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Sir Hector Monro : Detailed monitoring has been carried out by Government scientists since oil-contaminated sediments were first found to the south-east of Fair Isle. Results have shown that while sediments have been contaminated by Braer oil, hydrocarbon concentrations in the water column and in samples of fish from the vicinity have been within background levels. In these circumstances I see no need to extend the existing exclusion zone.
A1 (Upgrading)
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on his plans for upgrading the A1 road in Scotland, giving the timetable for construction and completion of each section and the estimated costs.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The Government consider that it would be desirable for the A1 to be dualled over its full length in Scotland. Work is currently under way on the £1.6 million dualling scheme at Marshall Meadows which will tie into a Department of Transport improvement at the national border. This scheme will be completed during the summer. The major route priority is the construction of a dual carriageway from Tranent to Haddington. Draft orders for this scheme were published on 30 March and, subject to the satisf-Dunbar scheme, which is also estimated to cost in excess of £30 million, is following the earlier scheme at an interval of about 12 months.
Between Dunbar and the Border, some six further dualling schemes are being prepared along the route for early construction. Subject to satisfactory completion of the necessary procedures, up to three of these should start this financial year with the remainder planned to follow in the current public expenditure period. The schemes are :
|£ million
-------------------------------------------
Cement Works-Innerwick |2.6
Tower-Penmanshiel |1.5
Howburn-Lemington |2.1
Thistly Cross-Broxburn |4.4
Broxburn-Cement Works |1.75
Houndwood-Howburn |1.75
In addition to the above, local schemes to provide early safety and operational improvements on the route will continue to be brought forward.
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The timing of all the above schemes will be dependent on the completion of the necessary preparatory work and statutory procedures and, for the later schemes, the availability of finance.Further schemes will be identified and constructed as they compete for, and find, places in future programmes.
Child Care
Mr. Chisholm : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much money has been given to Scottish Enterprise in 1993-94 for the new after- school child care initiative.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 2 April 1993] : Resources for a new programme for the provision of out-of-school child care have been included in the overall budget for Scottish Enterprise for 1993-94. The relevant resources have not been separately identified, in accordance with normal budgeting arrangements for these bodies. The detailed allocation of resources to specific activities is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise and for the local enterprise companies.
Health Board Staff
Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will publish a list of companies employing staff transferred from employment with health boards ; and what information he has on the wage rates they are offering new employees ;
(2) how many health boards have been advised by the Central Legal Office to provide private contractors with details of length of service of their employees.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 2 April 1993] : Information about companies employing transferred staff is not collected. Under the terms of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981, existing rates and conditions of service would apply in the case of any staff affected by such a relevant transfer. No advice has been given by the central legal office of the NHS to health boards to provide contractors with details of service of employees.
Forestry
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what input has been received from non-governmental organisations in relation to the development of the national plan to implement the non-binding statement of forest principles agreed at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development ;
(2) what progress has been made with regard to the development of the national plan to implement the non-binding statement of forest principles agreed at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 2 April 1993] : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 1 February 1993, Official Report, column 18. The national plan is still in course of preparation. We have not yet sought the views of non-governmental organisations, but will do so later this year before the plan is completed.
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Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what incentives exist for the production of hardwoods from broadleaved woodlands in the United Kingdom.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 2 April 1993] : The Government provide grants, through the woodland grant scheme, to encourage the establishment of new broadleaved woodlands and the better management of existing broadleaved woodlands to meet a range of objectives, including the production of quality hardwood timber. The grants are supported by advice, which is summarised in Forestry Commission Handbook No. 9, "Growing Broadleaves for Timber", a copy of which is in the Library of the House.
Untreated Cream
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will take steps to allow low capacity establishments with a proven hygiene record to sell untreated cream in Scotland.
Sir Hector Monro : Scottish milk hygiene legislation is being reviewed in the context of implementation of EC directive 92/46 which lays down health rules for the production and marketing of raw milk, heat- treated milk and milk-based products. The Government will invite views on all aspects of the present legislation in the course of consultation on new draft regulations later this year.
Hunting
Mr. Meale : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the cost of a permit or licence to hunt on Forestry Commission land.
Sir Hector Monro : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 19 January 1993, Official Report, column 247.
