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Mr. Michael Alison : Responsibility for the maintenance of Church of England churches in use for worship rests with individual parochial church councils.
The commissioners' policy on redundant churches is governed by legislation, in this case the Pastoral Measure 1983. This provides for the future of the building to be settled by a suitable alternative use ; or by preservation by the redundant churches fund ; or by care and maintenance by the diocesan board of finance ; or, failing these, by demolition.
The Measure lays emphasis on finding a suitable alternative use for the church, if at all possible, and that is what is most commonly achieved. The new owner or lessee will normally be responsible for maintenance and this will be a consideration in determining the future of a redundant church.
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Magistrates Courts, Chelmsford
38. Mr. Burns : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make a statement on the provision of magistrates courts in Chelmsford.
Mr. John M. Taylor : It is for Essex magistrates courts committee, in consultation with Essex county council, to
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decide what courthouse accommodation should be provided, and for the council to provide it. I understand that no formal decisions have yet been made about the future of the Chelmsford courthouse.Law of Property Act 1925
40. Mr. Flynn : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what changes he plans in the Law of Property Act 1925.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The Lord Chancellor is actively considering the report by the Law Commission on continuing obligations under leases and hopes to be able to make an announcement about it in the near future.
Legal Aid
41. Mr. Bowis : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will investigate the cost of the law to individuals who are not eligible for legal aid.
Mr. John M. Taylor : In a case which is not covered by legal aid a solicitor's charge is a matter to be agreed with his client. In non- contentious cases a client who feels a solicitor's bill is unreasonable may use the Law Society's free remuneration certification scheme. In addition, in both contentious and non-contentious cases costs can be taxed by the court.
Mr. Mike O'Brien : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what steps his Department has taken in response to the report of the Committee of Public Accounts on the working of the criminal legal aid system.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The Government's response to the report, which was published on 13 May 1992, will be published in the usual manner by way of a Treasury minute. The hon. Member will, however, be aware of the circular on criminal legal aid issued to magistrates courts clerks on 1 April 1992 following the inquiry of the National Audit Office in October of last year and the appearance of the relevant accounting officers before the Public Accounts Committee in January of this year.
Mr. Mike O'Brien : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what were the percentage of refusals of initial applications for criminal legal aid in magistrates' courts for (a) the four weeks preceding the coming into force of the Lord Chancellor's recent circular on criminal legal aid and (b) the four weeks following that date.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The information is not available in the form requested.
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make it his policy to ensure that legal aid is made available to women seeking claims through industrial tribunals.
Mr. John M. Taylor : Advice and assistance, but not representation, is already available under the legal aid "green form" scheme to men and women.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what proposals he has to reduce
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the length of time taken by the investigations branch of the Legal Aid Board to process cases of suspected fraud by solicitors in relation to legal aid.Mr. John M. Taylor : The investigation of fraudulent claims made by solicitors is a matter for the Legal Aid Board. Those which are subject to police investigation are given priority and close liaison is maintained with the investigating officers.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what information he has on the number of fraud cases pending against solicitors in relation to claims for legal aid under the green form scheme ; and what representations he has had from chief constables or their fraud squad chiefs and others in respect of unreasonable delays in computer processing of the information on claims required for such police investigations.
Mr. John M. Taylor : I understand from the Legal Aid Board that there are currently 27 cases under investigation by its fraud investigation branch which relate to alleged offences of fraud under the green form scheme ; and that no representations have been received concerning information required for police investigations.
Commonhold
Mr. Gale : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans he has to introduce commonhold law reform in this Session of Parliament.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The Queen's Speech confirmed the Government's intention to bring forward legislation in this session to enable leaseholders of flats to acquire the freehold or to extend their leases. A commonhold scheme for the freehold ownership and communal management of flats will follow as soon as parliamentary time allows.
Lockerbie Bombing
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what response he has made to the covering letter from Mr. David Leppard of this May enclosing his book "On the Trail of Terror", referring to the Lockerbie bombing.
Mr. John M. Taylor : I have not received the book "On the Trail of Terror", or any letter, from its author.
