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There was a wide-ranging televised open debate on the subject of the single market after 1992. The United Kingdom, in line with all other member states emphasised the importance of making the single market work effectively. No operational conclusions were drawn. The Commission reported that the overall rate of implementation of white single market measures has now risen to 83 per cent. The United Kingdom is in third position, with an 88 per cent. implementation record.Political agreement to extend the transitional period to mid-1995 for the entry into force of the personal protective equipment directive will assist industry by giving it more time to meets its requirements. Motorcycle helmets are now expected to be excluded from the scope of the directive, with the Commission due to provide specific separate proposals within the next six months. Political agreement on the CE conformity marking for industrial products is subject to parliamentary scrutiny reserves.
The next formal meeting of the Council will take place on Monday 14 June.
Small Firms
Ms Quin : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the rate of small firm formation by standard planning region for each of the last three years.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 22 April 1993] : The best indicator of regional trends in small business start-ups is given by figures on VAT registrations. Registration rates for the three most recent years are given in the table.
Registration rates<1> (per cent.) Region |1989 |1990 |1991 ----------------------------------------------------- South East |17 |16 |13 East Anglia |14 |12 |11 South West |14 |12 |11 West Midlands |15 |13 |11 East Midlands |15 |13 |12 Yorkshire and Humberside |15 |13 |12 North West |16 |15 |13 North |15 |13 |11 Wales |13 |12 |10 Scotland |14 |14 |12 Northern Ireland |8 |8 |7 United Kingdom |15 |14 |12 <1> New registrations as a percentage of the stock of VAT registered businesses at the start of the year. Other estimates of regional start-ups are produced by Barclays Bank. Their regions do not correspond to standard planning regions.
Estimates of business start-ups produced by Barclays Bank plc
Region<1> |Starts in 1991|Starts in 1992
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Greater London |101,000 |98,000
Rest of South East |95,000 |91,000
East Anglia |25,000 |23,000
Midlands |63,000 |58,000
South West |39,000 |32,000
North and Yorkshire |43,000 |44,000
North West |54,000 |51,000
Wales |31,000 |28,000
Scotland |34,000 |30,000
|------- |-------
Total |482,000 |456,000
<1> Regions do not correspond to standard planning regions.
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EDUCATION
Grant-maintained Schools
Mr. Byers : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many parents rang the grant-maintained schools' helpline during its pilot period ; and whether it is to be established on a permanent basis.
Mr. Forth : The grant-maintained helpline received 2,650 calls during the six week pilot period, of which 2,040 were from parents. The Department is currently
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evaluating the performance of the helpline. Decisions on whether to establish the service permanently have not yet been made.Mr. Byers : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list by local education authority those schools which were subject to reorganisation proposals which he subsequently approubject to closure or reorganisation proposals under section 12 or 13 of the Education Act 1980 when they applied for self-governing (GM) status is as follows :
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LEA |School |Approval date
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avon |Beechen Cliff school |15 September 1989
Barnet |Hendon school |11 April 1989
Bedfordshire |Queensbury school |11 April 1989
Berkshire |Southlands school | 6 December 1989
Bolton |St. James' CE school |28 February 1989
Brent |Copland community school | 2 December 1991
Calderdale |The North Halifax high school |21 May 1990
|The Crossley Heath school |21 May 1990
Cambridgeshire |Gamlingay GM Village college |21 November 1991
Cheshire |Bankfield high school (GM) | 2 June 1989
|Kettleshulme primary school |23 January 1992
Cumbria |Queen Elizabeth grammar school |14 October 1991
|Trinity school, Carlisle |18 February 1992
|St. Aidan's county high school |24 February 1992
Derbyshire |Netherthorpe school |30 June 1989
Ealing |Greenford high school |28 January 1992
|Brentside high school |28 January 1992
|Drayton Manor high school | 4 February 1992
|Wood End first school |25 September 1992
|Ellen Wilkinson school for girls | 4 February 1992
