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St. Michael's Grammar School, EnniskillenSt. Michael's Senior High School, Lurgan
St. Olcan's Secondary School, Randalstown
St. Patrick's College, Maghera
St. Patrick's and St. Brigid's Secondary School, Claudy St. Patrick's Boys' Academy, Dungannon
St. Patrick's Boys' Secondary School, Dungannon
St. Patrick's Boys' Secondary School, Omagh
St. Patrick's Girls' Academy, Dungannon
St. Patrick's Girls' Secondary School, Dungannon
St. Patrick's High School, Dungiven
St. Patrick's High School, Ballymena
St. Patrick's High School, Downpatrick
St. Patrick's High School, Banbridge
St. Patrick's High School, Cookstown
St. Patrick's High School, Keady
St. Paul's Junior High School, Lurgan
St. Paul's Secondary School, Kilrea
St. Paul's Secondary School, Bessbrook
St. Peter's Secondary School, Londonderry
St. Pius X Secondary School, Magherafelt
St. Joseph's Boys' Secondary School, Enniskillen
St. Patrick's Grammar, Armagh
Thornhill College Convent of Mercy, Londonderry
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Sheep Dip
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when training courses will be available to farmers on the dangers of sheep dip to human beings.
Mr. McLoughlin : I have been asked to reply.
Training courses for farmers on sheep husbandry tasks are available from the Agricultural training board, various agricultural colleges and other training organisations. The hazards of sheep dip and the health and safety precautions to take during sheep dipping operations are included in these courses.
EMPLOYMENT
Youth Training
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of those leaving youth training in 1991 in (a) Lancashire and (b) Pendle have found full-time employment within six months.
Mr. McLoughlin : Of those leaving youth training training providers in Lancashire in 1991, 51 per cent. found full-time employment within six months. Figures for Pendle are not available.
Earnings
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the gap between the earnings of Britain's highest and lowest paid in (a) 1962 and (b) 1992.
Mr. McLoughlin : The information nearest to that requested is contained in table 15 of part A of the "New Earning Survey" for the years 1980, 1990 and 1992. Copies of these publications are available in the Library.
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many workers currently receive less than £207.13 a week.
Mr. McLoughlin : The information closest to that requested can be found in table 14 of part A of the "New Earnings Survey 1992", a copy of which is in the Library.
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Redundancies
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many redundancies in the textile industry have taken place in (a) Lancashire and (b) the north-west region for each year since 1979.
Mr. McLoughlin : The information requested is available only from the confirmed redundancies series that was discontinued from summer 1992. The number of confirmed redundancies recorded in the textile industry in Lancashire and the north-west region in each of the years 1979 to 1991 are given in the following table. Since spring 1992 the main source of data on redundancies has been the quarterly "Labour Force Survey" which provides a more reliable measure of the number of redundancies than the discontinued series, but does not provide the type of detailed analyses requested.
Year |Lancashire |North West Region ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1979 |2,061 |5,124 1980 |8,976 |19,164 1981 |2,630 |9,003 1982 |1,729 |4,803 1983 |782 |2,837 1984 |199 |1,490 1985 |26 |1,134 1986 |48 |1,318 1987 |231 |952 1988 |184 |1,400 1989 |938 |1,959 1990 |391 |2,764 1991 |942 |2,482
Unpaid Probation
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proposals she has to prohibit employers from offering unemployed people a period of unpaid probation on the basis of continuing to receive unemployment benefit and meal and travel allowances.
Mr. McLoughlin : We have no such proposals. Under our successful job interview guarantee a person unemployed for six months or more can try out a job with
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an employer for up to three weeks, with a guaranteed interview at the end of that period. In 1993-94 we intend to expand the number of these work trials arranged by the employment service to 20,000.Health and Safety
Mr. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what will be the cost of the market testing department in the Health and Safety Executive when it is fully staffed.
Mr. McLoughlin : The salary cost of the market testing section which the executive plans to have in place are expected to be around £180,000 in a full year at 1992 costs.
Mr. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the cost of the consultant assisting the director general of the Health and Safety Executive in compiling his report on market testing ; how he was appointed ; and what was his previous occupation or employer.
Mr. McLoughlin : The consultant is a partner with Touche Ross and has extensive experience of market testing in the public sector, both in central and local government. He was appointed under HSE's normal procedures, following an invitation to tender and a personal interview. HSE followed the guidance on the ethics of conducting business with the private sector contained in the Treasury public competition and purchasing unit publication--CUP16 in appointing him. I regard his rate of remuneration as commercial in confidence.
Mr. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if the business case for the Health and Safety Executive FOCUS computer system will be placed in the Library and made public.
