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Special Educational Needs
Mr. Rod Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will set up a tribunal to consider appeals relating to educational provision for children with special needs in Wales.
Sir Wyn Roberts : I am pleased to announce that I am today issuing in Wales a consultation paper "Special Educational Needs--Access to the System". This sets out our proposals to introduce legislation to give new rights to parents of children with special educational needs, including a tribunal system, and to make improvements to the assessment and statementing procedures.
Our proposals will extend parents' rights over choice of school, reduce the time taken by local education authorities in making assessments and statements, extend parents' rights to appeal and make those rights more coherent and establish an independent appeals tribunal to replace the present complex arrangements. We shall also be issuing further guidance for local education authorities on the criteria to be used for making assessments and issuing statements. I am arranging for a copy of the consultation paper to be placed in the Library of the House.
Grant-maintained Schools
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many schools in Wales have opted out ; how many have applied to opt out ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. David Hunt : Five schools have voted in favour of applying for grant-maintained status and submitted proposals for my consideration. Of these, three were approved. I expect many more applications over the next few months.
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Open Government
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what actions he is pursuing to promote open government in his Department ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. David Hunt : My Department is taking part in the Duchy of Lancaster interdepartmental review which is looking at : reviewing statutory restrictions on disclosure ; extending rights of access to personal records including those held manually ; and publication and greater accessibility of technical and other inspection reports.
European Single Market
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement concerning the impact of the European single market on the Welsh economy.
Mr. David Hunt : The impact of the single market programme on the Welsh economy will depend on how individual firms respond to the challenges and opportunities which the removal of trade barriers will create. Few firms, even those whose markets are predominantly local, will remain unaffected by some part of the single market programme. To help meet this challenge, the Government have provided the most comprehensive single market information service anywhere in the Community. In Wales, programmes such as Euroline, Interprise and the partnerships which are being developed with other regions of the Community, such as Baden Wu"rttemberg, also enhance the opportunities available to companies and both my Department and the Welsh Development Agency make every effort to encourage Welsh companies to take advantage of what is on offer.
Channel Tunnel
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his latest assessment of the impact and advantages for the Welsh economy of the opening of the channel tunnel.
Mr. David Hunt : This is one of the most important projects being undertaken in Europe today. It will provide a new opportunity for access to continental Europe for freight as well as business and leisure travel, to the considerable benefit of the whole of Britain. I am certain that both existing and future businesses in Wales will share in the benefits the channel tunnel will bring.
British Coal
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he proposes next to meet the chairman of British Coal.
Mr. David Hunt : The date for my next meeting with the chairman of British Coal has not yet been fixed.
British Rail
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he next proposes to meet the chairman of British Rail to discuss investment and development in regional railways.
Mr. David Hunt : I see the chairman of British Rail regularly to discuss a wide range of rail issues. I hope to meet Sir Bob Reid again later this year.
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Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people were employed by British Rail in Wales in 1971 and 1991 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. David Hunt : This information is not held centrally.
Whaling
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many representations he has received concerning the killing of whales ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. David Hunt : I have received two representations concerning the killing of whales. The hon. Gentleman will by now have seen a copy of the letter that my right hon. Friend the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food issued to all Members of the House on 7 July which sets out the Government's position on whaling. I have nothing further to add.
Grant-maintained Schools
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the financial advantages of opting out of their local education authority for (a) high schools and (b) primary schools ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. David Hunt : All grant-maintained schools, irrespective of whether they are in the primary or secondary sector, are eligible for four forms of grant aid from my Department : transitional grant, annual maintenance grant, special purpose grants and capital grant. Transitional grants enable schools to prepare for their new responsibilities in the grant-maintained sector and are payable in advance of the effective date of operation. Annual maintenance grant is based on what a school would have received for its running costs under its former LEA's local management of schools scheme. In addition, the grant includes an amount calculated to be the school's proportion of the LEA's expenditure on services which were previously provided centrally, thereby giving the school complete freedom in deciding which services it wishes to purchase to meet its own priorities, independently of the local authority. Special purpose grants mainly parallel the support available to LEAs through my Department's grants for education support and training--GEST--programme, much of which is currently retained at LEA level, again providing the grant-maintained school with the flexibility to decide its own priorities. Capital grants are available in the form of allocations for named projects and formula- based allocations for the purchase of equipment and small scale projects. All grant-maintained schools are automatically entitled to the latter, thereby guaranteeing them a certain level of funding.
