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United Kingdom Immigrants Advisory Service
Mr. Robert G. Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he proposes to continue funding the United Kingdom Immigrants Advisory Service.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : UKIAS currently receives grant-in-aid so that it may provide advice and representation before the immigration appellate authorities in cases where an application to enter or remain in the United Kingdom or a claim to asylum has been refused. The Government have a high regard for the service which UKIAS's staff provide
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to their clients. We are not, however, satisfied with the manner in which UKIAS's general council and executive committee oversee the service and we have repeatedly pressed them to make changes to conform with the standards expected of a body receiving grant-in -aid. In particular, we expect the organisation to become more broadly based, with a wider range of representation. We think that anybody who is paid by UKIAS or otherwise has a personal pecuniary interest in the provision of immigration advice should not be able to serve on the general council or executive committee, and that the role of those committees should be restricted to general policy and senior staff appointments. We also expect UKIAS to account for the funds they receive by improving their corporate planning and performance measurement.UKIAS has not so far accepted or implemented these changes. On 20 January I met the executive committee to discuss this. I gave notice that the current situation in UKIAS was such that the Government could not properly provide additional funds for the expansion of their refugee unit to meet the extra work created by the increase in asylum applications and the introduction of new rights of appeal in the Asylum Bill. The London representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees who attended the meeting and who hitherto has provided 75 per cent. of the refugee unit's funds, expressed similar concern. The refugee unit now needs to expand without further delay and so that this can proceed both the Government and the UNHCR intend to transfer the funds for refugee work from UKIAS to a new body which will supervise the refugee unit temporarily. The transfer will take place as soon as the new body is established, we hope by the end of February 1992.
I also gave the executive committee notice that continued payment of the grant for general immigration work depended on their making the required changes within three months. If changes are made to meet the conditions we and the London representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees have set out, the grant for immigration work will continue and we will discuss the reattachment of the refugee unit to UKIAS. If, however, the necessary changes are not made, we have given notice that we shall feel bound to terminate the grant to UKIAS and fund a new organisation to provide these services.
Derek Bentley
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, further to his answer to the hon. Member for Bradford, South (Mr. Cryer) of 23 January, Official Report, column 315, if he is now in a position to decide whether any action on his part is appropriate in the case of Derek Bentley.
Mr. Patten : No. The case is receiving careful consideration. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary will announce his decision once the review is complete.
Rule 43
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what positive action is being taken by his Department to encourage inmates to return to normal prison location from rule 43 ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mrs. Rumbold : Detailed guidance was provided to governors in 1990 on the arrangements that should be made for the removal of inmates from association under prison rule 43 and young offender institution rule 46, and for the management of vulnerable prisoners. The White Paper "Custody, Care and Justice"--Cm 1647--presented to Parliament last September, stated that no prisoner should be segregated for longer than is absolutely necessary. It described the development of policies directed to provide a climate in prisons in which inmates could be removed from segregation and located more appropriately. In particular, the Government accepted a proposal in the Woolf report that the existing rules should be amended. Later this year, separate rules will be introduced to make clear the responsibilities and powers of governors in respect of vulnerable prisoners.
Bed-and-Breakfast Accommodation
Mr. Allason : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will consider extending the requirement to comply with fire regulations to include all bed-and-breakfast accommodation premises with less than six bed spaces.
Mr. John Patten : Hotels and boarding houses with sleeping accommodation for more than six persons--or with some sleeping accommodation above the first floor or below ground-floor level--require a fire certificate under a designation order made under section 1 of the Fire Precautions Act 1971. We have no plans to designate smaller hotels and boarding houses.
We nevertheless intend to make regulations under section 12 of the Act to implement the fire safety requirements of European Community directives relating to the health and safety of workers at work. These will generally apply to every place in which one or more persons work and will take effect on 1 January 1993.
In accordance with the directives, the regulations will place the primary responsibility for ensuring fire safety on employers. Enforcement of these regulations will be by fire authorities and, for Crown premises, by HM inspectorate of fire services. Detailed consideration is currently being given to how they will be applied to places of work, including bed-and- breakfast accommodation establishments outside the scope of the designated order.