EMPLOYMENT
Employee Financial Participation
Mr. Ian Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will make a statement on the progress which has been made by the social questions working group which is examining the draft EC recommendation on the promotion of employee participation in profits and enterprise results ; and whether the European Commission has set up a working party to examine the possibilities for the creation at European level of formulae for employee financial participation schemes.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The social questions working group has completed discussion on the draft recommendation. The recommendation is due to be considered at the Labour and Social Affairs Council on 24 June.
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As far as the working party is concerned, while this is no longer mentioned in the draft recommendation, we understand that it is still the Commission's intention to establish such a body, although at this stage there is no indication of when this might be, nor of its precise terms of reference.Enterprise Allowance
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the average weekly rate of enterprise allowance paid by each training and enterprise council in the United Kingdom in each 12-month period since the administration of the enterprise allowance was taken over by the TECs.
Mr. McLoughlin : It is not possible to provide the information in the form required, except at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many of those individuals who have started up businesses through the enterprise allowance in each of the years since its introduction, were still trading (a) after 12 months, (b) after 24 months and (c) after 36 months.
Mr. McLoughlin : The information is not available in the form requested.
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people have been awarded moneys through the enterprise allowance scheme in each year from the introduction of the scheme to the current year ; and in each of those years, how many people (a) attended enterprise allowance awareness days, (b) applied for enterprise allowance assistance but were refused, (c) were awarded enterprise allowance assistance but had the assistance terminated within the first 12 months and (d) continued to receive enterprise allowance assistance for a full 12-month period.
Mr. McLoughlin : The numbers of enterprise allowance awards in each year since the scheme was introduced are set out in the following table. The information required to answer points (a), (b), (c) and (d) is not available.
|c|Enterprise Allowance Scheme|c|
|c|Yearly entrants|c|
|Number
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
February 1982-July 1983<1> |3,331
August 1983-March 1984 |27,629
April 1984-March 1985 |46,037
April 1986-March 1987 |86,751
April 1987-March 1988 |106,305
April 1988-March 1989 |98,522
April 1989-March 1990 |77,886
April 1990-March 1991 |60,307
April 1991-March 1992 |49,602
<1> (pilot).
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the total sum budgeted by her Department for enterprise allowance in the current financial year ; what has been the total cost of the enterprise allowance programme in each year since its introduction ; and in each instance, what proportion of the total cost has been accounted for by administrative expenses.
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Mr. McLoughlin : The total sum budgeted for enterprise allowance in the current financial year is £107.6 million. The information on the total cost of the enterprise allowance in each year since its introduction is set out in the table. Information on the total cost accounted for by administrative expenses is not available.
|c|Enterprise allowance
expenditure by financial
year|c|
|£ million
------------------------------
1982-83 |2.4
1983-84 |23.2
1984-85 |76.7
1985-86 |103.9
1986-87 |143.4
1987-88 |195.9
1988-89 |196.7
1989-90 |170.9
1990-91 |132.9
1991-92 |<1>95.1
<1> This is a provisional
figure which applies to
expenditure for England and
Wales only. Information for
Scotland is not available.
Disabled Employees
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretry of State for Employment how many registered disabled people have been working ; and what proportion they are of the total work force in (a) the public sector and (b) the private sector for each of the last five years.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The information is not available in the form requested.
However, tables showing the number and percentage of registered disabled people employed by a wide range of individual public sector employers are published in the Employment Gazette. The most recent complete set of figures is in the 1991 gazette and relates to June 1990. A partial set of figures, relating to June 1991 is in the February 1992 gazette.
The percentage of registered disabled people employed, on average, by employers whose figures are in the gazette, together with estimated comparisons for the private sector, for the years 1986 to 1990, are set out in the table. The data relate to employers who have 20 or more employees. Later comparable information is not yet available.
|c|Percentage of registered disabled people employed|c| Sector |1986 |1987 |1988 |1989 |1990 --------------------------------------------------------------- Private (approximate |1.0 |1.0 |1.0 |0.9 |0.9 figures) Public (based on |0.8 |0.8 |0.8 |0.8 |0.8 Gazette figures)
EDUCATION
Adult Literacy and Basic Skills Unit
Sir Thomas Arnold : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the status of the adult literacy and basic skills unit ; whether it has charitable status ; how it is funded ; and whether it publishes accounts.
