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NATIONAL HERITAGE

Small Businesses

Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will make a statement on the achievements of his Department and his policies in helping small businesses over the last 12 months relative to the previous 12 months ; and if he will publish the performance indicators by which his Department monitors those achievements and the statistical results of such monitoring.

Mr. Key : The Department of National Heritage was formed in April 1992 and covers the arts, formerly the

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responsibility of the Office of Arts and Libraries ; broadcasting, formerly the responsibility of the Home Office ; film, formerly the responsibility of the Department of Trade and Industry ; tourism, formerly the responsibility of the Department of Employment ; heritage, formerly the responsibility of the Department of the Environment ; and sport, formerly the responsibility of the Department of Education and Science. There are, therefore, no statistics covering the Department of National Heritage for the period in question.

The Government continue to place a high priority on helping small businesses, through improvements to the business climate, through deregulation and through specific programes of support and assistance. Although the Department of National Heritage has no programmes aimed specifically at small businesses, the Department is fully committed to the Government's deregulation initiative and will seek to ensure that regulatory burdens within its areas of responsibility are kept to the minimum that is necessary.

Radio 3

Mr. Simon Coombs : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will raise with the chairman of the BBC his proposals for improving the reception quality of Radio 3 in the area of North Wiltshire.

Mr. Key : I will draw my hon. Friend's concern to the attention of the chairman of the BBC.

The BBC has an extensive programme for building new FM radio transmitters to extend the coverage of its national services. It has recently introduced new transmitters for Wiltshire listeners at Calne, Chippenham and Westwood and aims to bring a transmitter at Marlborough on the air early next year. But the rate and order in which the BBC proceeds with this programme is for the BBC to determine in the light of its other engineering priorities and competing demands upon its financial and technical resources.

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Naze Tower

Mr. Sproat : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what aspects of the Naze tower on the Naze at Walton-on-the-Naze, a listed building, he is responsible for.

Mr. Key : My right hon. and learned Friend's responsibilities in relation to listed buildings were outlined in a reply given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the hon. Member for Linlithgow (Mr. Dalyell) on 19 May 1992, Official Report, column 110. A circular giving further details will be issued shortly.

Pitchford Hall

Mr. Conway : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage (1) what discussions he has had with English Heritage with regard to Pitchford hall, Shrewsbury ; and if he will make a statement ; (2) what action he has taken to save Pitchford hall, Shrewsbury for the nation ;

(3) what discussions he has had with the National Heritage Memorial Fund with regard to Pitchford hall, Shrewsbury ; and if he will make a statement ;

(4) what representations he has had from the National Trust with regard to Pitchford hall, Shrewsbury ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Key [holding answer 13 July 1992] : Neither my right hon. and learned Friend nor I have had any discussions with either English Heritage or the National Heritage Memorial Fund--NHMF--or representations from the National Trust specifically with regard to Pitchford hall, Shrewsbury. However, I am aware that the National Trust is in discussion with the NHMF about the substantial funds which would be needed to enable them to acquire and endow Pitchford hall, its contents and lands. It is for the trustees of the NHMF to decide on the merits of the proposal and whether they are able to offer assistance from the funds available to them.

South Yorkshire Arts

Mr. Patchett : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what proposals he has for encouraging the arts in South Yorkshire.

Mr. Key [holding answer 10 July 1992] : This year's allocation of central Government funding, through the Arts Council, to the Yorkshire and Humberside Arts Board is £4.5 million and represents a 13.9 per cent. increase over 1991-92.

The Government's urban programme has contributed to the cultural industries quarter in Sheffield, which is a model of urban regeneration. This has contributed to a lively arts scene, which includes the refurbished Lyceum theatre, the Crucible theatre and the Ruskin gallery.

Yorkshire and Humberside Arts is presently working with the local authority in Barnsley on the preparation of a Barnsley arts plan. Opera North's community outreach programme already has strong links with the Barnsley arts group and has undertaken several projects in the town.

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EDUCATION

School Inspectors

Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what formula will be used for the withdrawal of money from the standard spending assessment of local authorities to be allocated to Her Majesty's inspectorate for the inspection of schools under the terms of the Education (Schools) Act 1992.

