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Unemployment Benefits
Mr. Betts : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of the public sector expenditure total has been spent on benefits related to unemployment for each financial year from 1979-80 ; and what is the latest estimate for 1992-93 and the expenditure forecast for 1993-94.
Mr. Portillo [holding answer 12 November 1992] : Figures on social security benefits by broad group of beneficiaries, including rate rebates and community charge benefit, for years 1986-87 to 1994-95 were published in table 5 of the 1992 Social Security Departmental Report (Cm 1914). Figures on general government expenditure for years 1979-80 to 1994- 95 were published in table 2.1 of the Statistical Supplement to the 1991 "Autumn Statement" (Cm 1920).
Figures for social security benefits to the unemployed ‡prior to 1986-87 are as follows :
|£ million
------------------------------
1979-80 |1,470
1980-81 |2,530
1981-82 |4,020
1982-83 |5,010
1983-84 |5,700
1984-85 |5,320
1985-86 |6,960
Later figures for general government expenditure will be published in this year's "Autumn Statement". Later figures for social security benefits will be published in the 1993 Social Security Departmental Report.
Manufacturing and Construction
Mr. Betts : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what percentage of gross domestic product has been produced by (a) manufacturing industry, and (b) the construction industry in each financial year since 1979-80 ; and what are the latest estimates for 1992-93 and the forecast for 1993-94 ;
(2) what is the change in output in real terms by (a) the manufacturing industry and (b) the construction industry for each financial year since 1979-80, including the latest estimate for 1992-93 and the estimates for 1993-94.
Mr. Portillo [holding answer 12 November 1992] : Information on the share of current price GDP by industry is available only for calendar years. Figures up to and including 1991 are given in table 16.4 of the Central Statistical Office publication "United Kingdom National Accounts", a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library. Information on output in volume terms, by industry, is available quarterly. Estimates, up to and including the second quarter of 1992, from which the information requested can be derived are available on the CSO database which may be accessed through the Library. The relevant database identifiers are manufacturing--DVIS, Construction--DVJO. A new forecast for manufacturing output for calendar years 1992 and 1993 is included in the "Autumn Statement".
EC Financial Years
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list those EC countries whose financial year does not match the calendar year.
Mr. Nelson [holding answer 12 November 1992] : The United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland are the only EC countries in which the financial year does not run concurrently with the calendar year.
Banned Imports
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what relaxations will be in force from 1 January 1993 on the imports of species of (a) animals, (b) plants and (c) pathogens that are currently banned from being imported into the United Kingdom.
Mr. Curry : I have been asked to reply.
There will be no relaxation from 1 January 1993 of the prohibitions currently in force on the importation of particular animals, pathogens and plants into the United Kingdom.
Imports of live animals will remain subject to harmonised Community animal health rules or, in their absence, national legislation, and existing import prohibitions will remain in force.
Imports of animal pathogens will remain subject to existing national legislation. Discussions on EC and third
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country trade in animal pathogens are under way and harmonised arrangements are unlikely to be introduced before 1 January 1994. In relation to plants and plant pathogens, I announced on 2 November that existing plant health arrangements will continue after 1 January 1993 for a period of up to six months. In consequence no significant changes will take place on import arrangements at the beginning of 1993.EDUCATION
Music Teaching
Mr. Batiste : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what action he proposes to take to maintain the quality and level of peripatetic music teaching.
Mr. Forth : Provision of peripatetic music teaching is a matter for local education authorities to determine in the light of local spending priorities.
Pupils Statistics
Mr. French : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many pupils in each local authority are currently in schools that have grant- maintained status ; and how many pupils in each local education authority are in maintained and voluntary schools.
Mr. Forth : The number of full-time pupils in schools currently operating as grant-maintained and the total number of full-time pupils in maintained primary, middle and secondary schools, including grant- maintained and voluntary schools, in each local education authority in England are given in the table. Pupil numbers shown relate to January 1991, the latest date for which reliable information is available.
Number of full-time pupils in grant-maintained schools and all
maintained primary, middle and secondary schools.
