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Prisoners
Sir Nicholas Fairbairn : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the cost per week, month or year of keeping a prisoner in the various categories of prison.
Mr. Lang : The approximate cost per year of keeping a prisoner in the various main categories of prison in Scotland for 1992-93, calculated as total current expenditure, divided by average prisoner numbers, was as follows. For the remand category, the figure was £22, 500, for the secure young offenders institution category, £23,000 and for adult secure prisoners the figure was £24,550. This compared to a figure of £31,000 for open and semi open adult prisons and £31,500 for the open and semi open young offenders institution category.
Shipping Services
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pusuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Aberdeen, South (Mr. Robertson) of 26 May, Official Report, column 589, on shipping services to Scottish islands, what consideration will be given in his review to the need for public sector support for private sector investment.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 14 June 1993] : The Government remain committed to continuing to support essential shipping services to the Scottish islands whether these services are provided by public or private sector operators. The shipping subsidies review will consider a range of different financing and ownership options.
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Aberdeen, South (Mr. Robertson) of 26 May, Official Report, column 589, on shipping services to Scottish islands, whether his review will include bulk shipping services.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 14 June 1993] : Yes.
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Aberdeen, South (Mr. Robertson) of 26 May, Official Report, column 589, on shipping services to Orkney and Shetland, what plans he has to extend the principle of giving additional
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assistance to P & O Scottish Ferries Ltd. to enable net tariffs of users of the service to remain unchanged to services to islands provided by other operators.Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 14 June 1993] : My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Scotland, announced that he intended to make available a further £1.934 million in the current year to increase the amount of subsidy available for services provided by P&O to Orkney and Shetland. The additional assistance is to be provided to P&O Scottish Ferries Ltd. to enable it to maintain the present level of roll-on/roll-off services in respect of passengers and cars. I have no plans to increase further the level of support for shipping services in the current year.
Conservation Sites
Mr. Galbraith : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list, by habitat category, sites which in the opinion of Scottish Natural Heritage qualify for designation as special protection areas under the EC directive on the conservation of wild birds (79/409/EEC) ; which of these are awaiting designation ; and if he will indicate a timetable for their designation.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 8 June 1993] : The information is set out in the table. The sites have not been selected by reference to any habitat category but to their ornithological importance. The Government are working closely with Scottish Natural Heritage with a view to accelerating the rate of designation of special protection areas and to completing the designation programme as soon as possible.
List of sites which in the opinion of Scottish Natural Heritage qualify for special protection
area status
Site |Local Authority
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
North Rona and Sula Sgeir |Western Isles
Flannan Isles |Western Isles<1>
St. Kilda |Western Isles<1>
Shiant Isles |Western Isles<1>
West Sound of Harris |Western Isles
Monach Islands |Western Isles
Loch Druidibeg/Loch a' Machair |Western Isles<1>
