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Mr. David Hunt : Verification of the information submitted on form IACS 2A (1993) will be carried out by Welsh Office staff by means of a combination of administrative checks and site inspection visits.
Trainees
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has on the number of young females who have had their youth training placements terminated in Wales in each year from 1987 ; and how many such terminations resulted directly from a trainee becoming pregnant.
Sir Wyn Roberts : The followi yet available.
Information on the number who terminated training directly as a result of pregnancy is not available.
Youth Training
Young Women leavers in Wales
Year |Completers |Early leavers|Don't know
|Per cent. |Per cent. |Per cent.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1987-88 |21 |79 |-
1988-89 |26 |74 |-
1989-90 |27 |73 |-
1990-91 |28 |54 |<1>18
1991-92 |27 |53 |21
<1> Figures for 1990-91 and 1991-92 are taken from the YT leavers
survey and are not directly comparable with those for earlier years
which were taken from the trainee database.
Agri-environment Scheme
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what action has been taken to date by his Department to implement European Community Regulation No. 2978/92 on the development of a multinational zonal agri- environment scheme for Wales.
Mr. David Hunt : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given to the hon. and learned Member for Montgomery (Mr. Carlile) on 17 May 1993 at column 55.
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to extend agri-environmental schemes currently operational in Wales to cover the Ceredigion area.
Mr. David Hunt : The Cambrian mountains--original and
extension--environmentally sensitive areas (ESAs)
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already cover part of Ceredigion. I have no plans to extend the boundaries of these ESAs. Other schemes containing agri -environmental elements, such as the farm woodland premium scheme, the farm and conservation grant scheme and hedgerow renovation scheme, are already available in Ceredigion.Illegal Drugs
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has on the proportion of secondary school children in each local education authority area in Wales who have taken illegal drugs.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : A 1992 survey by the Health Promotion Authority for Wales reported that 36.6 per cent. of all fifth formers had used some form of drug or other substance, excluding alcohol and tobacco, during that year. That data broken down to local education authority level are too small to be significant.
Non-departmental Public Bodies
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many representations he has received on the subject of non-departmental public bodies over the past year ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. David Hunt : The activities of non-departmental public bodies relate to many areas of my Department's work and thus the imprecise information requested is not available centrally.
Grant-maintained schools
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many grant-maintained schools have facilities for disabled students : and what percentage this is of grant-maintained schools.
Sir Wyn Roberts : All but one of the seven grant-maintained schools currently in Wales have some facilities for disabled students.
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list all of the successful capital grant requests from grant- maintained schools since he began making them, stating the work to be carried out and its value ; and how many of these projects enabled disabled students to have access to these schools.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Details of the successful named projects in 1992- 93 were provided in my right hon. Friend's reply of 1 February 1993 to the hon. Member for Caerphilly (Mr. Davies) Official Report, column 29 . An announcement about the 1993-94 allocations will be made shortly.
A number of the projects included the improvement of facilities for disabled students.
Regional Assistance
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the firms in Clywd that accepted regional enterprise grants in each year in which they were available and the amount of each grant ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. David Hunt : Details about individual companies accepting offers of regional enterprise grants are
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commercially confidential. However, the following table gives the total number and value of offers accepted by companies in Clwyd for each year since the start of the scheme on 1 April 1988.