Mr. McLoughlin : The FOCUS business case is a working document prepared by the Health and Safety Executive for internal use to support the proposed introduction of the FOCUS computer system and not for publication.
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Employment Training
Mr. Robert Ainsworth : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will raise the maximum age limit of the aim group for employment training.
Mr. McLoughlin : Employment training is open to unemployed people up to the age of 59 who meet the general eligibility conditions. However, those aged 50 and over do not fall within any of the categories of unemployed people who have priority for places. Under training for work, which is to replace employment training from April 1993, age will not be a factor in determining priority.
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many and what percentage of the working population are on work-related Government training programmes in each region.
Mr. McLoughlin : The information is shown in the following table :
Participants on work-related Government training programmes
June 1992
Region |Work-related |Percentage of
|Government training|civilian work force
|schemes<1> |in employment
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
South East<2> |57,000 |0.7
Greater London |29,000 |0.8
East Anglia |8,000 |0.9
South West |22,000 |1.1
West Midlands |32,000 |1.4
East Midlands |22,000 |1.3
Yorkshire and Humberside |34,000 |1.6
North West |46,000 |1.7
North |32,000 |2.6
Wales |20,000 |1.7
Scotland |43,000 |1.9
<1> Includes all participants on government training and employment programmes who
are receiving some work experience on their placement but who do not have a contract
of employment.
<2> Including Greater London.
Private Detectives
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what use her Department has made of private detectives in each of the last five years ; at what cost ; and if she will list the firms involved.
Mr. McLoughlin : The Employment Department group has not employed any private detectives in any of the last five years.
Training and Enterprise Councils
Mr. Paice : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will list for each training and enterprise council their total reserves at the end of the last financial year.
Mr. McLoughlin : All of the information requested has not yet been received from the training and enterprise councils and may not be received for some considerable time. I will write to my hon. Friend with the information as required.
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Wages Councils
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many (a) establishments and (b) employees were covered by wages councils in each standard region in (i) 1979, (ii) 1986, (iii) 1989 and (iv) 1991 ; and what percentage of the working population this represents in each region.
Mr. McLoughlin : The available estimates, which are for wages inspectorate divisions in 1989 and 1992, are given in the following table. I regret that data on a consistent basis are not available for 1979 and 1986.
(a) number of workers (000s) Wages inspectorate division |1989 |1992 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern: London |367 |330 South East |268 |275 East |233 |253 South West<1> |318 |360 Midlands |380 |411 North West<1> |335 |345 Yorkshire and Humberside |214 |225 North |133 |140 Scotland |224 |220
(b) number of establishments (000s) Wages inspectorate division |1989 |1992 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern: London |56 |51 South East |41 |43 East |36 |39 South West<1> |49 |56 Midlands |58 |64 North West<1> |51 |54 Yorkshire and Humberside |33 |35 North |20 |22 Scotland |34 |35 <1> North Wales is covered by the North West Division and South Wales by the South West Division.
There are no estimates of the percentage which these figures represent of the working population in each of the wages inspectorate's divisions but about 10 per cent. of the Great Britain work force are employed in industries covered by wages councils.
TRANSPORT
West Coast Main Line
Mr. Martlew : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with British Rail on relaxation of the passengers charter with regard to the west coast main line ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : New passengers charter performance standards for InterCity services, including those operating on the west coast main line, are at present being discussed by British Rail and the Department of Transport.
Rail Franchises
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many respondents to his consultation document on rail franchises expressed an interest in operating services.
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Mr. Freeman : Thirty-five of those who have so far responded to the consultation document have expressed interest in operating services. In addition, several companies have told us that, although they were unable to meet the 12 November deadline, they would be registering an interest shortly.
Ports
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what (a) capital investment and (b) other measures he plans to improve transport links to Britain's ports.
Mr. Norris : Many programmed motorway and trunk road schemes will improve access to ports, in particular planned schemes on the A2, M2, M3, A12, A20, M20, A259, A27, A580, A1033, and the M1-A1 link.
Airports
Mr. Spellar : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the figures for cross-subsidy to Stansted airport from Heathrow and Gatwick airports over the last two years.
Mr. Norris : The revenue and operating profit or loss for each of the British Aiports Authority's airports is contained in the annual published accounts of BAA plc. In addition, the Monopolies and Mergers Commission undertook in 1991 a detailed examination of Heathrow Airport Ltd., Gatwick Airport Ltd. and Stansted Airport Ltd. Its report was published by the Civil Aviation Authority in July 1991 and a copy placed in the Library.