The financial advantages of grant-maintained status are therefore, manifold. It is for governors and headteachers to decide together how to manage the funds, how to manage the curriculum, whom to employ, and what services and goods to buy. Grant-maintained schools therefore benefit from increased flexibility to spend their resources, free from LEA bureaucracy. A recent survey by the Grant Maintained Schools Centre revealed that :
88 per cent. of schools reported increased pupil numbers ; 48 per cent. have reported increased classroom support staff ;
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82 per cent. have reported increased spending on books and equipment ;72 per cent. of those who responded reported increased teacher numbers.
GM heads reported greater flexibility, enhanced administrative support, and redirection of funds from LEA bureaucracy to classroom. There can be no doubt about the benefit of grant-maintained status to parents, pupils and schools alike. I expect many more applications for grant maintained status over the coming months from schools wishing to take advantage of these benefits.
A494
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which traffic census statistics his Department uses concerning the proposed A494 improvement from the River Dee to Ewloe.
Mr. David Hunt : The north-east Clwyd traffic study was used as the basis for these road proposals, a summary of which was sent to the hon. Gentleman on 22 February 1992.
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will seek a new census of traffic concerning the A494 improvement from the River Dee to Ewloe which takes into account the holiday peak period traffic flows ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. David Hunt : Peak period holiday traffic flows are already taken into account. It is not the intention at present to carry out additional traffic census as such, but information from existing automatic traffic counters will continue to be examined and assessed.
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if the statistics on traffic flow used to consider the A494 improvement scheme were taken before the completion of the M53-A55 link ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. David Hunt : The projected traffic flows used to formulate the proposals took into account the existence of the M53-A55 link.
NHS Capital Costs
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his best estimate of the total capital costs to the NHS in Wales, by health district and in total, arising from (a) the removal of Crown immunity, (b) health and safety requirements for the incineration of infected waste and (c) recommendations to limit ionising radiation exposure to patients ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. David Hunt : District health authorities in Wales have estimated that the capital expenditure needed to meet the cost of work associated with the removal of Crown immunity and the introduction of new requirements for the incineration of infected waste is as follows :
|£ million
--------------------------------------------
Powys |1.5
Gwent |4.4
West Glamorgan |4.5
Clwyd |2.1
Mid Glamorgan |4.0
East Dyfed |5.0
Pembrokeshire NHS Trust |0.7
South Glamorgan |47.0
Gwynedd |3.7
|---
Total |73.0
No figures are available centrally relating to the capital costs of measures to limit the exposure of patients to ionising radiation.
Cardiovascular Disease
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will set a target date to cut the number of premature deaths from cardiovascular disease by 40 per cent. in Wales.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The Welsh Health Planning Forum has published an overall goal of a reduction in premature deaths from cardiovascular disease of a third by the year 2002 compared with 1988.
This category of condition encompasses, among other conditions, coronary heart disease and stroke for which separate targets have been set.
In Wales, from the baseline set in 1985, a reduction of 45 and 52 per cent. is sought for women and men respectively in the death rate from coronary heart disease, and 37 and 47 per cent. for women and men respectively in the death rate from stroke.
I am pleased to report that Wales is well on course to meeting these targets.
Radiotherapists
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the establishments in Wales which train radiotherapists, the number of training places on each and the number of students successfully completing their course in each of the past five years, and the percentage pass rate in each of the past five years, for each establishment.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : Wales's only School of Therapeutic Radiography is located at Velindre hospital, Cardiff. It is currently accredited to offer 10 student places annually. Information on pass rates, etcetera, over the past five years is as follows :
Number of Students
|Entered for |Successfully|Pass rate
|final |completed |percentage
|examinations|course
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1988 |7 |7 |100
1989 |<1>0 |<1>0 |-
1990 |3 |3 |100
1991 |6 |5 |83
1992 |5 |5 |100
<1> No intake in 1986.