Historic Scotland
Mr. Gallie : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish the key performance targets he has set for Historic Scotland for 1993-94.
Mr. Lang : I have set Historic Scotland the following key performance targets for 1993-94 :
|Protecting the built |Target
|heritage
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
i. |Number of ancient monuments of national
| importance to be scheduled |340
ii. |Number of listed buildings resurvey units to
| be completed |150
iii. |Number of historic building repair grants
| accepted |135
iv. |Conservation of monuments in care |reduce mainte-
| nance backlog
Promoting and presenting the built heritage
i. |Number of visitors to monuments in care |2.4 million
ii. |Total income |£7.5 million
Management
i. |Value for money savings on maintenance of
| monuments in care (per cent.) |3.5
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Mink
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many mink farms are currently licensed in each region of Scotland.
Sir Hector Monro : There is one licensed mink farm operating in Scotland, in Grampian region.
Offshore Oil and Gas
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will detail the time it took between reports of incidents involving breaches of health and safety laws in the offshore oil and gas industries and referrals made to the procurator fiscal in each of the past seven years ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding Answer 24 March 1993] : Problems have been experienced in recovering data stored on computer and many records formerly held by the procurator fiscal's office at Aberdeen were destroyed by fire in April 1989. Information for each of the past seven years is therefore not fully available. In such highly technical cases it can also be difficult to select a single point as marking the date of the start of the procurator fiscal's investigations, but in a survey of 10 cases the time taken between the receipt of cases by the procurator fiscal and the start of court proceedings varied as shown in the table. Much depended on the complexity of the technical evidence and on the scale of the specialised investigation required.
In addition there are two substantial investigations which have been in progress since 1990, and two dating from 1991, in which decisions on prosecution will shortly be taken.
F After Receipt of Reports Proceedings Begun |Number of Cases ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Within 1 month |1 within 3 months but over 1 month |2 within 6 months but over 3 months |0 within 1 year but over 6 months |3 within 18 months but over 1 year |2 within 2 years but over 18 months |1 within 2" years but over 2 years |1
Care in the Community
Mr. Tom Clarke : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much of the additional funds for the care in the community programme, announced on 23 March, relates to (a) 1993-94, (b) 1994-95 and (c) 1995-96.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 2 April 1993] : The additional £28 million for the care in the community programme will be used for bridging finance and distributed as follows : (a) £4 million 1993-94, (b) £9 million 1994-95 and (c) £15 million 1995-96.
Mr. Tom Clarke : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the additional allocation to the care in the community programme over the period 1993-94 to 1995-96, announced on 23 March (a) is bridging finance to health boards and (b) is in addition to bridging finance for the period 1992-93 to 1994-95 announced on 23 January 1992.
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Mr. Lang [holding answer 2 April 1993] : The £28 million which I announced on 23 March for the care in the community programme is for bridging finance to health boards and is additional to that announced on 23 January 1992.
Mr. Tom Clarke : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much of the bridging finance for the care in the community programme, announced on 23 January 1992, relates to (a) 1992-93, (b) 1993-94 and (c) 1994-95.
Mr. Lang : In addition to an original £15 million bridging finance provision, apportioned equally over the three each financial years 1992-92 to 1993-94, the 23 January 1992 announcement confirmed an additional £18 million of bridging finance to be allocated on the basis of £6 million for each financial year, 1992-93, 1993-94 and 1994 -95.
Mr. Tom Clarke : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how much of the bridging finance for the care in the community programme, announced on 23 January 1992, relates to (a) care of the mentally ill, (b) care of the mentally handicapped and (c) care of the elderly ;
(2) how much of the additional funds for the care in the community programme announced on 23 March relates to (a) care of the mentally ill, (b) care of the mentally handicapped and (c) care of the elderly.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 2 April 1993] : The amounts of bridging finance announced are available for distribution to all three client groups. Allocations to individual health boards reflect differing demands at their local level and so may be directed to any one or more of the client groups.
