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Food Science Laboratories
Mr. Faber : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress has been made in his review of the status of the laboratories dealing with food science.
Mr. Gummer : I have concluded that it would be right for the food science laboratory, Norwich and the Torry research station, Aberdeen to achieve agency status. The best and most efficient mechanism is to merge both laboratories with the existing central science laboratory agency with effect from 1 April 1994. I intend to proceed accordingly. There are no plans to move the laboratories at Norwich and Aberdeen from their present locations. Both will continue to support the food safety work of the Department.
Slaughterhouses
Mr. Nicholls : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is able to report on the outcome of the independent review of slaughterhouses, and of the recent consultations on the Government's proposals to limit meat inspection charges ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gummer : I am pleased to announce three measures to ensure that veterinary supervision of slaughterhouses is
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provided in a manner which will enable small slaughterhouses to meet proper hygiene requirements without placing unnecessary burdens on them.I am determined that cost-effective, consistent and proportionate arrangements for veterinary supervision should be put in place so that public health is protected and the whole industry given the best chance to provide an efficient and competitive service.
There has been considerable concern about the cost of veterinary supervision which has been widely quoted at sums of £40 or more per hour. My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary (Commons) in my Department has been consulting closely with the British Veterinary Association about the fees being charged by veterinary surgeons. The House will be interested in the results of a survey of veterinary costs recently carried out by the Association. This survey attracted responses covering over 400 official veterinary surgeons working in more than 600 plants in over 200 local authority districts. The average hourly rate being charged was £25.70. This yardstick will ensure that industry and local authorities can more easily check that they are obtaining a cost-effective service.
Up to now, the arrangements for supervising hygiene in slaughterhouses have been carried out by local authorities. It is obviously important that they should provide this service at a reasonable cost. In small slaughterhouses in particular it is an appreciable component of the overheads. We issued proposals on these costs for consultation on 14 January. Although in most cases inspection services are being provided within reasonable limits, the Government are concerned to protect the interests of slaughterhouses where charges have been unnecessarily high. As a result we are introducing a strict upper limit of £40 for up to four livestock units and £6.30 per livestock unit thereafter. Where the cost of existing or prospective arrangements would exceed the limit, local authorities will have the option of renegotiating contracts with veterinary practitioners. They will no doubt find the British Veterinary Association survey useful in this.
The third measure I am announcing today will enable small slaughterhouses to make use of local large-animal practitioners to provide the veterinary supervision service. Already, the Government have issued guidance to enable large-animal practitioners to carry out ante-mortem inspection work. We will shortly issue additional guidance to help them carry out the full veterinary supervision of low throughput slaughterhouses. Most small abattoirs have at least one such veterinary practice within five miles. Slaughterhouses will be able to seek a service from practitioners who are willing to provide it, and this alternative ought to ensure cost-effective and competitive provision. Above all, a great deal of expensive waiting and travelling time will be avoided. In the rare event that a local authority is not prepared to sanction such an arrangement, there can be a direct appeal to the Minister.
The Government will shortly consult on proposals on monitoring hygiene standards in meat plants. The proposed monitoring system is intended to assist local authorities in ensuring that the level of veterinary supervision is proportionate to the risk arising at the individual premises, so that plants operating to high standards can benefit from lower levels of supervision.
I have also received the report I commissioned from two independent experts, Dr. Johnston and Mr. Spurr, on hygiene and structural standards in slaughterhouses. This has been placed in the Library and I commend it to the
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House. The authors concluded that overall the improvements being required by the state veterinary service do not go beyond what is necessary to rectify structure-related hygiene problems. I shall continue to ensure that we do not ask anything more of the industry than is essential to achieve this end. I shall also seek to carry forward the other recommendations of the Johnston/Spurr report. Ministers are taking the closest possible personal interest in the way these regulations are enforced. We are very conscious of the importance of slaughterhouses to the local economy of the countryside. As I have made clear on many occasions, there is no question of any slaughterhouse being refused a licence under the new regulations without a personal decision by myself or my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Wales.We recognise that the process of implementing these regulations has been a difficult one for the industry and enforcement authorities. In applying them, we will continue to seek practical solutions to problems and to avoid placing unnecessary burdens on businesses. In this context as in all areas of food law, the Government are committed to ensuring that the requirements imposed by the legislation are proportionate to the risk involved. We propose where necessary to continue discussions between slaughterhouse operators, local authorities, veterinary surgeons and meat inspectors with a view to achieving high standards and harmonious working relationships during the transition to the proposed national meat hygiene service.
