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Mr. Eggar : Decisions by my right hon. and learned Friend on the restraint and control of coursework in the GCSE examination take account of consultations with, and advice from, the School Examinations and Assessment Council established under the Education Reform Act 1988 as the Government's principal advisory body in the field of public examinations. The council includes several members with teaching or local authority experience.
Student Grants
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what percentage of applications by students for mandatory grants for the current academic year were (a) processed and (b) paid by 1 November.
Mr. Alan Howarth : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Elmet (Mr. Batiste) on 6 November 1991, at column 134.
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TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Company Administrators
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has any plans to introduce regulations to require the administrators of a company to make a full disclosure of their relationship with the company they are administering.
Mr. Redwood : I have no such plans.
Accounting Standards Board
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has any plans to introduce legislation to exclude partners from the auditing firms criticised by his Department's inspectors from the working of the Accounting Standards Board.
Departmental Accommodation
Mr. Michael Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether his Department intends to reoccupy 1 Victoria street following refurbishment ; and whether his Department will give up any of its other central London accommodation.
Mr. Leigh : My Department intends to move back into 1 Victoria street, following refurbishment, and the intention is to relinquish at least two other central London offices.
Auditing Practices Board
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether his representative on the Auditing Practices Board has received any documents prepared by a working party headed by any partner from the auditing firms criticised by his Department's inspectors.
Enterprise Initiative
Mr. Dover : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry for each year in which the quality initiative section of the enterprise initiative has been operational (a) what sum of Government money has been spent, (b) how many separate grants have been provided, (c) what is the average amount provided by the Government for each grant, (d) how many enterprises have applied for and received certification by third party certification authorities confirming compliance with the requirements of BS 5750 and (e) how many grants have been provided to trade associations for the purpose of preparing guidelines and model quality manuals for the use of their members in developing their own manuals.
Mr. Lilley : The information requested is provided by financial year and covers the quality element of the enterprise initiative consultancy scheme.
|1988-89|1989-90|1990-91
------------------------------------------------------------
Project spend (£ million) |2.8 |10.0 |13.3
Completed projects |903 |3,263 |3,782
Average project spend (£ ) |3,101 |3,065 |3,517
A recent survey carried out by scheme contractors has indicated that 95 per cent. of firms taking the quality consultancy scheme have applied for, intend to apply for, or have achieved certification under BS5750. To date, under the quality consultancy scheme, one trade association has applied for strategic advice on the preparation of quality procedures common to member businesses.
China
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what checks are made on the importation of products manufactured in the People's Republic of China in order to ensure that they have not been produced in prison labour camps ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood : Such trade is governed by the Foreign Prison Made Goods Act 1897, as amended in 1988. For enforcement of the Act, the Government have to rely in the main on the private sector or others to supply sufficient information to Customs and Excise.
Enterprise Initiative
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the regional takeup of each of the enterprise initiative schemes ; and if he will place copies of such tables of regional takeup in the Library.
Mr. Lilley : Information on regional takeup of the consultancy help available under the enterprise initiative is published in the Industrial Development Act annual report. A copy of the report for the year ending 31 March has been placed in the Library of the house--House of Commons paper number 593. The relevant information is contained in tables 1 to 4 of appendix 25.
Electronics Industry
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the effect of the recession upon production and employment in the United Kingdom electronics industry.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 13 November 1991] : There is no official assessment of the effect of the recession on particular industries. However, the electronics industry has made great strides during the last decade in terms of improved growth and productivity and is now very much better placed to take advantage of the upturn in the economy as it occurs.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Lancashire Constabulary
Mr. Ken Hargreaves : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of police officers in the Lancashire constabulary in 1979 and at the last date available.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : In December 1979 there were 3,089 police officers on the strength of the Lancashire constabulary. By the end of August 1991 this had increased by 121 to 3,210 police officers.