Type of grant
Investment Innovation
|Number |Offer value (£)|Number |Offer value (£)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1988-89 |41 |322,534 |10 |227,750
1989-90 |105 |894,996 |15 |322,384
1990-91 |67 |616,778 |23 |498,074
1991-92 |47 |476,112 |16 |347,632
1992-93 |27 |253,839 |20 |450,092
|--------- |--------- |--------- |---------
Total |287 |2,564,259 |84 |1,845,932
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the firms in Clwyd that accepted offers of selective regional assistance in 1991-92 and 1992-93 and the amount of each offer; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. David Hunt : Details of all offers of regional selective assistance of £75,000 or more are published in the Employment Gazette following the first payment of grant. These details remain commercially confidential until that time including individual amounts of RSA associated with projects which have been publicly announced beforehand. Companies accepting offers of RSA in 1991-92 whose details have appeared in the Employment Gazette are :
|RSA Offer
|(£)
------------------------------------------------------
Processed Timber Products Ltd. |75,000
Keating Gravure Systems (UK) Ltd. |100,000
Kronospan Ltd. |3,000,000
P. and R. Graphics |100,000
Fibrax Ltd. |125,000
Betts and Co. |600,000
Cardiff Bay Development
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has made of the effect on the south Wales economy of the construction of the Cardiff bay development ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. David Hunt : The latest economic appraisal estimates that the Cardiff Bay regeneration strategy, including the barrage, will attract some 23,000 new jobs and £1.2 billion of private sector investment to Cardiff bay. The wider south Wales economy will clearly benefit from activity of this magnitude, in terms of both additional jobs and changed perceptions of the region in the eyes of inward investors.
Power Stations
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what effect he expects the Hamilton Oil and Connah's Quay power station projects will have on the north Wales economy ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. David Hunt : I understand that the Hamilton Point of Ayr terminal and PowerGen's Connah's Quay power station projects together represent an investment of some £1.8 billion. Up to 2,400 jobs will be created during construction, with around 110 permanent jobs at the two sites thereafter.
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Management Placement Training
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people have found full-time positions after completing management placement training courses in Wales in each year since 1987.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Information on the numbers of people who have found full-time positions after completing management placement training courses in Wales is not available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Welsh Development Agency
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the total amount of (a) grant in aid and (b) other moneys given by his Department to the Welsh Development Agency in 1991-92 and 1992-93 expressed in (i) cash prices and (ii) at 1990-91 prices.
Mr. David Hunt : The information is set out in the following table :
|Total grant in aid|Total grant in aid
|cash £000 |at 1990-91 prices
|£000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1991-92 |87,167 |76,116
1992-93 |78,359 |68,425
No other resources were made available by the Department in this period.
Trade Missions
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the destinations of the trade missions being organised by the Welsh Office over the next three years to promote the products of small and medium-sized enterprises based in Wales ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. David Hunt : The programme of missions for 1993-94 is as follows :
1993-94 |Date
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. GERMANY AND SWITZERLAND
Stuttgart/Zurich |6-11 June 1993
2. SINGAPORE AND MALAYSIA
Singapore/Kuala Lumpur |14-26 August 1993
3. USA AND CANADA
Seattle/Vancouver/Toronto |11-23 September 1993
4. ARABIAN GULF
Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia |1-14 October 1993
5. BELGIUM
Brussels |14-18 February 1994
6. SPAIN AND FRANCE
Barcelona/Marseilles |13-18 March 1994
The programmes for the eight 1994-95 and 10 1995-96 missions have yet to be finalised. Decisions on likely target markets are made taking account of the most up-to-date information available and both programmes are under review. For 1994-95, however, the programme is likely to include destinations in North America, the middle and far east, Australasia and Europe and I will make an announcement shortly.
Inward Investment
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the percentage share of foreign inward capital investment by county in Wales in each year since 1987.
Mr. David Hunt : The percentage share of capital investment promised by inward investment projects from overseas recorded since 1987 is shown in the following table. The figures are based on information provided at the time the projects were recorded and have not been amended to take account of any subsequent development.
4
|1988 |1989 |1990 |1991 |1992
----------------------------------------------------
Clwyd |17.56|38.21|47.00|10.90|5.94
Dyfed |1.44 |10.91|1.92 |8.96 |7.86
Gwent |4.47 |6.84 |2.43 |16.27|12.33
Gwynedd |2.96 |- |- |1.91 |1.96
Powys |- |0.07 |0.10 |0.86 |7.17
Mid Glamorgan |2.57 |9.01 |21.97|28.46|44.56
South Glamorgan |69.55|31.41|6.11 |28.62|17.93
West Glamorgan |1.45 |3.55 |20.47|4.02 |2.25
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many new inward investment projects were secured by county in Wales in each year from 1988 ; how many new jobs were created ; how many jobs were safeguarded ; and what was the total capital investment.
