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Sub-Saharan Africa
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are currently undertaken by the Overseas Development Administration to reduce debt burdens of countries in sub- Saharan Africa.
Mr. Nelson : I have been asked to reply.
It is Government policy to cancel the debts of those very poor and indebted countries which are successfully pursuing sound policies of reform. So far, nearly £200 million of old aid debt has been cancelled in countries in sub-Saharan Africa, and other countries will benefit as they fulfil the qualifications for this treatment. All new aid to very poor countries is now given only in the form of grant aid.
Those debt-distressed countries which do not qualify for aid debt cancellation may apply to have their debts rescheduled through the Paris Club, composed of the major creditor Governments. The Paris Club is prepared to reschedule aid debt over long periods at highly concessional rates of interest. The effect of this is to increase greatly the grant element of the loans concerned, so producing a very substantial reduction in the present value of the obligation to repay.
Many of these countries owe most of their official debt to export credit agencies rather than to aid agencies. That is why the United Kingdom proposed the comprehensive Trinidad terms initiative for reducing the debts of the very poorest and severely indebted countries. So far, over $3 billion has been consolidated under these agreements in sub-Saharan Africa by the Paris Club, cancelling over $1 billion during the lifetime of the agreements.
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TRANSPORT
Lorries
Mr. Bates : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will publish his consultation paper on heavier lorries for combined road and rail transport.
Mr. Freeman : My right hon. Friend has published the paper today. Copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Drink Driving
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what advice he has issued to road safety officers concerning the role of children in getting across to adults the "don't drink and drive" message ; and if he will make it his policy that all "don't drink and drive" advertisements on television sponsored by his Department are transmitted during hours when children are likely to be viewing.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : We have not given specific advice to road safety officers, although they are involved in the planning of our drink- drive campaigns.
We aim to show our television commercials to as wide an audience as possible and recognise that children have an important role in influencing the attitudes of adults. Surveys have shown that children's views against drinking and driving have been reinforced by watching the commercials. The final decision on when commercials can be transmitted rests with the Independent Television Commission.
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research he has undertaken into impairment caused by alcohol to the driving of young or infrequent drinkers.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : There has been no specific research into this subject in the United Kingdom. International research suggests that young drivers and infrequent drinkers are more likely to be impaired at lower alcohol levels, but there is considerable variability between individuals at all ages.
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will seek to amend the Road Traffic Act 1988 so as to reduce the alcohol limit in Britain to 50 mg/100 ml and to include random breath tests.
Mr. Carlisle : No. The current limit of 80 mg/100 ml is scientifically based at the level at which, for most people, the chance of being involved in an accident starts to rise sharply. More than half of all drink-drive offenders are convicted at twice this limit. Lowering the legal limit and introducing random breath tests would risk directing resources away from this group of high risk offenders.
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received to lower the legal unit of alcohol in the breath and blood for tests carried out by the police ; and what information he has as to the legal limits set by other countries.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : We receive representations from time to time from road safety organisations and from members of the public. The best information we have on legal limits for drinking and driving in other countries is for other European Community member states, a majority of which share the same legal limit as the United Kingdom.
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Shipping (Dangerous Cargoes)
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research contracts his Department has let into measures for controlling the routes of ships carrying dangerous or polluting cargoes while they are in British waters ; and what plans he has for future research.
Mr. Norris : A contract was let in 1989 to assess shipping movements along the west coast of Scotland since the deep water route to the west of the Hebrides was implemented.
The Department is also involved in the European Community project "Euret", which is directed at the development of vessel traffic systems.
Roads Maintenance
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much money was transferred from the highway maintenance standard spending assessment to the highways structural maintenance elements of transport supplementary grant in the settlement for 1993-94 ; how much of that sum has been allocated for structural maintenance on principal roads and how much for Bridge strengthening ; and what was the amount of local authority expenditure on structural maintenance on principal roads in 1992-93.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : For 1993-94 a further £120 million has been transferred from revenue support grant to the transport supplementary grant system to cover structural maintenance on carriageways of principal roads. This followed two previous transfers, £90 million in 1991-92 for assessment, strengthening and other structural maintenance on bridges and £100 million in 1992-93 for carriageways of roads on the primary route network.