Farmers (Suicides)
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received from Wales on the levels of suicides among farmers and their families.
Mr. David Hunt : I have been asked to reply. None.
EMPLOYMENT
Equal Opportunities
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many and what percentage of officers in each grade from 1 to 7 and overall in her Department are (a) women, (b) from ethnic minorities and (c) disabled people.
Mr. McLoughlin : The numbers and percentages of women and ethnic minority officers in grades 1 to 7 and overall in the Department at 1 April 1992 are set out in the tables. Information on disabled people cannot be provided in the form requested, but overall numbers were 2, 066 registered disabled people, or 3.4 per cent., at 1 July 1992.
Table 2 Ethnic minority staff in the Employment Department Group (Grades 1 to 7) at 1 April 1992 Grade |Number |Percentage -------------------------------------------- Grade 1 |0 |0 Grade 2 |0 |0 Grade 3 |0 |0 Grade 4 |0 |0 Grade 5 |0 |0 Grade 6 |0 |0 Grade 7 |9 |0.9
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The Department employed 41,555 women who comprised 66.5 per cent. of the total staff.Table 2 Ethnic minority staff in the Employment Department Group (Grades 1 to 7) at 1 April 1992 Grade |Number |Percentage -------------------------------------------- Grade 1 |0 |0 Grade 2 |0 |0 Grade 3 |0 |0 Grade 4 |0 |0 Grade 5 |0 |0 Grade 6 |0 |0 Grade 7 |9 |0.9
The Department employed 3,607 staff from the ethnic minorities who comprised 6.4 per cent. of respondents to the ethnic origin survey.
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what steps she has taken to recruit women, members of ethnic minorities and disabled people, respectively, in top grades of employment at her Department.
Mr. McLoughlin : Recruits to the senior grades, as to any grade in the civil service, are selected on merit on the basis of fair and open competition, unless one of the exceptions permitted under the Civil Service Order in Council 1991 applies. Various steps have been taken by the Civil Service Commissioners to aid recruitment from all sectors of the community including :
extending links with institutions of higher education ; equal opportunities training for those involved in selection ; using validated selection procedures.
Additionally, the Department :
has developed and run pre-recruitment training for ethnic minority candidates to its Management Trainee Scheme ;
was one of the first employers to join the Opportunity 2000 campaign ;
has signed up to the 15 per cent. benchmark figure for the proportion of women holding posts in the Senior Open Structure by 2000.
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when her Department last conducted surveys of (a) ethnic origins and (b) the number of women among its employees ; when it next plans to do so ; and whether she will make a statement.
Mr. McLoughlin : The survey of the ethnic origin of staff which took place in 1986 is continually updated to take account of those entering and leaving the Department. No survey for women is needed as the gender of employees is identified in staff records.
Labour Statistics
Mr. Nigel Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the average number of unemployed in each travel-to-work area in Gloucestershire in each year since 1979 ; and what percentage of the work force this represented.
Mr. McLoughlin : The information requested is available from 1983 and can be obtained from the NOMIS database in the Library. Travel-to-work- areas do not correspond exactly to county boundaries. Gloucestershire is made up of the
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TTWAs of Gloucester, Stroud, Cirencester plus parts of Cheltenham, Evesham, Cinderford and Ross-on-Wye, Malvern and Ledbury and Swindon.Miners' Redundancy Payments
Dr. Liam Fox : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when she plans to start the £75 million package of additional assistance for redundant miners announced in October 1992.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : Contingency plans drawn up by TECs for additional assistance for redundant mineworkers and others will be implemented if we reach a position where two thirds of the work force employed at the pit in October 1992 have left.
This arrangement will apply to collieries on which British Coal is already consulting about closure and to collieries announced as being put on a care and maintenance basis. This will also apply to two collieries which are remaining open, but making substantial redundancies for which contingency plans were originally drawn up and to the colliery which will be put under development.
