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Inheritances
Mr. Duncan : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if the Registrar General will release personal information from the returns from censuses less than 100 years old to assist individuals establish their entitlement to an inheritance.
Mr. Sackville : Census returns for England and Wales which are less than 100 years old are closed to public inspection. Those from the 1921 and more recent censuses are in the custody of the Registrar General and are subject to the Census (Confidentiality) Act 1991. The Registrar General does not release any personal information from the returns for those censuses as long as they are in his custody. The returns from the 1901 and 1911 censuses have been deposited at the Public Records Office. There is statutory provision for a record held by the Public Records Office to be inspected if special authority is given.
Under concessions previously announced to the House, information on an individual's age and place of birth is made available from the 1901 census on application to the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys and for a charge corresponding to the cost of supplying it. This is conditional on the consent of the person concerned or of a direct descendant in the case of a deceased person, or next of kin if the person died childless. This facility is also available to a public administrator trustee seeking a beneficiary under a will. The Registrar General has reviewed his practice. While he is not prepared to extend to the 1911 census returns the concession which applies to the 1901 census, he would be willing to consider particular applications for information to be extracted from those returns if it would enable the applicant to establish a legal entitlement such as an inheritance. Such authority would be given only where the information is not available from any other source and is clearly requisite for establishing the entitlement in question. The Registrar General would wish to be fully satisfied from documentary evidence as to the identity of the applicant. Where the desired information from the census form relates to a living person other than the applicant, that person's consent would be required before the information would be released.
The same conditions would apply to applications for information from the 1901 census which went beyond the existing concession relating to age and birthplace.
The applicant would be required to meet the cost of making the search and, where the search is successful, of supplying the information.
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These arrangements do not constitute any diminution of the confidentiality accorded to the records in conformity with the assurances printed on the forms of return for the censuses in question.Knee Replacement Implants
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State of Health what plans she has to issue advice to patients regarding the most reliable knee replacement implants.
Mr. Sackville : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 16 April at column 745.
Care and Adoption, Barnsley
Mr. Illsley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children were (a) taken into care by Barnsley metropolitan borough council, (b) placed for adoption by that authority against the wishes of the parents and (c) placed for adoption during each year since 1990, and in the current year to date.
Mr. Yeo : In the year ending 31 March 1991, 197 children came into the care of Barnsley metropolitan borough council. A child may have more than one legal status in a year ; in terms of the last legal status recorded, 132 children were received into care under section 2 of the Child Care Act 1980, 52 were committed to care by court order, and 13 remanded or detained in care.
In respect of children placed for adoption, the information available centrally is the number of children who were in care and had been placed for adoption. At 31 March 1991, two children had been placed for adoption. Information is not available centrally on whether the children were placed for adoption against the wishes of the parents.
Information about the children looked after by Barnsley metropolitan borough council for the period ending 31 March 1992 is still being processed ; I will write to the hon. Member giving details when they are available. Information relating to the year ended 31 March 1993 is not due to be returned to the Department until 30 June 1993.
At-risk Register, Barnsley
Mr. Illsley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children are currently on the at-risk register in Barnsley metropolitan borough.
Mr. Yeo : There were 373 children on the child protection register in Barnsley metropolitan borough at 31 March 1992. Information relating to 31 March 1993 is not due to be returned to the Department until 31 May 1993.
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EMPLOYMENT
Labour Statistics
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was (a) the number and (b) percentage of persons out of work and eligible to claim benefit in the Cunninghame, North constituency in each month since June 1987.
Mr. McLoughlin : Unemployment rates are not available for parlimentary constituencies. The smallest geographical areas for which unemployment rates are officially compiled are travel-to-work areas.
Information on the number of persons in each month claiming unemployment related benefits in the Cunninghame, North constituency can be obtained from the NOMIS database in the Library.
These figures are on the unadjusted basis and therefore subject to seasonal influences and changes in the coverage of the count over the period.
Mr. David Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people have been unemployed for more than one year.
Mr. McLoughlin : In January 1993, the latest date for which figures are available, 1,030,283 claimants in the United Kingdom had been unemployed for over one year. These figures are on the unadjusted basis.
Age Discrimination
Mr. Spellar : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will bring forward proposals to prevent discrimination on grounds of age for those aged between 40 and 64 years.
Mr. McLoughlin : Employers who discriminate on the grounds of age miss out on the skills, experience and commitment which older people can bring to a job. Age, however, can affect different people's abilities to do different jobs in different ways. Legislation which attempted to provide for this would be difficult to draft and impossible to enforce. I am confident that the recently formed advisory group on older workers, which I chair, will help greatly in persuading employers who discriminate that it is in their own best interests to treat everyone on their merits, regardless of their age.
Construction Industry
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the change in the number of jobs in the construction industry over the last five-year period.
Mr. McLoughlin : Between December 1987 and December 1992 the number of employees in the construction industry in the United Kingdom fell by 149,000.
High Technology Training
Mr. Leighton : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the average weekly unit price of HTNT ; and what was the average length of a course.