Local education |Pupils in Grant |Pupils in all
authority |Maintained schools|Maintained
|schools<1>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
City |0 |202
Camden |0 |19,373
Greenwich |0 |31,792
Hackney |0 |22,324
Hammersmith |1,178 |14,204
Islington |0 |20,644
Kensington and Chelsea |629 |9,461
Lambeth |594 |23,238
Lewisham |0 |29,153
Southwark |391 |27,802
Tower Hamlets |871 |28,885
Wandsworth |3,695 |24,640
Westminster |0 |15,578
Barking |0 |22,152
Barnet |1,894 |39,050
Bexley |426 |31,055
Brent |1,687 |30,723
Bromley |9,103 |34,714
Croydon |921 |39,776
Ealing |4,701 |35,737
Enfield |0 |36,723
Haringey |0 |24,634
Harrow |0 |25,662
Havering |0 |33,805
Hillingdon |7,164 |29,510
Hounslow |0 |29,478
Kingston upon Thames |0 |15,836
Merton |0 |18,829
Newham |393 |33,380
Redbridge |0 |30,392
Richmond upon Thames |0 |15,701
Sutton |3,941 |21,351
Waltham Forest |1,003 |28,657
Birmingham |4,619 |163,169
Coventry |0 |44,964
Dudley |0 |42,600
Sandwell |626 |45,135
Solihull |0 |31,008
Walsall |2,327 |42,433
Wolverhampton |1,696 |36,402
Knowsley |0 |24,681
Liverpool |1,014 |73,159
St. Helens |0 |28,310
Sefton |0 |43,125
Wirral |0 |49,697
Bolton |1,035 |41,661
Bury |0 |25,325
Manchester |0 |66,569
Oldham |0 |37,749
Rochdale |236 |32,539
Salford |0 |34,382
Stockport |0 |41,079
Tameside |758 |33,847
Trafford |0 |28,328
Wigan |0 |48,198
Barnsley |0 |30,535
Doncaster |0 |45,907
Rotherham |0 |39,648
Sheffield |71 |63.950
Bradford |940 |77,635
Calderdale |1,398 |30,318
Kirklees |1,048 |57,584
Leeds |0 |98,014
Wakefield |0 |45,156
Gateshead |0 |28,007
Newcastle upon Tyne |0 |36,991
North Tyneside |0 |28,489
South Tyneside |0 |22,667
Sunderland |0 |45,708
Isles of Scilly |0 |282
Avon |1,388 |126,553
Bedfordshire |1,554 |79,532
Berkshire |7,194 |100,544
Buckinghamshire |4,122 |90,400
Cambridgeshire |2,500 |95,929
Cheshire |464 |146,402
Cleveland |0 |94,007
Cornwall |0 |64,766
Cumbria |4,941 |70,496
Derbyshire |2,406 |130,165
Devon |462 |128,968
Dorset |5,723 |77,508
Durham |0 |87,727
East Sussex |0 |78,435
Essex |18,710 |214,735
Gloucestershire |11,220 |73,179
Hampshire |4,659 |206,088
Hereford and Worcester |0 |92,920
Hertfordshire |4,935 |138,442
Humberside |82 |132,027
Isle of Wight |0 |16,902
Kent |23,975 |213,268
Lancashire |3,968 |204,774
Leicestershire |347 |133,400
Lincolnshire |13,209 |81,861
Norfolk |7,056 |98,221
North Yorkshire |0 |95,599
Northamptonshire |4,064 |90,225
Northumberland |0 |46,541
Nottinghamshire |363 |138,515
Oxfordshire |0 |69,911
Shropshire |457 |59,083
Somerset |579 |61,257
Staffordshire |0 |154,149
Suffolk |0 |85,666
Surrey |7,877 |114,402
Warwickshire |3,726 |67,951
West Sussex |0 |89,051
Wiltshire |1,369 |76,085
|------- |-------
England |191,709 |6,635,396
<1> Including grant-maintained and voluntary schools.
Grant-maintained Schools
Mr. French : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many schools in each local authority are currently making applications for grant -maintained status.