Mr. Forman : The adult literacy and basic skills unit is a registered company limited by guarantee with charitable status. It is largely funded by grant from the Department for Education and the Welsh Office. The unit's accounts are published in its annual report.
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Sir Thomas Arnold : To ask the Secretary of State for Education when the adult literacy and basic skills unit was formed and by whom ; and how many people work within the organisation (a) full or (b) part time.Mr. Forman : The adult literacy and basic skills unit--ALBSU--was formed in 1980 by the Secretary of State for Education and Science and the Secretary of State for Wales as an agency of the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education--NIACE. In 1991 ALBSU became independent of NIACE and is now a limited company and a registered charity. ALBSU currently employs 21 full-time and no part-time staff.
Environmental Education
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make it his policy to include environmental education as a part of teacher training courses.
Mr. Forth : All courses of initial teacher training are required to ensure that prospective teachers are able to incorporate in their teaching cross-circular dimensions and themes, including environmental education.
Local Management of Schools
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will publish a table showing, for each local education authority with an approved LMS scheme (a) the percentage of the aggregated schools budget that is distributed by the age-weighted pupil numbers and (b) the ratio of the relevant age-weightings expressed in six bands of pupil ages--for pupils aged under five years, pupils in each of the four key stages and sixth-form pupils--with pupils in key stage 2 representing 1 in each ratio.
Mr. Forth : Figures on pupil-led funding for 1991-92 are contained in the table. Figures for 1992-93 are not yet available, but I will write to the hon. Member when our analysis of the data received from local education authorities is complete. The information on each authority's age- weightings could be collated only at disproportionate cost.
|c|Percentage of aggrevated schools budget (ASB)
based on pupil|c|
|c|numbers and ages (1991-92)|c|
(1) (2)
Local Education Pupil-LED funding as
Authority a percentage of ASB
|1991-92 |(1990-91)
-----------------------------------------------------
1. Isles of Scilly |93.21 |(-)
2. Dudley |90.00 |(85.72)
3. Lincolnshire |88.51 |(87.25)
4. Barking |88.36 |(86.73)
5. South Tyneside |88.33 |(86.93)
6. Gateshead |87.04 |(84.36)
7. Wigan |86.40 |(84.35)
8. Bolton |86.16 |(85.73)
9. Northumberland |86.07 |(85.49)
10. Brent |86.00 |(77.81)
11. Bexley |85.39 |(84.40)
12. Tameside |85.33 |(85.57)
13. Kent |84.93 |(83.72)
14. Oldham |84.69 |(84.77)
15. Bromley |84.43 |(84.99)
16. Trafford |84.40 |(83.28)
17. Redbridge |84.00 |(89.30)
18. Sefton |83.79 |(83.33)
19. Cornwall |83.75 |(80.93)
20. Coventry |83.57 |(83.52)
21. Knowsley |83.50 |(75.00)
22. Harrow |83.49 |(83.83)
23. Westminster |83.32 |(84.20)
24. Leicestershire |83.19 |(-)
25. Calderdale |83.19 |(82.17)
26. Avon |82.91 |(82.30)
27. Devon |82.78 |(82.64)
28. Northamptonshire |82.62 |(82.19)
29. Rotherham |82.57 |(81.79)
30. Suffolk |82.29 |(82.57)
31. West Sussex |82.29 |(82.13)
32. Sunderland |82.25 |(80.69)
33. Manchester |82.14 |(-)
34. Salford |82.02 |(81.69)
35. North Yorkshire |82.02 |(85.51)
36. Barnsley |81.98 |(82.80)
37. Hereford/Worcester |81.95 |(-)
38. Isle of Wight |81.85 |(81.62)
39. Solihull |81.70 |(82.29)
40. Newcastle |81.66 |(80.66)
41. Waltham Forest |81.66 |(81.99)
42. Wiltshire |81.56 |(81.00)
43. Bury |81.42 |(81.45)
44. Cambridgeshire |81.00 |(82.34)
45. Gloucestershire |80.64 |(83.22)
46. Sutton |80.53 |(80.29)
47. Ealing |80.53 |(80.62)
48. Humberside |80.42 |(81.97)
49. Enfield |80.40 |(79.21)
50. Cleveland |80.33 |(81.43)
51. Stockport |80.31 |(-)