European Regional Development Fund
Mr. Moss : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what public expenditure cover will be made available in 1993-94 for European regional development fund projects relating to her responsibilities.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : This Department will be providing public expenditure cover in 1993-94 for applications for European regional development fund support in respect of the Department's responsibilities. The amount of cover necessary is estimated to be £4 million in 1993- 94.
Restart
Ms Short : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment for each region and for Great Britain as a whole how many unemployed people were referred to Restart courses by Employment Service counsellors (a) between April 1991 and March 1992 and (b) from April 1992 to the latest available date, showing for each period how many of them were unemployed for over two years, how many attended and completed the course, what were the outcomes of the participants and how many had benefit penalties imposed for not attending or failing to complete their attendance at the Restart course ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. McLoughlin [pursuant to his answer, 12 March 1993, Official Report, col 747-48] : The chief executive has written further to thhon. Member.
Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Ms Clare Short, dated March 1993 :
As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to write to you direct to respond to your Parliamentary Question to her about Restart Courses. These are matters which fall within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
Unfortunately, due to an administrative error, our reply of 12 March did not include the figures about Restart courses. This reply now contains the tables ; please accept my apologies for any inconvenience caused.
As you will know from our previous correspondence, Restart Courses are short courses aimed at helping people
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who are having the most difficulty returning to work. They are not an alternative to regular job search or other employment or training programmes. Essentially they provide people with the opportunity to explore all the options open to them and give them confidence to take the next step back to work.Since 1990, people who have been unemployed for 2 years or more who refuse or fail to take up a place on an Employment Department employment or training programme at their Restart interview, are asked to attend a Restart Course.
As your question has raised a number of specific points, I am setting out the information you have asked for in the four tables attached. Tables 1 and 2 deal with all Restart Course attenders, and tables 3 and 4 refer to those covered by the requirement to attend. As explained in previous replies, we
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collect at a Regional level the number of people who are referred to the course who are also unemployed for 2 years or more. We have not, however, felt it necessary to keep similar figures for all those referred. The Benefits Agency (BA) make the decision on whether an individual's benefit should be reduced for failure to attend or complete the course. Their figures are compiled by BA Districts which have different boundaries to our own Regions. To avoid confusion, I have given the national figure only.I hope that this is helpful.
As decided by the Administration Committee of the House of Commons, Chief Executive replies to written Parliamentary Questions will now be published in the Official Report. I will also place a copy of this letter in the Library of the House.
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Table 4
Restart course attenders unemployed for two years or more
April 1992 to December 1992
|Northern |Yorkshire and |East Midlands and|London and South |South West |Wales |West Midlands |North West |Scotland |Total
|Humberside |Eastern |East
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. People referred to Restart courses |9,285 |12,463 |8,606 |26,748 |5,603 |6,084 |10,848 |24,326 |15,649 |119,612
2. Starters |5,804 |7,213 |4,708 |14,567 |3,396 |3,164 |6,774 |12,770 |7,297 |65,693
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
3. Total completers |5,427 |6,560 |4,253 |13,098 |2,994 |2,781 |5,962 |11,481 |6,481
Completers who agreed to follow up:
Jobs |1,723 |1,781 |1,305 |2,583 |585 |454 |1,472 |2,290 |4,082 |16,275
Employment training |579 |894 |606 |2,328 |334 |499 |1,316 |1,736 |624 |8,916
Jobclub |511 |548 |452 |1,702 |265 |345 |438 |1,211 |323 |5,795
Other employment, training and related opportunities |3,188 |4,867 |3,181 |9,622 |1,815 |1,974 |2,854 |6,813 |3,329 |37,643
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
4. Total number of people with an outcome to follow up<1> |4,947 |5,919 |3,880 |11,846 |2,318 |2,416 |5,249 |10,279 |5,929 |52,783
5. People for whom a reduction in Income Support was made by the Benefits Agency |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |3,098
<1> Some people will be referred to more than one option.
<2> Not available by Employment Service region.