South Uist Machair and Lochs |Western Isles
West Sound of Barra |Western Isles
Mingulay and Berneray |Western Isles
Pentland Firth Islands |Highland
|Orkney
The Peatlands |Highland
Caithness Lochs |Highland
Caithness Cliffs |Highland
Cape Wrath |Highland
Handa |Highland<1>
Priest Island |Highland<1>
Rum |Highland<1>
Balranald |Western Isles
Baleshare and Kirkibost |Western Isles
Loch Scadavay |Western Isles
Inverpolly, Loch Urigill and Nearby Lochs |Highland
Loch Maree |Highland
Loch Ruthven and Nearby Lochs |Highland
Central Highland Hills and Glens |Highland
Lewis Peatlands |Western Isles
North Harris Mountains |Western Isles
Assynt Lochs |Highland
Loch Stack, Loch Nam Brac and Nearby Lochs |Highland
Loch Shin and Nearby Lochs |Highland
Loch Eye |Highland<1>
Moray Basin Firths and Bays |Grampian
|Highland
Beinn Dearg |Highland
Ben Wyvis |Highland
Glangarry Lochs |Highland
Loch Tarff and Nearby Lochs |Highland
North Inverness Lochs |Highland
Hermaness and Saxa Vord, Unst |Shetland
Ramna Stacks and Gruney |Shetland
Fetlar |Shetland
North Roe and Tingon, Mainland Shetland |Shetland
Papa Stour |Shetland
Foula |Shetland
Noss |Shetland
Fair Isle |Shetland
West Westray |Orkney
Papa Westray (North Hill and Holm) |Orkney
Marwick Head |Orkney
Lochs of Harray and Stenness |Orkney
Hoy |Orkney
Copinsay |Orkney
Sule Skerry and Stack |Orkney
Loch Spynie |Grampian<1>
Loch of Strathbeg |Grampian
Ythan Estuary, Sands of Forvie and Meikle Lochs |Grampian
River Spey-Insh Marshes |Highland
Cairngorms |Highland
|Grampian
Loch of Skene |Grampian<1>
Fowlsheugh |Grampian<1>
Lochnagar |Grampian
Drumochter Hills |Highland
|Tayside
West Mainland Moors |Orkney
North Mainland Coast |Orkney
South Westray Coast |Orkney
East Sanday |Orkney
Croussa Field and the Heogs |Shetland
Mousa |Shetland
Rousay (part) |Orkney
North Ronaldsay Coast |Orkney
Southeastern Stronsay |Orkney
Eday |Orkney
Troup, Pennan and Lion Heads |Grampian
St. Cyrus |Grampian
Buchan Ness to Collieston Coast |Grampian
Sumburgh Head |Shetland
Monadhliath |Highland
Alvie |Highland
Ben Alder |Highland
Abernethy Forest |Highland<1>
Kinveachy |Highland
Creag Meagaidh |Highland
Lochs of Spiggie and Brow |Shetland
Mill Dam, Shapinsay |Orkney
Rosehearty to Fraserburgh Coast |Grampian
Orphir and Stenness Hills |Orkney
Keelylang |Orkney
Loch of Isbister |Orkney
Blackpark and Gutcher, Yell |Shetland
Loch Oire |Grampian
Loch Vaa |Highland
Glen Tanar |Grampian
Muir of Dinnet |Grampian
Moorland Areas, Central Shetland |Shetland
West Burrafirth, Shetland |Shetland
Hill of Colvadale and Sobul |Shetland
An Socach-Carn a Gheoidh |Grampian
Loch Lomond |Strathclyde
|Central
Tiree and Coll |Strathclyde
Treshnish Isles |Strathclyde
Gruinart Flats, Islay |Strathclyde<1>
Bridgend Flats, Islay |Strathclyde<1>
Laggan Peninsula, Islay |Strathclyde<1>
Eilean na Muice Duibhe, Islay |Strathclyde<1>
Glac na Criche, Islay |Strathclyde<1>
Feur Lochain, Islay |Strathclyde<1>
Rhinns of Islay |Strathclyde
Islay; the Oa |Strathclyde
Inner Clyde Estuary |Strathclyde
Rhunahaorine Point |Strathclyde
Machrihanish and Tangy Loch |Strathclyde
Ailsa Craig |Strathclyde<1>
Loch Ken and Dee Marshes |Dumfries and Galloway<1>
Lochinch and Torrs Warren |Dumfries and Galloway
Wigtown Bay |Dumfries and Galloway
North Colonsay and Western Cliffs |Strathclyde
Sanda |Strathclyde
Castle Loch Lochmaben |Dumfries and Galloway
Caenlochan |Tayside
|Grampian
Montrose Basin |Tayside
Loch of Kinnordy |Tayside
Loch of Lintrathen |Tayside<1>
Tay-Isla Valley |Tayside
Loch Leven |Tayside
Firth of Tay |Tayside
|Fife
Cameron Reservoir |Fife
Eden Estuary, Tentsmuir Point and Abertay Sands |Fife
|Tayside
Forth Islands |Lothian<1>
|Fife
Flanders Moss and Lake of Menteith |Central
Gladhouse Reservoir |Lothian<1>
Fala Flow |Lothian
Westwater |Borders
St. Abb's Head to Fast Castle |Borders
Greenlaw Moor and Hule Moss |Borders
Hoselaw Loch |Borders<1>
South Tayside Goose Roosts |Tayside<1>
Firth of Forth |Lothian
|Fife
|Central
Upper Solway Flats and Marches |Dumfries and Galloway<1>
<1> Indicates designated site.