52. Leeds |80.26 |(78.90)
53. Croydon |80.22 |(-)
54. Durham |80.20 |(80.40)
55. Cheshire |80.16 |(77.78)
56. Liverpool |80.00 |(75.00)
57. Rochdale |80.00 |(75.00)
see Footnote 2
58. Dorset |79.94 |(79.03)
59. Newham |79.85 |(-)
60. Richmond |79.79 |(77.26)
61. Lancashire |79.60 |(-)
62. Wirral |79.55 |(-)
63. Staffordshire |79.34 |(84.00)
64. Berkshire |79.31 |(79.68)
65. Somerset |79.09 |(79.99)
66. Buckinghamshire |79.06 |(79.73)
67. Sandwell |79.03 |(74.94)
68. Warwickshire |79.02 |(79.89)
69. Cumbria |78.83 |(75.62)
70. Birmingham |78.69 |(78.63)
71. Bedfordshire |78.50 |(77.00)
72. North Tyneside |78.00 |(78.00)
73. Merton |77.99 |(78.36)
74. Hillingdon |77.93 |(-)
75. Walsall |77.87 |(78.19)
76. Shropshire |77.86 |(77.91)
77. Hounslow |77.82 |(81.42)
78. Bradford |77.66 |(78.51)
79. Oxfordshire |77.60 |(75.61)
80. Haringey |77.37 |(78.25)
81. Sheffield |77.30 |(77.19)
82. Kirklees |77.27 |(78.17)
83. Barnet |76.86 |(75.19)
84. Kingston |76.67 |(76.84)
85. Doncaster |76.66 |(75.38)
86. Surrey |76.58 |(74.91)
87. Essex |76.56 |(77.05)
88. St. Helens |76.50 |(75.00)
89. Hampshire |76.35 |(76.63)
90. Nottinghamshire |76.34 |(-)
91. East Sussex |76.29 |(77.41)
92. Wakefield |75.76 |(75.29)
93. Hertfordshire |75.33 |(-)
94. Derbyshire |75.32 |(76.04)
95. Norfolk |75.31 |(75.99)
96. Havering |75.09 |(75.36)
97. Wolverhampton |774.88 |(75.00)
National averages |80.17
Footnotes to table showing the extent of pupil-led
funding.
<1> The LEAs are ranked according to how much the
funds delegated to schools have been allocated on
the basis of pupil numbers and ages, with those
allocating a greater percentage of pupil-led funding
at the top of the ranking order.
2. The aggregated schools budget (ASB) is that part
of the potential schools budget which is delegated
to the school level. The current requirement is that
at least 75 per cent. of an LEA's ASB is based on
pupil numbers and ages. From 1993 (1995 for inner
London authorities) the minimum percentage will be
raised to 80 per cent. The percentage of pupil-led
funding in 1990-91 is given in brackets. Where a
figure is not given in brackets, either the LMS
scheme was not in operation last year or the
relevant information was not contained in the LEA's
budget statement.
NB The percentages stated may differ from the
percentages calculated by the individual LEAs
because of the effects of rounding.
Schools Admissions Register
Mr. Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what restrictions are placed upon the commercial or other uses that can be made of the names and addresses on the schools admissions register when a parent has obtained such information by legitimate means in connection with a petition or a ballot being organised for a school to seek grant-maintained status.
Illiteracy
Sir Thomas Arnold : To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether the numbers of functionally illiterate people in England and Wales are increasing or declining ; and when such records started to be kept.
Mr. Forman : The Department's current estimate of the number of people in England and Wales who are functionally illiterate is based on a survey carried out some years ago by the adult literacy and basic skills unit. There is no evidence as to whether numbers are growing or declining. ALBSU is however currently undertaking a similar survey, the results of which are likely to be known within the next 12 months.
Sir Thomas Arnold : To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to his answer of 20 May 1992, Official Report, columns 158-59, if he will publish a breakdown of the 5.5 million people who are functionally illiterate in England and Wales into groups according to age, area and ethnic origin.
Mr. Forman : The figure of 5.5 million functionally illiterate people in England and Wales is an estimate based on a survey carried out by the adult literacy and basic skills unit. The survey did not distinguish according to age, area and ethnic origin.