Police Officers (National Memorial)
Mr. Kilfedder : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set up a committee containing representatives of the police throughout the United Kingdom to consider the provision of a national memorial to all police officers who have been killed in the line of police duty in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : My right hon. Friend has no plans to do so. The Police Memorial Trust already has approved to erect a memorial to police officers killed on duty in the United Kingdom. The site is at Cambridge green, between Horseguards Parade road and the Mall. Construction work on the memorial, the design for which has been approved by the Royal Fine Arts Commission, is expected to begin later this year.
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Assaults on Police
Mr. Speller : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to make a custodial sentence mandatory for those convicted of inflicting bodily harm on police officers.
Mr. John Patten : The courts have strong powers to deal with those who harm police officers and the Court of Appeal has made it clear that they should use them. We have conducted a six-month survey of the sentences given for assaults against police officers during the period to December 1991. We will consider whether any action is needed in the light of a careful analysis of the results of the survey and will announce our conclusions.
Gatwick Airport
Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what notices are displayed by the immigration service at Gatwick airport to identify the channel for passengers holding passports issued by members of the European Community.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Signs directing European Community nationals to the designated area of the immigration arrivals control are provided by Gatwick Airport Limited at 17 locations in the south terminal and four locations in the north terminal.
Prison Officers
Mr. Cummings : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many vacancies for prison officers there are at Her Majesty's prisons, Elvert, Durham and Franklands, Durham.
Mrs. Rumbold : In the prison officer class overall Her Majesty's prison Durham has a shortfall of four officers below its target staffing figure of 423 and Her Majesty's prison Frankland has a surplus of three officers above its target staffing figure of 405. Within these totals, there are vacancies at both prisons in the principal, senior officer and hospital officer grades, and there is a vacancy for a principal works officers at Her Majesty's prison Durham.
Crime Prevention, Peterlee
Mr. Cummings : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what level of funding was granted to the Peterlee sub-division for crime prevention and neighbourhood watch schemes in the years 1985 to 1991.
Mr. John Patten : None. It would not be possible to provide central funds for every local crime prevention initiative. Between 1986 and 1988 a civilian neighbourhood watch assistant in the sub-division was appointed under the community programme. Since January 1991 there has been a similar placement under the employment training programme. I understand from Durham constabulary that local funding of a permanent neighbourhood watch assistant in the area is under consideration.
Passport Applications
Mr. John Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations his Department have received, and on what dates, regarding the passport application of Mrs. M. P. Williams of Blaengwynfi.
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Mr. Kenneth Baker : The right hon. and learned Member wrote to me on 20 December 1990 concerning Mrs. Williams' eligibility for a passport. He wrote again on 11 November 1991 about the application for citizenship which she lodged on 30 September 1991. I have today written to the right hon. and learned Member about the case.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Dioxins
Mr. Soames : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will be in a position to publish the food surveillance report on dioxins.
Mr. Gummer : I am pleased to announce that the report, food surveillance paper No. 31, "Dioxins in Food" is published today. The key finding is that levels of dioxins in United Kingdom food are so low that only the most sophisticated analytical techniques, capable of measuring accurately to 10 parts in a quadrillion--one thousand million million--can detect them. The report also records that the estimated average intake of dioxins via the diet is less than one quarter of the World Health Organisation tolerable daily intake. Any risk to health from these chemicals in food is therefore likely to be remote.
Other important findings were that levels of dioxins in milk were generally very low, especially at retail level and consumers' intake of dioxins from milk were consequently also low ; levels of dioxins in all the samples of fruit, vegetables and eggs were extremely low and intakes from these foods were also very low ; levels of dioxins in foods such as meat, fats and oils, and fish were, as expected, slightly higher than in the other foods tested--dioxins are known to accumulate in fatty tissues. Nevertheless, intakes from these products were still less than one tenth of the WHO tolerable daily intake.
The report also presents detailed results of the work carried out on milk from two farms near Bolsover in Derbyshire, previously announced on 26 June 1991, which was found to contain high levels of dioxins. Although retail milk in the area was found to be perfectly acceptable, action was taken last June as soon as the results became available to prevent milk from these premises entering the public supply thereby ensuring that consumers remained fully protected. The results from a special research programme currently being carried out on these farms will be published as soon as the work has been completed.
The report has been considered by independent expert committees, the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment, and the Food Advisory Committee. These committees welcomed the work carried out, and confirmed the remoteness of any health risk. Surveillance work will, however, continue as recommended by the committees.
Foxes
Sir Michael McNair-Wilson : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the approximate size of the fox population in the United Kingdom ; whether the animal carries disease ; and what percentage of foxes are killed by hunting, shooting and gassing.
