House of Commons Hansard Debates for 15 Jun 1993

Prison Service (Parliamentary Questions)

Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many written replies the chief executive of the prison service issued in response to parliamentary questions during the period 1 April to 28 April ; and what was the approximate cost of each letter.

Mr. Peter Lloyd : Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the director general of the prison service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from Derek Lewis to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 14 June 1993. I have been asked by the Home Secretary to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about Questions I have answered.

I sent 50 written replies in response to Questions put down for answer between 1 April and 28 April, inclusive. Costings for individual replies are not recorded. The average cost of preparing written replies to Questions across the Government service, including the Prison Service, is currently estimated at £94 per written reply.

Asylum Seekers

Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will make available to hon. Members a copy of the report published at the meeting of EC Home Affairs Ministers in Copenhagen on 1 June which details levels of persecution in states throughout the world ; and what plans he has to use the report as a guideline for immigration officials as to which countries can be deemed safe for the return of asylum seekers.

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Mr. Charles Wardle : Ministers took note at the meeting in Copenhagen on 1 June of a report from the Centre for Information, Discussion and Exchange on Asylum (CIREA). I am placing a copy in the Library.

Strip Searches

Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to review the procedures when intimate and strip searches take place of juveniles held in police custody so as to ensure that either a parent, relative or friend is present ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Charles Wardle : We shall shortly be seeking the views of the Association of Chief Police Officers on a number of issues relating to the conduct of intimate and strip searches.

Work Permits

Mr. Spellar : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action his Department is proposing to take to ensure farmers and gangmasters do not employ non-EC persons who do not possess a work permit.

Mr. Charles Wardle : The immigration service works closely with the police and other agencies to detect and deal with people committing offences under the immigration laws, including those working without authority.

Correspondence

Mr. Kaufman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will now reply to the letters of 5 April, 21 April and 6 May sent to his predecessor by the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. Gallagher, an inmate at Lancaster prison.

Mr. Maclean : I understand that the director general of the prison service replied on 14 June to the right hon. Member's letter of 5 April about Mr. Gallagher's treatment in prison. As my right hon. and learned Friend's assistant private secretary explained in her letter of 9 June, we are making some inquiries in order to be in a position to send a substantive reply to the right hon. Member's letters of 21 April and 6 May about the safety of Mr. Gallagher's conviction.

Yugoslavia (Detainees)

Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimates he has received of the numbers of ex-detainees in the former Yugoslavia eligible for admission to the United Kingdom, with their dependants, under the scheme he announced last November.

Mr. Charles Wardle : Placement under the scheme that I announced last November is dependent on nomination by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. A number of other countries are running similar programmes and I understand that nearly all ex-detainees currently in UNHCR's care in Croatia have now been placed. The International Committee of the Red Cross is currently visiting some 2,400 detainees in Bosnia whose release it hopes to negotiate.

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DEFENCE

Swan Hunter

Mr. Trotter : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will outline the nature of the discussions being held between his Department and the receiver of Swan Hunter as to the completion of the three frigates building at the yard ; and whether it is his preferred solution for the frigates to be completed at the yard subject to the satisfactory conclusion of the negotiations with the receiver.

Mr. Aitken : Completion of the three type 23 Frigates on Tyneside would be my preferred solution, provided that a satisfactory agreement can be reached with the receiver. The details of the current negotiations are commercially confidential ; they include financial and contractual matters.

Channel Islands (Nazi Occupation)

Mr. Winnick : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the release of further documents relating to the wartime Nazi occupation of the Channel Islands ; and what inspection of these documents has been undertaken by representatives of the German authorities.

Mr. Hanley : The majority of MOD documents relating to the wartime Nazi occupation of the Channel Islands are already in the public domain. The German authorities are examining all MOD documents relating to this matter. When they have completed this task, those files currently closed will be opened for public inspection at the Public Record Office.

Upholder Class Submarines

Mr. Viggers : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the cost of moving the Upholder class of submarine from Gosport to Devonport.

Mr. Hanley : A total of £100,000 has been spent so far, and a further sum is contractually committed. No more expenditure will be approved until a decision has been taken on the future of the Upholder class.

Defence Research Agency

Sir James Spicer : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what targets he has set for the Defence Research Agency in 1993-94.

Mr. Aitken : The targets recently set for the Defence Research Agency in 1993-94 and subsequent years are as follows :

(a) To meet profit and cash targets consistent with a 6 per cent. return on capital employed (ROCE).

(b) To improve overall utilisation from 40 per cent. in 1992-93 to 49 per cent. in 1993-94 and 52 per cent. in 1997-98.