Roads
Mr. Tyler : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will postpone all further consideration of a second A38 road crossing of the River Tamar until such time as a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis has established the relative economic and environmental advantages of current and proposed improvements to the A30 and A39 Atlantic highway.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : All current and proposed improvement schemes in the road programme, including all those referred to in the question, are subjected to such analyses, and proceed only if they are justified.
Mr. Tyler : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress is being made with (a) the Camelford bypass (b) Alliss to south Penlean, (c) the Stratton diversion, (d) the Kilkhampton bypass, (e) Clovelly cross to Seckington and (f) the Bucks cross improvement schemes for the A39 Atlantic highway ; and what changes have taken place since his Department's south-west regional brief 1991.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : Progress on the preparation of these schemes has been made as resources have permitted. Compared with the position at October 1991 reported in the Department's south-west regional brief, current plans are :
Camelford bypass
Public consultation 1993 Allins to South Penlean Public consultation held 1992 improvement
Stratton diversion ) Surveys under way for
Kilkhampton bypass ) Public consultation 1994 Clover Cross to )
Seckington improvement ) Public consultation 1994
Bucks Cross improvement )
M6
Mr. Robert Ainsworth : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the latest position in relation to the M6 widening proposals in the north of the Coventry, North-East constituency.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : Preparation work is proceeding satisfactorily ; we expect to be ready to consult the public on proposals for widening the length between the M1 and junction 4 towards the end of next year.
Citizens Charter
Mr. Robert Ainsworth : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what targets or time scales he will apply to his Department under the citizens charter with respect to decisions on road construction projects.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : The time taken to announce decisions on trunk road schemes after a public inquiry will depend on the complexity of the scheme and the weight and nature of the objections.
More generally, we are concerned about how long it takes to prepare major trunk road schemes. We have appointed consultants to review the statutory and administrative procedures involved and to recommend possible changes which might speed up the process.
Search and Rescue
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the civilian emergencies in each of the last six years attended by the search and rescue services.
Mr. Norris : From HM coastguard records, the numbers of incidents on the coast and at sea attended by the United Kingdom search and rescue services, including governmental and voluntary resources, for each of the last six years are as follows :
Year |Number --------------------- 1986 |5,300 1987 |5,563 1988 |6,261 1989 |6,835 1990 |7,076 1991 |7,212
West Highland Railway Line
Mrs. Ray Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the total subsidy paid to British Rail in 1991-92 for the operation of services (a) on the West Highland line and (b) specifically on the line to Oban ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : The public service obligation grant is not allocated on a line by line basis. The total grant paid to British Rail in 1991-92 was £892 million.
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Mrs. Ray Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representationss he has had regarding the future of rail services on the West Highland line ; and if he will make a statement.
Petroleum
Mrs. Ray Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what safety regulations govern the transportation of petroleum by road ; what plans there are to review the regulations ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : The regulations for transport of dangerous goods by road are made under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Those affecting the transport of petroleum are :
The Dangerous Substances (Carriage of Dangerous Substances in Road Tankers and Tank Containers) Regulations 1992 ;
The Classification, Packaging and Labelling of Dangerous Substances Regulations 1984 ;
The Road Traffic (Carriage of Dangerous Substances in Packages etc.) Regulations 1992 ;
The Road Traffic (Training of Drivers of Vehicles Carrying Dangerous Goods) Regulations 1992.
The Health and Safety Executive and the Department of Transport regularly review the regulations in the light of changes to international recommendations, developments in technology and practical experience.
Mrs. Ray Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents since 1982 involved the transportation of petroleum by road ; if he will list the number of fatalities and injured ; how many of those accidents occurred in residential areas ; and if he will list the number of fatalities and injured in those areas.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : The information is not available in the form requested. There have been three fatalities and few serious injuries resulting from the transport of petroleum by road since 1982. There were 440 reported incidents of overturning or other serious damage, release of product of fire involving road tankers carrying all types of dangerous substances from 1982 to 1991. Incidents occurring in residential areas cannot readily be separately identified.
Mrs. Ray Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents since 1982 involved the transportation of petroleum by rail ; if he will list the number of fatalities and injured ; how many of those accidents occurred in residential areas ; and if he will list the number of fatalities and injured in those areas.
Mr. Freeman : The Health and Safety Executive's railway inspectorate has a record of all reported freight train accidents. The inspectorate is aware of five serious accidents during this period involving petroleum trains, none of which gave rise to death or major injury.
Noise Insulation Grants
Mr. Hague : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made in deciding whether schools should be eligible for noise insulation grants when they are in close proximity to airfields ; and when he expects to make an announcement.
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