Local Government Reorganisation
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what advice has been offered by the Audit Commission in regard to transitional arrangements during the reorganisation of local government in Wales ;
(2) what steps he has taken to obtain the advice of the Audit Commission on transitional arrangements in regard to local government organisations in Wales.
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Mr. David Hunt : Transitional arrangements are currently the subject of consultation with the local authority associations and discussion with the Audit Commission.Senior Nurses
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much money has been saved by each health authority in Wales through the elimination of senior nursing posts in each of the last five years ; and how the money has been reallocated in each instance.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : This information is not held centrally.
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Senior Nurses
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales by each health authority district area in Wales, how many senior nurse posts have been lost in each of the past, five years according to (a) director of nursing services--DNS--level, (b) assistant DNS, (c) senior nursing support posts and (d) senior nursing officers ; and how many posts in each category have been lost through (i) redeployment and (ii) retirement.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : Information on the number of posts is not available centrally. However some information on the number and whole-time equivalent number of senior nurses/senior midwives is given in the table. Due to the regrading of staff during 1988-89, comparable information is not available for previous years. Senior nurse support staff cannot be separately identified.
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Staff in Post: Senior nurses/senior midwives as at 30 September<1>
Chief Administrative Director of nursing Other senior nurses/ Total
nursing officer services<2> Senior midwives<3>
|Number |Whole-time|Number |Whole-time|Number |Whole-time|Number |Whole-time
|equivalent |equivalent |equivalent |equivalent
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1989
Pembrokeshire |1 |1.0 |- |- |2 |2.0 |3 |3.0
Clwyd |- |- |6 |6.0 |16 |16.0 |22 |22.0
East Dyfed |1 |1.0 |5 |5.0 |7 |7.0 |13 |13.0
Gwent |- |- |7 |7.0 |20 |20.0 |27 |27.0
Gwynedd |- |- |3 |3.0 |8 |7.2 |11 |10.2
Mid-Glamorgan |- |- |7 |7.0 |25 |25.0 |32 |32.0
Powys |1 |1.0 |2 |2.0 |6 |6.0 |9 |9.0
South Glamorgan |- |- |4 |4.0 |32 |31.8 |36 |35.8
West Glamorgan |1 |1.0 |5 |5.0 |14 |14.0 |20 |20.0
1990
Pembrokeshire |1 |1.0 |- |- |- |- |1 |1.0
Clwyd |- |- |8 |8.0 |16 |16.0 |24 |24.0
East Dyfed |1 |1.0 |6 |6.0 |5 |5.0 |12 |12.0
Gwent |- |- |8 |8.0 |12 |12.0 |20 |20.0
Gwynedd |1 |1.0 |2 |2.0 |7 |6.2 |10 |9.2
Mid-Glamorgan |- |- |5 |5.0 |17 |17.0 |22 |22.0
Powys |1 |1.0 |1 |1.0 |6 |6.0 |8 |8.0
South Glamorgan |- |- |5 |5.0 |20 |19.8 |25 |24.8
West Glamorgan |1 |1.0 |5 |5.0 |12 |12.0 |18 |18.0
1991
Pembrokeshire |- |- |- |- |1 |1.0 |- |-
Clwyd |- |- |- |- |31 |31.0 |- |-
East Dyfed |- |- |- |- |8 |8.0 |- |-
Gwent |- |- |- |- |16 |16.0 |- |-
Gwynedd |- |- |- |- |13 |12.2 |- |-
Mid-Glamorgan |- |- |- |- |14 |14.0 |- |-
Powys |- |- |- |- |5 |5.0 |- |-
South Glamorgan |- |- |- |- |27 |26.8 |- |-
West Glamorgan |- |- |- |- |17 |17.0 |- |-
<1> Excludes Welsh Health Common Services Authority. Some senior nurses/senior midwives may have been reclassified
as senior managers over the years shown affecting the comparability of figures for different years.