Of the £310 million transferred, £172.8 million has been allocated in 1993-94 for structural maintenance on carriageways of principal roads, and £137.2 million for assessment, strengthening and other structural main-tenance of bridges.
For 1993-94 local highways authorities may switch resources between bridges and carriageways according to local priority.
The amount of local authority expenditure on structural maintenance on principal roads in 1992-93 is not yet available. Local highway authorities have budgeted to spend £119 million on these roads in 1992-93.
Road Improvements
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the location, cost and duration of the road improvement schemes funded by his Department in the city of Westminster since 1979.
Mr. Norris : My Department was not directly responsible for funding road improvements in the city of Westminster prior to 1986. No major improvement schemes have been carried out on trunk roads in the city since then. We have supported a number of local road improvements through transport supplementary grant.
Channel Tunnel
Sir Keith Speed : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he received the proposals for a channel tunnel rail link from Union Rail ; and when he proposes to publish them.
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Mr. Freeman : A report from Union Railways on options for refining the route of the channel tunnel rail link was received on 11 January 1993. The Government will announce as soon as possible a route for consultation, together with information on the options put to Ministers by Union Railways.
British Rail
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what account is taken of British Rail's capital requirements to maintain the network in setting the public spending total for the Department of Transport.
Mr. Freeman : British Rail's capital requirement is one of the most important factors taken into account in setting the Department's public spending allocation.
Cyclists (Safety Helmets)
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to make compulsory the wearing of safety helmets by children on bicycles ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : We have no plans to make compulsory the wearing of cycle helmets by child cyclists. We must ensure that children and parents are fully aware of the very significant improvement in safety that helmets give. This has been the subject of recent publicity by the Department and will be an important element of our forthcoming cycling safety campaign.
Railway Lines (Wales)
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement regarding the future of the
Aberystwyth-Shrewsbury and Machynlleth-Pwllheli railway lines.
Mr. Freeman : The level of service provided on these lines is currently a matter for British Rail. In due course, that responsibility will be assumed by the franchising director.
Ashford International Station
Sir Keith Speed : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make an announcement about the proposed Ashford international station.
Mr. Freeman : The public expenditure settlement for 1993-94 allows for British Rail to undertake urgent track and signalling works for the proposed Ashford international passenger station. What exactly needs to be provided is still under discussion and I shall write to my hon. Friend as soon as decisions have been reached.
Red Routes
Mrs. Roche : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the figure for accidents and casualties on the Archway road red route pilot and for the pilot corridor in 1991 ; and if he will instigate an independent inquiry of the pilot study.
Mr. Norris : I have no plans to instigate an inquiry. Independent monitoring of the pilot red route has already been carried out by the Transport Research Laboratory.
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The following figures are for the periods of 18 months before and after the introduction of the scheme in January 1991.Column 145
Pilot route Pilot route
corridor
|Before |After |Change |Before |After |Change
|per cent. |per cent.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Accidents |701 |626 |-11 |1,008 |857 |-15
Casualties |788 |683 |-13 |1,132 |951 |-16
Notes:
(1) The above figures were taken from the London Accident Analysis Unit's
database in November 1992. Accidents occurring 50 metres either side of major
junctions, or on minor side roads within 50 metres of the centre line of the
main road, have been allocated to the main road.
(2) City Road has been excluded from the table because the London Borough of
Islington never implemented the red route controls there.
(3) The normal requirement for the analysis of accident statistics is a three
year period. We have provided figures over the shorter period because of the
particular public interest in this project.
Agencies, Swansea
Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what consideration was given to including, in the advertisement placed in the Official Journal of the European Community for the sale of DVOIT, a requirement that it must remain in Swansea ; (2) if he will make a statement on the application of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 to the proposed privatisation of DVOIT in Swansea.
Mr. John Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will ensure that the advertisement for the privatisation of the Department of Transport agencies based in Swansea will specify that the privatised facilities should remain in the Swansea area.
