountjoy |North Devon Commercial Fishermen's Association |Commercial Fishing
Mr. T. Mutton |Salmon and Trout Association |Game Angling
Mr. R. Retallick |- |Coarse Angling
Mr. J. Stevens |Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee |Sea Fisheries Committee
Mr. M. Weaver |West Country Tourist Board |Sport/Recreation
Mr. B. Wilson |Liskeard and District Anglers |Area Fisheries
Thames
Mr. H. Parry |NRA |Chairman
Dr. J. Alabaster |- |Academic
Mr. M. Davies, OBE |NRA |RFDC
Professor J. George |- |Conservation
Mr. M. Gregory, OBE, LLB |CLA |Riparian Owners
Mr. A. Hodges |Thames Consultative |Fisheries
Dr. D. Jamieson |Thames Water Utilities Limited |Water Industry
Mr. B. Knights |- |Commercial Fishing
Mr. D. Komrower |NFU |Fish Farming
Mr. G. Lee |Thames Consultative |Angling
Mr. T. Mansbridge |Thames Consultative |Fisheries
Mr. A. Meddle |Kent and Essex Sea Fisheries Committee |Sea Fisheries Committee
Mr. D. Wales |Thames Consultative |Fisheries
Mr. A. Williams |Thames Consultative |Fisheries
Mrs. J. Wykes |NRA |RRAC
Welsh
Lord Moran |NRA |Chairman
Mr. I. Edwards-Jones |Wye Salmon Fishery Owners' Association |Riparian Owners
Dr. J. Fish |North Western and North Wales Sea Fisheries Committee|Sea Fisheries Committee
Mr. W. Hardy |National Federation Fishermen's Organisations |Commercial Fishing
Mr. M. Johnston |- |Area Fisheries
Mr. M. Matthews |- |Fisheries
Mr. J. Mayers |Welsh Federation of Coarse Anglers |Coarse Angling
Mr. M. McLaggan |NRA |RFDC
Mr. I. Milichamp |IFM |Fisheries
Mr. M. Morgan |Welsh Salmon and Trout Angling Association |Game Angling
Colonel P. Ormrod |- |Riparian Owners
Sir I. Raikes |United Usk Fishermen's Association |Riparian Owners
Mr. A. Rees |- |Area Fisheries
Mr. J. Rhydderch |South Wales Sea Fisheries Committee |Sea Fisheries Committee
Mr. G. Roberts |- |Area Fisheries
Dr. W. Roscoe Howells |NRA |RRAC
Mrs. J. Spence |NFU |Fish Farming
Mr. W. Williams |- |Fisheries
Wessex
Mr. C. Rothwell |NRA |Chairman
Mr. R. Baker |NRA |RFDC
Mr. R. Corbett |- |Game Angling
Mr. D. Gifford |- |Game Angling
Mr. K. Hall |- |Coarse Angling
Major A. Hill |- |Fish Farming
Mr. P. Lacey |NRA |RRAC
Mr. K. Lacey |- |Coarse Angling
Dr. M. Ladle |Institute of Freshwater Ecology |Conservation
Mr. J. Mathrick |- |Coarse Angling
Mr. J. Parker |- |Coarse Angling
Major D. Rasch |- |Game Angling
Mr. M. Stoodley |- |Coarse Angling
Colonel C. Tarver, MBE |Trout Fishermen |Game Angling
Mr. G. Topp |- |Coarse Angling
Yorkshire
Mr. J. Fawcett |NRA |Chairman
Mr. J. Austerfield |IFM |Academic
Mr. T. Collier |NRA |RFDC
Mr. A. Dalby |Ouse Consultative |Angling
Mr. A. Evans |Don Consultative |Angling
Mr. P. Hayton |Aire/Calder Consultative |Angling
Mr. W. Jackson |Esk/Derwent Consultative |Angling
Mr. H. Mackrill |CLA |Riparian Owners
Mr. J. Mitchell |East Riding FCA |Angling
Mr. A. Noble |National Federation of Anglers |Angling
Mr. M. O'Donnell |NFU |Fish Farming
Dr. R. Ormond |- |Conservation
Mr. M. Stewart |Salmon and Trout Association |Angling
Mr. G. Traves |National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations |Commercial Fishing
Mr. J. Whitworth |NRA |RRAC
Notes:
NRA-National Rivers Authority.