(c) To reduce administrative and general overhead (AGO) expressed as a percentage of total variable costs to less than 15 per cent. in 1993-94 and to hold it at this level or better in following years. (

(d) To seek competitive proposals in 1993-94 for market testing amounting on an annual basis to 5 per cent. of DRA's turnover, for secondary competition amounting to 3 per cent. of turnover, and for subcontracts amounting to 24 per cent. of DRA's turnover. (

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(e) To achieve 70 per cent. of customer milestones on time in 1993-94 and to increase this to 85 per cent. by 1997- 98.

(f) To achieve an increase of 2 per cent. in overall performance and customer satisfaction in 1993-94 (as measured by the sum of satisfaction criteria in the business planning survey).

(g) To achieve a running cost reduction of £38 million per annum in 1993-94 and to achieve the final target of £90 million by 1997-98. (

(h) To achieve formal quality certification to BS5750 for one sector by 31 December 1994, and for the rest of the DRA by 31 December 1966.

HMS Sovereign

Mrs. Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what timescale he has for the return to service of HMS Sovereign, of what other vessels the officer in command of HMS Sovereign is also in command ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Hanley [pursuant to his answer, 8 June 1993, col. 225-26.] : The answer I gave on 8 June should have read as follows : HMS Sovereign is expected to return to service in 1995. The refitting officer in command of HMS Sovereign is also in command of HMS Revenge, which is in the process of being decommissioned.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Product Marking

Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how his Department will be participating at the Copenhagen European conference in June on labelling products ; and which United Kingdom good practices in the labelling of products he will submit to the European Commission study of this issue.

Mr. McLoughlin : My Department was represented by an official from consumer affairs division. The conduct of the study is a matter for the European Commission but we understand that it will be identifying priorities, and considering how best to bring consumer and trade interests together to assist in the process. My Department will aim to keep in touch with developments, co-operate fully in this work and ensure the European Commission is aware of current United Kingdom practices.

Developing Countries

Mr. Barnes : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what measures he proposes to take to help increase the trading prospects of developing countries ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Needham : The Government will continue to support strenuously the European Community's efforts, particularly in the current GATT Uruguay round negotiations, to create open trading conditions which will increase the trading prospects of all countries, including developing nations. An OECD study suggested that annual income gains to the developing world as a whole from a Uruguay round agreement could be in excess of $US 90 billion, once all the effects have worked through. Under its generalised system of preferences (GSP) scheme the European Community allows preferential access to most of the manufactured products from developing

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countries. The GSP provides especially generous treatment for the least developed nations. The trade provisions of the Lome convention also provide unlimited duty free access (subject to rules of origin) to Community markets for all industrial products (except rum), and free or concessionary access for a wide range of agricultural products, from the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states. Lome beneficiaries financed from the European development fund (EDF) can also write into their national indicative programmes requirements for technical and structural adjustment aid which will benefit their export regimes.

The United Kingdom also actively participates in the United Nations conference on trade and development (UNCTAD) and other relevant international forums which encourage developing countries in their own efforts towards sustained economic development.

Office of Electricity Regulation

Mr. Mullin : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many people are employed by OFFER ; what is their function ; and what is the annual cost.

Mr. Eggar : Total staff in post at the Office of Electricity Regulation (OFFER) in December 1992 was 224. This figure includes staff working on consumer and public affairs, legal and technical matters, administration and in the regional offices. The duties of the Director General of Electricity Supply, who heads OFFER, include the regulation of the electricity market and the protection of consumers. The cost of running OFFER in the financial year ending March 1992 was £10.5 million. OFFER's costs are recovered from annual fees paid by licensees.

Oil and Gas

Mr. Richards : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what measures are being taken to ensure that those companies which receive the right to drill offshore under the 14th round of oil and gas licensing do so in an environmentally responsible manner ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Eggar : Special conditions to protect wildlife and the environment are attached to licence awards. These conditions are agreed with other Government Departments and the Joint Nature Conservancy Committee (JNCC).

Gasoline

Mr. Legg : To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what changes to gasoline composition have occurred in the United Kingdom since 1970 ;

(2) what is the level of aromatic hydrocarbons in the super premium unleaded grade and the unleaded premium grade of gasoline in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Eggar : The information is not held centrally.

Deregulation Unit

Sir Thomas Arnold : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations he has received from the civil service unions about the work of the deregulation unit.

Mr. Neil Hamilton : I am not aware of any such representations.

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British and Commonwealth Company

Mr. Radice : To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he expects to publish his Department's report into the collapse of the British and Commonwealth Company.

