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Mr. Needham : The two member states are Germany and Spain.
Electricity Generation
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he expects to publish his estimate of the average avoidable costs of electricity generation by different means.
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Mr. Eggar : The relative costs of electricity generated from different sources are being considered as part of the coal review. The Government intend to publish the conclusions of the review in a White Paper shortly.
Caminus Energy
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the President of the Board of Trade when Caminus Energy was appointed as consultants to his Department's energy review ; what are its full terms of reference ; when he expects to receive their report ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Eggar : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade to my hon. Friend the Member for Waveney (Mr. Porter) on 20 November 1992, Official Report, column 433.
Industrial Competitiveness
Mr. Hendry : To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he expects to announce the results of the review being conducted by the industrial competitiveness division of his Department into lessons that can be learnt from other leading industrialised countries.
Mr. Sainsbury : My right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade receives frequent reports from the industrial competitiveness division, and these are taken into account when considering Government policy.
Trawsfynydd Power Station
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many representations he has had on matters concerning Trawsfynydd nuclear power station ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Eggar : I have received some 10 letters from hon. Members forwarding representations from their constituents about the safety of Trawsfynydd nuclear power station. As I have made clear in my replies there is no question of the power station commencing operation until the Health and Safety Executive's nuclear installations inspectorate are convinced that it is safe to do so.
Coal Mines
Mrs. Peacock : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the amount of investment in new capital machinery at each of the 10 pits currently in the 90-day consultation period in the financial year 1990 -91 to 1991-92 and April to September 1992.
Mr. Eggar : The amount of investment in new capital machinery at individual pits is a matter for British Coal.
Miners' Redundancy Payments
Mr. Tipping : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what discussions he has had with the chairman of British Coal about extending the corporation's present redundancy terms beyond 31 March 1993.
Mr. Eggar : My right hon. Friend has had no such discussions. British Coal's redundancy terms are a matter for British Coal. It would, however, seem reasonable for the corporation not to determine their redundancy arrangements from 1 April 1993 until at least the outcome of the coal review is known.
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Colliery Visits
Mr. Tipping : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the collieries that he and his ministerial colleagues have visited, and the date upon which the visits were made, since taking their present offices.
Mr. Heseltine : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Macclesfield (Mr. Winterton) on 4 November 1992, Official Report, column 314. No further visits have taken place since.
Waste-to-energy Schemes
Mr. Stern : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment his Department has made in his review of energy policy of the economic contribution in terms of job creation and private capital investment which waste-to-energy schemes could make.
Mr. Eggar : The coal review is taking full account of the contribution renewable energy sources can make to meeting the United Kingdom's energy needs.
Personal Protective Equipment
Mr. Butler : To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he will establish the necessary validation procedures to enable United Kingdom manufacturers of personal protective equipment to obtain a CE mark for their products as required under directive 89/686/EC which came into effect on 1 January 1993.
Mr. Leigh : The Personal Protective Equipment (EC Directive) Regulations 1992, Statutory Instrument 3139, came into force on 1 January 1993. Bodies approved to undertake testing and certification work in relation to the categories of personal protective equipment (PPE) required under the Directive to undergo type examination, will be appointed and notified to the EC Commission in Brussels very shortly. Manufacturers of PPE of simple design protecting against minimal risks are able to self- certify conformity and do not need third party approval to affix the CE mark to such products.
Exporters
Mr. Peter Atkinson : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assistance his Department provides for exporters in the north east ; how many firms benefit from such assistance ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Eggar : Under overseas trade services my Department provides a wide range of assistance to companies. In conjunction with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office we are able to offer exporters access to market information facilities and a range of services designed to meet precisely the requirements of business. In the North East there is close co-operation with the chamber movement which has benefited from extra resources through the Department's active exporting initiative and with the Northern Development Company which is responsible for a DTI assisted outward missions programme. Northern companies may also access the Department's overseas trade divisions, particularly its country desks, its market information services and its major project sections in London. The Department's overseas trade service
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operates throughout the United Kingdom with various access points, and therefore separate figures are not readily available for take-up by North East firms.Coal/Water Mixtures
Mr. Dowd : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will consider applying for funds under the European Commission's THERMIE programme to finance further research into coal/water mixtures as fuel.
Mr. Eggar : It is for industry, rather than member state Governments, to apply for financial support for projects under the THERMIE programme. The Commission may invite proposals for demonstration projects using coal/water mixtures later this year in the last call for proposals under the THERMIE programme.