River Clyde (Dredging)
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the overall cost of the dredging of the channel of the River Clyde in each of the past eight years ; which organisation is responsible for the maintenance of the channel ; which organisations make an annual financial contribution to the dredging operations ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 1 April 1993] : The gross costs incurred by the Clyde Port Authority in dredging the River Clyde in each of the past eight years were as follows :
-
|£ million
------------------------------
1984 |918,000
1985 |931,000
1986 |884,000
1987 |1,012,000
1988 |1,043,000
1989 |1,068,000
1990 |1,209,000
1991 |1,112,000
Clydeport Ltd., as successor to the former Clyde Port Authority, has a permissive power to dredge the river channel to the extent that it is considered necessary for the maintenance and improvement of the port, but has no statutory duty to dredge.
Strathclyde regional council, Glasgow district council, Yarrow Shipbuilders and Kvaerner Govan have all made
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contributions towards the cost of dredging in recent years. It remains the Government's policy that port authorities, including Clydeport Ltd. should manage their businesses on a commercial basis and that the costs of dredging should be met by charges to the users of ports, or by other parties who benefit from the dredging.Young People
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to publish statistics and other information about the number of persons aged 16 to 17 years in each local enterprise company area who are (a) without a job, (b) not on an approved training course and (c) not undertaking a full-time education course.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 1 April 1993] : None. This information is not available in the form requested.
Employment Protection
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received from the Cleaning and Support Services Association in relation to the implementation of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 and compulsory competitive tendering by regional, island and district councils and health boards ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 1 April 1993] : I received a number of representations from the Cleaning and Support Services Association about the implementation of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981. My right hon. Friend made his position clear in his answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Kincardine and Deeside (Mr. Kynoch) on 11 March 1993, c. 716-17 .
Edinburgh Dental School
Mr. Alistair Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if his Department will meet the cost incurred by the University of Edinburgh in making redundant the staff employed at the Edinburgh dental school following the decision that the school will close in 1994 ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : I shall write to the hon. Member.
EMPLOYMENT
Unemployed Young People
Mr. Fraser : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether children between the age of 16 and 18 years who are estranged from their parents and receiving income support while unemployed are excluded from the total unemployment monthly figures.
Mr. McLoughlin : Those aged 16 to 17 who receive
unemployment-related benefits as special hardship cases are included in the headline total of the monthly claimant unemployment count, but not in the corresponding consistent, seasonally adjusted series. In order to maintain consistency, over time the latter is restricted to those aged 18 and over.
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Job Schemes
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will list the age requirements that govern eligibility for each job scheme ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. McLoughlin : For each of the job programmes run by the Employment Service, the lower age limit is the 18th birthday and there is no upper age limit.
Unemployment, Llanfair Caereinion
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proposals she has for reducing unemployment in Llanfair Caereinion ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. McLoughlin : The Employment Service and training and enterprise councils deliver a wide range of employment, enterprise and training programmes to help the employment prospects of unemployed people. These are available to people living in Llanfair Caereinion, as elsewhere, to help them find the quickest and best route back to employment.
Lost Working Days
Mr. Peter Robinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many days were lost per 1,000 workers in the United Kingdom during each of the last two years.
Mr. McLoughlin : There were 24 working days lost per 1,000 workers in labour disputes in 1992, compared with 34 working days lost per 1, 000 workers in 1991.
Public Appointments
Dr. Wright : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many of the appointments made by her as listed in "Public Bodies 1992" came within the categories set out in paragraphs 49 and 50 of "Questions of Procedure for Ministers" and required a submission to the Prime Minister.
Mr. McLoughlin : Within the non-departmental public bodies covered by the Employment Department group, seven appointments came within the categories referred to in paragraphs 49 and 50 of "Questions of Procedure for Ministers". These seven were given approval by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, although actually appointed by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment.
Gas Boilers
Mr. Harvey : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans she has to review safety standards for domestic gas boilers and flues ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. McLoughlin : I am advised by the Department of Trade and Industry that the safety requirements for all non-industrial gas applicances were reviewed recently during the development of the EC Gas Appliance Directive, adopted on 29 June 1990 and due to come fully into effect on 1 January 1996. In accordance with the requirement of this directive, European harmonised product safety standards for all gas appliances within the scope of the directive are currently under consideration by the European standardisation body, CEN.