Mr. Maclean [holding answer 24 January 1992] : The size of the fox population varies depending on the time of
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year, with an estimated 500,000 foxes in England, Scotland and Wales at the end of the summer, falling to 250,000 by the end of winter. Foxes can act as vectors for a number of diseases, most notably rabies on mainland Europe, and also a number of parasites such as Echinococcus granulosus, which can cause hydatid disease in man. It is estimated that 12,500 foxes are killed each year by hunting, while approximately 100,000 are killed by other means, including shooting. No products for gassing foxes are currently approved under the Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986.NATIONAL FINANCE
Central Statistical Office
Mr. Beith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has any plans to introduce charges to users of statistics produced by the Central Statistical Office.
Mr. Maples : The Central Statistical Office is funded by vote to provide certain statistical services to Parliament, Government Departments and international organisations without charge. There is no plan to change these arrangements. The CSO will also continue to charge other
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users of its statistics in accordance with the policy set out in its agency framework document--paragraph 6.9 and annex F--a copy of which is in the Library of the House. Within the guidelines set out in annex F the CSO will, as stated in paragraph 6.5 of the framework document, explore ways of getting best value out of existing and potential revenue earning activities without detriment to its principal objectives : and that once the key objective of improving the quality and relevance of Government economic statistics has been substantially achieved it will be appropriate to give greater emphasis to increasing revenue.Excise Duty
Mr. Cartwright : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will set out (a) the present rates of excise duty, expressed in ecus, charged by the respective EC member nations on beer, cider, table wine, fortified wine and spirits, (b) the agreed reference rates of excise duty on these products and the target dates for convergence by all member nations and (c) the changes that would need to be made in United Kingdom excise duties to match the action already taken in Denmark.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The information is as follows :
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(a) Excise Duties in Ecus (latest available)
Beer Cider Wine Spirits
(at 12(at 5 per cent. abper hlpa<1>
per hlper hl
Table Fortified
(at 11.5 per(at 18 per cent.
per hlpa per hl
---------------------------------------------------
Belgium |267 |4 |302 |65 |1,502
Denmark |1,355|103 |1,197|211 |3,976
France |55 |1 |27 |179 |1,120
Germany |146 |26 |nil |50 |1,242
Greece |126 |nil |nil |152 |314
Ireland |2,256|21 |2,311|387 |2,617
Italy |413 |nil |nil |16 |608
Luxembourg |130 |3 |123 |44 |899
Netherlands |493 |4 |311 |67 |1,374
Portugal |170 |nil |nil |nil |559
Spain |78 |nil |nil |34 |566
United Kingdom |1,520|29 |1,503|293 |2,710
<1> Hectolitres of pure alcohol.
<2> Alcohol by Volume.
(b) There are no agreed reference rates as yet.
There are no target dates for convergence.
The Danish Government have reduced their excise duties on beer by 10.6 per cent., and on wine by 13.3 per cent. No matching action is required from the United Kingdom.
Golden Shares
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list all those companies where the Government retain a golden share together with any restrictions on the use of such shares.
Mr. Maude : The table shows all the companies in which the Government holds special or "golden" shares. The only restriction as to the exercising of the rights attached to a special share is where such a share is time limited. Where this is applicable, the table shows the expiry date on or before which the Government may redeem a special share.
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Companies in which special shares are held Company |Expiry date ------------------------------------------------------------------- Cable and Wireless Sealink BT British Aerospace VSEL Consortium British Gas Rolls-Royce BAA British Steel |31 December 1993 Anglian Water |31 December 1994 Northumbrian Water Group |31 December 1994 North West Water Group |31 December 1994 Severn Trent |31 December 1994 Southern Water |31 December 1994 South West Water |31 December 1994 Thames Water |31 December 1994 Welsh Water |31 December 1994 Wessex Water |31 December 1994 Yorkshire Water |31 December 1994 Mersey Docks and Harbour Company Eastern Electricity |31 December 1995 East Midlands Electricity |31 December 1995 London Electricity |31 December 1995 Manweb |31 December 1995 Midlands Electricity |31 December 1995 Northern Electric |31 December 1995 Norweb |31 December 1995 Seeboard |31 December 1995 Southern Electricity |31 December 1995 South Wales Electricity |31 December 1995 South Western Electricity |31 December 1995 Yorkshire Electricity Group |31 December 1995 National Grid Company National Grid Holding National Power PowerGen Scottish Power Scottish Hydro-Electric
Bank of Credit and Commerce International
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many claim forms have been received by the deposit protection board from BCCI depositors.