Mr. Forth : The figures requested are given in the table :
|Number
-----------------------------------
Bedfordshire |7
Berkshire |2
Bexley |1
Bradford |4
Brent |2
Bromley |1
Buckinghamshire |3
Calderdale |1
Cambridgeshire |5
Cheshire |2
Croydon |1
Cumbria |4
Derbyshire |6
Devon |4
Doncaster |1
Dorset |1
Dudley |2
Essex |18
Gloucestershire |4
Hackney |1
Hampshire |9
Havering |3
Hereford and Worcestershire 2
Hertfordshire |8
Hillingdon |4
Hounslow |2
Kent |13
Kingston-upon-Thames |1
Lambeth |2
Lancashire |1
Leicestershire |1
Lincolnshire |3
Norfolk |4
Northamptonshire |5
Nottinghamshire |2
Rochdale |1
Shropshire |2
Southwark |1
Staffordshire |3
Surrey |4
Sutton |2
Tameside |1
Trafford |3
Walsall |1
Wandsworth |3
Wolverhampton |1
Mr. French : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many parents in each local authority have voted for, and how many have voted against, grant-maintained status for their children's school.
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Mr. Forth : Statistics are collected as total numbers of eligible votes cast and numbers of votes in favour of grant-maintained status for each local authority. It is not possible to derive a figure for votes against grant-maintained status by subtracting votes in favour from votes cast because this would not take account of spoiled papers. The figures are as follows :
|Total eligible votes|Votes in favour
|cast
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avon |1,960 |979
Barnet |3,214 |2,206
Barnsley |1,479 |402
Bedfordshire |10,522 |6,435
Berkshire |7,767 |5,596
Bexley |2,573 |1,625
Birmingham |11,787 |8,335
Bolton |1,271 |1,116
Bradford |4,834 |3,118
Brent |4,681 |3,363
Bromley |12,590 |9,130
Buckinghamshire |8,415 |5,441
Calderdale |2,639 |2,100
Cambridgeshire |12,657 |7,981
Cheshire |5,921 |2,732
Cleveland |1,397 |310
Cornwall |41 |30
Croydon |3,109 |2,069
Cumbria |7,416 |5,757
Derbyshire |15,082 |8,568
Devon |6,871 |4,099
Doncaster |830 |306
Dorset |8,272 |6,032
Dudley |4,104 |2,874
Durham |1,407 |341
Ealing |6,772 |3,689
Essex |41,450 |31,245
Gateshead |1,613 |718
Gloucestershire |18,158 |11,688
Hackney |772 |254
Hammersmith |1,357 |1,279
Hampshire |13,264 |9,081
Harrow |1,082 |438
Havering |4,153 |2,035
Hereford and Worcester |1,994 |1,478
Hertfordshire |15,681 |10,638
Hillingdon |10,838 |9,522
Hounslow |2,196 |1,929
Humberside |2,031 |614
Kensington |906 |858
Kent |39,806 |31,863
Kingston |1,620 |1,226
Kirklees |3,271 |1,760
Knowsley |1,481 |39
Lambeth |2,260 |2,020
Lancashire |9,160 |4,270
Leicestershire |2,112 |1,350
Lewisham |594 |361
Lincolnshire |16,672 |13,277
Liverpool |1,416 |771
Manchester |1,061 |358
Merton |841 |382
Newcastle-upon-Tyne |1,056 |397
Newham |681 |349
Norfolk |12,482 |7,817
North Yorkshire |969 |370
Northamptonshire |13,730 |9,247
Nottinghamshire |3,898 |1,584
Oldham |1,158 |172
Oxfordshire |1,220 |468
Redbridge |765 |171
Rochdale |2,588 |1,034
Salford |1,575 |711
Sandwell |2,235 |1,182
Sheffield |1,577 |809
Shropshire |1,621 |1,435
Solihull |2,006 |1,166
Somerset |772 |634
Southwark |750 |685
Staffordshire |3,244 |2,031
Stockport |1,204 |316
Surrey |9,890 |8,111
Sutton |7,160 |5,756
Tameside |2,618 |1,815
Tower Hamlets |1,519 |740
Trafford |2,870 |1,761
Wakefield |44 |38
Walsall |7,180 |3,675
Waltham Forest |1,117 |579
Wandsworth |6,985 |5,602
Warwickshire |4,847 |2,984
West Sussex |2,894 |519
Wigan |324 |274
Wiltshire |3,501 |1,763
Wolverhampton |2,322 |1,750
Mr. French : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many schools in each local authority now have grant-maintained status.