<2> Included Assistant Director of Nursing Services.
<3> A new senior nurse/senior midwife structure was introduced during 1991, and staff cannot readily be split into
the categories used for previous years.
NHS Business Managers
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many business managers are currently employed in the national health service by each health authority area.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : This information is not available centrally.
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Local Authorities (Management)
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proposals he has in regard to the internal management of local authorities in Wales ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. David Hunt : The next stage of consultation on internal management is for discussion at the forthcoming meeting of the Welsh Consultative Council on Local Government.
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Health Gain
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what progress has been made towards completing the protocols for health gain promised in his Department's document "Agenda for Action 2".
Mr. Gwilym Jones : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave him on 14 July 1992.
Ophthalmic Treatment, Bangor
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his target date for bringing the percentage of patients treated at the ophthalmic treatment centre at Ysbyty-Gwynedd, Bangor who reside in the centre's host distict down to 10 per cent.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : No such target date has been set. In 1992-93 centrally funded capacity has been allocated on the basis of an assessment of waiting list problems, capitation share and demand. Decisions on how the initiative will be taken forward in 1993-94 will be made in due course.
Dentistry
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish, by health authority, those hospitals in Wales that provide 24 -hour emergency dental treatment, indicating those in which facilities and staff are always available for carrying out extractions.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The information requested is not available centrally. The level of service provision is a matter for the local health authority to determine.
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many salaried dentists are employed by each family health services authority in Wales ; and what is the projected increase over the next 12 months.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : None at present. The Department has not made a projection of an increase over the next 12 months.
Burials
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will publish for each county in Wales, for each of the last 10 years, the number of persons buried in land that they had previously owned, or owned at the time of death ;
(2) how many people were buried in Wales in land that they had owned at the time of their death, in each of the last 10 years.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : This information is not held centrally.
Schools Inspectorate
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he is yet in a position to announce the appointment of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector for Wales, the timetable for the establishment of his office and the arrangements for the inspection of schools by registered inspectors.
Mr. David Hunt : I have given detailed consideration to all the issues and, most importantly, those of particular
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relevance to Wales. This includes the need to establish a body of inspectors in Wales able to inspect the significant number of schools which teach entirely or partly through the medium of Welsh and whether all schools have Welsh included in the national curriculum, as well as having features in the curriculum reflecting Welsh tradition and culture.I am delighted to announce that, on my recommendation, Her Majesty the Queen by Order in Council has appointed Mr. Roy L. James as Her Majesty's chief inspector of schools in Wales. Mr. James's appointment will be initially for three years.
I do not want to delay implementation of the important objectives of our charter for parents in Wales and I have concluded that the office of HMCI Wales should commence in September 1992. The arrangements for inspections of secondary schools will start in September 1993 and in primary and special schools the following September.
I have decided that schools in Wales should be inspected by registered inspectors every five years. This will mean a much more regular inspection with a published report than is the practice at present. With the time that will be needed to effect the inspection, the issue of an action plan and the necessary follow-up action, I believe that the period between inspections on a five-year cycle is reasonable, bearing in mind also the financial implications for local authorities of the new arrangements. It will provide the parents of most children with a detailed report during their child's time at primary or secondary school. Nevertheless, the frequency of inspections will be kept under review.
TRANSPORT
Smoke Hoods
Mr. David Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will encourage operators of British registered passenger transport aircraft to provide smoke hoods which meet the EUROCAE ED-65 specification on their aircraft for passengers in circumstances of aviation fire.
Mr. Norris : The Civil Aviation Authority has responsibility for civil aviation safety in the United Kingdom. It is for the authority to determine the requirements for passenger safety equipment. I shall bring the hon. Member's question to the attention of the authority and ask it to write to him direct to explain its position regarding the EUROCAE standard for passenger smoke hoods.
Mr. David Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will now exercise his powers to require the Civil Aviation Authority to obtain the addition to the section 1.2 of chapter 1 of annex 18 of the principal agreement covering the carriage of dangerous goods, and the provisions of that agreement incorporated in the International Civil Aviation Organisation technical instructions for the safe carriage of dangerous goods by air to enable passengers to carry on board passenger transport aircraft breathing-gas-charged smoke hoods.