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Table 4
Restart course attenders unemployed for two years or more
April 1992 to December 1992
|Northern |Yorkshire and |East Midlands and|London and South |South West |Wales |West Midlands |North West |Scotland |Total
|Humberside |Eastern |East
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. People referred to Restart courses |9,285 |12,463 |8,606 |26,748 |5,603 |6,084 |10,848 |24,326 |15,649 |119,612
2. Starters |5,804 |7,213 |4,708 |14,567 |3,396 |3,164 |6,774 |12,770 |7,297 |65,693
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
3. Total completers |5,427 |6,560 |4,253 |13,098 |2,994 |2,781 |5,962 |11,481 |6,481
Completers who agreed to follow up:
Jobs |1,723 |1,781 |1,305 |2,583 |585 |454 |1,472 |2,290 |4,082 |16,275
Employment training |579 |894 |606 |2,328 |334 |499 |1,316 |1,736 |624 |8,916
Jobclub |511 |548 |452 |1,702 |265 |345 |438 |1,211 |323 |5,795
Other employment, training and related opportunities |3,188 |4,867 |3,181 |9,622 |1,815 |1,974 |2,854 |6,813 |3,329 |37,643
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
4. Total number of people with an outcome to follow up<1> |4,947 |5,919 |3,880 |11,846 |2,318 |2,416 |5,249 |10,279 |5,929 |52,783
5. People for whom a reduction in Income Support was made by the Benefits Agency |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |3,098
<1> Some people will be referred to more than one option.
<2> Not available by Employment Service region.
R
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Table 4
Restart course attenders unemployed for two years or more
April 1992 to December 1992
|Northern |Yorkshire and |East Midlands and|London and South |South West |Wales |West Midlands |North West |Scotland |Total
|Humberside |Eastern |East
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. People referred to Restart courses |9,285 |12,463 |8,606 |26,748 |5,603 |6,084 |10,848 |24,326 |15,649 |119,612
2. Starters |5,804 |7,213 |4,708 |14,567 |3,396 |3,164 |6,774 |12,770 |7,297 |65,693
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
3. Total completers |5,427 |6,560 |4,253 |13,098 |2,994 |2,781 |5,962 |11,481 |6,481
Completers who agreed to follow up:
Jobs |1,723 |1,781 |1,305 |2,583 |585 |454 |1,472 |2,290 |4,082 |16,275
Employment training |579 |894 |606 |2,328 |334 |499 |1,316 |1,736 |624 |8,916
Jobclub |511 |548 |452 |1,702 |265 |345 |438 |1,211 |323 |5,795
Other employment, training and related opportunities |3,188 |4,867 |3,181 |9,622 |1,815 |1,974 |2,854 |6,813 |3,329 |37,643
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
4. Total number of people with an outcome to follow up<1> |4,947 |5,919 |3,880 |11,846 |2,318 |2,416 |5,249 |10,279 |5,929 |52,783
5. People for whom a reduction in Income Support was made by the Benefits Agency |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |3,098
<1> Some people will be referred to more than one option.
<2> Not available by Employment Service region.
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Table 4
Restart course attenders unemployed for two years or more
April 1992 to December 1992
|Northern |Yorkshire and |East Midlands and|London and South |South West |Wales |West Midlands |North West |Scotland |Total
|Humberside |Eastern |East
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. People referred to Restart courses |9,285 |12,463 |8,606 |26,748 |5,603 |6,084 |10,848 |24,326 |15,649 |119,612
2. Starters |5,804 |7,213 |4,708 |14,567 |3,396 |3,164 |6,774 |12,770 |7,297 |65,693
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
3. Total completers |5,427 |6,560 |4,253 |13,098 |2,994 |2,781 |5,962 |11,481 |6,481
Completers who agreed to follow up:
Jobs |1,723 |1,781 |1,305 |2,583 |585 |454 |1,472 |2,290 |4,082 |16,275
Employment training |579 |894 |606 |2,328 |334 |499 |1,316 |1,736 |624 |8,916
Jobclub |511 |548 |452 |1,702 |265 |345 |438 |1,211 |323 |5,795
Other employment, training and related opportunities |3,188 |4,867 |3,181 |9,622 |1,815 |1,974 |2,854 |6,813 |3,329 |37,643
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
4. Total number of people with an outcome to follow up<1> |4,947 |5,919 |3,880 |11,846 |2,318 |2,416 |5,249 |10,279 |5,929 |52,783
5. People for whom a reduction in Income Support was made by the Benefits Agency |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |3,098
<1> Some people will be referred to more than one option.