Mr. David Hunt : The information requested is shown in the following table. The figures are based on information provided by the companies at the time the projects were recorded and have not been amended to take account of any subsequent developments.
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Inward investment projects secured in Wales from 1988
County Number of Number of jobs Capital
|projects |New |Safeguarded|investment
|£ million
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1988
Clwyd |28 |2,377 |26 |201.0
Dyfed |6 |253 |0 |20.0
Gwent |21 |2,122 |1,299 |80.0
Gwynedd |7 |377 |110 |34.0
Powys |0 |0 |0 |0.0
Mid Glamorgan |20 |1,742 |200 |43.0
South Glamorgan |7 |3,773 |730 |764.0
West Glamorgan |8 |649 |30 |15.0
1989
Clwyd |14 |831 |0 |190.0
Dyfed |10 |448 |2,280 |70.0
Gwent |23 |1,490 |185 |49.0
Gwynedd |2 |18 |0 |0.3
Powys |2 |35 |0 |0.5
Mid Glamorgan |19 |1,051 |87 |52.0
South Glamorgan |15 |2,140 |94 |155.0
West Glamorgan |15 |1,163 |700 |24.0
1990
Clwyd |38 |2,204 |238 |235.0
Dyfed |4 |0 |948 |8.0
Gwent |21 |1,131 |212 |107.0
Gwynedd |3 |123 |0 |0.4
Powys |2 |42 |0 |0.5
Mid Glamorgan |33 |1,147 |3,670 |97.0
South Glamorgan |24 |2,273 |350 |137.0
West Glamorgan |17 |1,036 |2,510 |84.0
1991
Clwyd |48 |2,412 |640 |121.0
Dyfed |8 |330 |960 |70.0
Gwent |45 |2,177 |1,771 |129.0
Gwynedd |15 |573 |1,006 |69.0
Powys |3 |120 |0 |6.0
Mid Glamorgan |31 |2,890 |1,815 |220.0
South Glamorgan |21 |792 |518 |216.0
West Glamorgan |12 |844 |212 |33.0
1992
Clwyd |38 |1,496 |548 |83.0
Dyfed |15 |185 |875 |68.0
Gwent |40 |1,302 |2,043 |129.0
Gwynedd |27 |735 |593 |35.0
Powys |34 |1,052 |0 |66.0
Mid Glamorgan |25 |1,062 |1,726 |392.0
South Glamorgan |18 |654 |999 |160.0
West Glamorgan |9 |131 |969 |62.0
Consultancy Initiatives
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many firms in Clwyd have been helped by consultancy initiatives in each year since 1988 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. David Hunt : The number of firms which have received completed consultancies under the scheme in Clwyd are as follows :
|Number
----------------------
1988-89 |<1>24
1989-90 |<1>96
1990-91 |<1>113
1991-92 |<1>149
1992-93 |<1>140
1993-94 |<2>9
|---
Total |531
<1> Completed.
<2> Completed to
date.
These consultancy services are provided by my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade and delivered in Wales on his behalf by the Welsh Development Agency.
The scheme, as my right hon. Friend announced on 10 March, Official Report, columns 583-84, will continue at reduced rates of subsidy. This will allow the development
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of a new, wider and more flexible package of support which will help a larger number of companies, within the available resources. This new package of assistance, which will still include consultancy support, will continue after 31 March 1994, when the enterprise initiative consultancy scheme was due to end.Training and Enterprise Councils
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many inquiries TEC-operated business information services received from businesses in Clwyd last year ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Information about the numbers of inquiries received by TEC business information services is collected only on a TEC area basis. North East Wales TEC, which covers Clwyd with the exception of the boroughs of Colwyn and Rhuddlan, dealt with 1,866 inquiries through its business information service last year. The total number of inquiries received in Gwynedd and Clwyd during the same period was 5,635.