Mr. Maples : As at 24 January 1992, a total of 12,818 forms have been received by the Deposit Protection Board from BCCI depositors.
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state the estimated amount of payments under the deposit protection scheme for the BCCI depositors.
Mr. Maples : The amount which the deposit protection scheme will pay out to BCCI depositors will depend on how many depositors make valid claims under the scheme. The estimated maximum amount of payments would be some £88 million, on the information presently available, if all eligible sterling depositors were to make valid claims against the board.
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many forms were sent out to BCCI depositors under the deposit protection scheme.
Mr. Maples : As at 24 January 1992, a total of 39,687 forms have been sent out to BCCI depositors. In addition, 13,676 forms have not yet been dispatched, as no correspondence addresses for depositors were maintained by BCCI, and the depositors have not themselves requested forms.
Bed-and-Breakfast Accommodation
Mr. Allason : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of staffing at Inland Revenue offices in Torbay ; and whether there are sufficient personnel to handle inquiries relating to the non-registration for uniform business rate by bed -and-breakfast premises.
Mr. Maude : Staffing levels in the Inland Revenue Valuation Office Agency are considered adequate to meet its statutory duties.
Privatisation
Mr. Ron Brown : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total amount of debt written off in privatisations since 1988 giving the figures by company privatised.
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Mr. Maude : The table attached shows the debt written off in privatisations since 1988 by company and type of debt.
Debt Written Off in Privatisations Since 1988
Company |Amount £ |Type of Debt
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|Public Dividend
British Steel |500,000,000 |Capital
|Borrowing under
|Iron and Steel
British Steel |3,480,000,000 |Act 1982
Water Holding
Companies |4,526,069,946 |National Loans Fund
Water Holding
Companies |447,258,437 |Board
South of Scotland
Electricity Board<1> |1,368,390,398 |National Loans Fund
|------
|10,321,718,780
<1> Following reorganisation of the Scottish Electricity Companies prior to
privatisation, this debt was transferred to Scottish Nuclear Ltd. and subsequently
written off.
Competitive Tendering (Derbyshire)
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, further to his answer of 20 January, Official Report, column 13 , when he replied to the letter he received ; and if he will make a further statement concerning Derbyshire county council's policies on competitive tendering.
Mr. Maude : I have received a letter.
Company Taxation
Mr. Burns : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Government will start the consultation on the legislation proposed for the tax treatment of groups of companies.
Mr. Maude : The Inland Revenue is today publishing draft clauses on groups of companies that the Government intend to introduce in the next Finance Bill. As I announced on 15 November 1991, the legislation, if passed by Parliament, will be effective from that date. Comments are invited by 28 February. Copies of the draft clauses have been placed in the Library of both Houses of Parliament.
Nurses
Mr. John Browne : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to equalise for VAT purposes the charges made for qualified nurses for in-home care and those made for nurses who are not fully qualified and registered only as carers.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard [holding answer on 28 January 1992] : The Government keep VAT law under constant review. I would not wish to anticipate my right hon. Friend the Chancellor's Budget Statement.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT
Baltic States
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to extend the application of its know-how funds to new categories of enterprises in the Baltic states.
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Mrs. Chalker : There are no immediate plans to extend the know-how fund in the Baltic states beyond the following four priority sectors : food processing and distribution, financial services, small business creation and energy.Aid
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answers to the hon. Member for Workington (Mr. Campbell-Savours) on 20 November, Official Report, column 204 and 28 November, Official Report, column 583, what percentage of British aid in 1989 was untied ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Chalker : My answer to the hon. Member for Workington on 20 November related to total aid commitments. My answer on 28 November related to bilateral aid expenditure. The latest estimate of untied aid as a percentage of total aid commitments for 1989 is 34.8 per cent.
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the percentage change in overseas aid was in real terms between 1979 and 1990.
Mrs. Chalker : Gross public expenditure on aid was 17 per cent. lower in real terms in 1990 compared with 1979. However, the aid programme is managed on a financial year basis and patterns of disbursements within financial years may not be reflected in calendar year statistics. Compared with 1979-80 gross public expenditure on aid in 1990-91 was 8 per cent. lower in real terms.