<2> Not available by Employment Service region.
Health and Safety
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will list the successful prosecutions undertaken at the Crown court for breaches of the Health
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and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974 during 1992 and in 1993 to the most recent practicable date together with the sentences imposed.Mr. McLoughlin [pursuant to his reply, 5 February 1993] : I regret that in my original reply the table of prosecutions was incomplete. The revised table is as follows :
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Successful prosecution action taken by Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectorates in the Crown court 1 January 1992 to 31 March 1992 Company |Crown court |Date of hearing |Sentence £ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ashby Demolition<1> |Knightsbridge |2 January 1992 |7,500 St. Regis Paper Co. |Newport |2 January 1992 |2,000 Lye Spencer Steel Services |Newport |31 January 1992 |20,000 Senior Bigwood Ltd. |Newport |31 January 1992 |10,000 Pro Footwear |Burnley |5 February 1992 |<2>700 Sansoms (Newport) Ltd.<1> |Newport |6 February 1992 |2,500 Michael Poulter |Portsmouth |24 February 1992 |<3>C/d D. Short Ltd. |Newcastle-upon-Tyne|26 February 1992 |9,000 Leeds City Council |Leeds |28 February 1992 |15,000 British Gas |Liverpool |3 March 1992 |100,000 Caird Environment Ltd.<1> |Birmingham |23 March 1992 |50,000 Fletchers Bakeries Ltd.<1> |Sheffield |25 March 1992 |10,000 <1>Case given in origin reply. <2>Case heard in Magistrate's court, company appealed against sentence to the Crown court. <3>Conditional discharge.
In my original reply I also undertook to make available information covering the period 1 April 1992 to 31 January 1993 once it had been checked for accuracy. This
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information is set out in the following table. The data should still be regarded as provisional as they include cases referred to the Crown court on appeal.Column 257
Successful prosecution action taken by Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectorates in the Crown court 1 April 1992 to 31 January 1993 Company |Crown court |Date of hearing |Sentence £ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Paul Anthony Rooney |Wolverhampton |3 April 1992 |4,000 Lyons Bakery |Sheffield |27 April 1992 |10,000 Midlands Petfood Canners Ltd. |Northampton |27 April 1992 |10,000 Balmoral Group |Sheffield |27 April 1992 |10,000 Tarmac Construction |Maidstone |27 April 1992 |18,000 Taylor Woodrow |Maidstone |27 April 1992 |18,000 Wimpey Construction (UK) Ltd. |Maidstone |27 April 1992 |18,000 Balfour Beattie |Maidstone |27 April 1992 |18,000 Costain |Maidstone |27 April 1992 |18,000 Shell UK Oils Ltd. |Chelmsford |14 May 1992 |100,000 A. S. Dunn |Doncaster |19 May 1992 |<1>750 Adrian William Bull |Bristol |16 June 1992 |300 Lionel Whitnell t/a Whitnell Plan |St. Albans |6 July 1992 |30,000 Eugena Ltd. |Knightsbridge |13 July 1992 |<2>1,000 MWH Leisure Ltd. |Lewes |24 July 1992 |40,000 Barris Fire Protection Ltd. |Kensington |12 August 1992 |8,000 Chapmans Chalk Supplies Ltd. |Lewes |18 August 1992 |<3>10,000 Mr. G. F. Thompson |Winchester |18 August 1992 |5,000 D. J. and S. J. Hutchinson |Teeside |21 August 1992 |500 Mr. Stanley Davis |Knightsbridge |28 August 1992 |200 Courtaulds Ltd. |Bolton |11 September 1992 |5,000 Mr. G. I. Gardner |Haverford West |28 September 1992 |150 hours community service Michael Kendray |Carlisle |28 September 1992 |7,000 Bank of England |Chelmsford |9 October 1992 |5,000 Courtaulds Fibres Ltd. |Grimsby |23 October 1992 |100,000 Deborah Grayson Scaffolding |Wolverhampton |26 October 1992 |12,000 Hertz Equipment Rental (UK) |Wolverhampton |26 October 1992 |12,000 A. M. Marks and Co. Ltd. |Leeds |6 November 1992 |7,600 P. Colohan and Co. Ltd. |Kingston |6 November 1992 |2,500 F. J. Sloan and Co. Ltd. |Kingston |6 November 1992 |1,100 Profelt |Northampton |13 November 1992 |3,000 Gerry Jones Transport |Hereford |20 November 1992 |<2>1,000 McEdward Franklin |Inner London |11 December 1992 |2,500 Lodge Sturtevant Ltd. |Chelmsford |5 January 1993 |21,000 Michael Stephen Grove |Bradford |13 January 1993 |2,000 Mowlem Civil Engineering Ltd. |Manchester |19 January 1993 |10,000 Sedgely Construction Co. Ltd. |Manchester |19 January 1993 |2,000 W. Reidy and Son. Ltd. |Manchester |25 January 1993 |40,000 Allied Colloids plc |Bradford |29 January 1993 |100,000 T. and S. Rix Ltd. |Hull |29 January 1993 |4,000 <1>£750, plus a six month prison sentence suspended for two years. <2>Cases heard in the Magistrate's court but where the company appealed against sentence to the Crown court. <3>Mr. Chapman was also disqualified for two years under the Companies Act from working as a director. He has appealed against the sentence.