Mr. MacGregor [holding answer 10 February 1993] : I am advised that the proposed privatisation of DVOIT by means of a sale to a private sector company will be a transfer within the terms of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981. Future location options for DVOIT will be a matter for prospective purchasers of the agency to consider.
EDUCATION
Grant-maintained Schools
Ms. Estelle Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many grant-maintained schools (a) did and (b) did not receive a capital allocation named grant in each of the last three years.
Mr. Forth : The information is shown in the table for the financial years 1990-91, 1991-92 and 1992-93.
Self-governing schools: named project capital allocations
|(a) |(b)
Year |Number of schools |Number of schools
|with named project |without named
|allocations |project allocations
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1990-91 |27 |2
1991-92 |34 |31
1992-93 |92 |74
Note: The figures in column (b) relate to the number of self-governing schools
eligible to bid in that year's named project capital funding round.
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Ms. Estelle Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Education in how many ballots for grant-maintained status the Electoral Reform Society has reported to him that improper conduct and procedure had taken place.
Mr. Forth : Electoral Reform (Ballot Services) Ltd. reports the factual results of ballots to the governing body of the school concerned and to the Department. From time to time the Department receives complaints about improper conduct or procedure in a ballot. If these require investigation, Electoral Reform (Ballot Services) Ltd. may be asked for its comments.
Ms. Estelle Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the total capital expenditure named projects grant, for grant- maintained schools in each of the last three years ; and how many grant- maintained schools there were in each of these years.
Mr. Forth : The information is shown in the following table. Final outturn figures for 1992-93 are not yet available as expenditure is still being incurred by schools.
Self-governing schools: Named project outturn expenditure
Year |Expenditure<1> on |Number of schools in
|named projects |sector<2>
|(£ thousands)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1990-91 |5,835 |29
1991-92 |7,485 |65
<1> Expenditure figures relate to spending by schools on named projects awarded
allocations in each year listed and excludes expenditure on projects started in
earlier programme years.
<2> The figures relate to the number of self-governing schools eligible to bid in
each year's named project capital funding round.
Ms. Estelle Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many ballots for grant-maintained status he has ordered to be re-run ; and what were the reasons for these orders.
Mr. Forth : Four ballots have been declared void and required to be re-run to date. In each case, the grounds for the decision were errors in the ballot arrangements.
Mr. Tipping : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what measures he has taken to notify parents about grant-maintained schools ; how much these measures have cost in each financial year ; and what further expenditure is planned.
Mr. Forth : Information specifically for parents about grant- maintained schools is set out in "Grant Maintained Schools : Questions Parents Ask" and through the telephone helpline.
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The printing costs of "Questions Parents Ask" in the financial years from 1989-90 to 1991-92 totalled £40,000. It is not possible to disaggregate this information further without incurring disproportionate cost. Printing costs this year are estimated at £60, 000. Distribution costs fall within the terms of the contract with the Departmental despatch centre and cannot be identified separately. Expenditure in 1993-94 has been planned on the basis of current demand.The GM helpline for parents is a pilot scheme which will run to the end of March. Decisions about extending this service will be made at that time. The estimated cost for the six week pilot is £225,000 which covers the running of the telephone helpline and publicising the availability of the service in the national press and magazines.
English
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if his departmental advisers on the teaching of English to 14-year-olds will meet representative heads of departments from London's secondary schools for discussions on coursework, assessment and curriculum issues.
Mr. Forth : My right hon. Friend is advised on curriculum issues by the National Curriculum Council and on assessment issues by the School Examinations and Assessment Council. It is for those bodies to respond to any requests for meetings put to them.
Educational Equipment (Exports)
Sir Malcolm Thornton : To ask the Secretary of State for Education which Minister in his Department is responsible for promoting the export of educational equipment ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Boswell : I am responsible within the Department for Education for educational exports. The Department provides support to companies wishing to export educational equipment, while the British Council has responsibility for promoting the export of education and training services, a field in which it is especially active.