|Wood End middle school |25 September 1992
|Northolt high school | 4 February 1992
Gloucestershire |Ribston Hall high school |15 September 1989
Hampshire |Calmore GM middle school |28 January 1993
|Testwood school | 9 November 1992
|Abbotswood GM middle school |19 November 1992
Hertfordshire |Francis Bacon school |21 May 1990
Kensington |Cardinal Vaughan memorial school |30 November 1989
Kent |Oakwood Park grammar school |20 February 1992
|Wilmington grammar school for boys |28 January 1991
|Grammar school for girls, Wilmington|20 April 1989
|Thamesview school | 5 July 1991
Leicestershire |Long Field GM high school |25 August 1989
Newham |Stratford school |21 May 1990
Northamptonshire |Southfield school for girls |24 November 1989
Nottinghamshire |Ravensdale middle school |14 February 1992
Sandwell |Manor high school, Sandwell |30 May 1991
Sheffield |Clifford CE GM school |24 April 1992
Southwark |London Nautical school |30 June 1989
Surrey |Hawkedale first school | 9 March 1992
|Send C of E first school (GM) | 9 March 1992
|The Manor County first school | 9 March 1992
|de Stafford school |10 March 1992
|Heathside secondary school |10 March 1992
Tameside |Audenshaw high school |22 February 1989
Warwickshire |The Avon Valley GM school |28 March 1991
School Places
Mr. Byers : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many surplus school places were removed from the education system in each school year from 1984-85.
Mr. Forth : The number of surplus school places that have been removed since 1984-85 are as follows :
|'000s
--------------------
1984-85 |135
1985-86 |128
1986-87 |106
1987-88 |109
1988-89 |118
1989-90 |93
1990-91 |99
1991-92 |n/a
In view of the new national survey of the capacity of schools carried out in 1991 separate figures have not been collected on the number of places removed from the education system in the school year 1991-92 onwards.
Special Learning Difficulties
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list the local education authorities which have applied since the beginning of the year for lap-top computers for children with special learning difficulties ; and what response was made to such applications.
Mr. Forth : I announced in January a major pilot study to assess the educational impact of using portable computers in schools. The following local education authorities (LEAs) have submitted project bids in respect of children with special learning difficulties : LEAs
Camden
Greenwich
Hackney
Islington
Lambeth
Lewisham
Barking
Barnet
Brent
Bromley
Croydon
Haringey
Hounslow
Kingston-upon-Thames
Merton
Birmingham
Coventry
Liverpool
Sefton
Manchester
Salford
Stockport
Barnsley
Rotherham
Sheffield
Leeds
Avon
Berkshire
Cleveland
Derbyshire
East Sussex
Hertfordshire
Humberside
Lancashire
Leicestershire
Norfolk
Somerset
Suffolk
Surrey
All project bids are currently being assessed and evaluated ; decisions will be announced shortly.
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Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children with special learning difficulties have been statemented during the past 12 months ; what funding is made available for such children in state, voluntary sector and grant-maintained schools ; and what steps he takes to ensure quality control and adequate provision for statemented children.
Mr. Forth : Information on the number of children for whom statements of special educational needs were made for the first time in the last 12 months is not yet available. The latest collated information indicates that statements were made in respect of 30,699 children for the first time during the calendar year 1991. Any additional funding for the provision specified in a pupil's statement is the responsibility of the local education authority which maintains the statement, irrespective of the type of school the pupil attends.
Quality control and ensuring that adequate provision is made for children with statements are similarly matters for local education authorities. Paragraph 5 of part III of schedule 1 to the Education Act 1981 requires authorities to review statements at least annually.
The Education Bill currently before Parliament makes similar provision--at clause 162--for statements to be reviewed at least annually and provides, for the first time, for the necessary regulations governing the manner in which those reviews are to be conducted. I anticipate that the new code of practice to be made under clause 149 of the Bill will offer guidance on the contents of statements and the manner of their review.
Music Teaching
Dr. Spink : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans she has to investigate the political impartiality of music teaching in Sheffield ; and what actions are open to parents in this matter.
