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Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are the standard operations of maritime transport carrying irradiated nuclear fuel, plutonium or high-level radioactive waste to and from, or by, the United Kingdom ; and what accident rate for such operations has been recorded in each year since 1982.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle [holding answer 7 December 1992] : Of the United Kingdom-registered ships known to carry such cargo there was one incident recorded in 1991 which directly concerned handling operations and which falls within the scope of the Merchant Shipping (Accident Investigation) Regulations 1989. Records of incidents prior to the establishment of the marine accident investigation branch in July 1989 are not fully comprehensive. However, there are no known cases of serious incidents involving such cargo and operations between 1982 and mid-1989.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Scotch Street, Armagh
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the distance between Nos. 1 and 74 Scotch street, Armagh city ; how many street lights there are along this length of public street ; what proposals he has to improve street lighting at Scotch street ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Atkins : The distance between Nos. 1 and 74 Scotch street, Armagh is approximately 265 m. There are currently six street lights along this length of public road and the provision of a further light is being pursued.
Bomb Damage
Mr. Clifford Forsythe : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many owner occupiers in the Antrim road area, Glengormley, agreed to the Northern
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Ireland Housing Executive's offer to carry out repairs arising from bomb damage on 30 October ; and how many such owner-occupiers have agreed to compensation for such damage being a matter for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive.Mr. Atkins : I am advised by the chief executive of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive that at 3 December, 17 owner-occupiers in the Glengormley area had taken up the executive's offer to carry out repairs on the basis that they will assign their compensation rights to the executive.
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many owner occupiers in Newtownbreda/Belvoir estate have agreed to the Northern Ireland Housing Executive offer to carry out repairs arising from bomb damage on 23 September ; how many owner-occupiers have agreed to compensation for such damage being a matter for the Housing Executive ; and how many privately owned homes were damaged as a result of the IRA bomb at the Forensic Science Laboratory.
Mr. Atkins : I am advised by the Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive that at 3 December no owner-occupiers in the Newtownbreda/Belvoir estate had taken up the executive's offer to carry out repairs and consequently no householders had assigned their compensation rights.
A total of 428 privately owned homes were damaged.
Public Expenditure
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement about the allocation to individual programmes in Northern Ireland of the public expenditure totals announced on 12 November.
Sir Patrick Mayhew : In his autumn statement on 12 November, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced total public expenditure planning figures for the Northern Ireland programme. I have now decided on the allocations to individual programmes as shown in the table. Copies of a more detailed statement have been placed in the Library. These allocations reflect my assessment of how best to distribute the Northern Ireland public expenditure totals in response to local needs and circumstances.
£ Million
Programme |1993-94 |1994-95 |1995-96
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Northern Ireland Office:
Law, Order, Protective and
Miscellaneous Services |902 |910 |930
Northern Ireland Departments:
Northern Ireland Agriculture,
Fisheries and Forestry
Service and Support |124 |130 |130
Industry, Trade and Employment |466 |450 |440
Energy |6 |10 |10
Roads and Transport |174 |170 |170
Housing |244 |250 |260
Environmental and
Miscellaneous Services |238 |250 |250
Law, Order and Protective
Services (Fire Service) |39 |40 |40
Education, Arts and Libraries |1,234 |1,300 |1,360
Health and Personal Social
Services |1,318 |1,410 |1,500
Social Security Administration |146 |140 |140
Other Public Services |93 |100 |100
Total NI Block (excluding
Social Security Benefits) |4,984 |5,160 |5,320
Social Security Benefits |2,353 |2,390 |2,470
Total NI Block |7,338 |7,550 |7,790
National Agricultural and
Fishery Support |122 |140 |150
Total Northern Ireland
Programme |7,460 |7,690 |7,940
Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest £1 million for 1993-94 and to
the nearest £10 million for 1994-95 and 1995-96. Figures may not sum
to totals due to roundings.
2. The health and personal social services programme includes a
transfer of £25 million, £65 million and £100 milllion from social
security benefits for community care.
3. The 1993-94 figures will form the basis for preparation of the
Northern Ireland Office and Northern Ireland Departments' main
estimates. These will be presented to Parliament in due course.
EC Funding
Rev. Ian Paisley : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much money has been received by Northern Ireland under each of the European Community initiatives to date ; and how much of the money received in each financial year up to 31 December 1991 from EC sources has been paid into the Northern Ireland Consolidated Fund.