HIV/AIDS and Drug Abuse
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will set out the criteria used by him in allocation resources to health boards for their work in (a) HIV/AIDS and (b) drug misuse including the criteria in respect of (i) education and (ii) prevention in these areas ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 7 June 1993] : Allocations to assist health boards in responding to the extra burdens imposed by HIV and AIDS are being made in 1993-94 by means of service agreements with the management executive of the national health service in Scotland. The agreements take into account the number of HIV and AIDS cases in each health board area and the estimated costs of treatment and care. For prevention activity, including public education campaigns, the allocations include an amount calculated according to weighted capitation principles. HIV and AIDS allocations may also be used for relevant activities to counter drug misuse ; but in addition some £2.4 million is being made available in 1993-94 specifically for drug misuse purposes. Of this amount, some £1.3 million has been allocated to four health boards in support of specific projects. The remainder has been divided among all health boards on the weighted capitation basis.
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Social Housing (Transfers)
Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the organisations awarded grants to help those in the social housing sector to move from one area to another, the sums awarded in each case, and the nature of the work that each grant will pay for.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 14 June 1993] : Grant is given to HOMES--Housing Organisations Mobility and Exchange Services--which is a national organisation acting as a clearing house for public sector tenants who wish to move between one local authority area and another. It operates two schemes--a national mobility scheme under which members agree to commit 1 per cent. of their net lettings in any one year to mobility applicants, and a tenants exchange scheme which facilitates swaps between council tenants. Grant is provided by the Department of the Environment, the Scottish Office, the Welsh Office and the Department of the Environment in Northern Ireland, and the Scottish contribution in 1993- 94, calculated on a formula related to the activity taking place in Scotland, will be a maximum of £121,015.
This grant will facilitate national mobility scheme moves and exchanges involving moves of tenants within, or to and from, Scotland, and will also assist towards funding of a development worker for Scotland who is to be appointed during the course of 1993-94.
Housing and Community Care
Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list those projects awarded a grant for 1993-94 which promote or develop effective links between housing services and community care, and the amount awarded to each.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 14 June 1993] : Support for projects combining housing and community care will come from a number of Government programmes in 1993-94. Grants totalling £514,000 have been awarded through the mental illness specific grant, to projects designed to increase community based mental health facilities, including special housing. In addition, £15 million of bridging finance has been made available to health boards for community care projects, some of which may well involve housing. Grants totalling £5.978 million have already been made under the urban programme for hostel and other accommodation, day care services, and home care for the elderly ; and further grants may be made during 1993-94. A total of £135,000 has been made available to voluntary housing bodies for community care, including provision for the elderly.
In addition, Scottish Homes makes grants to housing associations which promote effective links between housing and community care including in particular grants made under the new revenue funding arrangements known as the special needs allowance package (SNAP) to meet the additional housing management costs involved in providing for people with special needs. It is estimated that SNAP grants in 1993-94 will amount to around £4 million.
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Forestry Commission
Mr. Denham : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) who are the members of the review body currently considering the further sale of assets of the Forestry Commission ; and when she expects the review body to report ;
(2) what consideration is being given to the further sale of assets of the Forestry Commission ; and if she will make a statement.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 14 June 1993] : I refer the hon. Member to the replies I gave to the hon. Member for Islington, South and Finsbury (Mr. Smith) on 20 April 1993 at column 89.
In respect of current disposals, I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for the Western Isles (Mr. Macdonald) on 1 April 1993 at column 392.
Prescribed Process Regulations
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 19 May, Official Report, column 218, what prosecutions have been undertaken resulting from breach of the prescribed process regulations since 31 July 1992.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 14 June 1993] : The results of a survey on the operation of local authority air pollution control in Scotland during its first year (1 April 1992 to 31 March 1993) are currently being analysed. From 54 returns so far received from the 56 district and islands councils, the survey indicates that no prosecutions were undertaken during that period.