Export Licences
Mr. Hain : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many applications his Department received since 1990 for export licences of (a) machine tools and (b) weapons ; and how many of these were (i) approved and (ii) covered by export credit guarantees.
Mr. Needham [holding answer 7 December 1992] : Following is the information :
Applications from 1 January 1990 to 8 December 1992
|Received |Licences issued
----------------------------------------------------------------
Machine tools |1,028 |926
Weapons |29,670 |27,937
Note: For this purpose "machine tools" is taken to cover any
applications falling within headings IL 1075, IL 1088, IL 1091,
IL 1370, PL 7027 or ML 18 of the Export of Goods (Control)
Order 1991 as amended. "Weapons" is taken to cover all ML
headings in the Order except ML 18.
Under arrangements applying up to privatisation of ECGD's
Insurance Services Group in December 1991, the vast bulk of
ECGD's business was underwritten on a basis which did not
involve identification of the nature of the goods. It is
therefore not possible to provide the information requested in
respect of export credit guarantees.
Weapons Exports
Mr. Peter Hain : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the total amount of weapons exported to (a) Iraq and (b) Iran in the latest year for which figures are available.
Mr. Needham [holding answer 8 December 1992] : No lethal defence equipment was exported to either country in 1991, the latest year for which figures are available.
Official Engagements
Mr. Flynn : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the official engagements he attended in October and November before 9 am.
Mr. Heseltine [holding answer 14 December 1992] : The engagements were as follows : on 13 October a Cabinet Committee meeting ; on 14 October a meeting with United States trade representatives ; on 15 October a Cabinet Committee meeting ; on 6 November a meeting with the
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head of the efficiency unit ; on 9 November a regional visit to Folkestone ; on 10 November a visit to Yorkshire and Humberside ; on 11 November departure for the Anglo-German Summit ; on 17 November a regional visit to Liverpool and Manchester ; on 24 November departure for Brussels and a briefing session for the Industry Council ; and on 25 November a working breakfast with business men in the North West.EDUCATION
Secondary Heads Association
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to meet the Secondary Heads Association ; and how many times he has met the Secondary Heads Association since April.
Mr. Forth : My right hon. Friend expects to meet representatives of the Secondary Heads Association in due course to hear their views on the second report of the School Teachers Review Body. Since April 1992 he has met representatives of the Secondary Heads Association on at least three occasions.
School Visits
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many (a) county infant schools, (b) county primary schools and (c) high schools he has visited since April.
Mr. Forth : My right hon. Friend has visited a total of 16 maintained schools since April, including one special school and : (
(i) First/Infants
1 county ; 1 voluntary controlled
(ii) Primary
2 county ; 3 voluntary aided
(iii) Middle
1 voluntary aided
(iv) 3 county ; 3 voluntary aided ; 1 grant-maintained.
Teacher Organisations
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list the teacher organisations he has met since April.
Mr. Forth : My right hon. Friend has met representatives from each of the six main school teacher associations : the Assistant Masters and Mistresses Association ; the National Association of Head Teachers ; the National Association of School Masters/Union of Women Teachers ; the National Union of Teachers ; the Professional Association of Teachers ; and the Secondary Heads Association.
Education Staff
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many full-time and part-time staff are available to each local education authority for education other than at school.
Mr. Forth : The total number of staff employed by local education authorities in England to provide education other than at school is estimated at 2,600 full-time equivalents in January 1992. Reliable figures for individual authorities are not available.
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Examinations
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what methods and standards will be used to select pupils for the proposed level 10 examinations in 1994.
Mr. Forth : From 1994, all GCSE examination results will be awarded in terms of levels 10 to 4 instead of the present grades A to G. For each subject, there will be a set of tiered question papers each targeted on a range of levels between 10 to 4. Decisions on the appropriate tier of entry for each candidate will be matters for teachers' professional judgment.
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what percentage of pupils passed (a) O-levels and (b) CSE for each year from 1980 to 1987 ; and what percentage passed GCSE in each year since 1988.
Mr. Forth : The available information is as follows.