Mr. Mates : Under the current structural funds allocation, Northern Ireland has nine approved Community initiatives. Of these initiatives, four were not approved until December 1991 and three until February 1992. The amounts received in Northern Ireland up to 31 December 1991 under the two remaining initiatives, Interreg and Envireg, were £4.67 million and £1.51 million respectively. The total forecast amounts received under each initiative up to 31 December 1992 are :
Initiative |Forecast receipts to
|31 December 1992 £
|million
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interreg (assistance to border areas) |13.10
Stride (research and technological development) |3.75
Envireg (environmental improvement) |1.94
Prisma (assistance to firms) |0.80
Telematique (promotion of telecommunications service) |1.65
Euroform (qualifications for women) |0.32
NOW (employment opportunities for women) |0.35
Horizon (handicapped and certain disadvantaged groups) |0.18
Leader (rural development) |0.26
All money received from EC sources is paid into the Northern Ireland Consolidated Fund.
Rev. Ian Paisley : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much of the receipts which Northern Ireland has received from the European regional development fund since 1973 has been earned by (a) infrastructure projects undertaken by non-central government bodies, (b) infrastructure projects undertaken by central Government and (c) industrial projects.
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Mr. Mates : The following amounts have been received from the European regional development fund to 31 December 1991 :
Infrastructure |£ million
-----------------------------------------------------
Non-central Government |120.5
Central Government |78.3
Industry |91.8
Programmes<1> |97.3
|---
Total<2> |387.9
<1> These programmes combine elements of both
industry and infrastructure.
<2> Includes estimated receipts for the first nine
months of the 1991-92 financial year.
Rev. Ian Paisley : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much of the receipts which Northern Ireland has received from the European regional development fund since 1973 has been earned by (a) the private sector, (b) non-central government public sector bodies and (c) central Government.
Mr. Mates : The following amounts have been received from the European regional development fund to 31 December 1991 :
|£ million
----------------------------------------------------------------
Private Sector |30.9
Non-central Government Public Sector Bodies |174.6
Central Government |182.4
|----
Total |387.9
Rev. Ian Paisley : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much was Northern Ireland's share of the United Kingdom's payments into the European Economic Community from 1 January 1973 to 31 December 1991 ; how much was Northern Ireland's share of the receipts for the same period ; and how much of those receipts was used to offset Government expenditure on Northern Ireland.
Mr. Mates : It is not possible to determine Northern Ireland's actual share of the United Kingdom's contribution to the European Community because payments are made on a national and not a regional basis. Similarly it is not possible to identify the full extent of receipts from the Community. However, a Northern Ireland attributed share of the contribution to the EC is calculated as an accounting mechanism necessary because of the operation of a separate Northern Ireland Consolidated Fund. This notional attributed share does not count as an item of expenditure within the Northern Ireland public expenditure programme and has therefore no bearing on the level of public expenditure in the Province.
Figures for the notional attribution of part of Northern Ireland's share of the United Kingdom's payments and for those areas where the receipts from the European Community's structural funds can be separately identified are as follows :
Column 601
Financial Year |Attributed Share|Identified
|(part) |Receipts<2>
--------------------------------------------------------------------
1973-74 |1 |0
1974-75 |6 |4
1975-76 |8 |4
1976-77 |13 |16
1977-78 |16 |14
1978-79 |24 |19
1979-80 |28 |31
1980-81 |28 |44
1981-82 |50 |41
1982-83 |66 |53
1983-84 |66 |51
1984-85 |68 |58
1985-86 |74 |44
1986-87 |62 |77
1987-88 |91 |111
1988-89 |85 |96
1989-90 |104 |95
1990-91 |<1>126 |110
1991-92 |<1>100 |132
|------- |-------
Total |1,016 |1,000
<1> Attributed share figures for the last two years are provisional
estimates which will be revised when final details of tax revenues
are determined.
<2> This comprises total identified EC structural funds receipts in
Northern Ireland.
All receipts represent cash additions to the recipients and are subject to normal European Community audit arrangements.
The overall level of receipts is taken into account in the Government's decisions on public expenditure allocations and their availability enables public expenditure to be maintained at a higher level than would otherwise be feasible.