Dounreay
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the radiological and economic consequences of the spillage of radioactive thorium at building D1203 at the nuclear power development establishment at Dounreay on 27 March.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 14 June 1993] : The spillage of radioactive thorium at building D1203 at the AEA technology plant at Dounreay on 27 March was contained entirely within the plant. It did not result in any increased radiation exposure of plant personnel and had no environmental effects.
The economic consequences of the incident are a matter for the management of AEA Technology.
EDUCATION
Special Needs
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make it his policy to continue to make provision for local education authorities to plan and review the education of all children with special needs within their area.
Mr. Forth : The Education Bill currently before Parliament would strengthen provision for all pupils with special educational needs in an area. It would put duties on the funding agency and on the local education authority to take account of the need for making suitable SEN provision where they have responsibility for planning
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school places in an area. It provides for further co-operative arrangements between the sectors over local SEN provision. Responsibility for making provision for the majority of pupils with SEN rests with school governors, who will be required to formulate and report on their policies for children with SEN. Schools' performance will be systematically inspected against their policies by independent inspectors. The Bill would require the Secretary of State to issue a code of practice to which local education authorities and all maintained school must have regard in respect of pupils with SEN. It provides for local education authorities to make available SEN support services to grant- maintained and local education authority-maintained schools to assist governors. The duties of local education authorities towards pupils who may need an assessment and a statement and their duty to review all the arrangements for pupils with SEN are reinforced in the Bill.Teachers (Clerical Support)
Ms Estelle Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much money was spent in each of the last five years on clerical support for teachers in schools.
Mr. Forth : Information is collected centrally only for schools' expenditure on administration and clerical staff combined. For the five years up to 1991-92, the latest year for which information on actual spending is available, this expenditure was as follows :
Local education authority-maintained
nursery, primary, secondary and special schools
England
|Total expenditure<1>
Year |£ thousand
---------------------------------------------------------------
1987-88 |196,520
1988-89 |219,020
1989-90 |260,678
1990-91 |335,181
1991-92 |<2>404,267
<1>Total expenditure on administrative and clerical staff,
cash, £ thousands.
<2>Provisional.
Note:
"Administrative and clerical staff" includes such staff as
school secretaries, clerks, typists, receptionists and
telephonists. Details on premises related staff (caretakers,
etc.) and education support staff (such as laboratory
technicians) are collected separately.
London School of Economics (Fees)
Sir Teddy Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he has received on the plans by the London School of Economics to charge fees for university tuition ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Boswell : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave to the hon. and learned Member for Montgomery (Mr. Carlile) on 14 June, Official Report, column 420.
Market Testing
Ms Mowlam : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list all the market tests that have taken place in his Department since November 1992 and
Column 591
indicate, in each case, whether the result was the maintenance of in-house provision, or whether the service was contracted out.Mr. Boswell : The Department's market tests listed in Cmnd. 2101 for completion by 30 September 1993 are still in progress.
Science and Technology
Dr. Moonie : To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he will designate one of his Ministers to be responsible for his Department's contribution to the Government's science and technology "Forward Look."
Mr. Boswell : Paragraph 2.37 of the recent White Paper "Realising Our Potential--A Strategy for Science, Engineering and Technology" describes the preparation of the "Forward Look" by the Office of Science and Technology, and the participation of Government Departments through the existing, well-established machinery of the official and ministerial Cabinet Committees on Science and Technology.
Industrial Research
Dr. Moonie : To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether the Higher Education Funding Council for England will take industrially relevant research into account in future research assessment exercises.
Mr. Boswell : Universities and colleges were free to submit evidence of the full range of their research in the assessment exercise undertaken last year by the Universities Funding Council. This included research related to the needs of industry. The White Paper "Realising our Potential : A Strategy for Science, Engineering and Technology" indicates that the Government will expect research relevant to industrial and other users to be taken into account in future assessment exercises.
Near-market Research
Dr. Moonie : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his Department's policy is with regard to the funding of near-market research.
Column 592
Mr. Boswell : I refer the hon. Member to paragraphs 2.20 to 2.22 of the White Paper "Realising Our Potential--A Strategy for Science, Engineering and Technology". Funding for research through the Higher Education Funding Council for England is intended to support mainly basic and strategic research.