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Television Franchises
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many representations he has received from members of the public concerning the process for awarding of the television franchises.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Since the Broadcasting Act 1990 came into force on 1 January 1991, the Home Office has received 25 representations from members of the public ; 20 of them have been received since September and were prompted by the Independent Television Commission's announcement of the channel 3 licence awards on 16 October.
Absent Voting
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to ensure that form RPF 7B concerning applications for absent voting on grounds of blindness or physical disability are available in large print, in Braille and on tape.
Mrs. Rumbold We are not aware of any demand for form RPF 7B to be made available in Braille or tape format. If there is such a demand, then we would be prepared to consider meeting it where practicable. We are currently considering the possibility of producing the form in a large print version.
Remand Prisoners
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the number of police stations that are holding prisoners on remand ; and how many are being held at each station.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : On Tuesdaty 12 November, prisoners were held in police cells in the following force areas :
|Number
---------------------------------
Avon and Somerset |46
Bedfordshire |32
Cambridgeshire |21
Cheshire |44
Cleveland |22
Cumbria |12
Derbyshire |50
Devon and Cornwall |23
Dorset |3
Durham |21
Dyfed |15
Essex |11
Gloucestershire |8
Greater Manchester |227
Gwent |23
Hampshire |17
Hertfordshire |18
Humberside |67
Kent |37
Lancashire |97
Leicestershire |36
Lincolnshire |17
Merseyside |89
Metropolitan |122
Norfolk |28
North Wales |15
North Yorkshire |35
Northamptonshire |26
Northumbria |34
Nottinghamshire |42
South Wales |63
South Yorkshire |95
Staffordshire |10
Suffolk |12
Surrey |9
Sussex |45
Thames Valley |31
Warwickshire |8
West Mercia |35
West Midlands |43
West Yorkshire |99
Wiltshire |31
|---
Total |1,719
Details of the individual police stations in which these prisoners are detained are not collected centrally.
Policing, Docklands
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has for increasing the number of police officers based and working in the London docklands.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : This is a matter for the commissioner. But we are satisfied that the Metropolitan police will have adequate manpower, and that the commissioner's plans for their deployment take adequate account of the docklands development.
Ministerial Visits
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what consultations he had regarding his Minister of State's visit to Glanely high school, Michaelston road, Ely, Cardiff, on Wednesday 6 November ;
(2) what discussions he had with the chairman of the education committee of the South Glamorgan county council and his director of education concerning his Minister of State's visit to Glanely high school, Michaelston road, Ely, Cardiff, on 6 November either (a) before his visit and (b) after the visit ;
(3) what was the purpose of the visit by his Minister of State to a school and parish priest's office in Ely, Cardiff, on Wednesday 6 November ; how many officials accompanied him and from which sections of his Department ; at what total cost ; and if he will make a statement ;
(4) what consultations he undertook regarding the constituency boundaries of the Cardiff West constituency, prior to his Minister of State's visit to the Glanely high school and other locations in Ely, Cardiff, on 6 November.
Mr. John Patten I will write to the hon. Member.
Dangerous Dogs Act
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will extend the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 to cover rottweiler and doberman pinscher breeds ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : Section 3 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, which creates criminal offences relating to dogs that are dangerously out of control in a public place, already applies to all breeds of dog including the doberman pinscher and the rottweiler.
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Section 1 of the Act, which imposes stringent requirements relating to certain breeds of dog and their owners, applies to types of dog bred for fighting or having the characteristics of a type bred for that purpose. As neither the rottweiler nor the doberman pinscher is a type of dog bred for fighting, section 1 cannot be applied to them.I have no plans at present to use the reserve powers of section 2 of the Act which enables me to impose restrictions on any breed of dog which I consider presents a serious danger to the public. I shall continue to keep under review the need to use these powers in the light of experience of the operation of existing measures to deal with dangerous dogs.
Homelessness
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been prosecuted for (a) begging and (b) sleeping rought and how many people have been convicted of (i) begging and (ii) sleeping rough in the Metropolitan police areaa during the period from January to October 1991.