Rev. Ian Paisley : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much money Northern Ireland has received in each financial year up to 31 December 1991 from the European agricultural guidance and guarantee fund, guidance section ; how much of those receipts were paid to the private sector and how much to the public sector ; how much of these receipts represented a cash addition to the Northern Ireland economy ; and how much was used each year to offset Government expenditure on Northern Ireland.
Mr. Mates : The following amounts were received from the European agricultural guidance and guarantee fund, guidance section :
£ million
Individual Other guidance
capital projects schemes
Financial year |Private sector |Public sector<1> |Private sector<2>|Public sector |Total
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1974-75 |- |- |0.25 |- |0.25
1975-76 |0.45 |- |0.21 |- |0.66
1976-77 |1.87 |0.31 |0.27 |- |2.45
1977-78 |1.28 |0.31 |1.28 |- |2.87
1978-79 |0.70 |0.24 |2.46 |- |3.40
1979-80 |1.27 |0.20 |3.21 |- |4.68
1980-81 |1.91 |1.05 |3.35 |- |6.31
1981-82 |1.43 |0.13 |4.69 |- |6.25
1982-83 |2.47 |0.99 |3.30 |- |6.76
1983-84 |1.59 |0.38 |14.65 |- |16.61
1984-85 |0.95 |0.28 |13.29 |- |14.52
1985-86 |3.56 |0.03 |11.83 |- |15.42
1986-87 |2.58 |0.11 |5.96 |- |8.65
1987-88 |3.29 |- |5.99 |- |9.28
1988-89 |2.31 |0.51 |10.05 |- |12.87
1989-90 |2.84 |- |6.60 |- |9.44
1990-91 |3.35 |- |6.25 |- |9.60
<4>1991-92 |0.43 |- |13.62 |3.06 |<3>17.11
|------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total |32.28 |4.54 |107.26 |3.06 |147.13
<1> Includes the Milk Marketing Board, which is not financed from public funds although it is a statutory body.
<2> Includes reference to the approximate share in Northern Ireland on various structural schemes which were applied
throughout the United Kingdom.
<3> Provisional outturn to December 1991.
<4> To December 1991.
All these receipts present cash additions to the recipients and are subject to normal European Community audit arrangements. The overall level of receipts is taken into account in the Government's decision on public expenditure allocations and their availability enables public expenditure to be maintained at a higher level than would otherwise be feasible.
New Opportunities for Women
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State of Northern Ireland what moneys have been deployed by way of the European Community's new opportunities for women initiative under article 11 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 4253/88 in (a) 1991 and (b) so far this year ; what kind of employment and training programmes were funded in this way ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Atkins : Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Training and Employment Agency under its chief executive, Mr. J. Crozier. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from J. S. Crozier to Dr. Norman A. Godman, dated 7 December 1992 :
You asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what monies have been deployed by way of the European Community's NOW initiative under Article 11 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 4253/88 in : (a) 1991 ; and
(b) so far this year ;
what kind of employment and training programmes were funded in this way ; and if he will make a statement.
The Training and Employment Agency (T&EA) has responsibility for the administration of the NOW initiative in Northern Ireland. As Chief Executive of the T&EA, I have been asked by the Secretary of State to reply on his behalf.
To date no money has been paid to promoters of projects under the NOW initiative in Northern Ireland apart from preliminary technical assistance to help promoters establish links with their transnational partners and jointly develop their projects. Technical assistance amounting to £20,000 has been committed and £14,500 paid. Letters offering assistance totalling £226,000 have issued ; and the first tranche of payments, amounting to £43,000 should be made shortly. Further Letters of Offer in respect of assistance totalling some £600,000 are in the process of being prepared.
Projects for assistance under the NOW initiative have been put forward by a wide range of bodies including rural and inner-city women's groups, training organisations and institutions of further and higher education. These projects all seek to enhance the skill levels and employment prospects of women and include pre-vocational training, training in new technologies and training in relation to business creation.