Education Expenditure
Mr. Betts : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what has been the real increase in education expenditure on matters within the responsibility of local education authorities since 1979, in money and percentage terms ; and what is (a) the level by which LEAs in total and (b) the extent to which each individual LEA currently spends beyond its education standard spending assessment SSA, according to the latest expenditure figures available, in money and percentage terms.
Mr. Forth : Total local authority expenditure on education in England has increased by £3,197 million or 17.6 per cent., in real terms between 1979-80 and 1991-92, the latest year for which data are available. This comparison does not allow for the transfer or responsibility for about £900 million--in 1992-93 prices--of expenditure on local authority higher education to the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council from 1 April 1989.
Information on LEAs' budgeted expenditure is taken from returns to the Department of Environment. The figures for English LEAs' education budgets for 1992-93, both individually and in total, together with the figures for their overall education standard spending assessments and the differences in cash and percentage terms, are set out in the table.
For several reasons, it is necessary to be cautious about drawing conclusions from the figures. Education SSAs are not spending targets as LEAs are free to determine their own spending priorities. The budget figures were provided at the beginning of the 1992-93 financial year. Outturn expenditure may well be different. LEAs may also not recognise the budget figures because their budget returns have been adjusted by the Department of Environment to make them comparable with their education SSAs.
Column 591
Education SSAs and Education budget figures for 1992-93
(in £ million)
Local education |Budget |Education SSA |Difference |Percentage
authority |difference
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Corporation of London |2.12 |0.65 |1 |225
Camden |70.04 |64.92 |5 |8
Greenwich |105.98 |107.46 |-1 |-1
Hackney |112.93 |117.39 |-4 |-4
Hammersmith |61.19 |57.75 |3 |6
Islington |85.07 |86.45 |-1 |-2
Kensington |47.22 |38.33 |9 |235
Barnet |110.16 |113.29 |-3 |-3
Bexley |77.33 |86.54 |-9 |-11
Brent |125.90 |134.22 |-8 |-6
Bromley |93.29 |97.61 |-4 |-4
Croydon |132.56 |129.40 |3 |2
Ealing |122.72 |130.81 |-8 |-6
Enfield |115.86 |113.70 |2 |2
Haringey |96.20 |103.80 |-8 |-7
Harrow |80.81 |79.91 |1 |1
Havering |89.57 |89.17 |0 |0
Hillingdon |87.97 |88.11 |0 |0
Hounslow |86.55 |90.25 |-4 |-4
Kingston |50.16 |46.18 |4 |9
Merton |61.47 |59.31 |2 |4
Newham |111.28 |133.21 |-22 |-16
Redbridge |90.02 |92.45 |-2 |-3
Richmond |44.56 |44.36 |0 |0
Sutton |55.39 |61.32 |-6 |-10
Waltham Forest |100.55 |104.85 |-4 |-4
Birmingham |428.05 |485.14 |-57 |-12
Coventry |132.46 |122.99 |9 |8
Dudley |117.67 |108.75 |9 |8
Sandwell |128.19 |125.30 |3 |2
Solihull |73.29 |72.26 |1 |1
Walsall |106.39 |107.18 |-1 |-1
Wolverhampton |112.80 |110.65 |2 |2
Knowsley |74.56 |78.89 |-4 |-5
Liverpool |206.93 |214.97 |-8 |-4
St. Helens |76.65 |73.34 |3 |0
Sefton |110.25 |110.45 |0 |0
Wirral |132.23 |135.67 |-3 |-3
Bolton |105.87 |105.65 |0 |0
Bury |68.74 |63.93 |5 |8
Manchester |198.76 |203.67 |-5 |-2
Oldham |95.63 |94.07 |2 |2
Rochdale |84.40 |86.46 |-2 |-2