The estimated percentages of school leavers in England who passed O-level and or CSE from 1980 to 1987 are shown in the table, together with the percentages for GCSE from 1988.
|Percentages of |Percentages of 16
|leavers who passed|year olds who
|O-level and/or |passed GCSE<1>
|CSE<1>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1980 |87.7 |-
1981 |88.5 |-
1982 |89.3 |-
1983 |90.1 |-
1984 |90.2 |-
1985 |90.3 |-
1986 |90.0 |-
1987 |90.2 |-
<2>1988 |89.9 |-
<3>1989 |90.9 |92.5
1990 |91.5 |92.7
1991 |91.8 |93.2
<1> The figures from 1980 to 1991 are based on sample surveys. For the
years 1980 to 1987 the percentages relate to those school leavers who
gained grades A to E in O-level and/or grade 1 to 5 in CSE examinations.
<2> The GCSE examination was introduced in 1988 and therefore the
percentages from that year onwards include leavers who gained grades A to G
in that examination and/or O-level or CSE.
<3> From 1989, the school examination survey also collected data for the 16
year old cohort. For these years the percentages of 16-year-olds are also
shown.
Ethnic Minorities (Local Government Grants)
Mr. Kevin Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will introduce a grant designed to meet the educational needs of the ethnic minority population of all ages similar to the previous section 11 funding.
Mr. Forth : The assumption that Home Office section 11 grant is to cease is incorrect. Section 11 grant will continue to support existing projects in 1993-94 at the current grant rate of 75 per cent. Thereafter, on current planning assumptions, grant will be available to support the same volume of posts albeit at a reduced rate.
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A-level Appeals
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many appeals against A-level results were lodged in the last year for which figures are available ; and what were their outcomes.
Mr. Boswell : Appeals against A-level results are made in the first instance to the GCE examination boards. Information on such appeals is not held centrally. If appellants remain dissatisfied they may pursue their concerns with the Independent Appeals Authority for School Examinations, IAASE. In 1991-92 the IAASE heard eight formal appeals on A-level matters. It rejected three, and required the relevant board to reconsider its decision in five.
Parent-Governor Meetings
Mr. John Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many schools in England hold annual parent-governor meetings which are attended by fewer than 10 per cent. of the parents entitled to attend.
Mr. Forth : All parents of pupils registered at a school are eligible to attend the annual parents' meeting. Information as to the numbers of parents attending annual parents meetings is not collected by the Department.
Further Education
Mr. Tipping : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will set out the actual spending by Nottinghamshire county council on further education and sixth form colleges for the financial year 1991-92 and the planned expenditure for 1992-93.
Mr. Boswell : I refer the hon. Member to the answer that my predecessor gave to him on 8 December 1992, Official Report, cols. 563-65, where the provisional further education adjustment in respect of Nottinghamshire county council is given as £50.874 million. Its actual expenditure in respect of 1991-92 is not available.
Teacher Education
Mr. Pickthall : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a statement about the future of existing teacher education in higher education institutions.
Mr. Boswell : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that my right hon. Friend gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, South (Mr. Hawkins) on 17 November 1992, Official Report , column 123 .
Grant-maintained Schools
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list the bids for capital allocations from grant-maintained schools and the actual allowances for the 1993-94 financial year.
Mr. Forth : The information is contained in the following tables. Table A lists the applications received for named capital projects from schools with grant-maintained status as at December 1992. Decisions on allocations to these schools have not yet been taken. Table B gives details of the bids received and the actual allocations made to grant-maintained schools under the
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technology schools initiative. Schools which becamegrant-maintained on 1 January 1993 have been invited to submit bids by 25 January 1993 for named capital projects and for resources under the technology schools initiative.
Technology schools initiative 1993-94 bids from grant-maintained schools School |Amount bid for £K |Amount allocated £K --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ash Green School |200 |- Baines School |205 |205 Beacon School |185 |185 Budmouth School |224 |- Charles Darwin School |238 |- Cornwallis School |208 |207 Eastwood High School |213 |- Fulston Manor School |41 |- Furtherwick Park School |266 |- Gleed Girls School |100 |- Graveney School |300 |300 Heathside School |316 |- Heckmondwyke School |266 |- Hendon School |190 |- Homewood School |176 |176 King Harold School |197 |- Manshead School |252 |252 Northolt High School |200 |200 Oldfield School |755 |- Queensmead School |300 |- Ravenswood School for Boys |244 |244 St. James CE School |200 |- Senacre School |193 |- Small Heath School |211 |211 Southlands School |223 |223 Stratford School |300 |300 West Hatch High |192 |- Wymondham College |200 |200
Technology schools initiative 1993-94 bids from grant-maintained schools School |Amount bid for £K |Amount allocated £K --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ash Green School |200 |- Baines School |205 |205 Beacon School |185 |185 Budmouth School |224 |- Charles Darwin School |238 |- Cornwallis School |208 |207 Eastwood High School |213 |- Fulston Manor School |41 |- Furtherwick Park School |266 |- Gleed Girls School |100 |- Graveney School |300 |300 Heathside School |316 |- Heckmondwyke School |266 |- Hendon School |190 |- Homewood School |176 |176 King Harold School |197 |- Manshead School |252 |252 Northolt High School |200 |200 Oldfield School |755 |- Queensmead School |300 |- Ravenswood School for Boys |244 |244 St. James CE School |200 |- Senacre School |193 |- Small Heath School |211 |211 Southlands School |223 |223 Stratford School |300 |300 West Hatch High |192 |- Wymondham College |200 |200
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many schools in England have held a ballot which resulted in a vote in favour of seeking grant-maintained status.