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many new and existing small businesses in Clwyd participated in counselling sessions run by TECs last year ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Information about the numbers of new and existing small businesses participating in counselling sessions run by TECs is collected only on a TEC area basis. North East Wales TEC, which covers
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Clwyd with the exception of Colwyn and Rhuddlan boroughs, undertook 863 counselling sessions in 1992-93. The total number of counselling sessions undertaken in Gwynedd and Clwyd for the same period was 3, 040.Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many owners and managers of businesses in Clwyd received help and training from TECs last year ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Information on the numbers of owners and managers of businesses in Clwyd who received help and training from TECs last year is available only on a TEC area basis. NE Wales TEC, which covers Clwyd with the exception of Colwyn and Rhuddlan boroughs, supported 876 owner- manager training activities in 1992-93. The total number of owner-manager training activities undertaken in Gwynedd and Clwyd for the same period was 2,289.
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people in Clwyd who started their own businesses in the last financial year received help and support from TECs ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Information on the numbers of people who started their own businesses in the last financial year and who received help and support from TECs is collected only on a TEC area basis. North East Wales TEC, which covers Clwyd with the exception of the boroughs of Colwyn and Rhuddlan, provided help and support for 171 people who started their own businesses in 1992-93. The total number who received such assistance in Gwynedd and Clwyd during the same period was 578.
Column 552
Small Firms (Awards)
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the companies in Clwyd that have received a small firms merit award for research and technology (a) stage 1 and (b) stage 2 award during the past 12 months ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Wyn Roberts : The Government's SMART competition for small companies and start-ups is a highly successful scheme that provides support for innovation which is widely recognised as the key to company competitiveness. Over the five years that it has been operating, Wales has received 112 awards covering a wide technological range, representing 9 per cent. of the United Kingdom total. The following companies located in Clwyd have received awards over the past 12 months :
(a) STAGE 1
Global Specialties (UK) Ltd.
Optokem Instruments Ltd.
(b) STAGE 2
Henrob Ltd.
Quest Refrigeration Ltd.
Some 107 applications from Welsh companies have been received for this year's stage 1 competition, representing a 55 per cent. increase on last year. This reflects an increase in confidence in Welsh industry as well as a positive interest in innovation.
Foreign-owned Manufacturing Units
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the percentage share of employment by county in foreign-owned manufacturing units in Wales in each year since 1988.
Mr. David Hunt : The percentage share of employment by county in foreign-owned manufacturing units in Wales in each year since 1988 is in the following table :
Column 551
|1988 |1989 |1990 |1991 |1992
|Per cent.|Per cent.|Per cent.|Per cent.|Per cent.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clwyd |18.0 |19.3 |18.8 |18.3 |18.8
Dyfed |3.9 |6.6 |7.4 |7.0 |6.7
Gwent |18.3 |19.3 |19.6 |18.9 |19.5
Gwynedd |2.7 |2.2 |1.9 |2.1 |1.8
Mid Glamorgan |27.8 |26.5 |26.4 |27.2 |27.1
Powys |0.3 |0.4 |0.6 |0.4 |0.3
South Glamorgan |11.7 |10.1 |11.0 |12.3 |12.7
West Glamorgan |17.3 |15.5 |14.3 |13.9 |13.1
|---- |---- |---- |---- |----
Total Employment in Foreign-owned Manufacturing units in Wales |50,500 |60,600 |66,300 |67,000 |66,200
Source: Welsh Register of Manufacturing Employment.
Note: Totals may not add due to rounding.
Site Protection
Mr. Ainger : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what action he proposes to take to protect sites of importance for nature and landscape conservation from being destroyed prior to applications being made for planning permission ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Wyn Roberts : The Government encourage local authorities to adopt appropriate policies in their development plans, and to make full use of their powers under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside
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Act 1949, the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and under planning legislation to protect sites which they recognise as sites of local ecological importance. I am satisfied that measures available to local authorities are sufficient to secure the protection of such sites.Child Care
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the applications made to date for funding under the out of school child care grant in Wales, indicating the amount allocated in each instance.
Column 553
Sir Wyn Roberts : The out of school child care scheme will be administered by the training and enterprise councils. As yet, no payments of grant have been made.