In administering the NOW initiative in Northern Ireland, the T&EA has sought to enable as many groups as possible to
Column 603
benefit despite the relatively small amount of EC assistance available (our original allocation was some £700,000). This has involved encouraging promoters of similar projects to establish networks within Northern Ireland enabling them to share resources, expertise and transnational contacts.WALES
Students
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of Clwyd schoolchildren of GCSE age have taken the exams ; and what proportion of Clwyd students carry on from GCSE to A-level.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Information on the proportion of pupils who carry on to A level from GCSE is not collected. In 1991-92, 93 per cent. of Clwyd schoolchildren aged 15 sat GCSE examinations. In 1991-92, 1,476 students were following A level courses in Clwyd (in year 12 at school, or at college aged 16). This represents 39 per cent. of pupils aged 15 who sat GCSE the previous year.
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of students in Wales carry on from GCSE to A level.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Information on the proportion of pupils who carry on from GCSE to A level is not collected. In 1991-92, 29,660 students were following A level courses in Wales (in year 12 at school, or at college aged 16). This represents 39 per cent. of pupils aged 15 who sat GCSE the previous year.
Drug Addiction (Pregnancy)
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many children were born in Wales suffering from drug addiction in 1991-92 as a result of the mother's usage during pregnancy.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : None in 1990-91, the latest year for which information is available.
Small Businesses
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what measures are being taken to help small businesses in Wales develop closer ties with Europe.
Sir Wyn Roberts : A wide range of measures are available. Among the more significant are :
Overseas trade services
The Welsh Office is part of a United Kingdom-wide network established to encourage businesses to take advantage of opportunities abroad. Advice is given to businesses on both how to enter new export markets and provide overseas trade services. Assistance is available particularly for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which are entering overseas markets for the first time. The Welsh Office also promotes awareness of the availability of assistance for exporting at trade fairs and through sales missions to overseas markets. Over the last five years missions have visited Spain, Portugal, France, the Netherlands and Italy. Next year missions are planned to Germany, Switzerland and Belgium.
Column 604
EC relay centre networkA Welsh centre is planned for January 1993 as part of a network being established throughout the European Community, to encourage SMEs to participate in and exploit the results of the Community's research and development programmes.
The development agencies
The Welsh Development Agency (WDA) participates in various initiatives designed to help Welsh companies seek new business opportunities in Europe. These initiatives include the Wales European centre, Eurolink, Europartenariat, Wales Euro Info centres and Fit for Europe reviews.
The Development Board for Rural Wales (DBRW) provides core funding for mid- Wales Export Association Ltd based at Welshpool. All of the board's export activities are channelled through this specialist organisation which in turn provides a full range of export advice and services to businesses in rural mid-Wales. In recent years the Export Association has given particular emphasis to the opportunities that might be presented to companies in mid-Wales through the advent of the single European market.
Links with the Four Motors
Links have been established between Wales and four of the most economically advanced regions of Europe--Baden-Wurttemberg, Lombardy, Catalonia and Rhone-Alpes, known together as the Four Motors. Through these links SMEs are offered various opportunities in these regions including technology transfer, joint ventures and for trade. Local enterprise agencies
With the advent of the single European market several of Wales's enterprise agencies, including those which have received core-funding from the WDA, have developed a service for businesses wishing to obtain adsvice and counselling about Europe.
Urban programme
Urbane programme support has been made available for projects which encourage the development of links between Welsh businesses and Europe.
Inward Investment
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the inward investment projects in Wales since 1979 and the jobs created or safeguarded by each project.
Mr. David Hunt : Information is not available for projects recorded before 1 April 1983. Since that time over 1,000 projects have been recorded and a list of the companies concerned, other than those who have requested confidentiality, has been placed in the Library of the House. For reasons of commercial confidentiality, individual details of jobs are not disclosed.
Drug Abuse
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people in Wales in 1991-92 died (a) as an indirect result and (b) as a direct result of drug abuse.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : In the calendar year 1991, the latest year for which data is available, there were six deaths directly attributable to drug misuse in Wales.
Column 605
Data on deaths as an indirect result of drug misuse are not collected centrally.European Community Grants
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much Wales has received in European Community grants in each of the last 10 years.