Environmental Studies
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) if he will make it his policy to review the current position of environmental education and promote the
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teaching of environmental studies in association with social education as a compulsory subject at both primary and secondary levels ;(2) what efforts are being made by his Department to promote the teaching of the concept of sustainable development as part of the core curriculum.
Mr. Forth : My right hon. Friend sees no reason to change the present arrangements for the teaching of environmental education and personal and social education as cross-curricular themes to all pupils through the compulsory core and foundation subjects and, where appropriate, additionally.
Provisions for the study of environmental geography and sustainable development are set out in the geography order and its associated documents which are issued to all schools.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list the documents or projects produced by his Department to be used in schools to raise the awareness of pupils on environmental issues ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : Environmental education is a cross-curricular theme taught to all pupils through the core and foundation subjects, the terms of which are set out in the statutory orders and associated documents issued by my Department. Additional guidance has been provided by the National Curriculum Council.
Toxic Shock Syndrome
Ms. Richardson : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what information is available on the tampon industry's schools education programme ; and if information on toxic shock syndrome is incorporated into schools curricula.
Mr. Forth : Teaching about the use of sanitary protection would normally be covered within a school's programme of sex education. Under section 18(2) of the Education (No. 2) Act 1986, responsibility for determining an individual school's policy on the content and organisation of sex education rests with the school governing body.
Free School Meals
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list the number of pupils receiving free school meals at (a) primary and (b) secondary schools for each year since 1981.
Mr. Forth : The readily available information for pupils in maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools in England is as follows. Information for 1981 was not published, and no survey was undertaken in 1985. The discontinuity in the figures in 1988 reflects the introduction of a new provision in the Social Security Act 1986 which came into force in 1988. Before then, LEAs had discretionary powers to provide free school meals to whomsoever they wished. From 1988, LEAs must charge for meals provided to all pupils other than those in receipt of income support.
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Year |Nursery' and|Secondary
|Primary' |Pupils
|Pupils
----------------------------------------------------
1982 |533,140 |398,190
1983 |597,545 |442,874
1984 |651,647 |461,954
1986 |685,018 |425,634
1987 |682,804 |386,383
1988 |491,000 |249,000
1989 |515,395 |235,270
1990 |519,228 |222,929
1991 |562,993 |235,107
Grant-maintained Schools
Mrs. Helen Jackson : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what extra grant is made available for small schools under grant-maintained status.
Mr. Forth : All grant-maintained schools, irrespective of size, are eligible for transitional grants, special purpose grants and capital grants over and above their annual maintenance grant. The special purpose grant for staff and curriculum development and the capital formula grant each includes a minimum allocation, which is to the benefit of small schools. In addition, the annual maintenance grant will include a small school allowance to the extent that this is the case under the local management of schools scheme of the grant-maintained school's former local education authority.
Mr. Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what inspections are being made into the operations of grant-maintained schools ; and whether his Department will be publishing a report on the findings.
Mr. Forth : The arrangements for inspection under the Education (Schools) Act 1992 will ensure that we have detailed inspection reports on a quarter of all schools, including GM schools, each year. In the meantime, Her Majesty's inspectorate has included GM schools, along with other maintained schools, in its regular programme of visits. To date, these visits do not yet provide the sort of evidence base that would be expected for a report aimed at fulfilling that part of HMI's remit which is to make known more widely good practice and promising developments, and draw attention to weaknesses requiring attention.
Mr. Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what geographical and age range criteria he employs to determine which combinations of schools will be entitled to consideration when considering applications from clusters of schools for
grant-maintained status.
Mr. Forth : At present, schools must apply individually to my right hon. Friend for grant-maintained status following a successful parental ballot. Each application is treated strictly on its merits. My right hon. Friend is considering arrangements to permit schools to apply for grant- maintained status in groups.
Mr. Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if it is his intention to introduce legislation to turn all local education authority schools, other than nursery and special schools, into grant- maintained schools ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : It is already possible for any local education authority county or voluntary school to apply to my right
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hon. Friend for grant-maintained status after a successful parental ballot. This arrangement is working well and there are no plans to change it.As at 4 June, 260 schools have already been approved for grant-maintained status. In time I expect grant-maintained status to become the natural organisational model, particularly for secondary schools.