Mr. John Patten : I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Mrs. Golding) on 13 November at columns 536-38.
Youth Remand Centre (Reconstruction)
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposal he has for the reconstruction of Her Majesty's youth remand centre at Pucklechurch or in another convenient location.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : I announced on 24 July at columns 598-600 the outcome of a review of the prison estate. This included proposals to close Pucklechurch remand centre in 1993-94, to convert part of Gloucester prison to a remand centre for male young offenders in 1992-93 and to reopen in 1993-94 Eastwood Park, following its closure as a young offender institution in 1992-93, as a female establishment.
We are considering representations on these and other review proposals. I hope to make a further announcement soon.
Hotels (Fire Safety)
Sir John Wheeler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he proposes to publish new guidance on fire safety in hotels.
Mr. John Patten : Two guides on fire safety in hotels have been published today. The first, a new guide, is entitled "Fire Safety Management in Hotels and Boarding Houses". It is a simple, commonsense and practical guide comprising good housekeeping measures with a check list which managers can use to make sure that their hotels are as safe as possible from fire. The guide has been produced jointly with the Fire Protection Association and the Scottish Office. It is a blueprint for the 1990s and will help to make British hotels and boarding houses the safest in Europe.
The second guide is a technical document entitled "Guide to Fire Precautions in Premises Used as Hotels and Boarding Houses which require a Fire Certificate". It has been produced by the Home Office and the Scottish Office and is mainly aimed at fire authorities although it will also
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be relevant to all professionals in the field of fire precautions. The guide updates guidance produced in 1972 and incorporates the EC recommendation on fire safety in existing hotels.Copies of both guides have been placed in the Library.
ENVIRONMENT
Royal Parks
Mr. Gould : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 applies to apprentices currently employed in the royal parks ; and how many apprentices working in the royal parks received redundancy notices.
Mr. Heseltine : I am advised that the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 does not apply to the apprentices currently employed in the royal parks. Redundancy notices have been issued to the 27 apprentices, but before contracts are signed I shall require contractors to enter into a deed to maintain apprentice training in the royal parks.
Mr. Gould : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the cost and purpose of the work commissioned from land use consultants into the management of the royal parks ; and if he will place a copy of their report in the Library.
Mr. Heseltine : Land use consultants have been commissioned by my Department to prepare various reports over the last 10 years on several of the royal parks covering their historical significance, strategy plans for their long term conservation and management, and assessments of staffing needs at the time. Records of the cost of the original historical surveys are no longer available. The cost of the other studies has been £154,000. The reports will form an important framework for the future management of the royal parks by the ground maintenance contractors. I am arranging for copies of the strategy and manpower reports for Regent's park, Hyde park and Kensington gardens, and for the staffing report for St. James's and Green park, to be placed in the Library.
Mr. Gould : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many registered disabled workers are currently under redundancy notice in the royal parks ; and what plans he has to ensure their continued employment by future contractors.
Mr. Heseltine : There are nine staff in the royal parks who are registered disabled and who have received notice of redundancy. All staff who have been made redundant, including those who are disabled, will be granted a job interview with the preferred tenderers, and must be informed of the tenderers' decisions before the contracts are signed. Tenderers will also be required to submit details of their company policy and practice regarding the employment of disabled persons. The Department will therefore be able to take these decisions into account in awarding contracts.
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Rifle Club
Sir John Farr : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the Property Services Agency will complete their work in the Palace of Westminster Rifle Club.
Mr. Yeo : The major part of the electrical work affecting the rifle range has been completed. There will be further minor work next year but disruption will be kept to a minimum and the work is expected to be complete by the summer.