Salford |87.54 |89.33 |-2 |-2
Stockport |105.97 |99.82 |6 |6
Tameside |82.69 |85.35 |-3 |-3
Trafford |78.55 |77.58 |1 |1
Wigan |124.23 |116.64 |8 |7
Barnsley |77.08 |80.67 |-4 |-4
Doncaster |121.43 |119.05 |2 |2
Rotherham |104.55 |101.40 |3 |3
Sheffield |190.79 |180.80 |10 |6
Bradford |213.28 |221.85 |-9 |-4
Calderdale |77.61 |77.24 |0 |0
Kirklees |153.04 |157.65 |-5 |-3
Leeds |267.68 |261.96 |6 |2
Wakefield |120.62 |114.54 |6 |5
Gateshead |80.07 |72.77 |7 |10
Newcastle |104.88 |99.42 |5 |5
North Tyneside |75.25 |73.66 |2 |2
South Tyneside |63.62 |60.54 |3 |5
Sunderland |113.41 |118.37 |-5 |-4
Isles of Scilly |1.36 |1.30 |0 |4
Avon |350.59 |315.24 |35 |11
Bedfordshire |220.25 |222.71 |-2 |-1
Berkshire |272.03 |287.14 |-15 |-5
Buckinghamshire |255.58 |259.97 |-4 |-2
Cambridgeshire |249.28 |242.20 |7 |3
Cheshire |370.99 |359.37 |12 |3
Cleveland |253.42 |247.82 |6 |2
Cornwall |170.01 |175.42 |-5 |-3
Cumbria |183.70 |173.35 |10 |6
Derbyshire |370.13 |329.86 |40 |12
Devon |347.72 |343.10 |5 |1
Dorset |203.35 |200.12 |3 |2
Durham |234.13 |223.95 |10 |5
East Sussex |224.66 |216.96 |8 |4
Essex |557.99 |580.81 |-23 |-4
Gloucestershire |192.54 |183.41 |9 |5
Hampshire |576.19 |562.64 |14 |2
Hereford and Worcester |241.87 |241.88 |0 |0
Hertfordshire |383.25 |370.18 |13 |4
Humberside |361.53 |341.30 |20 |6
Isle of Wight |46.24 |47.54 |-1 |-3
Kent |539.75 |568.13 |-28 |-5
Lancashire |563.79 |553.25 |11 |2
Leicestershire |361.69 |344.49 |17 |5
Lincolnshire |219.32 |221.98 |-3 |-1
Norfolk |261.97 |260.61 |1 |1
North Yorkshire |252.93 |243.84 |9 |4
Northamptonshire |225.98 |223.80 |2 |1
Northumberland |119.79 |111.40 |8 |8
Nottinghamshire |402.22 |383.42 |19 |5
Oxfordshire |201.34 |187.52 |14 |7
Shropshire |164.61 |154.01 |11 |7
Somerset |172.71 |159.23 |13 |8
Staffordshire |380.42 |374.64 |6 |2
Suffolk |229.66 |215.27 |14 |7
Surrey |327.78 |326.54 |1 |0
Warwickshire |182.07 |172.77 |9 |5
West Sussex |225.49 |236.04 |-11 |-4
Wiltshire |210.12 |202.44 |8 |4
|----- |----- |-- |--
Total |18,536.21 |18,352.70 |184 |1
Notes:
<1> Information on budgeted expenditure is taken from Local Authorities' returns to the Department of
Environment on forms RA92/93 and RA(SG)92/93. Figures have been repriced to outturn.
<2> The education budgets for Inner London authorities have been adjusted so as to exclude expenditure
funded through education grant for Inner London authorities, and make them comparable with education
SSAs. Inner London education grants are paid to provide, through the support of expenditure on
education, transitional help to local tax-payers in Inner London boroughs and in the City of London
where the authorities inherited responsibility for the education service from the Inner London
Education Authority.
<3> Figures on budgets and education SSAs have been rounded to 2 decimal places.
Further and Higher Education Funding Councils
Mr. Illsley : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list the names of the members of the regional committees of the further education and higher education funding councils who have already been nominated, together with the regional committees to which no appointment has yet been made and the date on which any outstanding appointment will be made ; which organisations were consulted on the appointments ; and what was the form and nature of any such consultation.