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WALES
Hepatitis B
Dr. Marek : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the total cost of recall for hepatitis B screening of patients treated by the surgeon in Wrexham, both at his current and previous hospitals of employment.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The estimated cost to date of screening these patients is of the order of £27,000.
Welsh Development Agency
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of Welsh Development Agency factory floorspace is currently not in productive use.
Mr. David Hunt : At the end of February 1993, 15.7per cent. of the agency's property portfolio was vacant and available for letting.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give the percentage of unused lettable floorspace in Welsh Development Agency factories for every year since 1986.
Mr. David Hunt : This information is published in the Welsh Office departmental reports Cmnd 1916 and 2215, copies of which are in the Library of the House.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what will be the changes in real terms of the Welsh Development Agency financial allocations for the next year ; and what projects will be undertaken to provide work due to the closures of coal mines.
Mr. David Hunt : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Carmarthen (Mr. Williams) on 11 March 1993, Official Report, column 653 .
Last week I announced that a further £660,000 would be made available in addition to the £43 million which I announced last October to support an integrated programme of regeneration in the areas affected by the coal review.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish details of the land reclamation schemes undertaken by the Welsh Development Agency during 1991-92.
Mr. David Hunt : Details of land reclamation schemes to be undertaken in 1991-92 were published by the Welsh Development Agency in the document "Landscape Wales". The agency's report and accounts for 1991-92 described the progress made.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a table of capital expenditure allocated for the Welsh Development Agency for each year since 1985.
Mr. David Hunt : The information is set out in he following table :
|Capital expenditure
|cash (£ million)
------------------------------------------------------------
1985-86 |49.9
1986-87 |45.5
1987-88 |63.1
1988-89 |74.1
1989-90 |94.6
1990-91 |115.0
1991-92 |120.5
<1>1992-93 |126.3
<2>1993-94 |124.3
<1>Forecast Outturn
<2>Plans
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the change in real terms of financial allocation for the Welsh Development Agency for each financial year since 1986-87.
Mr. David Hunt : The information is set out in the following table :
|Gross Allocation |Gross Allocation
|cash |1993-94 prices<1>
|(£ million) |(£ million)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1986-87 |72.0 |107.4
1987-88 |98.6 |139.4
1988-89 |115.1 |151.7
1989-90 |133.4 |165.0
1990-91 |149.2 |170.9
1991-92 |158.3 |169.6
<2>1992-93 |166.8 |171.3
<3>1993-94 |171.4 |171.4
<1>1993-94 prices derived using latest GDP deflator
<2>Forecast Outturn
<3>Plans
Child Care
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what plans he has to provide extra funds for the new unitary authorities taking on extra professionals to deal with child care when responsibility is transferred from the police and health ; (2) what plans he has to lessen the management costs of independent providers of child care who will cover several of the new unitary authority areas ;
(3) whether the new unitary authorities will buy in the full range of child protection services ;
(4) how the liaison work between police, health and the new unitary authorities in Gwent will operate in relation to area child protection committees.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The full legislative requirements concerning child protection currently met by the social services departments of county councils will become the responsibility of the new unitary authorities. How they will carry out these functions, including the extent to which they secure services from other providers, will be for the new authorities to determine in the light of their own needs and resources.