North Sea
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he will take to encourage North sea states to produce a directory of the North sea coastal margin in order to protect North sea ecosystems ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Baldry : The United Kingdom delegation to the North sea task force will be presenting a draft of our North Sea Coastal directory to the seventh meeting of the task force to be held in Antwerp from 19 to 22 November. This directory has been compiled for my Department by the Nature Conservancy Council, and subsequently the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, in order to bring together informaton on the conservation interest of the coastal zone. It will be a valauble contribution to the next quality status report on the North sea. We very much hope that other North sea states will support similar studies for their areas. Copies of the draft are being sent to interested organisations in the United Kingdom.
Planning Applications
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many representations he has received during 1991 over the use by planning applicants of untruthful or misleading statements in their applications ; what remedies he proposes ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Yeo : The number of such representations could be established only at disproportionate cost. It is for local planning authorities to satisfy themselves that information given in planning applications is accurate. Under the Town and Country Planning (Applications) Regulations 1988, applicants can be required to furnish evidence to verify any statement made in a planning application.
Boundary Commission
Sir Eldon Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to announce his decision on the Local Government Boundary Commission's report No. 608 and recommendations regarding the boundary between Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.
Mr. Portillo : The Commission's final report was sent to my right hon. Friend on 9 September 1991. I regret that its notices informing the public that no decision could be taken for at least six weeks, and it was now open to them to make any representations directly to him, were defective. They have now been re-published, thus extending that period to the end of the year. There will be no avoidable delay in reaching a decision as soon as possible.
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Compulsory Competitive Tendering
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will indicate how many regulations he intends to issue after 31 January 1992, with regard to extending compulsory competitive tendering to more local authority services ; what individual services such regulations will apply to ; and when he intends to issue the regulations.
Mr. Portillo : The number, content and timing of the necessary orders will depend on the outcome of our consideration of responses to the consultation paper "Competing for Quality--Competition in the Provision of Local Services", published on 5 November 1991, and on parliamentary approval of the provisions in the Local Government Bill.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many representations and comments he has received, either direct to his Department or through the PA Consulting Group (a) in favour of and (b) against extending compulsory competitive tendering to professional and technical services and if he will publish them.
Mr. Portillo : The publication of "Competing for
Quality--Competition in the Provision of Local Services" has launched the process of consultation on our proposals to extend compulsory competitive tendering to professional and other services provided by local authorities. Comments have been invited by 31 January 1992. We shall place copies of non -confidential responses in the Libraries of the House of Commons and of the Department of the Environment.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the cost to his Department of awarding the contract to investigate the viability of extending compulsory competitive tendering to local authority professional and technical services, to PA Consulting Group ; at what price other companies submitted bids ; and if he will publish the evaluation procedure his Department used in awarding the contract and a summary of the specification.
Mr. Portillo : The cost to the Department was £55,000. The consultants were asked to examine the technical feasibility of extending the legislative requirements for competitive tendering to professional services. It is not our policy to comment on bids or evaluation procedure for individual consultancy contracts.
Local Authorities (Trading Accounts)
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he plans to introduce primary legislation to establish internal trading accounts within local authorities.
Mr. Portillo : At the earliest opportunity after the election.
Business Rate
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give, for each London borough, the total uniform business rate collected and the net amount of uniform business rate which is redistributed outside London under the pooling arrangements.
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Mr. Portillo : The following is the most useful, information that I can give. In 1991-92 authorities in London, including the City of London, will receive £1,780 million from the non-domestic rates pool and contribute, provisionally, £3,121 million. The table gives the estimated receipts of the 1991-92 non-domestic rates up to 30 September for those London authorities who have made a return to the Department.
Estimated receipts of 1991-92
non-domestic rates 1 April to
30 September 1991
|£ 000
---------------------------------------
City of London |361,286
Greenwich |16,316
Hackney |36,901
Hammersmith and Fulham |28,628
Islington |46,812
Lewisham |12,030
Tower Hamlets |36,687
Wandsworth |19,263
Barking and Dagenham |17,932
Bexley |14,006
Bromley |21,538
Ealing |37,921
Enfield |25,546
Harrow |14,454
Havering |18,069
Hillingdon |53,478
Hounslow |50,406
Merton |17,248
Newham |23,276
Richmond-upon-Thames |15,140
Waltham Forest |12,268
Red Squirrels
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what research his Department has carried out in the last 10 years into the presence of red squirrels in the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Baldry : The most important national work on red squirrel populations is carried out by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Forestry Commission. The Institute of Terrestrial Ecology of NERC collects records of the presence of red squirrels and intends to publish the results in an atlas of mammal distribution in the United Kingdom. The Forestry Commission carries out surveys and maps the presence of red and grey squirrels on its land at regular intervals.