Mr. Forth : Certain conditions must be met before my right hon. Friend can take action on a complaint of a breach of the law relating to the school curriculum.
Section 44 of the Education (No. 2) Act 1986 requires local education authorities, head teachers and school governing bodies to forbid the promotion of partisan political views in the teaching of any subject. Section 45 of the Act requires them to do as much as they reasonably can to see that any presentation of political issues to pupils is balanced and takes account of opposing views. Parents who wish to complain about any apparent breach of curriculum law can do so under the arrangements established by all local education authorities under section 23 of the Education Reform Act 1988 for dealing with curriculum complaints. Schools must make details of these arrangements available on request. The Secretary of State cannot consider a curriculum complaint
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until it has been disposed of locally by the governors, the local education authority, or both, as appropriate. He has received no complaint about music teaching in Sheffield.NORTHERN IRELAND
Employment Tribunals
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff are employed by the offices of the industrial tribunals and the fair employment tribunals ; and how many are (a) Protestants and (b) Roman Catholics.
Mr. Mates : The Office of Industrial Tribunals and the Fair Employment Tribunal is staffed by 26 civil servants.
Disclosure of information on the religious affiliation of Northern Ireland civil service staff is governed by a code of practice which stipulates that no statistical summaries will be produced which fall outside the categories of analyses agreed with staff representatives. The most recent analyses were published in the "Fourth Report of the Northern Ireland Civil Service Equal Opportunities Unit", a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.
Fish Pass, Toome
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects the new fish pass at Toome to be fully in operation.
Mr. Hanley : The new fish pass at Toome has been substantially complete since December. However, operation has been delayed pending the completion of some additional features requested by fisheries interests. Completion of these works is dependent on low downstream levels in the River Bann, but it is intended that the fish pass will be fully operational by early June.
Manufacturing Output
Mr. Peter Robinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the manufacturing output or productivity in Northern Ireland for each year since 1989.
Mr. Atkins : Northern Ireland indices of production and productivity for the years in question are as follows :
|1989|1990|1991|1992
--------------------------------------------------
Index of Production<1> |111 |114 |112 |114
Index of Productivity<1> |112 |114 |116 |123
<1>1985=100
Students
Mr. Peter Robinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many full-time mature students within the meaning of the grants regulations were in attendance at the University of Ulster and Queen's university, Belfast, each year since 1988.
Mr. Hanley : The information is as follows :
T
Academic year |University of Ulster|Queens' University
|Belfast
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1988-89 |320 |283
1989-90 |332 |315
1990-91 |360 |308
1991-92 |391 |371
1992-93 |371 |411
Figures were supplied by the universities and relate to full-time undergraduate
students who had attained the age of 26 before entry to the university.
Labour Statistics
Mr. Peter Robinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the latest level of unemployment in the Belfast travel-to- work area.
Mr. Atkins : At 11 March 1993, the latest date for which figures are available, there were 52,773 unemployed claimants in the Belfast travel-to- work area, representing 12.8 per cent. of the work force in this area.
Mr. Peter Robinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were unemployed in the Province (a) at the latest date for which figures are available ; and (b) in May 1990 ; and what is (b) as a percentage of (a) .
Mr. Atkins : At 11 March 1993 there were 106,016 unemployed claimants in Northern Ireland. The number of unemployed claimants in May 1990 was 96,064, which represents 90.6 per cent. of the March 1993 figure.
Criminal Damage and Injury
Mr. Peter Robinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much was paid in compensation for criminal damage and injury to (a) property and (b) individuals in each year since 1990-91.
Mr. Mates : Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Compensation Agency under its chief executive, Mr. J. Robinson. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given. Letter from J. Robinson to Mr. Peter Robinson, dated 27 April 1993 :
I refer to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning the amount of criminal injury and damage compensation paid since 1990-91. The Secretary of State has asked me to respond.