Mr. Forth : The figures requested are given in the table :
|Number of schools
------------------------------------------------------
Kent |36
Essex |35
Lincolnshire |23
Gloucestershire |16
Norfolk |16
Surrey |15
Bromley |12
Berkshire |11
Northamptonshire |11
Hillingdon |11
Cambridgeshire |11
Hertfordshire |10
Hampshire |10
Birmingham |9
Warwickshire |8
Buckinghamshire |8
Cumbria |7
Dorset |7
Ealing |7
Lancashire |6
Sutton |6
Derbyshire |5
Wandsworth |5
Wiltshire |4
Bedfordshire |3
Calderdale |3
Barnet |3
Avon |2
Bexley |2
Bolton |2
Brent |2
Cheshire |2
Kirklees |2
Lambeth |2
Somerset |2
Walsall |2
Wolverhampton |2
Croydon |2
Bradford |1
Devon |1
Dudley |1
Hammersmith |1
Humberside |1
Kensington |1
Kingston |1
Leicester |1
Lewisham |1
Liverpool |1
Newham |1
Nottinghamshire |1
Rochdale |1
Sandwell |1
Sheffield |1
Shropshire |1
Solihull |1
Southwark |1
Staffordshire |1
Tameside |1
Tower Hamlets |1
Waltham Forest |1
Mr. Byers : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what amount of the special purposes grant for 1993-94 for grant-maintained schools will be used to cover those activities that would be covered by the grants for education support and training programme in local authority maintained schools.
Mr. Forth : Decisions have not yet been taken about the precise details of special purpose grant (development) allocations in 1993-94.
Surplus School Places
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to his oral statement of 9 November, Official Report, column 63, if he will give the arithmetical basis for his estimate that £300 million of public expenditure can be saved by the elimination of surplus school places, distinguishing between (a) once for all capital receipts for sale of surplus premises and (b) annual revenue savings ; and if he will give the period to which the estimated savings refer and the appropriate number of primary and secondary places concerned.
Mr. Forth : My right hon. Friend was referring to the annual cost of maintaining surplus places. The figure of £300 million given in my right hon. Friend's oral statement of 9th November is based on an average figure for the premises-related cost of maintaining a school place, based on returns from local education authorities, of approximately £150 a year for a primary school place and £250 a year for a secondary school place at 1991-92 prices. It is based on an estimate of some 800,000 surplus primary places and 700,000 surplus secondary school places. The figure does not include one-off savings that may accrue from the sale of surplus premises.
Teachers, North Yorkshire
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will state the full-time equivalent numbers of teachers employed in (a) north Yorkshire infant and primary schools and (b) north Yorkshire secondary schools in each year since 1974.
Mr. Forth : The table shows the number of teachers employed in the maintained nursery, primary and secondary school sector in north Yorkshire, for each of the years 1981 to 1992. Comparable figures for pupils in north Yorkshire are also shown. Figures prior to 1981 are not readily available.
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Full-time equivalents
Nursery and Secondary Nursery, primary
Primary secondary<1>
|Teachers|Pupils |Teachers|Pupils |Teachers
---------------------------------------------------------------
1981 |2,463 |<2>- |3,324 |<2>- |5,967
1982 |2,509 |53,408 |3,309 |53,640 |5,818
1983 |2,441 |50,845 |3,297 |53,407 |5,751
1984 |2,390 |49,936 |3,281 |52,549 |5,682
1985 |2,399 |50,228 |3,218 |50,962 |5,631
1986 |2,400 |50,408 |3,148 |49,884 |5,561
1987 |2,414 |51,081 |3,107 |47,939 |5,532
1988 |2,497 |52,114 |3,041 |45,419 |5,548
1989 |2,551 |53,138 |3,020 |43,712 |5,570
1990 |2,638 |54,423 |2,953 |42,483 |5,590
1991 |2,711 |54,700 |2,945 |42,732 |5,656
1992 |2,762 |<2>- |3,041 |<2>- |5,803
<1> Includes a small number of teachers who cannot be
allocated to one particular sector.
<2> Not available.
Technology
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make it his policy to set out a new definition for technology in the national curriculum establishing the subject as a practical technical subject concerned with the design and manufacture of products and systems.
Mr. Forth : The current review of the statutory requirements for national curriculum technology aims to clarify the technical skills and knowledge which pupils should acquire at each stage of their compulsory education and in particular to ensure that these are developed through work with construction materials and related components and systems. When my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Education and for Wales have considered the review group's recommendations they will make a full statement.