Mr. Patten : To date 640 schools have voted in favour of applying for grant-maintained status, on the basis of figures supplied by the Electoral Reform Society.
Special Educational Needs
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to ensure an appropriate number of suitably qualified teachers for pupils with severe learning difficulties and sensory impairment.
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Mr. David Howell : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to increase the supply of specially trained teachers for children with severe multiple and profound handicap and with acute learning disabilities ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : Identification of the numbers and the training needs of teachers of children with special educational needs is best done by local education authorities, which can determine which categories of special educational needs training are required in their areas. It is for the Department to provide funds to local education authorities under the grants for education support and training programme to support them with the costs of training. In 1993-94 grant support expenditure will be increased by almost 40 per cent. to £10 million and the previous restrictions on what the grant could cover will be relaxed.
Mr. David Howell : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will now earmark a special element in the overall sum of grants for education support for training to be allocated to the training of teachers for children with severe learning disabilities.
Mr. Forth : The responsibility for training teachers of all children with special educational needs rests with the local education authorities. They are in the best position to determine their own teaching needs. The Government have provided for an increase of 40 per cent. from £7.2 million to £10 million in expenditure which may be supported in training teachers of children with special educational needs.
Schools (Capital Allocations)
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list the capital allocations to (a) county schools and (b) voluntary- aided schools for 1993-94.
Mr. Forth : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave on 16 December 1992 to my hon. Friend the Member for Brecon and Radnor (Mr. Evans), Official Report , columns 267-77 . This sets out for each local education authority in England its annual capital guideline for education expenditure in 1993-94, along with the limit of capital expenditure by the governors of voluntary-aided and special agreement schools in each authority's area on which the Secretary of State will be prepared to pay grant in 1993-94.
The annual capital guideline figures provided then did not include supplementary credit approvals to be issued to local education authorities during the course of the financial year. Nor did they include SCAs and grant allocations made under the technology schools initiative. Annex A sets out the SCAs to be given to local education authorities under the technology schools initiative for county and controlled schools and local education authority liability arising from successful voluntary-aided projects. Annex B sets out allocations for voluntary-aided schools.
Column 586
Annex A
SCAs arising from awards under the
technology schools initiative
1993-94
LEA |£000s
-------------------------------------
Barking |185
Barnet |270
Bedfordshire |190
Berkshire |395
Bexley |149
Birmingham |407
Bradford |330
Brent |385
Buckinghamshire |193
Calderdale |170
Cambridgeshire |466
Cheshire |198
Cleveland |407
Cornwall |210
Coventry |260
Cumbria |285
Derbyshire |207
Devon |888
Doncaster |438
Durham |221
East Sussex |205
Essex |682
Gloucestershire |185
Hampshire |141
Haringey |200
Harrow |210
Hereford and Worcester |186
Hertfordshire |200
Hounslow |147
Humberside |395
Kent |389
Kingston upon Thames |200
Kirklees |155
Knowsley |114
Lancashire |692
Leeds |580
Leicestershire |431
Lewisham |180
Manchester |200
Newcastle |225
Newham |273
Norfolk |419
Northamptonshire |589
Northumberland |711
North Tyneside |170
North Yorkshire |370
Oldham |180
Oxfordshire |145
Rochdale |200
Rotherham |180
Salford |150
Sandwell |185
Sefton |285
Sheffield |410
Shropshire |338
Somerset |284
St. Helens |336
Staffordshire |150
Stockport |235
Suffolk |415
Sunderland |185
Surrey |260
Tameside |205
Trafford |220
Wakefield |188
Waltham Forest |375
Warwickshire |200
Wigan |170
Wiltshire |103
Wolverhampton |244
|---
Total |20,146
Notes:
1. The figures include awards to be
issued by means of supplementary
credit approvals to LEAs for
successful county and voluntary
controlled schools and awards for
LEA liability in respect of
voluntary aided schools.