Mr. Boswell : My right hon. Friend announced on 14 April the appointment of the chairmen of seven of the nine regional advisory committees of the Further Education Funding Council. The chairmen are :
Greater London :--Mr. Trevor Thomas CBE
Northern :--Mr. Haydn Biddle
North West :--Mr. Peter Blount
Yorkshire and Humberside :--Mr. Terry Bramall
East Midlands :--Dr. Eric Cliffe
Eastern :--Councillor Paul White
South East :--Mr. Harry Morris CBE
The chairmen of the West Midlands and the South West regional committees will be announced shortly.
My right hon. Friend intends that there should be 12 members of each regional committee, who will be appointed in a personal capacity apart from the two members of each committee who will be representatives of the training and enterprise councils in each region. The membership will be announced as soon as possible. Suggestions for members have been received from a variety of sources, including a number of bodies which were invited to suggest candidates from a business, local authority, special educational needs and adult learners' background, in order to supplement the names already submitted. These bodies were the CBI, the Association of British Chambers of Commerce, the Engineering Employers Federation, the local authority associations, SKILL, the National Bureau for Students with Disabilities, and the National Institute of Adult and Continuing Education.
The Higher Education Funding Council for England does not have regional committees.
Column 596
Mr. Illsley : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what remuneration is to be paid to the chairmen and members of the regional committees of the further and higher education funding councils.
Mr. Boswell : There is no salary or fee for the chairmen and members of the Further Education Funding Council's regional committees. Travelling and subsistence allowances are paid by the Funding Council under the usual arrangements. The Higher Education Funding Council for England does not have regional committees.
Physical Education
Mr. Pendry : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a statement on the Government's policy on maintaining physical education as an integral part of the national curriculum.
Mr. Robin Squire : The importance of physical education in our schools is not in doubt. As a foundation subject of the national curriculum physical education is compulsory for all pupils aged five to 16 in maintained schools in England and Wales.
EC Education Council
Mr. Duncan : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the outcome of the Council of EC Education Ministers which met on Friday 11 June.
Mr. Boswell : The Council adopted a resolution on vocational education and training in the 1990s ; the Council and the Ministers of Education meeting within the Council adopted conclusions on co-operation in higher education, agreed to extend by a year the mandate of a sub-committee of the Education Committee concerning long-term arrangements for the European Schools, exchanged views on the entry of all young people into working life and society, and discussed the Commission's guidelines for Community action in the field of education and training.
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TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Structural Steel
Mr. Spellar : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations he has received about the dumping of structural steel in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Heseltine : Whilst I have received representations about the dumping of steel in the United Kingdom I have received no representations about dumping of structural steel from countries outside the Community.
Ceramic Industry
Ms Walley : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what negotiations in the current general agreement on tariffs and trade round affect the ceramic industry ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Needham : The ceramic industry is primarily affected by the market access negotiations on reductions in customs duties. My Department was made aware of the industry's interests at an earlier stage of the negotiations, in particular as regards the very high duties on some imports into the United States, and these are being addressed by the European Commission in the negotiations.
Fuel Cell Research
Mr. Alan W. Williams : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list all the projects supported by his Department since 1990 involving research into fuel cell technology giving the amount of money involved in each project.
Mr. Eggar : Since 1990 the DTI has supported 16 projects on advanced fuel cells worth over £4 million in total. They are :
|£
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Composite Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) Membrane Development |910,000
System Integration Study for SOFC Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Systems |64,000
Internal Reforming on SOFC Anodes |219,000
Evaluation of Integral Planar SOFC Concept-Phase 1 |49,000
Evaluation of Fuel Cell Components |85,000
Development of Membrane Electrode Assemblies |216,000
Experimental Studies on Low Cost Solid Polymer Fuel Cells (SPFCs) |2,000,000
Development of Cathode Material for SOFCs |79,000
Development of High Temperature Bonds for SOFCs |50,000
Scale up of Components for SOFCs |70,000
SPFC Applications Study |50,000
SOFC Design Study |62,000
Initial Studies on MEAs |127,000
Fuel Cell Membrane Testing |13,000
SPFC Design Study |51,000
Implications of Design, Materials and Fabrication for SOFCs |55,000
A further 13 projects, worth about £5 million in total, are currently being considered.