WALES
Business Rates
Mr. Gwilym Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he intends to make any adjustments to local authorities' 1990-91 contributions to the Welsh non-domestic rates pool.
Mr. David Hunt : I can confirm that following receipt of audited returns, my Department has written to 33 of the 37 district councils in Wales informing them of the adjustments I will be making to the contributions they made into the non-domestic rates pool during 1990-91. Authorities whose contributions to the pool were too high will receive repayments amounting to some £5,566,030, while authorities whose contributions were too low will be making additional payments amounting to £3,612,501. My Department will be writing to the remaining four district councils once queries associated with their audited returns have been resolved. Parliamentary approval of this new expenditure is being sought in a spring supplementary estimate on class XVI, vote 11. Pending that approval, expenditure on repayments to local authorities will be met by a repayable advance from the Contingencies Fund.
Schools Inspectorate
Mr. Gwilym Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he has yet completed his review of the role and organisation of Her Majesty's inspectorate of schools in Wales ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. David Hunt : Yes. I propose an important and powerful role for Her Majesty's Inspectorate--HMI--which takes full account of the distinctive features of the education service in Wales. The Education (Schools) Bill now before Parliament establishes an independent office of Her Majesty's chief inspector--HMCI--of schools for Wales to oversee arrangements for a new system of regular school inspections and to provide me with advice on the quality of education provided by schools and the educational standards achieved by them, and whether the financial resources made available to schools are managed efficiently.
The new arrangements set out in the Education (Schools) Bill give effect to the Government's commitment in the citizens charter, and in the charter for parents in Wales that I published at the end of September, to give parents much more comprehensive and regular information about the standard of education in the schools their children attend. In future all schools will be inspected at regular intervals by inspectors who will be required to be registered for that purpose with HMCI. For the first time, parents will have the right--set out in legislation--to meet those undertaking the inspection and make their own views known. Parents will be sent a summary of the published inspection report ; school governors will be required to prepare an action plan in the light of the report, send it to parents and report to parents on the implementation of that action plan. The proposals will lead to published reports on a much larger number of schools and on a much more frequent basis than under current arrangements. Together with the proposals for the publication of comparative information on examination results, attendance rates and the destinations of school leavers, these arrangements will give parents a far better picture of the education available in their locality and enable them to become more effective partners in the education of their children.
HMCI will be able to attach conditions to the registration of inspectors and will also have responsibility for monitoring their performance, approving or providing their training and giving guidance on good practice in school inspection. In addition, HMCI will be required to make an annual report to the Secretary of State, which will be laid before Parliament, and will undertake such other functions in connection with schools as may be assigned to him by the Secretary of State.
The powers available to this new statutory, independent office of HMCI will be considerable. I would expect them to be used to the full to ensure that school inspection in Wales will be of high standard and will reflect and safeguard distinctive features of the education system in Wales, notably Welsh-medium education and the teaching of the Welsh language and Welsh history and culture.
I shall shortly be announcing my intentions as regards the date when the new school inspection arrangements should come into operation in Wales, and also the frequency of inspections, taking account of the timetable for the progressive introduction of delegated budgets for schools and of the arrangements envisaged in England. HMI will continue its programme of inspection of schools until such time as the new arrangements come into effect. The Education (Schools) Bill makes provision for HMI to have a continuing role in the direct inspection of schools in England and Wales. I believe this role to be important, especially in the initial stages of the new arrangements, in setting high standards of inspecting and reporting,
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monitoring the work of the new inspection agencies and providing a valuable source of evidence for advising on the maintenance of educational standards. HMI will also continue to inspect independent schools and advise me on schools that give cause for complaint in both the public and independent sectors.The Further and Higher Education Bill provides for the transfer of important responsibilities in relation to further education, including quality assurance, to a Further Education Funding Council and it will be for the council to decide how to obtain the quality assessment services it will require ; provision is being made in the Bill to enable it to obtain those services from HMCI if it wishes to do so. In view of the small numbers of staff involved in Wales and the consequent need for the maximum flexibility of operation, such an arrangement would offer clear advantages. The Bill provides for HMCI to undertake inspections of local authority maintained and assisted institutions providing further education courses, including adult education courses, and to provide me with advice. The Bill also provides that quality assessment in higher education should become the responsibility of the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales. Consequently, HMI will cease to inspect most areas of provision in this sector. However, they will continue to inspect initial teacher training and provide advice to the Secretary of State based on their reports.