Truancy
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a statement itemising the main details and purpose of each scheme he is funding under the grants for education support and training programme 1993-94 to deal with truancy ; and if he will provide the same information for schemes whose proposals were presented to him which have not been funded.
Mr. Forth : Proposals submitted by local education authorities (LEAs) under the reducing truancy programme of the grants for education support and training (GEST) scheme 1993-94 took a variety of forms. Bidding was competitive, with priority being given to those LEAs where the problems were most severe. Individual bids were assessed according to the extent to which they :
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clearly identified the scale of need at the schools designated ; demonstrated an innovative and well thought out strategy for tackling truancy/unauthorised absence ;provided a clear statement of objectives, together with performance indicators against which the effectiveness of provision could be measured ;
made appropriate use of the experience and expertise of the Education Welfare Service ; and
were based on, and furthered, good practice.
On that basis, projects to a total value of £9.6 million were approved in 74 LEAs. Eight projects were rejected.
Schools Expenditure, Cambridgeshire
Mrs. Anne Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the capital expenditure on state schools in Cambridgeshire in each year since 1984 in (a) nursery schools, (b) primary schools and (c) secondary schools.
Mr. Forth : The table shows the information requested.
Capital spending by Cambridgeshire LEA
on schools in each year since 1984
£ thousands
|Nursery and primary|Secondary schools
|schools
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1984-85 |1,674 |3,240
1985-86 |2,127 |3,947
1986-87 |2,011 |3,127
1987-88 |5,699 |3,686
1988-89 |8,697 |6,511
1989-90 |11,582 |9,045
1990-91 |8,203 |5,625
1991-92 |8,758 |11,929
Notes:
1. Figures for 1991-92 are provisional.
2. Capital expenditure on nursery and primary schools is not identified
separately in the returns made by local authorities.
3. Spending on special schools is omitted.
Special Needs Education
Ms. Estelle Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children of (a) primary age and (b) secondary age, (i) in each local authority area and(ii) in total have been statemented in each of the last five years.
Mr. Forth : Separate information on primary and secondary age children for whom a statement of special educational needs has been made is not available. Information on the numbers of children of all ages for whom statements of special educational needs were made for the first time during each of the calendar years 1987 to 1991, the latest year for which information is available, in each local education authority in England is given in the table.
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Children for whom statements of special education needs were made for the first time in LEAs in England 1987 to 1991
Calendar year
Local education |1987 |1988 |1989 |1990 |1991
authority
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ILEA |968 |1,103 |<1>490 |1,368 |n/a
City |- |- |- |- |2
Camden |- |- |- |- |171
Greenwich |- |- |- |- |161
Hackney |- |- |- |- |123
Hammersmith |- |- |- |- |64
Islington |- |- |- |- |57
Kensington |- |- |- |- |40
Lambeth |- |- |- |- |103
Lewisham |- |- |- |- |55
Southwark |- |- |- |- |174
Tower Hamlets |- |- |- |- |137
Wandsworth |- |- |- |- |112
Westminster |- |- |- |- |111
Barking |30 |50 |54 |65 |73
Barnet |87 |53 |101 |85 |129