Mr. Forth : The Government are considering the expenditure needs of local education authorities next year and are currently taking the views of the local authority associations on the range of factors bearing on local education authorities' spending, including the new arrangements for school inspection. We have estimated the funds to be transferred from local government finance for 1993-94 in respect of school inspections beginning in September 1993 at £19 million--1992-93 prices. Details of the local authority finance settlement for 1993-94, including education's share of total standard spending and individual authorities' standard spending assessments, will be announced in the autumn.

Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much money his Department has provided in its budget to raise awareness and advertise the new system of inspection of schools ; and if he will list the actual expenditure items and any proposed expenditure.

Mr. Forth : Professor Sutherland will be responsible for the new inspection system from 1 September 1992. Budgeted expenditure in this financial year for which my Department is responsible up to that date is as follows :

National advertising campaign--£105,000 ;

Leaflets and related promotional material--£10,000.

The new system was announced in the citizens charter, and sample copies of the parents charter were sent to all schools in September 1991 at a cost of just under£2 million.

Small Businesses

Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a statement on the achievements of his Department and his policies in helping small businesses over the last 12 months relative to the previous 12 months ; and if he will publish the performance indicators by which his department monitors those achievements and the statistical results of such monitoring.

Mr. Forman : The Government continue to place a high priority on helping small businesses through improvements in the business climate, deregulation, and specific programmes of support and assistance. My Department encourages small firms to tender for contracts ; each contract also includes a requirement to pay sub-contractors promptly. In the first three months of 1992-93 the Department placed contracts with small firms amounting to 39 per cent. of total departmental expenditure on goods and services, a slightly higher percentage than for a comparable period in 1991 -92.

Training Grants

Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to his answer of 23 June, Official Report, column 126, if he will list (a) the local education

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authorities who have confirmed that their claims have been based on the correct criteria and (b) those authorities who have been unable to confirm that their claims have been made on the correct criteria.

Mr. Forth : Local education authorities in list A have indicated that their claims for grants for education support and training included only eligible expenditure they themselves incurred. Those in list B have not yet responded, or have indicated that claims may have included other expenditure. The Department is seeking replies or clarification from LEAs in list B. It has issued clear guidance to all LEAs, and has asked auditors to check that claims have been prepared on the correct basis.

List A

City of London

Camden

Greenwich

Hackney

Hammersmith and Fulham

Islington

Kensington and Chelsea

Lambeth

Wandsworth

Barking and Dagenham

Barnet

Bromley

Croydon

Ealing

Enfield

Haringey

Harrow

Havering

Hillingdon

Hounslow

Kingston upon Thames

Merton

Newham

Redbridge

Richmond upon Thames

Sutton

Waltham Forest

Birmingham

Dudley

Sandwell

Walsall

Wolverhampton

Liverpool

St. Helens

Sefton

Wirral

Bury

Manchester

Oldham

Rochdale

Salford

Stockport

Tameside

Trafford

Wigan

Barnsley

Doncaster

Rotherham

Sheffield

Bradford

Leeds

Wakefield

Newcastle upon Tyne

North Tyneside

Sunderland

Avon

Bedfordshire

Berkshire

Buckinghamshire

Cambridgeshire

Cheshire

Cleveland

Cornwall

Cumbria

Derbyshire

Devon

Dorset

Durham

East Sussex

Essex

Gloucestershire

Hampshire

Hereford and Worcester

Hertfordshire

Humberside

Isle of Wight

Kent

Leicestershire

Lincolnshire

Norfolk

North Yorkshire

Northamptonshire

Northumberland

Nottinghamshire

Oxfordshire

Shropshire

Somerset

Staffordshire

Suffolk

Surrey

Warwickshire

Wiltshire

List B

Lewisham

Southwark

Tower Hamlets

Westminster

Bexley

Brent

Coventry

Solihull

Knowsley

Bolton

Calderdale

Kirklees

Gateshead

South Tyneside

Isles of Scilly

Lancashire

West Sussex

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