I am strengthening the independence of HMI by creating a separate department headed by HMCI. HMI will no longer be members of the Welsh Office but will remain civil servants, retaining their existing terms and conditions of service. In the past the close working relationship between HMI and the Welsh Office Education Department has ensured that I have received the best possible advice based on up-to-date assessments of what schools and colleges are doing. HMI will continue to provide such advice for the benefit of all working in education in Wales.
Overall the new arrangements will necessitate a considerable change in the balance of the duties undertaken by HMI. I expect that in due course there will be some overall reduction in the numbers of HMI engaged in work related to schools but it is not possible to be precise at this stage ; much will depend upon the rate at which local authority advisory and inspection services are able to adapt to the requirements of the new system, and upon the availability of independent registered inspectors able to work in Wales. I intend to keep the situation under review.
I would like to pay tribute to the work of HMI. They are universally respected as independent arbitrators of educational standards who have a key role to play in the reforms we are introducing in the education field. The new measures I have proposed will strengthen their independence and I know they will respond to the challenge of their new role.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the sectors of activity, in addition to the inspection of schools, of Her Majesty's inspectors of education in Wales ; and what is the proportion of their time and resources devoted to each sector.
Sir Wyn Roberts : About 65 per cent. of the time of Her Majesty's inspectorate (Wales) is spent on inspecting and reporting ; the remaining 35 per cent. is devoted to advising the Welsh Office/Ministers on current and emerging issues,
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providing advice to the educational system generally through assessorships, publications and courses/conferences and keeping up to date with educational developments.Mr. Gwilym Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proportion of (a) primary schools and (b) secondary schools in Wales were inspected by Her Majesty's inspectors of education during 1990-91 ; and how long it would take for all primary and secondary schools to be inspected at the same rate of inspection.
Sir Wyn Roberts : During 1990-91 Her Majesty's inspectorate visited more than 40 per cent. of primary schools and all secondary schools in Wales to inspect some aspect of their provision. These inspections include formal inspections of individual schools, national and county surveys of aspects of education--for example, mathematics, Welsh, English, science and technology--and visits by general inspectors to obtain information and assessments which contribute to the national picture. Each of the 230 secondary schools is thus visited annually and each of the 1,717 primary schools at least once every three years. Of the inspections undertaken in 1990-91, 33 were full inspections of primary schools and six were full inspections of secondary schools.
Pentreclwydau
Mr. Hain : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will agree the application for grant aid from Ryan Mining International to re- open Pentreclwydau pit in the Vale of Neath in order to fund a new rail link and associated infrastructure to take coal traffic off the highways.
Mr. David Hunt : An in-depth appraisal of Ryan Mining International's application for a freight facilities grant is under way and I shall make my decision when this work has been completed.
Sheep Annual Premium
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many applications for sheep annual premium scheme allocations completed by farmers in Wales were rejected during 1991 due to the forms being incorrectly completed ; what was the total number of appeals submitted as a result of the refusals ; and how many of these appeals were successful.
Mr. David Hunt : Of 17,384 claims for sheep annual premium in Wales in 1991, 76 had to be rejected owing to forms being incorrectly completed. The number of appeals submitted as a result is 46. None has been successful to date.
Radon Gas
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he last met representatives from the Institution of Environmental Health Officers to discuss levels of radon gas in Wales.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : Until the results of the National Radiological Protection Board survey are available such a meeting would be premature. To date the Welsh Office-commissioned survey and that carried out by the National Radiological Protection Board have not revealed any towns or villages in which there may be significant effect on housing arising from radon.
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Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the estimated number of homes in Wales with a radon gas level of 200 bq/m or over.Mr. Nicholas Bennett : It is not possible to estimate the number of homes in Wales with radon levels above200 bq/m until the full results of the National Radiological Protection Board survey are known.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which areas of Wales are covered by the free on demand measurement service for householders in areas with high radon levels ; how many applications have been forthcoming under the scheme ; and what are the main findings of the research undertaken.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : Any householder in Wales concerned about radon can ask for a free measurement. To date, 195 surveys have been requested. The results of the National Radiological Protection Board survey are not yet available.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his policy to ensure that all new houses built in Wales incorporate (a) a radon-proof polythene membrane and (b) radon sump and extract pump or ventilated subfloor void.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : I will consider what measures, if any, may be needed when the full results of the National Radiological Protection Board survey become available.
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