Science Undergraduates
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make it his policy to set a target date for doubling the number of science undergraduates in United Kingdom universities.
Mr. Forman : No. However, the number of full-time students taking science-based higher education courses has formed formed a more or less constant proportion of a rapidly rising total throughout the 1980s. While students cannot be compelled to take particular subjects, our commitment to encourage recruitment to science based courses is clear.
In higher education, the publicly funded tuition fee for laboratory and workshop based courses is already set at 50 per cent. above the classroom rate, and we are planning to increase the relative incentive to develop such courses. My right hon. Friend has also asked the Higher Education Funding Council for England to encourage continuing expansion of science and technology through its funding.
Non-degree Qualifications
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make it his policy to set a target date for tripling the numbers achieving technical non-degree qualifications in the United Kingdom.
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Mr. Forman : No. However, the Government have endorsed the national education and training targets for :
80 per cent. of young people to have achieved qualifications at NVQ level 2, or the broad equivalent of four GCSEs at grades A to C, by 1997 ;
50 per cent. of young people to have achieved qualifications at NVQ level 3, or the broad equivalent of two A levels, by the year 2000 ; 50 per cent. of the work force to be qualified to NVQ level 3, or equivalent, by the year 2000.
These targets imply a very considerable increase in the numbers achieving vocational qualifications.
My right hon. Friend has also asked the Higher Education Funding Council for England to provide incentives to promote two-year full-time diploma qualifications in higher education, in particular those with a vocational emphasis.
Science and Technology
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what action is currently being undertaken by his Department to ensure that pupils studying science and technology in secondary schools are taught by teachers with appropriate degrees.
Mr. Forth : Trainee teachers on secondary PGCE courses must have first degrees relevant to the school curriculum. Undergraduate courses of secondary teacher training must include at least two years' subject study at degree level which build on appropriate A-levels or equivalent qualifications. The Open university is developing PGCE courses in science and technology to increase the supply of appropriately qualified teachers. Shortage subject bursaries encourage recruitment to PGCE courses in science and technology.
The Department has also funded many initiatives to improve science and technology teaching, including distance learning courses for existing physics and chemistry teachers. The grant for education, support and training (GEST) specific grant programme for 1993-94 will support £46 million of LEA expenditure on in-service training for the basic curriculum and assessment, and a further £85 million is to be devolved to schools to spend on in-service training or books and equipment according to their needs.
Pre-school Education
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children were in pre-school education in (a) 1982 and (b) 1992.
Mr. Forth : In January 1982, there were 235,000 pupils below compulsory school age in maintained nursery schools or nursery classes in maintained primary schools in England. The provisional figure for January 1992 is 330,000.
Reading
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make it his policy to initiate a nationwide campaign to encourage parents to read to their children at home ; and if he will make a statement on children's reading.
Mr. Forth : It is already the Government's policy to encourage parental involvement in children's reading. There is a general requirement at key stage 1--ages five to
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seven--of national curriculum English that teachers should actively encourage parents to share in their child's reading. The National Curriculum Council's non-statutory guidance for teachers of English stresses that teachers will need to involve parents as fully as possible in this aspect of the curriculum by discussing with them their child's reading and providing advice if necessary.In addition, the Department has supported a study by the United Kingdom Reading Association (UKRA) of family reading groups (FRGs), as a result of which UKRA are preparing guidelines on how to set up and run these groups successfully.
More generally, my right hon. Friend's recent announcement of a review of national curriculum English made clear the Government's commitment to improving standards in essential skills such as reading.
Industrial Tribunals
Mr. Rooker : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many employees entitled to maximum compensatory awards from industrial tribunals in 1991 failed to obtain payment.
Higher Education
Mr. Rooker : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a statement on the changes in the numbers of home-based students in higher education over the past five years.
Mr. Forman : The Department does not collect details of higher education students by place of residence. Students in receipt of mandatory awards receive grant at a different rate if they are living at home. It is estimated that the number of mandatory award holders in England and Wales receiving grant at parental home rates rose from about 30,000 in 1986-87 to about 39,000 in 1990-91.