Bexley |122 |120 |183 |204 |257
Brent |290 |93 |80 |37 |81
Bromley |159 |135 |124 |132 |97
Croydon |207 |121 |132 |119 |109
Ealing |78 |126 |108 |137 |169
Enfield |32 |43 |22 |19 |31
Haringey |57 |61 |50 |73 |108
Harrow |94 |91 |73 |75 |96
Havering |111 |77 |62 |106 |136
Hillingdon |35 |47 |108 |73 |46
Hounslow |169 |170 |234 |238 |95
Kingston-upon-Thames |44 |60 |70 |76 |76
Merton |150 |92 |71 |88 |62
Newham |51 |81 |131 |101 |154
Redbridge |74 |92 |77 |82 |117
Richmond-upon-Thames |83 |75 |87 |69 |76
Sutton |100 |91 |101 |108 |98
Waltham Forest |63 |52 |51 |97 |74
Birmingham |526 |361 |325 |335 |496
Coventry |158 |143 |120 |151 |146
Dudley |135 |135 |168 |193 |191
Sandwell |156 |152 |120 |51 |88
Solihull |106 |110 |104 |127 |128
Walsall |138 |86 |166 |153 |159
Wolverhampton |133 |146 |87 |160 |148
Knowsley |147 |130 |133 |202 |169
Liverpool |118 |151 |365 |618 |435
St. Helens |27 |146 |151 |136 |122
Sefton |122 |130 |96 |186 |179
Wirral |138 |294 |235 |133 |145
Bolton |97 |93 |97 |109 |121
Bury |153 |170 |157 |164 |168
Manchester |114 |165 |162 |112 |135
Oldham |80 |110 |207 |210 |89
Rochdale |119 |124 |154 |157 |78
Salford |52 |62 |48 |61 |18
Stockport |226 |199 |163 |244 |225
Tameside |97 |203 |184 |124 |148
Trafford |167 |97 |133 |125 |77
Wigan |104 |2 |188 |303 |388
Barnsley |44 |34 |45 |95 |122
Doncaster |154 |135 |162 |162 |142
Rotherham |215 |171 |155 |305 |301
Sheffield |145 |160 |105 |128 |197
Bradford |111 |94 |100 |75 |145
Calderdale |70 |72 |50 |45 |59
Kirklees |289 |191 |243 |249 |347
Leeds |124 |687 |351 |311 |441
Wakefield |139 |107 |166 |93 |202
Gateshead |22 |43 |56 |85 |198
Newcastle upon Tyne |132 |155 |131 |103 |154
North Tyneside |123 |129 |167 |178 |169
South Tyneside |105 |86 |97 |74 |70
Sunderland |104 |139 |170 |148 |263
Isles of Scilly |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Avon |487 |682 |603 |333 |450
Bedfordshire |264 |248 |264 |284 |329
Berkshire |262 |322 |421 |504 |716
Buckinghamshire |401 |498 |484 |716 |568
Cambridgeshire |49 |296 |90 |111 |340
Cheshire |487 |620 |575 |566 |720
Cleveland |277 |333 |420 |359 |353
Cornwall |231 |263 |419 |245 |426
Cumbria |227 |166 |155 |322 |323
Derbyshire |495 |633 |587 |742 |594
Devon |586 |632 |847 |793 |924
Dorset |345 |198 |247 |287 |341
Durham |227 |265 |219 |204 |308
East Sussex |203 |261 |180 |247 |211
Essex |808 |800 |778 |627 |613
Gloucestershire |274 |300 |247 |278 |433
Hampshire |920 |950 |1,038 |1,034 |1,686
Hereford and Worcestershire |133 |192 |242 |397 |417
Hertfordshire |463 |462 |580 |584 |741
Humberside |193 |267 |255 |211 |483
Isle of Wight |63 |56 |45 |46 |68
Kent |700 |549 |595 |953 |983
Lancashire |810 |968 |1,269 |1,124 |1,305
Leicestershire |268 |389 |486 |465 |587
Lincolnshire |254 |383 |354 |665 |687
Norfolk |492 |407 |551 |508 |500
North Yorkshire |394 |247 |296 |397 |437
Northamptonshire |229 |277 |297 |230 |357
Nothumberland |164 |170 |142 |161 |185
Nottinghamshire |233 |327 |264 |218 |153
Oxfordshire |95 |88 |132 |144 |263
Shropshire |311 |364 |234 |434 |480
Somerset |309 |426 |244 |169 |161
Staffordshire |586 |538 |606 |639 |666
Suffolk |475 |454 |522 |387 |435
Surrey |848 |701 |953 |497 |1,178
Warwickshire |282 |269 |315 |249 |244
West Sussex |264 |262 |177 |267 |350
Wiltshire |405 |509 |530 |665 |775
|------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
England |22,408 |24,017 |24,633 |26,519 |30,847
<1> Incomplete return.
-=Not available.
Access Funds
Mr. Hall : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many higher education institutions have requested additional funds for their access fund from his Department during the present academic year.