Mr. Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidelines are issued by his Department for the operation of petitions and ballots which seek to determine whether a school should apply for grant- maintained status ; what are the criteria for determining who is eligible to petition and to vote ; and what arrangements are made to cross-check a person's entitlement to petition or vote with entries in local government and parliamentary electoral registers.
Mr. Forth : The Department produces a booklet entitled "How to Become a Grant-Maintained School" which gives guidance for the operation of petitions and ballots in connection with seeking to achieve grant- maintained status. It is the duty of the governing body to take reasonable steps to determine who is eligible to vote by virtue of their being a parent of a registered pupil at the school.
Mr. Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has for the long-term funding of grant-maintained schools ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : We are keeping the matter under review as the number of grant-maintained schools increases.
Student Finance
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what action the Government have taken to measure the effects of the student loans scheme on participation by social class or gender ; (2) when he will undertake a survey of students' income and expenditure.
Mr. Forman : The Government and the Student Loans Company are committed to monitoring student loans. We have just issued a statistical bulletin which analyses take-up during academic year 1990-91 by gender, age and region. The Student Loans Company's first annual report was published on 21 October last year and placed in the Library. A second will be published this autumn. We shall commission further surveys of students' income and expenditure as and when appropriate.
Asthma
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is his Department's estimate of the number of days lost from school due to asthma amongst the under-10 age group ; and what were the comparable figures for five and 10 years ago.
Mr. Forth : The information is not collected centrally.
School Bussing
Mr. Michael Spicer : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proposals he has to revise the legislation relating to school bussing in the Education Act 1944 to take account of the changes in the law concerning parental choice of schools.
Column 43
Mr. Forth : My right hon. Friend has no current plans to change the law on home to school transport, which gives local education authorities the duty to arrange necessary transport and an unrestricted power to offer further help in the light of local circumstances.Departmental Expenditure
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he has any changes to announce to cash limits on votes within his responsibility for 1992-93.
Mr. Patten [pursuant to his reply, 4 June, 1992, c. 618-19] : Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the running cost limit of class XI vote 4 will be reduced by £1,530,000 from £105,060,000 to £103,530,000.
This reduction results from the decision to transfer responsibility for sport to the Department of National Heritage, and responsibility for science to the Office of the Minister for the Civil Service.
SCOTLAND
Argyll and Clyde Health Board
Mr. McMaster : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what annual salaries, allowances or honoraria are paid to the chairman and each member of Argyll and Clyde health board ; if any increases or decreases in these are planned ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Allan Stewart : The chairman of Argyll and Clyde health board currently receives remuneration of £17,700 per annum and non-executive members receive £5,000. In addition, the chairman and members are entitled to claim travelling and subsistence allowances at rates set for members of public bodies. No immediate changes in remuneration and allowances are currently planned, but the position is being kept under review.
Enterprise Zones
Mr. McMaster : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what undertakings firms have to give about their continued presence in an enterprise zone before receiving assistance from Scottish Enterprise or local enterprise companies.
Mr. Allan Stewart : Such matters are dealt with on a case-by-case basis, but as a general rule, before any company is considered for an enterprise zone site owned by Scottish Enterprise or a local enterprise company it would have to demonstrate genuine medium-term business prospects. If an EZ site is sold to a company, the conditions of sale would probably include a first option buy-back clause operative for the lifetime of the zone. Any assistance granted to the company would relate to employment levels and any serious reduction in employment would trigger a clawback arrangement.
Renfrewshire Enterprise
Mr. McMaster : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he next plans to meet representatives of Renfrewshire Enterprise ; and what matters he hopes to discuss.
Mr. Allan Stewart : Communications between my right hon. Friend and me and the local enterprise companies
Column 44
take place chiefly through Scottish Enterprise ; and we have frequent discussions with the chairman and board members of Scottish Enterprise.I myself had a very useful and constructive meeting with the chairman of Renfrewshire Enterprise and his colleagues on 14 October last year at which a wide range of topics relating to training and industrial development were discussed ; and I hope to meet representatives of Renfrewshire Enterprise again in the near future.
Tattoos
Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list for each health authority in Scotland the number of patients waiting for operations ; and of those how many are waiting for the removal of tattoos.
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