NCC-Nature Conservancy Council.
IFM-Institute of Fisheries Management.
RRAC-Regional Rivers Advisory Committee.
RFDC-Regional Flood Defence Committee.
CLA-Country Land Owners Association.
NFU-National Farmers Union.
Land Settlement Association
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list, by county, the number of small holdings and orchards and the amount of land
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operated by the Land Settlement Association, which (a) has been sold since 1982 and (b) has yet to be sold ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Gummer : The details requested are as follows :
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Sold Unsold
|Smallholdings|Land includ- |Smallholdings|Land
|ing |(Hectares)
|Orchards
|(Hectares)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bedfordshire |94 |278 |8 |18
Cambridgeshire |80 |392 |2 |4
Essex |60 |159 |- |-
Gloucestershire |51 |137 |- |-
Lincolnshire |26 |51 |- |-
Suffolk |47 |152 |1 |5
West Sussex |120 |234 |- |-
Humberside |38 |118 |- |-
|------- |------- |------- |-------
Total |516 |1,521 |11 |27
I am pleased that more than 90 per cent. of tenants have been able to purchase their holdings.
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for what reasons (a) his Ministry was unable to sell the land of the Land Settlement Association, and (b) land had to be given to the association's tenants and ex-tenants.
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Mr. Gummer : Eleven holdings are still in Ministry ownership because the tenants declined the opportunity to purchase them. No holdings or land have been given to association tenants or ex-tenants.
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list, by county, the number of smallholdings and orchards and the area involved in
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hectares, that were operated by the Land Settlement Association prior to the termination of the arrangements with his Ministry in 1982 ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Gummer : The details requested are as follows :
|Small holdings|Land including
|orchards
|(Hectares)
-------------------------------------------------------------
Bedfordshire |102 |296
Cambridgeshire |82 |396
Essex |60 |159
Gloucestershire |51 |137
Lincolnshire |26 |51
Suffolk |48 |157
West Sussex |120 |234
Humberside |38 |118
------- |------- |-------
Total |527 |1,548
Most of the holdings and land have now been sold to the tenants.
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much his Ministry has received for each year since 1982 for the sale of land operated by the Land Settlement Association ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gummer : The details requested are as follows :
|£
---------------------------------
1982-83 |Nil
1983-84 |2,007,890
1984-85 |11,250,088
1985-86 |5,084,205
1986-87 |1,704,469
1987-88 |325,966
1988-89 |209,226
1989-90 |209,545
1990-91 |590,000
|-------
Total |21,381,389
I consider that fair prices were obtained for all the holdings and land sold. Tenants who purchased their holdings and land paid the tenanted value for the property.
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Local Management
Mr. Page : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many schools have applied for local management for schools status in England and Wales and in the South West Hertfordshire education division ; and what are their relevant percentages of the total schools.
Mr. Fallon : Seventy-eight per cent. of secondary and 30 per cent. of primary schools in England already have delegated budgets ; none of these is in Hertfordshire. All secondary and those primary schools with a pupil population of 200 or more must have delegated budgets on or before 1 April 1993 ; primary schools with fewer than 200 pupils must have delegated budgets by 1 April 1994.
Schools which are dissatisfied with the timing of delegation proposed by their local education authorities may apply to the Secretary of State for accelerated delegation, to take effect from as early as 1 April 1992. We have had a number of informal inquiries from schools but no formal applications to date.
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Educational Psychology
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if hospital psychologists will be allowed to offer their services to schools in the educational psychology discipline under local management for schools.
Mr. Fallon : It will be open to anyone to offer their services to schools under LMS. Where budgets for support services such as educational psychology have been delegated, it will be for schools to ensure that the services they purchase fully meet their requirements and offer value for money.
Private Golf Clubs
Ms. Richardson : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the categories of Government funding for which private golf clubs are eligible.