Mr. Boswell : Access funds are allocated to higher education institutions through the funding councils at the beginning of the academic year. Institutions are aware that once allocations are made no additional funds are available.
Mr. Hall : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the access fund for the University of Manchester in 1992-93.
Mr. Boswell : The Universities Funding Council allocated £365,270 to Manchester university, including £24,440 for the Manchester business school, as the university's share of the access funds for the academic year 1992-93.
Mr. Hall : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a statement on the operation of the higher education institution access funds for 1992-93.
Mr. Boswell : It is too early to say how the scheme is progressing in the current academic year. The funding councils are asked to submit an annual report to the Department on the use of the funds by institutions after the end of each year.
Mr. Hall : To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to his answer of 2 July 1992, Official Report, column 659, how many higher education institutions have none of their 1992-93 access fund moneys left.
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Mr. Boswell : This information is not held centrally. We have advised institutions, through the funding councils, to consider holding back some of their access funds and to make arrangements to meet requests for assistance late in the academic year and during the summer vacation.
Student Loans
Mr. Hall : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many county court judgments were secured against students during (a) September 1992 to December 1992 and (b) January 1993 to February 1993 by the Student Loans Company.
Mr. Boswell : This is a matter for the Student Loans Company. I will ask the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.
Illiteracy
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much Her Majesty's Government have spent on tackling illiteracy in each of the last five years.
Mr. Boswell : It is for local education authorities to determine their level of expenditure on adult literacy provision. Government funding over the last five years of the adult literacy and basic skills unit, which is the central organisation for advice and research into adult literacy, was as in the following table.
|£ million
------------------------------
1988-89 |2.3
1989-90 |2.4
1990-91 |2.7
1991-92 |3.0
1992-93 |3.2
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is his estimate of the number of (a) adults and (b) children who are (i) illiterate or (ii) functionally illiterate in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Boswell : There are very few adults in the United Kingdom who are completely illiterate in the sense that they cannot read or write at all. The adult literacy and basic skills unit, which advises the Government, estimates that 4 million adults in England and Wales have real difficulty coping with everyday tasks like filling in forms ; and a further 1.5 million are reckoned to have difficulty with numerical skills. Such people are often described as being "functionally illiterate", although there is no standard definition of that term. ALBSU has however recently developed a common set of standards for communication and numeracy. These standards describe competence levels in reading, writing, number and oral communication skills. They have been mapped against both the national curriculum and the communication and numeracy units in the new general national vocational qualifications. Better information on the incidence and level of these difficulties will become available as these standards are more widely applied.
It is impossible to provide comparable figures for children, since the rate at which individual children acquire and master literacy skills varies. The testing and assessment arrangements being introduced under the national curriculum will in future provide parents and teachers with clear information about children's reading and writing standards.
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what research into the problems of illiteracy has been financed by his Department in each of the last five years ; and at what cost.
Mr. Boswell : The adult literacy and basic skills unit, which is funded by the Government to advise on, and conduct research into, adult literacy, has conducted extensive research over the last five years. I will write to the hon. Member shortly with details of the cost of that research.
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps are being taken to tackle the problem of illiteracy in British industry and commerce ; and at what cost.
Mr. Boswell : The Department for Education, the Department of Employment and the Welsh Office are jointly funding an initiative on basic skills involving employers and training and enterprise councils. The basic skills at work programme has funded surveys of need and provision and is now funding pilot projects to explore new methods of providing vocationally -related basic skills training, for those in or out of work. The initiative will cost about £3 million over three years. In addition, many firms offer basic skills training independently.
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment has been made of the cost to British industry and commerce of illiteracy in each of the last five years.
Mr. Boswell : The adult literacy and basic skills unit, which is funded by the Government, is currently conducting research into this question. The results of that research are expected to be available in early April.
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NATIONAL HERITAGE
London Marathon
Mr. Austin-Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what fee it is proposed to charge the organisers of the London marathon for use of (a) St. James's park and (b) Greenwich park for the London marathon in 1993 ; and what is the basis for the charge.
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