Protected Species
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list for each of the last 10 years the number of licences issued to take species protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, indicating the species involved in each case.
Mr. Baldry : Details of licences issued to take protected bird species are given in the United Kingdom's annual derogation reports to the European Commission under the terms of the EC directive (79/409) on the conservation of wild birds. Copies of each report for the years 1981 to 1990 are placed in the Library of the House. In the case of non-bird species, 14 licences have been issued in this period to take unlimited numbers of the edible dormouse.
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Thamesmead Town Centre
Mr. Cartwright : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to announce his decision on the planning application for the development of the Thamesmead town centre.
Mr. Yeo : The inspector's report is under active consideration and it is hoped to issue a decision shortly.
Wind Energy
Mr. Speller : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish planning guidelines for local authorities dealing with wind energy planning applications ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Yeo : Preliminary guidance about this was given in a written answer by my hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Planning on 28 March at col. 543. It advised local planning authorities to pay attention to the desirability of energy sources which do not emit harmful gases and to the need to protect the local environment from damage and loss of amenity.
Officials in my Department, the Department of Energy and the Welsh Office are preparing a draft planning policy guidance note about renewable energy which we hope to issue for public consultation later this month.
Council House Sales
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will introduce legislation to amend part VI of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 to release capital receipts from the sale of council houses for investment in the provision of new housing.
Mr. Yeo : The Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (part IV, not VI) requires local authorities to set aside part of their capital receipts to meet outstanding loan debt and other liabilities, and this remains a sensible and prudent requirement. It has also enabled a greater proportion of capital receipts to be recycled in the form of new credit approvals to those local authorities where housing needs are greatest. Local authorities are free to spend the remainder of receipts on new capital investment. The balance between debt redemption and new investment is set in regulations and is kept under review.
Wildlife Sanctuaries
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will make it his policy to establish a register of wildlife sanctuaries, hospitals and rescue services, with a requirement that before registration such bodies have suitably qualified members of staff or qualified veterinary consultants who must visit the sanctuaries at least fortnightly ;
(2) if he will introduce legislation to ensure that wildlife sanctuaries, hospitals and rescue services are subject to regular spot checks by local authority environmental health inspectors or other appropriately qualified inspectors.
Mr. Baldry : The Government recognise the excellent practical work already undertaken on a voluntary basis by the growing number of wildlife sanctuaries, hospitals and rescue centres. Existing legislation already protects captive
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animals against ill-treatment. The Government are not persuaded of the case for further statutory measures either for registration or inspection. In this field, it would be preferable for the bodies themselves to develop and agree voluntary codes of practice and thereby avoid incurring unnecessary costs and bureaucracy.Homelessness
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what grants his Department proposes to give to those organisations in the United Kingdom which will provide shelter and comfort to homeless people over the Christmas period ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir George Young : My Department has made £96 million available over three years under the rough sleepers initiative in central London. This has provided 500 places in hostels, with another 400 to come ; 500 bedspaces in flats and houses leased from private owners and 250 places-- out of an anticipated 1,850--in permanent housing. We are also providing grants under section 73 of the Housing Act 1985 to over 80 voluntary organisations in England for practical projects to prevent and relieve homelessness.
My officials are also in discussion with Single Homelessness in London about the provision of shelters for homeless people in central London this winter.
Responsibility for housing in Scotland and Wales lies with my right hon. Friends, the Secretaries of State for Scotland and for Wales respectively.
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