Mr. Atkins : Government funding for golf is channeled through the Sports Council. Golf clubs with open memberships are eligible for Sports Council regional grants, usually capital grants, towards facilities or a grant towards promotional development of the sport, but their activities must be deemed a priority in terms of the Sports Council's regional targets. Private golf clubs with closed memberships are not eligible for Sports Council funding.
Ms. Richardson : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make it his policy to ascertain whether private golf clubs in receipt of Government grants deny membership to women.
Mr. Atkins : Sports Council grant conditions stipulate open membership : no one will be denied access to use a facility on grounds of race, creed, colour, sex, occupation, religious or political persuasion. Any golf club applying for funding would have its constitution scrutinised before any grant was made in order to ensure it met these conditions.
Ms. Richardson : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list each Government grant to private golf clubs for the past five years.
Mr. Atkins : The information requested is not held centrally.
Royal Lifesaving Society
Mrs. Ann Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if his Department has considered an application for an exhibition relating to the 100th anniversary of the Royal Lifesaving Society to be displayed in the Upper Waiting Hall.
Mr. Atkins : I have considered, and approved in principle, an application for an exhibition relating to the 100th anniversary of the Royal Lifesaving Society to be mounted in the Upper Waiting Hall under the sponsorship of my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton (Mrs. Winterton). This approval in principle was given in a letter from my office on 24 June.
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Conservation Biology
Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will take steps to ensure that research in the field of conservation biology is included within the terms of reference of an appropriate research council.
Mr. Alan Howarth : Research into nature conservation is included in the charter of the Natural Environment Research Council. Nature conservation embraces conservation biology.
South-West London College
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has received from the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council concerning the next academic year's arrangements for the staff and students of South-West London college ; and what other contacts he has made with the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council concerning the future of the college's staff and students.
Mr. Alan Howarth : My right hon. and learned Friend has received the results of the consultations with students at the college about their future study carried out by an independent assessor, and which the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council published on 11 July. The Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council are currently discussing with college staff the location of their future employment. It will be for the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council to take account of the views of staff and students in preparing further advice on the transfer of the college's property, rights and liabilities to other institutions.
Education and Training"
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish a breakdown of the responses received to the White Paper "Education and Training", Cm. 1536, giving (a) the total number of responses and (b) the number received from (i) governing bodies of colleges, (ii) local education authorities, (iii) bodies representative of business and commerce, (iv) bodies representative of teaching staff and (v) others, with the proportion of responses in favour, and against, the proposals for a central funding council.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : My Department has so far received more than 1, 500 letters commenting on the recent White Paper on education and training. Responses are still coming in. I invited comments on the proposals to enable
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me to arrive at better informed decisions in due course. I do not believe that the responses will lend themselves to analysis in the way that the hon. Member requests.Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will deposit in the Library copies of all responses received to the White Paper "Education and Training", Cm. 1536.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : My Department has received over 1,500 responses to the White Paper, "Education and Training for the 21st Century". Responses are still coming in. I did not invite those responses on the basis that they would be public documents. I do not believe that the process of consultation will be helped if they were now turned into public documents.
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what assessment has been made of the implications for non- vocational adult education, of the proposals in the White Paper "Education and Training for the 21st Century". Mr. Eggar : The proposals in the White Paper will increase educational opportunities for adults. The further education funding councils will have a duty to secure adequate provision of education leading not only to vocational qualifications, but to GCSEs, AS and A levels, access to other further education or higher education, acquisition of basic skills, English for speakers of other languages and education for adults with special educational needs. Local education authorities will retain the duty to secure adequate provision of other kinds of further education. Our proposals will make it easier for secondary schools to admit adults to their classes or to put on courses for adults on their own initiatives.
Assisted Places Scheme
Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) if he will list the number of children participating in the assisted places scheme in each school ;
(2) if he will list the schools now participating in the assisted places scheme ;
(3) what are the fees at each school that is part of the assisted places scheme ;
(4) if he will list the number of pupils who receive a grant through the assisted places scheme in each participating school ; (5) if he will list the number of pupils in each school participating in the assisted places scheme.
Mr. Fallon : I have today placed copies of the table in the Library.
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