Mr. McLoughlin : The planned average weekly unit cost of high technology national training payments to trainees, was £75 per trainee in 1992-93. The average length of a course in the same year was 49 weeks.
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Careers Guidance (Diploma)
Mrs. Anne Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many people are presently training for part I of the diploma for careers guidance, both full and part-time ;
(2) how many people currently on the part I diploma for careers guidance courses are (a) seconded by employers, (b) in receipt of local education authority awards, (c) in receipt of a local government management board training award and (d) self-financing.
Mr. McLoughlin : The diploma in careers guidance is the responsibility of the local government management board, the advisory body to local authorities, although my Department makes a contribution towards funding some students. I have obtained from it the following information :
|Numbers
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of students, including part-time, currently
taking part I of Diploma in Careers Guidance |508
Of these, the number
(a) seconded by employers (LEAs)<1> |138
(b)in receipt of LEA grant |158
(c) in receipt of LGMB Training Award |84
(d)self-financing |128
<1>Funding source may be LEA alone, or combined with LGMB or
Employment Department.
These figures apply to the United Kingdom and are for courses
commenced in September/October 1992 and in January/February 1993.
They are based on the registration forms completed by students.
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Lord President of the Council when he expects to reply to the third report of the Select Committee on Procedure, Session 1990-91, on Parliamentary Questions (HC 178).
Mr. Newton : I hope to submit the Government's response in the near future.
DUCHY OF LANCASTER
Food Research Institutes
Dr. Strang : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the institutes of food research which have closed since 1979, with their respective dates of closure.
Mr. Jackson : The Bristol laboratory of the Institute of Food Research, formerly the AFRC Meat Research Institute, closed on 31 December 1990.
Institute of Food Research
Dr. Strang : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list total Government expenditure on the Institute of Food Research for each year from 1978-79 to 1992-93 in (a) cash and (b) constant prices ; and if he will set out projected Government expenditure on the Institute of Food Research for each year from 1993-94 to 1996-97 in (i) cash and (ii) constant prices.
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Mr. Robert Jackson : The Institute of Food Research did not come into being until the financial year 1985-86. Food research was previously carried out in the Meat Research Institute, Food Research Institute and the National Institute for Research in Dairying which were amalgamated into the Institute of Food Research. Recurrent science budget expenditure in the Institute of Food Research and its pre-cursors from 1978-79 is given in the table :
Year |Cash prices |Constant prices
|£ million |£ million
----------------------------------------------------------------
1978-79 |5.4 |15.0
1979-80 |6.3 |15.0
1980-81 |8.0 |16.1
1981-82 |9.5 |17.5
1982-83 |10.3 |17.7
1983-84 |10.8 |17.8
1984-85 |11.6 |18.2
1985-86 |9.6 |14.3
1986-87 |10.7 |15.4
1987-88 |10.9 |15.0
1988-89 |11.4 |14.5
1989-90 |11.4 |13.6
1990-91 |11.3 |12.8
1991-92 |10.9 |11.3
1992-93 |11.8 |11.8
<1>1993-94 |11.7 |11.4
<1> Planned.
Figures for the years 1994-95 to 1996-97 are not available.
DEFENCE
Nuclear Supplies
Mr. Simpson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will separately identify the nuclear supplies and services referred to at paragraph 2 of the introduction in his Department's Supply Estimates 1993- 94, class I, vote 3 ; and if he will make a statement as to why those items have not been identified in the estimate.
Mr. Aitken : It would not be in the national interest to reveal the cost of the defence nuclear programme. For this reason such costs are not separately identified in supply estimates.
Military Equipment
Mr. Simpson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the liability in relation to the supply of military equipment to an overseas Government referred to in paragraph 11(c) of the introduction to his Department's Supply Estimates 1993-94, class I, vote 3 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Aitken : I refer the hon. Member to the Command Paper (Cmnd 9746) of 26 February 1986, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.
Ozone-depleting Substances
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Woodspring (Dr. Fox) of 15 March, Official Report, column 73, if he will list the critical applications of ozone-depleting substances considered essential to his
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Department's work ; what are the annual amounts of each substance involved in each application ; and to what extent there are any losses to the atmosphere of process emissions.Mr. Aitken : My Department considers only those applications of ozone-depleting substances that meet the following UNEP halon technical options committee essential use criteria as critical : "A critical need must exist to minimise damage due to fire, explosions or extinguishing agent application, which would otherwise result in serious impairment of an essential service to society, or pose an unacceptable threat to life, the environment, or national security ; and
All other appropriate fire protection measures have been taken". These applications can be found in, inter alia, installed equipments on ships, aircraft and in armoured vehicles. This list is under continuous review. Some 252 tonnes of halons and 425 tonnes of CFCs will be banked to support these critical applications. To preserve these and stocks within systems stringent measures are in place to reduce emissions to the atmosphere.