Mr. Norris : The Civil Aviation Authority has the responsibility for civil aviation safety in the United Kingdom. The regulations relating to the carriage of
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dangerous goods are complex and subject to international agreement. I shall draw the hon. Member's question to the attention of the CAA and ask it to write to him to explain the various technical and international aspects which must be considered.Unadopted Roads
Mr. Harvey : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will seek to amend relevant legislation so as to compel local highway authorities to adopt and maintain currently unadopted roads which provide sole access to adopted public roads.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : I have no plans to do so. Local highway authorities' discretion enables all relevant considerations to be taken into account in decisions on adoption of private streets. A highway authority may, by virtue of section 236 of the Highways Act 1980, contribute towards the costs of a private street works scheme it has resolved to carry out if it considers that the wider public benefit warrants it.
Mr. Harvey : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will seek to amend relevant legislation so as to compel local authorities to adopt and maintain currently unadopted roads before granting planning permission for the construction of new roads to which the unadopted roads in question will provide the only access.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : No. It is for the local planning authority, in considering whether to grant planning permission, to take account of whether access arrangements are acceptable. The question whether any unadopted road giving access to the development should become a publicly maintainable highway is for the highway authority to decide.
Aircraft Safety
Mr. David Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will clarify the responsibilities for safety regulations for United Kingdom registered passenger transport aviation of (a) the Civil Aviation Authority and (b) the joint airworthiness authorities ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Norris : The responsibilities of the Civil Aviation Authority for the safety regulation of aircraft are set out in section 60 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982 and in the Air Navigation Order 1989--SI 1989/2004- -as amended. The Joint Aviation Authorities--JAA--is a co-ordinating body which establishes common safety standards and arranges joint certification among its member states, which includes the United Kingdom. Its members are engaged in developing a common code of operating regulation. A number of JAA codes were made directly applicable in member states of the European Communities from 1 January 1992 by Council regulation (EEC) No. 3922/91.
Footpaths
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what advice he gives to local authorities about the impermeability of footpaths ; and what standards are laid down.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : The Department has not given any advice. Most of the various forms of footpath
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construction currently in use are impermeable to a large extent. There are no departmental or national standards covering this requirement.M25
Sir Michael Grylls : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to issue blight notices and pay compensation to property owners affected by his proposals to expand the M25 through the construction of feeder roads, before the completion of the public inquiries.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : Those whose property would need to be acquired compulsorily for our proposals to improve M25 between junctions 12 and 15 may be eligible to serve blight notices now. Those who consider their homes would be seriously affected by the construction works or the use of the road in its widened form can also ask the Secretary of State to consider using his discretionary powers of acquisition.
London Buses
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he intends to make propsals for the privatisation of London Buses.
Mr. Norris : I understand that London Transport is exploring the possibility of privatising the subsidiaries of London Buses Ltd. in advance of deregulation. This would require the Government's consent. I await a formal proposal from London Transport.
Lane Rental Contracts
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of (a) major and (b) all road maintenance contracts let so far in 1992 are covered by lane rental agreements.
Mr.Kenneth Carlisle : Fifty-three motorway and trunk road major maintenance contracts valued at £500,000 or more have been awarded so far this year. Twenty-five of these were lane rental contracts. The value of lane rental contracts awarded was £60.3 million, 68 per cent. of the total. Lane rental is rarely used other than for major maintenance.
Driving Tests
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how much has been paid by the Driving Standards Agency since July 1991 to driving examiners in bonus payments linked to the length of waiting times for driving tests and to the number of tests cancelled by the agency ;
(2) how much was paid in compensation to members of the public who suffered loss when their driving tests were cancelled (a) between July 1990 and June 1991 and (b) between July 1991 and June 1992.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : I have asked the chief executive of the Driving Standards Agency to reply to the hon. Member direct.
Rail Passengers (Compensation)
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many British Rail InterCity passengers have received compensation since July 1991 because their trains were delayed ; and how much compensation in total has been paid to those passengers.
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