Mr. Neil Hamilton : Inspectors were appointed on 15 June 1990 under section 432 of the Companies Act 1985 to investigate and report on the affairs of Atlantic Computers plc and Atlantic Computer Systems plc, both major companies in the British and Commonwealth group. The inspectors are in the final stages of their investigations but they have not yet submitted their report ; I will consider publication when it is received.

Overseas Assets

Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement outlining his Department's

responsibilities in respect of investigating companies' compliance with United Kingdom accounting requirements on valuation of overseas assets.

Mr. Neil Hamilton : A company's compliance with the United Kingdom accounting requirements on the valuation of overseas assets is a matter for the directors and auditors. Where evidence was presented suggesting that without good reason the relevant statutory accounting requirements had not been applied, appropriate inquiries would be considered in the normal way.

Brewing Industry

Mr. Wareing : To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 8 June, if he will list the exclusive supply agreements in the brewing industry which have received exemption from article 85 of the treaty of Rome.

Mr. Neil Hamilton [holding answer 11 June 1993] : Since 1983, supply agreements operated by the brewing industry have been able to gain automatic exemption from article 85 of the treaty of Rome by complying with the provisions of EC regulation 1984/83. There is no record of agreements which have benefited from this block exemption because no Commission decision is necessary for the exemption to apply. In addition, some agreements in the brewing industry will have been given individual exemption from article 85 by the EC Commission. Details of these individual exemptions are published in the official journal of the European Communities, but a record of them is not kept by the United Kingdom Government and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Saudi Arabia (Exports)

Mrs. Roche : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the level of exports from Britain to Saudi Arabia in each of the last five years ; and what information he has on the proportion of such exports which were on commission.

Mr. Needham [holding answer 14 June 1993] : This information is regularly published in "Business Monitors" MA20 and MM20, "Overseas Trade Statistics of the United Kingdom", copies of which are available in the Library.

Information on the proportion of exports on commission is not available.

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NORTHERN IRELAND

Charity Law

Mr. Maginnis : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he is able to indicate the nature of the review which is presently taking place of the law relating to charities in Northern Ireland ; how long the review has been in progress ; and by what means he intends to introduce legislation to deal with the issue.

Mr. Mates : The review is an internal one involving the relevant Departments and has been in progress since March 1992. The law and administration of charities is quite different in Northern Ireland compared with the position in Great Britain and the main thrust of the review is to examine those aspects of the reforms to charity law and administration in Great Britain which may have implications for Northern Ireland. If it is decided to introduce new legislation, it is likely to be in the form of a Northern Ireland charities Order in Council under the Northern Ireland Act 1974.

Electricity Privatisation

Mr. Beggs : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he is taking to honour the commitments in the 1991 White Paper "Privatisation of Northern Ireland Electricity" concerning provisions for existing employees to obtain a direct stake in the industry and concerning parallel provisions for shares for former NIE employees and those persons who transferred to successor generating companies to NIE.

Mr. Atkins : The objective behind any employee share purchase is to give employees the opportunity to obtain a direct stake in the company in which they are employed. This is the objective lying behind the special arrangements offered to employees of NIE for the purchase of shares in NIE. Former employees of NIE are entitled to register and apply for shares in the flotation and benefit from the incentives offered, which are enhanced for customers. Those employees who transferred to successor generating companies may also be able to participate in any share incentive schemes made available by their new employers.

HOUSE OF COMMONS

Parliamentary Television Service

Mr. Allen : To ask the Lord President of the Council, pursuant to his answer of 5 February, Official Report, column 27, what further developments have taken place regarding the provision of a live feed of the Chamber of the House to hon. Members' offices.

Mr. Newton : There is little that I can usefully add to my earlier reply to the hon. Member. Proposals for the establishment of a parliamentary data and video network, on which the clean feed from the Chamber would be carried, are still under consideration by the Information Committee. I understand that the Committee hopes to be able to report to the House by the end of the year.

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EDUCATION

Spelling

11. Mr. Mans : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what efforts are being made to improve standards of spelling in schools.

Mr. Forth : We are seeking to raise standards in all the basic language skills, including spelling, through the development of national curriculum English. Our proposals for revising the English Order, currently the subject of extensive consultation, give a strengthened emphasis to accurate spelling as one of the writing skills essential for the effective communication of meaning. To emphasise the importance of these skills, 5 per cent. of the marks in all GCSE written examinations are now allocated to spelling, punctuation and grammar.