D-Notice Committee
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current membership of the D-Notice Committee ; and what salary is paid to each member.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The membership of the Defence, Press and Broadcasting Committee is as follows :
Chairman
Sir Christopher France, KCB, Permanent Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence
Vice-Chairman
A. C. D. Stuart, Esq, former Editor-in-Chief, Thomson Regional Newspapers
Government representatives
Sir Clive Whitmore, KCB, CVO, Permanent Under-Secretary of State, Home Office
Moray Stewart, Esq, CB, Second Permanent Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence
Sir Timothy Daunt, KCMG, Deputy Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Press and broadcasting representatives
J. D. Bishop, Esq, Editor-in-Chief, Illustrated London News Group
G. Elliott, Esq, Editor, "The News", Portsmouth
R. Hutchinson, Esq, Publishing Director, Jane's Information Group
S. Kuttner, Esq, Managing Editor, "News of the World"
E. J. Laird, Esq, Editor-in-Chief, "Daily Record & Sunday Mail", Glasgow
S. Purvis, Esq, Editor-in-Chief, Independent Television News B. Shrimsley, Esq, Associate Editor, "Daily Express"
D. Trelford, Esq, Editor, "The Observer"
C. T. Webb, Esq, Editor-in-Chief, The Press Association To be nominated, British Broadcasting Corporation
Secretary
Rear Admiral D. M. Pulvertaft, CB
Note : None of the representative members of the Committee receive any remuneration for the services to the Committee. Notes : Representing The Newspaper Society.
Representing The Periodical Publishers Association.
Representing The Newspaper Publishers Association.
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Representing The Scottish Daily Newspaper Society.Representing The Press Association.
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how often the D-Notice Committee met in the past 12 months.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The Defence, Press and Broadcasting Committee met twice in 1992 ; on 29 April and 20 October. I understand that its next meeting is scheduled for 6 May.
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the review of the D-Notice Committee procedures to be completed ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : I understand that the Defence, Press and Broadcasting Committee will be considering the progress of the D-notice review when it meets in early May.
Civil Service Relocation
Sir David Steel : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if it remains his policy to transfer 700 defence-related jobs from the south of England to Glasgow as part of the Government's civil service dispersal programme.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : No final decision has yet been taken on the location of the Army personnel centre, but Glasgow remains a candidate to receive this work. If Glasgow is chosen, jobs will be relocated from the midlands and the north as well as the south of England.
Guards Officers
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to exclude consideration of the socio-economic group of the parents of guardsmen when appointments to officer rank are made.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Commissions throughout the Army are awarded on the basis of merit. Selection for individual regiments is based upon the discretion of the regimental colonel, who may well take account of how well an individual applicant is likely to fit into the ethos of a particular regiment. In the case of the Guards, some 18 per cent. of the total number of officers have been commissioned from the ranks.
RAF Hangar (Cosford)
Mr. Higgins : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much it will cost to convert the RAF hangar at Cosford which at present contains the indoor running track for use as an aircraft technical training facility.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Conversion work is to be put out to contract and disclosure of estimated costs would comprise the tender process. A financial appraisal indicated however that the cost of converting the hangar would be less than half the cost of providing new functional accommodation.
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Telecommunications Aerials
Mr. Ainger : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what discussions he has had with telecommunications companies concerning the erection of telecommunication aerials for use by organisations other than his Department ;
(2) how many telecommunication aerials have been constructed on his Department's property for use by private companies in the last five years ; and where they are sited.
Mr. Aitken : It is our policy to encourage the use of our facilities by private companies where this is compatible with defence needs. Details of these numerous arrangements are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Airbus
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he proposes to purchase a version of the European airbus for the role of multi-role tanker transport ; and if he will make a statement ; (2) if he will investigate the prospects of adapting the airbus series of jets for military roles ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Aitken : The RAF will need to replace its VC-10 tanker transport fleet early next century. A number of commercial passenger aircraft types, including Airbus variants, could be suitable for conversion. It will be some time, however, before the draft requirement is ready to be discussed with industry, and Airbus will then be fully considered.
Service Children's Schools
Mr. Matthew Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the key targets for 1993-94 which have been set for the Service Children's Schools (North West Europe) Defence Agency.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The chief executive of Service Children's Schools (North West Europe)--SCS (NWE)--has been set the following key targets for 1993-94, the agency's third year of operation : 1. To continue the implementation, so far as is feasible in the British Forces Germany (BFG) situation, of the Education Reform Act to the statutory timetable laid down for England and Wales by : (
(a) Introducing the National Curriculum to SCS (NWE) by subject and Key Stage.
(b) Introducing pupil assessment by subject and Key Stage. (
(c) Implementing Teacher Appraisal.
2. To continue to implement the SCS (NWE) "Schools for the Future" Development Plan in line with BFG drawdown and to action the following :
(a) Issue guidance regarding the admission of Non-Entitled pupils and adult learners.
(b) Make provision for support services to schools during, and beyond the drawdown process.
(c) Implement child protection procedures in all remaining schools.
(d) Work towards improved provision for pre-school children with special needs.
(e) Implement the Service Children's Education Authority policy and procedures for health and safety in schools.
3. To produce Management and School Development Plans reflecting the introduction of Local Management of Schools
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