It will be for the new unitary authorities to decide on what liaison arrangements they should have with other agencies including the police, health authorities and the voluntary sector.
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Disability
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many disabled people in Wales are currently living in (a) the community, (b) mental illness hospitals and units and (c) mental handicap hospitals and units.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : Information held centrally does not cover all categories of disability. The latest available data held centrally, on the means of accommodation of people on local authority registers of mentally handicapped individuals, are shown in the table :
Number of persons on register at 31 March 1991 Place of residence |Number ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ In the community |7,349 In health service accommodation (including hospitals and hostels) |1,397 In other accommodation (including local authority, private and voluntary residential accommodation) |1,640 Total |10,386
Down's Syndrome
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many children have been born in (a) Clwyd and (b) Wales, with Down's syndrome in each year since 1983.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The number of notifications of children born with Down's syndrome to residents of Clwyd and Wales in each year since 1983 are shown in the table :
|Clwyd|Wales
------------------------
1983 |4 |20
1984 |8 |30
1985 |10 |26
1986 |7 |27
1987 |7 |23
1988 |4 |30
1989 |6 |22
1990 |5 |25
1991 |5 |22
Source: Office of
Population Censuses and
Surveys.
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the number of Down's syndrome sufferers in permanent state care in Wales.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The information requested is not held centrally.
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what screening measures are available to detect Down's syndrome in the early stages of foetal development ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The screening measures available to pregnant women are determined by the local health authority. Authorities are guided by the targets of the "Protocol for Investment in Health Gain : Maternal and Early Child Health", which was issued in August 1991 by the Welsh Health Planning Forum, in particular that by 1995 all pregnant women at high risk should be identified and offered an opportunity for pre-natal testing.
A national Down's syndrome screening group is currently looking at ways of setting guidelines for a screening programme.
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Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what funds the Welsh Office has made available in each year since 1983 to help with the care of Down's syndrome sufferers in Wales ; (2) what provision is made for Down's syndrome sufferers and their families in Wales.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : Under the mental handicap strategy earmarked special funds have been allocated, annually to counties to support the development of a comprehensive range of new services. While Down's syndrome has been indentified as the cause of mental handicap in approximately 26.5 per cent. of those affected, funds are not indentified specifically for individuals with this condition. The following table gives details of strategy allocations to date.
Welsh Office funds, for
mental handicap strategy
|£ million
------------------------------
1983-84 |1.6
1984-85 |3.6
1985-86 |5.0
1986-87 |7.0
1987-88 |9.6
1988-89 |13.4
1989-90 |18.5
1990-91 |26.1
1991-92 |34.2
1992-93 |41.5
Equal Opportunities
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when his Department last conducted surveys of (a) ethnic origins and (b) the number of women among its employees ; when it next plans to do so ; and whether he will make a statement.
Mr. David Hunt : There has never been a need to undertake a survey of female staff in my Department as the sex of employees is evident from staff records.
A survey of the ethnic origin of staff in my Department was carried out in May 1988. There is no need for another survey since the ethnic origin of all the entrants and leavers has been monitored since that time.
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many and what percentage of officers in each grade from one to seven and overall in his Department are (a) women, (b) from ethnic minorities and (c) disabled people.
Mr. David Hunt : The details, based on staff in post figures at 1 July 1992, are given in the following tables.
Women Grade |Number |Percentage ---------------------------------------------------- 1 |- |- 2 |- |- 3 |1 |10 4 |1 |14 5 |11 |18 6 |17 |19 7 |39 |22 Departmental Total |1,222 |49
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Registered disabled people Grade |Number |Percentage ---------------------------------------------------- Grades 1-5 |- |- Grade 6 |2 |2 Grade 7 |1 |0.6 Departmental Total |38 |1.6 My Department also employs several unregistered disabled people. Note: 1 Part-time staff count as one unit 2 Includes equivalent and professional grades 3 Includes Agency and industrial staff
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