In addition, the DTI has funded several consultancy studies related to fuel cells.
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Export Control
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he has taken to ensure that the policy described in the British Overseas Trade Board's forward plan published on 9 June will take into account current export control regulations on sensitive technology and equipment exports.
Mr. Needham : The opportunities outlined in the British Overseas Trade Board's "Forward Plan" take full account of current export control regulations. On page 84, exporters are reminded of export controls and are encouraged to contact the DTI's Export Control Organisation to ensure that they are not breaching any current regulations. Copies of the "Forward Plan" are available in the Library of the House.
Market Testing
Ms Mowlam : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list all the market tests that have taken place in his Department since November 1992 and indicate, in each case, whether the result was the maintenance of in-house provision, or whether the service was contracted out.
Mr. Eggar : In my Department's current market testing programme no market tests, involving competition between the existing in-house service providers and the private sector, have been completed as yet. However, invitations to tender are now beginning to be issued.
Export Promotion
Mrs. Ewing : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what role and responsibilities he envisages for the 100 business people he plans to recruit from the private sector to assist with export promotion ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Needham : I expect the export promoters recruited from business to go out and encourage companies throughout the country to take advantage of opportunities to export. With their business skills and experience, and their first-hand knowledge of specific overseas markets, the export promoters will be able to offer informed advice and assistance which will add to and complement our existing export services. I am sure they will help us to deliver our best ever service to British exporters.
Mrs. Ewing : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many of the 100 business people he plans to recruit from the private sector to assist the DTI with export promotion have been secured ; and when he expects to have completed the recruitment process.
Mr. Needham : We now have 31 export promoters on secondment from the private sector, including a few who are still in the process of joining my Department. In addition more than 20 other candidates are currently under consideration, and more offers come in every day. We have also received assurances from a number of companies that they are actively identifying high-calibre people to put forward as they become available. We intend to complete the recruitment process by the end of the year.
Column 599
Mrs. Ewing : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what recent initiatives he has undertaken and intends to take to assist the promotion of British exports ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Needham : In addition to policies to improve the climate for business, such as the deregulation initiative, we have taken a number of steps to improve the already excellent services the Government offers businesses wishing to export.
Under the newly created post of director general of export promotion, we have set up two new divisions concentrating solely on promotional work. They will have up to 60 extra staff to allow individual coverage of the United Kingdom's top 80 export markets. We are also recruiting 100 men and women from the private sector on secondment to bring their skills and experience to assist these divisions in their export promotion work.
Under the overseas projects board, we are establishing sector task forces chaired by senior business people to co-ordinate our efforts to secure the business that flows from major overseas projects. The Government have also made available to United Kingdom exporters more than £2 billion of additional export credit cover for key markets over the next three years, and ECGD has reduced its premium rates by an average of more than 25 per cent. over the last year.
These initiatives will build substantially on the current matrix of support available to help our exporters under the joint DTI and FCO overseas trade services operation worldwide, to ensure that ever greater numbers of United Kingdom exporters get the additional support they deserve to help them win in world markets.
Lumsden Machine Co.
Mr. Cousins : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what monitoring has been carried out by the insolvency service since receivers were called in to the Lumsden Machine Co., Gateshead ; and whether the receiver has subcontracted work in the company back to enterprises in which the original beneficial owners of the company have an interest.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : My Department's insolvency service has no power to intervene in the day to day conduct of receiverships and does not, therefore, monitor such cases on an individual basis.
In this case, officials have spoken to the receiver's office who have confirmd that one of the company's contracts which remained incomplete at the date of the receiver's appointment required a small amount of further work involving specialised equipment. The receiver has confirmed that he sub-contracted this work to an associated company, but the sub-contract was on a commercial basis and at a proper market price and enabled the expeditious completion of the contract for the benefit of the receivership.
Coal Industry
Mr. David Porter : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement regarding developments in the Government's policies relating to the coal industry since publication of the White Paper on coal.
Mr. Eggar : Subsidy. The Government indicated in the White Paper "The Prospects for Coal" that it was willing
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