The table below details the amounts of compensation paid including costs and fees.
|Criminal injury|Criminal damage
-------------------------------------------------------------------
|£m |£m
1990-91 |19.5 |22.7
1991-92 |25.0 |33.1
1992-93 (forecast) |26.6 |75.9
The figures for 1992-93 cannot be confirmed until the
Appropriation Account is finalised.
School Leavers
Mr. Peter Robinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the forecast number of school leavers in the Province after the 1993 summer term.
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Mr. Hanley : It is anticipated that there will be approximately 23,000 school leavers in 1993.
Public Service Employment
Mr. Peter Robinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of the working population in Northern Ireland is employed directly by the Government or in organisations and industries owned wholly or in part by the state ; and if he will give the figures for 1990.
Mr. Atkins : At June 1992, the latest date for which figures are available, the public sector in Northern Ireland accounted for 32.7 per cent. of civil employment. The corresponding figure for June 1990 was 33.2 per cent.
Cardiac Patients
Dr. Hendron : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) when patients will need to wait less than 12 months for their first appointment with a cardiac surgeon ;
(2) what plans he has to reduce the length of time patients wait for their first appointment with a cardiac surgeon.
Mr. Hanley : The majority of patients wait between three and 12 months for their first appointment with a cardiac surgeon. It is the Department's aim, in keeping with the patients charter, to ensure as soon as possible that all patients are seen within three months of the date of their referral to a surgeon.
In his recent report on cardiac surgery services, the Chief Medical Officer of the Department of Health and Social Services pointed to the inadequacy of the present arrangements for the management of the cardiac surgery outpatient waiting list at the Royal Group of Hospitals Trust. As a result the Department has asked the trust to review the handling of out-patients.
Dr. Hendron : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the effect on patients' rights under the patients charter of refusal to go outside Northern Ireland for treatment.
Mr. Hanley : In the speciality of cardiac surgery a number of patients have declined the offer of treatment outside Northern Ireland. It may not be possible in these cases to offer treatment in the Province within the guarantee period set down in the patients charter. However, these patients will not lose their place on the cardiac surgery waiting list. Those requiring urgent treatment will continue to receive it as quickly as possible.
It is not expected that this situation will arise for any other treatments.
Health Care Centres
Dr. Hendron : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what are the quality ratings of each health care centre under the criteria used for the assessment of the quality of clinical care ; (2) what assessment he has made of the quality of care available in (a) the Royal Victoria hospital and (b) other health care ; (3) which health care centres will not be used again following assessment by his Department.
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Mr. Hanley : I assume that the hon. Gentleman is inquiring about medical audit. As I stated in the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Belfast, South (Rev. Martin Smyth) on 19 April, Official Report, column 19, reports on medical audit are prepared on an annual basis by a regional audit advisory committee and area audit advisory committees in each board. These are then presented to my noble Friend Lord Arran. They are not published, nor are there any plans to do so. The reports are, however, available to boards, trusts and other provider units ; specialties within units ; and to GPs where they are subject to medical audit.
It is not intended that the findings of medical audit should be used in making a case for the closure of a health care facility. The purpose of medical audit is to ensure that the services being provided meet the agreed standards for those services and that any shortcomings identified are corrected as soon as possible.
Independent Commission for Police Complaints
Sir James Kilfedder : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he will lay before Parliament the annual report of the Independent Commission for Police Complaints for Northern Ireland ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Patrick Mayhew : The report, which is the fifth annual report to be produced by the commission since its establishment in 1988, has been laid before Parliament today. It provides a detailed account of the commission's oversight of police conduct, including the supervision of complaints against the police and the commission's role in disciplinary proceedings once a complaint has been investigated.
It is essential that the community has confidence in the integrity of the police and the commission has a vital role in ensuring that complaints are fairly and properly investigated and that appropriate action is taken. Throughout the report, by providing detailed explanations of its work in investigating actual complaints, the commission demonstrates the high standards and dedication which it applies to its task.
I am grateful to the commission for all its work. I have no doubt that it will continue to contribute significantly to the enhancement of public confidence in the RUC. In this it has my full support.
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