Further Education Funding
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what information he has about the amount of money spent by local education authorities for each of the last five years on education in those areas which will come under the auspices of the Further Education Funding Council (a) in cash terms and (b) in constant 1992 purchasing power.
Mr. Forman : This information is not available centrally. LEAs' expenditure returns do not distinguish between expenditure on courses for which the FEFC will be responsible from next April and those for which LEAs will have continuing responsibility.
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Education on what basis the resources currently available to the Further Education Funding Council for 1993-94 were calculated ; and how much they are in (a) cash terms and (b) constant 1992 purchasing power.
Mr. Forman : The Government's expenditure plans for further education in England in the financial year 1993-94 provide for the launch of the newly independent sector, taking account of a projected 8 per cent. increase in student numbers compared with the financial year 1992-93. The total funds to be made available to the
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Further Education Funding Council in 1993-94 are planned to be £2, 549 million for recurrent expenditure and £152 million for capital expenditure : expressed in 1991-92 prices, the real terms figures are £2,380 million and £142 million respectively.Examinations
Mr. Byers : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will state the name of the private company responsible for compiling the national table of school examination results by local authority area.
Mr. Forth : Two organisations were involved in the compilation of the database and the tables. They are Bath university, which merged the examination entries and results supplied by the examinations boards and groups, and PMS Communications Ltd., which arranged for the checking of the data by schools and which prepared the national and local tables for publication.
Mr. Byers : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will state the number of independent schools operating in the secondary sector and the number that have volunteered their examination results to be reported as part of the national reporting of examinations scheme.
Mr. Forth : In January 1992, information available to the Department indicated that there were 1,025 independent schools which had pupils aged 15 and/or 17 years. All these schools were invited to take part in the publication of comparative tables of examination results and 259 did so.
Mr. Byers : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if the Central Statistical Office Survey Control Unit has approved the method by which the examination results from schools have been collected and the manner in which they will be published.
Mr. Forth : No. The collection and publication are administrative matters concerning identifiable schools and are not therefore covered by the arrangements under which the survey control unit approves statistical inquiries.
Choice and Diversity"
Mr. Byers : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will place in the Library copies of the responses to the White Paper, "Choice and Diversity."
Mr. Forth : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Bath (Mr. Foster) on 2 November 1992, Official Report, column 16.
NATIONAL HERITAGE
Longford Hall
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will give the dates on which Longford Hall, Stretford was inspected by representatives of his Department or its predecessor since that building was listed.
Mr. Brooke : I understand that the hall was inspected by officers of English Heritage, who are my statutory advisers on these matters, in February 1990.
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will give details of representations
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made to him and his predecessors about the failure to maintain Longford hall, Stretford since that building was listed, and what action resulted.Mr. Brooke : Local residents have made frequent representations to officials of my Department and the Department of the Environment about the state of the building, the demolition or removal of various interior features, and the possible use of the Secretary of State's powers to secure repairs. As I told the hon. Member on 29 October, Official Report, column 779, officials have, as a result, been in regular touch with the owners on this issue.
National Lottery
Mrs. Jane Kennedy : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage, pursuant to his answer of 5 November, Official Report, column 350, which firms were invited to tender for the contract to provide advice on the impact of a national lottery on the football pools industry and charitable donations ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Brooke : Information on those firms that were not successful in the tendering process for work on the national lottery is commercially sensitive and therefore their names cannot be given.
Mrs. Jane Kennedy : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage, pursuant to his answer of 5 November, Official Report, column 350, what criteria he used in determining which firm of consultants should undertake the contract to advise him on the impact of a national lottery on the football pools industry and charitable donations ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Brooke : The criteria used to determine the choice of consultants included price, quality and access to expert knowledge. In addition, consultants had to assure the Department that they were not currently working for and would not in future work for any companies that had an interest in bidding to operate the national lottery and that the advice they gave would be impartial and free from conflicts of interest of any kind.