Column 594
Vocational Training
Ms Quin : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will respond to the recommendations of the Equal Opportunity Commission's formal investigation into the publicly funded vocational training system in England and Wales ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. McLoughlin : We welcome the Equal Opportunities Commission's report as a positive contribution to promoting equality of opportunity for women. We are pleased to see that the report contains many examples of effective and innovative training practice introduced by the training and enterprise councils. We look forward to continued partnership with the commission in considering its recommendations.
Data Protection Act 1984
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many certificates have been signed under the terms of section 27 of the Data Protection Act 1984 for each year since 1987.
Mr. McLoughlin : I am aware of two such certificates so far as the Employment Department group is concerned.
Family Size
Mr. Knox : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to her answer of 17 March, Official Report, column 267, on families with four or more children, if she will indicate what is meant by a one plus child family.
Mr. McLoughlin : This phrase was used to describe families with one or more children in order to provide a concise answer to my hon. Friend's original question ; I regret any misunderstanding that this may have caused.
Training Programmes
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people participated in (a) employment training, (b) youth training and (c) employment action in Great Britain in 1989-90, 1990-91 and 1991-92 ; and at what average cost per trainee in (i) cash terms and (ii) 1992-93 prices.
Mr. McLoughlin: The information requested is given in the following tables:
Table 2
Great Britain
Employment training, youth training and employment action
April 1989 to March 1992
Cost per trainee in (i) cash terms and (ii) 1992-93 prices
(£'s)
|April 1989-March|April 1990-March|April 1991-March
|1990 |1991 |1992
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Employment training
(i) |5,404 |5,384 |6,014
(ii) |6,443 |5,944 |6,224
Youth training
(i) |2,620 |2,375 |2,735
(ii) |3,124 |2,622 |2,831
Employment action
(i) |n/a |n/a |6,100
(ii) |n/a |n/a |6,314
Source: Departmental Report and HM Treasury's GDP deflators.
Notes: Unit cost figures are calculated from the average numbers in training over the
year.
Employment action did not start until 1 October 1991, therefore no figures are
available for 1989-90 and 1990-91.
The EA unit cost figure for 1991-92 is an accruals unit cost, which takes the
expenditure back to the year in which the participant weeks are delivered.
Unit cost figures for Employment Training and Employment Action differ slightly from
the figures published in the 1993 departmental report as the departmental report
figures covered England only.
All figures at 1992-93 prices were calculated using the latest published version (
17/3/93) of HM Treasury's GDP deflators.
Youth training includes youth credits.
Column 595
Table 2
Great Britain
Employment training, youth training and employment action
April 1989 to March 1992
Cost per trainee in (i) cash terms and (ii) 1992-93 prices
(£'s)
|April 1989-March|April 1990-March|April 1991-March
|1990 |1991 |1992
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Employment training
(i) |5,404 |5,384 |6,014
(ii) |6,443 |5,944 |6,224
Youth training
(i) |2,620 |2,375 |2,735
(ii) |3,124 |2,622 |2,831
Employment action
(i) |n/a |n/a |6,100
(ii) |n/a |n/a |6,314
Source: Departmental Report and HM Treasury's GDP deflators.
Notes: Unit cost figures are calculated from the average numbers in training over the
year.
Employment action did not start until 1 October 1991, therefore no figures are
available for 1989-90 and 1990-91.
The EA unit cost figure for 1991-92 is an accruals unit cost, which takes the
expenditure back to the year in which the participant weeks are delivered.
Unit cost figures for Employment Training and Employment Action differ slightly from
the figures published in the 1993 departmental report as the departmental report
figures covered England only.
All figures at 1992-93 prices were calculated using the latest published version (
17/3/93) of HM Treasury's GDP deflators.
Youth training includes youth credits.
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will list every training programme and employment initiative by her Department with the month and year of its inception and demise and the number of participants since 1979.
Mr. McLoughlin : The information requested is not kept centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment further to the answer of 3 March, Official Report, column 209, about amounts spent on training programmes, what are the equivalent figures for 1992-93.
Mr. McLoughlin : This information is not yet available. I shall write to the hon. Member giving the figures requested, when the information for 1992-93 is complete.
Part-time Employment
Mr. Salmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will estimate the percentage of part-time (a) male and (b) female employees in (i) Scotland, (ii) Wales, (iii) England, (iv) Northern Ireland and (v) Great Britain who earned less than (1) £3.80 an hour, (2) £4.00 an hour, (3) £5.20 an hour and (4) £5.40 an hour in 1992.