A470
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on plans for the improvement of the A470 Llanrwst to Conwy road at Tanlan.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Preparation of a scheme is in progress and a public consultation exercise is planned for later this year.
Education
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the taster courses and other forms of pre-course support in Wales which are aimed specifically at encouraging the re-entry of women into education.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Six higher education institutions held eight taster courses for prospective teachers in the academic year 1991-92. The institutions concerned were UCW Aberystwyth, UCNW Bangor, UC Swansea, Cardiff institute of higher education, North Wales institute of higher education and Gwent college of higher education. UCNW Bangor will be holding a further taster course in September 1993. The taster courses provide men and women with the opportunity to learn more about teaching as a career. The courses are not aimed specifically at women but a substantial proportion of those attending have been women.
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many schools and units for emotionally and behaviourally disturbed children he and his Minister of State have visited since September 1992.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Neither my right hon. Friend nor I has visited any designated school or unit for such children since September 1992.
Youth Justice
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many local authorities in Wales to date have established operational plans for tackling discrimination in youth justice ; and what is the number that have drawn up an anti-discrimination statement relating to youth justice.
Sir Wyn Roberts : This information is not held centrally.
Environmental Protection
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list (a) the additional special protection areas and (b) wetlands of international importance that have been designated in Wales during the last two years ; and what plans he has for further designations.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Since 1 April 1991, six sites in Wales have been designated as special protection areas (SPAs) under the EC Birds Directive and four sites designated under the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Convention). The sites are as follows :
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SPA/RAMSAR sites designated in Wales since 1 April 1991
|Date of designation
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SPAs
Skokholm |5 August 1991
Traeth Lafan (Conway Bay) |10 June 1992
Ynys Feurig, Cemlyn Bay and Skerries |10 June 1992
Glannau Aberdaron (Aberdaron Coast) and Ynys Enlli (Bardsey Island) |10 June 1992
Glannau Ynys Gybi (Holy Island Coast) |10 June 1992
Burry Inlet<1> |14 July 1992
RAMSAR
Llyn Tegid |7 November 1991
Llyn Idwal |7 November 1991
Burry Inlet<1> |14 July 1992
Cors Caron |28 September 1992
<1> Joint SPA/Ramsar site.
There are a number of other sites in Wales which are under consideration by the Countryside Council for Wales in a rolling programme of designations. The council's target is to submit six sites to the Welsh Office in 1993-94.
Discretionary Grants
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many representations he has received on the subject of discretionary grants during the past 18 months ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Wyn Roberts : During the past 18 months, my right hon. Friend and I have received 35 representations on the subject of discretionary student awards. Such awards are the responsibility of local education authorities who can choose which students and courses to support and how much to spend.
Business Start-ups
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many new businesses have been started in Wales (a) in total and (b) by women in each of the last five years.
Mr. David Hunt : Comprehensive information on the number of new business start-ups in Wales (a) in total and (b) by women in each of the last five years is not available.
However, VAT registration figures are available by year up to 1991 and for the period 1987-91 as a whole show a gross addition of 49,100 VAT registered businesses in Wales. The number of VAT registrations in Wales for each of the last five years is as follows :
Year |VAT registrations ------------------------------------------------------ 1987 |8,700 1988 |10,900 1989 |10,900 1990 |10,200 1991 |8,400 1987-91 |49,100
Integrated Administration and Control
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many representations he has received concerning the subject of Welsh language IACS forms ; and if he will make a statement.
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Cardiff Wales Airport
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the new passenger air routes developed during 1992 and 1993 to date, to and from Cardiff, Wales airport ; and what plans there are further to expand this number.
Sir Wyn Roberts : During 1992, services introduced at Cardiff, Wales airport included a scheduled link to Aberdeen and charter services to Dalaman and Antalya in Turkey, Gran Canaria, Lyon, Rome, Vienna and Berlin.
In 1993 charter services started to Paphos (Cyprus), Kos and Skiathos (Greece) and Adnan Menderes (Turkey).
The airport management has plans for additional new services but these are commercially confidential.
Market Testing
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales by what date he wishes bids for market-testing jobs in his Department to be submitted.
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