Mr. David Hunt : The European regional development fund is the only one of the main stream structural funds for which expenditure can be identified on an annual basis. The total commitments to eligible Welsh bodies from the fund in each of the past 10 years are shown in the following table :
|£ million
------------------------------
1982 |46.7
1983 |48.9
1984 |63.0
1985 |54.9
1986 |49.7
1987 |57.8
1988 |63.3
1989 |38.8
1990 |27.4
1991 |89.0
The European social fund (ESF) element of objectives 2 and 5(b) of the structural funds was administered directly by the European Commission prior to 1990 and figures for Wales are not readily available. However commitment figures for subsequent years are as follows :
|£ million
------------------------------
1990 |11.38
1991 |11.96
Objectives 3 and 4 of the structural fund which are also supported by ESF monies are administered on a GB basis and figures for Wales are not separately identifiable.
Figures for FEOGA grant are not available on a comparable basis to the ERDF.
Welsh Museum School Service
Mr. Jon Owen Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what provision will be made to fund the Welsh museum's school service centrally.
Sir Wyn Roberts : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Cardiff, West (Mr. Morgan) on 5 November at col. 388.
Radiation
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are the most recently recorded levels of radiation off the north coast of Wales ; and by what amount they differ from background levels.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : Details of the latest recorded levels of radiation off the north Wales coast can be found in the "Aquatic Environment Monitoring Report" (No. 29) 1990, published by the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food. A copy of the report is available in the Library of the House.
The major radionuclide in the Irish sea is Caesium 137, and levels of this have decreased markedly in recent years.
Column 606
The extent of this decrease can be seen in figure 4.4 of the "Environmental Digest for Wales" No. 6 1991, copies of which are also kept in the Library of the House.Adult Training
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what policy initiatives he is taking to enhance the retraining of unemployed men and women over the age of 21 years.
Sir Wyn Roberts : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment on 12 November 1992 at column 903.
Education White Paper
Mr. Murphy : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many of the consultations on the White Paper, "Choice and Diversity and the Education Bill", supported the proposals and how many were opposed.
Sir Wyn Roberts : I refer the hon. Gentleman to my reply of 13 November to the hon. Member for Caernarfon (Mr. Wigley) at column 993.
Local Government Reform
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he proposes to publish his proposals for the reform of local government in Wales.
Mr. David Hunt : I will announce my decisions as soon as possible.
Hearing Impairment
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what resources he has provided to each county council in Wales in each of the past five years (a) in respect of children statemented for hearing impairment as having special educational needs and (b) in respect of children with hearing impairment who have not been statemented.
Sir Wyn Roberts : It is for local authorities to determine what resources should be directed to education services, including those for children with hearing impairments.
NHS Trusts
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what salaries are being paid to chairmen and ordinary members of NHS trusts ; how many hours per week members of the trusts are contractually required to work ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : Chairmen receive a remuneration of between £15, 125 and £19,285 per annum dpending on the turnover of the trust. Members receive £5,000 per annum for an expected time commitment of at least the equivalent of two days per month.
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a list of the chairmen and members of the national health service trusts in Wales, together with their known political affiliations ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. David Hunt : The chairman of the NHS trusts in Wales are as follows :
Column 607
Mr. Anthony J. G. Bowen, Pembrokeshire NHS Trust.Mr. John H. Button, Swansea NHS Trust.
Mr. John Curteis, South and East Wales Ambulance NHS Trust. Mr. Colin Hughes Davies, Glan Hafren NHS Trust.
Mr. Edmund Francis Lloyd Fitzhugh, Gofal Cymuned Clwydian Community Care NHS Trust.
Mr. E. Michael W. Griffith, Glan Clwyd District General Hospital NHS Trust.
Brigadier Ronald Edward Lewis Jenkins, Llanelli Dinefwr NHS Trust. Mr. Derek W. C. Morgan, Bridgend and District NHS Trust. Mrs. Fiona Natalie Peel, Gwent Community Health NHS Trust. The Hon. Mrs. Rosalind (Lindy) Helen Penrose Price, Powys Health Care NHS Trust.
Mr. Aldham Roberts, Wrexham Maelor Hospital NHS Trust.
Mr. Brian Thompson, Carmarthen and District NHS Trust.
Sir Donald Walters, Llandough Hospital NHS Trust.
Mrs. Sally Williams, Ceredigion and Mid Wales NHS Trust. The non-executive directors of the Pembrokeshire NHS Trust are as follows :
Mr. Richard A. Collins
Mr. David L. Hughes
Mr. Glyn T. Noakes
Mr. Thomas S. Smedley
Mrs. Margaret Thomas
Appointments are made irrespective of political affiliation and such information is not held centrally.
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