Testing

12. Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to review testing procedures for schools or to change the role of the new curriculum and advisory body in this area ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Patten : I have asked Sir Ron Dearing to conduct a wide ranging review of the manageability of the national curriculum and the associated testing and assessment framework. The prospective remit of the new Schools Curriculum and Assessment Authority is laid out in section 232 of the Education Bill currently before Parliament.

27. Mr. Spellar : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a statement about the current situation regarding school tests.

Mr. Robin Squire : Most primary schools will have completed the tests of seven-year-olds. Fourteen-year-olds should have been sitting tests over the last week and a half. I deeply regret some teachers' boycott of these tests, which are necessary to monitor progress and raise standards.

My right hon. Friend has asked Sir Ron Dearing to conduct a review of the national curriculum and assessment framework. He expects to have Sir Ron's recommendations in July.

26. Mr. George : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will meet the representatives of teachers' organisations to discuss key stage testing.

Mr. Robin Squire : My right hon. Friend has no plans for such a meeting. Teacher associations should make their views known to Sir Ron Dearing, the chairman designate of the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority, who is conducting a review of the national curriculum and assessment.

Graduate Teaching Qualifications

13. Mrs. Helen Jackson : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has for developing access to graduate teaching qualifications.

Mr. Patten : The Department has discussed with the Higher Education Quality Council the provision of access courses for entry to initial teacher training. I understand that the council is planning to publish a list of such courses later this year.

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Grant-maintained Schools

14. Mr. Dunn : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will set out his plans for promoting the advantages of

grant-maintained status within the local education authorities' network of schools ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Patten : By the end of May, 2.4 million of the Department's publications on self-governing status had been distributed, mainly in response to requests.

The Department has also organised 16 regional conferences on "Going GM" and three further events are planned for later this term. Almost 3,000 headteachers and governors of LEA maintained schools have attended the conferences, representing around 1,700 schools.

24. Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is his estimate of the cost of the Funding Agency for schools in April 1996 (a) on the assumption that his targets for the number of schools opting for grant-maintained status is met and (b) on the assumption that the number of schools opting for grant-maintained status increases at the present annual rate.

Mr. Robin Squire : Parents will decide through ballots how many schools become grant maintained. On current trends, most secondary schools and a significant minority of primary schools could be GM by April 1996. The running costs of the FAS will depend on a number of factors, including growth of the sector, but on this basis might be of the order of £20 million in 1996-97. Over time, we expect the establishment of the FAS to result in savings in DFE running costs and, as the FAS takes on responsibility for the provision of school places, to lead to a reduction in the central administration costs of LEAs.

Primary Education

15. Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the current number of children in primary school education in England.

Mr. Robin Squire : The latest available figure is for January 1992, when there were 4.1 million children in maintained primary schools.

Victorian Schools

16. Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he will make special provision for modernising Victorian schools in urban areas.

Mr. Forth : The Government already provide substantial capital resources for school buildings. LEAs can choose to use the resources available to them to give priority to modernising Victorian buildings if they wish. Capital bids from the governors of voluntary-aided and grant- maintained schools are considered on their merits.

Schools (Disabled Access)

17. Mr. Jon Owen Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to meet local education authority representatives to discuss the accessibility of schools for children with physical disabilities.

Mr. Forth : Local education authorities and school governors may seek meetings with Ministers or officials to

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discuss general capital issues at any time. It is very likely that in some of these meetings the agenda will include access for disabled pupils.

A-levels

18. Sir Teddy Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a statement on the levels of achievement at A-level.

Mr. Boswell : More people than ever before are taking A-levels, passing them and passing them well. They will continue to set a benchmark for academic achievement. They are a key part of our strategy to provide clear and attractive pathways to high levels of academic and vocational achievement.

Special Educational Needs

19. Mr. Pope : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made as to the main factors influencing the length of time it takes local education authorities to produce statements of special educational needs.

Mr. Forth : The Audit Commission/HMI survey "Getting in on the Act" published in June 1992 looked carefully at the operation of procedures for making assessments and statements. Its conclusion was that a variety of factors could cause delay, but that lack of resources was not one of them.

ucation Bill provides for regulations which will for the first time set statutory time limits for the assessment and statementing processes. The Bill also requires the Secretary of State to issue a code of practice which will guide LEAs in their operation of those processes. The Government's aim is to ensure that assessmenr. GordonPrentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he next intends to meet the Association of County Councils to discuss the provision of nursery education.

Mr. Robin Squire : My right hon. Friend has no plans to meet the Association of County Councils to discuss this matter.

29. Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to improve the quality of educational input in different forms of pre-school provision.

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