Mr. McLoughlin : The available information for part-time women closest to that requested is given in the following table. Information for part-time men is not available.
Column 596
Part-time women on adult rates of pay whose
pay for the survey
period was not affected by absence.
Percentage with average gross hourly earnings
less than the
following amounts: April 1992.
|£3.80|£4.00|£4.80|£5.40
-----------------------------------------------
Scotland |46.5 |52.6 |69.4 |77.0
Wales |54.6 |62.1 |75.9 |82.8
England |42.9 |49.3 |68.3 |77.5
Northern Ireland |54.3 |59.4 |73.9 |78.4
Great Britain |43.8 |50.2 |68.8 |77.7
Source: New Earnings Survey, Great Britain and
Northern Ireland.
Mr. Salmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will estimate the number of (a) male and (b) female employees in (i) Scotland, (ii) Wales, (iii) England, (iv) Northern Ireland and (v) Great Britain who work part-time.
Mr. McLoughlin : The latest information is as follows :
> Part-time employees in employment: December 1992 (Thousand) Not seasonally |Males |Females adjusted -------------------------------------------------------------- Scotland |95 |436 Wales |60 |220 England |1,009 |4,025 Northern Ireland |35 |107 Great Britain |1,163 |4,681
Job Search
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people in Great Britain took part in (a) job clubs, (b) job interview guarantee and (c) job search seminars in 1990-91 ; and at what average cost per participant in (i) cash terms and (ii) 1992-93 prices.
Mr. McLoughlin : Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service Agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given. Letter from Mr. M. Fogden to Mr. Tony Lloyd, dated 14April 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 Jobclubs, Job Interview Guarantee and job search seminars. This is something which falls within the responsibilities she has delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
1,140,774 people joined Jobclubs in 1990-91. The average cost per participant in cash terms, excluding fares to attend Jobclub and VAT, was £141. The cost in 1992-93 prices is £158.
The Job Interview Guarantee (JIG) initiative was not generally available until April 1991 but was piloted in 20 inner city areas from September 1989 to March 1991. During this time 16,661 people were assisted through JIG. The average cost per participant is not available because the pilot phase was not costed separately. Job search seminars were not introduced until July 1991, therefore the data you request does not exist.
I hope 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.
Ms Short : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the maximum daily travelling
Column 597
expenses that can be claimed by unemployed people who participate in job search seminars or in job review workshops when they travel by (a) public or (b) private transport ; whether participants in both schemes are entitled to travel expenses to enable them to attend the follow-up support sessions provided by the seminars and workshops ; and if she will make a statement.Mr. McLoughlin : Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service Agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given. Letter from Mr. M. Fodgen to Ms Clare Short, dated 14April 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 travel expenses for participants who attend job search seminars and Job Review Workshops.
Both programmes are of short duration, normally lasting two full days with some additional follow up. They are designed to help short term unemployed people find work more quickly. The seminars and workshops are run by organisations from the public, private and voluntary sectors, under contract to the Employment Service. People who attend are paid their travelling expenses to the main sessions and to the follow up events. This is done by the programme providers who re-imburse participants the cost of travelling from their homes to the seminar or Workshop. The providers then recover this money from the Employment Service.
Participants are expected to travel by the most cost effective mode of transport, normally standard class public transport. If participants prefer to use their own car or motorcycle they are paid a mileage allowance of 16p per mile provided this is cost effective, for example, where public transport is poor or there is good reason to use a vehicle. Otherwise if they choose to use their own transport they will receive the equivalent public transport cost.
People with a disability problem which affects their mobility may claim travelling expenses at the mileage rate if they wish to use their own private vehicle. They may also be re-imbursed parking fees. Taxi fares will also be paid where a person's disability prevents them using either public transport or private vehicle.
There is no upper limit laid down which states the maximum daily travelling allowance that can be claimed by participants. There is however a network of job seAdministration 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.
Career Development Loans
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people took up career development loans in 1989-90, 1990-91 and 1991- 92.
Mr. McLoughlin : Information on the number of people taking out a career development loan in 1989-90, 1990-91 and 1991-92 is as follows :
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