DEFENCE
Vulcan Bombers
Mr. Sims : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the last Vulcan bomber was withdrawn from active service with the Royal Air Force ; what plans he has for its disposal ; what representations he has received from those wishing to maintain this aircraft in flying condition ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Aitken : Vulcan XH 558 completed its operational service with the RAF in September 1984 and formed the RAF's Vulcan display flight in November of that year. The Ministry of Defence plans to sell the aircraft to the public and invitations to tender will be issued to prospective purchasers as soon as possible. We would, however, be prepared to consider any well-founded sponsorship proposals to keep the Vulcan in flying condition for air displays, but the sponsor would need to accept full financial responsibility for the aircraft and guarantee to meet all its operating, maintenance and other costs. To date no sustainable sponsorship proposals have been
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received. My Department has received a large number of representations from hon. Members and from members of the public about the future of the aircraft.Dartmoor National Park (Loop Road)
Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much money has been spent by the Ministry of Defence on the resurfacing of the loop road from Okehampton barracks into the Dartmoor national park ; who was consulted before work commenced ; when planning permission was obtained ; and what category the road holds.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The MOD spent £31,505 on maintaining the loop road during financial years 1990-91 and 1991-92. The defence land agent Plymouth consulted the Duchy of Cornwall to confirm that the work proposed was within the terms of the MOD licence and to gain approval. Consultations also took place with the Dartmoor national park officer regarding the materials used. Planning permission was not necessary in this case as it is a private road on Duchy of Cornwall land within Dartmoor national park over which the public is allowed access when live firing is not in progress on Okehampton range.
Front-line Squadrons (Aircraft)
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what is his Department's assessment of the number of Tornados that will be deployed in front-line squadrons in (a) 1994 and (b) 2000 ; (2) what is his Department's assessment of the number of Harriers that will be deployed in front-line squadrons in (a) 1994 and (b) 2000.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Annex C of the 1992 "Statement on the Defence Estimates" includes numbers of aircraft assigned to RAF squadrons based in Europe as at 1 April 1992, together with the main changes due to take place in the current financial year. We plan to update this information on an annual basis. It is not our policy to publish detailed plans for future operational strengths.
Contracts
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contracts have been awarded since 1980 by his Department to International Military Services.
Mr. Aitken : Until it ceased trading in July 1991, the role of IMS was to supply overseas Governments with equipment and services in the defence field, as a prime contractor, operating within guidelines laid down by my Department. Consequently there would normally be no reason for my Department to place contracts on the company. The only exception to this was an arrangement to fund the cost of a single individual employed by IMS in the late 1980s to provide after-sales service on equipment developed by my Department in service with an overseas customer.
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contracts have been awarded by his Department to W. S. Atkins and Partners since 1980.
Mr. Aitken : Since May 1990, the Department's directorate of works services has invited W. S. Atkins to
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tender 32 times. It was successful on 10 occasions, and received contracts valued at £8,068,300 in total. There have also been a number of smaller contracts for works in connection with specific projects.Prior to May 1990 the Property Services Agency of the Department of the Environment was responsible for all works-related contracts.
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contacts ministers or officials of his Department have had with International Military Services since 1980.
Mr. Aitken : International Military Services is a company whose shares are vested in the Secretary of State for Defence. Consequently my Department is responsible for monitoring company policy and performance. Contact for this purpose is frequent at official level. Contact at ministerial level is relatively rare.
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contacts or dealings ministers or officials of his Department have had with W. S. Atkins and Partners since 1980.
Mr. Aitken : My Department does not hold a central record of contacts or dealings with industry, so I am unable to provide the hon. Gentleman with a full reply without incurring disproportionate cost. However, officials in my Department are in continuing discussion with W. S. Atkins in connection with tenders, contracts awarded by the Department--and awarded by PSA on the Department's behalf prior to May 1990--and future opportunities.
Iraq
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish the assessment made by his expert advisory group on whether an export licence should be granted to Matrix Churchill for equipment which is now the subject of a judicial inquiry.
Mr. Aitken : No. The assessments will, of course, be made available to Lord Justice Scott's inquiry if it wishes to see them.
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how often the group of experts referred to in his Department's answer of 26 April 1990, Official Report, column 332, on military trade with Iraq met in the years 1987 to 1991 and on what dates ; and what is the remit under which the group of experts operated.
Mr. Aitken : Normally the working group met monthly. Its remit is to make a military assessment of applications for defence-related exports to Iran--and to Iraq until the UN embargo--within the guidelines which relate to the export of equipments to Iran-Iraq.
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the definition of lethal used by his Department in assessing the nature of equipment supplied to Iraq since 1980.
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