Annex A
SCAs arising from awards under the
technology schools initiative
1993-94
LEA |£000s
-------------------------------------
Barking |185
Barnet |270
Bedfordshire |190
Berkshire |395
Bexley |149
Birmingham |407
Bradford |330
Brent |385
Buckinghamshire |193
Calderdale |170
Cambridgeshire |466
Cheshire |198
Cleveland |407
Cornwall |210
Coventry |260
Cumbria |285
Derbyshire |207
Devon |888
Doncaster |438
Durham |221
East Sussex |205
Essex |682
Gloucestershire |185
Hampshire |141
Haringey |200
Harrow |210
Hereford and Worcester |186
Hertfordshire |200
Hounslow |147
Humberside |395
Kent |389
Kingston upon Thames |200
Kirklees |155
Knowsley |114
Lancashire |692
Leeds |580
Leicestershire |431
Lewisham |180
Manchester |200
Newcastle |225
Newham |273
Norfolk |419
Northamptonshire |589
Northumberland |711
North Tyneside |170
North Yorkshire |370
Oldham |180
Oxfordshire |145
Rochdale |200
Rotherham |180
Salford |150
Sandwell |185
Sefton |285
Sheffield |410
Shropshire |338
Somerset |284
St. Helens |336
Staffordshire |150
Stockport |235
Suffolk |415
Sunderland |185
Surrey |260
Tameside |205
Trafford |220
Wakefield |188
Waltham Forest |375
Warwickshire |200
Wigan |170
Wiltshire |103
Wolverhampton |244
|---
Total |20,146
Notes:
1. The figures include awards to be
issued by means of supplementary
credit approvals to LEAs for
successful county and voluntary
controlled schools and awards for
LEA liability in respect of
voluntary aided schools.
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list the bids for capital allocations from (a) county schools and (b) voluntary-aided schools for 1993-94.
Mr. Forth : Copies of lists of capital bids for county and voluntary controlled schools, voluntary aided and special agreement schools and for awards under the technology schools initiative have been placed in the Library.
School Transport
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to exercise his powers under section 55(1) of the Education Act 1944 to make directions with regard to the withdrawal of free school transport by Norfolk county council for many Norfolk children in respect of the failure of the council's information booklet for the year 1992-93 to carry a warning that changes to the arrangements may occur at a later stage.
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will take steps to require all local authority and
grant-maintained schools to publish details of home-to-school transport facilities before each school term.
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to expand the system of collective home-to-school transport ; and if he will make a statement.
GCSE Results
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment his Department has made of the correlation between surplus places in schools, expenditure per pupil, and GCSE results.
Mr. Forth : As my right hon. Friend told the House on 15 December 1992, Official Report, columns 284-85, the
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Department is investigating these figures and their relationships. I will write to my hon. Friend when that analysis is available.National Union of Students
Mrs. Helen Jackson : To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what responses he has had to the consultation exercise with higher education on changing the contribution arrangements of the National Union of Students ; and if he will make these available to hon. Members ;
(2) what further action he is proposing to take to change the basis on which contributions are made to the National Union of Students.
Mr. Boswell : In the course of the consultations initiated by the Government on student unions, my right hon. Friend has received a number of responses on campus unions and the National Union of Students. In the light of the consultations, the Government are now considering proposals for action. Affiliation arrangements to the National Union of Students are being considered within this framework.
Nursery Education
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list by local education authority the latest figures for the proportion of three and four-year-olds in nursery education.
Mr. Forth : The percentages of three and four-year-olds attending maintained nursery schools or nursery classes in maintained primary schools in each local education authority in England in January 1991, the latest date for which information is readily available, is given in Statistical Bulletin 5/92, copies of which are in the Library.
Youth Service
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will publish figures showing expenditure by each local education authority on the youth service for each year from 1988.
Mr. Boswell : The latest year for which information on actual expenditure is available is 1990-91. The table shows expenditure on the youth service by each local authority in each of the three years from 1988- 89 to 1990-91.
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